Gospel of Blood

Charlotte stepped down from the carriage, curiously observing the Nez Clan’s stronghold.

It was her first time visiting a large bloodborne base, and she had to admit, the Nez Clan’s castle complex was quite close to her mental image of a vampire’s lair.

Fog, castles, barren trees, graves, crows, bats…Every imaginable element was present here.

Oh, and gargoyles, too.

Bloodbornes in Myria loved to summon or create these puppet monsters to guard their homes.

Charlotte quickly noticed the eighteen menacing gargoyles around the teleportation square. They looked like fierce demons with bat wings, staring at Charlotte with their crimson eyes.

A raspy, mechanical voice emerged from their grotesque mouths.

“Warning! Warning! Unknown bloodborne detected! Unknown bloodborne detected!”

“Analyzing aura… Identifying…”

“Identification… failed! Threat level… extremely high!”

“Stranger, state your identity and purpose! Otherwise… you will be attacked by the Nez gargoyle guardians!”

In her “Saint” state, Charlotte almost immediately saw through the nature of these gargoyles.

“Tsk, I see. They capture high-level extraordinaries, erase their souls and will, then refine them into these gargoyle puppets…”

The Nez Clan’s depth was quite impressive.

In Charlotte’s perception, each of these eighteen gargoyles had combat power equivalent to a Blazing Sun tier.

Moreover, their distribution formed a pattern subtly matching the array on the ground, capable of forming a magic energy matrix to enhance their strength.

An array formed by eighteen Blazing Suns would be something even Legendary would avoid.

Charlotte observed the gargoyles with interest.

She didn’t directly reveal her identity but said calmly.

“Tell Bardock that an old acquaintance has come visiting.”

The gargoyles seemed momentarily confused by Charlotte’s words.

After a brief pause, their deep, raspy voices resumed.

“Lord Bardock… old acquaintance…”

“Error…”

“No appointment detected, invalid…”

“Activating emergency magic program…”

“Commencing… forced expulsion!”

With that, the eighteen gargoyles spread their bat wings, their bodies glowing with eerie red light, illuminating strange magic patterns.

Their aura soared instantly, and without another word, they charged at Charlotte.

Seeing the gargoyles attack without hesitation, Charlotte sighed and said to Yurst, who was already turning his head away.

“It seems the Nez Clan’s puppet creatures are not very intelligent.”

Yurst: …

He wasn’t sure how to respond to the True Ancestor’s comment.

The gargoyles’ attack arrived in an instant.

Their eyes lit up, and thirty-six red beams shot out, forming a large three-dimensional network that blocked all of Charlotte’s escape routes.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

She could sense the astonishing energy within those beams.

However… she didn’t feel threatened. Not only that, despite the beams’ speed, they seemed slow in Charlotte’s vision. It felt as if she could simply stretch out a hand and block all the beams.

It wasn’t an illusion. In her “Saint” state, Charlotte was indeed faster.

Almost instinctively, Charlotte extended her right hand. With a gentle wave, she blocked all the incoming red beams.

No, more accurately, she absorbed the energy into her hand.

It was indeed energy. Charlotte could feel the heat and agitation, even finding it slightly hot, like touching water at fifty or sixty degrees Celsius in her previous life.

This indicated the terrifying nature of the gargoyles’ beams.

In her “Saint” state, Charlotte’s physical body had nearly reached a divine level, with divine power shielding her. An attack below Legendary level couldn’t harm her.

Feeling the heat meant these beams could threaten a Legendary.

She immediately released the energy, throwing it back.

“You can keep this.”

In an instant, the thirty-six red beams were returned, following their original paths back.

The beams sliced through the gargoyles’ necks, decapitating them.

Eighteen grotesque heads rolled to the ground, their crimson eyes dimming, while their bodies cracked like spider webs before collapsing entirely.

Witnessing this, Yurst felt a surge of awe and reverence for Charlotte.

He knew the True Ancestor was strong and that these gargoyles were no match for her.

But he hadn’t expected her strength to have recovered to this extent.

Perhaps Charlotte didn’t realize it, and many in the Nez Clan might not know, but as an early third-generation bloodborne, Yurst understood these gargoyles well.

These gargoyles were formidable creations left by Lord Casey, capable of easily subduing Legendary with their magic array!

Yurst knew that the True Ancestor’s power was still recovering and that the True Ancestor naturally had a bloodline suppression over other bloodbornes, but the gargoyles were not bloodbornes.

These puppet creatures were specifically designed to intimidate rebellious high-ranking bloodbornes. But now… they were instantly killed by their own attacks in just one encounter!

Recalling the time at sea when the True Ancestor had repelled Kraken, a sea behemoth that had devoured Gods, with just a few words…

Yurst couldn’t help but look at Charlotte, his heart surging with emotion.

The True Ancestor’s power… must have truly returned to a mythic level!

When Yurst looked at the destroyed gargoyles, he felt even more certain.

The reason was simple: although the True Ancestor had used overwhelming power to instantly kill the gargoyles, she hadn’t destroyed their heads.

In other words, the soul cores of the gargoyles were still intact. As long as new bodies and inscription arrays were provided, they could be repaired.

This obviously left room for restoration.

Taking a small example to infer a larger truth, it was clear that the True Ancestor did not intend to annihilate the Nez Clan but perhaps wanted to bring them back under her control!

The True Ancestor… had indeed changed. She was now more tolerant and merciful!

With this thought, Yurst felt some of the pressure and guilt lift from his heart, and he looked at Charlotte with even more respect and gratitude.

Charlotte glanced at him, puzzled, not knowing what was going through his mind.

However, Yurst’s judgment wasn’t entirely wrong.

In a way, Charlotte’s current strength was indeed at a mythic level.

Of course, she was only a Demigod and needed to continuously burn divine power.

But… it was already enough to cause a commotion in the Nez Clan’s stronghold.

As for not destroying the gargoyles’ heads… that was purely Yurst’s over-interpretation. The truth was that Charlotte hadn’t thought about it much and was simply aiming for the larger target area of their bodies when she threw the attack back.

Of course, if Charlotte knew the secret of the gargoyles, she would likely have made the same choice, as Yurst guessed.

She did not intend to destroy the Nez Clan but hoped to incorporate them.

“Elimination… failed…”

“Initiating… Level One Alert…”

The gargoyles emitted intermittent voices, issuing a warning as their light dimmed.

Red beams of light shot into the sky from the magic array, blooming into blood-colored fireworks.

Charlotte looked up but did not intervene.

Soon, the Nez Clan’s stronghold became lively.

The bloodbornes in the castle were finally alarmed.

The first to respond was a group of gray-clad extraordinaries, led by a few black-robed bloodbornes.

Charlotte glanced at them and judged that these should be the Nez Clan’s patrol unit, as mentioned by Yurst on the way, composed of low and mid-rank bloodbornes and blood thralls.

Of course, calling it a patrol unit was a bit misleading. These bloodbornes were quite weak, with the highest rank only being a viscount, and most were barons.

Such strength was mostly for maintaining the stronghold’s security and serving as cannon fodder in case of an emergency.

However, the blood thralls were quite strong.

Their strength even surpassed that of the leading bloodbornes, with the weakest being at the Silver Moon tier and some even at the Blazing Sun tier.

They were also chained, looking more like prisoners than patrol members.

Charlotte was intrigued.

These were likely extraordinaires forcibly made into blood thralls by bloodbornes. Their power didn’t come from the bloodborne bloodline but from the extraordinary abilities they possessed before becoming thralls.

The so-called Nez Clan patrol unit, these extraordinary blood thralls, were probably the true main force.

Indeed, upon noticing the situation at the teleportation array, they quickly rushed over.

The leading bloodborne was quite young. His expression changed dramatically upon seeing the shattered gargoyles around the teleportation array.

“Who dares cause trouble at Nez Castle? Nez thralls, capture them immediately!”

He ordered the blood thralls, looking at Charlotte and Yurst, who were hidden in the shadows.

It was clear that this young bloodborne hadn’t realized the significance of the destroyed gargoyles guarding the teleportation array.

“Wait!”

Seeing the blood thralls about to act, Yurst hurriedly shouted.

He stepped forward from the shadows after speaking.

“Lo… Lord Yurst?”

The young bloodborne was stunned.

Yurst nodded.

He glanced at Charlotte, hesitated, then said,

“This lady is an old friend of Lord Bardock. Quickly inform Lord Bardock that an old acquaintance has come to visit the Nez Clan.”

“Lord Bardock’s… old acquaintance?”

The low-rank bloodbornes exchanged bewildered looks.

They hesitated, unsure of how to act, until a deep voice came from behind the patrol unit.

“Yurst? When did you return without a word?”

It was a Blood Count.

With the high-ranking bloodborne alarmed, the patrol unit’s bloodbornes and extraordinaries moved aside.

Seeing the high-ranking bloodborne, Yulst’s eyes narrowed.

“Harris? You’re on duty this month?”

Taking a deep breath, he said,

“Harris, let’s put aside our past grievances. There is an esteemed guest here. Quickly inform Lord Bardock.”

“An esteemed guest?”

Count Harris squinted his eyes.

He glanced at the shattered gargoyle fragments on the ground and then at Charlotte in the shadows, sneering,

“I see… it’s a hostile guest, isn’t it?”

“I heard you’ve boarded Castell’s warship. I didn’t expect you to return. The one beside you must be a messenger from Castell, a follower of that mysterious Prince, right?”

“Hmph, Yurst, colluding with outsiders to destroy our Nez Clan’s guardian gargoyles. As Lord Alec said, it seems your Yorok faction is indeed rebellious!”

“Patrol unit, why are you hesitating? Activate the binding array and seize them!”

It seemed that, perhaps due to the long peace in Nez Castle, this Bloodborne Count did not realize the significance of the gargoyles being destroyed so quickly and assumed it was done by Yurst, a member of the Nez Clan.

Upon receiving the order, the Nez patrol unit sprang into action, their magic surging as they charged at Charlotte and Yurst.

“Harris! You… fool!”

Yurst panicked.

He gritted his teeth and was about to step forward, but Charlotte stopped him.

“You are also a Nez bloodborne. Stay out of this.”

Charlotte said.

Yurst felt a gentle yet irresistible force preventing him from moving forward.

He watched in astonishment as Charlotte stepped out of the darkness, realizing that the True Ancestor was considering his unique identity and feelings for the Nez Clan and didn’t want to make things difficult for him.

Yurst felt moved but conflicted, unable to help but ask.

“True Ancestor… can you spare them…”

“Don’t worry, no one will die.”

Charlotte waved her hand.

As Charlotte stepped out of the shadows, Harris and the patrol unit got a clear look at her.

“A royal bloodline?”

Seeing Charlotte’s near-iconic gold-red eyes, Count Harris’s expression changed drastically.

His face almost immediately shifted, and he shouted.

“It’s one of Kirali’s remnants! Patrol unit! Capture her at once! Kill her if necessary!”

With the order from the high-ranking bloodborne, the patrol unit did not hesitate.

The extraordinary blood thralls roared, their magic flaring up as they charged at Charlotte.

Charlotte did not dodge.

The attacks came swiftly, and in an instant, she was engulfed by magical brilliance.

“Dead… is she dead?”

The low-ranking bloodborne leading the group was stunned. Count Harris’s eyes narrowed.

The next moment, as if sensing something, his expression changed.

“Retreat! Quickly!”

However, it was too late.

Crimson light exploded, rapidly spreading from the point of impact of the extraordinary blood thralls’ attacks.

As the light swept over them, the blood thralls felt their bloodline instantly freeze, and their extraordinary powers were immediately sealed.

Thud, thud…

Before they could react, they lost their strength, and even standing became impossible. They collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

Seeing this, the low-ranking bloodbornes leading the group were all shocked.

“High-level blood coagulation! You are… a high-ranking bloodborne!”

Count Harris’s eyes narrowed again.

Charlotte slowly walked towards him.

She glanced around the castle and asked.

“Where is Bardock? Where is he?”

“How dare you! Addressing the Elder by name!”

Harris was furious.

He shouted angrily, magic surging, his eyes turning crimson, wings spreading from his back as he unleashed his bloodline power, rushing towards Charlotte, clawed hands aiming for her neck.

Bright red light spread around him, quickly forming a barrier that enclosed Harris and Charlotte.

At that moment, the Blood Count unleashed his Spiritual Force Field!

Far surpassing the extraordinary blood thralls, his overwhelming pressure and magic surged toward Charlotte at the center of the storm.

Thud, thud…

Under that tremendous pressure, several low-ranking bloodbornes directly knelt on the ground.

Even Yurst, also a Blood Count, was solemn upon sensing Harris’ terrifying power.

However, Charlotte remained unmoved.

She simply looked up, gazing at Harris calmly.

It was just a calm glance. But to Count Harris, it felt like his mental strength collided with an indestructible mountain.

Under her calm gaze, he felt his magic spiraling out of control, his once surging bloodline power betraying him and slipping from his grasp.

His transformation, force field, bloodline power, and magic seemed to receive higher orders, all deactivating instantly.

Then… this Blood Count, like a mortal, fell to the ground with a thud, landing in front of Charlotte in a dramatic and humiliating manner.

The surrounding low-ranking bloodbornes were bewildered.

They hadn’t seen what happened.

From their perspective, they only saw their awe-inspiring and mysterious Count Harris unleash unbelievable power, only to lose all strength and fall flat on his face moments later.

Yurst, however, knew what had happened.

He looked at Charlotte’s back with increasing reverence.

The True Ancestor!

This was the power of the True Ancestor!

The True Ancestor is the source of power for all bloodbornes, having absolute bloodline suppression over any blood descendants!

In the past, the True Ancestor’s suppression over other bloodbornes might not have been as strong, but now, the True Ancestor’s power has greatly recovered. Clearly, she had once again become the ruler above all blood descendants!

Yurst was incredibly excited.

At the same time, Count Harris, who had gone from initial shock and bewilderment to understanding what had happened, gradually widened his eyes.

He lay on the ground, struggling to lift his head…

Seeing Charlotte’s beautiful and cold face, her silver hair, and her iconic gold-red pupils, Count Harris’ face turned pale.

His lips quivered, his pupils dilated, and even his voice trembled.

“This… this power, you… no… you… you are…”

Charlotte glanced at him indifferently.

“Where is Bardock?”

Count Harris opened his mouth but did not answer.

Charlotte frowned slightly.

“Is there a word spirit guarding him…”

She murmured.

“Never mind, I’ll find him myself.”

Shaking her head slightly, Charlotte withdrew her gaze.

She looked around the area, took a deep breath, and released her aura, which approached the Legendary level.

“Captain Bardock, an old acquaintance is visiting. Please come out for a chat!”

The pressure, even stronger than that of Count Harris, spread out, causing the few low-ranking bloodbornes who were about to flee to kneel on the ground again.

This time, the provocative pressure finally angered the Nez bloodbornes who had not shown themselves.

“Impudence!”

“Which bloodborne dares to provoke in our Nez Clan’s territory!”

With shouts of anger, powerful auras rose from various castles.

Soon, over thirty beams of bright red light descended upon the central plaza of the stronghold.

All of them were high-ranking bloodbornes, including one whose aura was as deep as an ocean—a Blood Duke.

Clearly, Charlotte had truly stirred up a “hornet’s nest” this time.

With the appearance of high-ranking bloodbornes, more bloodbornes emerged from the castles.

In no time, Charlotte and Yurst were surrounded by members of the Nez Clan.

The leading Blood Duke appeared to be a very old-looking bloodborne.

His expression was grim, his gaze towards Charlotte full of hostility.

He looked between Yurst and Charlotte, then sneered.

“You must be a messenger from Castell? Haha, who would have thought that the prince behind Castell is actually from the Kirali clan.”

“Ma’am, I don’t know how you mastered a spell that can seal bloodborne powers, but don’t think that just because you have divine backing, you can do as you please in the Nez territory!”

With a cold snort, the Blood Duke’s magic surged as he prepared to attack.

Charlotte sighed.

Her gaze quickly turned cold, and her aura intensified again.

Blood divine power surged, erupting like a volcano, the pressure from soul and bloodline instantly descending upon every Nez bloodborne.

Then, all the Nez bloodbornes heard a cold command echoing in their minds.

“Kneel!”

Thud…

Thud…

Thud…

Thud…

Like cutting down wheat, the Nez bloodbornes present all knelt under the irresistible command, even the powerful Duke who had just unleashed his power couldn’t withstand the suffocating pressure and knelt.

Seeing all the Nez bloodbornes kneel, Yurst, who wasn’t “addressed” by Charlotte’s pressure, panicked and quickly knelt behind her.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The bloodbornes stared in terror and astonishment at the lone standing girl, not comprehending what had happened. This time, the remaining Dukes of the Nez Clan were finally thoroughly alarmed.

One powerful aura after another descended upon the plaza.

Great Elder Duke Robin, Duke Yorok, Duke Alec… the true higher-ups of the Niez Clan appeared.

Their expressions were unprecedentedly serious, as if facing a formidable enemy, uniting to resist Charlotte’s pressure. Until… a deep voice was heard.

“Everyone… stop.”

Hearing this voice, the Nez Dukes paused.

Charlotte also turned her head, looking towards the source of the voice.

She felt a stir in her heart and slightly reduced the divine power she was releasing. Sensing the lessened pressure, the Nez bloodbornes struggled to stand and moved aside.

Soon, a “knight” in armor appeared in Charlotte’s sight.

Seeing the familiar figure through her memories, Charlotte felt a moment of trance.

When the knight saw Charlotte’s appearance clearly, his gaze also tightened.

In the shocked, confused, and puzzled gazes of all the Nez bloodbornes, the “knight” took a step forward and suddenly knelt on one knee before Charlotte.

“Former Free City States… Third Legion Commander Bardock… pays respects to the Progenitor!”