Born in Blood

In the past few weeks, Liam caught up with most of the Temple and the Blood Troupe.

Everyone was doing just fine.

Liam felt… strange meeting people after so long.

There were a few banquets hosted in his honor, and he attended them after being forced by Ryu and the likes.

Liam expected there to be some sort of emotion with their reunion, but…

Nothing.

Liam felt absolutely nothing out of the ordinary when meeting his fellow acolytes.

It was like he'd seen them everyday for the past year.

As they laughed and chatted and got drunk, Liam faked a smile, his thoughts idly drifting towards what his plan was for the future.

'There was a time that Darius would have enjoyed these things,' Liam suddenly thought. 

The silence that followed was deafening. 

Dwelling on those feelings wouldn't change a thing. 

He'd long accepted who he was.

Instead, Liam put most of his focus into this plan of his.

What was this plan?

Going to the Korsan Lands.

Why?

To meet with the higher ranking vampires.

What for?

To create an alliance and take the Dual Empire by surprise.

The Korsan Lands weren't actually just one island.

Judging by the inscribed maps Usan had given him, they were a vast collection.

Most of these islands belonged to the vampires.

But everyone knew that dwarves and elves were hiding among them.

But they didn't know where.

The first thing Liam did was wolf down as much Rank 5 flesh he could.

'As long as they didn't kill off Niveh, there's a good chance for the vampires to take our side.'

Liam gnawed away an entire hand.

'She defected. They'd want to kill her.'

Liam gulped.

'But if the Echorians find out the vampires know about her, they'd kill her off to prevent a war, then pin everything on me.'

Liam took another bite.

There was a good chance the Royals had safeguards already in place for a problem like this.

Liam's job required delicacy and finesse if he wanted to succeed.

'It should just be me and Usan. Having the Elders there would make him look weak and dependent. They need to take it seriously.' 

'Best case scenario, we meet Alucard and he doesn't rip us to pieces.'

'Worst case scenario… we meet Alucard and he rips us to pieces.'

Usan was a powerhouse.

But, as Liam already knew, not a real one.

Not just strength wise, but generally.

One person climbs to the peak of a mountain with no gear, using only his bare hands and feet.

The other takes a comfy helicopter ride to the peak with nothing in his way.

There was just no experience, nor understanding.

Another thing to worry about was the connections the vampires had with other human nations.

Those human farms had to be supplied from somewhere.

Liam crossed out the Royals from the list of suspects. At least, for now.

Why were they in need of info if they already had relations?

It was possible that they weren't allowed inside, but it was slim.

Aiho and Neren were too far from the Korsan Lands.

That left the Dual Empire and the Imperial Legion as the main suspects.

But the Imperial Legion was closer of the two.

There was also a very small chance of a weaker country providing them with humans.

But there were no such countries around Korsa.

***

One month passed.

Liam put on a matte black, one piece suit.

Inscribed by the Temple, it covered most of his body and outlined each muscle individually.

It was silk-like, but stretchy and soft. 

It was a Rank 4 middle tier construct, made to transform together with Liam's Triumvirate Body.

Putting it on, Liam left his massive, palace-like dwelling before meeting up with Usan.

Outside, hordes of acolytes greeted Liam respectfully, making way as he went past.

The island Liam was on was actually shaped like a slope.

It wasn't like this before.

But for utilization of land, Usan ordered the Elders to make it like so.

And now, Liam was at the peak of such a slope with Usan beside him.

Behind him were the 18,000 members of the Temple.

In front of him was the sparkling ocean stretching out towards the Main Lands of Ilali.

Above him, stars.

"Ready?" Usan said. 

With a few pills, Usan's appearance had temporarily reverted to a healthy complexion.

His skin was no longer as pale. And his cheekbones weren't poking anymore.

Also, he was wearing the same suit Liam was, but of a higher quality.

"Yeah," Liam said. "Good to go."

At once, both Usan and Liam dove into the water.

As they fell, their suits spread to cover their faces, then their shadows enveloped it all.

But Usan's shadow suddenly connected to Liam's, like a tiny little tendril.

They looked like two little black javelins shooting at the oceans.

This wasn't the easiest way to arrive at Korsa.

But it was the most covert and quiet.

Not many people paid heed to the oceans compared to land.

Even though the depths held terrifying creatures.

SPLASH!

When Liam made contact with the water, he continued plunging to the depths without losing any momentum.

Like two bullets, they shot through the water.

For several minutes, they continued undisturbed.

Liam passed through colorful ecosystems and diverse sea creatures.

Some stronger creatures noticed Liam and attempted to attack him.

But Liam was insanely fast due to Usan's shadow link.

It basically connected Liam's speed to Usan's.

And Usan had a Rank 6 body.

All he did to create such a powerful speed was kick his shadow-empowered legs, causing violent vortexes to form behind them.

They continued until reaching the depth that Rank 5 beasts usually lived at.

One hour passed.

They were more than 7,500 meters deep!

Unnatural darkness was everywhere.

Liam's King's Eye could only peer at 100 meters.

Usually, a massive pressure would push against Liam's chest and crush his lungs due to the water pressure.

But there was no such thing due to Usan's shadow.

Liam saw glowing eyes in the darkness and massive, vague forms eerily swim past him. 

Like this, they would continue on towards Korsa.