Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1056: Victims Under the Night Sky

The Void Territory.

As night fell, the bustling scenes of daytime vanished completely. The quiet night enveloped the silent streets, while the moonlight and Holy Maiden Statue's gentle radiance enfolded the border altogether. Even though Rhode's group had moved, it didn't mean that the fortress here was no longer in use. Instead, it became the shelter of the Astral Temple's heroic spirits. No matter what, that small temple wasn't suitable to be used as a lodge.

A petite, slender person wrapped in a robe lifted its head from the alley, looking at the most conspicuous building in the Land of Atonement with a complicated gaze. Right over there, fully-armored Elf Knights scanned the ground from the high walls above, angels flapped their beautiful wings and flying back and forth in the sky, and demons strolled in large strides on the ground, making blustering howls from time to time. These beings who were born to give their lives in the fight against Chaos treated one another without much prejudice. Perhaps demons loathed the angels' hypocrisy, elves disliked the demons' clamors, or the natural opposition between angels and demons caused arguments from time to time, but just like how an army had good and bad people, the conflicts from both sides didn't reach an irreconcilable degree. Currently, in the fortress of the Land of Atonement, angels were responsible for the big picture, elves provided support, and demons were in charge of being hired thugs. One had to admit that facing the tall, sturdy built of the demons, not everyone dared to go against them.

Why are the different races able to coexist in harmony here?

Gazing at the beings from a distance, the person hidden in the alley let out a sigh. At this moment, one of the demons seemed to detect something. Its nose twitched as it turned toward the alley. Its scarlet eyes erupting in bright radiance like searchlights. Upon witnessing this scene, the person hidden in the alley retreated quickly. Its cloak fluttered in the wind as it drifted across the darkness lithely. As the demon's line of sight shifted, it spotted nothing.

This is truly an incredibly dangerous city.

The fluttering cloak appeared in the shadows once again like an elongated reflection transforming under the night sky into the form of a human. The person wrapped in the cloak let out a sigh of relief before taking off the cloak. It was a young lady who seemed to be around 16 to 17 years old. She wore a crimson, elegant dress and a thin, sleek sword hung on her waist. Her blonde, twin ponytails swayed in her movements. Judging from her appearance, her exquisite facial features, slender, alluring figure, and noble presence would make her seem like a wealthy young lady. However, little canines revealed from the edge of her lips and pale complexion exposed her true identity—vampire.

At this moment, the young lady was flitting across the forest under the night sky like a ghost. A trail of afterimages followed behind her, before silently disappearing and reappearing in the depths of the forest. After a few moments, she arrived at the entrance of a cave, took a few steps forward, and stroked her arm across the darkness before her. Along in her movements, a crimson radiance flashed. Invisible waves of air burst from the peaceful cave entrance, before cracking into an opening. The young lady threw a look at the left and right. After confirming that there was no threat around, she stepped into the space crack.

As soon as her foot stepped inside, the scenery surrounding her changed immediately. The views of nature vanished completely, only to be replaced by a cheerless cellar-like place. Dim, glowing torches hung on the cold walls. The short cave became a wide stone hall. The young lady descended the steps and quickly saw six to seven people approaching her from the side, gazing at her anxiously.

"How was it, Carol?"

"It's tough."

Carol answered her companion, before shaking her head with a worrisome look. She gazed at the other young ladies. Even though they were noble vampires in the past, the long days of escape left them exhausted, with some of them suffering injuries from the chase. At this moment, they no longer exuded the arrogance and pride of noble vampires. Instead, they were seemingly down and frightened. Looking at this scene, Carol let out a sigh. Then, she cleared her head and asked.

"Is there news of Madam Angelina?"

"…"

Everyone shook their heads in response and Carol sighed in her head. They couldn't be blamed because even she didn't expect the Land of Atonement to be such a dangerous place. She originally intended to sneak into the city, capture some humans as slaves and food, and get in touch with Madam Angelina. But it was a pity that despite having a calculated plan, these vampire ladies were scared to death by the Elf Knights shuttling through the forest, Battle Angels soaring in the sky, and demons patrolling the area. Every one of these three races were a so-called nemesis of the vampires. The holy power of the Battle Angels left the vampires running for their lives. On the other hand, the demons' ferocity and cunningness were far above the vampires'. In terms of agility and speed, elves dominated the vampires. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, these vampires had no choice but to give up on their plan and act cautiously. From the start, they couldn't help but to attack humans, only to be nearly captured by the Battle Angels and demons. If it weren't for the fact that Carol possessed the ability to tear through the plane of existence and create an alternate dimension, they wouldn't have survived the chase.

At this moment, Carol's group realized that the Void Territory might be even more dangerous than the Country of Darkness. However, they expended all their energy crossing the border and finally arriving here. Besides, there was still an advantage for them in this situation. The pursuers from the Country of Darkness most likely wouldn't cross the border to find trouble with them here and this left Carol feeling reassured. But it wouldn't work if this went on. After all, they needed food. Although they barely survived on animal blood during this period of time, it wasn't the solution for the long term. Unless they managed to find and kill a powerful demonic beast, they couldn't gain enough energy from animal blood. This was also why the vampires favored humans as the source of their food instead. Human blood was sweet, delicious, and contained a strength of life that vampires needed urgently. Not only that, but human blood was also nourishing and able to strengthen the vampires. This was why in the vampires' eyes, humans were as though precious tonics.

Just like American-grade ginseng.

It was a pity that everything was just their imaginations. In fact, Carol was starting to feel worried because after days of persistent observations, she found out that the Void Territory treated humans similarly to the Country of Light and Country of Law. In this case, would they be accepted by the Void Territory? Although Carol had thought of seeking shelter from Angelina back then, in this case, even if she relied on Angelina for help, would the legendary Void Dragon be willing to accept them? Carol knew her place. The vampires weren't vampires by choice, but this didn't change their nature. It was a fact that they needed to consume blood as food to gain energy and human blood was their most preferred.

But come to think of it, it seemed like the humans, elves, angels, and demons were able to leave behind stereotypes and live together in peace. It was impossible for Carol to not feel a little envious. Vampires weren't afraid of social class divisions because if they were, they wouldn't have set Ashvril's town on fire. It could also be said that deep down in their hearts, they more or less had their own expectations and prides. If they could be like these beings, able to coexist under the same sky, it wasn't entirely impossible for them to stay here for the rest of their lives…

"How about we head to Grandia instead? We can look for Madam Angelina and discuss it with her?"

A vampire knitted her nice, arched eyebrow and asked. However, her suggestion was faced with objection.

"Are you kidding? Grandia's the city of the Void Dragon. Do you really think that we can wrap around Athos City and swagger on the streets in the Darkness Capital? Besides, I heard that Grandia is a city floating in the air, so even if we manage to sneak in, we may not be able to escape if we are spotted!"

Another vampire rebutted immediately. It was apparent that she didn't agree with her view.

"But there's no news of Madam Angelina yet…"

"…"

Everyone fell into silence. At this moment, they had a similar thought: Angelina might have possibly abandoned them. But this wasn't rarely seen among the vampires as abandonment and betrayal were the main theme of the darkness nobles, while trust was invaluable. But Angelina was different. Back then, she managed to gather these vampires under Ashvril's immense pressure, which proved that she and her subjects formed a relationship of trust. This was also why the vampires came all the way to the Void Territory. If Angelina had truly abandoned them, the vampires would be at the end of their ropes.

"Hmph!"

All of a sudden, a crisp grunt sounded in their ears. The vampires were startled. They turned toward the voice quickly and saw a petite figure appearing out of thin air, landing on the ground firmly.

"It has just been a few days and all of you have become so weak. I'm utterly embarrassed!"

Carol was instantly overjoyed.

"Madam Angelina!"