Chapter 147

Several hours later.

Beside the river flowing through the border of the Holning Empire, atop a cliff.

Lights were fading, a thin mist lingered, and even the moonlight was occasionally obscured by clouds. In the darkness of the night, Lichtenstein Castle appeared even more eerie and unpredictable.

It was nearly midnight.

A figure streaked across the night sky, a strong wind pressure and whistling sound stirred the air in the forest, accompanied by falling leaves and biting cold.

The figure's speed was astonishing, the stars in the night sky seemed to turn into streaks of light in his vision.

He lowered his eyes slightly, the cliff, broken bridge, and castle rapidly approaching in his sight.

Then, he gradually reduced his speed, as if nearing his destination.

Under the moonlight, the figure in mid-air became clearer. With his handsome features and sculpted physique, he possessed the perfect combination of elegance and strength, a type that would certainly be adept at combat even among the vampires.

His deep eyes, shimmering with ruby-like light, were like cold chains, piercing through everything.

"My excellent kin died here?"

Count Parocas's voice was like a whisper emerging from the abyss, filled with an irresistible majesty.

He swooped down, and as he passed over the cliff, he could clearly see Lichtenstein Castle after the clouds parted.

The murderer had no way to escape from this cliff. There were no signs of life in the forest, and the castle lights were still on. It seemed that these guys were hiding in the castle.

Moreover, this castle was very sturdy, and it was even equipped with a powerful protective barrier that even Parocas found impressive. If he used ranged magic attacks, he might not only fail to break the defense, but also scare away the people inside.

In an instant, Count Parocas's body fell like a meteor onto the land far from the castle.

The moonlight shone on his black ceremonial robes, giving him a thin silver cloak, making him look even more noble and mysterious in the night.

"..."

Count Parocas stared at the castle from a distance, his face exceptionally stern.

The base level of the castle was still lit, and through the pale yellow curtains, he could even see several figures looming.

It was as if they were having a joyful dinner, completely unaware of the consequences of their mistakes, and even now, they did not seem to care about the anger that a dignified vampire count might unleash.

However, a flash of understanding passed through Parocas's eyes.

"Just a few tricks."

Count Parocas chuckled softly, his sarcastic and cold voice particularly clear in the silent night.

The answer was simple: these clever fellows had set a trap in the castle, pretending to be relaxed to make him lower his guard, and when he entered, they would all pounce on him and fight to the death.

Humans, these weak and humble creatures, occasionally had a few who held a foolish mentality and tried to defy the vampires.

The outcome would always point in one direction: shattered dreams and death.

But Parocas liked humans who were willing to resist him very much.

Because the more he crushed them, the more he could experience some timeless pleasure.

This was the difference between a superior race and a worm-like race.

The Count slowly moved forward in the night, his shadow gradually lengthening.

His authority, [Blood Rage], could increase his own attributes by a full倍(bei) in a short period of time and grant a significant reduction in control effects.

This was also the capital he had always been fearless and proud of.

The powerful demons and werewolves who had died at his hands were countless, and the humans were piled up into mountains of corpses that could not be counted.

If the enemy's strength was not completely above him, he would be crushed like a bug.

Any wisdom, tricks, or strange control spells were meaningless!

Soon, Count Parocas arrived at the front of the castle's base level door. He raised his hand and pushed open the castle door without hesitation.

He was very interested in playing with these worms who liked to struggle. The harder the worms, the crisper they would be when stepped on.

The door opened with a bang, accompanied by bright lights and warmth. Count Parocas walked straight in, his terrifying magic and oppressive aura seemed to make the entire castle tremble.

"Where are the poor fellows hiding?"

The door slowly closed behind the Count, isolating the cold wind and the silence of the night.

He stood in the castle's main hall, his deep eyes slowly wandering around the hall, ready to welcome the scene of these weak and foolish humans rushing towards him in horror.

However.

The scene that followed made Count Parocas stop in his tracks.

His eyes, which were originally full of confidence and戏谑(xì xuè), now became slightly confused.

Everything was different from what he had imagined.

Count Parocas's gaze was attracted by the brilliance above the sky. The crystal ornaments inlaid with golden flower patterns above were like glittering stars, casting a warm light on every corner of the hall. The magnificent light illuminated the dark stone carvings on the walls and left bright light marks on the smooth white stone floor.

In the most conspicuous position in the hall, a grand and spacious long table occupied the space, and silver candlesticks shone in the fire, reflecting the shadows of light dancing in the air. The high-backed chairs, carefully carved from brown oak, were neatly arranged on both sides of the long table.

In such a luxurious banquet hall filled with symbols of power and status, several men and women were sharing dinner around the central long table. They raised their glasses to each other, and laughter and conversation echoed in the banquet hall.

The scene before the Count was full of extravagance and splendor, which made him reminiscent of the golden, laughter-filled carnival nights.

But the atmosphere of this banquet carried a strange sense of harmony, as if it were a饕餮(tāotiè) feast of the world's historical villains, those who were grand but could never disappear!

With the intrusion of Count Parocas, their laughter gradually stopped, and they all looked towards Count Parocas.

Parocas: "?"

Could it be that these people...

Were really holding a banquet?

……

At the Icrete Academy late at night, the Gera Memorial Square was glowing with white light.

The hour hand on the clock tower was almost pointing to twelve o'clock.

However, at this time, the square became unusually agitated again.

Compared to the lively and expectant atmosphere this afternoon, even though many students had gathered again in front of the steps where they could see the outdoor giant screen, the atmosphere was unusually suppressed and heavy.

Since Frey defeated the Destroyer Saintess near dusk, Ranchy had only explained to the clergy and the three members of the trade association that they would be entertaining the Count tonight. Then, he turned off the [Shadow World Recording Program].

It wasn't until eleven o'clock that Ranchy turned on the live broadcast again.

The students who understood that the moment of ending was coming, even though they knew it was a dead end, some couldn't help but stay up late and come to the square to watch again.

As a result, what they saw was that the nine people were really having a dinner party.

Literal meaning of entertaining!

"What exactly does Ranchy mean?"

"Is he really not going to try anything?"

Many students asked blankly.

In fact, until Count Parocas truly arrived, some of them still believed that Ranchy would take action next and carry out key preparations.

If this group of challengers could survive the five days of Shadow World berserk state in this cage-like desperate situation and come back alive, this Shadow World could be called a miracle.

Now the only chance of survival was to survive tonight. Then, before dark on the second day, everyone would work together to cut down trees and build bridges, and continue to escape from the pursuit battle on the second night. Then everyone would have to play a cat-and-mouse game with the vampire count in the Holning Empire for three days and three nights.

This was the only chance of survival that they could bring about by catching the traitor ahead of schedule and without any casualties.

If there was still the threat of a traitor, they wouldn't even be able to build a bridge or escape together in the Holning Empire!

But no matter what, everything的前提(qiántí) was to survive tonight.

And then there were four more nightmare-like days.

Maybe losing to the vampire count tonight would be a relief.

As a result, the fact was that Ranchy seemed to have lost his will to fight, holding a last dinner party, calmly welcoming death.

On the road at the edge of the square.

Morden Gassiges looked at the outdoor giant screen with a calm expression, and finally, as if he couldn't help it, he sneered.

As the son of a marquis, he originally had a good opportunity to occupy Hibernia, but Ranchy intervened and even threatened him with the law.

He still remembered the sentence Ranchy said to him at the beginning, "You admitted it yourself", which made him lose face.

Unlike most of the students, he only felt extremely happy at this moment!

"Pitiful fellow... finally at the end of the road?"

Morden snorted. It would be good if Ranchy died, and it would be even better if he took the disaster star slut Hibernia with him.

Too much arrogant confidence would eventually lead to destruction.

Faced with the vampire count, a natural disaster creature that completely crushed humans in terms of race and was irresistible, all the小聪明(xiǎo cōngmíng) seemed as ridiculous as clowns.

Next, a pitiful guy would be panicked, tearful, cruelly ravaged to the point of losing face, and finally disemboweled and miserable!

Morden could already imagine the future scene.

What he was only curious about now was--

How long could Ranchy continue to hold on in front of the vampire count!

However.

On the screen of the outdoor giant screen.

Ranchy, who was sitting at the main seat at the end of the long table, gently shook the light rose-colored liquid in the tall glass, a unique aroma of wine that was uncertainly composed of醇香(chúnxiāng), fruity aroma, and清香(qīngxiāng), as if it could come to the nose and refresh the heart.

He never put the wine into his mouth.

Even though Count Parocas had arrived, Ranchy's expression still hadn't changed in the slightest.

He leaned against the back of the chair as if he had seen all the prosperity and experienced all the vicissitudes of life.

Turning his cheek, he glanced at Count Parocas with the corner of his eye,

"Little Pa, you're here."