Chapter 294 - A Bloodthirsty Menace
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In the middle of a secret room in the Cilane Kingdom, two human figures cleaned their clothes and mouths, after such a feast, they had left quite the mess.
The corpse of the young centaur boy was taken elsewhere by other centaurs, while a tall, white-skinned centaur with a sturdy and dark-haired horse half and blonde hair moved towards the strange figures. He seemed to be trying to maintain his composure, but after spectating the voracious appetite of the fiends, he couldn't hold himself and quivered while speaking.
"My lords… How as it been? The Royal Blood was of your taste?"
One of the figures, who seemed to hold higher authority than the second one, spoke. He was a tall man, of over 2 meters tall. He had pale white skin like candle wax, and his crimson eyes combined well with his handsome young man face and his long crimson hair. As he spoke, an eerie bloody presence was released from his body.
"It was certainly tasteful, but not enough to please the Masters… After all, even if it was the highest quality blood, it is still horse blood…"
The other figure, who seemed to be a young woman with the same features as the man, but of a lower height, spoke as well.
"Indeed… But perhaps, more of this blood could be enough… Right, Caedmon?" She said.
"I suppose so, Cassandra… I could feel my Blood Strength increase after drinking the blood of the young horse… I mean centaur, please, forgive my rudeness, Duke Lycalion"
The quivering centaur man's name was Lycalion, and he was one of the Dukes that owned a small city inside the Cilane Kingdom. He had currently sacrificed the son of the daughter of his sister to the malevolent figures in front of him, which real origin was…
"Yes, my lords… It will be done as you ask… B-But… When will we be able to receive more backup from the Thanatos Kingdom? P-Please doesn't interpret my words as rude, its just that… it has been a year and I've been working diligently to please the lords…"
The two pale white humans, who were Pure-Blooded Vampires, glanced at each other and then exploded in a burst of sophisticated laughter.
"Bwahaha! You don't need to be so fearful of us, Lycalion… You know is so very well now… And your diligence hasn't gone unnoticed by the lords and Master as well" Said the Vampire man, Caedmon, while licking his lips which had a small amount of blood that he had missed.
"Ohoho! Indeed~ Lycalion san! Your diligence will be compensated… How about… right about now?" Said the Vampire Woman, Cassandra.
Lycalion seemed happy at first over Caedmon's statement, but after hearing Cassandra, he was confused.
"Huh? Cassandra sama… What do you mean?"
Cassandra glared back at Caedmon with a mischievous smile.
"I suppose we should compensate you, Duke Lycalion…" Said Caedmon, while glancing at the centaur in front of him with a voracious expression on his eyes.
"Indeed… Are you perhaps, interested in eternal life, Duke Lycalion…?" Asked Cassandra, with a playful smile.
Lycalion seemed bewildered, the dream he had worked so diligently for over a year was finally going to pay off. After sacrificing the daughter of his big brother, the son of his sister, and the twins of his aunt, he will be finally be recompensated with eternal life.
Eternal Life… Something that is not only a concept but a reality in the Realm of Vida. One of the species who possess this trait is Vampires. Children of the Night and descendants of the Goddess of Blood. Lycalion had done various trades with Thanatos on the Cilane Kingdom King's back, slowly building bonds and trust with Thanatos, the Kingdom of Half-Demons.
Thanatos had already known of Lycalion's purpose on his trades and had sent two Vampires of the renowned Vampire Family of Cythiliana. Lycalion did not only want Eternal Life, but also the backing of the Thanatos Kingdom, so he could hold a coup and conquer the other cities of Cilane, taking the throne for himself.
And now… One of his goals was about to be achieved.
"Now… Lycalion, to become a Vampire, you must first plead your royalty to the Cythiliana Family and also the Mother of all Vampires, The Goddess of Blood; Agatheina…" Said Caedmon, while tracing a magic circle made out of his own blood.
"Indeed, Lycalion san, this is our first time converting a centaur into a Vampire… But fear not, as our benevolent Goddess does not discriminate… As long as you offer your soul and body to her, she will happily take your life and then make you reborn into one of us" Said Cassandra, while reinforcing the magic circle, which was now being filled with strange symbols.
"M-my life…?!" Exclaimed Lycalion. He certainly did not know about that small detail…
What the Vampire pair was saying was the truth, the Goddess of Blood Agatheina wouldn't discriminate any race, as long as they offered their loyalty, blood, life, and soul to her, she would take on any being and convert them into Vampires… That is if they can survive the ritual.
"W-Wait a second! I-I can't die here… Isn't there a safer method?"
"There isn't… If you want power… and if you want eternal life… you always have to sacrifice something, Lycalion" Said Cassandra.
"If you want to join in the Vampire Family of Cythiliana, we will have open arms! You have worked incredibly well, Lycalion, even for a horse!" Screamed Caedmon, with an almost fanatical expression on his face, raising his hands and chanting a special ritual scripture.
"W-Wait! W-We doesn't need to be so sudden…! Waaaaait!"
Lycalion was suddenly trapped in the blood circulation by a strange and transparent wall, unable to escape, he was then consumed by a crimson ocean as countless of bloody tentacles entered his whole body… Inspecting every inch, draining all of his life force and inserting new and strange energy into his body.
"Gyaaaahhhh!"
As the ritual finally stopped, the Vampire pair glared at Lycalion's unconscious body, which had been drained like a mummy, the ritual failed, or rather, he wasn't able to resist the overwhelming embrace of the Goddess of Blood.
"Oh well, that's is how it is, it was nice to have met you, Lycalion san"
"Not even the Goddess of Blood liked the taste of this Horse… At least we gathered a lot of blood here. These horses are really idiotic. We should gather the treasures inside the castle and then get out… The blood of horses may be good at the moment, but it leaves a bad after taste…"
"Indeed, I'm craving for some human blood… But we must resist, for now, orders are orders, Cassandra. Let's gather the treasures and then contact the next Duke, this Kingdom of Horses won't last much longer with such government… And then, when they are weakened the most, Thanatos Kingdom shall strike and gain a new vassal nation. The blood and meat of centaurs is good enough for the citizens at the very least"
"Yeah, I suppose the other Demon races would enjoy it more than us. Vampires are cursed with such a refined taste… It's hard to be a Vampire"
"Cassandra, I hope that you don't go saying that everywhere, or the entire family will hunt you down for being a heretic"
"Ohoho, my bad, my words just slipped… It must be the bad aftertaste of drinking horse blood… Alright, let us go"
And so, the two Vampires quickly moved towards the castle treasury, looted the entire place, and then swiftly escaped, camouflaging themselves inside the shadow of the night.
The Thanatos Kingdom… An ancient Kingdom, even older than Olathir, the former Kingdom where Redgaria Bitefrost originated from.
The Kingdom was founded by a family of Half-Demons and Vampires. Although Human Supremacy may be strong in certain areas of the continent and the central continent, the Thanatos Kingdom was founded in a very isolated area, away from the dangers and threats of other Kingdoms.
Thanatos is a place where both Humans and Demons coexist, however, Demon Supremacy and Pure Lineages hold a stronger authority in here. One could say that Humans are not discriminated against here, but they aren't exactly in charge, the entire Kingdom is filled with Demon Families who govern it, and each Family, every a few hundred years chose a new King and Queen.
Humans have never been chosen as any of these positions, and only Half-Demons with Human Blood could have a possibility of it, but the possibility itself is incredibly thin as Pure-Blooded Demons are usually chosen instead.
As the years went by, the Thanatos Kingdom population increased exponentially and they couldn't hold on their craving for food and war, beginning countless wars against small demi-human Kingdoms. Infiltrating their domain and slowly killing the royal families, leaving the Kingdoms defenseless to be taken by Thanatos's great army.
You couldn't blame them, as they desired the prosperity of their people. In this world, there is no good or evil, everyone fights for their own morals and ethics. There isn't a true evil and a true good.
The Thanatos Kingdom may seem tyrannical and beastly to the surrounding Kingdoms or Empires, but for Thanatos citizens, the government seems like responsible individuals that care about their people, conquering small kingdoms and bringing food and cattle in the form of demi-humans, alongside vassal nations to plant crops and form farms.
The current Queen of Thanatos is a woman with strong convictions and endless greed. She was raised by a strong-willed family and taught about politics and other things needed to properly govern such a big Kingdom.
With her current goals set in motion, the Greedy Queen of Thanatos commanded several Vampire Units to infiltrate the small Demi-Human Kingdoms, destroy them from the inside and then absorb them as vassal nations.
Meanwhile, there was another dispute going on between the Thanatos Kingdom and the Azuma Empire. Azuma Empire seemed neutral for now, but looking back at its past, it was no different than Thanatos, starting as a small Empire of a few families and then growing exponentially as it conquered smaller Kingdoms.
This is why, both Azuma Empire and the Thanatos Kingdom are in current strife for power, and being conveniently close with each other did not make things any better… With constant skirmishes going on every few months, the Greedy Queen of Thanatos, in her endless greed and desire to maintain her citizens, wishes to possess this large Empire.
She had already placed her eyes in the Athetosea Kingdom, founded by merchants, only to find out that it was already conquered by a strange Kingdom, which is seemingly composed of strong Monsters and mixed races of demi-humans. Exasperated by this news, she sent countless spies, only for them to never come back…
Disappointed, for now, she set her goals in the small Kingdom of Centaurs Cilane, who only had four nations. She wanted to strengthen her Kingdom and gain more territory and soldiers before going all out against Azuma.
However, she did not expect that the culprit behind the sudden takeover of the Athetosea Kingdom and also the one behind the strange treaty with Azuma and the Monster Kingdom was about to ruin her plans.
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[Day 182]
Today in the morning I was greeted by Yiksukesh's butt.
Yes, her small butt was over my head for some reason, she dangled her green-scaled tail around, she was soundly asleep. Thankfully, she was wearing clothes, it seems that Zehe slept with Yiksukesh and she moved around in the night.
I pinched her small yet plump butt with my fingers, Yiksukesh immediately woke up and screamed in pain.
"Ouuu! Hisssss! Why did you do that?! Stupid mice!"
"Take your butt off my head, insolent snake!"
I grabbed on Yiksukesh's tail and sent her flying through the room.
"Gaah! You're so rude! Damned mice! I would eat you if you weren't the Dungeon Master!"
"I don't think you can, the last time we fought you died pathetically"
"That doesn't count! Hisss!!! You will see it… Ouch, my butt…"
Afterward, Zehe woke up due to the loud screeches of Yiksukesh and asked me to forgive our "daughter" for being insolent.
"Sigh… The next time you invite her to the bed, make sure to grab her tightly with your six arms, Zehe"
"Aah~ Honey, does that mean that you forgive little Yiksu? And that you also accept her as our daughter?! Ooh~ What a bliss! Thank you! See? Yiksu chan, Honey has accepted you as the family!" Said Zehe, while rubbing on Yiksukesh cheeks, they expanded a lot for some reason, as if they were made out of dough or gum, does it not hurt?
"I don't care… I'm hungry, I want meat" Said Yiksukesh, however she did not stop Zehe's cuddles.
"You're twisting everything I said!" I screamed. She really was twisting everything I said, there is no way that I'm accepting this giant snake as my daughter!
After a hearty breakfast, and after having some time with Nephiana and then with Amiphossia and her party in her new dungeon, I went with Altani, Acelina, Ismena, Nanako and Kaguya towards the training grounds. Today we would be resuming their physical training, and I also wanted to check on the Centaur Twins.
The moment I reached the Training Grounds, a lot of my servants, soldiers, and knights greeted us, some were exercising, others practicing their weapon techniques, and others killing Undead summoned by my Summoning Clones for Experience Points.
And then, the two Centaur Twins greeted me, they were talking with a pair of Werewolves, who seemed to be their friends.
I immediately noticed something strange in their appearance… They were a tad bit taller, their horse half seemed incredibly muscular and strong, and their upper bodies were also quite ripped, yet slim. Their long blonde hair shined even more brightly and both of them had gained an emerald and a scarlet gemstone in their foreheads.
"Aah~! Master Kireina, we have finally evolved!" Said Sofelaia, who's appearance was almost identical to her twin sister if it wasn't for her different set of equipment, weapon, and the ruby-like gemstone on her forehead.
"Master, just as you asked, we have trained diligently, day and night! And we have been finally rewarded for our efforts. We have evolved!" Said Sofarpia, who was wearing a white and golden armament and wielding a long white great sword, she had an emerald gemstone on her forehead.
It seems that I shouldn't have worried so much about their training.
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