Chapter 57 57 don’t ah! Staying out all night in violation of curfew is a deduction.

Chapter 57 57.Don’t! Staying out all night in violation of curfew is a work penalty!

“You mean the Great Spiritual Energy Boundary Hub in Cadman City isn’t damaged?”

When Murphy met the haggard-faced Missy, he immediately raised his eyebrows at the news the latter informed him.

He asked suspiciously in return:
“That sounds unlikely, if that super boundary called ‘Serenade’ is still functioning, why didn’t it work when the Star Realm Rift opened? I know that a city’s psionic protection boundary can’t stop a star realm rip of that magnitude, but at least it would have bought the members of the Blood Vulture Clan a little bit of time to prepare and move.

We watched the whole thing.

The legendary Serenade was not activated from start to finish.”

“It’s because the traitor in town shut it down early, and Tris should have warned you that there are traitors in town.”

Missy removed an ancient map from her psionic bag and glanced at Murphy then unfolded it in front of the vampire’s eyes. The map was quite old and although well preserved the years had still left undisguised marks on it.

“The city of Cadman was built by the hands of my father who led the Blood Vulture Clan and its first inhabitants 400 years ago, and when the city was being built he prepared enough expansion space in advance for the Psychic Grand Boundary.

The purpose of this city’s establishment was to defend against the Black Plague, so after 400 years of constant reinforcement, the Serenade Spiritual Energy Boundary System is already the top tier of the continent in terms of defense alone, and while the third Black Plague plagued half of the continent, Cadman City held out until the end of the Black Plague, which is a good indication of Serenade’s power.

The Golden Bird Flower Kingdom never wanted to directly raid this place during the Ten Year War, also because of its existence.

The entire boundary consisted of seven underground hubs and a core hub placed underneath the Blood Wyvern Cloister, and once activated it could shape a three-layer psychic energy shield as thick as a city wall, which could not be broken by an enemy who could not drain the Transylvania region of psychic energy.

However, Murphy, the exact locations of the seven underground hubs are top secret, known only to a select few, including myself, and yet they were shut down almost simultaneously before the Astral Tear occurred.”

Femis’ expression was devoid of sadness or joy.

But Murphy clearly felt the tangle and pain inside Missy’s heart, but she remained expressionless, then drew the location on the three points on the map and said:
“While you and your warriors were busy for the past two days, I managed to enter the three underground hubs in the outer city, and I can tell you with certainty that it was because the city boundaries were shut down before the Star Realm Rift was opened, so that the Great Boundaries didn’t collide with the Star Realm energies instead accidentally keeping them safe and undamaged.

Theoretically speaking, as long as you can find the core hub, the entire boundary can be reactivated.

It may not be able to protect the entire city of Cadman again, but it won’t be a problem to protect the ruins of the outer city that you want to keep.

That thing was designed by the original blood mages of the Secret Blood Clan during the era of the Sacred Blood Parade, and it operates by absorbing the free psychic energy between heaven and earth, and doesn’t require an additional energy source.

With it, your new city and your fledgling forces have a territory that won’t fall!”

Missy was obviously using the Serenade Boundary System as a “strategic item” to lure Murphy, but the vampire didn’t take the bait right away, on the contrary, he thought carefully for a few minutes to clear his mind, and then stretched out two fingers and asked:
“Firstly, you said that the location of the seven underground hubs is only known to a few people including you, which means that the level of traitors within the Blood Wyvern is very high, do you have a suspect?
Secondly, if I follow your advice and send people to take over the three underground hubs in the outer city now, it would be the same as me biting your hook and already paying a sunk cost for this thing.

If I don’t want to let the time and effort I’ve put in go down the drain, I’ll have to accompany you on a risky trip to the heavily contaminated Blood Wyvern Cloisters to get the Serenade’s core hubs afterward.

This is the second time you’ve made such a request of me, so what exactly is in the Blood Wyvern Cloister?
Something that can make you even hand over the Blood Wyvern’s strategic items so that you will recognize and help me as a ‘traitor’, but also make it necessary for me to support giving you the manpower and material resources to help you go in and take a look?”

Under his gaze, Phimis was silent for a long moment before reluctantly saying:
“I have to go back to find something related to my ‘parents’, I’m alone and need the group of warriors under your command who aren’t afraid of death to open the way for me, that’s all I can tell you, so, Murph, just tell me straight out do you want the Serenade Boundary?”

Missy obviously wasn’t very good at getting her way through deals.

She wasn’t used to this mode of bargaining conversation.

But she was still struggling to adapt, clumsily trying to lure Murphy with goodies while at the same time pressurizing him again.

She said sincerely:
“With a nod of your head, I can give you this and help you perfect the ‘Great Burning’ program, which I know is bold and practical as you intend to burn flames across the entire city district to dispel the Astral Shadows.

But there’s no way Tris can prepare the fuel on short notice by herself.

Although I’m not a professional alchemist, psychics tend to learn some alchemy knowledge along the way, and Oil of Burning and Blazing Gel aren’t exactly high-level materials, so I can help.

Think it over.

If you can’t take out the underground core before setting it on fire on a large scale, then the flames and the Astral Realm’s psychic energy colliding with each other triggering a drastic change in the psychic energy field will easily cause them to be misaligned and out of balance.

Spiritual energy creations of that grade are tough but also very precise, and once they are shocked out of balance, there’s no way you can adjust it in a short period of time with your current power.”

“Such a good thing, I definitely want it.”

Murphy said as he glanced at the map in Missy’s hand:

“You can go to Tris’s place to help, I’ll emphasize again, after the Star Realm Rift closes, I will definitely use all kinds of manpower and resources to help you enter the Blood Vulture Cloisters, but you will also have to help me stabilize the situation after that in your capacity as the Blood Vulture Clan’s eldest lady.

The Blood Vulture Clan has ruled here for 400 years, and with your endorsement, the superstitious and pugnacious people of this great land will be more willing to submit to the new order.”

“Deal!”

Missy let out a long breath, she was very satisfied with the result and said to Murphy:

“Last step, you take an oath.”

“Good.”

Murphy raised his finger rather indifferently and said:

“In the name of the Mother of Darkness…”

“No, you have no devotion to the Mother of the Night, so I demand that you swear in the name of Tris, in that most vicious and deliberate of oath sentences for a vampire.”

Femis stared at him as she made her last request, which caused Murphy’s gaze toward her to turn sour.

But Missy didn’t budge one bit.

The silent but smart rich loli had acutely noticed the bond between Murphy and Trixie that depended on her, and she knew exactly what was most important to Murphy.

“I, Reverno Murphy Le Sombra, hereby swear that if I fail to keep the promise I made to Phineas Cecilia Le Sombra, then my venerable Lady Tris will suffer sunburn until her soul returns to eternal silence.”

Murphy finished the short but discreet oath word for word, and Missy dryly handed him the map in her hand before crossing over to Murphy and heading towards the alchemy table where Tris was.

After taking a few steps, she stopped and turned back to Murphy:

“You don’t have to worry about my presence interfering with the new power you seek to establish, Murphy, the family has withered to the point where I don’t want to start a conflict with you.

It is in my heart.

The truth of the matter is that I can assure you that after doing my part, I will leave!

This earth will be yours from now on, as long as you can keep it under the pack of wolves, and then perhaps for the rest of our lives we will not even see each other again.”
—
What was once the village of Moorland had become a dead grave, a name and description that didn’t really matter considering the small group of players had buried the place in a pit before they left, and yet even if it had only just been almost a week, something unnamable had still happened to the village that had gone through terrible things.

Old Finok, who had traveled all the way here almost without rest, and the thirty elite witch hunters under his command were resting here.

For the past three days, they had spent their time on galloping warhorses, and the witch hunters who had been strengthened by natural psychic energy could control their organs and physiological cycles, allowing them to not even need to go to the toilet, and to eat and snooze on their horses.

It hadn’t been difficult for them, but for Major Fraser it had been quite a grueling journey, even if he had been at war for ten years. He would be sitting by the campfire constantly rubbing his large crotch, no longer caring about maintaining his comportment or the fact that there were several other witch hunters around him laughing at him.

“Ah, shit!”

The Major cursed under his breath.

He had thought he had seen all kinds of suffering in the war, but he had underestimated the everyday life of the witch hunters.

“Use this.”

The old knight tossed a small bottle to the young major, whispering as he nibbled on the bland but nourishing dry food:

“Find a deserted place to apply it on your leg and that gun of yours, it will quickly reduce the swelling to avoid the abrasion from worsening, don’t worry, Honorable Major, we’ve already arrived at the place, we don’t have to work so hard next.”

“But this is still a day’s journey from Cadman City.”

Major Fraser fought back the stinging pain coming from his inner thigh as he whispered:

“Are you planning to camp here? Would that be too cautious?”

“No, this place is perfect.

The secret cultivated hunting war ponies can ensure that we will be close to Cadman City within four hours, the next thing to do is to scout rather than attack directly, and we will also rest here for a day or two to refresh ourselves.”

The old knight explained:

“Of course, you are a non-combatant, I will send someone specifically to protect you .”

“Battle Leader! Ghouls have appeared in the village.”

Veteran Norman walked quickly to the campfire and said in a deep voice to Old Norfolk:
“Those unprofessional crazy guys buried hundreds of corpses directly into the pit, causing that ghoul’s nest to extend underground on a very large scale, this place needs to be thoroughly cleaned up, sprinkled with potions and then incinerated with fire.”

“There’s no convergence point for death psychic energy in Transylvania! Where did the ghouls come from?”

The old knight said in surprise:
“Is it confirmed to be naturally born and not lured by filth?”

The veteran, who wore an iron mask to hide the gruesome scars on his face, nodded and said:

“Natalie and Ambo have checked and there is no residue of evil magic, Potter found old Joe at the entrance to the nesting hole of those ghouls, he hadn’t been transformed but the remains had”

“Old Joe, I remember him, great shooter, quiet, lost his family at the beginning of the Ten Years War.”

The Lord of White Oak sighed and waved his hand:
“We’re on a mission, we can’t waste too much time here with the ghouls, blowing up the nest should seal them off for now.

Team Two!

You guys go take a look around Cadman City, and if you can, grab two tongues and ask about the situation.”

Several of the older hunters on the outskirts of the campfire rose in silence, and with the sound of their warhorses stamping the earth, they soon disappeared from Major Fraser’s gaze.

It wasn’t the first time the major had been in Transylvania, and it wasn’t the first time he had fought alongside witch hunters, but it was really the first time he had learned what the witch hunters would deal with in their day to day.

On this continent, there was always an “interval” between ordinary soldiers like the Major and the real extraordinary forces protecting them.

This “interval” used to be called the Church of Avalon, but now it is called the “Tower of the Ring”.

“I heard that ghouls are scary? There are similar legends in the Anjou region, where they are said to crawl out of the catacombs at night, steal corpses and chase and eat any unlucky person who sees them.”

The Major asked in a low voice as he sat next to the old knight:

“Is this the kind of thing you guys usually deal with?”

“Ghouls that can only chew on people indiscriminately and have no intelligence are far from scary, Major, they’re no more of a threat when they’re alone than even the jackals that go around looting things.

Especially in the dark lands of Transylvania, where a brave farmer could dispose of a single ghoul with a grass rake.

This great land of misfortune and calamity has nothing but vampires that dare claim to be scary.

Except, of course, for those ghostly things that lurk in the depths of the foul swamps further south.”

The old knight chuckled lowly.

He stared at the campfire in front of him and said:
“I’ve been here before, in my youth, and that was over a hundred years ago, when the Blood Vulture Clan was at its peak, and you can’t imagine what a wild night we had here.

There were a whole 500 of us when we came, and only seventeen left when we went back.

And I was one of them.

The Transylvania region has always been the poisoned heart of the continent!

It’s superstitious, dark, crazy, closed and barbaric, but it has its own order, and really, I’m glad I was able to see the Blood Wyverns go down with my own eyes.

Also, don’t be unnecessarily curious about the dystopian madness of our world, Fraser.

Those evil spirits of the darkness will smell your curiosity and follow, and they will pounce out of your nightmares and mess up your otherwise perfect life.

You don’t belong here, or in the realm where we are.

So take notes and think of this as one of your life’s fantastical adventures, and when it’s all over go back to the world in the sunshine and live well, and continue the story of today to your grandchildren by the fireplace decades from now.

That’s the kind of life a young man with the last name Carpe should have.”

“I think you’re underestimating my courage! Old man.”

Major Fraser said with some irritation:
“My past experiences have taught me that there’s nothing a bullet can’t fix, even a ghoul or a vampire.”

“Well, it does.”

The old knight patted him on the shoulder and smirked:

“That’s what everyone thinks until you see with your own eyes the crazy stuff you can’t solve with all your bullets . Get your ass in gear and apply the medicine! Don’t worry about the face.

If you ever wanted a kid in your life.”

(End of chapter)