The First Vampire

The babbling stream suddenly froze.

The arcane runes hidden at the bottom of the stream appeared, emitting dazzling light, reflecting against the hanging silver moon.

The Emperor Saruman, bathed in moonlight, opened his mouth wide, making a silent roar.

It was a trap!

Emperor Saruman struggled fiercely, but at this moment he was at his weakest, trying his best but still unable to break free from the binding of the magic array.

Strands of black light scattered from Emperor Saruman’s body, sharp screams vaguely audible within.

The pupils of Emperor Saruman split open once more, golden specks densely covered the originally black pupils, obscuring the light of reason and emotion.

At this critical moment of life and death, Emperor Saruman chose to frenzy once again.

But two frenzies in a short period of time were also a great burden for such a Holy Field Skull-shatterer.

However, his momentum was rising sharply, with the moonlight chains beginning to tremble continuously, as if they would disintegrate at any moment.

However, at this moment, Mr. Ji appeared like a ghost in front of Emperor Saruman, the dagger in his hand shimmering with a purple glow, and stabbed into the chest of Emperor Saruman like lightning.

Roar!!!

The roar of Emperor Saruman was like a hurricane, sweeping across the entire forest.

Sand and stones flew about, the stream flowed backward, and the arcane array hidden at the bottom of the stream dimmed.

The moonlight chains in the air dispersed like flowing sand.

But just as Emperor Saruman finally broke free of his shackles, Mr. Ji had already cut open his chest and reached in to pull out the still beating heart!

The golden light in Emperor Saruman’s eyes dimmed instantly, the madness not belonging to living beings gradually faded, and the light of reason reappeared.

After losing his heart, Emperor Saruman did not die immediately, instead, he recovered from the frenzy state.

He stared blankly at Mr. Ji in front of him, and at the heart that should have been beating in his chest, as if he completely couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“Saruman, you are no longer able to complete your mission, so, I must take back my teacher’s gift,” Mr. Ji said indifferently. The heart in his hand gradually stopped beating, turning from a lump of flesh and blood into something resembling jade.

Emperor Saruman’s consciousness began to blur, but at the last moment of his life, the image of Mr. Ji in his eyes slowly overlapped with another person.

A long-buried memory involuntarily came to mind——

“Saruman, do you want to become strong?”

“Yes!”

“But becoming stronger will have a price…”

“I’m willing to pay any price!”

“And you will have to bear great pain…”

“No amount of pain can stop me from seeking revenge!”

“You might even die…”

“I am not afraid of death!”

“Excellent! Saruman, now go kill the Warsong Tribe’s Chief Shaman, take out his heart!”

“But… my father is the Warsong Tribe’s Chief Shaman…”

“Didn’t you say you were willing to pay any price?”

“I…” The young Saruman looked at the man in front of him, his skeptical eyes eventually replaced by determination.

There was even a hint of barely noticeable madness.

“Okay!”

The innocent voice was drowned out by the blowing wind, but it seemed to have foreshadowed a future full of bloodshed.

…

“My Lord Count!”

“Have you discovered Saruman’s trail?”

“No, we’ve found His Excellency Duke St. Gregorian.”

“Take me there.”

After following the scout cavalry for a while, Colin saw Duke St. Gregorian leaning against an elm tree.

Her complexion was extremely pale, and her body was covered in various wounds, creating a heart-wrenching sight.

Colin dismounted, hurriedly passing her a water bag filled with deer blood.

After guzzling down the contents of the water bag, some color returned to Duke St. Gregorian’s face.

Looking at the Holy Knight covered in wounds, Colin couldn’t help but feel guilt, quickly expressing his sincere thanks:

“You have worked hard!”

Duke St. Gregorian turned to look at Colin, laughing as she said:

“I should be the one thanking you. If not for you, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to fight so freely against Saruman. It’s a pity, I still couldn’t kill him.” ʀåŊȎBΕŠ

“He won’t get away.” Colin reassured her, then quickly scanned their surroundings, confusedly asking, “Where is Prince Lexie?”

“I lost too much blood earlier and couldn’t move. Prince Lexie left to pursue him.” She then pointed in the southwest direction, “He went that way…”

Just as she finished speaking, an ominous beam of light shot out from the low-hanging moon, directing attention towards Duke St. Gregorian’s pointed direction.

Colin immediately stood up, saying:

“You rest here for a while, I will go after him…”

“I’m already much better, let’s go together.”

Without waiting for Colin’s refusal, she leaped onto Colin’s war horse.

Unable to refuse, Colin also climbed onto the horse, holding onto Duke St. Gregorian’s slim waist, and galloped towards the direction of the moonlight explosion.

…

Meanwhile, the Emperor Saruman, whose heart had been gouged out, finally collapsed on the ground, lifeless.

His eyes remained wide open, revealing boundless regret and unwillingness.

He died with his eyes open.

Mr. Ji, who was nearby, was gingerly placing the heart into a wooden box. But soon after, he seemed to sense something and instantly turned around.

Upon seeing the newcomer’s face, Mr. Ji relaxed slightly and said with a smile:

“Prince Lexie, your arrival is timely. There is a huge merit here waiting for you to claim.”

Prince Lexie glanced at Emperor Saruman’s corpse, but his gaze soon fixed on the wooden box in Mr. Ji’s hand, asking in a deep voice:

“Mr. Ji, do you plan on explaining all this to me?”

Mr. Ji chuckled and retorted:

“Why should I explain to you?”

Prince Lexie slowly approached, his expression darkening: “I thought you were a human, a descendant of the Holy Knight Family at the very least. Even though you might have held a grudge against the past or the Royal Family, you should not betray the Empire!

But I never expected, you actually colluded with outsiders…”

“Collusion?” Mr. Ji replied, shaking his head. “Not at all. It’s merely utilitarian. Just like how I used the Trolls to invade the North Territory.

These outsiders are nothing but my chess pieces, never my partners.

The only ones worthy of being my partners are humans.”

Here, Mr. Ji sneered: “You were once considered my partner. Unfortunately, the moment you ignored my advice back in Luwal Valley and recklessly interfered with the battle, you lost the qualification to cooperate with me.”

Prince Lexie scoffed, replying:

“You were never my partner, and you certainly don’t have the right to tell me what to do!”

Undeterred by Prince Lexie’s rudeness, Mr. Ji just pointed at Emperor Saruman’s corpse and said with a smile:

“As my former partner, I have one last gift for you. This skull of the Orc Emperor is sufficient to clear your tarnished reputation, and make you a hero of the Empire again.”

After saying this, Mr. Ji did not speak further and vanished into the depths of the forest with a few moves.

Prince Lexie intended to pursue him, but stopped when he heard the approaching hoofbeats from behind.

He then strode over to Emperor Saruman’s corpse and, drawing his sword, cut off the head.

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