Volume 4 – Perpetual Conflict, Chapter 51: The Storm of Investigation
This Evernight Council member who had once suffered greatly in the hands of the Red Spider Lily said coldly, “Impossible! Is there a need to use the Red Spider Lily to kill a mere viscount? Its wielder has to pay a portion of his life for each activation. The empire had finally found a compatible wielder after so many years, how could they waste it like this?”
The arachne count began to sweat under Ge Shitu’s gaze and replied with a trembling voice, “This-this subordinate doesn’t know either. But the results of the post-mortem inspection did-did indeed say that it’s the Red Spider Lily.”
Ge Shitu’s face turned cold. He let out another snort, suddenly reducing the temperature in the entire hall.
Even as a member of the Evernight Council, he had been heavily injured by a shot from the Red Spider Lily. From this, it was evident just how powerful the Ten Grand Magnums were. A gun with such a heavy activation price was actually used to deal with a mere viscount. This made Ge Shitu feel rather humiliated.
Another council member interrupted before Ge Shitu could become further enraged. “It’s not important how Zalen died. It’s apparent that he died in the hands of the Zhao clan. Zalen was found far from the area designated to him by the great master. His death is deserved since he was operating without permission. The current issue is how to find the Wings of Inception.”
The council members began to discuss the issue one by one, but there was no effective solution.
Someone asked, “Perhaps the Wings of Inception have already left the area. Should we have the great master grant us another prophecy?”
The most majestic shadow in the hall shook his head and said in a deep voice, “The previous prophecy has drained the master greatly. He’ll need at least three years to recuperate. One must know that this prophecy involves the great Black-Winged Monarch. The price for such a prophecy is naturally colossal.”
Prophecy was a mysterious and powerful ability, but it wasn’t omnipotent and had many limitations to it. The stronger the character involved, the more difficult it was to form a prophecy and the greater the rate of error.
Each prophecy related to someone as powerful as the Black-Winged Monarch was equal to doing battle with his power across space even though he had been missing for thousands of years. Great Master Weber was gravely wounded after forming the last prophecy despite being a veteran member of the Evernight Council. Additionally, the contents were fairly vague and could only point to a vast region.
The hall fell into silence. Looking for the Wings of Inception would be like searching for a needle in a haystack without the help of prophecy. At the very least, no one would’ve thought that the Wings of Inception which had disappeared from Evernight Continent would actually appear on Fire Beacon Continent if not for the prophecy.
Amidst the silence, a certain council member slowly said, “What does the Wings of Inception look like?”
All the council members glanced at each other after hearing these words. They had never thought about this because this was never an issue.
The Wings of Inception carried the Black-Winged Monarch’s aura. Although quite weak, to them, this aura was like an incomparably brilliant star in the darkness. Yet now they realized that even a marquis wouldn’t have the ability to discern Andruil’s aura. Only council members with strength akin to the oceans would be able to do so.
Originally, this problem didn’t stand out because the great master had, after all, demarcated the area in which the Wings of Inception was located through prophecy. But now, it had become an unavoidable issue after failing to obtain a second prophecy.
A certain werewolf council member said coldly, “According to the current situation, only a descendant of Andruil can receive the Wings of Inception and his bloodline has to be even purer than Nighteye’s. As such, let’s investigate along this lead. First, we should inspect all the members of the Monroe clan...”
Two vampire council members were immediately infuriated. “You’re provoking the ancient Monroe clan!”
The werewolf council member didn’t seem afraid in the least and smiled sarcastically. “Is the honor of a single Monroe clan more important than the whole assembly? It doesn’t matter if you lot aren’t willing to undergo an inspection, but the remuneration for our tribe has to be paid in full, not a single crystal coin less.”
“You!” The two vampire council members were so furious that their faces turned ashen.
The entire Evernight Council had been mobilized for this operation and, consequently, the expenditure was rather enormous. The original agreement was that the Wings of Inception would go to the vampires while the vampires would compensate all the other races.
But now, they would have to pay the agreed compensation despite the whereabouts of the Wings of Inception being unknown. This would be a difficult thing to manage for the Ross clan, even with its deep foundation and accumulated resources.
The leading dignitary said coldly, “Stop bickering. Obtaining the Wings of Inception is of utmost importance. We cannot let it fall into another’s hand like the ‘Shattered Moment!’”
All the council members trembled after hearing this.
Shattered Moment was also one of ten Grand Magnums. It fell into the hands of a young vampire genius of humble origins about three hundred years ago. He eventually defected from the Evernight faction and joined a neutral faction because his lover was snatched away by the descendants of the Mammon clan. Thus, the Shattered Moment also fell into the hands of the neutrals.
During the last three hundred years, this ex-vampire genius had roamed the various continents like a specter and continuously killed the higher-ups of the Evernight Camp. In total, two council members and three dukes had actually died to the Shattered Moment! This grand magnum thus became an unextractable thorn in the hearts of the Evernight Council members.
The hearts of the council members naturally trembled when Shattered Moment was brought up again. The Wings of Inception was Andruil’s masterpiece and it hadn’t even been completed when it was lost. According to the Black-Winged Monarch’s own assessment, if such a divine weapon were to mature, it would surpass at least half of all the Grand Magnums. So much so that it might even vault over the leading Magnum.
At this time, the great dignitary slowly said, “Issue this command: From now on, all vampires who enter the Flaming Beacon Continent will undergo inspection. Especially young vampire geniuses; all of them will be inspected thoroughly no matter who they are!”
This command wasn’t giving face to the vampires at all. The faces of the two vampire council members were extremely ugly, but they had no way to retort.
If the Wings of Inception were to drift out and mature, the damage it might cause to the Evernight faction would probably be even greater than that of Shattered Moment. It would be even more unbearable if by some chance it fell into the empire’s hands. This might actually break the current strategic balance.
Finally, the council members reached consensus and the new order was immediately issued to all parts of the continent.
This immediately set off waves of unrest in the dark race territories on Flaming Beacon Continent. Many of the young vampires were geniuses of their clan or even a whole region. However, they had now become suspects that were being hunted down and brought to designated areas for isolated inspections.
These young vampire geniuses were, more often than not, proud and arrogant. Relying on the power of their clans and their own talents, they either refused to pay attention to the Evernight Council’s orders or felt that they could at least struggle.
In the past, such actions would have posed no problems and would have even won them some respect, since the dark races revered strength so much that their hierarchy was constructed upon it. Additionally, the law enforcement group dispatched by the council was all made up of arachne and werewolves—there were no vampires among them.
In the eyes of most vampires, the arachne and werewolves were like half-wild beasts, even though they recognized the valiance of these two races. The young vampire geniuses were thus even more intolerant of having to lower their heads before these savage races.
But this time, these young vampire geniuses had made a grave mistake. The law enforcement team from the Evernight Council performed their duties without the slightest leniency. Those who resisted were met with an utter and bloody suppression.
Within a single day, numerous proud and untamed vampire youths died in the hands of the law enforcement unit, while many others were badly injured.
This batch of vampire youths comprised the future core members of their respective clans. As such, this matter immediately caused huge tidal waves among the vampires of the Western Continent. Many high-ranking vampire nobles either personally rushed towards the law enforcement unit’s encampment, or elected a certain count or even marquis to make an appearance and demand an explanation.
However, the protesting vampire nobility left with ashen expressions soon after entering the law enforcement unit’s camp. Before long, news spread in every clan that the order to inspect all young vampire geniuses came from one of the Seven Great Dignitaries of the Evernight Council with the consent of ten-odd council members.
The weight behind such an order was so great that perhaps only the chairman of the Evernight Council might be able to overrule it.
Qianye, however, knew nothing about the storm brewing across the continent under his feet. He also had no idea that this order had caused the gazes of all the major characters to fall upon the young vampire geniuses, especially those from the main branch of the Monroe clan.
The information regarding Qianye was completely overlooked during this whole incident. The dark race reports stated that chasing after him was the reason Zalen had left his designated area, while that Lone Ghost assassin who had died in Zalen’s hands was mistaken for Qianye.
An extravagant vampire airship of great magnificence, decorated with alternating black and gold colors, was flying silently through the vast emptiness.
A group of vampires was currently gathered in a great hall on the upper deck of this airship, chatting in groups of twos and threes with wine glasses in hand.
As they gazed out from the side-windows, the silhouette of a great continent came into view. It was Twilight Continent, the headquarters and legendary birthplace of the vampires.
A certain young lady whose looks were perfect and free from all blemish, was standing by the window and gazing at the distant continent.
At this time, another vampire girl walked over and said, “Nighteye, stop gazing into space. Why not come and tell us about your experiences with the treasure of Andruil?”
The one who was standing beside the window was indeed Nighteye. After hearing the invitation, she only revealed a faint and tired smile. “No, I’m rather tired. I want to stay quietly alone.”
The vampire girl nodded and returned to the group of young vampires to once again join their conversation.
The recent major events involved the opening of the Black Monarch’s treasure and the loss of the Wings of Inception. The strength of the great monarch and this divine instrument comparable to the Ten Grand Magnums were the focus of discussion for the hot-blooded youths of the vampire race. As they kept on chatting, the topic of discussion naturally shifted towards this matter.
“I heard Twilight rushed to open the great door but failed and was so badly wounded that she almost fell from champion rank.”
“Indeed. How can she compare with Her Majesty Nighteye? After all, the latter is a true primo. This isn’t something that can be said of all geniuses.”
“But didn’t the Wings of Inception fly away? Could it be that there’s someone in this world with a bloodline closer to Great Monarch Andruil than Her Majesty Nighteye?”
The group of young vampires discussed the matter with great passion. They were all born of noble backgrounds and their strengths were also well-known among their peers. Thus, they possessed a fair degree of authority by which they were able to obtain such information not privy to those on the outside world. They even knew a fair number of details about the opening of Andruil’s treasure.
When mentioning Nighteye, however, they subconsciously lowered their voices.