Chương 100: Vampires and Red Dragons

The northern border of the empire.

Nestled among the mountains of Ronia, within the infamous Red Moon Castle.

A vampire with an eyepatch over his left eye, carrying a letter, walked through a windowless corridor where every crack in the bricks reeked of a sweet, bloody stench, and arrived at a hall with a dome so high it was almost absurd.

He respectfully handed the letter to the long-haired man in a white tuxedo standing in the center of the hall, then bowed and said, "Your Grace, the shapeshifter sent word that he has discovered traces of Princess Isabella of the Empire on the north side of the Miracle Plains—but after sending this message, he lost contact with us—"

"Looks like they've been caught. Heh, that little princess is not to be underestimated."

The Duke, or rather, the vampire Grand Duke Lucian Nocturne, smirked slightly. After reading the letter, he casually waved his hand, causing it to turn to ash and dissipate into the air.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we can confirm that they went north and not south, that's enough for us."

"Vispera, you should go there yourself."

"Although I really want to see the little princess, the old men of the empire are keeping a close eye on me, and I just can't get away. I can only leave this matter to you."

The blindfolded vampire immediately straightened up.

"Rest assured, my lord, I will immediately mobilize manpower to set up defenses north of the Miracle Plains. We will definitely be able to completely sever Conrad's bloodline!"

Lucian nodded, but then shook his head and asked, "If they go north, they'll most likely pass through Longspear Fortress—I remember we had some preparations there before?"

"That's true, but the setup isn't complete yet, so it might be difficult to activate."

"I see. Take that half of the flute from the treasure vault. With it, everything should be fine."

The eyepatch-wearing vampire widened its remaining eye: "My lord, are you sure you want to use it?"

Lucian waved his hand with a smile: "Why not? It's been sitting here with me for decades, serving no purpose whatsoever. Rather than letting it gather dust, I might as well do something with it."

"I see."

The blindfolded vampire had no further questions, gave a final bow, and left the hall.

We hadn't gone very far.

With a thud, a naked female corpse, its joints twisted beyond recognition, was thrown in front of him.

Behind the corpse stood a towering, burly man who tossed his long, flowing red hair and chuckled at the eyepatch-wearing vampire, "Your blood slaves are far too weak to handle—" No one could withstand being treated so rudely by a red dragon!

Are you beasts so unable to control your desires?

The blindfolded vampire's lips twitched, but remembering the other's status as an ally, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and said to the burly man, "I'm sorry I couldn't satisfy you, but we have many blood slaves in our dungeon, you can choose a new one anytime—" The burly man raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Aren't you going to lead the way for me?"

The eyepatch-wearing vampire slightly raised his chin: "I have other things to do, and—we are merely your allies, not your servants."

After saying that, he ignored the burly man and left the corridor.

The burly man stood with his hands on his hips, giving a disdainful smile.

"Hahaha, not much skill, but quite a temper, just like my silly little sister—never mind, if I can't find you, I'll go find your master directly. Hey, Lucian—" Before his laughter had even faded, he strode into the hall.

Soon after.

Thousands of kilometers west of Red Moon Fortress lies the hilly region north of the Miracle Plain.

Realizing that danger was nearby, Richard and his companions quickened their pace.

With Jon's wind-generating magic and the Holcher warriors' vigorous rowing, they arrived at the designated port several hours ahead of schedule. After disembarking, they only rested for half a night before continuing their journey under the starlight.

Exhaustion and tension created a somber atmosphere within the group, with even the few conversations being drowned out by the clatter of hooves.

It's easy to imagine that Grace disliked this atmosphere.

So halfway there, she created a mental link with Richard, forcibly dragging the poor poet and the not-so-poor Zoya to secretly play a riddle game with her — Right then, it was her turn to pose a riddle: "Ahem, it comes silently and leaves without a trace, hides by day and appears at night, it can blend into mountains and rivers, but cannot tolerate birdsong—guess the word!"

After a moment's thought, Richard answered in his mind, "Night?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zoya's mocking laughter followed: "Ha, how could it be night? You ignorant, foolish poet! Haven't you ever heard birds chirping at night?"

"If you ask me, the answer is very simple: it's the Pegasus!"

"They're the only ones that appear at night, silently, and are especially afraid of roosters crowing! What do you think, Grace? Am I right?"

When Grace first pulled Zoya into the conversation, she was very uncooperative, only thinking about taking the opportunity to scold Richard.

But after a few minutes of yelling, Richard didn't respond, so she lost interest and tried to make him angry by guessing his riddle.

After guessing, she would come up with her own riddles, and then guess again. Finally, after stumping Richard and Grace with riddles once each, she became unusually enthusiastic, to the point that she now answers quickly and asks follow-up questions.

However, Grace did not do as she wished; instead, she smiled and shook her head.

"You're all wrong, the answer is a dream."

Richard and Zoya: "Hmm~ Well then, I won this round, four to three to two, I'm in the lead again~"

"Damn it! You wait, I'll go first next round! Victory is mine!"

Just as Zoya was getting excited, Holcher, at the front of the group, tightened the reins, turned around, and shouted, "Everyone, we've arrived!"

Grace chuckled and withdrew the telepathic link: "Sorry, game time is over. Let's settle on a score of four to three to two."

"W-what! Wait! You despicable, shameless bronze dragon! And you, you lousy poet, are you just going to let this dragon hold you back? Stop her right now!"

Richard couldn't help but smile as he listened to Zoya's last words.

I've already given up on playing, so why should I stop her?

But to be fair, when it doesn't pose a threat, this red dragon's competitive spirit is quite interesting.

It's good to chat more; it's beneficial for everyone's mental and physical health, and it also saves us from just criticizing me next time we connect.

After thinking all this through, Richard shook the reins, spurred his horse forward, and came to the front of the group, looking up into the distance.

Then he froze on the spot.

At this very moment, as night passed and the sun rose, amidst the drifting colorful clouds, a white castle, seemingly over a hundred meters tall and soaring into the sky, rose from the hills and stood before everyone!

"Longspear Fortress, Longspear Fortress, is that what it means literally? —" >