Chapter 246 Sanguinis Clan Conflict 06
"Release him this instant!" Ulrich commanded, channeling his mana to create a blood spear. The blood oozed from Ulrich's hand, shaping itself into a spear with a menacing metallic hue, indicating its strength comparable to tempered steel.
The blood spear shot toward Vlad with breakneck speed, but it was effortlessly halted mid-air by a casual glance from Vlad. The spear then disintegrated into droplets of blood, absorbed effortlessly by Vlad.
"Thanks for the meal. Is there more?" Vlad provocatively asked, his gaze challenging.
Witnessing the unbelievable scene, Ulrich's eyes widened. What he saw surpassed even his worst-case scenario. He knew Vlad would be powerful, but the displayed technique was beyond anything he had imagined.
"What!? ...Absolute blood control!? No! Impossible! Other than our ancestor, there's no way anyone can utilize such a technique!" Ulrich exclaimed in disbelief. However, he had little time to dwell on it as Vlad began absorbing Lysander's blood through his clamped hand.
Noble Blood Vampires and above wouldn't die even if their blood was drained entirely. It left them weak, their bodies dried and mummified, entering a deep hibernation state. In this vulnerable state, a stake to the heart could easily kill them.
Ulrich rushed toward Vlad, materializing his blood into a Zweih?nder, slashing at Vlad's arm in hopes of either making him release Lysander or severing his right arm.
Whoosh!
To Ulrich's surprise, Vlad did retreat, but he transformed into fog along with Lysander, disappearing and reappearing on another side of the room.
"What!" Ulrich was alarmed at this display of skill.
While Ulrich knew that Noble Blood Vampires and above could transform into fog, it was limited to their bodies only. To turn their clothes and belongings into fog, they needed the blood purity of an Elder Vampire or above. Forcing others to transform along with them was an ability possessed only by a specific group.
"You... Sir... Are you an Ancient Blood Vampire? Which clan do you hail from? Lord Ancestor," Ulrich asked with a change in demeanor. Even as enemies, the prestige of an Ancient Blood Vampire couldn't be tarnished. In the face of such strength, respect was due to Vlad.
"In my day, kid, there were just Vampires. No Noble Blood vampires, Elder Blood Vampires, or the mumbo jumbo you call Vampire blood purity. Either you were a Vampire, or you weren't. Strength varied among vampires depending on the individual and their personalities.
Vampire strength could be improved by drinking more blood, consuming enemies, or even old-school training like humans. There was no clear-cut hierarchy of strength and blood purity like these days," Vlad explained to Ulrich, his tone and expression filled with nostalgia.
"Then, I misunderstood. Please pardon my question, as it might seem a bit intrusive toward your privacy, Lord Ancestor, but at what age did you hail from? Victorian? Renaissance?" Ulrich inquired again.
"I think we're from the age you call... the 14th century? I think? It should be the Middle Ages," Vlad answered while still holding Lysander's neck, slowly draining his blood.
As for Lysander, panic set in. He never expected the Vampire in front of him to be an Ancient Blood Vampire. This meant he had unknowingly offended an extremely powerful Vampire. Initially thinking the two came from the Umbra clan due to their ability to use shadows, he discovered that this father-daughter pair could turn into fog.
Moreover, Vlad could force him to transform into fog and bring him along while keeping him captive under Ulrich's watch. Beyond that, Vlad could control blood spears of strong Vampires like Ulrich, indicating an ability to control blood like the Sanguinis clan and wield the power of shadow like the Umbra clan.
He realized that today, each clan had only one special power—Sanguinis, controlling blood, and Umbra, utilizing shadows. Vlad's revelation to Ulrich that he was from the Middle Ages pointed to a seemingly impossible scenario—the individual with the power to control multiple abilities was The Progenitor! Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler!
But that couldn't be right. Vlad Dracula should have been dead for centuries. After a resounding victory against the Ottoman Empire, the Vatican deemed Vlad and his Vampires a threat and launched a massive army consisting only of paladins and knights of peak human strength.
The Vatican succeeded in purging the Wallachian vampires, resulting in Vlad's death and the destruction of his clan. Only some of his knights and close aides who had been turned into vampires survived by escaping while Vlad held the line for them. These survivors turned into original ancient Vampires, becoming ancestors of many powerful vampire clans, especially the leading 5 Clans in Europe.
The Vatican suffered heavy casualties in the war, with most of their elite forces perishing. Only the most powerful Vatican Secret Exterminator Units remained. After the war, the Vatican's military power significantly diminished, preventing them from realizing their ambition to create a theocratic country.
They could only reserve their forces and use missionaries to expand their influence since many of their elite forces had died, and the power of other kings, such as the King of France and the British, resisted them. This left them in a bind, and they could only satisfy themselves with the leading organization in religion.
These thoughts and conclusions circulated in the minds of both Ulrich and Lysander, but they quickly dismissed them. Resurrection belonged to the realm of miracles, not magic. Even for the Vatican, bringing someone back from the dead was an exorbitant and challenging endeavor.
Unlike mages who were somewhat able to coexist with the Vatican, the mages didn't understand the Vatican as well as they, the vampires do, and believed that resurrection was an impossible feat.
However, they were aware that the Vatican could use the resurrection miracle to bring someone back. The five major vampire clans knew this because the Vatican had successfully resurrected Joan of Arc. The reason behind her revival remained unknown to them, however.
This fact was confirmed by the Sanguinis Clan possession of Joan of Arc's blood, acquired through their significant efforts. They paid a hefty price and bribed numerous higher-ups within the Vatican to obtain this blood. In the Sanguinis Clan, they only had a mere 10 ml of Saint Joan of Arc's blood, emphasizing the rarity and value of this substance.
Crash!!
While both Ulrich and Lysander were still in a daze, processing the information Vlad shared, a crashing sound echoed as a man in his mid-40s dropped through the roof, wielding a blood-red zweihander. His speed surpassed even Ulrich.
Pierced!!
The newcomer's zweihander impaled Vlad's heart, securing him to the ground and saving Lysander.
"Lord Patriarch!/Father!" Both Lysander and Ulrich shouted with hope. They anticipated that the swift action of the newcomer, the Sanguinis Patriarch, would finally vanquish Vlad. The next step would be to apprehend his daughter. Regardless of her identity, being the daughter of an ancient vampire from the Middle Ages implied considerable power. Capturing her in the presence of the Sanguinis clan patriarch seemed like a strategic move.
But… before both Lysander and Ulrich could react, the Patriarch raised his hand to halt them.
"No! You two go and wake our lord ancestor up. Without him, we cannot hope to win against an Ancestor Blood Vampire!" The patriarch directed Ulrich and Lysander.
"He's still alive!?" Ulrich blurted out, skeptical that his father's blood zweihander hadn't finished Vlad off, considering it precisely pierced his heart.
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"With just this, it can't even give him an itch! Go!" The Patriarch used his power to push both Ulrich and Lysander through the wall to the outside. The sounds of battle and the exploding roof immediately alarmed the entire clan.
"Hahahaha! HAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
A moment after the two elders left the guest house, a satisfying laugh reverberated within. The laughter started joyous and gradually transformed into a mix of happiness and bloodlust, bordering on insanity.
"That's the spirit! This is what the descendant of Knight Radu would do! Self-sacrifice for the greater good! That's why I commanded him to escape! Instead of letting him stay at my place to hold off the Vatican! That Knight Captain Gerald would have already torn him to pieces!" Vlad's body slowly turned into blood and reformed himself. The new form was without any injury, as if the impalement a moment ago was just an illusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but as expected of the Ancestor Blood Vampire. You won't go down with just this much." The Patriarch called out his blood zweihander, but he couldn't. Instead, Vlad took the zweihander that was impaled into the ground behind him, turned it into blood, and absorbed it into his body.
"That… is great. You really are strong. Even stronger than your son! But this sweetness… hm… perhaps… Do you have half the blood of a human? And a saint at that!" Vlad inquired after tasting the blood of the patriarch.
Hearing Vlad, the patriarch's face turned solemn. This is a secret that not even the elder council knew. He needed to silence this ancient Vampire, or at least, not give him the opportunity to speak of this matter!
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