t [V6C12 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

The various clans also received a delightful piece of information. It would seem that the rich and overbearing Song clan couldn’t lower their stance to acquire contributions from Song Zining—this was just what the other families were hoping for. They didn’t want the price to be raised by a clan so dest.i.tute that money was the only thing they had left.

With so many people seeking to buy contributions, there were naturally people who thought of investing in this future martial G.o.d. Some suggested putting their combat squads under Song Zining’s command to have them fight alongside Dark Flame and split the contributions according to performance. All kinds of generous conditions were proposed.

Song Zining’s att.i.tude toward these suggestions was extremely good; he didn’t refuse anyone at all. Soon, a dozen or so combat squads had appeared in Blackflow City with more on the way.

At this moment, Qianye had already entered the Zhao clan war zone and was making his final pit stop at a transit base. He was immediately relieved after receiving this news. Song Zining had struck two birds in one stone by tying the various aristocratic families to his chariot. His safety levels had been raised significantly, be it against the dark race army in front or the Nangong family at his back.

As such, Qianye was finally able to shed his worries as he traced Zhao Jundu’s route of advancement, stepping onto a new expeditionary path.

News considered good to Qianye might not make everyone else happy, and the Far East Wei Clan heir who had been guarding the Everwinter Stronghold alone was one of them. He would fly into a rage every time he received news of Song Zining. Later on, the entire fortress could hear their young master spewing profanities.

“d.a.m.n his grandma, what the h.e.l.l?! If this general were on Evernight Continent, there’d be no room for that sissy to gain so much attention!” At the mention of his hated rival, Wei Potian couldn’t help but send the table flying with a stomp.

The war between the Far East Province and the dark races had been going on for over a year. Even for such a big event like the Iron Curtain, the Wei clan had only dispatched two token units to Evernight. Naturally, the whole empire knew about the battle situation in the Far East Province, and none of the other families moved to disrupt them.

Meanwhile, Wei Potian had gone through the baptism of countless battles and broken through to the champion rank. Not only did he rack up military contributions, but he was also promoted to a brigadier general in Broken-Winged Angel. This meant that, after the war in Far East Province, he would have the authority to lead an independent army corps, albeit an ordinary one.

Just like that, Wei Potian was tied down with the important duty of defending Everwinter Stronghold while Song Zining was flexing his muscles on Evernight. This was the most important strategic point in the Jade Gate Pa.s.s which connected the Far East Province to the dark race territories.

After a protracted and evenly matched contest, the dark race army had made no progress at all in the Far East Province. This spring after the ice had melted, the Wei clan started fighting back with the support of the empire. Everwinter Stronghold thus became the most important point on the frontlines for the transfer of soldiers and supplies.

Strictly speaking, Wei Potian’s performance during this period was quite good. The dark race army had besieged the stronghold several times but was ultimately defeated by Wei Potian every time. When the stronghold wall had been blasted open, Wei Potian stood guard at the defect and fended off the alternative attacks from five viscount level experts. Finally, the dark races were forced to retreat with their tails between their legs.

Such an accomplishment would be something to write about under normal circ.u.mstances, however, the times were special, and all eyes throughout the empire were on the Iron Curtain battles. The b.l.o.o.d.y battle up to this point had been true to its name—it had turned into a total war with special rules between the two factions, one which affected the hearts of people throughout the empire.

Under the Iron Curtain, every military deed would be magnified. Thus, Song Zining’s brilliance grew as bright as the midday sun, while the Wei clan heir’s meager achievements went unmentioned.

It was fine if it were any other person. For instance, the clan young master cared little no matter how dazzling Zhao Jundu was, but it just had to be Song Zining who was enjoying such limelight. Wei Potian recalled the many things of the past and immediately felt that he had fallen behind. Even when drinking together in the future, he wouldn’t have the face to force Song Zining to chug until he falls dead!

At the thought of this, Wei Potian had the urge to charge out with his army and raid the dark race army a couple of times. However, his Thousand Mountains specialized in defense and was somewhat lacking for breaking through enemy ranks. At this point, General Wei could only sigh while looking at the sky and lament about being unable to do anything.

He was inherently barred from roles that would put one in the limelight.

Evernight Continent, the deepest parts of the Dark Nation. A withered, slightly-built elder was standing atop a ten-thousand-meter mountain peak. He looked just like an ordinary old man at a glance, and even his clothes were only a bit better than a commoner. However, there were a large number of dark race experts standing behind him. Every one of them possessed a powerful aura, yet they were all wearing respectful expressions.

The old man looked into the distance, his gaze traversing thousands of kilometers into the Iron Curtain. Almost the entire Iron Curtain was within his field of vision, and even that forbidden zone at the center was vaguely visible.

The old man gazed on silently for an unknown length of time before saying slowly, “The time is about right.”

All the dark race experts behind watched the old man with rapt attention and bated breaths, afraid that they would miss a single small detail. One had to know that the old man’s every word, every particular syllable, tone, or even an implicit action would affect the structure of the entire Evernight Council.

The old man’s words came to an abrupt stop as he seemingly pondered over a difficult decision.

Moments later, he raised his left hand and pointed at the sky above. “It looks like we need to invite that person over.”

All of the dark race experts were astonished upon seeing the old man’s gesture. The surprise was then followed by deep terror as they lowered their heads in reverence.

The old man swept his gaze over them. “You may return. Prepare well for the upcoming war. It won’t be on a small scale like it is now.”

The group of experts responded in the affirmative, then rose and flew away in all directions. Only the old man was left alone on the isolated peak, standing off against Sky Demon.

In the depths of Twilight Continent, numerous vampires had gathered in a certain valley which was, for the most part, a forbidden ground.

The dozen or so vampires at the front row were of varying appearances. Most of them already had grizzled hair, but every other detail from head to toe was dressed to perfection. Even a cufflink would have to be the masterpiece of a famed craftsman and possessed hundreds of years of history in order to be considered worthy.

Shockingly, all of these vampires were at the level of vice-duke and above. There were even two grand dukes among them. In an age where most princes were in a long slumber, these grand dukes held the highest level of authority among the vampires.

There were different emblems sparkling on their collars—a snake wrapped around a rose, a castle amidst brambles, a crown of flames, a bugle of death, and so on—seven out of the Twelve Ancient Clans were actually present.

Here, even a virtuous marquis could only stand at the back row. They had to keep their heads slightly lowered at this moment despite controlling vast lands normally. As for the counts, they didn’t even have the right to enter this valley.

The valley was completely silent except for the sound of the wind. So many vampire major characters had gathered here, but none of them uttered a sound. It was as though they were waiting for something.

The silence was finally broken by the sound of approaching footsteps. Two figures appeared at the entrance to the valley and walked in with constant, measured footsteps.

The atmosphere in the valley changed suddenly after their appearance. The auras of many vampire bigwigs were suppressed by these two shadows. The s.p.a.ce surrounding these figures was slightly distorted, blurring their image and making it impossible to see their appearances clearly. This was due to their excessive strength affecting the stability of the s.p.a.ce around them.

All the vampires, including the grand dukes, edged back one after the other, clearing a path that led to the very center of the valley.

A marquis in the outer rim trembled all of a sudden as he stared at one of the figures and said in a trembling voice, “Lightless Monarch!”

His voice was just a mumble, but it attracted the attention of the figure on the left who paused slightly to glance back at him. Immediately afterward, a deep, magnetic voice echoed in the minds of all the vampires.

“Ah, Julio. It’s you, that little brat. You were but a young baron when we met back then. You’ve actually become a mighty marquis now. In order to reward your efforts, I’ll give you an opportunity to challenge me three hundred years from now.”

Many eyes fell upon Julio—some of jealousy, and others of schadenfreude—it was impossible to describe all those expressions one by one.

It was at this time that the grand duke from the Perth clan walked out from the crowd to welcome the Lightless Monarch and the other figure who had never revealed his face.

“Honorable Lightless Monarch and Your Respected Highness, please follow me. The ceremony has been prepared.”

The Lightless Monarch nodded and headed toward the center of the valley with his companion. In the air therein was a ma.s.s of constantly rolling darkness.

The grand duke took the lead and jumped into the darkness. The Lightless Monarch and the other mysterious character followed suit and soon vanished.

They reappeared in a certain mysterious s.p.a.ce the next moment.

Here, there was no sky, no earth, only up, down, left, and right. There was only boundless darkness in every direction. The misty darkness floating everywhere in this s.p.a.ce was actually darkness energy—one so intense that it was almost tangible.

Ten-odd chains stretched out from the emptiness and connected to an ancient wooden coffin floating in the air. The chains and coffin were made of the same material. They were covered in wooden patterns that glowed with a metallic l.u.s.ter, accompanied by an aura of the long years. There were ancient, blood-colored runes pulsing intermittently around it.

After arriving within this mysterious s.p.a.ce, the figures of the Lightless Monarch and the other mysterious person were no longer distorted. The latter’s true appearance was revealed—he was demonkin taller than the Lightless Monarch by half a head. His two eyes were shut tight, but a slender third eye with pure, golden pupils was open on his forehead.

The golden vertical eye was a symbol of Demonkin royalty—he was just as calm and at ease even beside the Lightless Monarch Medanzo, the primogenitor of the Dracula clan. He was able to stand with him on equal footing with this bigwig from a clan ranked fourth among the Twelve Ancient Vampire Clans.

But this member of the demonkin royalty placed his hand on his chest and performed a salutation after arriving below the coffin, an expression of sufficient respect and modesty.

“O great Queen of the Night. We apologize for disturbing your long slumber. But now, the Evernight Council requires your power.”