Chapter 376: The Call of Blood
Both stepped into one of the merchant guild’s private rooms. Alexander closed the door behind him, sealing off the noise and panic sweeping through the lobby outside.
"What is your name?" asked Alexander, turning around to face her.
"My name is Carmilla," said the vampire woman, pronouncing each syllable with refined elegance.
"What a beautiful name," said Alexander, giving a calm smile. "My name is Alexander. I asked you to step inside because I can’t do this out there."
Alexander activated his [Vampire King Body] skill. Instantly, his form shifted; his teeth transformed into fearsome, sharp fangs, his eyes ignited with a blood-crimson glow, and a pair of majestic black bat wings unfolded from his back. The unmistakable aura of a true Vampire King flooded the room with suffocating pressure.
Carmilla had no choice but to drop to her knees. Vampires were bound by the hierarchy of bloodlines and could not escape that ancient curse; if they stood before someone of a superior lineage, their bodies were compelled to bow instinctively.
"Good girl, good girl," said Alexander, gently stroking her cheek. "I believe that now that I’ve proven my identity, you can take me to your kingdom, right?"
"I-It’s not that I don’t want to, Your Majesty..." said Carmilla, trembling as she tried to look up, "but those are orders from the Queen..."
Alexander took a step forward, positioning her face directly against his groin. He then bent down, grabbed her by the chin, and pulled her gaze upward to lock her eyes onto his.
"I don’t care who gave you orders," said Alexander in a dark, dominant tone. "You will obey mine!"
At that exact moment, Carmilla’s mind suffered a shock. The mental thrall binding her to her monarch was shattered by Alexander’s overwhelming presence.
Thousands of kilometers away, deep within the nocturnal realm, the Vampire Queen’s eyes flew open as she felt someone snap her control spell.
"They captured Carmilla...!" said the Vampire Queen, consumed with rage. "Who dares...?!"
With her thunderous roar of anger, millions of bats and vampires blanketed the night sky. Emerging from the swarm was the silhouette of a woman with marble-pale skin, glowing crimson eyes, and a lavish black dress. The queen hovered above the night, fixing her glare toward the direction of Plyaro.
"Those damned beastmen will regret laying a single finger on my daughters!" said the Vampire Queen, making the entire forest echo under her terrifying bloodlust.
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Carmilla lowered her head and nodded weakly, trembling from head to toe. She possessed not the slightest defense or resistance against Alexander’s terrifying and immeasurable power.
"I love it," said Alexander, running a hand through her hair with satisfaction. "So come on, lead the way."
Alexander deactivated his [Vampire King Body] skill, feeling his wings retract and his fangs return to normal. He couldn’t risk stepping into broad daylight with that form active; the system’s warning had been explicit: under direct sunlight, the curse would multiply solar damage tenfold, which could inflict severe injuries or kill him outright.
Both exited the merchant guild’s private offices and walked through the lobby. Carmilla walked beside him with her head down, while the merchants present watched them with panic.
Upon reaching Plyaro’s main city walls, the guards posted at the gate recognized Alexander.
"Open the gates for Lord Alexander!" ordered the guard captain, bowing deeply.
The wooden and iron gates began to swing open slowly. Seeing this, a group of enraged and desperate merchants huddled near the entrance rushed forward to protest.
"What is the meaning of this?!" shouted the lead merchant, pointing in anger. "We’ve been trapped here for hours! We were told no one could leave the city under any circumstances!"
"This is an outrage!" yelled another merchant behind him. "Why do you let that guy leave with the vampire envoy while keeping the rest of us penned up like cattle?!"
The guard captain drew her sword and confronted the crowd alongside her soldiers, shoving them back brutally with their shields.
"Shut your mouths if you want to keep your heads!" roared the captain, striking the loudest merchant in the chest with the pommel of her sword and knocking him to the ground. "Mayor Lyssandra’s orders are absolute. Lord Alexander has free passage in every corner of this city. One more step and you will all be executed for treason!"
The crowd backed off in absolute terror, restrained by the guards’ sudden violence.
Alexander didn’t even bother looking back. He crossed the threshold of the wall with Carmilla at his side, stepping onto the path leading into the dense shadows of the eastern forest.
Carmilla burst into a full sprint along the forest trails. Even though Alexander maintained an accelerated pace, the vampire moved at a prodigious speed; her natural capabilities and vampiric skill temporarily surpassed the base movement speed of his human form.
"Tch... too slow" said Alexander with a cold smirk.
Without hesitation, Alexander activated [Vampire King Body] once more. Using the dense foliage to move strictly through the shadows of the trees and avoid direct sunlight, his speed multiplied. In the blink of an eye, he caught up to Carmilla blew past her, and left her far behind within seconds, leaving a trail of gale-force wind in his wake.
Carmilla skidded to a halt atop the branch of an ancient tree, her eyes wide and her breath hitched as she watched Alexander’s silhouette up ahead.
"S-So this is how strong a true Vampire King is...?" said Carmilla, her heart pounding at a breakneck speed. "He is on an different level than any of us..."
Night fell after several hours of non-stop travel. As the sun sank below the horizon, Alexander stopped exercising caution regarding the tree shade. With every passing second and as the moon climbed higher into the sky, he could feel cosmic energy surging through his body, raising his power output to overwhelming heights.
Alexander’s presence grew so crushing and imposing that the very air of the forest vibrated. Not a single magic beast or creature of the night dared approach within a ten-kilometer radius; the fiercest monsters in the region fled in absolute panic and chaos, seeking refuge far away from the oppressive bloodlust radiating from the Vampire King.