By the ti Charles woke up again, the sky outside had already brightened. However, he found himself lying on the ground in a dark, gloomy place, completely unable to move.
It wasn't that he didn't want to move; it was simply that he couldn't.
He felt as if he was being crushed under the weight of sothing heavy. His eyes refused to open, his body refused to obey, and even drawing a breath felt incredibly difficult.
It felt as if he had been buried alive!
Right at that mont, the voices of two people conversing reached his ears. "Elder, are we really going to follow their plan?"
"Yes. After all, a thousand years ago, we already clashed with the hounds of The Church. If we cannot defeat them, our days ahead will undoubtedly beco increasingly difficult!"
The voice of the man who had controlled him last night echoed out, causing Charles's heart to clench once more. It was him—the man who had paralyzed him with a single word and plunged him into this crisis!
Who exactly was he? What did they want to do?
Charles didn't know, nor did he have a choice. He could only continue listening to their conversation:
"Elder, our clan should be able to begin the selection of newcors now, right? Many have just awakened and are ravenously hungry..."
"Yes, we can begin the selection of newcors. After all, we have been absent from this world for far too long. Many have never even heard our stories; we need fresh blood to reawaken the clan's power!"
Blood? Charles paused. What did that an? Was it just a figure of speech, or did they an it literally?
"Then where should we start? Should we directly attack a village?"
"Foolish. Can your bodies withstand the bullets of modern weapons? You haven't learned a lick of Thaumaturgy of the Blood, yet you want to attack a village like you would have centuries ago? Use your brains. Target those on the fringes of the city, the unnoticed, and the gangs! Control the dark underworld first, and then slowly plot against The Church!"
"As long as we can occupy the city, everyone inside will beco our blood slaves, just like the Prince of Wallachia did a thousand years ago! The Vampire Race will descend upon the mortal realm once more, and we shall obtain the right of entry into Hell!"
Hearing this, if he still couldn't deduce what these people were, then all the movies Charles had watched in his lifeti would have been completely in vain.
Blood slaves, Wallachia, attacking villages, the Vampire Race, hunger, and blood...
The description of these words directly pointed to a terrifying dark legendary species that was famous throughout the surrounding regions—Vampires!
He trembled uncontrollably with fear, even experiencing a slight loss of bladder control, yet he didn't dare to make even the slightest sound.
It wasn't until the two n completely walked away and he could no longer hear anything around him that his body seed to regain its mobility.
Charles stiffly shifted his fra, feeling the intense soreness and numbness in his limbs. Still, fighting through the exhaustion, he dragged himself outward step by agonizing step.
He had to get out of here. He had to... report everything he had learned here!
He had to go to the great cathedral in Milan. Didn't those people say they had fought The Church for over a thousand years? This was The Church's responsibility!
Dear God, this is too terrifying! The legendary Vampires actually exist?
Furthermore, they even wanted to orchestrate a terrifying terrorist attack right here in this city? With Vampires arriving, wouldn't their city turn into Hell just like Reykjavik did?
...
"Elder, why did you let him leave? He knows our plans and even overheard our discussions..." In the distance, a group of people watched the man leave, and soone asked in confusion.
"Yes, Elder! If he is even slightly smart, he might report this straight to a Church. In two hours at most, the information from last night and the conversation we just had will reach the current Pope of The Catholic Church in Ro!"
"Wouldn't our plans be completely exposed then?"
The speaker was a young man from the Giovanni clan of this generation—an outstanding three-hundred-year-old youth of the Vampire Race, and also soone the man favored highly.
The man nodded with a smile. "Of course I know, because everything I did was intentional! I deliberately controlled this man and deliberately let him hear those things!"
"You did it on purpose? What do you an?" the young vampire asked, bewildered. "Are you reporting to The Church on behalf of our clan? Are you betraying our race?"
"What race? You acknowledge them as the sa race, but they don't! Sotis, those people act as if they want to prove we aren't even of the sa species!" the elder spat viciously, his words brimming with resentnt and bitterness. "You are still young. You have no idea just how deep the contradictions between the various clans truly run!"
Hearing this, the young vampire was stunned. "With such massive contradictions, he still paid such a heavy price to bring us here?"
"Bring us here... yes, bring us here! Then let ask you, what city is this?" Hearing the young man's words, the Giovanni clan elder asked.
"Milan, the territory of the Toreador clan..."
"Exactly. Milan, the territory of the Toreador clan! But at the sa ti, it is a holy site of Christianity. It is the Catholic Church's second most important city on this planet, second only to the Vatican!" the elder declared. "So, would their Toreador clan's Prince truly be so kind as to pay such a massive price to invite us here just to tell us these ancient secrets?"
"If he had a choice, handling it himself would yield far greater benefits and prestige, wouldn't it?"
"You an..." Hearing this, the young man slowly began to realize the implications!
"It's very simple. When judging situations, do not look at what they say, nor at what they do. Look at exactly why they are doing it!"
"The Church will definitely reclaim this land of Milan because it is one of their holy sites. Pope Mario frequently travels to Arica. Is it really just to leave a good impression on those who have received Divine Gifts?"
"Or is it because he is fawning over the power of those people? Would a heavyweight figure who once championed liberation Theology do such a thing?"
"Impossible! During this period, nearly half the people in the entire Vatican have gone to Arica. What did they go there for? To go sightseeing at holy sites?"
"Or were they inherently seeking power all along? To seek out the power that originally belonged to them?"
"So, what do you think The Church, having acquired power and returning to their promised land, will do upon discovering the Toreador clan hiding here?"
The elder spoke indifferently, using just a few sentences to thoroughly dissect the current situation.
This series of analyses caused the heart of the Giovanni clan's young man to skip a beat. He instinctively guessed, "Once they have power, they will definitely purge the Vampire Race here, perhaps even purging the Vampire Race across this entire realm!"
"Yes. But right now, their people haven't returned yet, and those powers belonging to The Church haven't appeared. If we listen to them and go searching for those so-called successors of The Church to slaughter and purge, we will absolutely draw The Church's attention!"
"When that ti cos, the ones bearing the pressure of The Church won't be those vampires near Ro, Milan, and Sicily, but the Vampire Race across all of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa! In other words, our clans!"
The elder spoke with an apathetic expression. "Back then, they used this exact thod to scatter the Combat Power of the three major Knightly Orders, allowing themselves to survive in Milan! They even pushed themselves onto the throne as the leaders of the thirteen clans!"
"It has been so many years, and their thods still haven't changed. But we are no longer willing to play along!"
"Are our clans just ant to be scapegoats for the Toreador clan? How could there be such a good deal!"
"Using our blood to exchange for their living space, prestige, and benefits?"
The elder's eyes narrowed. "I also heard so even more interesting news. The entire Toreador clan in Milan is retreating! Their words tell us to fight, but they themselves are pulling back! Guess why. Could it possibly be for the future of the entire Vampire Race?"
Once those words were spoken, the young man understood imdiately. "Elder, I understand now. I will definitely ensure Mr. Charles reaches a nearby Church safely!"
As he spoke, he quickly walked away, leaving the handso man standing in place with an expression of utter coldness.
"The thirteen clans are no longer the sa group from two thousand years ago where everyone could cooperate in perfect unity!"
"After certain individuals tore up the covenants and completely destroyed the trust between the clans, there was simply no way to return to the past!"
"At last night's eting, aside from the representative of the Toreador clan, everyone else attended using body doubles. Wasn't it purely out of fear that he would suddenly turn hostile and trap us there?"
"So, wouldn't it be quite nice if the Toreador clan was annihilated right here?"
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