A cold green aura spread around Aurelianne's body, enveloping her entirely. The atmosphere instantly turned solemn.

  The audience stood frozen like statues, their eyes filled with astonishment.

  Even Augustus couldn't help but gather a trace of indescribable shock in his eyes.

  Necromancer?

  This thought emerged in many nobles' minds.

  Augustus frowned deeply, his heart stirring with turbulent emotions.

  "How is this possible?"

  Aurelianne had only been in the kingdom for a few days. In such a short time, she had mastered necromancy?

  Could it be... she had studied necromancy before?

  But was that possible?

  Duke Balo had never left the kingdom, and she hadn't had any chance to contact the Duke before...

  However, despite people's endless doubts, the undeniable fact remained before their eyes—

  Aurelianne had indeed used necromantic magic.

  Yet no one cheered or marveled at this.

  In the depths of their emotions, they could find nothing but sorrow.

  To escape Augustus's control, the only way was to become undead.

  Looking at Count Cody, whose flesh had burned away leaving only a skeleton, their hearts were filled with gloom.

  And even more despair was yet to come.

  "Your Highness, forgive my frankness," Augustus looked at Aurelianne, speaking in a somewhat peaceful tone:

  "As an Imperial Princess, isn't it inappropriate for you to interfere in our kingdom's affairs?"

  Indeed, this was Augustus's confidence.

  As Imperial citizens, what right did they have to meddle in the affairs of the Kanter Kingdom?

  Even if the kingdom underwent dramatic reforms, completely reshuffling the entire power structure.

  As an Imperial Princess, she had no right to interfere.

  The noble lords were very clear about this.

  Because Aurelianne was not their savior.

  She couldn't save everyone present.

  But Aurelianne didn't want to give up because of this. She stared at Augustus, her voice elegant yet firm, as if coming from another dimension:

  "But you intend to kill everyone here."

  "Kill?"

  Augustus chuckled lightly, his fingertips gently tapping his crossed arms:

  "They won't die. They will merely transform, becoming my loyal subordinates, correctly obeying my rule."

  Aurelianne's gaze slightly tensed, while Augustus suddenly embraced himself.

  As if sighing with emotion:

  "The Blood Clan will accept all of them."

  "At that time, after completing the blood ritual, we will shed our fragile human forms."

  "We! Will become—"

  Before finishing his words, Augustus spread his arms, facing the crimson moon, casting a deep black shadow in mid-air.

  Like a mysterious rune, his words carried a mystical resonance:

  "Immortal."

  Finally, Augustus's blood-colored eyes were completely filled with madness.

  Those thousands of blood slaves were reflected in his eyes, performing their mechanical dance under the blood moon.

  Looking at the completely insane Augustus, Aurelianne completely lost any desire to persuade him.

  The Augustus before her had become a madman consumed by insanity.

  The surrounding nobles wore expressions of despair.

  Though they wished to resist, they were helpless, as everyone around them was Augustus's trusted elite soldiers.

  These elite soldiers would absolutely protect Augustus.

  They didn't care if Augustus would become a vampire, nor did they mind becoming blood slaves after death.

  Even if they ignored these fearless death soldiers.

  Those thousand maddened blood slaves were also beyond their ability to handle.

  More desperate still was the terrifying monster about to be summoned by this ritual.

  At this moment, Aurelianne had also thrown caution to the wind, but the soul flames on her body began to flicker unstably, and that emerald light grew even brighter.

  Dark green mist coiled up from her feet and spread outward.

  Attempting to save every soul that had been turned into a blood slave.

  But...

  She suddenly felt an unusual weakness, as if a fierce wind was passing through her body, stealing her mana.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  The connection between the surrounding mana and the domain of the dead completely dissipated in that instant.

  The soul flames on Aurelianne's body flickered in and out, wavering unsteadily, at risk of extinguishing at any moment.

  At the same time, the soul flame above the deceased Count Cody's head also grew increasingly weak.

  That flame seemed ready to dissipate at any moment.

  Aurelianne tried to draw in the surrounding mana to maintain the soul flames.

  But the mana dissipated like lake water, leaving her standing in a dead marsh with nowhere to go.

  The next moment, the connection between mana and Aurelianne completely broke, and the flickering soul flames on her body completely dispersed.

  Then, her connection to mana was completely severed, and her body, consumed by emerald flames, gradually returned to its normal state.

  The burning flames in her blood-colored eyes also vanished.

  And Count Cody, without the support of the soul flames, was reduced to nothing but a pile of bones scattered on the ground.

  Witnessing all this, Aurelianne felt utterly confused.

  Why had her mana been cut off?

  When she saw Augustus showing no surprise, but rather an expression of having expected this, she suddenly realized something.

  "Do you know why there are so few mages in the kingdom?"

  "Though it's partly because few people study magic, the fundamental reason is this."

  He clapped his hands, and immediately a chaotic sound of footsteps enveloped the entire courtyard.

  Those cold-faced elite soldiers expressionlessly surrounded the entire courtyard.

  And in their hands, each person held what appeared to be an unremarkable black stone.

  When she saw these stones, Aurelianne's eyes widened.

  "This is our kingdom's special product, the Anti-Magic Stone."

  Augustus said calmly:

  "Though they are rare and extremely difficult to mine, with these items, the kingdom will basically have no mages."

  The soldiers put the Anti-Magic Stones back at their waists, and Augustus looked at Aurelianne, speaking slowly:

  "As I said, Your Highness, we don't want to have conflicts with the Empire."

  "So, your safety is absolutely guaranteed."

  He turned back around, facing the bloody red moon.

  "Now, please watch from the side—"

  "This grand banquet."

  As soon as he finished speaking, countless blood slaves, as if receiving some command, all knelt down and began worshipping the blood moon.

  Their heads repeatedly struck the ground.

  Even as blood splattered and bones cracked, they showed no sign of stopping.

  Blood dripped onto the ground covered in ancient runes, and those patterns seemed to come alive, quickly absorbing it, their glow growing brighter.

  The blood slaves withered like dead trees, as if their life force was being extracted by an invisible hand.

  And the blood moon hanging in the sky seemed to sense this strengthening magic, its red light growing more brilliant.

  It illuminated almost every corner of the courtyard.

  The nobles' eyes were filled with fear and despair, as if an even more terrifying beast was devouring them.

  Hilda held Joanna in the courtyard, their two frail bodies appearing particularly helpless under this blood moon.

  Joanna raised her expressionless face to look at Hilda's extremely grave countenance, and asked:

  "Sister, are we all going to die here?"

  Hilda lowered her head, gently stroking Joanna's forehead, softly comforting her:

  "No, none of us will die."

  After saying this, she looked back at Augustus.

  The person who had once been most familiar to her.

  Now, she felt only deep estrangement.

  In the midst of this deathly silence, a huge commotion suddenly erupted from the distant mansion.

  And from the huge mansion in the distance, thunderous sounds suddenly rang out.

  The roof of the building was broken through by red light, and a huge figure soared up, flying straight toward the blood moon.

  Everyone looked up, their eyes widening in shock.

  It was a woman with bat wings.

  But her beast-like fangs and her skin, particularly pale under the blood moon's illumination, appeared especially eerie.

  She slowly floated down from the sky, her huge bat wings almost blocking half of the crimson moon.

  At this moment, Augustus's gaze burned hot, as if seeing his heart's desire:

  "It's you, my queen."

  "My destined..."

  Suddenly, his voice cut off.

  The air seemed to freeze in an instant, as clear footsteps echoing on stairs rang out, bringing about a complete silence.

  At this moment, everyone's gaze couldn't help but turn toward the source of the sound.

  Even Aurelianne couldn't help but widen her eyes, her gaze seeming to light up with hope.

  It was a man wearing a black coat.

  His hands were in his pockets, and everyone instinctively made way for him.

  Until he walked into the crowd, coming to stand before Augustus.

  Viktor's gaze first surveyed the blood-colored figure floating in the sky, then took in the horrifying crimson scene on the ground.

  Finally, he turned his gaze to Augustus.

  Augustus likewise looked at Viktor, raising an eyebrow and revealing a very confident smile:

  "Councilor Kravina..."

  "Your Majesty Augustus."

  Viktor's voice rang out softly, interrupting Augustus's words.

  "You meant to say that we Imperial citizens shouldn't interfere in your kingdom's affairs, right?"

  These were the exact words Augustus had just said to Aurelianne.

  And now, Viktor repeated them.

  Though Augustus didn't know exactly what Viktor meant, he still nodded.

  "That's right, Councilor."

  "Even you have no right to interfere in our kingdom's affairs."

  Viktor stood in the courtyard, his eyes slightly closed, speaking thoughtfully:

  "I see."

  Suddenly, a graceful blue bird slowly flew down from the sky.

  It entered everyone's view, carrying an endless stream of mana.

  Augustus's pupils contracted slightly, extremely surprised.

  "...Mana? This shouldn't be possible."

  The Anti-Magic Stones had sealed all mana in the area, which was why Augustus had been confident when facing Viktor.

  But now, why had a bird made of mana appeared?

  "This is the Nature Bird, a special magic created by Councilor Rachel Azure of our Mage Council."

  After briefly answering Augustus's question, Viktor raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

  In the sky above, the blue bird suddenly projected an illusory screen.

  "Hello? Hmm, can you hear me over there?"

  In the image, a smartly dressed black-haired woman occupied the center of the screen.

  At this moment, she was standing in the Imperial Palace, surrounded by numerous Imperial ministers.

  This sudden development left everyone present feeling extremely confused.

  What exactly was happening?

  "Looks like we're about ready."

  The woman slightly adjusted the screen's angle before stepping away from the lens.

  After she left, the figure sitting on the throne appeared in the frame.

  It appeared to be an elderly man wearing luxurious clothes, with white hair at his temples, bearing a kindly smile.

  But the nobles present froze as if struck by lightning the instant they saw that kindly old man.

  Because everyone present knew the identity of that old man in the frame.

  'The Empire's strongest emperor — Aubrey Sol VIII.'

  Even Aurelianne almost cried out:

  "Father!?"

  The kindly old man seemed to hear Aurelianne's voice and smiled from his seat.

  Even Augustus was stunned, completely unable to understand what Viktor was doing.

  But suddenly, his gaze fixed intently on the screen, his pupils contracting sharply.

  In the Imperial Palace, there was a warrior bound hand and foot.

  The other nobles also noticed this detail.

  That warrior was wearing the kingdom's standard armor.

  However, in this footage, it seemed the woman from the beginning was the main character.

  She reappeared at the edge of the screen, smiling as she introduced to everyone present:

  "This person is called Chul, and after identity verification, we've confirmed he's a warrior from your Kanter Kingdom."

  "He infiltrated our territory and attempted to assassinate me, but was captured and has been under intense interrogation."

  Hearing this, those present couldn't help but look at each other.

  The Empire almost never lied about such matters, and there was no need to lie about this.

  With a little investigation, the identity of the warrior on screen could definitely be verified.

  And in that screen, even the Imperial Emperor had appeared.

  Obviously, with the Emperor's backing, this matter couldn't be fake.

  But what made them more curious was this woman who claimed to have been the target of assassination.

  Who exactly was she?

  "Sorry, I almost forgot to introduce myself."

  Suddenly, the woman's voice rang out.

  A charming smile appeared on her beautiful face.

  But it made everyone present fall silent:

  "I am Lia Kravina, Viktor Kravina's..."

  "Family."

  Beep—

  The screen instantly contracted, the sound cutting off abruptly.

  Everything around seemed frozen by these bone-chilling words, as cold dread crawled up every noble lord's spine.

  Similarly, even Augustus turned his head with difficulty to look at the expressionless man.

  Viktor's voice rang out, like death's bell slowly tolling:

  "Now."

  "Let's settle our old scores."

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  patreon.com/BZDXG - Unlock a HUGE stash of advance chapters now!

  Dive deeper into the story ahead of everyone else!