Under the thick smoke and debris, the once castle-like courtyard lay in ruins, resembling the aftermath of a devastating war.

  The once majestic mansion now stood broken, with massive stone blocks collapsed and tiles scattered everywhere, presenting a scene of complete desolation.

  The fountain statues in the courtyard were destroyed, leaving only unrecognizable stone fragments strewn across the ground.

  The previously smooth pathways had become treacherous, with sand and stones bursting through the solid pavement, rupturing the level ground.

  The beastmen and noble lords were scattered across this ruined courtyard, treading carefully on the rocks beneath their feet.

  Ethereal green flames flickered on their clothing like stars in the night sky, with stark white bones visible beneath their armor and robes.

  Ghost fires burned in their hollow eye sockets, making their skeletal forms appear particularly eerie.

  They all raised their heads toward the sky, now almost completely filled with a blood-red hue.

  Count Laurien floated high above, his eyes blazing crimson.

  His three pairs of blood-red wings reflected the bloody moonlight, appearing like a blood moon rising on the horizon.

  A pervasive bloody aura lingered in the air, spreading like a plague.

  Everyone felt this thick bloody essence seeping into their hollow eye sockets, making their vision burn with pain.

  This was a true vampire.

  Augustus, who previously possessed only thin blood wings and pale skin, now appeared like a fragile moth in a sea of blood compared to this sight.

  The truly noble and elegant bat now stood high in the sky.

  Augustus remained trapped within the circle of undead warriors, able only to helplessly watch the proud Count Laurien above.

  His eyes burned with desire and bitter regret.

  No, this wasn't how it should have been.

  He and Count Laurien had made a pact.

  He would collect enough blood essence for Pricis's resurrection.

  Finally, he would marry Pricis, making her his queen.

  And he too would accompany Pricis in becoming a truly immortal vampire.

  But in the end, everything had changed.

  Because of his failure, Count Laurien had reclaimed all the power he had originally bestowed.

  All the blood essence he had absorbed was stripped away by Count Laurien.

  Even his own warrior's blood essence was taken as punishment.

  At this moment, Augustus had lost everything.

  He was now weaker than even an ordinary human.

  His weakened body resembled a crumbling mansion, his face drained of all color.

  The near-total loss of power left him feeling a crushing weight he had never before experienced.

  In this moment, Augustus's heart overflowed with despair and regret.

  But now no one cared about him anymore, despite his nominal position as king of the Kanter Kingdom.

  Looking at Count Laurien in the sky, the kingdom's noble lords and the twelve diplomatic ministers' faces were masks of disbelief.

  Even though they had been temporarily transformed into undead by the ghost fire, their skeletal jaws still trembled.

  Their shock was palpable.

  Count Laurien was actually... a true vampire?

  No one dared believe it.

  During the previous king's reign, Count Laurien had already been an ennobled aristocrat.

  He had forged deep friendships with other nobles and earned high praise from the former king.

  Even the magic train's terminal station had been established in his territory.

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  Anyone from outside the kingdom who wanted to travel by train would inevitably arrive at Count Laurien's territory - Shulbon.

  This undoubtedly represented the king's absolute trust in Count Laurien.

  He had been an unwaveringly loyal minister, and more importantly, a beloved lord to his people.

  For the sake of his farmers' harvests, he had even actively worshipped the Goddess of Abundance.

  Finally receiving the goddess's acknowledgment, he had obtained her divine wheat ear.

  Because of this, the agricultural yields in all of Shulbon exceeded other nobles' territories year after year.

  However, such a count who cared for his people and willingly worshipped a goddess...

  Was actually a vampire!?

  And such a person who cared for his people and would be remembered through the ages was actually a vampire?

  Truthfully, if they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, likely none of the nobles present would have believed it.

  Especially those nobles who had maintained close relationships with Count Laurien over many years.

  When they saw Count Laurien spread those three pairs of blood wings from his back, their hearts twisted in confusion.

  In fact, when Pricis had reappeared as a resurrected vampire, the nobles had already harbored suspicions.

  But when Count Laurien finally revealed his true identity, they still struggled to accept it.

  "...Why?"

  A noble-turned-undead blurted out, as if questioning Count Laurien who hung high in the sky.

  However, the Count's blood wings blocked the bloody moonlight.

  From within the shadow, his crimson eyes traced the sound down to the ground below.

  "I require vast amounts of fresh blood to accomplish my purpose."

  Purpose?

  What purpose?

  Count Laurien beat his six blood-colored wings, maintaining his position in the air.

  Each massive wing beat stirred up gusts of wind that tore through the air with thunderous force.

  "Had His Majesty Augustus succeeded, then precisely at midnight, countless bombs would have detonated."

  "I would have used that vast quantity of blood to complete my daughter's resurrection."

  Count Laurien slowly raised his head, gazing at Pricis who floated in the bloody moonlight, seemingly connected to the moon itself.

  "The blood essence of high-ranking warriors would have been sufficient to make her the most perfect vampire."

  Hearing these words, everyone present trembled.

  Just as Augustus had said, their purpose had never wavered.

  Had the imperial princess and Viktor not interfered, they would all have become mere sustenance for Pricis's resurrection.

  The nobles could scarcely imagine how long Count Laurien had planned his daughter's resurrection, or the depths of his madness.

  He had even managed to manipulate and control the king himself.

  Did Count Laurien truly not fear Grand Duke Balo?

  But matters weren't finished yet.

  Because after this, something even more terrifying occurred.

  Count Laurien lowered his head, fixing everyone with a gaze so cold it seemed devoid of all emotion.

  It felt as if countless ice spears had pierced their hearts, hungering for the blood within their bodies.

  His hollow voice, accompanied by otherworldly roars, echoed from high in the sky, carried to their ears by the moonlight:

  "But none of you died, so I still require more blood essence."

  The nobles present froze, the green flames in their eyes flaring suddenly larger, as if witnessing some unspeakable horror.

  Count Laurien spread his three pairs of crimson blood wings with explosive force.

  Specks of blood-colored dust erupted from his wings like countless ghost souls scattering around him.

  Beneath the blood wings, rivers of blood flowed continuously, seeming to pulse with endless power.

  Everyone felt the bloody aura permeating around them, as if their feet had been glued firmly to the ground, rendering them immobile.

  Under this terrifying atmosphere, even the moonlight grew increasingly crimson.

  Fear crawled up their spines like countless writhing worms, clutching at their hearts.

  Count Laurien hung suspended in mid-air, extending his hand that flowed with blood essence, slowly raising it skyward.

  The surrounding blood essence began to surge, gradually swirling and concentrating in Count Laurien's palm.

  A pulsing sphere of blood gradually formed in his palm, the crimson liquid churning restlessly as if struggling against invisible bonds.

  "Now, it's time to end this all."

  With Count Laurien's cold declaration, the blood sphere began to expand.

  A dense bloody domain spread through the air, surrounding and enveloping the ground for dozens of miles in every direction.

  As the domain expanded, an overwhelming aura rose from Count Laurien's body.

  His blood-colored hollow eye sockets twisted grotesquely, and the three pairs of bat wings behind him grew even larger.

  The massive wings carried winds thick with blood-colored light points drifting like deadly snow.

  The bloody aura swirled around Count Laurien, rising continuously like a crimson hurricane.

  The swelling blood moon cast its deep bloody light, painting the entire ground an even deeper crimson.

  [Blood Sea Overflow]

  Within that encircling blood-colored halo, the shattered vampires on the ground began to be reshaped by the bloody wind.

  One after another, powerful elongated bodies burst from the fallen rubble, releasing echoing roars that shook the air.

  Their bodies grew stronger upon contact with the crimson light points, the deep red in their eyes becoming even more terrifying.

  They stretched their pale necks skyward, howling at the blood-colored moon.

  Feeling this magnificent yet terrifying aura, the nobles present shuddered, their hearts racing in terror.

  This was the true face of a vampire.

  However, at this moment.

  Viktor planted his staff heavily into the ground.

  The effects of the massive prosperity gradually dissipated.

  As magical power surged anew, crimson stripes spread across his windbreaker.

  Brilliant red light flowed like molten magma down Viktor's back.

  The surrounding air began to grow scorching hot, as countless cracks spread across the vast land, completely severing the earth's vitality.

  [Scorching Earth]

  Instantly, burning magma filled the cracked ground, releasing waves of terrifying heat.

  Like an unquenchable flame burning eternally on the ground.

  The scorching fire touched the vampires' bodies, drawing painful howls from their throats.

  However, within this amazing inferno.

  The undead army not only remained unharmed, but the soul flames on their bodies burned even more intensely within the fire.

  The raging fire collided with the bloody domain in an awesome display of power.

  Though the noble lords had been transformed into undead.

  They could still feel that terrifying heat.

  At this moment, Viktor raised his staff and lifted his head.

  He looked up, his gaze meeting Count Laurien's blood-colored eye sockets.

  In that instant, Count Laurien's health bar and level appeared before Viktor's eyes.

  The scorching wind whipped his windbreaker, carrying Viktor's voice through the air:

  "End?"

  "We're just getting started."

  Laurien Nisse - Vampire Prince

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

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