Chapter 93: Bad News

To the northwest of the Alton region, there used to be a sizable village. But due to the legend surrounding an ancient castle, the fearful inhabitants of the empire were afraid of approaching that place and fearing harm, so they left one after another, causing the village to migrate hundreds of miles northward.
However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t any Galkians living within a hundred miles—there were, such as the hunters—young and brave men who didn’t believe in those old and silly rumors at all.
Some ancient castle filled with dark creatures, some vampire turned from Count Vlad, some skeletons wandering the graves—to them, these were nothing but the fantasies of the elderly, after all, no one had seen it with their own eyes.
Ray was one of them.
As a native Galkian, he had long aspired to join the army, as the Galkian army was one of the best in the empire. He wanted to become a real soldier. Unfortunately, the Galkian army had extremely high standards for its soldiers, especially those unbreakable military rules, which made it difficult for Ray, who was used to freedom, to adapt.
Soon, Ray was dismissed from the reserve forces. To make a living, he had to pick up his spear again. Perhaps wolves and boars would be his enemies for the rest of his life.
But anyway, he led a decent life. The furs and meat he got from wild animals allowed him to earn enough money in Allicok to buy some beer. For a hunter like him who wasn’t popular with women, being a hunter was clearly considered a third profession in Galkia.
Hm? Why a third profession?
Heh, because the first profession was always being a noble, and the second was being a soldier in the Galkian army.
Over the years, he had saved nine gold coins. He planned to say goodbye to this damned life once he had ten gold coins and move to Allicok. After all, living alone at the foot of the uninhabited mountains for so long was something not everyone could endure.
By late November, it was already very cold in Galkia. In such cold weather, not to mention humans, even wild animals didn’t want to leave their dens to hunt outside in the cold wind.
So, at such times, Ray, as a hunter, was always the busiest. Of course, not all wild animals stayed huddled in their dens shivering. Some still dug through the hard ground on such cold days, like wolves.

Of course, Ray wouldn’t want to fight those starving beasts. Everyone knows that no matter what kind of creature they are, extreme hunger drives them to lose their sanity, making them more inclined to stay by the furs they haven’t sold yet and enjoy their mead in peace.
Well, it’s a bit stuffy, but what can you do? Who would come to such a place at a time like this?
“Knock, knock, knock!”
As Ray drank his dull mead and fantasized about a better life in Allicok, someone knocked on the door of his small wooden cabin.
Huh?
Ray was stunned. He stood up from the table, walked over to the drafty wooden door, and opened it, looking outside drunkenly.
There stood three men outside. One wore a long black coat, his face pale, seemingly injured, and in poor condition; another was wrapped in a dark green cloak, his face hidden, exuding a cold aura; and the third… Good heavens, was that a beast? The fur on that guy was even thicker than the animal fur on his own body.
“You… you guys…” Ray, slightly drunk, suddenly sobered up. He stepped back slightly, instinctively picking up the steel fork leaning by the door, and said in a deep voice, full of caution, “Hey, guys, what do you want? I advise you not to cause trouble…” As he spoke, he deliberately showed off the shiny steel fork in his hand—for someone who relied on food to survive, it was quite sharp.
“Whoa, whoa, don’t get upset, buddy!” The man in the black coat spread his hands and said cheerfully, “My name is Argus… I’m looking for a place in Allicok to get some food… Ghalic is too cold, damn it—if you don’t mind, could we come in and warm up? And maybe get something to eat?” With that, he took out a shiny silver coin from his pocket.
Looking at the silver coin, Ray licked his lips. After all, the temptation of silver was great, but his wariness hadn’t faded. After all, there were three of them and only him. If a conflict arose, it would be troublesome.
After thinking for a while, Ray said carefully, “I’m sorry, guys. I don’t think there’s enough food in the house for three people—if it weren’t for this damned blizzard, I would have left already to get more food in Allicok…”
A hunter claiming he didn’t have enough food in his house?

Glancing at the thick furs hanging on the wall inside, Argus smirked and said in a low voice, “Hey, buddy, we don’t want trouble. We just want some food…” As he spoke, he showed the silver coin in his hand.
Ray instinctively reached for the coin, but saw Argus lift his hand slightly and say with a smile, “This is for your food!”
Licking his lips at the sight of the coin and those three men who clearly didn’t seem ordinary, Ray thought for a moment, resisting the temptation of the coin, before shaking his head and saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I can help you!” With that, he slammed the wooden door shut, grabbed his steel fork tightly, and hid behind it, holding his breath—ready to use the sharp fork to teach them a lesson if they tried anything malicious. Unaware of who they really were, he had no idea what to expect.
Fortunately, Argus didn’t bother him. Perhaps he disdained attacking a weakling. Putting the silver coin back in his pocket, he shrugged helplessly at his two companions.
“Is this what you call negotiating?” sneered Connel, the werewolf leaning against the cabin. “From the confident look you had earlier, I thought you were sure of yourself…”
“Oh, well, I guess we’ve run into someone unkind,” Argus said, glancing at Connel mockingly. “Look at those muscles of yours—anyone would be scared, right?”
“You bastard! What are you talking about?”
“Alright, alright,” said Pule, the necromancer, trying to calm the angry Connel. “So what do we do now? Finding food in this damned weather isn’t easy. How about…” He glanced at the leaky wooden door.
“Heh,” Argus smiled slightly. He understood Pule’s meaning all too well, and he also knew the hunter was hiding behind the door, listening to their conversation. With a teasing smile, he unexpectedly turned around and said, “Let’s go, guys. We’re not robbers—oh, I guess the temptation of a silver coin has diminished a lot. Ugh, this is troublesome. Hey, would you mind letting us hunt a wolf for food?”
“What a joke!” Connel snorted angrily. “Are you trying to provoke me?”
“No, no, of course not. I mean, if you don’t mind—well, it seems like you don’t mind after all… Let’s go, guys. It seems we put too much pressure on that kid!”

“I really can’t do anything about you…” Poole shook his head helplessly, then asked curiously, “By the way, Argus, don’t you have two silver coins?”
“Yes,” Argus said with a smile as he walked into the cold wind, “But I gave one of them to that little brat to keep temporarily…”
“Is it that little brat named Thos?” Poole whispered, pulling his cloak tighter as he followed Argus. “I’m surprised you seem to like that little brat so much… Well, he’s a special little brat. I can sense that powerful dark force within him… though it doesn’t seem very stable.”
“Heh, no wonder…” Argus smiled slightly, then suddenly stumbled, instinctively covering his ribs and looking pained.
Poole frowned, worried, and said, “Hey, Argus, you—”
Raising his hand to interrupt Poole, Argus forced a teasing smile and muttered self-mockingly, “I underestimated him. That old guy Andrew… I thought he was only good at mind magic. Who would have thought he was also a penitent? Truly worthy of being a Cardinal Archmage… Tch! Three ribs broken.”
“Ah,” Poole sighed softly. “It seems we underestimated those two old men—Grand Mage Greta Kaines is indeed on par with the Royal Chief Mage. He’s skilled in fire, earth, and flame magic. Even Connel was killed twelve times!”
“Eleven times!” Connel snorted coldly, licking his lips and saying indifferently, “Anyway, Argus, you still haven’t given me a proper explanation. Why should I help you deal with such a tough opponent?”
“Alright, alright,” Argus said helplessly with a sheepish smile, “Aren’t we companions? Besides, eleven times is nothing at all for someone like you who’s had 240,000 lives, right?”
“But it makes me weak like this…”
“Well, once we get to Allicok, I’ll buy you as much to drink as you want!”
“With your only silver coin?”
Glancing at Argus and then at Connel, Poole shook his head silently and whispered, “Allicok must be quite lively these days, right?”
“Yes!” Argus chuckled. Then, noticing Connel sniffing around, he asked in surprise, “What are you doing, Connel?”

“Don’t make me repeat it—I don’t want to hear my name out of your mouth…” Connel said, his nose twitching as he spoke uncertainly, “I think I smell something… similar to the smell from that ancient castle…”
“Hm?”
“There’s a faint scent of blood, and also…”
“Come on, Lan. That castle has been destroyed! Let’s find a place to rest soon—that damn old guy could break three of my ribs with just one punch! Damn the Church, always producing such damned fools!”
After Argus and the others turned to leave, Hunter Lei quietly opened the wooden door and peeked outside. Only after confirming they had gone did he sigh in relief.
Although he had tried to stay calm, he could still sense the pressure from those three men. Even though he held a steel fork while they were unarmed, that intense pressure didn’t lessen at all.
“Huh!” Leaning against the door, he took a deep breath. Struggling to stand up, he put the steel fork back in its place and sat down at the table to continue drinking his mead.
Despite his vigilance, he still felt a bit regretful about that shiny silver coin. After all, the value of a silver coin was far beyond what those crude meats could replace.
Just then, there was another knock at the door.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
Hm? Lei immediately became alert.
Could those three men have returned?
Instinctively, he rushed to the door, picked up the sharp steel fork, and shouted in a fierce tone, “Hey, guys! I’ve already said there’s no food here. Damn it, if you don’t want to taste a steel fork, get lost!”
However, to his surprise, a woman’s voice came from outside, broken and unclear.
Frowning, Lei opened the door and was stunned to see a young woman in a black dress. She was standing in the cold wind, arms crossed, shivering and looking pitiful.
“You…” Lei was stunned. He tried to keep his voice calm as he said softly, “Miss, are you in trouble? You seem quite distressed…”
The woman raised her head. Her dark eyes seemed to hold an indescribable charm. She put her hands over her mouth and blew gently, then said softly, “Yes, I think I am in trouble. My carriage…” She glanced at Lei and added quietly, “If you don’t mind, could I come in and rest for a while…”

Seeing that it was just a woman, Lei didn’t feel much suspicion and let her in, saying, “Of course! You must have gone through a lot—this damned snowstorm came at the worst possible time…”
“Yes!” The woman entered the house and squatted by the campfire to warm herself. The warmth inside made her look much better than before, but her complexion remained pale.
“Why not come closer?” Lei asked curiously, seeing her squatting far away from the fire.
The woman lowered her head and mumbled, “This is fine…”
“Oh…” Lei shrugged, sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, and raised his glass, saying, “Do you need some food? By the way, what’s your name, miss?”
“Serbia…” the woman replied in a muffled voice.
“Alright, Miss Serbia, are you sure you don’t need any food?”
The woman named Serbia stood up, glanced at the meat on the table with a hint of disgust, then glanced at the man sitting at the table chewing loudly, taking in the small wooden cabin.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No,” the woman shook her head, stroked her long black hair, and smiled, saying, “It’s quite lucky. If I hadn’t come here, things would have been bad…”
“Yes, this damned snowstorm came at the worst possible time!”
“Giggle,” the woman smiled slightly, then asked in a strange tone, “Is… is there only you here?”
“Yes, there used to be a few more—those lucky guys went to Allicock a few days ago. Only I’m trapped here by this damned snowstorm!” Saying this, Lei pointed at the food on the table and kindly asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some food, Miss Serbia?”
“No, thank you,” the woman smiled gently and whispered, “I’m a vegetarian…”
Lei scratched his head and said apologetically, “I see. That’s too bad—I don’t think I have what you need…”
“No, I do!” the woman smiled faintly. The warmth in the room pulled her back from the brink of freezing.
“Huh? What’s that?” Lei felt puzzled, instinctively looking up at her. Then his eyes widened sharply as his right hand trembled as he pointed at the woman in front of him, shocked, “S-Serbia… Miss Serbia, you… you… Ah!”
After a muffled sucking sound, the woman stood up from the corner, licked her blood-red lips—that striking red was clearly the color of blood.

Beneath her feet lay a fresh corpse—the hunter named Lei lay on the ground in terror, with a distinct bite mark visible on his neck…
“Thank you for the hospitality…”
Meanwhile, in a small cabin about ten miles away from the hunter’s cabin, Thos and Dia were sitting by a campfire to keep warm.
Fortunately, they had found an uninhabited cabin amidst the sudden blizzard. Looking at the damaged animal furs piled inside, it seemed the cabin’s owner also made a living by hunting, perhaps having left temporarily.
Water was no problem for Thos and Dia—besides Dia’s fire magic, they could melt ice and snow to get enough water. But food was a concern. Thankfully, there seemed to be some wild boar meat in the cabin. Though it didn’t smell very fresh, it was better than nothing.
“Is this okay?” Dia whispered, watching the boy attentively roast the wild boar meat. “We entered without the owner’s permission…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Thos said indifferently as he turned the meat. “In such harsh weather, not having a place to rest temporarily is a real hassle. Anyway, it seems the owner won’t be back for a while… There!” He handed a piece of fragrant roasted meat to Dia.
“Thank you… Ouch!” Dia instinctively took the meat, accidentally burning her hand on the hot flesh.
“Be careful, it’s still hot!” the boy frowned.
“Mm!” Dia lowered her head slightly before sneaking a glance at Thos, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment as she noticed the soldier puppet Soges staring at her curiously.
After replenishing its magic from the owner, Soges had regained its normal mobility, but it could no longer transform into King Cain. This disappointed Thos, who was its owner. After all, King Cain’s special abilities were far more powerful than those of Soges—the gap between them was enormous.
Thos guessed that Soges’ previous transformation might have been related to the dark force within him. Now that that dark force was suppressed by the newly formed holy light, it made sense that Soges couldn’t turn into King Cain again. Of course, if he could regain control of that terrifying power…

But for now, it seems highly unlikely to achieve this. Those mysterious forces of light and darkness seem to have made his body a battlefield for a fierce struggle. As for the origin of the dark force, Thors had a vague guess—it came from a strange magical beast calling itself Slos, which seemed to have some kind of spiritual connection to him. It was this very creature he had seen in his dreams, that eerie magical beast that was always dozing off. But what exactly was the source of the light force? Thors had no idea. All he knew was that among these two forces, the dark side held an absolute advantage, as evident from the large black tattoo on his right shoulder. In contrast, the light force, hidden within his left hand as a seal, seemed to be the last barrier. Anyway, if it was a force he couldn’t control, no matter how powerful it was, there was nothing to be proud of. Vaguely, he seemed to hear a conversation in his ears. “Powerful forces… Many powerful dark magicians get lost under their own strength…” “If you can’t control your own power, how can you be called powerful?!” Who was it? Who was speaking? Thors subconsciously covered his forehead; the sharp pains in his mind made him feel extremely bad. The next moment, as expected, a calm, cool aura emanated from the back of his left hand, soothing his restless heart as usual. “Thors?” Seeing the boy’s strange behavior, Dia asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” “I’m fine!” The boy shook his head. Although his irritability had been suppressed, his mood hadn’t improved due to the energy emanating from the hexagram seal. On the contrary, he felt extremely disappointed. In just two years, he had gone from learning magic basics to becoming comparable to senior students. Even Professor Hode was very satisfied with his progress. But compared to Argus, compared to those two mysterious forces within him, that progress seemed insignificant… So insignificant that he didn’t even have the courage to resist Argus, so insignificant that he couldn’t stop the changes happening within his body… “Damn it!” “Thors…” Looking at the frustrated boy, Dia softly called his name. Then, she took a gentle bite of the grilled meat and said with a smile, “Why don’t you give it a try? It’s delicious!”

“Hm?” The boy raised his head and looked at the smiling Dia, sighing slightly before saying with a faint smile, “Is that so? Then that’s good…” As he spoke, he took a bite of the grilled meat in his hand, lost in thought.
It seemed necessary to go and ask Father Andrew about that holy light power. He seemed to know something, but for some reason hadn’t told him… Hm, it was necessary to inquire!
There was also Professor Hode… Professor Hode had previously mentioned something about white flames—a concept beyond ordinary flames, a powerful force that surpassed all flames… But he probably wouldn’t tell him so easily…
And then there was…
“Huh?” Seeming to sense the boy’s gaze, Dia fumbledly touched her cheek and said anxiously, “Did… did something get on my face?”
“Heh, no—don’t worry!”
Biting her lip, Dia pretended to be displeased to hide her nervousness and said, “Then don’t scare me like that… I really can’t deal with you!” As if noticing something, she took out a piece of white silk from her pocket and gently wiped the grease from the boy’s mouth.
“Hey…”
“Don’t move!”
The soldier puppet tilted its head, watching the two of them. Without the ability to speak, it naturally couldn’t disrupt the warm atmosphere in the room.
“Dia…”
“Hm?”
“Thank you…”
“Giggle, I thought you wanted to say something!”
Feeling Dia’s gentle touch, Thos shook his head and said softly, “I didn’t mean that…”
“Mm,” Dia nodded lightly, looking down shyly. “I know…” She leaned slightly against the boy’s shoulder and said softly, “Maybe I can’t help you much, but…”
“That’s enough…” The boy interrupted her, speaking with a hint of melancholy. “This is enough already…”
“But I still hope to reduce your loneliness as much as possible… I don’t know why, but I always feel like you’re very lonely…”
“Do you want to know?”
“No,” Dia shook her head slightly, moving her face that was resting on the boy’s shoulder. She said shyly, “I don’t want to force you, not at all…” Then, as if remembering something, she giggled and said, “By the way, Thos, do you remember when we first met? Giggle giggle giggle, back then you were busy copying cheat notes for exams…”

“Hehe,” Diya mentioned, and Thos also recalled those past events. Shaking his head with a wry smile, he said, “Yeah, the ancient magic history exam… I still can’t remember everything. I spent an entire afternoon making notes, but it didn’t help at all. A simple True Eye made all my efforts pointless…”
“Efforts… hehehe, well, indeed quite exhausting,” Diya said, leaning on the boy’s shoulder with a teasing smile. “You wrote for two or three hours straight—a whole thick stack… hehe!”
As the two laughed and recalled various amusing moments from their first meeting, someone knocked on the door of the cabin.
“Knock knock knock!”
“Huh?” Diya looked in surprise toward the door. “Could there be anyone else around here besides us? In such terrible weather…” She stood up to open the door, but the boy held her back.
Patting Diya’s arm, the boy stood up and said softly, “I’ll go!”
“Huh?”
Standing outside was a very young man, appearing to be in his twenties. He wore a black robe adorned with gold thread patterns, slightly yellowish-gray hair, pale and thin cheeks, and light green eyes filled with deep sorrow and memories.
Upon seeing Diya and Thos, the man bowed in a strange manner, somewhat like a noble’s bow but not exactly. Then he said politely, “I’m… very sorry. May I… rest here for a while?”
It had to be said that this man was extremely polite, his behavior truly exemplary of a noble—without the slightest hint of disdain just because they were children. However, his speech was awkward, stuttering and halting, giving the impression that he hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time, perhaps because of the cold outside.
Seeing that the boy didn’t object, Diya invited him inside. The man sat far away from the campfire.
“If you sit closer, won’t you warm up better?” Diya asked curiously.
“No, this is fine. Thank you,” the man replied, shaking his head slightly.
“What a strange man…” Diya playfully stuck out her tongue. Turning around, she saw the boy staring at him intently. Curious, she asked, “Thos, is something wrong?”
The boy gazed at him deeply before slowly shaking his head.

“Huh?” Dia found the boy’s behavior strange, but since he didn’t say anything, she naturally didn’t ask. After thinking for a moment, she picked up a piece of roasted meat from beside the campfire and kindly said, “I think this storm will last for some time yet… Sir, if you don’t mind, I think you need some food…” With that, she raised her hand and handed the roasted meat to the stranger across from her.
“Th-thank you!” The man thanked Dia awkwardly for her kindness, but strangely, his eyes weren’t fixed on the roasted meat—they were on Dia’s hand, or rather, on the small wound she had gotten from the wood while lighting the fire.
His Adam’s apple moved slightly as he raised his trembling right hand, only for it to be grabbed by another hand…
“Thors?” Dia looked at the boy beside her in confusion.
“Hiss!” A strange sound, like liquid evaporating, came from the man, who let out a pained scream and shook off the boy’s hand.
Glancing at the white sacred light seal tattoo on his left hand, Thors said coldly, “As expected—those ominous dark auras surrounding you, along with that faint scent of blood… You’re a vampire, right?”
“Huh?” Dia stared at the man in shock. To her astonishment, white vapor was hissing from the spot on the man’s arm that Thors had grabbed, as if his arm was severely corroded.
The man covered his right hand and looked at the boy, or rather, at the tattoo on his hand, in disbelief. Then he let out a soft sigh.
As he sighed, the burn on his right hand healed at an astonishing speed. Clearly, he wasn’t an ordinary person.
Shielding Dia behind him, Thors said in a deep voice, “You can choose to leave this place or die!” Though he said that, without that powerful dark force, he wasn’t very confident, as he sensed that this man was different from those lower-class vampires in the ancient castle.
“Is that so…” The man sighed slightly, placed his right hand on his left chest, and performed a strange gesture, seemingly unbothered by the boy’s hostility. With a hint of apology, he said politely, “My apologies. My name is Ulrich Vlad. As you said, I am a vampire…”
“Yah!” Dia gasped and quickly covered her mouth.
Meanwhile, Allen, Scott, Lavia, and the others had already returned to Allicok through the blizzard, accompanied by Bernie and Reid from the Galic Mage Association branch.

Their situation was terrible—after all, there were no carriages or any means of transportation. On their way back from Alton to Alicok, they could only rely on their own legs. It seemed fate had no pity for them, as a sudden blizzard accompanied by intense cold swept across the entire northeast region.

Fortunately, they returned to Alicok before the blizzard began to wreak havoc. The rocky city was already covered in a thin layer of snow, with few pedestrians on the streets. Even merchants wouldn’t venture out in such harsh weather. Strangely enough, there were Gallic patrol soldiers everywhere in the city, and the gates were filled with guards who seemed to be searching for something.

“Something seems to be going on…” Bernie said in surprise upon noticing the unusual activity in the city.

“Is it the military pay brought from Sassen?” Reid muttered softly. After all, the pay covered most of Gallic’s expenses, so it was easy to understand why the Gallic military placed such importance on it.

However, Scott had already learned from his companions during the journey to Alton that the military pay destined for Gallic had been stolen by the Theralanders. Though he found it hard to believe, he chose to trust them, as his companions had no reason to deceive him.

“It must be something else!” Scott frowned, shook his head, took off his glasses, and wiped the moisture from them with a silk cloth.

At that moment, the conversation between two Gallic residents standing by the road caught his attention.

“Is it true? The Count was assassinated?”

“Huh? Don’t you know? I heard the news yesterday. I don’t know which damned bastard did it! To dare assassinate our Count… Could it be those rebels?”

“Rebels? Do you mean the rebels from Jacosenb?”

“Who else could it be? I heard His Majesty sent the Royal Knights to Jacosenb to suppress them. Those damned guys then came to our Gallic. It must be because the Count refused to let them enter…”

“Hey, stop talking…”

“Sigh… I hope the Count is safe…”

Staring at those two passersby in shock, fear grew in Scott’s eyes.

“No way…” The others also heard the conversation and looked at Scott helplessly.

“Let’s go back!”

Scott headed straight for the inner city. After hearing that conversation, he had a badpremonition.

After a dozen minutes, they arrived at Count Galleck’s castle. Seeing the Galleck soldiers stationed outside, Scott’s unease grew deeper and deeper. In the front hall, they saw Old Black, the diligent old butler, who was arranging some plates and teacups. Upon seeing Scott, he exclaimed in surprise, “Young Lord? Where have you been these past few days?” “Let’s not talk about that for now,” Scott interrupted him, speaking urgently as he had rushed here without even having time to put on his glasses. “Where is my grandfather? When I entered the city, I heard that my grandfather…” He couldn’t continue speaking. Seeing the anxiety on Scott’s face, Old Black sighed slightly, opened his mouth, but said nothing. The silent silence dealt a severe blow to Scott. His hand trembled involuntarily, and his glasses slipped from his fingers, shattering the thin lenses. “Grandfather? No… that can’t be…”