When the light grows dim, the darkness begins to stir.

On the surface, the continent of Statu appeared calm, but in reality, it had been riddled with holes by the forces of darkness. Never mind the current state of the Shas Principality, which bordered the Blood Domain and Witch City; even the Gosse Empire, located in the very center of the continent and long under the shroud of light, was now in a situation that couldn’t be worse.

The king had been killed by a Black Witch, the empire’s commoners were constantly tormented by the vampires, and the new queen had yet to secure her position when the appearance of a Divine Ruin sent new waves through the Gosse Empire.

One of the three great empires on the Statu continent was now unable to even hold onto its own territory.

The Gosse Empire was vast and populous. If the Holy See’s prestige were to be lost here, it would be equivalent to losing one-fifth of its believers outright.

While Tang Qiu was at the Gosse Church, she had been deliberately maintaining the Holy See’s image. But to save Lucille, she had no choice but to temporarily disappear from the Church.

Leaving the Holy See under the pretext of being missing was not, in fact, a clever decision.

All her previous efforts were very likely to go to waste because of it.

In the city neighboring Anersai, its proximity to Rose Manor meant it was often harassed by vampires. Most of the commoners in the city had already moved away, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled to stand guard alone.

Tang Qiu arrived at the foot of the lighthouse in the center of the city. She pulled back her cloak’s hood slightly, her gaze drifting up thoughtfully at the lighthouse that seemed to tower into the clouds.

A set of footsteps approached from behind. A blonde girl in golden armor and a silver mask walked up and stopped behind Tang Qiu. She took off her mask, shook her hair, and blinked at Tang Qiu, who had turned to look at her. With a brilliant smile, she called out, “Bishop Grace.”

Tang Qiu smiled back at Karen and said softly, “Has the Church been well recently?”

She walked into the lighthouse as she spoke, and Karen followed behind her, answering, “After the missing person report was submitted to the Central Church, the Inquisition sent people to investigate, but they found nothing.”

“I heard the Pope postponed the Light Baptism Assembly, so the bishops from the various churches won’t be able to leave the Central Church for a while.”

“Postponed?” Tang Qiu glanced back at Karen, asking with confusion, “What was the reason?”

“It seems Head Inquisitor Audrey got some kind of leverage on Cambecus. The two of them presented their own arguments before the Pope. Since it involves a Red-robed Archbishop, the Pope couldn’t just be perfunctory about it, so he postponed the Light Baptism Assembly.” Whether mentioning Audrey or Cambecus, Karen’s face remained calm, her tone unwavering. “However, I don’t think that’s the real reason.”

Karen had grown up in Eden and was on good terms with many priests and knights from the Central Church. At first, she didn’t know how to use these resources, but after what happened with Lisa, she had matured a great deal and had begun to help the blonde bishop keep an eye on the situation at the Central Church.

“According to the news I got from a priest at the Central Church, the Holy Son and the Holy Daughter haven’t come out of Eden yet.”

Although the Holy Son was very talented and favored by the Pope, it was also a fact that he was young and lacked seniority. The Pope often sent him into seclusion in Eden for no other reason than to enhance his Power of Light. Even if his seniority was insufficient, his strength had to surpass that of the other Red-robed Archbishops for him to truly secure his position.

The main purpose of the Light Baptism Assembly was to endorse the Holy Son’s succession. With the Holy Son absent, it naturally had to be postponed.

As for Audrey and Cambecus, they were likely just a smokescreen the Pope had deliberately pushed to the forefront.

Tang Qiu was a little surprised that Karen knew so much, but she felt more gratified. It was just as Reese had once said: those who held hope for the Holy See were not suited to survive in it.

To speak of faith in the midst of darkness was, in itself, a ridiculous thing.

Karen paused for a moment, looked at Tang Qiu’s back, and asked, “Bishop Grace, when are you returning to the Church?”

“The situation at the Central Church is unclear right now. It’s not the right time to go back.” Tang Qiu reached the top of the lighthouse. A strong wind blew back her cloak’s hood, sending her long golden hair flying. She gripped the railing with both hands, staring at the white dot that was Rose Manor, and said faintly, “We’ll see when the Holy Son succeeds the throne.”

Or perhaps… when the Statu continent is shrouded in darkness.

Only by returning when the Holy See was in greater chaos could she minimize the risk.

Otherwise, both Cambecus and Audrey could potentially make a move against her.

Karen nodded. She stood beside Tang Qiu, gazing with her at the white dot of Rose Manor, and said with solemn earnestness, “I will protect the Gosse Church until you return.”

Tang Qiu turned her head to look at Karen, her expression gentle. She reached out and stroked Karen’s hair, saying with a smile, “Protect yourself first.”

Karen scratched her head, her serious expression breaking into a smile. “Okay.”

Tang Qiu stood atop the lighthouse, observing the nearby cities. Karen held a map of the Gosse Empire, pointing in a certain direction as she explained. This map was obtained from Maggie Smith and depicted the empire’s terrain and village distribution in detail.

After listening to Karen’s introduction, Tang Qiu took the map and glanced at it, saying in a low voice, “The commoners in the cities and villages within a thousand-li radius of Anersai City need to be relocated.”

Karen was somewhat surprised. “A thousand-li radius?” That would mean clearing out at least five cities, not to mention the scattered towns and villages.

Tang Qiu handed the map back to Karen, pondered for a moment, and said, “Go find Maggie Smith when you get back. Tell her what I said and have her dispatch knight squads to relocate the commoners as soon as possible.”

“This… she might have to consider…” Karen frowned. Although Maggie Smith was the ruler of the Gosse Empire, relocating so many commoners at once would require consultation with other nobles and ministers first.

“Tell her I will uproot the vampires from the Gosse Empire.” Tang Qiu pulled her hood back on, her sky-blue eyes slightly lowered as she said in a low voice, “She will definitely agree.”

Uproot them, leaving not a single one behind.

Rose Manor… she had long wanted to destroy it.

In a valley near Rose Manor, a small castle was hidden away. Sixth-generation vampires patrolled the vicinity. At the base of the cliff were several golden-wired cages, inside which were a few pale but mentally stable blood thralls, including one or two priests.

Beverly stood on the castle’s terrace, her long silver hair casually tied back with a cord. She held a glass of crimson blood, staring blankly at the stream below.

A commotion outside made her frown. She set the glass down casually and leaped off the terrace. A sixth-generation vampire approached her and said respectfully, “Lord Beverly, there’s a fourth-generation Gangrel vampire outside…”

Before he could finish, two heavy thuds sounded nearby. Beverly gestured for him to withdraw, then stepped over her unconscious subordinates who had fallen at her feet and walked out. She scanned her surroundings and said coldly in a certain direction, “Come out.”

Two figures emerged from behind the cliff. The one in front was tall with deep-set features. Her long red hair appeared somewhat dull even in the sunlight, just like her dark red eyes—profound and cold, like ice that hadn’t thawed in ten thousand years, all emotions hidden within, unreadable to outsiders.

Upon seeing Lucille, Beverly’s eyes narrowed slightly. She curled her lips into a low chuckle and said, “I remember you, little tundra wolf.”

“Where’s that little lover of yours?”

As she spoke, she sized Lucille up. Her smile suddenly froze, and her brow furrowed. “No, how did you…”

Her expression was one of shock and suspicion. When Beverly had seen Lucille in the Shas Principality, she was still a fifth-generation vampire. How was she a fourth-generation now?

How… how could something like this happen?

Lucille allowed Beverly to scrutinize her but had no intention of explaining. She glanced at the vampires behind Beverly and said coolly, “Are these all the subordinates you have?”

“You probably can’t even break into Evan’s Blood Domain.”

A vampire behind Beverly was provoked and took a step forward, saying angrily, “What did you say?”

Lucille shot him a glance. The powerful aura made the vampire’s expression change. He held his breath, and the pressure on him only vanished when Beverly shifted her feet to subtly shield him.

The vampire clutched his chest, gasping for air, and retreated with his head down.

Beverly gestured for her subordinates to back away, then gestured with her chin towards Lucille and Lola behind her, saying, “Let’s talk inside.”

She had already figured out their purpose for coming.

The three entered the castle. Beverly had her subordinates serve two glasses of fresh blood to entertain Lucille and Lola. She sat in a chair, resting her forehead on one hand, her gaze fixed on Lucille, unable to fathom the reason for the change in her.

Lucille refused the blood and had no intention of solving the puzzle for Beverly. She got straight to the point, “Your brother was captured by Evan. He’s being held in Rose Manor.”

“A friend of mine was also captured. Perhaps we can join forces.”

Explaining their feud with Evan would involve too many aspects, so it was better to find a reason similar to Beverly’s.

Beverly’s gaze swept over Lucille’s face before she looked away. She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip of blood, seemingly in thought. After a moment, she said with a half-smile, “Evan and his subordinates are all in Rose Manor. A third-generation vampire with several fourth-generation ones. When you say ‘join forces,’ you really mean you want to borrow my power to save someone, don’t you?”

Beverly knew that Lucille had no clan power of her own.

“When I say ‘join forces,’ I mean wiping them all out.”

Beverly laughed. “I think you should first consider how you’re going to stay alive when facing a third-generation vampire.”

Third-generation vampires weren’t so easily killed. Her ultimate goal in storming Rose Manor this time was just to rescue her brother. As for Evan… she would have to go back to the Blood Domain and find an elder from her own clan to deal with him.

Beverly laughed off Lucille’s “boast” and put it out of her mind. Although Lucille wanted to use her power to save someone, she herself was a fourth-generation vampire, and a Gangrel at that.

Her combat prowess was formidable enough to be considered a useful asset, so after some thought, Beverly readily agreed.

Lucille’s goal was to persuade Beverly. Seeing her agree so readily, she said no more. She and Lola stood up to leave.

Beverly watched her back, and as if remembering something, she suddenly called out to them, “Wait, do you know why Evan captured my brother?”

She still couldn’t figure out why Evan would capture a fourth-generation vampire from the Brujah clan.

To provoke a war between the clans?

Lucille remained silent, but Lola gave Beverly a peculiar look, then shrugged and replied, “To make him procreate.”

“Hmm?”

An elder of the Tzimisce clan capturing a vampire from another clan to create offspring? Was he insane?

Seeing her baffled expression, Lola knew she hadn’t understood. She rubbed her chin and thought of a cruder way to put it. “Not creating offspring through the Embrace, but having children with human women.”

Beverly’s expression cracked. “…What did you say?”

Her brother… She was going to kill Evan!!