The temple of the God of Thunder was not in the central region of Tallas, but rather closer to the border. When Avira arrived at the temple entrance with the Wolf Race, apart from a few vampires guarding the sacrifices, the Sethite wizards responsible for destroying the array were long gone.

The Wolf Race warriors charged out to clear the vampires at the temple entrance. An elder entered the temple to investigate, then came out and said to Helen, “The array has been formed, but there are no signs of it being activated. We haven’t seen those Sethite wizards either.”

Helen frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, “Search the vicinity carefully and see if you can find any trace of the Sethite wizards.”

An elder acknowledged in a low voice and then vanished with a group of Wolf Race warriors.

The vampires at the entrance had all been cleared away. Helen faced Avira and gently proposed, “Regarding the matter of breaking the array, I hope Elder Avira can lend a hand.”

It wasn’t that they couldn’t break the array inside the temple themselves, but with Avira’s assistance, it would be much faster.

After learning from Cynthia about the Ventrue clan’s apprehension toward the temples, Helen naturally didn’t need to be polite with Avira. It wasn’t her style to do the vampires’ work and let them reap the benefits.

Avira glanced at Helen and shrugged, having no objection to being roped into “hard labor.” She raised her hand toward Hanni, intending to grab her and go in together, but before she could touch her, Hanni transformed into her original form and shot out with a whoosh.

“I see the witches. I’m going to rescue them.” Ever since she learned that the witches had asked them for help but were ignored, Hanni had felt a sense of guilt toward them. Now, seeing many witches among the sacrifices prepared by the vampires, she immediately ran over excitedly.

Avira’s hand grasped at empty air. It paused for a few seconds before she withdrew it. She watched Hanni’s retreating figure, her crimson eyes narrowing. For once, she didn’t feel the usual boredom of having her fun spoiled; instead, the corners of her red lips curved slightly upward.

For some reason, she found this wolf more and more pleasing to the eye with each passing day. Even when Hanni did things that were foolish and silly, Avira only found it amusing.

When had she become so patient? Avira’s gaze swept up and down Hanni’s body. As a thought came to her, her expression suddenly turned suggestive.

Although Hanni was too simple and naive, completely without guile, she was rather outstanding in “certain aspects.” Avira licked her lips. For instance, she greatly enjoyed the madness of the Wolf Race on the night of a full moon.

Avira’s gaze was scorching and undisguised. Hanni, who was rescuing the witches, sensed it and turned her head warily. Seeing it was Avira, she was slightly taken aback and muttered under her breath, “Why does she keep staring at me…”

This vampire was getting stranger and stranger.

She turned her head back, leaving Avira with only a view of her back.

The Sethite wizards, having keenly sensed the danger and fled ahead of time, had already left Tallas and were hiding in a remote valley. Fleeing in a panic would only expose their tracks. Seeing that they had run far enough, Maia stopped. This valley could serve as a hiding place, so there was no rush to leave. Besides, they had been careful to conceal their tracks along the way. After the Elves and the God Race withdrew from Tallas, they would have to go back to check the situation and think about how to report to Talia.

Escaping didn’t mean they were safe.

After the Magic Dragons drove the Sethite wizards out of the Capri Plains, they had chosen to seek refuge with the Lasombra vampires. But the vampires had just been defeated and were in a foul mood. The Grand Elder’s plan to have them help drive away the Magic Dragons fell through, and to make matters worse, they were sent off to destroy the temples.

Perhaps because she felt threatened, Talia had begun to think that destroying the temples one by one was too slow. The Sethite wizards were divided into three teams, each led by a Second Generation Vampire, to attack three temples simultaneously. She and Edeli happened to be responsible for the one in Tallas, but they had unexpectedly provoked the God Race and the Elves.

The pitch-black night enveloped the valley without a sliver of light. Maia, who had never had a concept of time, suddenly felt that this night was far too long—so long that she was growing anxious.

She raised a hand to pull her cloak tighter, trying to ignore the unease in her heart. She waved her bone staff, intending to contact the Grand Elder and report the situation in Tallas, but after chanting the spell, no Power of Darkness gathered.

Maia froze, a cold sweat suddenly breaking out on her forehead. She turned to a clan member beside her and commanded in a low, hoarse voice, “…Contact the Grand Elder.”

The witch gave her a strange look, took out her bone staff, and began to chant. But just like Maia, not a trace of the Power of Darkness gathered at her call during the incantation.

“This…” The witch’s face was filled with shock and doubt. “What happened? My spell failed?”

The other witches also noticed something was wrong and took out their bone staves. But the Power of Darkness within the valley seemed to have been drained away; no matter how they chanted, there was no sign of it coalescing.

The bone worms floating around, emitting a faint light, suddenly vanished. The only light in the valley was devoured. Maia’s vision abruptly went dark. Not only could she not see her clan members, but she couldn’t even sense their presence.

A cold night wind blew past, making Maia shiver. Her body was bound by an invisible force, unable to move. The surroundings suddenly became quiet, yet also seemed incredibly noisy. Deprived of their ability to gather the Power of Darkness, the Sethite wizards became as helpless as the humans they had always looked down upon.

Behind the impenetrable darkness that the Sethite wizards could not see through, the Blood Demon floated in the middle of the witch party and said smugly, “Are these them?”

“To be pushed into a corner by such weak enemies, you all are truly useless.”

Camille, hugging Betty’s arm, craned her neck to look at the restrained Sethite wizards. Her eyes lit up, and she said happily, “Kill them, kill them.”

Her smile was radiant, as if the words coming from her mouth weren’t about something as cold-blooded and cruel as murder.

Some of the Anderson Witches had already drawn their daggers and stepped into the darkness. The thick scent of blood, along with screams, drifted out.

The scene of slaughter didn’t cause the Blood Demon any discomfort; instead, it made her even more excited. Her shadow floated in the air, and her clear voice, completely out of place in the night, rang in the witches’ ears. “Slaughter to your hearts’ content. Kill every enemy that stands in your way.”

And then… awaken the deeper darkness in your hearts.

The Blood Demon floated up to a tree and sat down, observing the witches below with great interest. Compared to the Anderson witches who killed without batting an eye, she preferred these Garcia witches who would hesitate and feel soft-hearted, yet were also exceptionally ruthless toward their enemies.

Compared to the former, the Garcia Witches, who possessed more human weaknesses, were clearly easier to control. Why hadn’t she thought before that these humans, with the Power of Darkness flowing in their veins, could be used?

She had wasted over a thousand years thinking of ways to break her seal every day, yet she had never considered using these witches. The Blood Demon let out a low laugh, toying with her long spear in a cheerful mood.

The thick scent of blood made Betty frown. She tightened her grip on her bone staff, her gaze fixed on the darkness ahead, carefully trying to distinguish things. Only when she located Maia did she take a deep breath and step inside.

Camille had intended to follow Betty, but when she saw she was going after Maia, her eyes darted around, and she stopped.

She took a few steps back and leaned leisurely against the mountain wall. Her fingers brushed over the Space Gem at her waist, and she took out a ruby, holding it up carefully to admire it.

No one would know where Eunice was. Camille’s lips curled slightly, her expression rather smug. Everything Eunice had was now hers.

Edeli’s injuries were too severe; his own strength was now only at the level of a third-generation vampire. Capturing or killing him was not difficult at all. Olivia’s help wasn’t needed; Cynthia could handle it alone.

Nearly all the cities within Tallas had fallen, and the Blood Domains enveloping them had been shattered. The night was illuminated by dazzling golden light and flames. It seemed that clearing out the vampires in Tallas was only a matter of time.

But just as the situation stabilized, a sudden change occurred. A blood-red, dense fog silently seeped out from underground, directly ignoring the golden light and flames as it rapidly spread upward. A powerful pressure enveloped the God Race and Elves who were chanting and fighting. Their spellcasting was interrupted, giving the beleaguered vampires a moment to breathe.

This was the domain of a Second Generation Vampire. Cynthia put away her longbow and faced the direction the pressure was coming from, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. There was another Second Generation Vampire in Tallas besides Edeli? Why hadn’t she and Olivia sensed it before?

The appearance of the pressure brought a look of ecstasy to Edeli’s face. Although he was still restrained by the Light Fire, he looked much more relaxed than before.

The Blood Domain came from Kate… one of the most powerful elders of the Gangrel clan. This God Race member was finished!

Cynthia chanted a spell, summoning a barrier of light to shield the surrounding Elves and God Race from the pressure of the Blood Domain. She glanced at Edeli’s expression, pondered for a moment, and then turned and walked toward the source of the pressure.

The Power of Light condensed into a golden whirlwind, lifting her into the air. The domineering Power of Light and the cold Power of Darkness faintly confronted each other. The city, hidden by the night, was exposed to Cynthia’s view. She caressed the Light Crystal in her hand, looking down to search for something in the empty city, and soon locked onto her target.

A bolt of golden lightning descended from the sky, splitting open a castle in the city. Amidst the ruins, a pure white cat crouched on a fallen stone pillar, licking its paw. Its eerie crimson eyes stared straight at Cynthia. A thin, inconspicuous chain was wrapped around its neck, the other end broken.

Cynthia’s memory was quite good, so she quickly remembered seeing this cat by Talia’s side before. That was at the Beast God’s temple, and Talia had only been an illusion. Although Cynthia had found the cat strange at first glance, she had never imagined it would be a Second Generation Vampire.

The white cat stepped out of the ruins with light footsteps. Its figure slowly elongated in the blood mist, and a petite, beautiful, white-haired girl appeared in Cynthia’s vision. Her impressive figure was barely concealed by a top and short skirt transformed from snow-white fur, leaving large patches of fair skin exposed. A long, delicate chain was wrapped around her body like an accessory.

Vampires never felt any sense of shame, and the white cat was no exception. She tugged at the top that barely covered her chest, her playful gaze sweeping up and down Cynthia. Licking her sharp fangs, she asked curiously, “So you’re that God Race member named Cynthia?”

“Your blood must be delicious.” She took a deep breath, then stared straight at Cynthia’s face and said with a grin, “Just as beautiful as your face.”