Fourth Generation Vampires were already considered the backbone of their race. They were numerous and powerful, and creating progeny required few restrictions. The Vampires had taken swift control of the Sitatul Continent in just one hundred years, a feat for which the Fourth Generation deserved much of the credit.

Even now, most of those stationed on the Sitatul Continent were Fourth Generation; the Third and Second Generations rarely set foot here. After all, the Blood Domain was not much smaller than the Sitatul Continent, and that was the Vampires’ true territory.

Before the gods left the Sitatul Continent, they had sealed all the First Generation Vampires. Overnight, the two great mountains pressing down on them had vanished. The Second Generation Vampires, their hearts consumed by lust for power, found that invasion and control were not enough to satisfy them. The once relatively harmonious relationships between the clans began to show friction, both large and small.

But the thrill of conquering the Sitatul Continent and controlling the fates of the other races buried these frictions like dust. They still existed, but no one bothered to dig them up.

But once a crack appears, it can never be truly repaired. Over a hundred years ago, the twelve Vampire clans engaged in a fierce debate over whether to withdraw from the Sitatul Continent. The argument lasted for a full decade, ultimately ending with ten clans, led by the Ventrue and Brujah, choosing to withdraw. The Lasombra and Tzimisce, however, were unwilling to follow the Ventrue’s command and chose to remain.

This angered the Second Generation Ventrue elders who had made the decision to leave. After returning to the Blood Domain, they seized large swathes of territory belonging to the Lasombra and Tzimisce. This forced the Second and Third Generation members of the Lasombra and Tzimisce to return to the Blood Domain to resist them, leaving matters on the Sitatul Continent entirely in the hands of the Fourth Generation.

The Lord Della mentioned by Chief William was a Fourth Generation member of the Lasombra clan.

Given Cynthia and the others’ current strength, their chances of winning against a Fourth Generation Vampire were not high. Especially since she also had numerous progeny. If Vampires, with their advantages in speed and strength, wanted to kill someone, it was far easier for them than for those clumsy spiders.

After Chief William left, Betty took out the map again. She stared at the area around Manden City with a worried expression and sighed, “Should we go around this place?”

Cynthia toyed with the guiding Divine Stone in her hand. The stone flickered with a faint white light, somewhat conspicuous in the dim room. She lowered her gaze, her eyes scanning the map a few times before she pointed to a spot and asked in a low voice, “Where is this?”

Chelsea glanced down and replied, “Ochester.”

Manden City and Ochester were both to the west, just one was further south and the other further north. If they were to continue in that direction, they would either have to take a detour through Ochester or pass through Manden City.

The Divine Stone only provided a direction; they had to follow it to find out the next one.

Betty placed her hands on her hips and stared intently at the Ochester area on the map for a long time before saying, “I’ve heard the elders say this place is teeming with monsters.”

Monsters on one side, a Fourth Generation Vampire on the other… Betty couldn’t help but look up to ask for Cynthia’s opinion. “Do you want to go through Ochester, Cynthia?”

Cynthia stroked her chin, pondering for a moment before nodding. “Didn’t Chief William say that Fourth Generation Vampire is capturing non-humans? For us, that Vampire is far more dangerous than any monster.”

Besides, compared to Vampires who excelled at close combat, she would rather face large but clumsy monsters. It would be a good opportunity to test the power of her Light Magic.

Chelsea also agreed with Cynthia’s proposal. “Let’s avoid the Vampire. We can’t handle a Fourth Generation lord and her progeny yet.”

Betty pressed her lips together, her spirits sinking. “Then we can’t keep rescuing humans to find believers for Cynthia.”

Although Cynthia had never explicitly told Betty about the whole “Goddess of Light and believers” thing, Betty, having overheard it a few times, was now a firm believer.

If the God Race weren’t messengers of the Goddess of Light, how could Cynthia be so powerful? Betty turned her head to look at Cynthia and said in a small voice, “Why are we so unlucky?”

To run into a Fourth Generation Vampire at a time like this.

“Such bad luck.”

Seeing Betty’s low spirits, Cynthia reached out and stroked her hair. Just as she was about to offer a few words of comfort, a series of knocks echoed from the closed door. At the same time, Sarah’s excited voice rang out from outside, “Cynthia, I found one!”

Cynthia’s hand, which was resting on Betty’s shoulder, paused. She turned her head toward the door, a thought occurring to her. She raised an eyebrow, stood up, and walked over to open it.

Sarah stood outside, holding the hand of a girl who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. When she saw Cynthia emerge, her eyes sparkled, her voice trembling with uncontrollable excitement. “I found one.” She pulled the girl forward. “This… this person, she can sense the Power of Light.”

The young girl was frightened by Sarah’s excitement and couldn’t help but shrink away.

Hearing Sarah’s words, Betty ran out too, peeking from behind Cynthia to curiously observe the human girl.

Compared to the excited Sarah and the curious Betty, Cynthia appeared quite calm. She turned slightly to the side, gesturing for them to come inside before talking.

Sarah always remembered the task Cynthia had given her, so she hadn’t been idle since arriving in the village. She had been visiting every household, searching for any humans who could sense the Power of Light.

Fortunately, the God Race were all beautiful, which earned her a warm reception and saved her from being driven away by the villagers. Later, she stumbled upon this girl by chance.

Sarah led the girl into the room and happily introduced her to Cynthia. “Her name is Jenny, she’s sixteen, and she reacted to my Power of Light.”

Seeing the girl’s nervous expression, Cynthia walked to the table, poured a cup of water, and handed it to her with a smile. “Don’t be afraid. Sarah is just overly excited. We won’t hurt you.”

Jenny took the water and cautiously glanced up at Cynthia. The beautiful member of the God Race before her gave her a sense of security, and the girl instinctively leaned closer to her. “I-I don’t know anything.”

“I just felt that the ball of white light was very warm.”

Cynthia raised her hand, and a small flame appeared in her palm. She brought her hand before Jenny, her red lips curling slightly. In the dim light, her golden eyes seemed less mysterious and more warm. “Then what do you feel when you see this?”

Cynthia’s gentle voice eased Jenny’s tense nerves. She slowly relaxed and summoned the courage to reach out and touch the flame, saying softly, “It’s a little hot.”

A flicker crossed Cynthia’s eyes, and the smile on her lips deepened. She pulled her hand back and pressed it against the table behind her. The flame in her palm touched the table, instantly burning it to ash.

Jenny was startled by the flame’s power and stared blankly at the empty space.

Cynthia glanced to the side and smiled apologetically. “My apologies, I’ve destroyed one of your tables.”

“As much as I’d love to chat with you about this cute little flame, we still have matters to discuss right now.” She apologized to Jenny, then looked up through the window at the sky. She said softly to Sarah, “It’s too late. You should take Jenny back to rest for now.”

Sarah was taken aback and hesitated. “Now?” They hadn’t even convinced Jenny to come with them yet.

Seeing Cynthia nod, she reluctantly led Jenny away.

As Jenny walked with Sarah, her thoughts kept returning to the flame. She mustered her courage, leaned closer, and tentatively asked, “That flame… is that the Light Magic you were talking about?”

She touched her hair, a little embarrassed. “Can I learn it too?”

Sarah’s eyes lit up. “Of course, you can.” She took the girl’s hand, and sensing the goodwill in her emotions, her smile became even more sincere. “Besides the flame, I can also teach you the Healing Spell.”

As the girl listened to Sarah’s chatter, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Inside the wooden hut, Betty clung to the window frame, watching for a long time, but she could only see the backs of Sarah and the girl grow smaller in the distance. She reluctantly turned back, not quite understanding why Cynthia had let Jenny leave so easily. “Are you not satisfied with her?”

With the table gone, the room felt much more spacious. Cynthia stood at the doorway, enjoying the rare, less-biting night breeze. Hearing Betty’s question, she smiled and said, “How could I not be? I’m very satisfied.”

The fact that Sarah had brought her over proved that there was nothing wrong with Jenny’s character.

“Then why didn’t you recruit her as a believer?”

Cynthia tilted her head slightly and beckoned to Betty with a finger. Her silver hair, like the bright moonlight, slid from her shoulder with the movement. One of the buttons on her collar was undone, revealing a hint of her delicate collarbone. Perhaps because the night was so dark, Betty felt that Cynthia’s every move exuded a lazy and casual air, lacking some of the composure she had during the day.

Betty’s gaze shifted for a moment. She cleared her throat, then moved closer, her eyes shining brightly.

Cynthia handed the cup in her hand to Betty and said nonchalantly, “Rather than persuading her with words, it’s better to pique her curiosity and let her explore it herself.”

She trusted that Sarah would explain all of Jenny’s questions very well.

“She’ll be interested.” Cynthia winked at Betty and said softly, “It seems we do have a little bit of luck after all.”

Betty was stunned for a moment before realizing Cynthia was responding to what she had said when she was feeling down earlier. She lowered her head and touched her hair, a little embarrassed.

After resting in the village for a night, Cynthia and the others were ready to leave at first light the next day. Chief William had enthusiastically prepared a lot of food and water for them. Although the food was just some dried fruit, in times like these, the gesture was precious enough.

Jenny hadn’t slept all night, pestering Sarah to tell her about the Goddess of Light, the God Race, and the believers. Although Sarah repeated more or less the same things over and over, Jenny listened with great interest.

She seemed to be interested in all of it, but in reality, she was more interested in the flame Cynthia had produced.

Dazzling, bright, and powerful.

Despite not sleeping all night, both Jenny and Sarah were full of energy. Sarah pulled Jenny over to Cynthia’s side and excitedly whispered something in her ear.

Jenny stood behind Sarah, looking a little nervous.

Cynthia wasn’t surprised by Jenny’s choice. She glanced toward the village and asked Jenny, “Are you sure you want to come with us? It’s safe here, but if you follow us, you will encounter many dangers along the way.”

Jenny hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and said, “My parents were both killed by Vampires. If the Goddess of Light can really kill those Vampires, then what’s a little danger to me?”

“…Besides, if I don’t go with you, I might end up dying at the hands of Vampires just like my parents someday anyway.”

Her voice trembled with fear, but her expression was relatively calm.

Cynthia nodded with satisfaction, reached out to pat her on the shoulder, and said with a smile, “Don’t be afraid. The Goddess of Light will protect you.”

She tossed a ball of white flame to Jenny. “Take this. You can try to sense the Power of Light on the road.”

Humans were not as sensitive to the Power of Light as the God Race, so it was necessary to familiarize them with its aura as quickly as possible.

Chief William seemed to know a great deal about Hatz City, including the search habits of its guards. Following his advice, Cynthia and the others were almost out of Hatz City’s range without encountering a single patrol of knights.

Since they were no longer deliberately seeking out villages, they had to camp in the wild. After spending two days together, Jenny and Sarah had become completely familiar with each other. Although Jenny’s connection to the Power of Light was still weak, she was making good progress learning the Healing Spell from Sarah.

However, neither Jenny nor Sarah had managed to learn the incantation for the Light Fire. Left with no choice, Cynthia had to take some time to develop a few simpler, smaller spells for them to practice.

Betty walked over and sat down beside Cynthia. Watching Jenny and Sarah huddled together learning magic, she couldn’t help but smile, genuinely happy for Cynthia. “Your people are growing in number, Cynthia.”

“We will find more of the God Race and more humans who can use the Power of Light.”

After saying this, Betty thought of her own people, and the smile on her face faded slightly.

Cynthia was toying with a vine hanging down from a treetop. When she glanced up, she happened to catch the loneliness in Betty’s eyes. She thought for a moment and said, “Once we find the God Race clan leader, we’ll go to the Tallas Mountains to rescue your people.”

Betty’s heart warmed. She hugged her knees, tilted her head to look at Cynthia, and said with a smile, “You’re so kind, Cynthia.”

Footsteps approached, and Cynthia and Betty looked up at the same time. Chelsea said with a blank expression, “Eunice and Camille are gone.”

Cynthia frowned and turned to look at Betty, who was closer to Eunice.

Betty sat up and thought carefully. “Eunice probably went hunting.” She touched her face, a little embarrassed. “She said I’ve gotten thinner recently, so she wanted to catch a rabbit for me to eat.”

“Camille is probably with her.”

Night enveloped the small village like a monstrous, clawing beast. The peace and tranquility of the day were obscured by darkness. A grayish-white skeleton crawled out from the ground, its sharp finger bones easily tearing through the fence.

The sound of the fence breaking was the first thing to wake Chief William, who slept near the village entrance. He threw on some clothes and came out of his house. The night was too dark, and after squinting for a long time, he could only make out a gray shadow by the fence.

He turned back into his house, found a torch, and lit it. Just as he was about to see what the gray figure by the fence was, a red figure suddenly emerged from the darkness directly in front of him.

Chief William raised the torch and moved closer, recognizing the cute face beneath the red robe. He let out a small sigh of relief, surprised. “Why are you back?”

As he spoke, he looked past the red-robed witch, but he didn’t see the silver-haired member of the God Race. A bad feeling suddenly welled up in Chief William’s heart. He spun around with the torch and finally got a clear look at what the gray figure by the fence was.

Chief William’s eyes widened, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He swallowed hard and turned to run, but a sharp pain suddenly shot through his abdomen, freezing him in place. He looked down in disbelief at a dagger plunged into his body.

The dagger’s owner was happily kneading the blood on her hands, her cute face looking like that of a vicious demon in William’s eyes.

His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, his voice trembling as he asked, “…Wh-why? I helped you.”

“You helped that member of the God Race.” The red-robed witch bent down and smeared the blood on William’s clothes, her smile malicious. “Who was it that made that God Race member send all the humans from the other villages away?”

“I couldn’t find anyone to kill, so I have no choice but to sacrifice you.”

“It is you…” the red-robed witch said, enunciating each word, “who are unlucky.”