The scent of blood would attract the Vampires. After eliminating the python swarm, the first thing Cynthia and the others did was leave the area.

The bodies of their kin cast a shadow over the witches’ hearts. Divination was once again put to use, and this time, the result was much clearer. The direction it pointed was the same as the Divine Stone: towards the Death Swamp.

Ochester was vast, and there was more than one path to the Death Swamp. The witches chose the most remote and hidden route. Knowing that Vampires were still in Ochester, they proceeded with caution and vigilance.

Evading danger was perhaps the witches’ greatest skill. After leaving the pythons’ territory, they encountered no more magical beasts on their way to the vicinity of the Death Swamp. They even passed places where Vampires had stayed several times, yet they never ran into a single one.

The witches stopped again to perform divination. Cynthia found a spot with a relatively open view and gazed into the distance, where she could vaguely see a corner of the Death Swamp, obscured by the jungle.

The lack of danger along the way allowed Susan’s constantly tense nerves to relax considerably. She walked over to Cynthia, followed her gaze, and said casually, “I didn’t expect the witches to be so capable.”

She approached and chatted with Cynthia so naturally, as if they were old friends, showing no sign of their previous hostility.

Cynthia turned to look at Susan and smiled faintly, her attitude just as natural and casual. “The witches have always been very capable.”

Before they had even set foot in Ochester, once Susan realized Cynthia had no real intention of killing her, her attitude had changed again and again. It seemed as though her hostility towards Cynthia had vanished.

And Cynthia had always maintained that gentle yet distant demeanor towards her-not hostile, but not easy to get close to either.

But in reality, the harmonious and natural atmosphere was only superficial. Both Cynthia and Susan remained wary of each other.

“Do you know what purpose the Vampires have for bringing the other races here?” Cynthia turned her head back towards the Death Swamp and asked.

Susan shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m only responsible for capturing people.”

She was human, after all. Why would the Vampires tell her everything?

“But the last time I captured other races, they were sent to the Slade Sea Region.” Susan recalled carefully, her eyes lowered. “And then a tsunami happened there.”

Cynthia’s brow furrowed. “The tsunami in the Slade Sea Region was caused by the Vampires?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but after the tsunami, Elder Della came to Manden City.” Susan seemed to remember something and, after a moment’s hesitation, said in a low voice, “But she seemed to be injured. She left all matters in Ochester to her subordinate Vampires.”

Although Elder Della might not be in Ochester, the thought of the fourth and fifth-generation Vampires under her command made Susan doubt that Cynthia and her group could successfully rescue their people.

Besides, how would they escape after rescuing them?

Since this also concerned her own safety, Susan voiced her doubts directly.

Cynthia glanced at the witches behind her, a smile playing on her red lips. “Protect them, and you won’t have to worry about escaping.”

“Oh?” Susan was a little surprised. Could it be that the witches were hiding their true strength?

Cynthia saw through Susan’s thoughts, chuckled softly, and then explained, “The witch clans have a type of teleportation array that can send people to other places.”

Susan’s expression shifted slightly, and she nodded slowly. “That sounds pretty good.”

Cynthia smiled without a word.

The witches’ teleportation array was inherently a very powerful and practical formation; it was just that they themselves had never paid it much attention. After rescuing the witches from Susan, Cynthia had worked with Chelsea and Betty to study the formation. Although the process was difficult, the final result was quite satisfactory to them.

Previously, the witches’ teleportation array transported people randomly, so it was only used on enemies, making it rather useless. The improved version, however, while still lacking a fixed destination, at least allowed them to determine the range and direction.

On their way to Ochester, Cynthia and Chelsea had already left a teleportation array in a hidden valley as an escape route.

Among the witchcraft the witches practiced, few had powerful offensive capabilities, but there was a wide variety of spells for disguise. They gathered to discuss for a while and quickly came up with a plan to infiltrate the Death Swamp.

“…You want us to disguise ourselves as Vampires and scout the Death Swamp?” Susan stared at Chelsea as if she had said something ridiculous. “That plan is less reliable than just sneaking in.”

Chelsea looked at her with a blank expression and corrected, “Not you. Cynthia and us.”

Susan scoffed, striking her down without mercy. “That’s even less reliable.”

“Disguising ourselves as Vampires would indeed make our movements much more convenient, but if we encounter high-ranking Vampires, our identities could easily be exposed.” Cynthia lowered her eyes and thought for a moment before saying, “The Death Swamp is large. If we’re careful, we might be able to avoid the Vampires and find the place where they’re holding the other races.”

She pointed at Susan and her knights and said to Chelsea, “Disguise them as well.”

They still needed the help of these knights.

Chelsea didn’t quite trust Susan and her people, but seeing as Cynthia had said so, she nodded in agreement.

The witches began to help Susan and the knights with their disguises. Susan found a knight who was already disguised and examined him, staring at his now-red pupils with some surprise. “It’s quite convincing.”

The knight touched his eyes, glanced over at the silver-haired God Race member, and asked Susan in a hushed voice, “City Lord, aren’t we going to hand these people over to the Vampires?”

The Vampires were right below them. They could easily betray these witches and the God Race member to them.

Susan’s eyes flickered. She fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook her head and whispered, “…The Vampires are temperamental, and who knows what’s hidden in Ochester. They might just kill us along with them.”

The knight nodded. After a moment of hesitation, he said cautiously, “Actually, I think this God Race member is pretty good.”

They had already witnessed the God Race’s healing spells, which were shocking and… tempting.

Knowing what the knight wanted to say, Susan raised a hand to cut him off, stating flatly, “Things aren’t as simple as you think.”

No one hoped for a race capable of opposing the Vampires more than humans did. If the God Race could do it, they would of course be happy.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to resist; it was just that they… lacked allies.

Her father had waited for decades and found none. Susan didn’t think she would be so lucky.

“We’ve only seen two somewhat special members of the God Race.” Susan took out a black cloak and put it on, saying in a low voice, “Let’s observe a little longer.”

More than the God Race’s true strength, Susan was currently more concerned about something else.

She fastened her cloak, took a deep breath, and stared at the Death Swamp with a somber expression. Since she was already here, she might as well see what the Vampires were really up to.

The previous tsunami in the Slade Sea Region had been no small disaster, and… Susan’s expression grew grave as she thought of something.

After everyone was disguised, the witches led the way as they once again slipped into the Death Swamp via a remote and hidden path.

The Vampires had been transporting other races and humans here for a long time. Their routes were almost fixed, and because humans and other races generally lacked the ability to escape, these tedious tasks were all handed over to sixth-generation Vampires and below.

Only a quarter of the Death Swamp was solid ground, and the safest path was now occupied by the Vampires.

Four or five sixth-generation Vampires stood boredly beside a cave. The cave’s stone walls were a dark green, and its interior was pitch-black, without a glimmer of light.

In front of the cave was a long, narrow path. A seemingly endless line of people, supervised by Vampires, walked along the narrow path flanked by swamps and entered the cave. The procession was mostly made up of humans and witches, with fewer werewolves, elves, and God Race members.

They were all bound in chains. Some humans, exhausted, accidentally stepped into the swamps on either side and were instantly swallowed without a trace.

Cynthia and Susan’s group had finally managed to circle around to the vicinity of the cave, but a long, wide swamp blocked their path. Cynthia stared at the Vampires by the cave and turned to Betty. “Go ask Eunice how many she can take care of.”

Eunice was very strong, just difficult to communicate with.

Although Eunice was not far from Cynthia, Betty obediently relayed the message. Eunice glanced at the silver-haired God Race member and said flatly, “Two.”

Cynthia carefully observed the area around the cave again. After confirming that there were no fourth-generation Vampires in sight, she said in a low voice, “Eunice and I will take care of these Vampires. You go in and find our people.”

Betty was a little worried. “I’ll stay and help you.”

Cynthia shook her head. “You help Chelsea prepare the teleportation array.”

After assigning their tasks, Cynthia’s deep tone became gentle again. “Be careful. If you encounter danger, use the witch stone to activate the teleportation array.”

The teleportation array could be used many times anyway. As for whether the Vampires would destroy it, Cynthia doubted they could even understand what the formation was.

It wouldn’t be easy to cross the swamp directly, so Cynthia’s group simply circled around to the front and, using the witches’ disguises, walked brazenly past the Vampires’ eyes.

With her previous experience, Chelsea’s disguise magic had become increasingly exquisite. Although some Vampires vaguely sensed that their auras were strange, the “silver-haired Vampire” walking at the very front was so exceptionally beautiful, and her every move exuded nobility and elegance, making her almost indistinguishable from high-ranking Vampires of esteemed status.

The Vampires were deceived and only noticed something was amiss when Cynthia’s group drew near.

A sixth-generation Vampire stepped forward to block their path, looking Cynthia up and down. He asked tentatively, “…Which clan does Excellency belong to?”

Some high-generation Vampires would conceal their auras, and recently, many had been coming here. The Vampire didn’t dare to directly question Cynthia’s identity.

Faced with the Vampire’s question, Cynthia answered frankly, “The God Race.”

The Vampire was stunned. Before he could react, a circle of white flames suddenly appeared at his feet and engulfed him.

Seeing this, the other Vampires swarmed over. Eunice took out her staff and began to chant, and gray chains descended from the sky, trapping the two Vampires in the lead.

Cynthia gave Chelsea, Susan, and the others a meaningful look, signaling them to enter the cave. A Vampire saw their intention and rushed over to stop them but was blocked by a white barrier.

Cynthia and Eunice took the Vampires’ places on either side of the cave, focusing on dealing with the charging Vampires.

Just like at the cave, a battle was also taking place at the entrance to Ochester, but this time, the combatants were Vampires and Elves.

Olivia and her Elves had just entered Ochester when they ran into a Vampire team transporting other races. The highest-ranking Vampire in this team was only a fifth-generation, and they were quickly eliminated by the elven guards.

Polly wiped the bloodstains from her hands as she walked back to Olivia’s side. Pointing at the rescued captives, she said, “There’s actually a God Race member among them.”

Olivia glanced over, her voice cool. “Bring them here.”

Polly gestured to an elven guard, who went and brought the God Race member over.

The God Race member was somewhat timid in Olivia’s presence, keeping their head down, filled with anxiety.

Olivia sized them up for a few moments and asked flatly, “Do you know how to use Light Magic?”

The God Race member looked bewildered. “No.”

A trace of disappointment flickered in Olivia’s pale green eyes, and she lost the heart to ask anything more. She raised her hand, signaling the Elves to take the person away.

“It seems Cynthia really did invent Light Magic,” Polly said with some amazement, watching the God Race member’s retreating back.

After she spoke, she noticed Olivia had been silent. She subconsciously turned her head and saw her pressing a hand to her brow, a weary look on her face. Polly immediately said with concern, “Her Majesty the Queen, perhaps we should return to our territory.”

Olivia frowned, straightened her back, and said with displeasure, “I told you I’m fine.”

She looked up at the jungle ahead and said in a low voice, “Let’s go in.”

Ochester… the location of the Beast God Temple. This time, she would not let the Vampires succeed again.