In the early morning, the verdant leaves, damp with dew, exuded vigorous life. Birds landed on branches in the woods, their crisp calls echoing through the trees. A white figure darted swiftly through the forest. Just as it was about to emerge, a golden light appeared without warning about a hundred meters ahead.

The sprinting white wolf came to an abrupt halt. She stood frozen for a moment before turning to look in the direction the golden light had come from. A member of the God Race with silver hair and golden eyes emerged from the forest, elegant and composed. After meeting the white wolf’s gaze, she curled her lips into a beautiful smile.

Hanni had always found Cynthia very beautiful, and her gentle smile made Hanni unconsciously want to draw closer. But this time, upon seeing Cynthia’s smile, she lowered her head, feeling a little guilty.

The white wolf looked as if she had done something wrong. Her ears drooped, and the word ‘guilty’ seemed to be written on her forehead.

Seeing Hanni’s anxious appearance, a flicker of confusion crossed Cynthia’s face. She walked over to the white wolf, reached out to stroke her neck, and said with amusement, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Where did you run off to last night? There are third-generation vampires active in Ochester. You didn’t come back all night, and we were all worried about you.”

When Helen and the werewolves arrived, Hanni had been in Ochester, so she didn’t know her people were here yet. Cynthia, aware of this, deliberately reminded her, “Clan Leader Helen and your mother are staying in Manden City right now.”

Hearing Cynthia say that her mother was in Manden City, Hanni was startled and began to stammer, “My… my mother… she… why is she here?”

“She came to discuss with Olivia how to stop the vampires from destroying the temples.” Cynthia took two steps back and carefully looked the white wolf up and down. She raised a beautiful eyebrow and asked with a smile, “What on earth is wrong with you?”

Hanni was acting far too strangely.

The white wolf lay on the ground, looking troubled. She lifted her two paws to cover her head and answered in a small voice, “I did something wrong.”

“Oh?”

“I… during my heat, I took advantage of a human.”

Cynthia paused for a moment before understanding Hanni’s meaning. Her brow slowly furrowed in confusion. “Don’t you carry the suppressant fruit with you?”

Hanni always remembered the teachings of her clan’s elders and never let her guard down on the night of a full moon. How could she have lost control this time?

The strangest part was that the other person was a human.

Cynthia felt that Hanni must be leaving out some important information.

The night of passion with Avira had already left the now-sober Hanni deeply unsettled. She tried to calm herself down to answer Cynthia’s question, but her voice sounded incredibly dejected. “My fruit was stolen, and then… she smelled of Silla Grass, and she also…”

Hanni thought of all the seductive things Avira had done to her. Even though she was in her white wolf form, she could feel her face growing hot. “Anyway, I lost control.”

Cynthia rested her hand on her chin and stared at the white wolf for a while before asking tentatively, “And the human?”

“She… she seems to have left.” The white wolf’s tone was full of guilt. “It was Avira. I met her in Ochester. She was captured and brought here by the vampires. She was already so pitiful, and I still did something like that…”

As she rambled on about her “crime,” Cynthia’s expression became subtle the moment she heard the name Avira. She cut Hanni off. Seeing the white wolf’s dazed look, she said with a touch of helplessness, “Alright, Hanni. If it was Avira, then you don’t need to blame yourself.”

The white wolf raised her head and stared blankly at Cynthia.

Cynthia sighed silently. “Haven’t you noticed something?”

“What?”

“If Avira were human, it would be impossible for her to withstand the demands of a member of the Wolf Race at the peak of their strength and emotions.”

The difference in strength between the Wolf Race and humans was too vast, and it was very difficult for a werewolf in a state of arousal to control their power.

Even a simple embrace meant to show intimacy could injure a human.

Avira was not human at all. Although there was no proof yet, Cynthia was sure she was a vampire.

She had always assumed Hanni had also noticed something was off about Avira. At the Ice Lake, they had suddenly been thrown underground, and Avira had vanished. Wasn’t it obvious who had thrown them down there?

Cynthia looked at Hanni, and a question surfaced in her mind once again: How could someone as calculating as Joanna raise such a simple and kind daughter?

Hanni was stunned by Cynthia’s words for a moment, then it dawned on her. “…You have a point.”

They had barely rested all night. A human wouldn’t have that kind of stamina.

The white wolf’s ears shot up, and her sky-blue eyes widened. “Then what is she?”

Cynthia looked at her for a moment, then blinked. “A vampire.”

Hanni was silent for a second, then shot to her feet, shouting furiously, “I’m going to kill her.”

She… she had been played by a vampire.

A golden light fell upon the white wolf, gently soothing her raging emotions. Seeing that Hanni had at least recovered her spirit, Cynthia shook her head slightly and said, “The fact that she could handle you in your peak state means she’s at least a third-generation vampire.”

“It would be very dangerous for you to face her alone. Besides, you don’t even know where she is now.”

Hanni slowly calmed down. She lay on the ground again, her mood even lower than before. “If my mother finds out, she’ll be angry.”

Cynthia reached out and stroked the white wolf’s head, smiling. “I’ll keep it a secret for you.”

The white wolf’s ears twitched. She then raised her head and nuzzled Cynthia’s hand. “Thank you, Cynthia.” She lay on the ground for a while, then suddenly thought of something and said, “Right, I think Avira asked me to give you a message.”

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. “What message?”

Hanni tried hard to remember, finally managing to recall it from the chaotic memories of last night. “She wants to see you, in… in Pukaman City.”

Pukaman City. Wasn’t that the city where the teleportation array had been destroyed? Cynthia’s eyes flickered, and a smile slowly formed on her lips. So, was the destruction of the teleportation array actually a signal Avira was sending them?

What on earth did she want?

Late at night, within Pukaman City, Avira, dressed in a long red gown, sat atop the high city wall. Her long red hair fluttered in the night wind. The casually open collar of her dress exposed a large expanse of fair, delicate skin, which was surprisingly marked with several red bite marks.

She seemed to be in a very pleasant mood, her red lips constantly upturned, and she would occasionally hum a few random notes.

A pale green arrow suddenly cut through the night, flying towards her. Avira glanced at it, then casually reached out her hand. When the sharp arrowhead was only a fist’s distance from her chest, the long arrow was suddenly caught gently in her grasp.

Bloody light and green light collided, then slowly dissolved into the darkness.

Avira pulled her hand back, her crimson eyes looking towards a certain spot as she said teasingly, “Since when did the Elf Queen become a bodyguard for the God Race?”

“As I recall, I only invited Cynthia.”

A light chuckle reached Avira’s ears. Two tall figures emerged from the darkness: the elegant and gentle silver-haired member of the God Race and the cold, proud, and beautiful Elf Queen. The sight of the two of them standing together was surprisingly harmonious.

Observing the subtle atmosphere between Cynthia and Olivia, Avira’s eyes slowly narrowed. She remembered that at the Ice Lake, their relationship hadn’t seemed this close.

“We meet again, Excellency Avira.” Cynthia gave Avira a slight smile and said softly, “This time, can you introduce yourself to us properly?”

“Lies are not conducive to our friendship.”

“Friendship?” Avira laughed. She jumped down from the city wall and came to stand before Cynthia and Olivia.

The tight-fitting red dress left nothing of her fine figure to the imagination. Avira shot Cynthia a flirtatious wink, then raised her arm, intending to place it on her shoulder, but she was repelled by a gust of wind.

Avira raised her eyes slightly and saw that the source of the whirlwind, Olivia, was glaring at her coldly. Avira let out a low laugh and teased, “What, is this member of the God Race your woman? Can’t even be touched?”

Olivia’s face darkened. The hand gripping her longbow slowly rose as she said coldly, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Seeing that Olivia was already angered, Cynthia took a step forward and waved the Light Crystal in her hand at Avira, saying with a smile, “Don’t get too close to me. I’m just a weak member of the God Race; it makes me feel insecure.”

This Light Crystal was what the silver-haired God Race member had used to kill Andre with that strange spell. Avira’s gaze deepened, and she slowly took a few steps back.

Seeing Avira retreat, Cynthia finally spoke slowly, “My lady vampire, you can begin introducing yourself now.”

“Just a minor vampire from the Blood Domain,” Avira said, flicking her hair with a smile. “Not a big shot. Even the Elf Queen doesn’t know me.”

Olivia had not let go of her longbow. She watched Avira in silence for a while before finally speaking coolly, “You’re from the Ventrue clan, aren’t you?”

“What is Samantha to you?”

Samantha was an elder of the Ventrue clan and currently half the leader of the vampires. The reason it was only half was because the other half of the power was held by an elder of the Brujah clan, who were the most skilled in combat.

Olivia had met Samantha before. After carefully observing Avira just now, she was surprised to find that she bore a thirty percent resemblance to Samantha.

Realizing that Olivia had recognized her, Avira no longer bothered to hide it. She shrugged and said, “Samantha is my sister.”

Cynthia’s hand, which had been toying with the Light Crystal, paused. She said meaningfully, “So, a second-generation elder.”

Avira sighed. “What second-generation elder? Just a poor soul who was dragged out of her sleeping coffin to deal with traitors.”

From her complaint, Cynthia only focused on the four words “deal with traitors.” Her eyes flashed as she began to form some guesses about Avira’s purpose.

“That does sound rather pitiful,” Cynthia said kindly. “Is there anything we can do to help you?”

“Of course there is.” Avira beckoned to Cynthia with her finger. Seeing that Cynthia just smiled at her without moving, she shook her head slightly, moved a little closer herself, and said softly, “I have an interesting proposal. Care to hear it?”

Although she was asking, she didn’t give Cynthia any time to answer and continued on her own, “Let’s form an alliance. I’ll help you drive out the Tzimisce and the Lasombra.”

Hearing her words, Olivia let out a cold snort.

Cynthia, however, was very patient. She played along with Avira and asked, “And what would we need to help you with?”

“I need you to help me find something. It will benefit you as well.”

“What is it?”

“The Blood Coffins.” Avira’s gaze, which had been fixed on Cynthia, shifted to Olivia’s face. Her red lips parted slightly. “The Blood Coffins that contain the first-generation vampires.”

Olivia’s brow furrowed. “The Tzimisce and the Lasombra transported the first-generation vampires to the Sitatul Continent?”

Seeing her interest in the topic, Avira gave a light laugh but didn’t answer directly. “We can discuss the Blood Coffins later. Let’s talk about the alliance first.”

Chess pieces, after all, can’t just be placed on the board so casually.