novelThe Gatekeeper of the Fortress
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Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The world of the unusual creatures was as complex as human society. They also had infighting and factional rivalry, more than humans in fact. Even in today's precarious situation, many of the unusual creatures could not cooperate openly; this was probably related to the long history of most of their families. Their family history had begun from the Mythological Era, and many of their friction or feuds accumulated over thousands of years. Even if two families were free from estrangement, they were bound by ancient traditions passed down for thousands of years. As such, they could not fully cooperate. This was why such powerful creatures were able to be broken down by hunters and the Church. They had too many races and factions, which were not united.
In this ancient and mysterious European city, there were several powerful families of unusual creatures; more than 10 small and weak ones lived in the city as well. As a whole, they were in a mutually supportive partnership, but only when confronted with a common threat like the hunters. Beyond this premise, these families in the city of Athens always had various forms of infighting. Of course, they were not too foolish. Every patriarch or matriarch of the clan would control the battles so that they were kept in a certain range. They were often competing for territory or leadership in the city. In the event of a special major discovery―such as the relics they discovered this time around―they would fight for the greatest distribution of benefits.
"What's the most powerful family here, now?" Vivian frowned and looked at Hessiana. She had not been in the city for a long time, and even though she was there hundreds of years ago, she just passed by in a hurry. This lone weirdo vampire had never paid any attention to the battle of power between these families, so she had no idea about the situation in Athens.
Hessiana snapped her fingers and answered, "The most powerful family is of course the Lucas Family. After all, they are the oldest blood clan members here. They are followed by the shadelings, which are Bethanos and his people, then my family. My family's power is about the same as Bethanos' but, he is older than me in terms of seniority. And then, there are some other hopeless guys. Even if they have any idea regarding this discovery, they'll just have to wait till we finish our stuff."
"Bethanos that old man is still alive?" Vivian said and grinned."Now that the relics are under the control of the Lucas Family and your family, won't Bethanos create any trouble?"
"I found the relics, but I got some help from the Lucas Family when I opened the door. So, the entrance was split between us. Bethanos, of course, wanted to have a finger in the pie, but with the nature of the shadelings... Haha, you know if they interfere in this, they won't just take 'a little' advantage of it. Hence, the old fogey of Lucas Family and I temporarily suppressed those guys, but certainly not for long. They'll eventually break into the relic by force."
"How's your relationship with the Lucas Family?" Vivian asked curiously."Aren't the two of you already cooperating? Why did you say that they won't cooperate without the use of violence or something..."
Hessiana was furious as she talked about this."That's what I wanted to say! They bully me just because they're older than me! Both of us are supposed to control the entrance to the ruins, but its so obvious that they act like they own the place! And with the Lucas Family's creed of 'blood supremacy', they won't allow anyone who doesn't belong to the Blood Clan to enter the ruins. They're willing to divide it equally with me for the time being because I belong to the Blood Clan. I was also the first person to discover the entrance―they're just not thick-skinned enough to take the credit."
At the end of her sentence, Hessiana glanced at Hao Ren and the rest of them. The meaning was obvious: they did not belong to the Blood Clan and the Lucas Family would not allow them to meddle with the relic.
"They did invite me, " Hesperides said with a subtle smile."I don't belong to the Blood Clan, but as I possess more seniority over them, the patriarch of the family needs to bow before me respectfully whenever he sees me. And the entrance to the relic is near the Parthenon, which is strictly my family's territory... Although the Olympus Family has disintegrated, as long as I, the heir, am still in Greece, they will have to inform me about the relics here. This is the way of the Lucas Family: stubborn, prideful and arrogant, but in this age, they ultimately abide by the gentlemanly manners and etiquette of the old days. If you really want to go to the relic, you'll need to do it from this aspect: Vivian's seniority is of great weight in front of the Lucas Family. Vivian, if you make the request, they'll think about it."
Vivian nodded as if she had some ideas in her mind. From this conversation, Hao Ren knew something about some of the city's main forces and what kind of people the Lucas Family were. He had a hunch that the Lucas Family would consist of so-called "ancient and pure" vampires. They were arrogant enough and cold enough to be hated, but at the same time, they maintained a subtle amount of courtesy and strict etiquette. It was difficult to like them, but they always felt good about themselves. For Hao Ren, although such a group of "people" would be very troublesome, he had to admit that they were in line with his original image of the vampire. Vivian and Hessiana; these two funny ladies were unable to convince him that they were the normal ones in the vampire clan...
"If you want to meet that old fogey from the Lucas Family, I'll arrange it for you, " Hessiana said.
Vivian and Hao Ren exchanged glances, nodding. Therefore, Hessiana immediately snapped her fingers and layers of black phantoms appeared in the air. After the phantoms dispersed, a tall, skinny man in a black windbreaker appeared in front of them. The pale vampire was most likely Hessiana's servant. He glanced silently at everyone, after which he pressed his right hand to his left chest and bowed deeply before his mistress."Your orders, my lady?"
"Go and inform the old fogey of the Lucas Family that the 'Countess of the Crimson Moon' requests to see him. Remember, say it with a tough tone and act a little superior to them. You're passing on a message for the oldest elder in the world. We have to get the upper hand. Hmm, don't say 'requests to see him', just say 'wants to see him'. It's 'Lady Vivian wants to see him. ' Got it?"
The male vampire bowed again and asked with a soft as well as calm voice, "My lady, what if they are not happy about it and want to kill me?"
Hessiana thought about it and said, "Then, run as fast as you can. Usually in this case, they won't bother to kill you."
The male vampire nodded gravely. He then scattered into a large swarm of bats and flew out of the window. This astonished Hao Ren."Is that okay?" he asked.
Hessiana threw back her shoulders proudly and said, "The Hessiana Family is the most famous adaptive faction in the Blood Clan!"
Lily poked Vivian's arm and said, "...She is indeed a piece of meat that fell from you."
"I'll really bite you if you say that again!"
"Go ahead and do it. Trying to fight with me with your teeth? I'm not afraid of you!"
They gave Hao Ren a headache."Can't you two be quiet now? We're talking business here!"
At this time, a strange ringing of the bell came from nowhere. It was not very loud but it sounded as if it was ringing directly in their minds―like the bell ringing on the other side of the River Styx, summoning the souls. Hao Ren even had the illusion that layers of mist dissipated with the ringing sound of the bell. Hesperides stood up and said, "You guys continue to chat, I'm going to entertain some guests."
As she spoke, her figure faded gradually and eventually became a vague shadow. If you did not look at it closely, you could hardly see its outline. At the same time, the door of the antique shop was pushed open, but the one who walked in was also such a vague and transparent shadow. Hao Ren looked at the shadow curiously and found that the person who came in dressed like a modern man. He wore a suit and leather shoes, which did not fit in with the strange atmosphere of the antique shop as well as the view of the Shadowy Divide outside.
This figure seemed completely unaware of the group of people in the shop. He went straight to the counter and talked to the shadow of Hesperides.
"It's a scene of the real world." Hessiana noticed the curious look on Hao Ren's face and explained, "This place is actually the intersection of the Shadowy Divide and the real world, and Hesperides' shop exists between them. When the bell rings, she's able to travel between the real world and the world of shadows without being affected by the Shadowy Divide. Besides, this place is also one of the entrances into the deeper part of the world of shadows. If you want to go deeper, you have to get her approval here, so she's also known as the Gatekeeper of the Fortress―but she doesn't seem to like that name."
"Err... That's kind of amazing." Hao Ren admired it from the bottom of his heart.
The world of magic and the occult arts... It was truly amazing.
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