章 10: Chapter 10: The Mysterious Crystal Skeleton
編集者: EndlessFantasy Translation
Each member of the Bloodline could develop one blood descendant each year.
If he disregarded the previous route, Lide was confident that within three years, he could increase the number of the Bloodline to over a thousand.
Expanding the current strength of the Bloodline by more than three times.
But if there were over a thousand members, the number of humans they needed to hunt each month would equal the current amount for half a year.
Such an exaggerated number of disappearances would definitely draw the attention of Green City,
then, when the extraordinary mages of Green City started investigating seriously, Lide had no confidence in keeping it a secret.
He feared the castle would be flattened before the players even arrived.
The Bloodline had often been discovered by the Green City army before, and each time they suffered significant losses.
This was also an important reason why the Blood Clan Ancestor had to hide his identity to go to Green City. If it weren't for him acting as an internal contact over these three years, the current Bloodline wouldn't be living so peacefully.
After the crowd dispersed, Lide looked at the seven second-generation blood descendants below and lightly waved his hand without saying much.
"Follow me to the blood pool"
The seven people glanced at each other, and no one dared to show any dissent, gracefully following behind Lide.
The blood pool was a hidden resource of the Bloodline, storing a large amount of blood. It couldn't be used casually unless the clan was facing extinction.
But since Lide had spoken, they naturally didn't dare to question it, especially since the information Lide provided was too terrifying.
They were being targeted by the extraordinary mages of Green City.
Facing such a powerful enemy, the Bloodline couldn't carelessly go out to plunder humans like before. Hence, now was undoubtedly the best time to use the blood pool.
Lide, recalling the memories in his mind, was filled with curiosity about the blood pool.
The Blood Clan Ancestor had become a member of the Bloodline directly by an opportunity, not through the initial embrace.
The divine object that transformed the original human into the Blood Clan Ancestor was respectfully referred to as the Holy Spirit by the Bloodline.
It was a skeleton.
The specific method of transformation was unclear, as the memory was too distant and had become extremely vague when Lide received it; thus, he wasn't very sure.
However, after the Holy Spirit transformed Lide into the Blood Clan Ancestor, it still had a powerful function—it could keep the blood fresh and lively and absorb the magic power floating in the air, infusing it into the blood.
Once human blood left the body for more than half a day, its effectiveness for the Bloodline would decrease, and if it exceeded a full day, it would become useless to the Bloodline.
This was why the Bloodline plundered humans back for captive breeding.
However, the existence of the Holy Spirit solved the fatal problem for the Bloodline—they had to have fresh blood to survive.
This key attribute reduced the Bloodline's demand for fresh blood to almost zero.
This was also an important support for Lide's confidence in implementing the farming plan.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit continuously absorbed magic power and irrigated it into the blood pool's blood. The longer the blood was stored, the richer it became in magic power, greatly benefiting the Bloodline.
This was tantamount to cutting the chain tethered to the Bloodline, greatly enhancing the feasibility of the human-fed Bloodline plan.
Leading the seven people, Lide slowly walked along the castle.
The night did not bother the Bloodline. On the contrary, due to their Bloodline Talent, their abilities were greatly enhanced during the night.
Dark Vision was the most common talent among the Bloodline.
The once-glorious castle was vast, with buildings that had a strong medieval European architectural flavor.
White spires towered, pointed semicircular arches stood tall, and stained glass windows depicted ancient stories of Bloodline heroes.
The architectural lines within the castle were simple yet bright, with solid and heavy shapes.
The cross points and the clock tower on the transept exuded a strong exotic flavor.
Relief carvings of semi-hollowed characters could be seen on the white stone walls along the road, making the enormous castle look like a exquisite piece of art.
Even the entrances to the sewers had relief carvings of giant dragons.
Lide marveled at the sight; compared to the castle, Green City seemed like a rural backwater.
The Bloodline indeed prided themselves on being nobles; such artistic attainment and cultivation could only be matched by the Elves, a race maxed out in both looks and art.
The blood pool was on the far right side of the castle, hidden deep within the solid rock.
After all, it was a once-glorious castle, and it took Lide half a day to reach the edge of the castle.
A well-guarded cave.
The bluish granite was hard, and the huge cave reached five meters high, with a dense array of bats hanging from its top.
As they entered the cave, the bats were disturbed, and tens of thousands of them flew out from the cave roof, a dark cloud sufficient to halt a giant dragon.
Several members of the Bloodline appeared in front of Lide's group under the cover of the bats.
They placed one hand on their chest and bent over, performing a noble salute. Their solemn and deep common language echoed through the continent.
"Good evening, Clan Leader"
Lide nodded. The four Bloodline members before him were warriors guarding the blood pool, who must stay here at all times, regardless of the situation.
The previous swarm of bats was, in fact, a demon beast raised by the Bloodline, with an average level of 3. Although individual strength wasn't impressive, their sheer numbers could give a great mage of level 15 a headache.
"Come with me inside"
The group nodded respectfully. One led the way while the others followed behind the seven second-generation blood descendants.
The cave was not an ordinary cave. The traces of alchemy materials on the rocks could be seen not far from the entrance, and hidden magical arrays and alchemy traps vaguely emitted magic fluctuations.
The cave's defense layout was even several times stronger than Lide's Crimson Mage Tower.
It wouldn't be just a common thief who paid for their audacity if a great mage broke in.
This cavern wasn't where the Blood Clan Ancestor received his legacy; it was only after discovering this location that he moved it.
The cavern had been expanded and excavated over centuries, with labyrinthine passages more complex than a maze.
After half a day of twists and turns, following numerous secret paths, Lide finally reached the blood pool.
An enormously spacious underground chamber.
The surrounding rocks were blood-red, as if smeared with fresh blood.
In the center lay an irregular deep pool, approximately ten blades long and five blades wide.
Its depth was unknown.
What surprised Lide the most was that the blood pool wasn't the scarlet color he had imagined but a very beautiful milky white.
It was as if it had just been freshly milked from the farm outside Green City, still emitting a faint warmth.
And the Holy Spirit, which he valued most, floated above the milky white blood pool.
A skeleton as transparent as crystal.
An odd yet harmonious sight.
Curious, Lide pulled up the attribute panel and focused on the crystal skeleton.
But the first line of text that appeared made Lide gasp, his heart pounding fiercely.
Only one sentence echoed in his mind.
This time, he had truly struck gold.
-- 贈り物
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