The First Vampire

The flames had gradually extinguished, but the suffocating heat still lingered. Even from a distance, it felt unbearably hot.

In a bush about three kilometers away from Fallen Eagle City, a uniquely designed horse-drawn carriage was parked.

The coachman was napping, seemingly having had a sleepless night. His face bore dark circles around his eyes and a lingering fear was etched in his brow as if he was having a nightmare.

The two old horses pulling the carriage were leisurely eating grass on the ground, occasionally swishing their tails to drive away the mosquitoes and flies.

“Thump thump.”

Two knocks came from inside the carriage, waking the coachman. He quickly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and respectfully asked, “Master, are we leaving now?”

“Hmm, head east.” A powerful and majestic voice came from inside, simple yet forceful.

“Yes, Master!” The coachman immediately whipped the horses to drive them east.

However, they hadn’t gone far when a voice came from inside the carriage again: “Stop.”

The coachman, perplexed, nevertheless stopped the carriage.

Just as he was scratching his head and about to ask what was wrong, he noticed a figure in a silver mage’s robe standing beside the carriage, the figure appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

His face was hidden under a wide brimmed hood, making it impossible to see his features, but an aura of terror radiated from him and made the coachman tremble unconsciously.

Just then, the man’s voice came from the carriage again: “Mark, move away.”

Relieved, Coachman Mark rolled and crawled away hastily.

Next, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man in a white mage’s robe stepped out.

“Cusius, I didn’t expect this Forbidden Art to actually be restored by you.” The silver-robed mage spoke, his tone filled with amazement, apprehension and even more so, a profound worry.

“Lord Ernest, I didn’t expect to have alarmed you.” The white-robed mage, Cusius, who emerged from the carriage, slightly bowed in respect.

Then, shook his head and said, “However, we didn’t exactly restore that Forbidden Art, we merely imitated it crudely. But fortunately, it seems to have been successful.”

Ernest sighed, seemingly in contemplation of something. His tone, however, turned icy, “Do you realize what it means if this Forbidden Art is truly successful?”

Cusius smiled, pride and arrogance in his face, he proudly proclaimed:

“It means that we mages no longer need to tread cautiously around the Empire’s nobles, we no longer need to hide in Yevir barely surviving, nor do we need to pay with our lives to obtain power to contend with the Holy Field!”

Hearing Cusius’ audacious declaration, Ernest lifted his head exposing a weathered, old face.

But there was not the slightest hint of happiness on it, rather it radiated infinite sorrow and pity.

“No,” Ernest slowly shook his head, dousing Cusius’ enthusiastism, “if this Forbidden Art is truly successful, it will spell disaster for you, and for Yevir!”

As he listened to the old mage’s alarming words. Cusius lightly laughed, “Lord Ernest, although I have tremendous respect for you, I must say, I am surprised by your weakness.”

In response to Cusius’ mockery, Ernest chuckled, without showing any signs of anger, only saying indifferently but firmly:

“I’m sorry, Cusius, I admire you and Mr. Ji’s spirit of exploration, but I cannot tolerate your sacrificial offering of innocent people’s lives to complete the Forbidden Spell, nor can I allow your reckless actions to ruin Yevir!”

Cusius also responded with a cold chuckle, matching retort for retort, “How can there possibly be no sacrifices on the path to uncover the truth? It’s better to sacrifice those ignorant commoners than precious mages!

As for Yevir, hehe, Lord Ernest, your cowardice is the real cause of its gradual decline and eventual extinction!

Now, Mr. Ji and Emperor Reinhardt have reached a consensus, and the North Territory is about to change hands to a new master, and moreover, a master who is a mage!

“As for the Holy Knights that have always been a headache for mages, hehe, there’s now a solution to them. Therefore, Lord Ernest, it’s time for you to put aside those stale doctrines and let the Mage Council be reborn in flame!”

“Reborn in flame? I see you guys are only playing with fire and burning yourselves!” Ernest’s face was cold, “Your target this time should be Duke St. Hilde, right? Whether he died under this Forbidden Spell or not, there will be a major uproar in the Glorious Empire!

And Yevir, might not survive this overwhelming wave as you expect!

No, I must talk to Mr. Ji myself.”

Saying this, Ernest headed towards Fallen Eagle City.”

But before he could walk a few steps, Cusius blocked his way.

Ernest narrowed his eyes, and said in a deep voice: “Cusius, dare you to stop me?”

Cusius shook his head firmly: “I am sorry, Lord Ernest, but I promised Mr. Ji that I would guard him for a day. During this day, no one is allowed to approach the ruins of Fallen Eagle City!”

Ernest burst into laughter, his tone cold as ice, “Cusius, do you really think I have grown old?”

Cusius raised his Magic Staff and replied, “No, I just think it’s time for you to step down.”

“Hahahaha!” Ernest roared with laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, “Step down? You want the position of chairman of the Mage Council, well then, show me what progress you’ve made over the years!”

While speaking, Ernest’s eyes turned completely silvery white in an instant, and numerous small electric lights were moving around him like silver snakes. His demeanor became extremely cold, and he was muttering in the complicated and difficult Elvish.”

Similarly, Cusius on the opposite side almost simultaneously entered a combat state. His golden hair turned white instantaneously, with streaks of frost constantly rising, the temperature around him dropped by several degrees in an instant, and visible frost crystals began to condense in the air.

The sky suddenly darkened, and the wind on the field seemed to have stopped. At this moment, the area around Cusius and Ernest has become two clearly distinguishable worlds.

One side was the freezing cold, the other side was the dancing silver snakes of electricity.

One side was the deathly silence of winter, as if to freeze all vitality;

The other side was endless frenzy, as if to destroy the world.

“Cusius, last chance: stand down, or not?”

“Lord Ernest, the world has changed, you are outdated!”

“Arrogant!”

With a roar, countless large electric snakes twisted their bodies and bombed Cusius at a speed that was hard to detect with the naked eye.

Ding, ding, ding…

Layer upon layer of crystal-clear Ice Shields shattered instantly, turning into tiny flakes flying in the air, reflecting the colorful light under the sun.

There was a strange beauty about it.

These beautiful and dangerous ice crystals lingered in the air, with Cusius’s gestures changing their positions continuously, gradually forming an arcane Magic Array in the air.

Roar

The deathly silent world of ice and snow suddenly became violent. An Extreme Cold Storm carrying shattered ice crystals, like a tornado, rushed towards Ernest with the power to break and pull everything in its wake.

Wherever it passed, the ground was left with a thick ice mark. All living things on this ice mark were frozen in this piece of ice in an instant.

Boom!

A huge Shockwave, accompanied by coldness and lightning, spread rapidly all around.

Even though Coachman Mark had long since hid far away, he was still affected by the Afterwave, shivered and instantly passed out.