Promote to Marquis
Days passed one by one.
Count Stephen's return and his promotion to the castle's chief steward were merely minor episodes in the grand scheme of things.
Caesar returned to his peaceful and leisurely life.
Now at the pinnacle of the Count level, with his energy and blood reaching new heights, all he could do until he accumulated enough Marquis blood was to cultivate his mental power.
Billy was growing day by day; the feathers had sprouted in all the right places. Unfortunately, it still couldn't fly and would hop around like a little chick, always following its master closely.
Even when Caesar lay in the coffin to sleep, Billy would obediently perch on the lid, keeping a watchful eye on its surroundings.
Occasionally, when Caesar signed in and received orc blood, he would give it to Billy as food.
In this vast castle, only this young hawk remained loyal to Caesar, alleviating some of his loneliness.
...
Caesar managed the castle excellently for Count Stephen.
His life consisted of a repetitive cycle of cultivation, signing in, cultivation, and signing in again… yet he felt no boredom in it.
The only downside was that Count Stephen's health continued to deteriorate.
… Before he knew it, a year had passed.
"Ding! Sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have received Marquis blood x1!"
The system's voice echoed in his mind.
Caesar's spirit jolted, and his eyes sparkled with intense light as he couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Finally, I can make a breakthrough!"
In his backpack lay twenty dazzling drops of Marquis blood.
These were the resources he had accumulated over more than a year.
Ordinary vampires might only need one or two drops of Marquis blood to succeed in their breakthrough, but for Caesar, that was far from enough.
Likewise, once he broke through to the Marquis level, he would be much stronger than other vampires of the same rank.
Building up to unleash!
After contemplating for a moment, Caesar raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply.
"Caw—"
A piercing eagle cry split the air.
An adult male hawk soared through the clouds like an arrow, flying into Stephen's Fortress.
Flap flap—
Billy flew in through the window, landing gracefully on the table in front of Caesar.
Its body was covered in magnificent black feathers, its posture elegant and regal, strong and handsome. Its sharp eagle eyes were keen and aloof, and its long beak was extremely sharp, exuding an air of nobility and coldness.
Three colorful tufts of feathers adorned its head, a symbol of its pride.
If the seven great clans were the royal families among vampires, then Billy was royalty among birds.
In the year that passed, Caesar had fed it countless drops of orc blood, including one drop of Beast King blood, enabling it to undergo a super evolution!
This Black Hawk had already evolved to the Beast Warrior level, capable of battling Counts!
Just by looking at its appearance, no one would recognize it as a Black Hawk anymore.
...
"I need to go into seclusion for my breakthrough. Keep watch around here and don't let anyone near this room," Caesar instructed.
Billy nodded, flapping its wings and flying up to the roof.
With its sharp eagle eyes scanning the surroundings, any creature that posed a threat to its master's breakthrough would be ruthlessly torn to shreds!
...
Inside the luxurious coffin,
Caesar adjusted his state to the best possible condition and then took out a drop of Marquis blood that radiated a terrifying life energy.
He swallowed it.
Boom—
Raging energy rampaged and roared within him, like an uncontrollable wild dragon.
But soon, this wild dragon was completely suppressed by Caesar's formidable life force.
It was gradually refined and absorbed.
As he felt the transformation occurring within his body, Caesar focused intently and began to break through.
...
In another room,
Count Stephen's wrinkled face was devoid of vitality, his gaze cloudy and unfocused.
His eyes had gone blind; it wasn't just his sight—many of his internal organs had begun to fail.
Years ago, on the battlefield, he was severely injured by a terrifying "General" level beastman, damaging his source of life and vitality.
Vampires possessed a powerful recovery and self-healing ability.
Even a Count-level vampire could survive losing their head, relying on their life force to regenerate their body.
However, once their source was damaged, they would gradually perish, even if their physical form remained intact.
It was akin to when Caesar killed Harold, using pure sunlight to burn his life force— even a Count would lose their self-healing ability.
The essence of a vampire is their life force!
The attack from that General-level beastman contained poison that eroded his life force, causing it to decay.
Only the Duke-level ancestors could save him; even a Marquis would be helpless.
"Sigh~"
Stephen let out a weary and despondent sigh.
He could feel the passage of his life, like autumn leaves withering away, destined to return to dust and become fertilizer.
Knock knock knock—
His trembling fingers tapped on the coffin lid.
Immediately, a servant waiting outside the door entered, ready to heed the Count's commands.
"I need to visit the Joseph clan; help me up."
Boom!!!
The shackles that had been hanging overhead were violently shattered, as if heavy dark clouds had been pierced, allowing moonlight to pour through.
Caesar's body trembled violently; every muscle and bone emitted sounds like they were tearing apart, as his life was being sublimated and evolved!
The life force within him surged like a vast ocean, roaring with power.
Finally, the evolution was nearing its end.
When everything settled down, the former Count had transformed into a newly ascended Marquis!
The supreme Marquis!
Caesar discovered that his mental power had suddenly increased by more than tenfold, allowing him to clearly sense the worms wriggling in the soil dozens of kilometers away.
As expected, he had awakened a new supernatural ability.
However, the nature of this ability was astonishingly unexpected!
"What is this…"
Caesar's expression was one of shock.
In his eyes, the world seemed different; colorful "lines" swirled through the air, densely packed and countless.
These lines resembled creases on paper, clearly visible and layered upon one another.
They were the "spatial lines" formed by the "nodes" of space.
Caesar had a strong premonition… he could manipulate these lines at will, altering the original shape of space.
And the result of doing so was…
Swish—
Caesar's body instantly vanished from the coffin and reappeared by the window.
Teleportation!!!
The change in position occurred without any motion; it wasn't a matter of reaching the limits of speed, but rather a transformation in space itself.
Caesar's eyes sparkled with brilliance; this supernatural ability was indeed extraordinary.
He could control the "spatial lines," folding space like paper, achieving effects that went beyond mere instantaneous movement.
Up and down, four corners as the universe; time and space through the ages.
The universe is made up of time and space.
Mastering either of these abilities meant obtaining divine authority!
The only limitation was that the range of this ability was confined to fifty meters, but Caesar believed that once he reached a higher level, he could definitely expand that range.
"So, this is what it means to be a Marquis? The strongest visible force of the royal family, a lord-level giant who dominates a territory!"
Caesar took a deep breath.
Feeling the raging life force within him, he sensed that once he unleashed his power, he could bring about destruction on a grand scale.
The total number of Marquises among all the nobles of the Poshia Kingdom did not exceed twenty.
The vast majority of them were concentrated within the seven great clans.
Only the Duke ancestors could create new Marquises; this was the consensus among all vampires.
Unknown Marquises were deemed impossible.
Yet, Caesar had become an exception.
Unless he encountered a terrifying powerhouse capable of tearing through space, he could remain undefeated against anyone!
...
Knock knock knock—
The door was rapped upon.
A servant respectfully reported, "Steward Caesar, Count Stephen wishes to go to the Joseph clan and would like you to accompany him. He asked me to inform you."
Upon hearing this, Caesar replied calmly, "Alright, I understand."
He was not surprised that Stephen wanted to visit the Joseph clan.
On the contrary, what surprised him was that it had taken Stephen this long to make such a decision.
He opened the wardrobe and chose a suitable red robe to change into before stepping out.