Chapter 17: Odys's Doubts

Odys had been feeling puzzled for the past two days.

Ever since the Clan Leader returned last night, that sense of confusion had not left him.

He keenly sensed that the Clan Leader's demeanor had undergone a significant change. The last time the Clan Leader had returned, it had not been like this.

Back then, the Clan Leader's behavior had been entirely in line with the characteristics of a vampire—cold, fond of darkness, and never gathering the clan members in the hall during the day. Humans were seen as nothing more than food.

Odys had even assumed that this time, after the Clan Leader's return, he would be ordered to lead the clan members on raids outside the Far Mountain Range to capture humans for breeding—solely as a food source.

But unexpectedly, everything had changed.

The once rigid and inflexible Clan Leader had become different. He had publicly declared that humans should no longer be harmed and that they should become a part of the vampire race.

Was this still the Clan Leader he knew?

Even if the Clan Leader had inherited knowledge from the Holy Spirit, could the change really be so drastic?

By the Goddess of Night, he swore that despite his confusion, he had not mentioned this to anyone, because the soul aura was still that of the Clan Leader.

Although the Clan Leader's actions were different from before, they gave Odys a glimpse of a new hope.

The God of Death had once whispered to all living beings that if they did not change now, death would come.

Odys did not worship gods, but he deeply agreed with this divine decree from the powerful God of Death.

After tasting the bitter wine of defeat in the war a century ago, the vampire race had been shrouded in weakness and cowardice.

From a clan of thousands, they had dwindled to just over two hundred, and they still lived in constant fear of being hunted by Green City.

This was something Odys, who had experienced the glory of the vampire race, could not bear. He had thought this life would continue for a long time.

But fortunately, the Clan Leader had finally begun to change.

Even if this change seemed somewhat unreasonable, Odys was still delighted.

And the knowledge the Clan Leader had inherited from the Holy Spirit had deeply shocked him.

The lost secrets of the vampire race's origins, buried in the river of time, filled him with pride. The vampire race, which had once ruled the entire world, was indeed the beloved of the Goddess of Night—even though the Goddess of Night had not existed at that time.

The future the Clan Leader spoke of—ruling a city like Green City with a population of over a million—filled him with excitement.

The battle with Green City a century ago had made him realize the strength of humans. The powerful army capable of destroying several vampire clans was a nightmare that still haunted him.

And that transcendent mage who floated in the sky—Locke Hart—had sent thousands of vampires back to the embrace of the Goddess of Night with a single fifth-tier spell.

That was not a power mortals could wield, and he felt genuine fear.

In such a weakened state, the vampires needed a heroic figure to step forward and change everything.

Fortunately, the Progenitor, the ruler of the vampire race, had once again risen to the occasion.

In fact, Odys felt that this changed Clan Leader, the great Progenitor, was the one who could truly lead them to a brighter future.

So, even though the new orders had just been issued and the surrounding vampires were still confused, he had already decided to follow in the footsteps of the Progenitor and contribute to the growth of the vampire race.

Odys murmured to himself.

"Vita, hurry up. Today, move all your belongings to the Central District. There are enough houses there, and they are spacious."

"Clear out the corpses hidden in the houses. Not a single skeleton is allowed to remain."

"Harn, use a cleaning spell to tidy up the streets. I don't want to see a single street covered in dust and dirt."

To quickly complete the task assigned to him by Li De, Odys had organized half of the vampires to participate.

Vampires were natural spellcasters, blessed with exceptional magical talent by the Goddess of Night.

In the ancient castle, out of the 208 vampires, 150 had mage as their main class, and half of the remaining 58 had mage as their secondary class.

Only a little over twenty vampires had no connection to the mage class at all.

Spellcasters, who were extremely rare in the human world outside, were as common as wheat and weeds here.

Mages possessed mysterious powers that could not only be used in combat but were even more effective for work.

A street covered in dust could be cleaned with a single cleaning spell, damaged houses could be repaired with an automatic restoration spell, and clogged sewers could be cleared with Mage Hand.

Using over a hundred intermediate-level mages, all above level 5, to clean the streets was a level of extravagance even the Mage Guild of Green City could not match.

"Viscount, do you know the Progenitor's true intentions? Are we really going to live alongside humans in the ancient castle from now on? By the Goddess of Night, do you know what kind of life we're talking about."

A young, handsome vampire approached Odys, holding a magic staff and sounding somewhat dejected.

The vampire race had its own hierarchy of nobility: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, and Knight. There were six levels in total, with Duke being the highest and Knight the lowest.

Normally, vampires were ranked by their strength. Dukes were transcendent beings, Marquises were grand mages, Earls were high-level professionals, Viscounts were intermediate-level professionals, and Barons were professionals.

Unfortunately, most of the vampires who had held noble titles had perished in the battle with Green City a century ago.

Now, only the seven second-generation vampires held noble titles, having been personally granted the rank of Viscount by Li De.

Odys was one of them, so the other vampires always addressed him as "Viscount."

Odys turned to look at the young vampire. Although the young vampire was neatly dressed in a black mage robe, he exuded a sense of decadence, lacking any vitality.

Odys raised an eyebrow, his emerald eyes flashing with displeasure.

Perhaps the Progenitor had gone to great lengths to explain things precisely to prevent these brainless fools from causing trouble, he thought. If the Progenitor hadn't spoken, these idiots might have truly ruined everything.

"Harn, the Progenitor's wisdom is not something you can fathom. I warn you, do not use uncooperative, cowardly behavior to hinder the Progenitor. It will only bring you trouble."

He paused, then glanced at the other vampires nearby who were watching him and raised his voice.

"The vampire race will always belong to the Progenitor. Anyone who dares to passively resist the Progenitor's orders will be sent to the ancient castle's prison by my own hand. You do not want to know what that place is like."

Hearing this, the surrounding vampires shuddered.

The ancient castle's prison was a place specifically for punishing vampires who had made mistakes. It was known for its extremely harsh punishments, and no vampire wanted to go to that cursed place.

"No, no, Viscount, you misunderstand me. I just—" The young vampire panicked and tried to explain.

Odys waved his hand, his expression cold.

"No, Harn, you don't need to apologize. I just need you to seriously complete the tasks I've assigned you.

If you truly make a mistake, the enforcers will deal with you."

Harn's already pale face turned even paler. He didn't dare to say more and lowered his head, continuing to cast spells to clean the streets.

By the Goddess of Night, the Viscount's presence was becoming more and more imposing.

And the Progenitor's plan—could it really succeed? Could we truly control a city like Green City?

On the path of reform, doubts will always arise.

But once the benefits of reform are truly experienced, these doubters will become loyal supporters.