Endless Debt

The believers' fear of blood tax collectors is almost engraved into their instincts. Usually one or two blood tax collectors are enough to make them take a detour, but today, so many blood tax collectors arrived, and the scene immediately became chaotic.

"Don't let anyone go, and try not to let anyone bleed."

The Night Clan gave the instructions indifferently. His eyes when looking at the believers were full of disgust, but he had to need these believers, and not even a drop of blood could be wasted.

The blood tax collectors looked at each other. They may have had consciences, but in this desperate place of eternal night, people with consciences usually don't live long.

The team pressed forward, compressing the believers' space for movement. They could only retreat and retreat again and again, and the dark crowd was crowded together.

Some blood believers screamed in terror. He didn't know why the blood tax collectors came, but he saw the Night Tribe among the crowd. Those scarlet eyes were so dazzling that they were easy to distinguish.

Other believers also noticed this. Before that, they suspected that the blood tax officials were here to arrest someone who was evading taxes, but the arrival of the Night Clan made them realize that the situation was far from what they imagined.

Melissa, who was climbing on the pillar, naturally discovered this, and a cold feeling of despair filled her heart.

Melissa knew that even if the blood tax was paid on time, the safety of the blood people could still not be guaranteed. In the old city, Melissa could often see the blood tax officers arresting the blood people on a large scale. On several occasions, she relied on her own Her thin body hid in the ruins, and once she was unfortunately caught.

But luckily, the blood tax collector and Devin let Melissa go, and told her the reason for their actions in the subsequent chat.

"The blood tax officials will conduct regular clean-up operations. The targets of the clean-up are those blood citizens who are old, sick and can no longer effectively produce blood tax."

Devin did not tell the ending of those blood people, but Melissa could guess that there were only two endings to such an incident, either they were ruthlessly squeezed into blood and flesh, or they were converted into bloodthirsty people in large numbers.

In order to ensure the population of the blood people in the old city, a large number of new people will be moved in after each clean-up operation. Some of them, like Devin, are disabled people, coming from the so-called hidden land, and some are... Pure ordinary people from all kinds of places that Melissa had never heard of.

A painful cry interrupted Melissa's thinking. At the front of the team, a believer was knocked down by the blood tax officer's stick. He fell heavily to the ground, whimpering.

The agitation of the crowd stopped for a moment, and then started to agitate with greater intensity. They fled in all directions and cried and howled, but no one dared to take action against the blood tax collector. Fear had long been like blood, deeply rooted in their flesh and blood. middle.

Melissa saw someone breaking the windows on both sides and tried to escape through the windows, but as soon as they jumped out, they were beaten to the ground by the blood tax officials who had been waiting for a long time, and then dragged away one by one.

"For...for the sun!"

Suddenly, the priest on the high platform roared angrily. He held up the blood-stained and tattered scripture, pointed at the Night Clan and shouted.

"The angels of the burning sun will punish all this!"

The believers stared blankly at the priest. His words seemed to have magic powers, penetrating into the depths of the believers' souls and awakening the remaining humanity and dignity.

First, a believer rushed towards the blood tax collector. His movements were very clumsy, but he still knocked down the blood tax collector. Then the second believer accidentally removed the torch from the pillar. He was hysterical and crazy. Roaring, he threw the burning fire into the blood tax collector's face.

Fireworks ignited on the face of the blood tax collector, the skin was burned, and the metal scratched the fragile flesh. The first drop of blood fell on the ground, filling the air with a pungent smell of blood.

The priest's eyes were bloodshot, and he shouted excitedly, "Dedicate yourself! For His coming!"

In an instant, his words ignited the church. Some fanatical believers rushed towards the blood tax collectors and struggled with them savagely. Although some believers did not muster up such courage, they still formed a group. After reaching a certain size, he climbed out of the window, tried to confront the blood tax collector outside, and escaped from this place.

Melissa was not carried away by the fanaticism. After all, she was not a believer. She was just unlucky enough to stumble into this place. She hid behind the pillar, observing the scene vigilantly, looking for opportunities to escape.

"Dedicate yourself!"

The priest cheered, reached into the vat of blood in front of him, scooped it up vigorously, and sprinkled pieces of blood on the believers.

The precious blood soaked into the believers' bodies, and the sticky and fishy feeling inspired their primitive fighting spirit, and they became even more crazy. However, this behavior was meaningless in the eyes of the Night Clan, and it made him feel even more angry.

"What a waste..."

Yezu wiped his cheek with his fingertips, and saw a touch of blood on his fingertips.

The calm expression suddenly became angry. Ye Clan no longer wasted time, and the red pupils in his eyes became more dazzling. At the same time, the glow of ether reflected on his body surface.

In an instant, a silent scream swept through the church, hitting all the believers in front of them along the cone-shaped diffusion surface, as if countless ghosts were rushing through their minds, tearing their spirits and blood vessels.

Within a few seconds, all the believers lost their ability to resist and fell to their knees. Even Melissa was not spared and fell from the pillar.

Fortunately, someone had already fallen down below, and he became a cushion, so that Melissa didn't suffer as much pain from her fall.

Her consciousness was blurred and twisted, and her survival instinct made Melissa raise her head hard. She saw the Night Tribe walking through the fallen people and coming to the priest. He grabbed the priest's head and seemed to say something to him. What? After a burst of weird ridicule, Yezu punched the priest in the abdomen.

Under Ruoyou Ruowu's mournful scream, Melissa saw the Night Clan pick up the torch and throw it towards the painted glass. With a clear cracking sound, the screen collapsed and fireworks burst out.

Like a hallucination, Melissa saw a raging fire igniting, and the broken sun standing forever in the fireworks.

Melissa seemed to be able to imagine what the sun was.

…

Bloodthirsty men wearing iron armor dragged the prison cart, and a large number of blood people were packed into it like cargo.

Devin stood between the prison cars with a gloomy look on his face. He thought this was a raid on these strange believers, but he didn't expect that it turned into a city-wide arrest.

They seemed to have captured all the blood people in this area, leaving only a small number of blood people hiding in the ruins and shivering. Devin wished Melissa could hide better.

"Are they hungry? Are they going to have a bloody feast?"

Devin suspected that even if it was a clean-up operation, there would be too many blood people being cleaned up this time.

Prison vans drove away one after another. Devin followed the prison vans. Under the hazy fog, he saw prison vans driving out in groups from other areas of the old city. This was truly a city-wide arrest.

Devin couldn't ask questions, and even if he asked questions, no one would answer. He could only obey the orders of the Night Clan and follow the team. Soon they came to the edge of the old city.

Drive out of the city gate.

The moment he stepped out of the city gate, Devin felt an indescribable feeling. This was the second time he had crossed the city gate. The first time was when he was thrown into the old city.

In the increasingly dense fog, Devin saw blazes of fire. As he gradually got closer, Devin saw a huge team coming from all directions in the fog.

Not only did the Old City carry out comprehensive arrests, but other areas of the Land of Eternal Night also encountered the same thing. In some areas, there were not so many prison cars. They simply tied the hands of the blood people with ropes and linked them together. The long queue stretches backwards with no end in sight.

A strong sense of uneasiness rose from the bottom of Devin's heart. He felt that something bad was about to happen. Devin also wondered if this would be an opportunity to escape. But thinking of the weirdness of this land of eternal night, he The moment you think you are out of the team, you will be hunted by bloodthirsty people.

"German?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from the prison car on one side. Devin turned his head in confusion and saw a thin figure squeezing away the blood people and leaning out like a mouse.

Devin felt that his heartbeat had slowed down by half a beat, and his whole body was frozen in place.

"May...Melissa?"

Looking at the girl in the prison car, Devin couldn't figure out why she was here. What would happen to her next?

Devin walked over nervously. He wanted to do something, but looking at the thick cage and the bloodthirsty people swimming around, he realized in despair that there was nothing he could do.

"It's so unlucky that I got caught out of nowhere."

Melissa laughed stupidly. She seemed to have no understanding of her situation, or perhaps, she understood and just accepted it numbly.

"If I had known better, I should have eaten more before going out," Melissa looked around and continued, "If there is any blood tax left, I will give it to you."

Devin's eyes widened and his body couldn't stop shaking, when Melissa said innocently and excitedly.

"By the way, Devin, I think I know what the sun is."

…

Trick stood in front of the window, overlooking the once magnificent royal city. In his memory, it was as prosperous as a dream, sacred and solemn, but the scene in front of him was heartbreaking.

It is full of devastation and ruins. The masonry walls are carved with the marks of swords and axes left by the war. Under the ruins are buried corpses that have been rotting for hundreds of years.

"What are you looking at?"

Leng Che's voice sounded from behind. Trick didn't need to look. He could identify the other party just by smelling the blood in the air.

Trick raised his hand and pointed into the distance. The man stood beside Trick. Looking along his finger, he saw a huge scar running through the wall surrounding the royal city.

It was as if a demon god had once broken through this line of defense. It marched along the gap, turning all the buildings along the way into ruins, extending to a corner of the palace, and with it, most of the palace collapsed.

"Here, in the Dawn War a hundred years ago, it was he who broke through the city wall and led the enemy into the royal city."

Trick obviously has a young face, but his voice is hoarse like an old man.

The man asked, "Oh...is it Sere?"

"Who else but that traitor would commit such atrocities?"

At the mention of Sere, Trick's emotions showed obvious ups and downs. He clenched his fists silently, and his heart was full of hatred.

Trik is one of the few Night Tribes who survived the Dawn War. After the defeat, he was imprisoned in this land of eternal night and spent a long time.

He originally thought that these endless years would cause him to collapse, but Trick himself did not expect that as time passed, his consciousness became clearer and his hatred for Sere grew day by day.

"Sere..."

The man whispered Sere's name playfully, and then asked again, "How's your work going?"

"I have followed your instructions and summoned all the blood people to rush here."

Trick asked in confusion, "These are all the blood people. If we throw them all in there, we will have no further source of blood."

"There's nothing we can do about it. We don't have much time."

The man stopped smiling and became serious, "Our archenemy, the Bureau of Order, successfully eliminated the Council of Sages and integrated the internal forces. The King's Secret Sword was once again involved by the Overlord Xilin... If nothing unexpected happens, The Bureau of Order will soon invade the territory with a large army, and by then it will be meaningless no matter how many blood people we have, it is better to consume all these burdens in advance."

Trick retorted, "Then the blood people should be consumed in a reasonable place. They should be transformed into an army of bloodthirsty people instead of being consumed in vain under the butcher knife of that monster."

The man was silent for a moment, "Trick, you hate me

? "

Trick froze.

The man turned around and looked directly at Trick, "I can understand your emotions. You are the Night King's most loyal servant, accompanying him through the establishment, expansion, and Dawn War of the Evernight Empire, and even the subsequent A long prison sentence.”

"You think you are the one who deserves to be given blood for the second time, and you also think that you are the one who should assume this position...the regent."

He, the Regent, looked directly at Trick and asked, "Am I right?"

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and the faint smell of blood lingered on the tip of his nose. Trick hesitated for a moment, nodded in admission without hesitation, but then shook his head.

"Yes, it is difficult for me to accept an outsider as our regent," Trick said firmly without any retreat, "but I have to accept it all, after all, you can escape the constraints of the oath."

"If you can rebuild the Eternal Night Empire, then I am willing to be loyal to you, but if you can't..."

Trick did not continue, but the underlying meaning was already clear to both of them.

The regent laughed comfortably. He liked Trick's character. These remnants of the Dawn War have good characters. They worship absolute power. As long as their fists are big enough, they will always be your loyal subordinates, but once If you show any vulnerability, they will kill you without hesitation and replace you with someone stronger.

"Let me explain in detail, Trick, you have been imprisoned in this land of eternal night for too long, and you have no idea about the changes that have taken place in the outside world in the past hundred years."

Trick guessed what the regent wanted to say, "It's just a change of the alchemical matrix."

"Then I can only say that the speed of change in the outside world is much faster than you think." The regent showed a provocative look, "You and I have also fought against each other. We are both glorious ones. You can understand the difference between us and me." The gap, right?"

Trick was speechless for a moment. That confrontation was a shame. Trick failed to hurt the Regent at all. Instead, the Regent pointed his sword at the throat several times.

"Among the enemies outside, there are those whose alchemy matrix is ​​more advanced than mine. You are already an old man, and your only advantage is that you are immortal."

The regent changed his tone, "But fortunately, we all know how to make up for the generation gap in the alchemical matrix, right."

Trick took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, his voice becoming tired, "Immortal Armor, through it, we can make up for the gap of the times to a certain extent."

The alchemical matrix carried by the soul cannot be modified later, which is doomed to the gap between the times.

But alchemical weapons are different.

In order not to be left behind by the times, every few decades, the undead will invite the most knowledgeable scholars to implant the most advanced alchemical matrix of the current era into the armor they wear, making this armor into an extremely complex and powerful one. Alchemy Arms.

Immortal Armor, this is exactly the name given to it by the undead.

"It's a pity, Prince Regent," Trik said in disappointment. "During the Dawn War, my immortal armor was shattered. Even if there are spare parts in the royal city, they have not been updated for a hundred years."

The regent smiled, "I know, so our dear allies are sending us a batch of brand new immortal armors."

Trick was confused for a moment. Each piece of immortal armor was extremely valuable. He didn't know where the regent got it from, but soon, Trick remembered those cunning businessmen.

The Gray Trade Chamber of Commerce, behind them is the Devil Mammon. With the gradual growth of the Bureau of Order, they are forced to unite with the Disobedient Royal Court. If the Disobedient Royal Court are professional mercenaries, then they are wealthy arms dealers.

The regent looked out the window. At the end of the fog, the team of blood people appeared, "A hundred years ago, the army of bloodthirsty people might have been of some use, but a hundred years later, in front of those high-level condensers, they were just a group to be harvested. Just straw."

He went on to deny, "Today, the direction of war is no longer dominated by the majority, but is firmly held in the hands of a minority."

Trick nodded thoughtfully. He had been disconnected from the outside world for too long. Even though the regent arrived and rebuilt the royal city, bringing a steady stream of information, he still found it difficult to truly understand the world from words and images. The change.

"As for the pointless consumption you accuse of...it makes sense."

The Prince Regent stepped on the window sill and jumped directly to the top of the tower. Trick followed behind him. The two of them communicated while walking on the towering spire.

Looking around, you can see a vast square on one side of the ruins of the royal city. Just like the entire royal city, the prosperity of the past is no longer there, and all that is left is a ruin.

Trick remembered that square. It was there that he was canonized by the Night King. It was also there that he witnessed with his own eyes his former master, Serre Velaris, becoming the first Lord of the Night Tribe.

Bursts of roars full of murderous intent came from the square. Even though they were so far away, the sound still did not weaken at all. It reached Trick's ears and made his blood surge.

Since the regent returned last time, he has brought back a monster covered in thorns. It was chained to death in the square that was once full of honor, carrying out endless killings.

Every day, thousands of bloodthirsty people were thrown into the square by the regent, and were allowed to be torn to pieces by the thorn monster. Numerous bones were piled around the square, rising as high as a hill. , surrounding it, over time, actually formed the shape of a deep pit.

Butcher's Pit.

This is what the Night Tribes call the bloody place. Even pure-blooded Night Tribes like Trik are more wary of the full of violence.

"To explain simply, that monster is the debtor of the Eye of Eternal Wrath, and with its killings and blood sacrifices, we can awaken the Eye of Eternal Wrath from its slumber and bring endless war back to the world."

The Prince Regent thought, "Only when the situation becomes chaotic can we hold back the Order Bureau and find the chance of victory."

Trick stared at the scarlet land. The killing of the thorn monster never stopped for a moment, just like the war in this world never stopped.

"Like a blood sacrifice calling for war..."

"Yes, it's a blood sacrifice," the regent said, "but the Bureau of Order has probably noticed my intention. We need to speed up and expand the scope of the blood sacrifice."

"So we want to kill all the blood people?"

Trick didn't feel any mercy towards the blood people, he just still felt that it was too wasteful.

The regent said, "That's about it. I'll leave this part of the work to you. I have other things to be busy with."

"What else are you doing?"

"War, Trik, besides war, what else can I be busy with?" The Regent spread his hands and said helplessly, "New troops have been assembled, and we will raid the Morrowind Stronghold."

When he heard Morrowind Stronghold, Trick's expression became serious. It was obvious that this name brought back some bad memories for him.

"If we can successfully capture it, we may be able to find the Dawn Oath and tear it up. Even if we are unable to do this, we can bring enough pressure to the Morrowind Stronghold." The regent's eyes were cold and ruthless, " We must not allow the Bureau of Order to overwhelm the situation with its troops so easily, otherwise we would be too passive."

Trick asked, "When will the attack begin?"

The Prince Regent raised his hand, glanced at the non-existent watch on his wrist, and smiled.

"It's already started."