Tome of Blood

The North, the Great Boreal Forest.

A group of people dressed as tribesmen from the north were marching in the snowy forest. They were old and young, their footsteps were shallow and deep, and they were marching hard through the forest.

The north wind howled, and the biting cold wind carried snowflakes falling, quickly covering up the footprints they left. They supported each other with long swords and staffs. Their tired figures and vigilant looks clearly showed that they were already at a high altitude. Many days were spent under tension.

At the front of the team, Astrid, who looked much more mature, looked back at the forest in the snow, with a worried look on her face:

"Father, are they... catching up?"

Next to the girl, Balder, the leader of the Free Tribe Alliance, closed his eyes and felt for a moment, then said:

"We should get rid of them for the time being. This wind and snow is enough to completely cover our breath."

After hearing what her father said, Astrid relaxed a little.

She turned around and looked at the clansmen in the team who were pale from the cold, looking a little worried.

Noticing her expression, Balder sighed and said:

"Keep on holding on. Once we cross this forest, we can return to the tribe."

"Thanks to the heavy snow, although it has delayed our trip, it has at least closed the main road leading to the strait. If His Majesty plans to attack, he will have to wait until the weather improves, and the tribe will have at least a month to prepare for the war. …”

After hearing what her father said, Astrid was a little silent.

After a long time, she couldn't help but said:

"Father, was I... wrong?"

"Did what I did in Winterhold offend the Archduke, so they pursued us so desperately?"

Balder looked at his daughter with a complicated expression and shook his head:

"No, Astrid, you're not wrong."

"It is your luck and the luck of our Free Tribe Alliance to be favored by the Savior again."

"It is well known that the Archduke wants to unify the Northern Territory's beliefs. The closer they pursue us, the more it proves that our Lord's power is indeed recovering."

"They... are afraid."

After hearing Balder's words, Astrid's expression did not change.

She glanced at the dense forest behind her and sighed after a long time:

"I don't know...how Master Sebastian is doing now."

Balder paused slightly.

After a moment of silence, he sighed:

"After all, Lord Sebastian is the envoy of Count Castells. The Archduke probably won't kill him."

"His strength has also returned to Blazing Sun. If he really wants to leave, as long as Legend doesn't interfere, no one in the north can stop him."

After hearing what her father said, Astrid relaxed a little.

After listening to the conversation between father and daughter, some of the northern soldiers who were traveling together couldn't help but ask:

"Lord Balder, I heard...didn't Sebas, the Crimson Flame Blade, have his mental field broken in his early years and permanently fall in rank?"

"Can the extraordinary person who fell into the Blazing Sun...become the Blazing Sun again?"

Balder shook his head:

"That's not clear. After all, I'm not Blazing Sun, but... Lord Sebastian is probably related to my Lord. Maybe... he has also received my Lord's favor."

"But isn't he a follower of Castel? Count Castel is a saint of the Holy Royal Court."

Someone asked again.

Balder sighed:

"Who knows, the rumors are all rumors, and there are also rumors that she is the heir to the throne of Fallen Star Kingdom. In comparison, I think Lord Sebas's words are more credible. Count Castel... Maybe the one who believes in it is really my Lord.”

"In short... we don't need to think about unnecessary things. We only need to know that my lord is probably really recovering. His Majesty's reaction is proof. What we have to do is to return to the tribe as soon as possible, and then let Astrid Try praying to our Lord again.”

"Gods are omnipotent, and only by getting our Lord's response can we have the power to compete with the Grand Duchy!"

After speaking, Balder looked at the falling snowflakes in the sky and sighed:

"I hope... everything goes well."

…

Go back to a month ago.

After realizing that his daughter might have really awakened the power of the totem, Balder made a decisive decision to return to the tribe.

Although this unexpected move was questioned by the chiefs of other free tribes, the chiefs of the Free Tribe Alliance were also convinced by the testimony of the boys and girls who had witnessed the "miracle".

After that... it was time to escape.

Just as Balder imagined, the chiefs of the Free Tribe Alliance who decided to withdraw from the "recruitment" were soon pursued by the Grand Duchy.

In order to hunt down these chiefs of the tribal alliance, Stefan II, the Grand Duke of the North, sent a total of 3,000 extraordinary Isaac warriors.

That is to say, they take risks all year round and have a relatively strong ability to avoid pursuers, so they can circle with pursuers in the dense northern forest.

But even so, their team was in danger several times. If it hadn't been for the help of Sebastian Flameheart, the envoy of the Castel delegation, they would have been captured long ago.

Although they were doubtful about the help of Castel's envoy, when Sebastian revealed his true belief position in front of everyone, they understood why the other party helped.

After some discussion, Balder also accepted Sebas's proposal to go to the tribe with him to help them establish contact with the gods.

However, even with the aura of Castel's envoy, the Northern Grand Duchy still did not give up the pursuit of the delegation.

In desperation, Sebas had to persuade everyone to leave first, while he was responsible for rearing and delaying.

Then came this heavy snowfall that had not happened in ten years.

The heavy snowfall in the north was already severe, and the blizzard directly blocked the roads, which not only delayed everyone's escape, but also hindered the pursuit of the pursuers.

Of course, what Balder and others didn't know was that although Sebastian boasted a lot when he parted ways with everyone and was confident about stalling for time, in fact... his actions were not that smooth.

Or to be more precise, the Northern Grand Duchy’s dedication to the Free Tribe Alliance even exceeds Sebastian’s own imagination...

"Your Excellency Sebas, you have no choice but to go. You are a follower of the Queen of Gods. We don't want to have too strong a conflict with you, but the premise is that you don't break our bottom line."

"Recovering strength is not easy. It is a miracle to be able to return to Blazing Sun from a fallen rank. I think... you don't want to lose the power of Blazing Sun again for the sake of those barbaric tribesmen, right?"

In the Great Northern Forest, Marquis Vladimir looked at Sebas who was surrounded by Isaac's warriors and said calmly.

Sebastian's condition is not good.

Although his clothes were still elegant and neat, his face was quite pale, his energy was listless, and his breath was a little weak.

That's a sign of overuse of the mental force field.

However, his eyes were still bright, and he didn't seem to care about his poor state:

"Your Excellency, Marquis, I can restore Blazing Sun once, and naturally I can restore it a second time. If you want to convince me with the decline in strength, I'm afraid you will fail."

"Unfortunately, helping the Free Tribe Alliance is not my whim. In fact, it is my Lord's will."

"Your Excellency the Marquis, His Majesty the Grand Duke...should not be willing to be hostile to the god behind Castel, right?"

After hearing Sebastian's words, Marquis Vladimir looked gloomy.

After a moment, he sneered and said:

"Hmph, what god? This is the North, not Luo Xing or Castel."

"I don't know which god you believe in, whether it's the god's master, the god's subordinate god, or even the evil god who is trying to seize the god's power..."

"This is not Yunet. The hands of other gods...can't reach the north yet!"

Sebastian raised his eyebrows slightly:

"Oh? If that's the case...is there really a mysterious god behind His Majesty the Grand Duke?"

"Let me guess... His Majesty the Grand Duke seems to be very close to the Hortosh clan in the blood clan. Could it be that... the spirit behind His Majesty the Grand Duke is the Scarlet Queen of the Hortosh clan?"

After hearing Sebas' words, Marquis Vladimir narrowed his eyes slightly.

He took a deep look at Sebastian and chuckled:

"Sir Sebastian, you are indeed in danger."

"My mind has changed. Although being an enemy of the Queen of Gods is not what we want to see, you... know a little too much."

After saying that, he gestured to the Isaac warriors around him:

"Kill him! His power has been exhausted and he can no longer resist!"

After listening to Marquis Vladimir's words, the Isaac warriors surrounding Sebas raised their powerful crossbows.

The crossbow arrow shines brightly, it is obviously enchanted, and it exudes a disturbing aura.

Looking at the crossbow aimed at him, Sebas smiled bitterly and sighed helplessly.

I have to say, he was really embarrassed.

He finally regained his strength with the help of the True Ancestor's crown, but in the blink of an eye he was in such an embarrassing situation again, but...he had to do it in order to perform the task.

There is no way, who made the isolation power shrouded in the north become stronger and stronger. Now, even he can't rely on the power of the blood contract.

Without the power of a contract, you can only rely on yourself.

After fighting for a long time with Marquis Vladimir, also the Blazing Sun, and being blocked by the extraordinary Isaac army in the north, his magic power had been exhausted, and his mental power was also wilting in the delay.

Now facing these extraordinary powerful crossbows, he no longer has the ability to resist.

but……

"I am already a disciple of the True Ancestor, and a blood dependent of the True Ancestor. Even if I really die here, the True Ancestor should be able to bring back my soul, right?"

"With the power of the True Ancestor Mian... he should be able to reshape my body for me, right?"

"But... even if I am reshaped, I should be able to become a real vampire, right?"

"Should...it should be possible, right? His Majesty the True Ancestor...should not refuse to save someone even if he dies, right?"

Sebastian thought anxiously in his heart.

Few people are completely unafraid of death, and Sebas is no different.

However, as a dependent of the gods, you will always have some "privileges".

Looking at the crossbow aimed at him, Sebas whistled and suppressed the anxiety in his heart.

Marquis Vladimir narrowed his eyes.

He raised his hand and was about to give an order to the soldiers. However... just as he was about to take action, the loud voice of the orderer suddenly came from the rear of the team:

"Your Majesty the Marquis! Your Majesty the Marquis! Your Majesty the Grand Duke has an urgent order! His Majesty the Grand Duke has an urgent order!"

"Your Majesty has ordered that all troops end their operations, give up the pursuit of the Free Tribe Alliance, and terminate their mission!"

Terminate...mission?

Sebas and Marquis Vladimir were stunned at the same time.

…

Winterfort, winter palace.

The Grand Duke of the North, Stefan Sobieski, sat high on the throne.

He looked at the girl sitting on the throne on the other side with a smile:

"I really didn't expect that the Queen of the Gods would make the Northern Territory her first communication partner after taking the throne. As the Grand Duke of the Northern Territory, I am truly honored."

"Your Majesty Castel, as you wish, I have sent a magical message and ordered the following to stop the operation."

"Now...can we have a nice chat?"