Sister, can I be the scabbard too?

As the patriarch of the vampire clan, Requiem has a lot of headaches.

Like werewolves, vampires are creations of the Witch Empress, the Night Witch.

It was created by her as a weapon of war to fight against the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, the Witch Era was still destroyed by the apocalypse.

After the fall of the Night Witch, both vampires and werewolves fell into a deep slumber.

They only woke up again when the apocalypse game started again.

Requiem did not know how the Witch Era ended, or perhaps her memory was erased by some force.

All she knew was that the vampires who had awakened were not willing to help the new generation of humans fight against the apocalypse, as the Night Witch had planned.

Yes, the situation within the vampire clan is not much different from that of the werewolves.

Some chose to heed the witch's dying wish and help humanity.

Some chose to submit to apocryphal sects like Chaos and the Black Goat, which believed in the end times.

Another group prepared two sets of statements, ready to act according to the prevailing winds.

As the start of the apocalyptic game draws ever closer, the divisions and conflicts within the vampire clan are growing.

Requiem knew very well that her ambush by the werewolves today was not solely due to the Chaos Cult.

She was certain that there was a traitor within the clan!

"Mother, you entrusted the entire clan to me, but now... I have no ability to control the clan at all."

The requiem murmured.

When a major battle breaks out, killing the fence-sitters first is the standard practice for all factions.

She had a premonition that if the status quo continued, the vampires might become prey for other forces due to internal strife.

As the head of the vampire clan, she had to make a choice.

Choose humanity or choose the apocalypse?

"But now, it seems we have other options, old man Stan."

Requiem, holding an umbrella, turned to look at Stan.

"Oh, Witch Empress above, my dear clan chief, what new and astonishing wisdom have you wielded?"

Stanpi looked at Requiem with a forced smile.

To be honest, he had quite little trust in the mind of his family patriarch.

"Rather than being used by humanity or the apocalypse, it is better to offer loyalty to something that truly deserves it."

Requiem smiled peacefully and grasped the necklace around her neck.

Those are relics of the Eternal Night Witch.

As she grasped the chain, a faint, ethereal aura appeared before her eyes.

That was the scent left behind by Lin Yuan.

If she follows this aura, she might be able to find this gentle "deity".

"Miss, are you serious?" Old Man Stan saw through Requiem's ​​intentions and tapped his cane.

"Do you really want to pray for power from that kind of being?"

"You should understand that the desire for power will inevitably come at a price."

"In the world of Ashes, equivalent exchange does not exist. Paying an unimaginable price to gain even a sliver of power is the norm."

"We're lucky to have survived today, so let's..."

"Stan." Requiem turned around and stared into his eyes:

"My mother entrusted the entire clan to me, so I have the responsibility to lead the clan to greatness."

"I'm willing to pay any price for this."

"..." Stan fell silent for a moment, then sighed:

"Miss, if I may be frank, given our current poverty, even if we gave them all our possessions, they would still think we were beggars."

Requiem: (눈‸눈)

She thought for a moment and then shook her head: "Stan, you're right, but we still have one more bargaining chip, don't we?"

"Miss...you..." Stan's eyes trembled, finally realizing the determination of Requiem.

Requiem did not speak, but simply placed her hand gently on her chest.

Thump, thump, thump...

Beneath the pounding of her heart, a line stretched from her chest down to her lower abdomen.

That was her heart, sealed within it the knowledge and power left behind by the ancients.

"I've said it before, I will pay any price to pray for His protection."

As she recited the requiem, recalling Lin Yuan's appearance, she stepped into the dark forest.

"Huh, the light is spreading into a crack... Is this person... in another world?"

……

Meanwhile, in the northern werewolf territory, in the council hall.

The werewolf elders were gathered around the campfire.

Before them lay the tokens of the warriors who had set out to ambush the vampires.

But now, all of these keepsakes are broken.

"So many famous people, all of them are dead... It's such a pity."

"Thanks to the curse they cast before they died, we were able to discover that this was all a conspiracy by that man named Camus!"

"The Chaos Cult has deceived us with such a vicious scheme... Clan Chief, we cannot let our warriors' blood be shed in vain!"

The elders chimed in with their own opinions.

The werewolf elder, seated in the main seat, coughed twice with a gloomy face:

"Ahem, I understand. Fortunately, Camus is unaware that the warriors have sent this information back."

"We must make good use of this information gap."

Just then, the campfire suddenly burst into flames.

Immediately afterwards, a young figure dressed in a black robe, wearing monocle and a top hat appeared in the campfire.

This person was none other than Camus, the Chaos Cultist.

Upon seeing him, the werewolves became agitated and prepared to curse him.

The clan leader suddenly waved his hand, casting a silencing buff on them.

He intended to see what this Chaos Cultist was planning to do.

"Your Excellency, Chief Werewolf, how is the plan progressing?"

Camus gracefully performed a noble bow.

"Don't you know?" The werewolf chieftain narrowed his eyes. "All the warriors we sent were wiped out."

"Oh?" Camus's eyes flickered. "That shouldn't be the case. There are only two vampires. How could you have lost?"

Keep pretending... The werewolf chieftain stopped talking and just stared at Camus.

Camus, however, didn't think that much about it and shook his head: "Never mind, accidents are inevitable."

"But rest assured, since you have chosen to submit to my Chaos Cult, I will not be stingy with rewards."

"Here's what we'll do. I'll send over the agreed-upon reward; consider it a pension for the warriors."

"Hehe." The werewolf chieftain chuckled, feigning gratitude. "Then thank you very much, sir. We will certainly serve you with utmost loyalty!"

"No problem, no problem, we're all on the same side. Well then, we'll see you next time." Camus ended the call.

As soon as the campfire went out, the entire werewolf council hall erupted in cheers.

"Chieftain, why don't you question him!"

"Yes, Chieftain, were the warriors' blood shed in vain?"

"Enough, you bunch of idiots, shut up!" The werewolf chieftain slammed his hand on the armrest.

"Don't you understand? I'm just pretending! I'm going to trick him!"

"Fill it, fill it with candy?"

"Hmm, this is the vocabulary from the human side. Heh, Camus tricked us, but he doesn't know that the warriors risked their lives to bring this information back."

The werewolf chieftain gritted his teeth: "My werewolf clan will never let our enemies get away with this!"

"Doesn't he like to scheme? Doesn't he like to backstab people? Fine, he'll backstab us too!"

"Let's give him a backstab he'll never forget!"

"Camus, just wait, just wait to bear the wrath of the werewolves!"

the other side,

After hanging up the call, Chaos Cult Master Camus slowly sat down and crossed his legs.

A waiter quickly stepped forward and handed over the fermented bean curd and soy milk that had been prepared beforehand.

"Young Master, these werewolves have clearly failed, why are you still rewarding them?"

"You don't understand," Camus said, picking up a piece of fermented bean curd, putting it in his mouth, and savoring it.

"The werewolves did fail in this ambush, but they failed because the vampires' strength exceeded my expectations, not because they were disloyal."

"When I spoke to them just now, their faces turned green and they didn't dare to say a word. They must have thought I would punish them."

"In this situation, instead of punishing them, I reward them. Guess what they'll think?"

The waiter was taken aback, then his eyes lit up: "They will surely be grateful and remember your kindness, young master."

"That's right, you're a quick learner." Camus smiled with satisfaction, picked up the soy milk again, took a big gulp, and enjoyed it even more.

"Whether it's the Ash Church or the Chaos Cult, they are ultimately all the power of others."

"Now, the apocalyptic game has begun. In order to gain greater benefits and to become the agent of our Lord Chaos, I need my own power."

"And these werewolves will become a force loyal to me."

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" The waiter couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Young Master, with a mere trick, you've won over a loyal werewolf army. Such skill is truly admirable!"

"Hahaha, remember this, this is the code of conduct for the Camus family!" Camus laughed heartily.

"Using an invisible hand, we manipulate tangible conflicts, turning the world into puppets on strings!"

"Life is like a game of chess; I am the player, and all others are just pieces. Hahaha!"

Camus smiled with such confidence.

What he didn't know was that the entire werewolf clan was plotting to give him a backstab he would never forget.

If dear Mr. Camus knew about these things, he would surely shed tears of happiness.