"This is a high-ranking vampire who has reached the Out of Stasis stage... She completely subdued him in an instant. I couldn't even see what she did. Is this the strength of a 'Light Smelter'..."
Soon, she remembered the business and asked hurriedly:
"By the way, now that he's out...what about Mother? Where is she?"
"Yes," Qi Ji pointed to a certain direction to the side, "Look for yourself."
Bernice turned her head quickly and saw the "original lunar corona" lying quietly on the ground a few meters away.
Its appearance had changed significantly from before. The original bright red color, like blood, was no longer so dazzling, but turned into a dull, lifeless crimson, as if the blood had dried up.
The missing half of the hole was filled up at some point, and except for the bumpy ring-shaped marks on the surface, the entire moon became a round and perfect sphere.
Bernice stared at this thing for a long time, but couldn't see any connection between it and her mother. She was about to ask Qi Ji a question...
“Pah—”
A crisp cracking sound was suddenly heard.
An obvious crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the "original lunar corona".
"Chuck... cluck..."
As if a switch had been pressed, the sound of brittle objects breaking became more frequent and louder, and more and more irregular lines climbed up the deep red moon, until every inch of its surface was covered -
"boom!!!"
It was like a bamboo tube stuffed with firecrackers, suddenly collapsing.
"what!"
Bernice instinctively closed her eyes, turned her head away, and raised her arms in front of her.
A heavy wave of air blew towards me, mixed with it were streaks of dark red light, which seemed to have life and kept waving in the air.
"Um...what's wrong?"
When the wind and waves were no longer so sharp and dazzling, Bernice tentatively put down her hands and squinted her eyes to look back to her original position.
"...Well...at the moment, it seems to be a little better than my best prediction."
At the same time, a voice that Qi Ji felt was very unfamiliar came over.
It was a somewhat tired voice, slightly low but very clean, and the color was like the transparent sound of a cello, giving people a very friendly impression.
Qi Ji had an interested smile on his face. He looked in the direction where the voice came from and nodded slightly.
"You are Lilith, Bernice's mother, right? I am her... um, friend, you can call me 105. Nice to meet you, please take care of me."
The smoke and sand stirred up by the explosive gust of air gradually settled, and in the slowly fading crimson light, a well-proportioned and tall figure walked over.
The person who appeared had long black hair and blood-red eyes. His facial features were 70% similar to Bernice's, but there was no longer any immaturity between his brows, but a grace and elegance with a unique charm.
She was wearing a red and black dress decorated with some Gothic elements. She looked tired and weak, and her clothes were obviously torn and stained, as if she had just been through a fierce battle.
Hearing Qi Ji's voice, she turned her head and looked over.
"Um……"
After a brief trance, she smiled thoughtfully and said in a tone that was half grateful and half curious:
"Thank you very much, Miss 105. May I ask...how long has it been now?"
"According to this guy, it's been over a month since you 'disappeared'."
Qi Ji answered truthfully, and pointed with his chin while speaking! Pointing at Bernice who was suddenly stunned beside him.
"Ah, it's been so long..."
Lilith was slightly startled when she heard this answer. A bit of bitterness and worry appeared on her delicate and fair face. Then she turned her head and looked at Bernice:
"You must have had a hard time these days, right? I'm so sorry, but I can't help it..."
"Mother!"
Although he knew very well that his mother was sealed in that strange moon-shaped object, he had already prepared himself mentally before opening it.
But after seeing her biological mother who had been missing for more than a month, Bernice could not contain her inner excitement, and tears suddenly broke out and rushed towards her.
"Wow... I miss you so much..."
"I'm really sorry, but the situation at that time...I had no choice but to do that..."
Seeing her daughter throwing herself into her arms, Lilith sighed and gently stroked her head with both hands:
"Leaving you alone, letting you face that situation alone... I know it was too much, I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... ah..."
"It's a great joy to see mother and daughter reunited. It ...
Qi Ji understood the atmosphere very well and clapped his hands at the side, but his expression of watching a show really deserved a beating.
Being interrupted by Qi Ji's inexplicably funny attitude, Bernice's emotions were somewhat choked.
Like a raft floating down the river hitting a rock in the middle of the water, she could no longer cry as freely as before. Instead, she suddenly felt embarrassed for some reason.
So she couldn't help but stop crying and took her head out of her mother's arms.
Looking down at the tip of her shoes, Bernice scratched her cheek with her fingers, and said with a little bit of crying in her voice, looking a little embarrassed:
"…Mother, what happened? Why did these people…come to arrest us? What on earth do they want to do?!"
Chapter 331 Mysterious Motives
Although the most immediate and pressing crisis seems to have been resolved so far:
The long-missing mother returned safely, and the powerful enemy hidden behind the scenes was either killed or subdued.
The only remaining hidden danger seems to be the remaining stragglers of this organization, which basically will not pose a significant threat to the personal safety of the two.
But until now, Bernice still hasn't figured out what these guys are trying to do, and what their purpose is in targeting her and her daughter.
What benefit would it bring to them to kidnap two "favored ones"? Would they use them as hostages to extort ransom from the family bloodline? The risk was too great.
After all, the "Favored Ones" are the chosen ones who have received the blessing of the great "Ancient Moon". Even if their strength is not particularly strong, they are quite important in the vampire society.
Take Bernice as an example. Although her realm is only budding and the development of her own divine power needs to be improved, she does not enjoy much real power in the Moonlight Empire.
But if anything happened to her, the officials of the Moonlight Empire would devote much more resources to deal with it than ordinary citizens.
In a sense, the "favored ones" are some kind of invisible privileged people in the vampire society. Although there are no specific legal provisions to grant them privileges, almost every vampire compatriot assumes that the status of these people should be more special.
If guys like Dre try to kidnap the "beneficiaries" for ransom, it will inevitably trigger great public outrage, and then they will definitely not be able to live a stable life in the country.
The Moonlight Empire officials will most likely invest a lot of effort in the investigation due to public pressure, so don't think you can get away with this by hiding from the spotlight.
Could it be that he wanted to make a quick buck and then escape to a foreign country with the ransom?
This is possible, but Dre and his superior... one is in the middle to late stage of budding, and the other is in the middle to late stage of stasis, so their levels are pretty good.
In the Moonlight Empire, which values strength and bloodline, even if one lives peacefully and develops step by step, one can still live a pretty good life and enjoy a high reputation.
Why would you risk being wanted nationwide and bearing the infamy of going to live in a foreign land where you are unfamiliar with the place and have no relatives or friends?
Looking at the two continents that have been basically explored, the only place where the vampires gather is the Moonlight Empire in the northern continent. Where can they escape to? Do they want to live together with humans, or even orcs?
In short, the motives of these guys are a mystery, and Bernice can't figure it out at all.
Thinking that her mother fell into their trap and was forced to seal herself because she went out to investigate, she might have a better understanding of the whole situation. So after her emotions eased a little, she asked directly:
"What... do they want to do?"
Hearing this question, the expression on Lilith's face became much more serious. The gentle smile on her lips faded slightly, replaced by a bit of seriousness.
She was silent for a few seconds, frowned slightly, and said seriously:
"I may not know much more than you do...but there is at least one thing I am sure of."
Unclasping Bernice's arms, she walked slowly with heavy steps to the side of the Blood Clan member who was tied up by vines and tree roots, and stared at him with her head down:
"This guy is not at the top of their organization. Maybe he is just a hired thug..."
"Thugs?!"
Bernice was shocked; this was totally beyond her expectations.
There are five major realms in the blood clan, from low to high, namely "embryo", "bud", "out of the silt", "drawing from the abyss", and "reaching the sky".
Among them, "Santian" roughly corresponds to the "miracle worker" among mages and the "messenger of God" among clergy. It is a demigod who has obtained a trace of divinity and is qualified to enjoy independent worship and belief. It is a living myth.
However, since the last descent of the great "Ancient Moon" in the early Sixth Epoch - about one hundred and fifty years ago - no vampire has ever reached this level.
As for those blood clan demigods who were promoted to "Tiantian" earlier, they claimed that they "received the oracle of the great 'ancient moon'" afterwards, and almost at the same time chose to retreat from the world, and have not been heard from since.
It is said that except for the top level of the "Eternal Night Castle", almost no one knows where they are going.
The current head of the Moonlight Empire, the leader of all vampires, His Honorable Majesty the Blood Lord, is just a "Jiyuan", which is equivalent to a "Yeguang Master" or "Saint" among humans.
In other words, the blood clan who have reached the state of transcending the stasis are already top-level strongmen in terms of strength, second only to His Majesty the Blood Lord, the Blood Grand Duke and other elders.
Looking at the entire Moonlight Empire, people of this level are quite rare, and each of them enjoys a certain reputation, status and power.
For example, Lilith, at the beginning of her stasis, was already a "Blood Councillor", in charge of the decision-making and planning of a family's core affairs...
Although there is a bonus from the status of "favored one", the difference is not that big.
Generally speaking, Drey's superior would not have a bad status in the Moonlight Empire. He would at least be an important member of the management and decision-making level of a medium to large force.
However, he was not the leader in this incident, but just a front-line thug? !
Who can afford to hire thugs of this level! ?
"You're surprised too, right? Haha, my thoughts are similar to yours." Lilith nodded as expected and poked the man with her toes. "I think the truth of the matter...maybe it's hidden in this guy's brain."
After that, she raised her head, looked at Qi Ji humbly and calmly, and asked politely:
"Sir 105, when will he wake up?"
Although Qi Ji looked much younger than Lilith, she did not treat the other as a child at all. Instead, she used words that were quite respectful.
At that time, when Bernice used the power of divine grace to open the "Original Moon Corona" and release the two people sealed inside, Qi Ji defeated and subdued Drey's boss in an instant with his powerful force.
And at that time, the person who was closest to the power released by Qi Ji was... Lilith who was right next to him.
At that moment, she felt a surge of spirituality that was so magnificent that it was difficult to describe.
It is like the ocean and the sky, endless and inexhaustible, frightening and fascinating...
But she knew that Qi Ji's strength was far more than that. The reason why she could only feel power of this scale was simply because her own perception was limited to this.
Lilith had a deeper understanding of the background of this black-haired girl who called herself "Light Smelter" than Bernice, who had been with her day and night for a week.
I, a "favored one" in the state of transcending the stasis, am so small and vulnerable in front of her... No, I don't even have the qualifications to face her power.
Therefore, when she broke free from her self-imprisonment and saw this completely unfamiliar girl, she showed such pure kindness.
Because she knew that in front of this person... remaining kind was the only sensible choice.
It is no exaggeration to say that the lives of both mother and daughter depend entirely on the other party's thoughts.
"Wow, don't be so formal."
Qi Ji smiled in a familiar way, glanced at the person on the ground and said:
"If you're anxious to question him, I can wake him up now."
"Then I'll trouble you, Master 105."
Lilith raised her arms, pinched the hems of her skirt with her fingers, bowed slightly, and saluted Qi Ji in an impeccable manner.
"...that's okay."
Seeing that the mother seemed to be intentionally keeping a certain distance from him, Qi Ji was tactful enough not to try to please her and was too lazy to continue trying to get close to her.
She stretched out her slender hands and lightly snapped her fingers in the air:
"Snapped!--"
Just like a wake-up call, the unconscious man on the ground trembled slightly at the same time as the sound was heard.
"Uh, uh... cough..."
A painful and difficult groan could be heard faintly.
Chapter 332 Parting
