Chapter 992 Growth of the Scarlet Banes
Chapter 992 Growth of the Scarlet Banes
Both the owner of the castle, Calidora, and the visitor, Rex have been locked in meditation.
Ever since the mishap that happened yesterday, none of them moved from their spots even a little, remaining within the space of the courtyard. Had it not for their potent auras, one might assume that both of them were statues.
Turns out, breaking the limiter of the body to break through to the next epiphany is difficult.
Rex has already lost count of how many times he failed.
When Calidora said that the pain of breaking the limiter would be quite unbearable, she was not at all joking. In the first hundred tries inside the realm of his consciousness, his mind felt like it was about to fracture any moment now.
He thought that he already mastered the art of enduring pain, but he wasn\'t.
Out there, other sensations of pain are still waiting for him.
Amidst these failures to reach and make a connection with Calidora, Rex felt a subtle cue of emotions that he wasn\'t expecting. It was rage. He was furious at himself for not being able to match the pace of his growth when the System\'s features were still available to him.
It seemed that he had gotten softer.
But this builds determination inside of him, remembering his past of struggling in weakness.
Rex has never been special.
Prior to gaining the System, he wasn\'t even an Awakened, he was a normal human.
Despite his situation, he perseveres with only his will and anger, reaching the absolute peak of normal human prowess. He might not be special, but he\'s confident that he could outwork anyone to achieve his goals.
Now, that determination is slowly coming back to him, turning his will into steel.
Meanwhile, in reality, Mavenna was roaming about.
Since the two were locked in meditation, she decided to roam around the territory.
Having awakened recently from being sealed by the ancient Human, the only thing she wanted the most was to eat. She needs life essence, taken from living beings. Despite desiring to take human life essence, she dissuades from doing that.
Mavenna settled on searching for animals or mutated animals that she could find.
It was all thanks to what happened earlier.
Accidentally witnessing the ghostly entity that emerge from Rex\'s form, capable of inducing fear into her, left a deep impression. Due to that unsettling encounter, she decided to avoid doing anything that might displease Rex.
Even though she knows how strong he is already, the unknown makes him scarier.
"I really want to eat some life essence, but the thing is, ever since that thing came out, the atmosphere inside the castle is suffocating. Maybe I\'ll stay out and go back only when both of them finish their meditation" Mavenna mused to herself.
In a moment, she could be found wandering inside a mountainous valley.
Due to the special Blood Bunyas inside the courtyard, the water stream was dyed crimson.
Since mutated animals have become sparse, an effect from the First Breath which reverted most of them which are below the sixth-rank realm to their regular form, the lack of water source made the surroundings of the city to be devoid of animals.
Along the way, Mavenna only found a couple of birds that she could get her hands on.
Chirp!
Chirp!
On a dead tree was a crow, its head turned and scout the surroundings.
Even though crows were known for their high alertness, it wasn\'t able to react in time.
Mavenna appeared right beside it and used her index finger to poke the crow, and in that instant, the crow\'s entire body deteriorated in the blink of an eye until it was nothing more than a hollow carcass.
It fell like a stone and hit the ground with a light thud.
Playing with the small life essence she gained, taking the shape of a mystical green energy, her demonic eyes glowed before that green energy turned purple. It then slowly seeped into her hand before she rejoiced at the pleasurable feeling it brought.
"Childsplay, it didn\'t even last a second" She murmured in slight annoyance.
Only good prey would satisfy her hunger.
Going about with even more vigor, she only managed to find one mutated animal and it was near the end of the valley. If she went any further, then she would be going too far so she would only have to make do with small prey.
But as she was about to turn around, she sensed a couple of auras approaching her.
Realizing this, she turned back and fixed her eyes on a spot.
Despite the approaching people not being here yet, she already could tell where they would be appearing, and true enough, two bat-like figures came flying before turning into their true forms, Vampires in sleek black armor.
\'Judging from their armor, they must be royal guards of the Vampires\' She pondered silently.
Soon, another two figures also arrived.
Unlike the two Vampires, these two manifested from blood that squeezed out of the ground.
Additionally, the two revealed themselves as a pair of male and female.
Mavenna looked at the female Vampire and found that she didn\'t recognize her, however, the male Vampire is a familiar face. "A Demoness? I think you had lost your ways, and ventured too deep into our territory, I suggest leaving right away"
"Viscardi, I\'m honored to meet with the dethroned Prince" Mavenna replied with a smile.
Casting a frown in Mavenna\'s direction, Viscardi, the male Vampire, found that she seemed to know him, it could be seen in her eyes. However, he fails to recognize Mavenna, his mind is still fuzzy from awakening.
It has been quite an adjustment since he recently woke up.
Deciding to ignore her mocking remark, he asked, "What brings a Demoness to this place?"
"Fear not, I am nothing more than a visitor. If this will help, I am Princess Calidora\'s guest, so there was no need to suspect me" She added, assuming that bringing Calidora\'s name would help her in dealing with this situation.
True enough, it did as the female Vampire stepped forward, "You are Calidora\'s guest?"
"And you are...?" Mavenna raised an eyebrow.
Standing upright, the female Vampire replied, "I am Nezera Blodirra, Calidora\'s mother"
Unexpectedly encountering Calidora\'s mother, Mavenna frowned, and now she understood that it seemed this group was heading to the castle. She was uncertain of their intentions of going there, but Rex and Calidora couldn\'t be bothered right now.
It would be dangerous, especially since Rex has already made a mistake the first time.
Disturbing his meditation right now would end up being fatal.
"I am Calidora\'s guest, and I will also tell you that she\'s unavailable right now. Better to visit her at a later time. If you want, I can even notify you when she\'s available" Mavenna replied, trying to dissuade them as soft as possible.
Nezera was surprisingly accepting of this as she looked at Viscardi, "We can come later"
However, it seems Viscardi has a different view.
"No, I need the Blood Devourer, and she has it. Getting accustomed to it needs time, and it\'s better to have it sooner" He shook his head, rejecting the idea of visiting at a later time. But from his banter, Mavenna knew what their objective was.
Coming from the ancient era, she naturally knows the Blood Devourer of the Vampires.
Seeing Viscardi\'s stubborn look, Mavenna sighed.
Forcing him to not go to the castle would do the opposite effect, it would anger him, so she decided to comply, "Okay, I\'ll lead you to the castle. But please, let me be the one to call her, let\'s not cause any complications"
Upon hearing this, Viscardi shrugged, "Fine, go and lead the way"
...
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Banes Kingdom.
It has been completely peaceful inside the walls of the kingdom, nothing crucial occurred.
Because of that, the kingdom was in fact growing steadily.
More and more elder Werewolves slowly regain their consciousness and break their seal, bolstering the military strength of the kingdom. All the newly awakened Werewolves were instantly educated about the situation of the new era.
Starting from the dynamic of power, the overall condition, and ongoing events.
A new era that they awaken to.
Unsurprisingly enough, all of them have strong willpower, forged through the past\'s horrors.
Learning about the situation, none of them were shocked.
Due to the experience that they endured in the past, all of them were completely unified in the sheer understanding that to keep on living is to fight an endless battle. Even though the moment they woke up, they were told that there would potentially be a great war breaking out, none of them let out so much as a complaint.
For them, a war is like every Monday, the necessity of life.
Nothing much in life could bring shock to them, all of them are more or less very wise.
As the increasing number of awakened older Werewolves, many of them reunited.
Brothers, sisters, comrades, all of them reunite.
Ancient packs become whole again, reeling in the strength of a family. On the other hand, those who had lost their pack members or even their whole pack were absorbed by others who were in need of numbers.
Something that the higher-ups are delighted to see.
In the setting prior to the First Breath, the Werewolf Kingdom has the lowest head count.
Compared to the other races, they were unable to use the forbidden ritual.
Naturally, their number is lagging behind.
However, now, the Werewolf Kingdom slowly regaining its numbers once again.
Despite the good news of growth for the kingdom, Dorlus who has been standing guard in front of the throne room ever since the Hare Moon started was sweating, his countenance showcasing his worry clearly.
But then again, how could he not be worried when the Storm Prince hasn\'t come out yet?
It\'s been days, and there was no sign of the prince coming out.
He feared that the godly figure that visited did something to the prince.
Even though he was concerned for the prince\'s safety, knowing the godly figure, even if the deity harbored ill intentions towards the prince, he wouldn\'t be able to do anything, it would certainly be futile.
Additionally, the repercussions for attempting to harm the godly figure could be devastating.
Just then, at the peak of his worry, the door clanked open.
Upon hearing this, Dorlus\' ears perked up and he turned to look at the door. His eyes then were bathed in relief when he saw the Storm Prince come out without a hint of injury, and better yet, he was alone.
No sign of the deity could be seen, he seemed to be alone.
"My lord, are you okay? What about the visitor?" Dorlus bombarded him with questions.
But as he said that, he noticed that something was off about the prince.
It\'s not that there was something physically weird about him, he looked normal in terms of appearance, yet the air surrounding him was different. Dorlus could tell that it was still the prince, he was not possessed, but he was obviously different.
Something happened to him, and he doesn\'t know what.
Reaching out his hand, Dorlus was hesitant to let the Storm Prince touch him.
However, there was no malevolence lurking within his gaze, so Dorlus decided to stay and got his shoulder clasped by the Storm Prince. Immediately after that, a sudden sting took him by surprise, leaving him flinching in confusion.
Taking a look at his shoulder, his eyes widened in utter shock.
"A herald mark...?" He muttered in a hushed tone, completely surprised by this sight.
Since the Storm Prince has the Storm Moon King Mark, it wasn\'t that surprising for him to be able to grant others a Herald Mark. What surprised Dorlus however was the fact that he was the trusted right hand of the Storm Prince, and he had already been bestowed a Herald Mark by the Storm Prince.
Due to that, a crucial question appeared in his mind. \'Then what Herald Mark is this...?\'