NOVPUBAt this time, just before midnight, the night sky had already fallen.
Lichtenstein Castle and its surrounding mountains were shrouded in a thick fog, the shadows cast by the moonlight dominating the view.
Main Level Hall.
The chill of late autumn attempted to penetrate the castle’s thick stone walls, but was repelled by the warmth emanating from the fireplace. The people in the banquet hall were enveloped in a cozy, lively atmosphere.
At the far end of the banquet table, near the entrance door of the sanctuary, Count Paluocas stood alone, his solitary figure grim, his unique oppressive aura making the surrounding air feel unusually heavy.
"..."
It was clear that this man knew of his impending arrival, yet he still acted as if he didn’t care.
A sense of bewilderment, disillusionment, and the feeling of being fooled into punching the air lead Count Paluocas to laugh bitterly.
He had never seen such an arrogant lower life-form.
But it was rather amusing.
Clearly, not everyone at the banquet table was as elegant and collected as the black-haired, green-eyed man at the head of the table.
The best actors were just the cold youth with ash-grey hair half-covered by sunglasses and a woman demon with grey hair in a red dress, her face wearing a seductive smile. The two genuinely looked unfrightened.
Everyone else gave away their varying degrees of nervousness through subtle movements. The inconsistent performances exposed the bluff of these human beings.
"Why do you seem so serious?"
Lanci raised his glass, smiling as he inquired of the unexpected guest, Count Paluocas.
He didn’t intend to blame Count Paluocas for intruding upon their dinner without permission.
"I lost a precious subordinate here; do you know of this?"
Count Paluocas didn’t rush to behead Lanci, but instead questioned Lanci in an interrogative manner like a subject asking his monarch.
This interesting little bug, he would have plenty of time to deal with tonight.
"She was feeling down and decided to commit suicide. I regret this deeply."
Lanci’s eyebrows fell slightly, as though remembering the image of the Goddess of Destruction.
He failed to save that misguided student.
Lanci knew that his character might be viewed as excessively saintly by others.
But Lanci didn’t mind. Kindness is a thorny path; both malice and goodwill can cause harm.
"..."
Hyperion quietly glanced at Lanci, not daring to utter a word!
She felt that this guy was definitely thinking about some very inappropriate things. He didn’t seem afraid of divine retribution at all.
Laughing, Count Paluocas queried Lanci jokingly:
"I see, then may I ask you all to commit suicide?"
In his heart, Count Paluocas started tallying – for every extra word Lanci uttered, he would make him beg louder tonight.
Lanci paused for a brief moment, as if confronted with a serious problem.
Soon, he spoke again:
"Inciting, coercing, or deceiving others to commit suicide is a criminal act, punishable as intentional homicide or intentional injury, Count Paluocas?"
Lanci was still seated, looking lazy, but definitely different from before.
"Don’t you understand, in the Huo Ning Empire, the Blood Clan is the very embodiment of law itself. The human laws you speak of are but game rules that you worms must abide by."
Count Paluocas found the way this human talked rather amusing, his wildness fitting just right.
Like a childish tantrum, threatening to tattle to an adult.
"Really..."
Lanci whispered, his emerald-green eyes clear and shining like gems in the light,
"To make a statement such as that, it seems every one of the Blood Clan is lawless."
"!"
Lanci came to this conclusion with no change in his voice or expression.
But Hyperion, who was sat on the side of the long table, knew—
Count Paluocas was in big trouble!!!
From now on, when facing any Blood Clan, Lanci would automatically stand at the superior position of the law!
Having had enough of Count Paluocas’s words and losing interest in him, Lanci changed the subject.
"Come, I grant you an opportunity to challenge me."
Lanci sat there as if on a throne, looking down at Count Paluocas.
"...Challenge you?"
Despite maintaining his smile, Count Paluocas’s forehead twitched in irritation.
He hadn’t even begun to make these humans struggle, yet this fellow had already assumed a dominant position and was commanding him.
Earlier, this human had even dared to call him "Xiao Pa", which he certainly hadn’t forgotten.
Finally, Count Paluocas understood, Lanci’s arrogance wasn’t a facade, this human genuinely never cared about him at all right from the start!
"Little blood clan, there’s still time to run, you know?"
The great love poet also tilted his head back on his seat with a smirking smile, stoking the fire. He seemed to be mocking Paluocas as a useless male and showed no concern about being caught by him.
The body of Count Paluocas suddenly stiffened. He looked blankly at the little succubus, feeling his blood pressure surging. The terrifying pressure that followed seemed like it could shatter the ground!
The surrounding air instantly solidified, becoming heavy and hard—so cold it was oppressive like an icy shackle, making it difficult for the challengers to breathe.
His body began to tremble, not from fear or cold, but from the raging flames of fury burning within him, molding him into a savage beast on the brink of an explosion.
The provocative, seductive voice of the great love poet finally led to the uncontainable eruption of anger that Count Paluocas had been suppressing since he entered the sacred temple!
In the next moment, Count Paluocas’ figure suddenly left a long afterimage in the air as he violently rushed towards the banquet table, quickly as a Grim Reaper’s claw in the darkness of the night!
The red in Count Paluocas’ ferocious eyes deepened, deep enough to almost devour all light.
Of course, he knew the opponent might have some trump cards!
But with his activated ability of [Blood Fury], everyone else’s tricks looked feeble!
...
The heavy night wrapped up Ichrite Academy completely. At this deep night hour, Jera Memorial Square was the only light in the campus.
In the center of the square, the outdoor transparent curtain was still showing a live broadcast in the glowing white light. The second hand on the clock tower was moving towards the top of the hour, as if it was breaking through the quiet night sky with its rhythm, heralding a new day.
However, the atmosphere on the square also seemed to be suppressed to the breaking point. There was no laughter on the students’ faces, instead there was only solemnity, even filled with a touch of sorrow and despair.
They knew that a gruesome scene was about to appear on the outdoor giant screen, which was a serious incident for Ichrite Academy.
"So foolish, Lanci! Even if he really has a strategy now, it’s useless."
"The abilities of blood clan are unpredictable. All we can say is they are just unlucky, having encountered one who particularly counters tricky ones!"
Many students began to avoid looking, or lowered their heads. Some closed their eyes, some bit their lips, and some were praying for something.
Although their comments for the three bullies of the Student Council were not good, these three were still the representatives of the new students of the school.
The Count of the Blood Clan had come with a murderous intention. Everyone beside the banquet table remained still, like puppets being pulled by fate, unable to resist the coming tragedy.
In this moment of impending bloodshed.
A solitary figure stood distinctively on the road at the far end of the square.
He was different from the students who were dodging eyes or hanging heads; he watched the outdoor giant screen with a more satisfied gaze.
Upon seeing the challengers still helpless after the Count of the Blood Clan was thoroughly enraged, Modan couldn’t help but laugh. It was not normal laughter—rather a mix of victory and sympathy, full of enjoyment in the pain that others were about to suffer.
Just when everyone thought the Shadow World was about to end.
The hands on the clock tower also pointed to midnight.
At Lichtenstein Castle, at the end of the long banquet table in the sacred temple.
Lanci sat with one hand supporting his chin and the other hand on the table. The corners of his mouth were calm, like he was always in control of thunder and lightning.
He lightly knocked his knuckles on the table. On his napkin was an Epic Magic Card emitting an orange electric cocoon!
In an instant.
A dazzling light, like the sun, instantly filled the entire sacred temple!
In the blink of an eye, it turned into a world of pure light, as if it was about to burst through the stained glass windows and the rose window, coating the Lichtenstein Castle on the cliff with a rainbow-like shimmer!
A ball of light, like the illumination of tomorrow, rose in the temple. Under the blessings of the light, the ground warmed up.
Clang, clang!
As if ripples were cast in the purified heaven, the twelve strokes of midnight’s clock chimed along with the sacred music.
Amid the reverberations of the sacred clock’s twelve strikes in the temple, Count Paluocas felt as if his brain was about to be shattered by the ringing, as if he was in the noon of a day and night reversal!
Count Paluocas, who was originally still diving, fell to the ground while clutching his eyes that felt as if they were stabbed by a million needles, as if he had lost his balance.
"No, this is impossible!!!"
In that moment, although Count Paluocas would have preferred to believe that the light piercing his eyes was only a hallucination, the truth was that his strength had been reduced to just one-tenth of its original!
Even this Power of the Sun seemed to continue to refract and amplify in the temple, giving him the frightening sensation of being sunburned beyond noon!
"Ah, my power! Why—why can you make the sun appear at night, what on earth are you!!!"
As the heart-wrenching scream of Count Paluocas resonated, people such as the Executioner and the male guards had already put on sunglasses.
"Praise be to the Goddess of Zanmei!"
"Hehehe!"
Clergy members whose eyes still held a hint of chaos picked up their weapons and walked towards the Earl like merciless butchers.
At the far end of the banquet table, Lanci sat motionless at the head, with a closed-eyed smile.
"The plans of a day begin with the morning. Young people should keep early hours to maintain their routine. Otherwise, if they reverse day and night—sleep during the day and party at night—their heart will become gloomy."
Listening to the heart-wrenching shouts of Count Paluocas under the Shining Virtue light, Lanci sighed.
He always thought the Blood Clan had a major issue.
That is, their routine was too poor.
Not only is this bad for physical and mental health, but it could also easily set a bad example for teenagers.
Lanci actually liked the Blood Clan very much. As the principal, he always believed in equal opportunity education.
So, his goal was to help all the Blood Clans adjust their routine first.
