Chapter 444: Chapter 126: Two Vampires

It was supposed to be the end of summer, yet in the Holy Land, the highest temperatures of the day could still reach a terrifying forty degrees, with the scorching yellow sand capable of cooking food directly.

Andreas returned from outside the tent without a single drop of sweat.

He was even shivering slightly, as if he hadn’t recovered from a serious illness, his face unnaturally pale.

“Sir, are you alright?”

The secretary’s face was full of concern: “Should we call Father Matthew to take a look? He has been learning medicine under Bishop Urding.”

Andreas was a very upright Guard Officer. In the months Alandler governed, he organized many trivial matters seamlessly and had gained the unanimous approval of Alandler’s clergy.

The secretary was genuinely worried.

Andreas weakly waved his hand: “I’m fine, you guys can leave with the documents for approval, I want to be alone for a while.”

“Alright, call for the guard if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Watching the secretary and others depart, Andreas pulled up his sleeve, revealing two deep blood punctures on his arm, strikingly conspicuous, as if the blood within had all clotted and had no intention of flowing out.

He expressionlessly tended to his dressing, somewhat absentminded yet with great restraint. After a long while, he sighed and let down his rolled-up sleeve.

He looked at the Shen Kan in the tent, silently drawing a cross on his chest: “Heavenly Father above, I must confess to you, I have sinned…”

He clasped his hands together, placing them by his mouth, praying softly.

He did not hope for Heavenly Father’s forgiveness, nor had he ever considered giving in to darkness.

Even if it was destined, he wanted to try and struggle.

“It’s useless, since you’ve become a vampire, you might as well embrace the blood obediently.”

A seductive female voice sounded behind Andreas.

He turned around suddenly, seeing a woman with bronzed skin and long brown hair, dressed in a rather revealing gauze dress, with an aura both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

It was the scent of blood.

But it wasn’t fresh, carrying a staleness like a room sealed for years suddenly seeing daylight.

Andreas’s pupils rippled with a blood-red hue.

“Who are you?”

“No need to be nervous, we’re on the same side. We met in Hebron.”

The woman’s movements were somewhat frivolous, casually sitting on a chair, legs together, placed on the table, revealing large portions of smooth, slightly hairy skin, her gaze towards Andreas filled with concealed envy.

No one understood better than her what Kurs’s Initial Embrace meant.

Andreas recalled for a moment, realizing he indeed recognized the woman.

The woman smiled and said, “Just call me Julia, I was once the widow of Baron Hernus, a vassal of the Marquis.”

“But that was before. Now, I merely serve Lord Losa and Lord Kurs as a vampire, handling things that are inconvenient for them to deal with.”

Andreas frowned and said, “Like what?”

“Eavesdropping, uncovering secrets…”

Thank goodness…

For a moment, Andreas worried he was serving a great demon all along.

Even if that were the case, he wouldn’t change his loyalty to Losa.

But it would surely plunge him into deep pain.

Julia placed a glass wine bottle on the table: “By the way, it was I who killed Lady Stephanie.”

Andreas’s eyes widened.

Seeing his incredulous expression, Julia sneered: “You probably have no idea, but Lady Stephanie was the first to make a move on our lord, she just failed. Isn’t Lord allowed to fight back?”

“Of… of course not.”

Andreas stammered: “I just never knew about these things.”

“Heh, you’re still far from truly knowing our lord.”

Julia’s eyes flickered with a mix of enchantment and fear. Whenever she remembered that terrifying figure sitting on the lord’s throne, seemingly having a demon dragon dancing wildly behind, she would feel a warm flow through her body.

Unfortunately, the gaze the lord gave her never held admiration.

“Why have you come exactly?”

Andreas felt like he was crossing a threshold, about to uncover more of the lord’s secrets, making him somewhat expectant, yet instinctively averse—what if the lord was indeed a man-eating demon, what should he do?

“You’ve just been turned into a vampire, you need real human blood for nourishment.”

Julia pointed to the wine bottle on the table: “Don’t worry, this bottle of blood is from a desert bandit guilty of numerous crimes, captured personally by that Knight Urding, your fellow comrade.”

Andreas was instantly drawn to the wine bottle sealed tightly with a cork, unable to avert his gaze.

He gulped, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

“I, I can’t accept this.”

“Hmph, stop pretending.”

Julia said angrily, “Since you’ve chosen this path, do you think you still have room to regret? Isn’t it just drinking blood every few days? It gives you a healthy body and a long life, such a good deal, even a king would be tempted!”

Seeing Andreas still hesitating, a mischievous smile appeared on Julia’s face. With a pop, she pulled out the cork with her thumb, and a faint smell of blood immediately filled the air.

Andreas’s eyes turned blood red instantly.

He tried hard to restrain himself, muttering “Almighty Heavenly Father, protect me” “Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, protect me” “Saint Mary protect me,” but when he came to his senses, a strong taste of iron was already in his mouth.

The empty bottle fell to the ground with a crash.

He stared in shock at Julia across from him, who was laughing heartily: “Muttering about the Heavenly Father while guzzling human blood, if the Heavenly Father truly had a spirit, seeing this scene would probably infuriate him to the point of casting thunderbolts to strike you down.”

“How…how could this be?”

Julia said with a mix of pity and mockery, “Does anyone really think they can resist their physiological instincts? Some things, once touched, are impossible to get rid of for the rest of your life.”

“How dare a person who can’t withstand temptation expect themselves to have superhuman willpower?”

“Utterly ridiculous.”

Andreas wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth in a daze: “I want to be alone for a while.”

“Alright, but from now on, we’re partners. I’ll continue to take care of the Inner Guard assigned to me by Lord Kurs. This is a special team dedicated to espionage activities, whatever information you need, feel free to ask me.”

Absentmindedly, Andreas muttered an “Mm,” and when he came to himself, he found that Julia had disappeared without a trace—though his potential was greater than that of a native vampire like Julia, it didn’t mean that as a newbie, he could now compete with her.

He was still far from it.

At this moment.

Noises erupted outside, like a camp boiling over, with countless people shouting.

“What’s that noise? Why is it so chaotic outside?”

He quickly stepped out of the tent and hurriedly asked.

“I heard Lord is back!”

The guard standing at the door beamed with joy: “Sir, should we go to welcome him?”

Andreas paused for a moment, then shook his head: “No, pass the order, everyone must stay in their camps, everything must be according to military regulations.”

A camp of tens of thousands must not fall into chaos!

…

Once the order was conveyed, there was much grumbling. The soldiers, having endured hardships day after day, were eagerly looking forward to a festive celebration. They didn’t necessarily all want to see Losa; many just wanted an excuse to have a party.

They desperately longed for a banquet with wine, delicacies, and dancing.

But there was a significant number of Losa’s direct subjects and farmer soldiers who were genuinely happy about it.

It’s not easy to deceive the people at the bottom; on the contrary, because they are often oppressed, even trivial matters can crush them like a mountain under the weight of upper echelons, so they are suspicious of everything.

But it’s undeniable that the thriving, hopeful life is real.

The grain reserves in the warehouse increased day by day, and even if war broke out, Transjordan still collected only the wartime grain tax as per the rules. The originally exempted portions remained exempt.

This is what matters most.

The officials of Transjordan play by the rules.

They wouldn’t suddenly steal the grain you painstakingly cultivated and prepared to grind into flour to bake bread, claiming it was a new tax imposed by the Lord. Nor would they suddenly take away your daughter who was about to marry, claiming that the Lord had the right to the first night with all the women in the territory.

“Long live Lord Losa!”

“Welcome Lord Losa back to Hebron!”

The roadside was packed with people waiting to welcome him. They waved enthusiastically at Losa, and some young girls even threw fresh flowers hastily picked as gifts to Losa, who sat high on his horse “Eclipse.”

Jeanne smiled slightly and said to Losa, “It’s like a grand triumph. Sir, if you painted your face with some red colors and took a war chariot, it would be even more vivid.”

“Far from it.”

Losa maintained a stern face, striving to project an image of majesty.

Although he had been away from the Holy Land for a long time, why did it seem that he was more welcomed upon his return?

Losa thought, it must be that his subjects genuinely feared that once he went to Constantinople, he wouldn’t return. If that were the case, they wouldn’t want to see the place either fall to heretics or have a new Christian Lord imposed upon them.

Losa, following Andreas’s suggestion, didn’t head straight to the military camp upon arrival but first toured the town to show his subjects he had returned, then exited the city from another end and proceeded to the camp.

Outside the massive camp, nobles and knights awaited him densely packed.

Baron Argon was dressed extravagantly, his plate armor adorned with floral decorations, and his helmet crown had feathers from peacocks, swans, and wild geese inserted in it. If he were a young knight, he would’ve gained a huge reputation as the “Flower Knight.”

Being Losa’s most faithful vassal, he commissioned an entire set of refined plate armor at a preferential price from Marles’s Blacksmith Workshop, which was top-notch in craftsmanship throughout the Holy Land, no less exquisite than the sets of Raymond and Godfrey.

Upon seeing Losa, he immediately strode forward, then knelt down on one knee, offering his hands to Losa in respect.

Losa had no choice but to follow the custom, extending his hand, letting him kiss the private ring worn for sealing documents on his finger.

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