Chapter 102: Northwind Fortress Journal (Part 3)

  Langli Baitiao g to the ceiling of the dark dungeon, silently crawling, while blood sves in the iron cages wailed miserably.

  "Awooo…"

  "Blood…"

  "Give me blood!"

  They had been in the dungeon for tless years, losing their sanity to bloodlust, reduced to beasts driven purely by instinct.

  "Not a single one of them speak properly."

  Langli Baitiao looked at the blood sves, sighing helplessly.

  Suddenly, a raspy voice sounded.

  "Newer, you’d better escape. Ohe Duke awakens, there’ll be no way out."

  "For now, at least you enjoy this game of cat and mouse, sav a fleeting moment of freedom—quite amusing, isn’t it?"

  Langli Baitiao turoward the voice’s source, spotting a man standing upright in a cage. He ale but far more ly dressed, though his clothes bore the marks of age and decay.

  "Who are you?"

  "Yeno La."

  "That surname…"

  "Indeed, I am the Duke’s offspring, formerly the t of Herey Castle, and one of his 1,172 vampire spawn, imprisoned with the blood sves for resisting his tyrannical rule." Even in captivity, his tone carried the family’s characteristic pride.

  Langli Baitiao retorted, "And why do you think I won’t escape?"

  Yeno La chuckled softly, "Heh."

  Langli Baitiao lost his patience, "Damn, is everyone in your family messed up? aalk normally?"

  Yeno’s raspy voice returned, "My father’s power is beyond your imagination. Every vampire spawn bears a sve mark imprinted in the depths of their soul. The Duke trol us all with a mere thought. When he asds, you and I will bee nothing more than boiling blood within him."

  Langli Baitiao replied bluntly, "So why not just kill the old bastard?"

  "Heh."

  Another weary chuckle.

  Langli Baitiao growled, "What’s so damn funny? You think I’m joking? I’ve killed the Chi God of Creekwood. One vampire geezer is nothing!"

  Yeno shook his head lightly, "I’ve seen many like you. Over my turies in this dungeon, tless have escaped their cages, seeking revenge, but they all met the same fate—being mindless blood sves. This is the Duke’s eternal curse."

  "So, run while you still have a little freedom left."

  "I know my father well; he enjoys this game of cat and mouse."

  "He loves to py the all-knowing, all-powerful being, watg his prey spiral into despair. He may eveg you now."

  Imagining the old vampire watg him, Langli Baitiao felt a shiver of revulsion.

  "This old creep isn’t actually some twisted voyeur, is he?"

  Langli Baitiao shook his head to dispel the disturbing thought and said to the man in the cage, "And what’s the point of your resistaheiny? You think you’re noble? If destiny were real, you wouldn’t be stu this dog cage."

  "What you’re saying only proves you’ve grown more cowardly."

  Yeno fell silent for a moment before replying, "Perhaps you’re right."

  Sensing he’d gaihe upper hand, Langli Baitiao pressed on, "So you’re no different from the ones you mock. Quit ag like some prophet. You’re really asking for a beating."

  He held up two fingers.

  "I’ll give you two options. First, I break you out. You’ve been here over a hundred years, so you must know something useful. If not, you’re a total waste. I want you to help me loot this bastard’s hideout, and then we find a ce to kill this vampire geezer."

  "Sed, stay in this dog cage and whine, spouting nonsense about destiny until you end up a puddle of blood."

  "Make your choice."

  Though Yeno didn’t uand all of Langli Baitiao’s phrasing, he gathered that it wasly plimentary.

  He stared at Langli Baitiao’s unapologetidifferent face for a long moment.

  This vampire spawn before him was unlike any he’d entered. Most reacted with panic, despair, or fury after being turned, yet this one appeared entirely unbothered.

  Yes, pletely unbothered.

  Every movement seemed to say, "If I die, I die—so what?"

  Even upon learning he’d been turned, he showed no fear but rather a fasation, eagerly testing his abilities.

  Truly bizarre.

  Iuries, Yeno had never seen anyone so peculiar.

  Still silent, Yeno pondered deeply.

  Finally, Langli Baitiao muttered, "Are you ing or not? Quit ag like you’re so dignified. If I didn’t think you were somewhat useful, I’d piss in ye and leave. Get it together—are you a man or not?"

  "Fine, I’ll go with you."

  After a long pause, Yeno finally made his choice.

  Perhaps this strange individual could indeed break the s of fate.

  "There we go. All that hesitation—I almost thought I’d need a royal sedan to get you out."

  Langli Baitiao grumbled softly as he picked the lock with practiced ease.

  The iron door creaked open, and Yeno stepped out of his cage for the first time in a hundred years.

  Langli Baitiaed him, "Quick, is there a treasure room around here? Show me the goods, let’s rob this old creep blind."

  Yeno: "…"

  Langli Baitiao grew impatient, "Well, is there or isn’t there? Don’t tell me you’ve been here a tury just spinning tales, uo find your father’s stash. If that’s the case, go sit ba y cage—I don’t need dead weight dragging me down."

  Someeechless, Yeno, a noble, was experieng this type of camaraderie for the first time but responded, "I do know the locations of a few of my father’s vaults, but they’re heavily guarded. With just the two of us, our ces…"

  He trailed off, realizing Langli Baitiao had vanished.

  From a dark er came a faint scuffling sound as Langli Baitiao, ed in a bck cloak, g to the wall like a cockroach, crawling and twisting.

  "What are you staring at? Never seen a Trickster rogue?"

  "Do you know what stealth is? Hurry up, lead the way. Don’t worry about guards; we’re sneaking in to rob this old creep’s secret stash."

  Yeno fell silent again.

  After a moment’s hesitatio go of the st bit of noble pride and climbed up.

  He resigned himself. If we fail, so be it.

  AnnouA big thank you to [Dave_S] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.

  FAL