Victor

"By the way, these people are—"

Only after finishing lecturing his daughter did Victor notice Gu Sheng and the others.

Sonia hurriedly explained, "They’re travelers we met on the road. They helped me, so I brought them back to stay for one night. I’ll send them on their way tomorrow."

"They helped you, so they’re our guests."

Victor nodded politely at Gu Sheng. "I’m Sonia’s father, Victor."

"Lord Victor! Will!"

Gu Sheng replied to Victor. Will was the name of this vessel he had descended into.

"Thank you for helping my daughter!"

Victor was a thin, gaunt old man. With his pale, withered skin and a pair of eyes that seemed to possess magic, he looked exactly like an evil spirit. Before Marcus had turned him into a vampire, he had already been bedridden with a serious illness for a long time. That was why he looked like this.

"Oh! What do I see? One of our kind—a Bloodline Holder of the councilor level."

Victor suddenly turned his attention to Liu Daimei, who stood behind Gu Sheng, and his voice was filled with indescribable surprise.

Vampires were ranked by generation. The most ancient was naturally the vampire progenitor, Marcus Corvinus. After him came the two Second Hokage vampire elders, Victor and Amelia. The next rank consisted of Third Hokage vampires, those personally sired by the two elders.

These Third Hokage vampires were the true nobility among vampires. Every one of them was exceedingly precious. As the most powerful person among the vampires, Victor had to know every Third Hokage vampire.

He could be certain that he was not Liu Daimei’s sire. He also knew all of Amelia’s sires. That made things rather strange. Could it be Marcus…?

"Lord Victor, allow me to introduce her. Lia, my wife!"

Gu Sheng smiled and pulled Liu Daimei forward. The vampires in this world were not connected to any magical elements, but besides their physical abilities, they also possessed certain special powers.

Vampires of the elder level could read the memories of someone they drank from through their blood. Even memories the other person had forgotten could be found. Later, Marcus used this method to drink Selene’s blood and locate the prison where William Corvinus was being held.

Third Hokage vampires of the councilor level could also vaguely sense fragments of memories through drinking blood, though not as clearly as the elders.

Fourth- and Fifth Hokage vampires of the next rank had no special abilities beyond superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, and recovery.

Precisely because vampires above the Third Hokage level possessed immense potential and powerful abilities, Victor attached great importance to them and remembered every Third Hokage vampire.

"Your wife!"

Victor was somewhat surprised—not that Gu Sheng and Liu Daimei could be together, but that Gu Sheng had not yet been turned into a vampire.

"Mr. Victor, we came this time because we have something we’d like to discuss with you and the other councilors. We just don’t know whether you have the time."

Gu Sheng continued with a smile. In this world, the greatest power he could currently contact was the Vampire Castle. If he wanted to find Corvinus, he would probably have to rely on the vampires’ help.

Victor smiled. "Oh, of course. I imagine the councilors would also like to meet this member of our kind."

"Could you arrange a place for our followers?"

Gu Sheng pointed at the large group of tagalongs behind him. They had been unusually quiet ever since entering the Vampire Castle.

"Of course!"

Victor addressed Lucian. "Lucian, take our guests to their lodgings."

"Yes, my master!"

Lucian’s respectful attitude pleased Victor greatly. He smiled and nodded, then said to Gu Sheng, "The two of you, come with me. Sonia, you come as well."

By the time Gu Sheng and Liu Daimei followed Victor and the others to the council chamber, the group of councilors had already grown impatient. Their arrival did not attract the councilors’ attention. After Victor sat down, a middle-aged man dressed like a gentleman stood up.

"Elder Victor!"

The man began, "The issue before the council is simple. We’re under attack. There have been many such attacks lately, and the Lycan Clan has repeatedly reached the edge of our walls. What should we do if they break through?"

"Your fear is pointless, Chairman!"

Disdain and displeasure flashed through Victor’s eyes. He had established the rotating elder system and the council system to restrain Marcus. This had indeed increased his power, but it had also restricted him.

Every member of the council had once been a noble. They were all political schemers, shameless and thick-skinned. Even Victor sometimes felt powerless when facing them. He had, in a sense, brought this upon himself.

Later in the timeline, Sonia would be sentenced to death. The true key to that decision would not be Victor, but this group of councilors. The councilors had always insisted on executing Sonia. If Victor opposed them, he would certainly lose the people’s support and destabilize his rule.

Victor was a lord, far more devoted to power than Amelia. To him, power was the most important thing. When forced to choose between power and his daughter, he ultimately chose power and made a decision that caused him great pain.

"Don’t we still have an undead army?"

Victor neither agreed nor disagreed with Chairman’s words. He had created the Werewolf slave army because vampires found it difficult to act during the day and needed protection.

"Yes, my lord!"

A noblewoman stepped forward, walked to the center, and said, "However, the human nobles don’t see it that way."

Chairman took over. "I’ve said it before: they’re our wealth."

The noblewoman echoed him, "If we cannot protect the humans and display our strength, that means we are growing weak. Our wealth will then…"

"Then how do you propose that we display our strength?"

Victor was displeased. These two councilors had clearly come prepared.

"Our Imperial Guard will patrol at night, while our Dayguards will patrol during the day!"

Chairman stated his proposal. He had his own little scheme in mind as well. As a noble, playing political games had become instinctive to him. He also craved greater power and status and wanted to become an elder.

Once this proposal passed, he would have a way to win over and divide Victor’s Werewolves. They were nothing more than slaves. Surely a few benefits would be enough to make them rebel.

"Are you insane? They’re the descendants of beasts. Are you truly unaware of this despicable fact?"

Victor’s tone was resolute. This was his genuine view, and it was also the view most councilors held toward the Werewolves.

These people all came from noble families and were natural supporters of bloodline theory. Later, Sonia’s greatest crime would be deemed the pollution of the bloodline—having an affair with a Werewolf and bearing a Hybrid.

If Sonia and Lucian had merely had an affair, they would have punished her, but they would not necessarily have insisted on killing her. Or rather, the one they wanted to kill was not Sonia, but the child in her womb—the first human-Werewolf Hybrid.