Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 242 The Mission is to Dream

It was evening.

Landenheim, inner city gate.

Pierre, with short brown hair and wearing a black double-breasted suit with the collar turned up high, politely stopped Lilith.

"Sorry, I can't let you pass without a pass."

"Isn't this one okay?"

Lilith frowned slightly and took out a wooden plaque.

Pierre glanced at it and shook his head:

"This is a pass to the outer city."

Landenheim, under vampire rule, has always been strictly hierarchical. While foreign vampires automatically receive passes to freely enter and exit Landenheim, this is limited to the outer city. The inner city is inhabited by Landenheim's ruling class, and is naturally not a place that ordinary vampires can set foot in.

Therefore, the outer city guards are merely blood servants, while the inner city gates are guarded by vampires themselves.

In fact, it has happened more than once that vampires from the outer city have tried to infiltrate the inner city in order to "rise to the top in one step"—

Not only can they stay in the inner city, but they also have the opportunity to get in touch with the important figures there.

Pierre had stopped countless people like this before, and he never gave them a friendly look. If Lilith's appearance hadn't also impressed him, and he hadn't wanted to make a good impression, he wouldn't have spoken to her so softly.

Pierre's gaze swept over Ember, not lingering on the bloodthirsty creature, but instead focusing on the silver-haired loli being led by Ember. Her blood-red eyes proved her underage vampire status, but Pierre instinctively denied the possibility that she was Lilith's daughter, only thinking that she was Lilith's sister.

"Huh?" Lilith frowned slightly. Olmer had invited her to the party, but now she couldn't even get into the inner city. Had Olmer not considered this possibility?

Pierre looked at the girl before him, whose brows seemed furrowed in distress, and said in his usual polite tone:

"If you don't have an inner-city pass, please leave as soon as possible; this is my job."

"Wait, is this okay?"

Lilith thought for a moment and took out the gold-embossed invitation.

"This is……"

Pierre's gaze was instantly drawn to the invitation, but his pupils suddenly contracted when he saw the upper right corner of the invitation.

Because there is a seven-pointed star magic circle there, small and quite inconspicuous, but there is no vampire in the entire Landheim who does not recognize the meaning of this emblem - the crest of the Toddbringer family!

Pierre lowered his head and asked cautiously:

"You—no, you're here for the Todd Blinger family's dinner party?"

"Yes."

Lilith nodded slightly, a faint smile on her face: "Olmer invited me."

"Olmer?"

Pierre's heart skipped a beat. The Toddbringer family only had one Olmer, and that was Lord Lucius's third son, Olmer Toddbringer!

Although he is only the third son, he is, after all, the offspring of Lord Luzius and a member of the Toddbringer family! And how could the vampire personally invited by Olmer have a simple identity?

As Pierre's thoughts wandered, he suddenly recalled Olmer's abrupt departure from the inner city two days earlier—

For the nobles living in the inner city, they did not want to have too much contact with the "lower-class vampires" living in the outer city, so they naturally did not often go in and out of the outer city.

Pierre had suspected that Olmer's sudden departure from the inner city meant he had important business to attend to. Now, looking back, could it be that Olmer left the inner city specifically to deliver an invitation to her?

If that's the case, then what is her identity?

Pierre's demeanor grew increasingly respectful, and he lowered his head and said meekly:

"This is your first time in the inner city, so you may not be familiar with the roads. I can show you the way..."

Lilith maintained a faint smile and politely declined Pierre's overly solicitous offer:

"Thank you, but I think I know which way to go."

"All right."

Pierre was unwilling to accept this and was about to say a few more words.

The next second, Lilith suddenly smiled, affectionately took the arm of the man beside her, and said sweetly:

"Let's go, darling~"

Pierre's eyes widened suddenly. What right did he have over a mere blood sacrifice?!

His eyes practically blazed with jealousy, but there was nothing he could do. After all, whatever Lilith decided to do with her prey was her own business, and Pierre had no right to interfere; he could only watch them leave.

Once they were far from the city gate, Yu Jin's expression turned slightly helpless:

"Can't you be normal for once?"

"Am I not normal?" Lilith blinked and asked with a smile.

Yu Jin stopped in his tracks, and seeing the girl's puzzled expression, said earnestly:

"Promise me you won't do that next time."

"Hmm~"

Lilith puffed out her cheeks angrily, turned her head away, and refused to talk to him. She was angry!

Olnia's wine-red eyes were fixed on Lilith's arm. "You're angry, why don't you let go of my arm?"

-

Backlund, West End, inside the Audra family villa.

Emlyn White, who had been summoned, took off his hat and coat and went into the meeting room to wait.

Besides him, there were ten other vampires in the room whom the important figure had specifically requested to see. Emlyn looked around and then chose a seat, sitting right next to a man with an unusually high nose bridge.

The man had brown hair and red eyes, with sharply defined features. He was holding a sketchbook, flipping through it aimlessly. His name was Ernest Boyard, a viscount. Emlyn White wasn't familiar with him, but they knew each other to some extent.

After all, vampires need to inherit extraordinary traits to reproduce, so their population has never been particularly large. In addition, the regular gatherings held among vampires ensure that even those who are not familiar with each other can clearly remember each other's names and family backgrounds.

So with just one glance, Emlyn White discovered that all the vampires who had been summoned to the room were either barons or viscounts!

Moreover, unlike the older viscounts, according to the vampire age classification, the oldest people here are only middle-aged. Almost all the core members of the 'younger generation' are concentrated here!

This discovery immediately alerted Emlyn White, who realized that this matter might not be so simple.

Emlyn thought carefully for a moment before speaking:

"Your Excellency, why do you think that person summoned us here?"

Ernest Boyard glanced at Emlyn and shook his head slightly:

"I don't know either. Let's wait patiently. Kasimi will tell us."

Emlyn frowned slightly. This was the Audra family villa, and the owner of the house was Casimi Audra. So before coming here, Emlyn had subconsciously assumed that the important person who had summoned them was Casimi's grandfather, Marquis Nibais.

He chose to ask Ernest because Ernest was one of the few viscounts here, and he certainly knew far more information than a newly promoted baron like himself.

After all, vampires are different from humans. Having existed for thousands of years, vampires have a very mature system of extraordinary beings. This has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that there are many high-ranking extraordinary individuals within the vampire clan, even more than in the Church of the True God. The disadvantage is that class stratification is rigid, and it is almost impossible for low-ranking vampires to advance.

Because the only way for vampires to advance in rank is through Blood Essence, which is a product left behind after a vampire dies, barons can only be promoted when other viscounts die.

Like Viscount Ernest, it took him a full sixty years to rise from baron to viscount!

This was only because Viscount Ernest's father was attacked by an artificial vampire and died young; otherwise, he might not have been able to wait two hundred years for his father to die naturally.

Once you become a viscount, you are eligible to compete for the title of earl. Although most vampires only hold onto one title in their entire lives, in a sense, a viscount is already considered a near-high-ranking member of the vampire clan, and they often have access to some secret inside information.

The fact that even the Viscount didn't know why they had been summoned made Emlyn's mood somewhat heavy.

After all, the last time Marquis Nibais summoned him, it was to have him pray to the "Fool." Although this brought him immense benefits, Emlyn had even prepared himself to sacrifice himself for the vampires before actually praying—

After all, praying to an unknown god outside the seven main gods is most likely to result in immediate death rather than receiving blessings and rewards. Mr. Fool can only be considered an exception among many gods.

This time, he wasn't the only one summoned; a large number of barons and even viscounts were also included, all of whom were Sequence 6 or Sequence 5, and would be at least deacons in major churches.

It is no exaggeration to say that this group of people can be considered the strongest below the level of demigods!

This also means that the tasks assigned to them will be even more dangerous than they imagined.

Emlyn looked around, hesitating whether he should make an excuse to go to the restroom and pray to Mr. Fool first...

Emlyn had just entertained this thought when he felt a pang of shame:

"Mother Goddess, how could I have such thoughts? I clearly worship the First Ancestor!"

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw Casimi Audra enter the reception room, look around, and say:

"Gentlemen, come with me. That great man wants you to see Him."

The expressions of the vampires instantly turned serious. Emlyn also composed himself, pressed down on the lower half of his vest, and quickly followed behind the others to catch up with Kasim Odra.

After descending the stairs to the underground area, he finally couldn't contain himself and asked in a low voice:

"Baron Kasimi, who exactly is this important figure? How should I address him?"

He had originally thought that they were to meet the Marquis of Nibais, but if it was the Marquis of Nibais, Kasim would not continue to address him as "that important person," but would instead address him as "my grandfather" to highlight his high status as the grandson of the Marquis.

Judging from Kasimi's current attitude, those who want to see them are clearly of higher status than Marquis Nibais. And among the vampires, there are only three who hold a higher rank than a marquis…

The middle-aged gentleman, Kasimi, no longer concealed anything and replied with a tone full of respect:

"Duke Olmer."

Duke Olmer… Emlyn instinctively straightened his back and turned his gaze to the lamp stand on the wall next to him, as if trying to check his appearance from the projection on the metal surface.

This is one of the three dukes who currently rule the vampire clan. He is an ancient and powerful figure who existed before the Great Catastrophe. His title is "Full Moon." He is over three thousand years old and once followed the progenitor Lilith!

Among the vampires today, Duke Olmer is second only to the "Blood Moon Queen" Olnia in strength!

Without a doubt, this is the epitome of the history and glory of the vampires!

Emlyn glanced at the others around him and noticed their varied expressions. A few wore obvious excitement, while most others frowned, looking preoccupied.

Being summoned by the Duke was an honor, but it also indicated that the purpose of the summons was not pure and was likely fraught with danger.

After passing through a series of secret doors, Emlyn and the others followed Kasimi into a large, iron-gray hall.

The ground and walls here are covered with grass, flowers and grains, and many insects crawl among the dense plants, making Emlyn feel as if he has left the city and come to the suburbs, feeling the vibrancy of life.

At first glance, this scene doesn't seem too strange, but upon closer inspection, many aspects are extremely odd:

On the grass, there are gaping mouths from which fibers fly out, capturing insects; flowers use their branches and leaves as hands to gather nectar; grains like wheat are heavy, and occasionally, wailing cries can be heard from within; insects are divided into many kinds, all different from the norm, some with snake heads, others with bird faces...

These things flourished more and more towards the center of the hall, where they intertwined to form a vibrant tomb.

Kasimi faced the tomb and bowed respectfully, saying:

"Your Grace, they've all arrived."

Good evening, Your Grace.

Emlyn was not as arrogant as usual; in fact, he seemed a little flustered and bowed his head respectfully, just like everyone else.

From within the grave, a deep, ageless voice chuckled:

"Don't be nervous. You are all the future of the vampire clan. I called you here today because I have an important task to entrust to you."

Emlyn's expression turned serious; just as he had guessed.

He was by nature a pleasure-seeking individual, content as long as he was with his doll wives. Now, with the Tarot Society as his backing, he had already been promoted to Baron, and further promotion to Viscount, or even Earl, was not out of the question. Theoretically, he didn't need to take any more risks.

But as a member of a noble bloodline, Emlyn believed he was not afraid of his mission.

Duke Olmer gave the following instructions:

"Cassimi, distribute the rings to them."

No sooner had they finished speaking than a dark shadow shot out of the grave and stopped in front of them.

Emlyn looked closely and saw that it was a metal box.

"Yes, Your Grace."

Kasim respectfully stepped forward, grasped the iron box floating in mid-air, and opened the lid in front of Emlyn and the others. Inside the box were twelve ancient-looking rings, all with a uniform design, resembling bats in flight.

Kasimi distributed the rings to everyone in turn, and then put the last ring on his own finger.

There were twelve people in total, including him, no more and no less.

This left Emlyn somewhat puzzled.

Duke Olmer smiled and said:

"Your task is simple: come to me every night, wear this ring, and dream. Then, tell me everything that happens in your dreams."

Emlyn paused, somewhat doubting his own ears.

(End of this chapter)