An elf?!

The middle-aged knight was momentarily stunned.

However, when he noticed the opponent's distinctive red hair and the powerful aura emanating from him, his expression quickly became serious.

"The Scarlet Flame Blade... Sebastian!"

The red-haired elf's posture stiffened slightly, and his expression seemed somewhat unnatural upon hearing this title.

The smile on his face faded considerably, and he gracefully took a step forward.

The next second, his entire figure vanished in an instant.

"Miss, fall back!" 

The middle-aged knight's heart tightened, and he shouted loudly.

Instinctively, he raised his longsword in defense, but as soon as he did, he felt a tremendous force coming from between his hands.

"Bam!"

A flaming sword appeared out of thin air, striking the knight's longsword and sending it flying. On the other end of the flaming sword was the reappeared red-haired elf.

The knight let out an angry roar, his body erupting with dazzling silver light.

External manifestation of source power, a sign of Silver Moon strength.

He drew a backup short sword from his waist, the silver light flowing over the blade, exuding a sharp aura like the shimmering moonlight.

Lightly tapping the ground, the hill beneath him cracked and caved in, and he shot toward the red-haired elf like an arrow released from a bow.

The two clashed instantly.

The intersection of the silver light sword and the flaming sword burst into a dazzling brilliance.

The terrifying intertwining of source power and magic formed a powerful energy storm, shredding the surrounding trees to pieces...

BOOM

A loud explosion.

The girl holding the heavy book had already retreated to a distance. She bit her lip, watching the sudden battle with tension.

But the fight was over in the next moment.

In the moonlight, the swirling dust of wood chips and stone fragments settled, revealing the two combatants.

The knight was still holding his short sword high.

But the next second, the short sword shattered into several pieces.

He staggered slightly, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark red blood before slowly collapsing.

Barely managing to drive the broken sword into the ground, the knight maintained a kneeling position on one knee, staring in disbelief at the red-haired elf standing before him.

"You... haven't fallen in rank?"

The red-haired elf was unscathed.

He didn't answer the knight's question but stood there elegantly, his flaming sword still burning.

He looked the knight up and down with interest, a hint of surprise in his gaze.

"Silver Moon source power... is this Crescent swordsmanship? How does a bloodborne like you know the royal sword technique of Crescent Kingdom?"

The knight remained silent.

He struggled to lift his head, glaring at the elegant and indifferent red-haired elf with a solemn expression.

The elf chuckled lightly, about to speak when frenzied roars suddenly came from all around.

The elf raised an eyebrow, looking around to see several two-meter-tall, armored undead wielding longswords charging at him, accompanied by a horde of zombies...

In the elf's somewhat surprised gaze, he was instantly engulfed by the undead tide...

"Lahel!"

Nearby, the girl finished her spell and quickly put down the heavy book, rushing to the knight's side and helping him up with a worried expression.

"Miss, cough... forget about me! Run! We can't defeat him!"

The knight coughed up blood as he spoke.

Meanwhile, a rumbling sound came from the undead tide surrounding the elf.

Scarlet light burst forth, and red flames shot into the sky, tearing all the undead apart and turning them into fireballs...

When the light faded, the unharmed elf reappeared before the pair.

He remained elegant, his tailcoat without a single crease.

The girl stared blankly, looking at the red-haired elf in disbelief as if seeing a monster.

The elf smiled slightly, asking with interest.

"The strength of these undeads is too weak. Do you have any other tricks?"

Feeling the disdain and mockery in his words, the girl's expression darkened.

She bit her lip, opened the book again, and let her crimson blood drip onto the heavy pages.

The red-haired elf did not stop the girl's actions but watched her with great interest.

As the blood dripped, dark shadows converged on the heavy book, gradually forming a dark figure before the girl.

It was a grotesque, twisted shadow, exuding an ancient and eerie aura.

With the appearance of the shadow, the girl's aura grew visibly weaker, as if she had paid a great price.

"Mortal, speak your wish!"

The dark shadow looked down at the girl holding the book, its voice cold and indifferent.

"Gost! Kill him! Summon the strongest undead and kill him!"

The girl nearly gritted her teeth as she shouted.

Upon hearing her words, the dark shadow turned into a deep light, reentering the book, which then emitted a ghostly glow.

In the next moment, several complex and mysterious blood-red magic circles appeared around the elf, and one after another, formidable undead emerged from the circles.

Their armor was more intact, the soul flames in their eye sockets burned brighter, and their figures were taller.

They roared and charged at the elf.

The red-haired elf remained calm.

A flash of light appeared in his hand, the scarlet flaming sword vanished, and he elegantly reached out, drawing a black flaming sword from the void.

Seeing the black flaming sword, the girl's expression changed dramatically.

"The Blasphemous Sword!"

With a swing of the elf's sword, the undead charging at him burst into black flames, quickly turning to ashes...

Crushing.

Utter and blatant crushing.

The girl bit her lip, reopening the wound on her already-healed finger.

But before she could let the blood drip onto the book in her hand, a black flaming longsword was suddenly at her neck.

"My beautiful Bloodborness, didn't your elders tell you that summoned creatures through ancient book spirits cannot exceed your rank by more than one level?"

"A few Second Tier Silver Moon undead servants might trouble a camp, but they're hardly enough for me."

The elf spoke with a calm smile.

Hearing the red-haired elf's words, the girl stiffened slightly.

She looked up, pale-faced, meeting a pair of playful, scarlet eyes.

The next moment, she felt a tightness around her body, and a magic-restraining chain bound her tightly.

"Miss!"

The middle-aged knight called out anxiously, but in the next instant, he too was bound by a magic-restraining chain and thrown beside the girl.

With the girl's magic sealed, the heavy book lost some of its mysterious connection, and its deep glow faded.

Under the somewhat surprised gaze of the red-haired elf, the summoned undead trembled slightly before turning to ashes. The ashes then transformed into dark streams of light, converging back into the book from all directions.

The red-haired elf seemed thoughtful.

He stroked his chin and leisurely picked up the heavy book from the ground.

Seeing her book taken, the girl glared at him furiously, as if she wanted to devour him alive.

However, just when she thought he was going to open the book or put it away, she saw the elf suddenly turn gracefully.

Holding the book in one hand and placing the other on his chest, he bent slightly, offering a respectful and elegant bow towards the distance.

"Great Master, your loyal Sebastian has captured these little flies."

Master?

Both the bound bloodborne girl and the middle-aged knight were stunned.

They couldn't help but look in the direction the elf had bowed, hearing slow footsteps approaching from the darkness.

Clouds drifted, and clear moonlight illuminated the hill, piercing through the dense forest.

From the darkness, a petite figure slowly emerged from the woods.

It was a girl who looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in an elegant and noble black-and-red gothic dress, starkly contrasting with her surroundings.

She had beautiful golden hair and clear blue eyes, her delicate and lovely appearance stunning even the bloodborne girl who prided herself on her beauty.

However, noticing the distinctive hair color and the emblem on the black-and-red dress, the girl quickly recognized her.

Her eyes widened in shock, confusion, and anger.

"You are... Castell?!"

The one emerging from the woods was Charlotte.

She looked curiously at the two bound individuals, squinting as she asked.

"You... know me?"

The bloodborne girl did not answer, but glared at her with hatred, as if she wanted to tear her apart and drink her blood.

Faced with such intense hostility, Charlotte was puzzled.

How had she provoked these people?

Even if it was the Blood Demon Cult, they shouldn't know that she was the one causing trouble in Borde, right?

Why did someone suddenly show up to ambush her?

Wait, did they mention having a grudge against Castell?

Castell's enemies?

And bloodbornes at that?

Could her family be hiding some secrets she didn't know about?

Charlotte frowned.

At this moment, Sebastian interrupted her thoughts.

"Master, I found an interesting item on them. It seems to be the key to their ability to summon undead on a large scale. Please inspect it."

Charlotte was intrigued and looked at Sebastian, who offered her a heavy book with both hands.

She took the book, feeling its weight.

The cover was black with dark gold magical patterns, and on the cover, there was a line of strange golden text.

Charlotte did not recognize the script, but it seemed somewhat similar to the mysterious text in the Gospel of Blood, possibly related.

However, she instinctively understood its meaning, as if she naturally knew how to read it.

Charlotte almost unconsciously read aloud.

"The Path of the Undead?"

As she pronounced the mysterious words, the heavy book glowed faintly. Charlotte sensed a dark, decayed, and aggressive power flowing from the book into her body.

Frowning, she activated the blood divine power's "absorption" effect, assimilating all the invading power.

In the next instant, the book trembled slightly and stopped its assault, retracting its deep glow and curling up.

She felt a hint of fear from the book.

"Interesting..."

Charlotte stroked the cold cover of the heavy book.

As she touched it, the sense of fear grew stronger.

"What is the origin of this book?"

She looked at the two bounded bloodbornes.

The bloodborne girl continued to glare at her angrily, without responding.

Instead, the middle-aged knight hesitated for a moment before asking.

"If we tell you its origin, will you let us go?"

"You don't have the right to negotiate with the Master when she asks you questions. However, the great Master is always magnanimous. If you please her, she might consider sparing you."

Sebastian said with a smile.

The knight fell silent.

After a moment, he spoke.

"This is a sacred artifact of the Undead Executor, bestowed by the Bloodborne Duke during the vampire civil war—the legendary Book of the Dead. By paying a certain price, the book's spirit can summon the undead stored within."

Hearing his companion's explanation, the bloodborne girl's eyes widened, looking at the knight in shock.

However, seeing his flickering gaze, she suddenly understood and remained silent.

As the owner of the Book of the Dead, she knew its evil nature better than anyone.

Summoning undead with the book required signing a necromantic contract and paying a hefty price, especially for the contract holder.

For non-contract holders, attempting to use the book would only result in a more terrifying backlash...

Though the knight revealed the book's function, he only told half the story.

She realized he was setting a trap for their enemies.

Given the number of undead she had summoned for this attack, those closest to them had been reabsorbed by the book after their connection was severed.

However, undead farther away, especially those fighting the Castell family convoy, continued following their last orders...

Clearly, their captors wanted to address this problem.

The Book of the Dead was a divine artifact, and provoking its spirit could lead to a backlash even a Blazing Sun couldn't withstand.

If they tricked their enemies into activating the book, they might turn the tide.

With this thought, the girl lowered her eyes and coldly looked at Charlotte.

"A book spirit?"

Charlotte mused.

She weighed the book, gently stroking its cover, and said.

"Book spirit, come out and meet me."

Silence...

The Book of the Dead remained unresponsive.

Seeing the girl awkwardly calling the book spirit, the bloodborne girl pressed her lips together and decided to nudge her.

"You haven't paid the price."

"You need to offer blood essence. Only after drinking the blood essence will the book spirit be willing to..."

Before she finished her sentence, the Book of the Dead was already reacting.

In the stunned gazes of the middle-aged knight and bloodborne girl, the book glowed brightly, and the dark shadow emerged, clear and distinct, bowing deeply to Charlotte. Its respectful voice was tinged with fear.

"Noble and great one, what can your humble servant Gost do for you?"

Bloodborne girl: ...

Middle-aged knight: ...