Shadow of the Beautiful World

Vampires are strange creatures.

In folklore, vampires live on the blood of humans and animals, from which they draw their strength.

This statement cannot be wrong, but it is not accurate.

According to the wizards, vampires are magical creatures that are very similar to humans. During the dissection experiment on vampires by wizards nearly a thousand years ago, they found that the internal organs of vampires are 95% similar to humans. It is enough to prove that the evolution of vampires and humans comes from the same origin.

It's like a river diverging into its branches. Due to some unknown reasons, human beings and vampires finally became two completely different lives after thousands of years of evolution.

The wizard's explanation for this is that in ancient times, some primitive people who could sense the existence of magic power suffered from a special kind of bloodthirsty disease due to various reasons. Since it cannot produce hemoglobin itself, it has to supplement this essential element of the body by sucking the blood of others.

And this crazy and evil behavior further caused the body mutation of the vampires, giving them power far beyond ordinary people, and even the body structure changed.

Of course, this kind of explanation is generally not accepted by vampires. They stubbornly believe that their blood is sacred, and even create some illusory legends to connect their race with gods. If someone mentions their origin in front of the vampire, it is often considered a mockery by the vampire.

Generally speaking, canine teeth, dynamic vision, sharp claws, and twisted and hideous skin are all characteristics of a vampire.

And the longer vampires exist, the more exaggerated their changes in appearance. High-level vampires will grow bat wings, while legendary vampires will have their own unique appearance.

Of course, the appearance is not important, what really matters is that once vampires enter the boundary of legendary creatures, they will give birth to their own unique power, which is almost inimitable.

Dracula's legendary power is called 'Blood River'.

In the abandoned factory in Manhattan, Miss Bloodstone said to Merlin and Blade while sorting out the old and torn text in her hand:

Everyone in the Bloodstone family knows how dangerous Dracula is. The power of the blood river endows Dracula with the attribute of being almost immortal. Every life that has been sucked by it will become the source of Dracula's power , become its 'blood substitute', until the power of the blood river is completely exhausted, Dracula will not suffer a truly fatal blow.

So, how many lives were buried in Dracula's blood river?

Merlin asked:

How many times can it come back from the dead?

Elsa glanced at Merlin, a moment's silence flickered in her beautiful blue eyes, and after a moment she replied:

No one knows tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or hundreds of thousands. This question is meaningless. The only thing we can be sure of is that unless Dracula voluntarily gives up, it is truly immortal.

It's difficult.

Blade also frowned. Obviously, from Elsa's explanation, he also noticed how difficult Dracula's power is.

But you don't need to worry.

Elsa says:

Resisting and sealing Dracula is the mission of the Bloodstone family. Before it wreaks havoc on the world, it has to step over the corpses of every Bloodstone hunter. After my father disappeared, that was my destiny.

Okay, okay, Miss Bloodstone.

Old Whistler sat on one side, drinking from a small bottle, and said to Elsa:

Stop the Dracula horror story, you see you freaked out both boys. Tell us about the trouble we're in. About the blood god

Well, I was about to say that.

Miss Bloodstone put the open and heavy tome in front of Merlin and Daofeng, she pointed to the opened pages, and said:

Whistler and I solved the mystery of those ancient texts. The good news is that it is indeed not Dracula who left the original blood. But the bad news is that this legendary vampire has some connections with Dracula.

Vlad III?

Merlin looked at the page in front of him. He looked at the illustration drawn with retro techniques. He raised his head in surprise and looked at Elsa:

Isn't that the real name of the vampire Dracula? The famous 'Piercing Lord', a story even children know. Elsa, if you're not kidding, then you mean, Vlad III and Dracula La, it's actually two people, not one?

Yes, that's what I mean.

Elsa plucked a strand of hair beside her ear, and she said seriously:

It is difficult to pass the truth down from generation to generation in a short life. I don't need to repeat the stories about Vlad III. I can only say that those stories are true. He was indeed a sincere big man during his lifetime. Because of a painful and desperate love, he betrayed his faith and became the terrifying impaler in the legend.

But the story after that, ordinary people can't understand.

Miss Bloodstone pointed to the open book, and said to Merlin and Blade:

Look here, my ancestors recorded in detail the scene where Vlad III and Dracula met. It was 1477. Vlad III was fighting the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire on the battlefield, and the enemy could not stop him at all. Viciously attacked, he seemed to be victorious. But the night before his death, in the ruins of an abandoned castle, Vlad III's soldiers dug up a quaint sarcophagus.

The ferocious big man opened the sarcophagus with his own hands, and rescued Dracula from the seal. As a 'gift' of escape, Dracula generously bestowed his power on Vlad III.

Elsa shrugged:

Vlad III couldn't control the legendary power. He slaughtered his best troops overnight. That night, it drank blood and when the sun rose, the real Tepesh died. It abandoned its surname, and since then it has been wandering like a ghost on the land of Romania, which was its former fief.

Because the blood of Vlad III comes directly from Dracula, its power is very similar to Dracula, and even its appearance is very similar. Under the false rumors, Vlad III is considered to be Dracula himself , and even the name of his 'Piercing Lord' was crowned on Dracula.

Speaking of this, Elsa stopped, and after Merlin and Blade accepted the truth, she said again:

Vlad III died at the end of the 18th century. He was killed by a group of master witch hunters in his castle in Romania. That can't be faked, because my grandfather was the witcher who killed Vlad III One of the masters.

But that era also happened to be the period of the great migration of European immigrants to North America.

Merlin rubbed his chin. He looked at the words in front of him that recorded the truth. He said:

Dickon got the legend that the first batch of vampire pioneers set foot on the American continent, which probably refers to Vlad III and his followers. This time point is right, that is to say, Vlad III had a premonition of his own death, so he made preparations in advance and put his blood in a place where it was difficult for demon hunters to find.

It's in the Temple of Eternal Night!

Old Whistler picked up a piece of paper and placed it in front of Merlin and Blade. There were 12 strange symbols on the paper that were different from each other but came from the same source.

This is the emblem of the pure-blood family in the 13 Presbyterian Church of the American Blood Race. Turn them over, it happens to be the emblem recorded in this book, about the inheritance of Vlad III's line of vampires. The purpose of the 13 Presbyterian Church was originally established , most likely guarding the tombs of their ancestors, and waiting for their ancestors to return from the dead.

It doesn't make sense.

Merlin looked at the symbol, he frowned and said:

If the elders of the blood clan have always known this secret, why did they delay for more than 200 years? They should have revived their ancestors immediately. Don't vampires attach great importance to the inheritance of blood?

The answer is simple.

Miss Bloodstone put her hands on her hips and said in a low voice:

Because they don't want to die either.

According to the records in the broken text, opening the seal of the Temple of Eternal Night requires the sacrifice of the purest blood of the 12 families. Vampires are not fools. Those who can become the head of the family are the most cunning and vicious vampires. They They do worship the power of bloodlines, but this kind of worship has not risen to the point where they are worthy of their sacrifice.

But now, they have to do that.

Merlin says:

Dickon is an ambitious man, and he will not allow his plan to be abandoned halfway. It seems that the Sanguinary Council is doomed this time.

I have a question!

Blade, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said:

Opening the Temple of Eternal Night requires the pure blood of 12 families, but the elders of the blood clan have 13 families, that is to say, among them, there is one inheritance that does not belong to Vlad III.

It's Gaetaro.

Old Whistler pouted, and said:

The pure-blooded vampire who became the chairman in the past 30 years. I heard before that the Gaetaro family appeared in North America later than the other 12 families. Now it seems that the rumor is true. The inheritance of the Getaro family should come from another legendary vampire.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the current situation.

The old hunter looked at the other people in front of him, and finally set his eyes on the pensive Merlin. He said:

What do we do now? If Dickon wants to achieve his goal, he must get rid of the Blood Clan Presbyterian Council, and the Presbyterian Council's family will not sit idly by. There will be a war between them, an inspiring and cruel war. Should we intervene now, or wait and see? Change?

Why are you looking at me?

Merlin raised his head and saw the other three were looking at him.

You are the official representative, Mr. Merlin.

Whistler laughed and said:

Even ignorant vampire hunters like Blade and I have heard about the new order that s.d.o.l.d. has imposed on North American aliens in the past few years. Obviously, in this incident, no matter what choice we make, you are the real one. leader.

If things go to the worst and Vlad III wakes up in this era, we will need support.

Elsa also spoke:

Although I have only joined S.H.I.E.L.D. for one day, I also know that among the people present, only you can find enough support for us.

The agents under your command are straightforward. I have seen them eradicate vampires in Queens. I appreciate that cold-blooded style.

Blade pushed his sunglasses, he said:

If there is going to be a war, I also hope that they can become my comrades-in-arms.

Hearing these explanations, Merlin shook his head. Instead of answering immediately, he took out his phone and gestured to the others:

Wait a minute, I'll make a call.

—

That's the way it is, Fury.

Merlin told Fury the exact situation in the corridor outside the abandoned factory. He said:

There are not many options in front of us now, and I need your advice.

Which one do you prefer?

Fury didn't immediately give his own suggestion. On the contrary, the old master director asked:

You must have plans of your own, right?

My idea is that Dickon's side's pursuit is too dangerous. That guy is a 'big vampireist'. Although he claims to resist the internal system of vampires, he himself is a loyal supporter of blood theory, so I will not Support it.

Merlin says:

However, the performance of the American Presbyterian Church in the past few years has not been good. Facing the order promoted by us and the Magic Congress, they have been obedient and vicious. This time, perhaps they should be allowed to bleed some blood in the internal struggle.

Oh, you mean, weaken them and then control them?

Fury coughed lightly, and he said to Merlin:

The idea is good, but your thinking is too idealistic.

The American Presbyterian Church has controlled the North American vampire group for more than 200 years. Their influence on the vampire group in this land is extremely profound. Maybe Dickon's challenge will hurt their vitality, but once Dickon dies, Those radical vampires have been suppressed, and it may not take a few years for the American Presbyterian Church to regain its strength.

They need to be weakened, and we must ensure that they never regain their full power!

Fury's voice became cold:

We have to find them a comparable opponent, and make sure that neither side annexes the other's strength in one fell swoop after the war. At that time, the vampire society will show a polarized development, and s.d.o.l.d. will extend a helping hand to those civilian vampires. The situation will develop in a stable and orderly manner.”

The most important thing is that only after the power and strength are dispersed, they will willingly join SHIELD's monitoring system for aliens in order to avoid being annexed by the other two parties.

I see!

Fury is worthy of being Fury. When playing the game of checks and balances, he is simply one set.

Under his reminder, Merlin immediately noticed the factors that he had ignored.

On the east coast, the influence of vampires is not limited to the American Presbyterian Church and the Dickon Radicals, there is also a very low-key, very non-existent third party.

The supreme family that claims to be the ruling party of vampires, that family of vampires who fled from Eastern Europe to North America more than 50 years ago.

It is said that the American Presbyterian Church has always been very vigilant against the aging blood prince in the Supreme Family. They have suppressed the development of the Supreme Family in the past 50 years from all directions. Now it seems that the low-key Supreme Family may be better than the Presbyterian Church. It is more suitable to be a member of SHIELD's monitoring system for vampire civilization.

Merlin hung up the phone, he had already made up his mind.

After a while, he returned to the factory workshop. He looked at the three witchers in the workshop and said:

time to go.

We have work to do.

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