Heavy snow fell on the border, and the wind in the north was howling like a knife.
In the depths of the dense forest, the man wearing a skull mask stood quietly, as if he had merged with the night. His figure gradually disappeared from the moonlight, leaving only a low whisper echoing in the air:
"The real reckoning has begun from the moment she awakened."
Tower of Noser, underground throne room.
Su Yue opened her eyes, and the king-level mark was still burning in her palm. She felt that the power in her body had undergone a qualitative change, and her blood seemed to be recast, precipitating from the heat into a cold lake, deep and bottomless.
Ethan stood beside her, looking at her with a look of awe that could not be concealed.
"Your breath... has changed."
Su Yue nodded. Her voice was low and calm: "That was not an ordinary trial, it changed me. Not only power, but also choice."
Kain stepped forward, and a badge with a dark red glow appeared in his hand.
"This 'Deep Blood Seal' was originally inherited by the old king, symbolizing the identity of the 'Order Collector'. Now that you have it, you can summon the aliens in your bloodline and activate the Royal Court Order."
"Can I command them?" Su Yue frowned, with a complicated tone.
"Not everyone will listen to you," Kain said calmly, "but you have the qualifications."
She took the badge, and at that moment, a faint pattern appeared on the badge, and a series of vague names and places appeared in her mind - they are the "descendants" hiding in the world, and the remnants of the royal blood.
"I need their help to fight against the Night Rest Society."
"You don't want their help," Kain corrected, "you have to let them know that the king has returned."
A week later, East Border Graystone Port.
This is the first stop of the "Blood Night Summoning". Su Yue brought Ethan and Kain to this port city on the verge of abandonment. Here hides a "blood burner" who has been missing for many years - Lance Griffin.
According to rumors, he was once one of the most brutal predators among the vampires, but he hid for many years after a failed coup, and now lives as an "iron fisherman".
The sea breeze of the limestone smells of salt and rust.
Su Yue pushed open the door of the fishing port hut, and Ethan subconsciously stood in front of her, his hand already touching the short blade at his waist.
The room was dark, with only a wind lantern swaying faintly.
"You are finally here." A low and hoarse voice sounded from the shadows.
Under the light, the old man in a tattered cloak and holding a harpoon slowly raised his head, a pair of golden and red pupils burning in the darkness.
"You are... the daughter of the king."
Su Yue did not say much, and raised the "Deep Blood Seal". At that moment, the whole hut was filled with a faint red glow.
"Lance Griffin, in the name of the king's blood, I order you to return."
The air fell into silence, with only the sound of wind and waves hitting the hull. After a moment, Lance bowed his head and knelt on the ground.
"My king has returned."
In the following days, Su Yue traveled all over the broken territory of the Old Blood Dynasty.
- In the ruins of the abandoned city "Red Rock City", she recalled the mad-eyed alchemist Ange Itu.
- In the Black Wind Monastery in the snowy fields of the North, she made the exiled twin gravekeepers renew their vows.
- In the sunken bell tower, she untied the iron contract that had been sealed for a hundred years and awakened the sealed "Blood Singer" Euphia.
Every summons was a shock to the soul.
And every surrenderer, when seeing the burning mark in her palm, knelt down and called her:
"Blood of the Red King."
But the Night Rest Society did not sit idly by.
When Su Yue returned to the Tower of Noser, Kain handed her a blood-paper letter - there was no signature on it, only a familiar mark.
One of the Seven Priests, the seal left by the "Judgement Witch".
There was only one sentence on the letter:
> "You are finally going to follow the path he has walked. Then, are you ready to endure the betrayal he has endured?"
Su Yue stared at the mark, silent for a long time, and slowly clenched her fists.
She knew that they had noticed her.
It also meant that she was on the right path.
That night, the meeting hall of the Tower of Noser was restarted. Twenty-seven aliens gathered in the Blood Circle. Some of them were arrogant, some were hesitant, and some even showed naked hostility to Su Yue.
"You say you are the king, but how do we know that you are not another ambitious person?" Someone asked.
"Your father once betrayed us for his own throne."
Su Yue listened quietly, her eyes as cold as ice.
She stepped forward, took off the necklace of the king's mark, and held it high. The blood-red light was like a falling sun.
"I am not him."
"I do not ask for your reverence or loyalty."
"I give you two choices: either stand behind me in this war, or stand at my feet in the future reckoning."
The whole hall was silent.
After a long time, the first to stand up was Lance the Bloodburner.
"I am willing to burn for the blood of the king again."
Then it was Euphia, with red eyes: "I swear to the Blood Singer."
One by one, those sleeping names, those old descendants who were once exiled, stood up and swore allegiance.
Until the last one bowed his head, the whole ring shook violently, and an old but solemn voice sounded in Su Yue's mind:
"You have gathered the twenty-seven blood seats and awakened the 'Royal Seat'."
"Please listen to the order, the real war starts tonight."
Su Yue opened her eyes and looked into the distance.
She knew whether Ye Xi would sit and wait for death. And in that ancient "Black Tower", the seven priests have begun to gather.
The next meeting will no longer be a test.
It will be the beginning of the end.