The Record of Unusual Creatures

All the intelligence pointed to a dark and disturbing answer, and everyone who heard the news fell into silence. The information would soon cease to be a secret. Since Rudolph III chose to publish them in the room, it meant that the news had probably begun to circulate.

“There have been so many accidents to the heirs of kingdoms within a month, but the news did not come out until recently,” Grand Duke Loen broke the silence. “Every kingdom does not want the turmoil that happens at the top to spread, so they have kept it until it is impossible to conceal it anymore. This, in turn, has provided an opportunity for the believers of the Cult of Armageddon.”

Hao Ren frowned and said, “Do the cultists simply want to cause chaos and weaken the power of the various states? If so, they should find an easier way. It’s difficult to target the heirs of the Royal Family without being seen. Besides, their actions don’t seem to be very successful. Most of the heirs who have been attacked are not actually dead. Just like Ania, they just fell sick, a false alarm.”

“They don’t just want to cause chaos,” Alfred explained. “Their goal is the keeper’s blood. Their ultimate aim, I’m afraid, is to weaken the repression of Lockmarton and liberate the remnant forces of the evil giant.”

“The keeper’s blood?” Hao Ren was surprised.

“The royal family in every kingdom gets the ‘keeper’ inheritance,” Veronica explained. “This is not a real inheritance of blood, but a foreign inheritance. The dynasties in Collow have changed throughout the years. At the end of each war, some nations would fall, while others would emerge from the ruins. After the establishment of these emerging kingdoms, the first thing to do would be to seek the recognition of the Sanctum. Once recognized, the Sanctum would then carry out an inheritance ceremony for these new royal families. The power of blood from the ancient divine guard is injected into the veins of our founding kings and passed on for generations. This is the keeper’s blood.”

Hao Ren sat there in a trance. This was really something he had never thought of. It seemed that this ancient blood came from the “ancient divine guard”?

Veronica went on, “The keeper’s blood has the power to suppress Chaos and is necessary to light the Sunscorch Tower. During the last month of each year, the Sunscorch Tower needs to be re-lit. The tower, which holds the kingdoms together, is especially essential to the survival of a kingdom surrounded by Chaos. The royal members of each kingdom must infuse their blood into the energy core as they light the tower. Because of these keepers’ blood scattered throughout the continent, these kingdoms can maintain minimum Order at the border, and not let Chaos completely devour the world.”

Hao Ren nodded. Now he understood the meaning of “the keeper’s blood”.

The Light of Order was like a lighthouse in the dark, and the members of every royal family were the firewood for ignition. In their veins flowed not only noble blood but also fuel to sustain their own kingdoms.

He remembered that it was Veronica who lit the abandoned fire device with her blood in the desert—and this was the secret.

Hao Ren blinked as he looked at the old master and asked, “The purpose of the cultists is to destroy those who have the keeper’s blood? It doesn’t make sense: the heirs they’ve attacked are still alive.”

“But the power of the blood is lost,” Ania answered.

The princess stretched out her hand and pricked the tip of her finger with a silver needle. Red blood oozed out from her fingertip.

It was just ordinary blood.

“Ania, you…” Veronica looked at the blood in shock. Apparently, she just knew. She pricked her finger with a knife at once, and her blood oozed out with a faint gleam.

Obviously, the two kinds of blood were totally different. Ania had lost some kind of magic in her blood.

“Diseases can be cured, curses can be dispelled, but the power in the blood cannot be redeemed,” Rudolph III whispered. “It is true that many of the royal heirs who have been attacked are still alive, but the cultists have achieved their goal: to remove the power in the blood of these heirs.”

“The power of the keeper’s blood is an important safeguard in maintaining the boundaries of Order because only the blood can light up the Sunscorch Tower. Now, the Sunscorch Tower is burning out. The efficiency of the tower is decreasing day by day, and we can now feel the impact on the whole kingdom.” Alfred’s old voice sounded weaker than before. “The output of all the fires in the kingdom is decreasing synchronously. It is only a matter of time before this situation reaches the Spire of Flames. The forces of Chaos are penetrating inland from the west and north of the kingdom, which is also a sign of the weakening of Order. Now, we must prepare for the ignition ritual of the Sunscorch Tower as soon as possible.”

Hao Ren took a few deep breaths and looked at Rudolph III. “It’s true that the heirs of various countries have lost the power in their blood, but the situation shouldn’t be so bad. What about you kings and queens who are still in power? Your blood power should still be present. Can you light the tower?”

“We’re almost running out of it,” Rudolph III said and laughed.

After a pause, the old king continued, “It’s not difficult to maintain the Sunscorch Tower because we just need to make sure it doesn’t extinguish. But when the Tides of Chaos come, every Sunscorch Tower must operate at full power. The Tides of Chaos last 10 years at a time, but almost no one can keep burning for 10 years. This year is the seventh year of the tides, and I have been powering that tower for seven years, as have the rulers of other kingdoms. With mortal bodies, this is our limit.”

Then, Rudolph III joked, “The Frost Dragon Queen of the continent of Fimbulvinter may fare better. She’s a powerful dragon, so she can burn longer than the rest of us can…”

Hao Ren did not find the joke funny at all. “That is to say… the kings of all the countries have used up their blood power, and the next ignition ritual must be carried out by their heirs?”

“But the heirs of all countries have lost their blood power,” said Rudolph III lightly. “Perhaps Veronica is the only exception.”

The ancient magic, which did not belong to ordinary humans, was injected into their bodies through genetic technology. The ancient power came from an extraordinary race that had already disappeared. Even if the power was diluted, an ordinary human body could not bear it. Therefore, the power that an ordinary person could produce and contain in his life was limited. A king had to exert all of his powers to keep the Sunscorch Tower running, but it was not enough to survive a decade.

The last three years had to be taken over by the heirs.

The cultists used thousands of years of preparation to accurately and fatally destroy the most vulnerable link in the process of keeping the Sunscorch Tower running.

Taros was perhaps the only kingdom where the situation was not so bad. The kingdom still had an heir with the power of the ancient blood. Veronica survived because of Hao Ren’s intervention. She was now the only person in the mortal world who could light the lighthouse.

The other kingdoms were facing a desperate situation.

Rudolph III and most of the people in the chamber knew this, so they were not at all smug about their kingdom retaining the last keeper’s blood. If all the other kingdoms were extinguished by Chaos, how long would Taros be able to illuminate the darkness on its own?

The atmosphere in the chamber was gloomy, but just then, the jewel from a ring on Rudolph III’s hand suddenly flashed.

The king put the ring by his ear, and a moment later, he looked up and stared at Hao Ren.

“Guardian, I have bad news.”

“Yes?”

“Lavinia Turson Kant managed to escape with the help of a large group of cultists. Before she fled, she turned back and attacked Veronica’s standard bearer and took the divine weapon you brought with you.”

Hao Ren was speechless.