Chapter 487 338. True Blood Part 2 (Talk about Vlad, don’t order) In
1797 of the Imperial Calendar,
the old man was going through a torment and he was dying. Although doctors and priests were full of skills and faith, they could not stop him. die.
The doctors and priests were still busy. It was bitingly cold in the dormitory. Where a blazing fire should have been lit, the piles of firewood and firewood were not ignited. The priest lit a censer to ward off bad luck and prayed to Sigmar the Merciful. However, all this had no effect, Otto van Draack was still dying in his bed. They knew it, and worse, Otto himself knew it. That's why they stayed with Otto, they came to watch over Otto's dying days.
Otto's lower lip drooped, and saliva slid down his chin. He tried to wipe it with the back of his hand covered with age spots, but he didn't even have the strength to wipe it. The illness made him old, and he aged thirty years in just a few weeks. The strength and vitality that once drove him disappeared in just a few weeks, leaving only an empty shell of a human being.
Otto was a cruel man who enjoyed impaling peasants' heads on spikes, and when he was drunk he became convinced that he was the reincarnation of Sigmar. The nobles of the court did not respect his authority or obey his orders, and Sylvania was filled with conflict. But he didn't care. For him who ruled Sylvania, death was the only thing without dignity.
Death is equal and does not respect blood or status. At this moment, Otto finally understood. A week ago, he lost control of his facial muscles, his tongue was so distended that he could barely form a coherent sentence, and most of the words he managed to utter sounded like the gibberish of a drunken man. s things.
Otto knew what was happening, and he knew what was about to happen. Every organ in his body was failing, and only his strong will kept him breathing. He wasn't ready to die and this was his last show of stubbornness. His daughter Isabella leaned over the bed and wiped the sweat from his heated brow.
"Shh, father." Isabella soothed, knowing what her father wanted to say.
After being restrained by his daughter, frustration spread across Otto's face, his eyes burning with pure hatred. He turned to stare at his brother Leopold, who was sitting in a crimson velvet chair. Although they were brothers, there was no brotherly bond between them.
Her mother once said that the eyes are the gateway to the soul, and Isabella found them fascinating, as they contained such strong emotions. Nothing can be hidden in front of eyes, eyes are so expressive. Now she looked into her father's eyes and she could see her father's pain. Her father was tortured by this humiliating way to die, but it would soon be over.
The doctor hunched over a box filled with saws and scalpels until he found a jar of leeches filled with fat bodies.
"Leeches? Are they really necessary?" Isabella Van Delack asked, disgust evident in her voice.
"Maybe it's a small mercy? Bleeding is good for the heart, if the heart has less blood to pump, the load on the heart is lessened, which means the heart can keep beating longer. Believe me, ma'am, I These babies will keep your father alive longer." The doctor opened the jar as he spoke and stirred the liquid filled with leeches with his hands. After he finished speaking, he took out one of the leeches and placed it on Alto's chest. On the jugular vein.
"Everyone... talks about me... as if I'm... gone... not... dead..." gasped Otto, breaking out into a violent cough before the last word left his lips. .
"Quiet, father," Isabella said, wiping away the mucus her father had coughed up.
"Damn...just...silently...give up..." Otto struggled to organize the words, and the frustration of death made him unbearable.
Leopold stood up from his chair and walked around the room. He walked to the window and placed his hands on the sill, feeling the paneling with his fingers and listening to his brother's labored breathing, his nails digging into the cork.
A flash of lightning followed, followed by thunder, sending vibrations through the thick walls of Duncanhof Castle. Leopold could barely hide the smug smile on his face as raindrops pattered against the glass, flowing like tears across his reflection.
"No matter what, my brother, you will definitely be damned. I'm sure you are not dead just because you are afraid of them waiting for you on the other side. You are afraid of those poor souls that you happily executed, aren't you, my Brother?
Can you hear them, Otto? Can you hear them calling you, you know they are waiting for you, can you imagine what they will do to you when they finally get the chance for revenge? Mine God, what a delicious idea." Leopold sneered at his reflection, crying? Crying was the last thing he wanted to do right now, and then he said coldly that he was impatient to wait.
"Come on, Otto, my brother. Show some dignity in your last moments."
"Get...out!" Otto's eyes were filled with helpless anger.
"My brother, dear Otto, you have always been a hopeless liar and cheat. Dishonesty may be your saving grace, perhaps your only one. So, let me put it this way, if all this Just a gorgeous drama, and I'm not laughing at all for your efforts. I'm never leaving this room until I've made sure you're really dead. It's nothing personal, you understand, and I'm going to Walk out of here as the Count of Irvania, and the only way for you to leave here is to lie in a coffin."
"Damn... despicable..."
"Now die obediently. I can't help but wonder what you would do if father could see you. Any thoughts, death clearly isn't for you and it doesn't change much for you, like now! You're still stingy about lighting a fire in your bedroom, so we have to freeze to death while we wait for you to die! "
Damn...damn...I will never let you...become...Count...never!" Otto struggled and roared, grabbing the sheets, and the skin around his fingers was as pale as bone.
Lightning flashed across the night sky again, and a flash of light illuminated Otto's increasingly angry face. Thick raindrops pounded on the windows, and as another bolt of lightning pierced the darkness of the storm, the wind howled and the wooden shutters creaked on the outer walls.
"I don't think you have much say in this matter. The hypocritical marriage you planned for Isabella has failed. However, everyone is happy in the end, right, brother?"
Otto has refused to marry his daughter to Hill A nobleman of Vania, because he despised those who did not obey his orders, and no educated man was willing to marry a Sylvanian heiress. In the end, when Isabella van der As Lark knelt beside his death bed, his daughter was still without a husband.
Isabella wiped the bloody saliva that splattered her father's chin before turning her attention to her uncle. She had idolized her uncle before, but as she grew older, she understood that the man was just a mean guy.
Leopold turned around and glanced at his niece. Isabella combed her long black hair to one side of her face, showing her beauty in her own way. Her skin was pale and her bones were delicate. This combination made him The niece creates a charming charm. This was despite the fact that his niece had a nasty drake temper, for he knew that when the time came, his niece could be as cunning as a fox.
"It's a pity, dear, it would be better if the situation could be better, but I am not a lawmaker. Due to the accident of birth, you are a... woman, without heirs, your father's bloodline will end, and I, as the Draco family, will The only surviving male heir, inherit the rule of Sylvania. I am sorry for the misfortune that happened to your fiancé, but tradition cannot be tampered with casually. After all, tradition is tradition for a reason. But..." Leo Pod was deep in thought at the end, and an idea came to his mind.
"Tell me, what does Merciful Sigmar think of the union of close relatives? For example, between uncle and nephew, priest? I would be willing to make this sacrifice if I could, and it seems to me that this sacrifice is great, which can make my dear brother Close your eyes in peace, I don't want to see the only good thing he successfully created being forced to live on the streets, right?" "
This is not approved." As a priest of Sigma, the old priest ignored Li Opold, he didn't even look up when he answered Leopold. He concentrated on drawing the symbol of the Hammer of Sigmar on Alto's forehead.
"Ah, okay. I'm sorry, I tried, honey," Leopold said, winking lustfully at Isabella.
"You'd better watch your words, uncle, this is still my home, and you are here alone. There are enough servants and soldiers here who are loyal to my father and loyal to me." Isabella said coldly said.
"Okay, honey. Stop making threats and bluffing. You know I will love you as if I were my own flesh and blood and I would never see you suffer." "You'll just
turn your back so you don't have to. Saw it."
"Damn, you've got some guts, darling, I gotta admit. You're the real Van Delack."
Lightning pierced the darkness again, the rainstorm became more violent, and the shutters creaked on the stone wall outside. Loud, the wind howled through the eaves, issuing a shrill chorus from the mouths of the weathered stone statues guarding the four corners of the tower.
Three consecutive flashes of lightning turned the dark night into bright daylight in an instant, thunder echoed on the mountain tops, heavy sounds folded together, and heavy rain violently hit the countryside. The trees were bent and bowed in the strong wind, and the dead branches were on the verge of breaking under the ravages of the storm.
The sound of wheels and the sound of horse hooves came from the storm, and a black carriage pulled by four powerful black horses stopped outside Duncanhof Castle. A heavy hand knocked heavily on the city door, making a crisp sound, and a proud voice asked to enter. Soon, the castle door was opened by hinges, the soldiers stepped aside, and even the barking guard dogs stopped howling and sneaked away.
A chill ran down Leopold's spine. Behind him, the priest urged Otto to confess his sins.
"This is meaningless. If he repented from the beginning, he would not be able to get out of his teens before Morr took him away. You must know that our Otto is a very naughty child." "
Morr... you... "Otto's violent coughing was mixed with weak curses.
"Stay away...Pastor...I don't want you...to touch me." Blood flowed from the corner of Otto's mouth. The priest took the towel from Isabella's hand and planned to wipe the blood-stained saliva, but he couldn't. Swinging the head with surprising force, away from the priest.
Otto's struggle made the priest stagger back. His hand weakly stretched out towards Isabella to prevent himself from falling. However, before he could catch Isabella's hand, he was shaking his body. He fell down and hit his head on the edge of the bed.
"Alive, albeit barely." The doctor walked to the pastor's side and checked. He felt the weak pulse in the pastor's throat and sighed.
Lightning streaked across the night sky again, and the elderly priest twisted in a series of violent spasms, as if his body was somehow connected to the storm's primal charge. Then, as if dead, he became still.
In the brief silence, there was a crisp knock on the door, and the bedroom door opened. A frightened male servant stood at the door, lowering his head and preparing to say something humbly. However, before he could say anything, a handsome man squeezed him away.
The stranger was so tall that he had to stoop slightly to enter the dormitory. He held in his hand a silver-topped cane with a handle shaped like a wolf, revealing a wild roar. The cloak on his shoulders was dark black, and the areas soaked by the rain looked even darker, with water dripping from the brim of his hat.
"Noble Vlad von..." the manservant stammered, but before he could finish speaking, the stranger waved his hand and sent him away. He saw the stranger's gesture, and then waved to the stranger. After giving him a grateful look, he left this place of right and wrong.
"Come from the storm." In the echoing sound of the rain, the stranger walked to the bedside, his boots leaving wet marks on the cold wooden boards. He saw Leopold staring at him, and he read The meaning in Leopold's eyes, he shook his head and murmured.
"I send you my humble greetings, Count Drac."
The stranger's accent was strange. He was definitely not Sylvanian. Perhaps he was Lady Kisri, or perhaps from the farther east, right here in Isabel. While she was thinking about it, the stranger turned to look at her and said.
"And you, fair lady, are so charming. You are like a pale rose blooming among these withered thorns."
Isabella's face brightened at this simple compliment, and she smiled and stared intently. Curtsying to this strange man, she saw the uniqueness in the stranger's eyes, the intense light full of animal-like power and nameless desire. She felt herself being swallowed up by the stranger's gaze and surrendered to the feeling without hesitation. She could sense that the man had power and was not averse to exploiting it. A slow, predatory smile spread across the stranger's face, and she felt herself drawn to the stranger. It was a subtle but irresistible feeling, and she involuntarily took a step towards the stranger.
"Don't stare, Isabella, it's inappropriate. And you, sir. Thank you for coming, but as you can see, you are intruding on a rather private moment. My brother is rapidly declining, We would like to share his last few minutes, and I am sure you will understand. If you would be willing to wait until...well, I would be happy to meet you in the reception room afterwards to discuss any matters you may have with the count?" Leopold snapped. As he spoke, he gestured toward the door.
The stranger did not leave because of Leopold's words. Instead, he took off his white gloves and held Isabella's hand. He raised Isabella's hand to his mouth and let the kiss stay there. He ignored the noisy Leopold, ignored Otto who was lying on the bed looking at him, ignored the twitching priest and the doctor who obviously had no interest in him.
"I am Vlad of the von Carstein family!" After the kiss, the stranger still ignored Leopold's pretentiousness and said to the dying count.
"I'm sorry, I don't know this family." Leopold interrupted angrily. It seemed to him that this stranger appeared at the wrong time, and as he said, he didn't know anything about von Carstein. family, and have never heard of the name Vlad.
"I don't expect you to understand, but I can go back even further, to the founding of the Empire and beyond, than many of today's nobility have, and true nobility is the inheritance of blood, not the spoils of war. And what you have obtained, do you agree?" Vlad retorted calmly. In his opinion, Leopold was like an insect trapped in a honeypot. The only fascinating thing was watching him in the sticky Drowning in sweetness. He unbuttoned the cloak, placed the cloak on the chair, gathered the wolf-head cane next to the chair, and covered the snarling wolf's head with white gloves, placing the wet hat on top of the gloves.
Vlad's raven-like black hair was braided into a braid, hanging down to the middle of his back. He looked like a tall, melancholy, and handsome fair-skinned man. His sharp black eyes had an arrogance that made Leopold uneasy. , his elegant movements are like a predator chasing tender prey, but it cannot be denied that he possesses a special temperament.
"Tell us, then, what brought you to us on such a bad night? Did my brother owe you thirty gold pieces, or did he execute your fiancée in one of his foolish whims? I give you my word , as the new Earl of Sylvania, I will work hard to repay any debt you think the Drake family owes you, this is what I can do." "
My affairs are related to the Earl, but what I have told you It has nothing to do with it."
"I..."
"You don't need to speak, sir. I was just passing by to go to the wedding of a close friend, but I don't want to go now. I think it is right to swear allegiance to the current Earl of Drake. And appropriate."
"Marriage... yes... yes..." Otto, who was lying on the bed, sneered after hearing Vlad's words, and then the sneer turned into a violent cough. His eyes burned with vengeful pleasure, inspired by Vlad's words, and he hissed viciously as he lay dying.
"Ridiculous! I won't stand for this nonsense! In a few hours I'll be an earl, I'll tear you apart, I'll have your head on a pike before sunrise, you hear me, fool ?" At this time, Leopold had completely lost his composure. He screamed in anger, and a blush rushed to his cheeks, so that the twisted blood vessels and veins were angrily exposed.
Seeing Leopold's furious look, Otto managed to make a sound that was somewhere between a cough and a laugh. On the floor, the priest of Sigmar was once again tortured by violent spasms. The doctor tried hard to keep the priest stable and prevent the priest from biting off or swallowing his tongue during the attack and causing suffocation, so that he could be one step ahead of Count Otto.
"I... would rather... see you... collapse!" Otto looked at his brother with hatred, his spittle flew, and he responded with his last breath.
"Sir, if this is your wish, then I am here to serve. This is the answer to your prayer. I am willing to take the hand of your daughter Isabella and become my wife. I hope you live to see us. Get married," Vlad said, kneeling beside the bed.
"No!" Leopold grabbed Vlad by the shoulders, and the sound of the priest's heels on the floor added note to his outburst.
"I'm sorry," Vlad whispered, then stood up, his hands reaching out with dizzying speed and wrapping tightly around Leopold's throat.
"You're annoying me." Vlad lifted Leopold up so that he could look into Leopold's eyes, and Leopold kicked and slapped his hands weakly, but his hands He was still mercilessly tightening his grip on Leopold's throat, mercilessly suffocating Leopold, and after he finished speaking, he casually threw Leopold away.
"It seems that our wedding requires a priest. Now, can you wake him up?" Vlad ignored Leopold who was lying on the floor coughing and struggling to breathe. He looked at the doctor and asked.
"Then we can carry out the ceremony. I dare say that Earl Drake will not live much longer. It would be a pity to see his beloved daughter get married while he is still alive, isn't it?" The
doctor nodded, but he Without moving, he stared at Leopold as he struggled to his feet.
"Now!" Vlad whispered.
As if the word itself had power, the doctor rummaged around in his bag. The contents of the bag were scattered on the floor. He lay on the floor and in panic found an ointment. With trembling hands, he applied it to the priest's nose. Apply ointment to the lip folds.
The priest woke up shaking, coughing, and after glancing at Flanders, the old man quickly moved his body on the floor, instinctively drawing the symbol of the Hammer of Sigmar in the air between him and Vlad.
"We need your services, priest, the Count wishes to see his daughter married before he dies." Vlad whispered, his voice as if there was some kind of magic.
"You can't treat me like this! I won't allow this to happen! This is mine! Sylvania, this castle...everything is mine!" roared the struggling Leopold lying on the ground. With.
"What about you, my lady? At some point during the wedding, the bride usually says: Yes." Vlad ignored the noisy Leopold, turned to look at Isabella and asked.
"When my father dies, he will inherit the manor, the castle, the title. He will inherit everything that should belong to me. I have lived in the shadow of the man Van Delack my whole life. I have no life that belongs to me. I have always the dutiful daughter. Now, with my father dying, I long for freedom. I want it so badly I can almost taste it, and in you, I can make it happen. So give me what I want, I will give myself entirely to you, body and soul," said Isabella, pointing to the lying Leopold.
"Then what do I need to do?"
"Everything! But first, I need a symbol...Morning ceremony? This is a custom, a gift given by the husband to his wife on the morning of the second day of the wedding, as a proof of the husband's love for his wife. "After Isabella heard Vlad's words, she turned and looked at her father lying on the bed. Seeing the pleasant malice on her father's face, she said with a smile.
"This is ridiculous!" shouted Leopold, his voice hoarse with strain.
"Anything? No problem, as long as I have the ability to give, you will get it." Vlad continued to ignore Leopold's shouts, and he smiled at Isabella.
Isabella responded to Vlad with the same smile, as if this simple expression of joy contained years of oppression. She pulled Vlad and whispered something to Vlad as she kissed him gently on the cheek.
"As you wish, my lady."
After saying this, Flanders turned to look at Leopold, who was in anger.
"I'm a fair man, Leopold van Draeck. I won't let you suffer too much, so I have a suggestion for you. I'll give you some time to think about it. Five minutes should be enough? While I was thinking, the priest would prepare for the ceremony, my fiancée would make sure her father was comfortable, and then...if you could still look me in the eyes at that point, I would accept whatever you offered, and I meant what I said. "
Are you serious?" Leopold was a little unbelievable. He did not expect that this man named Vlad would give in so easily and become so fast.
"What is a man if there is no honor in his words? I promise you, now, do you accept it?"
"I accept it!" Leopold looked into Vlad's cold and glowing eyes , he saw the shocking hatred burning in his eyes, which made him take a step back involuntarily. He knew it was a trap, but he walked in anyway.
"Very good, very good." Vlad said flatly. The next second he grabbed Leopold's neck with his hand, and inserted his other hand into Leopold's chest, breaking the ribs. , the moment his fingers closed on Leopold's heart, he pulled out Leopold's heart, and then threw Leopold's body out of the window. The whole process was very clean and neat, Leo Pod didn't even bark.
The thunder and lightning were still raging, but the storm had left Duncanhof Castle and was moving away. Vlad held Leopold's heart in his hand. In the afterglow of lightning, he came to the window and looked at Leopold's body.
Isabella came to Vlad's side, her fingers intertwined with Vlad's, covered in her uncle's blood. There is no intimacy in this action, but it reveals the darkness in her heart. By holding Vlad's hand, she is declaring that she has many things to offer Vlad, such as the rights represented by her blood, she can provide Vlad stuff, as much as Vlad could offer her.
"Your gift, morning prayer." Vlad said as he handed the heart to Isabella.
"Throw it away. Now that the heart has stopped beating, it is of no use to me." After saying that, Isabelle pulled Vlad away from the window.
The howl of a wolf came from somewhere, an intoxicating lament that seemed even deeper in the wind and rain.
"It sounds... lonely."
"It has lost its mate, and it knows no other love. For this creature, loneliness is a curse."
"Let's not talk about loneliness anymore." Isabella typed She shuddered and pulled Vlad closer to her. She stood on tiptoes and kissed the man who had promised her everything as her father took his last breath.
Vlad thus became the new master of Duncanhof Castle, and within the constraints of marriage, he gained a claim to rule Sylvania. But he looked just as weird as old Otto. He never ate in front of the servants, he never went out during the day, and he fired the Sigmar priest and kicked the priest out of the castle. One after another, many old servants in the castle were fired and replaced by mysterious, dark strangers.
However, the new count is not as scary as the old count. Under the new count's rule, the people of Sylvania continue their daily affairs, as long as they ignore the strangers and missing companions who visit the castle wearing hoods and cloaks. . Years of punitive rule by House Drake had taught them not to question the actions of their superiors, and the new earl did not order senseless executions or demand exorbitant taxes.
As the months passed, what began as a marriage of convenience blossomed into something deeply meaningful. Vlad immediately fell in love with Isabella when he discovered that Isabella would not be seduced by his charms and held her against his will.
After falling in love, Isabella longed for a blood kiss. She knew that Vlad was not a human being, but she didn't care. Vlad knew the true pain of a vampire. Vlad loved her too much and kept rejecting her. She knew Vlad loved her, but she still couldn't accept it, and a few days later, she died, her heart stopping.
Vlad knew why Isabella was like this, he claimed that Isabella was not dead and that he refused the care of the doctors.
Three days later, Isabella reappeared and said she had fully recovered. However, she was pale and haggard, and she never left her room except in the moonlight.
Within ten years, Vlad's control over Sylvania was extremely strong. Some people commented that he was so successful as a ruler that he should actually sit on the throne of the empire, become its ruler, and become its emperor. Generations later, he and Isabella still rule the land, and at first, little attention is paid to their longevity. The life of a peasant has always been sordid and short, while the life of an aristocrat has always been much longer.
However, when the eldest woman at Duncanhof Castle insists that her grandmother was a girl when Vlad became the new Earl, even the stupidest peasant begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. The spread of rumors attracted more and more witch hunters to Sylvania, but those who chose to investigate the von Carstein family were never seen again.
Vlad was not a cruel man per se, but the curse of vampirism and selfish pride had corrupted his body, mind, and soul. When Mordheim was struck by a comet, he sent some of his men to collect the warpstone. On a mysterious night, he held a grand banquet. The participants of this banquet were humans and vampires. After the vampires slaughtered all the human nobles. He stood on the battlements of Duncanhof Castle, chanting the terrible incantations from one of Nagash's Nine Books.
Fueled by the warpstone recovered from Mordheim, necromancy flowed through the unguarded graveyard of Mordgarden, and in an instant, the dead throughout Sylvania began to stir. Slowly, every body in Sylvania began to move towards Duncanhof Castle, answering Vlad's call.
Vlad's armies razed much of Talabek Territory and Ostermark. The Vampire Wars began, and he decided that the time was ripe to conquer the northern lands, so he turned his forces toward Middenheim.
This was the most chaotic era of the empire, with a lack of unity among the various provinces, and Middenheim was happy to ignore Vlad and his army as long as Vlad's army did not cross the Talabek River.
In the end, Vlad still did not cross the Talabek River, because before he was about to cross the Talabek River, Dalet Hesnich appeared in front of him with his army from the fortress that had been dormant for centuries. Te told him a piece of news. There is an extremely powerful ring in Altdorf. As long as you get that ring, you can rule the winds of Ukur and rule the shadows. The entire empire will be shrouded in shadows and then rule the entire world.
Vlad looked at the ugly and ugly Delt. He knew that Delt came to seek his help because he did not have enough troops, but he was still moved. Before getting the ring, he would become allies with Delt. After getting the ring , he doesn't mind the disappearance of the hunched necromancer who made conditions with him. He doesn't mind that his power is expanded, and he doesn't mind having another powerful ring on his finger.
The troops of Vlad and Delt merged into one, and the mighty army swept along the Tarabek River towards Altdorf in Reik's territory. The Battle of Middenheim in history disappeared, and Altdorf The battle is ahead of schedule.
(End of chapter)