Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 36. Nobles

Observing that the vampire workers were getting restless, James swiftly transformed into his giant form. With one hand, he grabbed a steel bar as thick as a bowl and stood behind Charles. His overwhelming presence immediately quelled the commotion.

Charles turned to look at the blind man next to him and asked, "When will those two nobles you mentioned arrive?"

"Under normal circumstances, they are in the mausoleum located at the center of the island. It will take around half a day for them to reach here," the blind man answered.

"Alright."

Charles then pointed at the Narwhale and turned his gaze onto the vampire shipyard manager.

"You have three hours to get the turbine installed. Otherwise, the same fate as Durant awaits every single one of you here."

A scruffy-bearded vampire among the workers stepped forward and in an agitated tone, he exclaimed, "That's impossible! Do you have any idea how troublesome it is to change a turbine?"

"Chief Engineer."

The moment Charles called upon James' title, a steel bar whistled through the air from behind him and flattened the scruffy-bearded vampire. His flattened form attempted to heal, but the giant holding onto the steel bar relentlessly pounded him with the bar again and again, reducing him to a pulp of minced meat.

Blood splattered onto the other vampires, and fear crept onto their faces.

"Do you think that I can be easily pacified with lip service, you blood-sucking monsters? Get to it now!" Charles' words were laced with anger.

The shipyard manager's lips trembled as he shakily raised a hand to wipe off the bits of blood and flesh on his face. Leading the other vampires, they turned and walked toward the Narwhale.

"Second Engineer, you are familiar with the turbines. Keep an eye on them. Beware of these creatures trying anything suspicious."

"Aye, Captain." The Second Engineer of the Narwhale followed after the group of vampires.

Initially, the task would have been assigned to the Chief Engineer. However, presently, the Chief Engineer lacked the intelligence to handle such work. Said Chief Engineer stood motionless in his spot, his only task to intimidate all the vampires.

Creak~

The metal gate of the shipyard opened to reveal a crack as Dipp's gaze scanned the environment outside.

After a brief observation, he turned to Charles, who was seated on a crate, and said, "Captain, those people outside seemed to have noticed us. Many of them are staring in our direction."

"Audric, will they rush in?" Charles asked the blind man as he wiped his black blade.

The blind man shook his head and replied, "They won't. They wouldn't dare lay their hands on the prey marked by the Nobles. Besides, you lot are not ordinary humans either. They are a divided bunch, so they wouldn't dare act."

Charles immediately understood the situation. It seemed like their previous display of power still had its effects. Even if the vampires outside knew they were planning their escape, they didn't dare act recklessly without a higher authority to lead them.

"How powerful are the Nobles?" Charles inquired, trying to gather more information about his incoming enemies.

"The power of the Blood Clan is classified based on age. The older one is, the more experience they have and the more power they possess. One needs to be at least five hundred years old to become a duke. By then, they are already fundamentally different from us. As long as they wish, they could easily slaughter thousands of ordinary vampires," Audric explained.

Five hundred years old? Charles was somewhat surprised. If they were that old, they might perhaps have knowledge about the Land of Light.

Charles shared his speculation with Audric, but the latter shook his head in response.

"Only the Mother would know about this. Every vampire on this island originated from her bloodline, and she was the only one who has ever seen that cursed land. I've only heard that that place is filled with light, and the slightest touch of it could burn us, vampires, into ashes. I have no idea how the Mother survived in that place."

"How did the Mother come to this place?" Charles inquired further.

"Ah. I've heard about it. Legend has it that an entity told the Mother about a place where there was no sunlight to harm vampires and also, humans were in abundance."

Charles was startled. He had never anticipated that this was how the vampires came to be in the subterranean world.

The blind man, Audric, couldn't see Charles' expression and continued, "But that entity lied to the Mother. Not only were humans in abundance, there were also many more existences that were more powerful than our kind. Even survival proved to be tough for vampires in this place. The Mother holds great resentment toward that entity."

At the mention of existence being more powerful than the Mother of Vampires, Charles was instinctively reminded of that colossal hand that had emerged from the sea. Its presence left no room for resistance.

"Then how much do you know about the previous world the Mother lived in? Which country is she from? How many suns are there in the sky?" Charles fired a series of questions. He hoped that through the answers, he would be able to deduce the current era and environment of the surface world.

A wry smile appeared on Audric's face as he answered, "Mr. Charles. I'm only 124 years old, which is considered quite young for a vampire. And you can clearly see my position within the vampire society. I have no way of knowing the answers you seek."

Charles let out a sigh and walked toward the Narwhale with a tinge of melancholy in his eyes. Actually, he had expected that answer from Audric. If he wanted to know the answer, he would have to directly confront the Mother. However, that was impossible unless he grew tired of living.

Lily had been intently listening to the conversation between the two men. The moment Charles walked away, she approached Audric curiously and asked, "So, your mommy came to this island to escape from the crisis? How pitiful."

"No, it was to hide from humans. Their power had grown increasingly formidable, and the conflict between humans and vampires had escalated. The Mother foresaw an impending decisive battle and decided to leave with her clan. In truth, vampires and humans have a symbiotic relationship. If they were to perish, we wouldn't be able to survive without our food source as well."

"What about your food source? Do you eat mice?"

"We have a human-rearing farm at the northernmost part of Dark Crystal Island. The farm provides a constant supply of blood weekly. But it's too expensive. Normally, we can only endure the disgust and consume human food," Audric answered.

Time ticked away, and the number of vampires wandering outside the shipyard gradually increased with each passing second.

They had shed their disguises and revealed their two sharp fangs. The bloodthirst in their eyes was apparent as well.

Although they hadn't rushed in, the sight of the increasing number of vampires placed immense stress on Charles.

"How much longer will it take? Hurry up if you don't want to die!" Charles' roar echoed in the shipyard.

"Almost there, almost there! We're punching the rivets in!" The manager frantically urged his subordinates as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Just then, the sound of wings flapping outside the door reached the ears of everyone in the shipyard.

Charles speedily dashed to a window and peered outside. He witnessed a large swarm of black bats approaching from the sky. Spotting the bats, the vampires on the ground erupted in ecstatic cheers.

The bats swiftly descended onto the ground and transformed into billowing cloaks with a black exterior and red interior. The cloaks revealed two figures—a man and a woman—from within their folds.

"Fuck!" Charles cursed in annoyance. He didn't need anyone to tell him the identities of the two individuals. "Didn't you say they would take half a day? Why are they already here in two hours?"