Chapter 404: The Church and the Discipline Priest’s Visit

Inside Baron Fisher’s castle, Qi Suian was turning the place upside down.

No one stopped him, because Qi Suian had used his disguise, mimicry, simulation, and transformation modules to become a perfect human replica of Baron Fisher.

Having dissected the man, he was a perfect copy, inside and out. It was impossible to tell the difference unless one could see his very soul.

Because Baron Fisher had no True Name and didn’t belong to the Thirteen Clans or the Death Clan, he only feared the sun but would not die from it.

As for the Wallachia Kingdom, home to the Demon Faction, it was perpetually shrouded by the Dark Sky Curtain, so the sun could never shine through.

In the Transylvania Kingdom, the domain of the Secret Faction, the Blood Race did not reveal themselves to the world. The population remained mostly human, so its members simply did not go out during the day.

This was why Baron Fisher had said that while they lacked power, they had gained freedom.

At the same time, the harm from things like Holy Water and fire was greatly reduced for the Thin Blood Clan, no longer being as lethal.

If they managed to escape in time, they could survive, but the injuries they sustained would never heal.

"Found it." Qi Suian had finally found the information he was looking for.

Information about Baron Fisher’s mother.

"From the Toredor Clan of the Secret Faction."

Qi Suian began to read through the intel, and soon pieced together some of the backstory.

One could only say that the previous Father Fischer had a good eye and had been meticulous in his scheming to have been able to learn the True Name of a member of the Blood Race.

"The Toredor Clan are lovers of all kinds of beauty."

"They devote all their energy to experiencing beauty, immersing themselves in a world of it. The Toredor Clan considers themselves the preservers and guardians of beauty."

"Of all vampires, the Toredor Clan is the one that most envies human achievements."

Reading this, Qi Suian was taken aback for a moment before he had a sudden realization. ’So, the Blood Race doesn’t have much creative ability?’

’They are human corpses, called demons. Has their creativity been frozen ever since they joined the Blood Race?’

Through the Toredor Clan’s observation reports, Qi Suian seemed to understand why the Blood Race, despite existing for so long, had not advanced any further.

As he continued reading, Qi Suian learned more about the Toredor Clan.

"The members of the Toredor Clan are all more or less indulgent, which they claim is for the sake of artistic inspiration."

’Oh, no wonder the previous Baron Fisher managed to get her True Name. Indulgence is never a good thing.’

Further down, the text detailed all sorts of plots and schemes.

"Among the Thirteen Clans, the Toredor are artists, but they are also derisively called poseurs."

’That makes sense. When you spend your life pursuing so-called beauty, it’s only natural to be called a poseur.’

"Among the Thin Blood Clan, in cases where the mother is of the Blood Race, many come from the Toredor Clan."

’However, cases like Baron Fisher’s, directly controlled via a True Name, are probably a rare exception. It’s more likely that most were simply for pleasure and ended up with a child being conceived.’

The Blood Race had no custom of abortion. After birth, the child was simply thrown to the human parent’s side.

They didn’t care whether the human parent raised the child, threw it away, or burned it to death.

To the Blood Race, without being sired and given a True Name, such a child was not considered true offspring at all.

This was actually rather strange. A child born of their own flesh was not considered kin, but a stranger they infected and controlled was.

After he finished reading, Qi Suian continued to search, seeing if there was anything else of value.

"Lord Baron, Pastor Roy from the Church is here to see you. He says it’s about the demon’s servant from Kapuli Village," Baron Fisher’s butler announced from outside the door.

"I’ll be right there," Qi Suian replied.

He knew why Baron Fisher had wanted to kill his ghoul-mistress. She had gotten restless and tried to use her pregnancy to gain leverage over him.

That was to be expected. As her pregnancy advanced, she could no longer hide her belly.

So she planned to fake her death and move into the castle to live a life of comfort.

But, unthinkable as it was, a village loafer saw an opportunity he couldn’t waste and decided to have a go while she was still warm.

And that led to everything that followed.

Once the situation blew up, Baron Fisher had no choice but to abandon his ghoul-mistress, since the Church now knew about it.

That was why he had arranged for his knight to burn the blacksmith’s daughter to death.

He had rushed over that night to make sure everything was taken care of, only to run right into Qi Suian.

And in the end, Qi Suian had even taken his identity.

As it turned out, the Baron’s decision had been the right one—a Priest from the Church had arrived the very next day.

A case involving the Blood Race and a nobleman, all within the Grand Kingdom—a realm under the Church’s protection—was bound to be taken seriously.

Baron Fisher wasn’t particularly afraid of a Discipline Priest. Unless it was an Ascetic, he had no fear of being exposed.

As long as he didn’t use the powers of darkness, he was no different from an ordinary person, aside from having slightly paler skin.

For a nobleman, fair skin was hardly a cause for suspicion.

That was why many members of the Thin Blood Clan were integrated into the noble classes of various countries.

The Church knew this, but their hands were tied, forcing them to rely on the kingdom’s forces and civilian School Demon Hunters.

After all, their true enemy was Vlad III, Son of the Dragon, ruler of the Wallachia Kingdom on behalf of the Demon Faction.

In this world, dragons were a type of demon—not some divine, auspicious creature, but a terrifying and evil beast.

Furthermore, they had to be wary of the Transylvania Kingdom, the domain of the Secret Faction.

The Blood Bath Queen might not act openly, but in secret, she treated the human population of the entire Transylvania Kingdom as her personal livestock.

The Son of the Dragon was crude and blatant, while the Blood Bath Queen was more discreet, preserving some semblance of decency and appearing less cruel.

One thing was certain, however: the Discipline Priest who came this time had definitely mastered Divine Techniques.

Otherwise, he would never have dared to come alone; they weren’t that arrogant.

From what Qi Suian understood, humans were at a significant disadvantage compared to the Blood Race.

The most obvious factor was the temptation of eternal life.

Even the most brilliant and mighty of monarchs would inevitably grow senile in their old age.

To say nothing of the fact that in this world, being sired by a member of the Thirteen Clans and turned from a human into one of the Blood Race granted not only eternal life but also Extraordinary power.

This was a temptation that not just anyone could resist.

Therefore, the Church constantly controlled public opinion to prevent people from being tempted.

Of course, the Blood Race would never choose to turn all humans into their kind. When that time came, with no humans left, where would they get blood to drink?

The blood of their own kind was a nauseating substance, almost impossible for them to swallow.

Not only did it fail to bring them pleasure, but it would also plunge them into a state akin to weakness, rendering them unable to use their powers.

It was probably equivalent to being hit by a Dark Energy Beam.

It seemed to be some kind of curse, but Qi Suian didn’t have enough data on hand to be sure.

The main problem was that he couldn’t figure it out through research.

After getting up and tidying himself up, he headed for the castle’s reception hall.

The Priest, called Roy, was a middle-aged man who looked stern and old-fashioned at first glance. His clerical robes were impeccably neat, looking as if they had been specially ironed.

Upon seeing Qi Suian arrive, he also rose to his feet in greeting and said, "Baron Fisher, I am Discipline Priest Roy. My greetings to you."

Qi Suian returned the gesture with the proper noble etiquette. Don’t ask how he knew it.

Since he was planning to impersonate Baron Fisher to reap the benefits, he had obviously interrogated the man beforehand.

And thus, he knew a great many details.

He personally didn’t care, but his AI brain had made preparations for him in advance, so he just had to follow its lead.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down.

"I’m sure you already know why I have come, Baron Fisher."

"I heard you sent a knight to Kapuli Village to burn the demon’s servant. I was wondering what became of that?" Roy asked directly, dispensing with any pleasantries.

Qi Suian asked with feigned confusion, "Pastor Roy, Gerry has not yet returned, so I’m not sure if the task was completed."

Roy’s expression shifted slightly at this. "Though I do not know Knight Gerry, as a man you knighted, Lord Baron, I presume he had armor and a lance."

"He did. So, Pastor Roy, are you suggesting that the demon personally killed Gerry?" Qi Suian asked.

"A blacksmith’s daughter, even if she became a demon’s servant, could not wield a demon’s power."

"Only a demon could kill a knight," Pastor Roy said grimly.

In Qi Suian’s view, the power of the Blood Race was on a conceptual, almost incomprehensible level, yet their actual combat performance was quite ordinary.

Judging by Baron Fisher’s abilities, a single, well-trained knight in armor could have potentially killed him.

The knight might not have had Holy Water, but fire and a wooden stake through the heart were still achievable.

The so-called ghouls, on the other hand, varied wildly in their capabilities. Some, like the blacksmith’s daughter, were merely used for entertainment.

Others, however, were used as protectors—strong knights, Guards, or even tempted civilian School Demon Hunters.

"How terrible! I’ll send men to Kapuli Village to investigate at once," Qi Suian said, rising quickly with a look of feigned anxiety.

But Pastor Roy waved a hand. "No need. I will go myself."

"My Lord Baron, you have not received professional training, and your knights and militiamen are no match for a demon."

"Only pious faith can kill a demon," Pastor Roy said, stopping Qi Suian.

As he gestured, he revealed a flail tucked at his waist.

At that moment, Qi Suian also noticed that beneath the priest’s robes, there was a layer of Chain Armor.

The priests of the Church were not the squishy, low-defense healers from games, but soldiers who had received military training.

Discipline Priests who had mastered Divine Techniques, in particular, were considered elite soldiers.

This Roy before him was clearly one of their number.

Otherwise, would he have dared come to Baron Fisher’s castle alone?

After all, the road here was home not only to wild beasts, but also to bandits.

Armored, wielding an elite weapon, and possessing Extraordinary power—if the real Baron Fisher had encountered Roy, he likely would have been taken down with a single swing of the flail.

"Very well. I shall await good news from you in the castle, Pastor Roy," Qi Suian said, putting on his most pious expression.

He then saw Pastor Roy off, even arranging for a guide and two horses for him.