Staring at the woman before him—her face etched with fear and submission—Vlad's eyes flickered momentarily.
He didn't dwell on it.
By now, the battle in the village had ended in the blink of an eye.
All around stood hundreds of vampires, proud and composed. At their feet lay the fallen: deranged werewolves and mindless vampire soldiers.
"Dumitru."
"Your Highness." A strong figure stepped forward and bowed.
"Tie up the werewolves. Once they're tamed, use them to guard the estate."
"Yes, Your Highness," Dumitru acknowledged and left to carry out the command.
Vlad then turned his gaze to the enormous vortex in the sky, formed by countless black bats. With a wave of his hand, he dispersed into streams of darkness that scattered in all directions.
As the black clouds parted, moonlight poured down.
Vlad reformed and turned back to examine Amelia carefully.
She stood tall and striking in black armor. Her short, neatly trimmed brown hair and firm yet alluring features gave her a heroic presence.
Facing the woman who was only slightly shorter than himself, Vlad asked,
"Can you control all these vampire soldiers?"
Amelia looked at him with reverence. "My Lord~"
"Call me Master."
A flicker of resistance crossed her face. But after a moment, she relented, speaking with difficulty: "Master... Master."
As the words left her lips, it was as if something within her shattered. The last thread of resistance in her heart broke.
Seeing Amelia now seemingly resigned to her fate, Vlad's lips curved slightly. He didn't care whether her surrender was genuine or masked by hidden thoughts.
What mattered was that she had already been branded by him. Under his shadow, her will to submit would take root—regardless of what she thought now.
"Master, they're all warriors from my territory. I can fully control them," Amelia said respectfully.
"Then I'll leave them in your hands."
Vlad asked, "How many more of these soldiers do you have?"
"Master, there are fifty vampire warriors still under my command," she answered.
"They're just low-ranked blood clans," Vlad said after sensing them briefly. "You're the only one who barely qualifies as a proper vampire."
Their blood purity was weak—only marginally stronger than the zombie-like blood thralls he'd created before.
It was only thanks to their equipment and organization that they could stand against the mindless mutant werewolves, who fought purely by instinct.
Amelia glanced around at the vampires near her. Their power was plain to see—raw and overwhelming.
One glance was enough to tell that many of them were even stronger than she was.
And she had witnessed them transforming into swarms of bats and flying freely—an ability she didn't possess.
At that moment, one thought gripped Amelia's mind: Who are these people?!
And just as quickly, another realization followed—the world she knew was about to change.
Vlad looked in the direction of Viktor Castle.
"Gather your forces and prove your loyalty to me. If you satisfy me, I'll grant you endless power."
Watching his figure disappear into the night, Amelia took a deep breath. Her blue eyes filled with newfound determination.
Sensing the shift in her aura, Vlad smiled faintly.
Viktor Castle
Viktor Castle had now become the central stronghold of the vampire bloodline.
Apart from Amelia—who still retained a semblance of equality with Viktor—several other vampire councillors were present, each with slightly less authority.
They were nearby lords whom Viktor had gradually brought under his control.
"According to Marcus, if he dies, so do we. And when the werewolf William dies, every werewolf he created will vanish as well."
"So why don't we just kill the damn beast? End him, and the rest of those mutts will disappear without effort!"
The speaker was a thin, middle-aged nobleman, one of Viktor's supporters and neighboring lords.
He was clearly frustrated by Viktor's current decisions.
"Viktor, tell us your plan. What exactly are you thinking?" another voice said.
The hall was dim, lit only faintly by the torches on the walls. Seven black iron chairs were arranged in a semicircle.
Other than their creator Marcus and the still-absent Amelia, everyone was already present.
A middle-aged nobleman sat at the center. Though his face showed signs of age, his posture was impeccable. Golden-haired and blue-eyed, he exuded elegance and authority.
Glancing at the assembled lords and councillors, Viktor spoke after a moment of reflection:
"Though we enjoy near-immortality, we may live a hundred, three hundred, even a thousand years. But..."
"Don't forget: just because we live long doesn't mean we can't die."
His grim warning echoed through the hall, making the councillors fall silent.
"Don't forget—Deacon Mano of the Holy See, stationed in Velvia, died by our hands. We managed to suppress the news, but the Holy See will find out sooner or later."
"And these werewolves—they're a distraction. They'll draw attention away from us. More importantly, they could become our strength."
Viktor's words plunged the hall into silence once more.
Then someone finally asked, "You mean to tame the werewolves?"
"Exactly," Viktor confirmed.
"That's impossible!" the thin noble exclaimed. "They're mad, bloodthirsty beasts! No logic, no reason—just killing machines. How could they be tamed?"
The others nodded in agreement, skepticism on their faces.
Viktor remained unbothered by their doubt. He clapped his hands.
From a corridor leading into the hall, two figures emerged—one tall, one short.
As they stepped into view, the councillors were shocked to see that the shorter figure was a werewolf—wearing a collar.
The other end of the chain was held by a vampire soldier.
Even more shocking, the werewolf showed no signs of resistance. It obeyed commands, responding mechanically to gestures from the vampire soldier.
The councillors stared in disbelief.
"You… you tamed it?!" the thin noble asked, eyes wide.
"But we only just captured William! How—?"
Then realization dawned on him.
"Unless… you started the taming back when the werewolf outbreak first began!"
Seeing Viktor's calm expression, the councillors understood instantly.
Everything had been calculated from the very beginning.
Viktor basked in their shocked and fearful stares, visibly pleased.
Clap clap~!
"Well done. Quite entertaining," came a voice from the shadows.