Gospel of Blood

Chapter 423: Two Countess Castell

Prince Henry’s death was so sudden. The people hadn’t even recovered from the reprimand by the Roman Sword when the kingdom’s first heir had already been reduced to ashes.

Confusion, fear, and unease…

Various emotions appeared on their faces.

The nobles, however, remained much calmer. They exchanged serious glances, whispering among themselves, asking if anyone had heard what Prince Henry said just before he was killed.

The commoners might not have reacted yet, but the nobles, who were closest to the scene and possessed extraordinary powers, had already realized that Prince Henry was silenced.

The one who acted… didn’t want him to reveal a certain name!

“Cast…? What Cast…?”

“It seems like an incomplete name…”

“Yes, it probably isn’t finished. It could be a surname.”

The nobles whispered, deep in thought. At the same time, some began to think of the “Castell” family attending the ceremony.

Many eyes wandered to the observation platform, searching for “Charlotte.”

However, when they found “Countess Castell”, they were stunned.

At some point, “Countess Castell” had been confronted by a maid. The maid wore the crest of the Castell family, clearly the Countess’ personal attendant. Yet now, she stood coldly before her, her voice devoid of emotion.

“You are not Lady Charlotte. Who are you to dare disguise as her? Where is Lady Charlotte?”

Not Lady Charlotte?

The nobles were shocked.

Before they could react, the maid let out an inhuman scream and charged at “Countess Castell.”

Seeing the maid rushing towards her, “Countess Castell” changed her expression.

From somewhere, she produced a staff and quickly began chanting a spell.

Boom—!

A terrifying pressure exploded, dazzling magic power sweeping out like a heatwave from the two as the center, blowing away the nobles.

When the light faded and the nobles struggled to get up, both “Countess Castell” and the “maid” had changed their appearances.

The observation platform had been completely destroyed. In the ruins, “Countess Castell” had already changed attire.

Her gown had turned into a long mercenary robe, seemingly ill-fitting. Her face was pale, and she was panting heavily, holding up her staff with a wary expression, facing the giant before her.

That truly was a “giant.”

A colossal figure over ten meters tall exerted tremendous pressure. Its glossy black scales reflected a faint glow in the sunlight, and the fearsome skeletal dragon head with sharp horns declared its identity to the world…

It was a black dragon.

“A dragon! It’s a dragon!”

“How could there be a dragon here?”

“Run… quickly run!”

In the square, the sight of the ferocious black dragon terrified the people, causing them to flee in all directions. The nobles were not much better off. Some, scared out of their wits by the dragon’s presence, wet their pants, while others who could still move scrambled away…

However, a few powerful extraordinary individuals quickly understood what had happened.

“A… a black dragon?”

“Wasn’t it a maid just now? How did she turn into a black dragon?”

“No… she was always a black dragon! It had disguised itself as a human!”

These powerful nobles soon gathered, drawing their weapons and joining the belated royal knights to confront the black dragon.

But the black dragon’s gaze did not linger on them. Its blood-red pupils continued to stare coldly at the panting “Countess Castell”, filled with intense anger.

“This attire… you’re a mercenary from Eastern Yunette! You scum… daring to appear here, you court death!”

“Countess Castell” looked at the furious black dragon, realizing something. She stared in disbelief at a scar on the inside of the dragon’s wing and widened her eyes.

“That scar… it’s you! You’re the Catastrophe Dragon from twenty-one years ago!”

Twenty-one years ago?

The Catastrophe Dragon?

The surrounding nobles were stunned, and those with good memories quickly recalled the old tales of the black dragon massacre in Eastern Yunette.

“Terrible! It’s that! The evil black dragon!”

“Activate the defense array! Quickly activate the defense array!”

“Deploy the magical formation! Knights, deploy the magical formation!”

The royal knights swiftly moved, surrounding the black dragon with the glow of magic gradually enveloping it.

The Roman Square was heavily guarded. The previous extraordinary events were beyond the scope of the royal knights, but facing a non-Legendary black dragon, they had plenty of experience.

After all, if the rumors were true, the dragon had already lost much of its power, far from its fearsome past when it attacked the city.

Magical light bloomed, and the royal knights formed a magical array, trapping the black dragon completely.

The dragon’s pupils flashed with ferocity as it let out a long roar, opening its mouth to brew a terrifying dragon breath.

More intense dragon pressure emanated from it, nearly reaching the level of a Legendary, causing knights and nobles to change their expressions.

“This level of magic power… it’s bad! Everyone, get out of the way!”

The lead royal knight exclaimed.

But it was too late. The dragon breath had already formed, condensing in the black dragon’s mouth.

However, just as the black dragon was about to unleash its breath, a tired voice suddenly echoed in the square.

“Eudoxia, stop.”

The voice wasn’t loud. But upon hearing it, the once ferocious black dragon suddenly paused, forcibly holding back the dragon breath at its mouth.

The knights preparing for the breath were stunned.

Soon, they saw a petite maid walking toward the black dragon. She wore the standard uniform of the Starfall Royal Family’s maid, her figure vaguely familiar.

Seeing the maid, the black dragon’s aura suddenly weakened.

In the knights’ astonished gazes, the once menacing black dragon flickered with magical light, its enormous body rapidly shrinking, quickly reverting to the form of a maid.

She landed in front of the petite maid, knelt down on one knee, and respectfully bowed.

“Lady Charlotte.”

Lady Charlotte?

The nobles and knights were stunned.

At that moment, they finally saw the face of the petite maid clearly, and their expressions grew even more astonished.

“Countess… Countess Castell?”

“Wait… two Countess Castell?!”

…

Time rewinds to before the awakening of the Roman Sword.

After Charlotte had sent out her blood infused with a trace of her blood divine power, she no longer paid attention to the outside world and quietly waited for the Roman Royal Family’s ceremony.

Of course, this did not mean she was unaware of everything happening outside.

In fact, the blood she sent out was not just a “key”; it was also her “eye.”

Charlotte was already a “Demigod.”

The blood divine power she controlled was gradually intertwining with her soul, and the trace of blood divine power in that drop of blood also carried her will.

Her plan was simple. The Roman Sword was likely related to the Ancient Temple, or more accurately, the space where the Roman Sword slept was likely the Ancient Temple!

If that was the case, Charlotte would use the Roman Royal Family to connect her will with the Contract Book, and then explore the sealed space of the Roman Sword.

If it was indeed the Ancient Temple, Charlotte could establish a connection with it through that trace of blood divine power and possibly even communicate with or retrieve the Faceless Statue.

If it wasn’t the Ancient Temple, it was still fine. She could satisfy her curiosity and see what the Roman Sword was like.

A wisdom artifact was quite rare. Most artifact spirits couldn’t withstand divine power and could only remain as divine artifacts.

Even the Gospel of Blood that Charlotte controlled, despite its obviously overpowered strength, did not have self-awareness.

A wisdom artifact like the Roman Sword was an exception, and it was indeed intriguing. Charlotte even suspected it was related to the Faceless Statue, after all, Nice in his current state could be considered an intelligent “artifact.”

As for whether the Roman Sword would detect the presence of blood divine power, Charlotte was not too worried.

If it did, so be it.

There were many “artifacts” left by the True Ancestor of Blood, and blood divine power was not uncommon.

Identifying a mythic figure wasn’t solely based on divine power, it was the will within the divine power that mattered.

In other words, as long as the other party couldn’t detect her will within it, it would be fine.

The blood dripped onto the Roman Contract Book, activating the ceremony as expected.

At the same time, Charlotte indeed sensed a vague consciousness awakening from its slumber.

She saw a grayish space.

Tall stone pillars, a majestic temple, just like her impression of the Ancient Temple.

And in the center of the temple was a rusty, elven-style two-handed greatsword.

As she had judged, the space sealing the Roman Sword was the Ancient Temple, and that rusty two-handed sword was likely the legendary Roman Sword.

Finding the Ancient Temple, Charlotte was quite pleased.

She manipulated the blood divine power, intending to set a position and sneak in again after the ceremony.

However, just as Charlotte was about to sever the connection, something unexpected happened.

Upon her consciousness descending, she felt as if she had connected with something, forming a channel with the blood divine power in that drop of blood as a pivot.

Then… Charlotte found that her accumulated divine power began to surge through that channel like a flood.

Charlotte was startled, quickly severing the blood divine power channel, but the connection did not disappear, it directly linked to her body and soul.

Soon, Charlotte discovered that the drained divine power turned into her body’s magic power and mental power.

It was an exaggerated rate of extraction. Charlotte’s magic power and mental power were almost instantly drained.

Fortunately, just as she was about to be completely exhausted, she managed to control the mysterious connection and cut it off successfully.

This series of changes seemed complex but happened in an instant.

When Charlotte completely severed the connection and withdrew her consciousness from the Ancient Temple, the rusty two-handed sword in the hall erupted with dazzling silver light.

The mottled scars and rust marks faded in the brilliant light, and the previously confused and weak consciousness rapidly became clear and strong.

The Roman Sword was fully awakened.

Then came the well-known events.

The Roman Sword appeared, exposing the Roman Royal Family’s conspiracy and inquiring about the source of the blood.

Prince Henry, who tried to reveal Charlotte’s identity, was killed by a sudden spell, and the furious Roman Sword pursued the murderer.

This series of events stunned everyone.

With Prince Henry’s death and the Roman Sword’s departure, the gathered crowd quickly fell into chaos and turmoil.

The recognition ceremony was abruptly halted, the scene was sealed off, and city guards swiftly evacuated the crowd.

As for Duke Conte, who conspired with Prince Henry, he was terrified out of his wits at the moment of Prince Henry’s death and fled in a panic.

Charlotte did not anticipate this outcome.

However, when the Roman Sword erupted to pursue the murderer, she discovered two surprising things.

First, the mysterious extraordinary person who acted was the third Legendary in Roan City with the bloodborne power she had previously sensed.

Second, the power aura of the Roman Sword felt very familiar, a bloodline power akin to her own.

Charlotte instantly realized.

The space where the Roman Sword slept was the Ancient Temple, and the Faceless Statue that originally existed in the Ancient Statue was likely within the Roman Sword, or even possibly… was the Roman Sword itself!

“Albrecht, follow them and see what’s going on.”

Charlotte quickly ordered Albrecht nearby.

Upon receiving Charlotte’s command, Albrecht swiftly pursued.

When a loud dragon roar sounded, Charlotte finally remembered that Eudoxia, who was tasked with “protecting” her, was still on the viewing platform.

“That sound… it’s Eudoxia!”

Charlotte slapped her forehead.

The day had been filled with too many sudden events, and she had momentarily forgotten about her!

Despite her fatigue, Charlotte quickly left the dark room and headed for the surface.

When she arrived at the square, tensions were already high.

Whether for the safety of the not-yet-fully-evacuated crowd or Eudoxia’s well-being, Charlotte could not let a fight break out, so she intervened immediately.

Upon seeing Charlotte, Eudoxia finally calmed down, reverted to human form, and knelt before her.

Charlotte sighed, looking at the nobles and knights who stared at her in shock. She pinched the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly, apologetically saying.

“Sorry… everyone, my maid has a bad temper. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Nobles: …

Knights: …

Maid?

Are you seriously calling that terrifyingly powerful figure a maid?!

They exchanged bewildered looks, not knowing how to respond.

After speaking, Charlotte squinted in another direction.

“Miss Mercenary, where do you think you’re going?”

There, “Countess Castell”, who was about to quietly leave, froze in her tracks.