The First Vampire

“You are truly ugly.”

Prince Lexie turned around, and his first words upon seeing Mr. Ji were utterly ruthlessly.

Mr. Ji opened his decaying mouth, muffling a laugh. It seemed like he wasn’t upset at all, replying:

“As a fallen one, of course, I cannot compare to you, basked in the glory of the Lord of Glory.”

Prince Lexie was indeed elegant and handsome. Despite his actual age nearing fifty, his careful maintenance and the blessing of Holy Knight power made him appear as though he was only in his late twenties.

His gaze was profound and melancholic, yet a faint smile was always lingering on his lips. His entire being radiated an irresistible charm.

But beneath this charm, extreme danger lurked.

As the only living Holy Knight of the Lorenzo family, Prince Lexie could be considered the Empire’s ultimate weapon. Countless enemies of the Empire had died by his hand.

There was even a saying in the Empire— the Empire could be without Emperor Reinhardt, but it could not be without Prince Lexie.

Such a statement was quite a cutting one, but its wide circulation reflected Prince Lexie’s standing and prestige in the Empire from another perspective.

However, at this moment, the Holy Knight of the Lorenzo family seemed to be out for a leisurely stroll, exuding no killing intent at all.

With a faint smile on his face, he asked Mr. Ji:

“I heard that you have developed a new Forbidden Spell, the Eyes of Judgement? And used it to kill Cyrus St. Hilde?”

“Yes.” Mr. Ji nodded, his remaining right eye fixated on Prince Lexie as if fearing the prince would suddenly disappear.

“Impressive!” Prince Lexie complimented, but quickly changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat sarcastic, “But how did you end up this way? Isn’t it said that this brand-new Forbidden Spell only requires the sacrifice of a city and spares the spell-caster from paying the personal price?”

A bitter smile appeared on Mr. Ji’s grotesque face. He sighed and replied, “After all, it’s an experimental Forbidden Spell, and it was my first release. So, I miscalculated a bit. My apologies for the embarrassment.”

“Oh? Where did you miscalculate?” Prince Lexie asked with interest.

The two seemed like kindred spirits, exchanging insights on magic research.

“It seems that the number of people sacrificed was not enough, that’s why I received some backlash from the Forbidden Spell.”

“Really? Fallen Eagle City had over three hundred thousand inhabitants. Was that not enough?” asked Prince Lexie with a surprised face. “Then how many would be enough?”

“Probably a sacrifice of five hundred thousand people would do,” Mr. Ji said indifferently. It seemed like five hundred thousand lives were no different from fifty lambs to him.

Prince Lexie chuckled, seemingly sympathizing with Mr. Ji, saying, “Five hundred thousand people! There are only a few cities that big within the Glorious Empire.”

“Yes,” Mr. Ji also seemed very regretful, “Sacrificing cities of this size is by no means easy. What’s more, after the incident of Fallen Eagle City, the defense of these large cities will surely increase, leaving fewer opportunities for us mages.”

“I remember that Yevir also has more than five hundred thousand inhabitants,” Prince Lexie said, as if suggesting a solution to Mr. Ji.

“Indeed.” Seeing Prince Lexie encouraging the sacrifice of the Mage’s City, Mr. Ji nodded gravely, as though he truly found the suggestion feasible.

However, he soon shook his head and said, “Life does not offer a second chance, and we must pay for past mistakes. But it’s also these prices that provide opportunities for growth.”

Prince Lexi’s smile brightened, “Well spoken, Mr. Ji. If I had known you earlier, perhaps we could have become friends.”

“To be a friend of your Highness would be my great honor!” Mr. Ji bowed respectfully, “In fact, it’s not too late to start befriending each other now.”

“No, it’s already too late,” Prince Lexie slowly shook his head, his smile gradually disappearing, and his tone became icy, “I came here today to kill you.”

Upon hearing that a Holy Knight wanted to kill him, there was no expression on Mr. Ji’s face.

Of course, it might also be because his disfigured face could not show any expressions.

“May I ask why you want to kill me?” Mr. Ji’s tone remained calm, seemingly not nervous at all.

“Why feign ignorance.” Prince Lexie’s gaze turned cold, “When Emperor Reinhardt turned a blind eye while you ran amok in the North Territory, I found it strange. It wasn’t until the Menam family marched north, trying to establish a dwarf nation amidst the chaos in the North Territory, that I truly confirmed that you had a deal with Emperor Reinhardt!

So, what did you offer my dear nephew that made him watch idly as his wife’s family was threatened, and instead secretly support a family that has an old grudge against the Lorenzo family?

When I heard about the destruction of Fallen Eagle City and the death of Duke St. Hilde due to the Forbidden Spell, I finally understood. You gave ‘The Eyes of Judgment’ Spell Scroll to my good nephew, which secured his support, right?”

Mr. Ji said nothing, tacitly admitting to Prince Lexie’s judgement.

Once people have reached their level, forced lies become rather uninteresting.

H.R.H. Lexie sneered, “Mr. Ji, when you decided to ingratiate yourself with His Majesty and handed him this Forbidden Spell, known as the killer of Holy Knights, have you ever thought that you would also become the public enemy of the Holy Knights?”

Mr. Ji remained silent, his remaining right eye fixed straight ahead, but his pupils were a bit scattered, as if…

He was lost in thought?

Prince Lexie narrowed his eyes, seemingly irritated by Mr. Ji’s attitude.

A strong killing intent filled the air, making it seem like a catastrophe was about to occur at any moment.

“Your Royal Highness.” Mr. Ji finally came back to his senses and spoke indifferently, “If you want to kill me, I can understand that. But before you do, could you allow me to explain myself?”

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Prince Lexie’s mouth, “What? You want to convince me not to kill you?”

Mr. Ji nodded, “Yes, I would like to give it a try.”

Prince Lexie immediately withdrew his murderous intent and elegantly gestured with an inviting gesture:

“Very well, I look forward to your performance. If you can convince a resolute Holy Knight to change his decision, perhaps your eloquence surpasses your arcane level.”

Mr. Ji lightly cleared his throat and spoke leisurely:

“Your Royal Highness, as you can see, I’ve suffered a backlash from the Forbidden Spell due to a calculation error. I probably won’t live much longer. Why bother dirtying your hands?”

Prince Lexie’s face remained unchanged, clearly dissatisfied with Mr. Ji’s explanation.

But Mr. Ji was not discouraged, and once again tried to persuade:

“Your Royal Highness, since I can give the Spell Scroll of the ‘Eyes of Judgment’ to Emperor Reinhardt, I can certainly give a copy to someone else.”

If you kill me, aren’t you afraid that my mage friend will come to avenge me?”

Prince Lexie sneered disapprovingly, “If your mage friends saw your pitiful state, would they still want to unleash this forbidden spell?”

“Even if he’s willing to sacrifice his life for you, how is he going to sacrifice a city with more than three hundred thousand people?”

“Ever since the Fallen Eagle City incident, which lord would not be on guard against you mages?”

“Or is he going to destroy Yevir to avenge you?”

“Why not?” Mr. Ji said calmly, his gaze steady. “Perhaps you don’t understand what this Forbidden Spell means to mages.”

“Oh? What does it mean?” Prince Lexie asked with a smile.

“It means that we have finally found a thread of hope to break free of our shackles and gain control of the power of the Holy Field!”

Upon saying these words, the hunchbacked Mr. Ji straightened up, his only remaining eye shining with fanaticism.

The color of Prince Lexie’s face began to change, and an endless killing intent radiated from him, making the whole space seem stagnant.

Mr. Ji once again tried to persuade, “Your Highness, are you sure you want to gamble? But I would like to remind you, our stakes are far from being even. I am just a dying man, but you, are the cornerstone of the glorious Empire!”

The gaze of Prince Lexie was icy cold, he seemed to have made up his mind, “Mr. Ji, you’ve made one mistake.”

“Oh? And what is that?” Mr. Ji asked doubtfully.

“You should never try to threaten a Holy Knight.” Prince Lexie declared resolutely, “In the face of threats, we never back down. That is the belief of a Holy Knight!”

Mr. Ji sighed and showed a bitter smile, “It seems I’ve made another mistake.”

The sword at Prince Lexie’s waist was unsheathed, and the air seemed to sharpen in that instant.

“That’s fine, just remember it in your next life.”

Mr. Ji seemed to have accepted his fate, he calmly looked at Prince Lexie, “Before I die, could I make one final request?”

“Speak.”

Mr. Ji placed the Magic Staff embedded with a fiery red gem in front of him, and spoke loudly:

“I want to witness your strongest attack!”