“What a pathetic struggle.”
Kasmir slowly approached, his blood-red eyes full of pity—a condescending pity for a weakling’s struggle.
“You possess power that transcends all beings, yet you insist on binding yourself to the moral code of ants.”
He stopped five paces in front of Riya, extended his hand, palm up.
“Join us, Riya.”
“I don’t know where you came from, but that doesn’t matter.”
“What matters is that you carry blood of the same origin as ours. Noble blood. Evolutionary blood. Not a curse, but a gift.”
His voice softened, dripping with temptation:
“Cast off those ridiculous restraints. Accept your true form.”
“You’ll find this world far vaster than you ever imagined.”
“This human empire is already rotten, scarred and broken—not worth your attachment or protection.”
“Together, we can build a new order. An eternal empire ruled by the Blood Race.”
“And you, with your bloodline purity, will become one of the most exalted beings in that empire.”
Riya raised her head. Her silver eyes were now half-dyed with blood, like the sunset glow cutting across the sky.
Her body trembled—not from fear, but from the fierce battle within her: the shackles of human reason against the call of blood instincts.
“Look at them.”
Kasmir pointed at the humans being slaughtered.
“They are weak, fleeting, insignificant. A lifespan of less than a hundred years is but a blink to us.”
“Why suppress your true self for these ephemeral ants?”
“I…” Riya’s voice was hoarse. Her hands, braced on the ground, dug deep into the soil. “I… am human…”
“Not like you monsters.”
“No. You are not.”
Kasmir cut her off, his tone decisive.
“From the moment your bloodline awakened, you ceased to be human.”
“You’ve only been playing a role—a role destined to end.”
He bent down, his blood-red eyes staring directly into Riya’s struggling gaze.
“Now, make your choice.”
“Will you keep playing this crumbling role, watch more humans who believed in you die, and then let me kill you?”
“Or will you accept your true self, gain real power, and change this world?”
The screams on the battlefield reached their peak at that moment.
A noble knight squadron launched a suicidal charge, trying to buy time for the civilians to retreat.
But under the siege of seven Blood Pillars, they fell one by one.
Blood pooled into streams, winding through the ruins.
The fragrance of blood in the air grew so thick it nearly became tangible.
The last sliver of silver in Riya’s pupils was swallowed by blood.
Her body began to change—her nails grew sharp, her skin became paler, and the two canine teeth at the corners of her mouth elongated slightly.
A surge of blood energy, several times stronger than before, erupted from within her, coalescing behind her into a faint, massive pair of blood-wing silhouettes.
Kasmir smiled—a satisfied, triumphant smile.
But the next second, his smile froze.
Because Riya lifted her head. In her eyes, now completely blood-red, there was no submission, no degradation—only a desperate, almost hopeless resolve.
“I choose…”
Her voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried a piercing force that struck the soul.
“I choose to kill you first.”
Her blood wings unfurled with a thunderous roar.
Riya’s blood energy exploded. Her figure vanished from the spot, moving several times faster than before.
Kasmir’s expression shifted slightly. He crossed his arms to block.
A shockwave from the collision overturned all debris within a fifty-meter radius.
Kasmir was knocked back three steps, a clear pain shooting through his arms.
He stared at Riya in astonishment—with her bloodline fully released, her aura had soared to match his own!
“Interesting!”
Kasmir laughed instead of getting angry.
“Then let me see just how strong you are, fully awakened!”
Two blood-colored figures clashed at high speed through the city ruins. Each exchange triggered violent explosions.
The aftermath of the battle destroyed the already shattered buildings, cracking and collapsing the ground.
But even so, Riya was still restraining herself.
Restraining the urge for blood.
At the edge of the battlefield, the surviving humans watched this inhuman fight in stunned silence.
Their expressions shifted from initial hope to confusion, fear, and finally… doubt.
“Is that… Lord Rhea?”
“What is that behind her?”
“That speed… how could a human…”
The whispers reached Riya’s ears. Each word stabbed like a knife into her heart.
But she couldn’t stop. Couldn’t explain.
She had to deal with these Blood Race first.
Kasmir clearly sensed her hesitation.
His attacks grew more cunning, deliberately drawing the fight toward areas where humans were gathered, forcing Riya to either go all out and cause massive destruction or divert her attention to protect those ants.
“I can already feel it.”
Kasmir whispered in a brief lull.
“Your body has reached its limit. It’s desperately craving that blood.”
As if to confirm his words, a piercing scream rang out in the distance. A low-ranked Blood Race had seized an escaping noble girl, sinking sharp fangs into her neck.
The girl’s scream cut off abruptly. Her body rapidly shriveled.
In that instant, something in Riya’s mind snapped.
Not from grief. Not from anger. But from… thirst.
When the blood sprayed, when the life essence dissipated into the air, the hollow craving deep in her bloodline suddenly erupted. The dam of reason began to crumble.
Her vision was dyed a complete blood-red.
The sounds of the world blurred, leaving only the murmur of flowing blood, the thumping of heartbeats, and the sweet aroma of life essence released in the final moments of death…
“That’s it…”
Kasmir’s voice seemed to come from far away.
“Accept it… You need it…”
Riya’s breathing grew ragged.
Blood energy completely enveloped her.
The surrounding commoners and nobles saw Riya’s current appearance clearly.
“Lord Rhea… how did she become like this?”
“Is she also a Blood Race?”
“Lord Rhea is helping us fight the Blood Race. How could she be one?”
“Hang in there, Lord Rhea!”
Kasmir chuckled.
“Look, how ridiculous these humans are.”
“They clearly see your Blood Race identity, yet they dare not expose you.”
“Do you know why?”
“Because you are their only hope for survival right now.”
“Maybe, if you save them, they will be grateful on the surface.”
“But as soon as they find an opportunity—when they decide you’re no longer a threat—they’ll turn around and bite you hard.”
“Most humans are disgusting and selfish.”
“When their lives and interests are threatened, they become even uglier.”
Riya didn’t hear a single word Kasmir said.
Her remaining rationality told her that her body had reached its limit.
She needed to end this quickly.
Another exchange. Kasmir was shocked by Riya’s reckless fighting style.
And also by her strength.
Riya hadn’t replenished blood at all.
You could even call it a weak state.
Even so, the power Riya displayed had reached the level of an S-rank magical beast.
He truly felt it was a shame not to recruit her as an ally.
But first, he had to make Riya develop a sense of identity as a Blood Race.
And let her see the rotten essence of this empire—how ugly the imperial family and nobles truly were—so she would be completely disillusioned.
With this thought, Kasmir deliberately left an opening. Riya struck his body.
His form turned into a cloud of blood mist, dissipating before the nobles and commoners.
His final words lingered.
“Let’s see just how ugly this empire you protect really is.”
“How they will treat a ‘hero’ who is an ‘outsider.’”
At that moment, Riya was holding on solely by the last thread of faith.
She hadn’t yet understood the meaning of Kasmir’s words.
The moment he dissipated, her vision went black, and she collapsed.
If one looked closely, they could see the long, pointed tip of an ear among her hair…
Only someone who had overseen the Ten Holy Temples for many years could forge such a gaze.
“Your Majesty.”
Tina’s voice was like a mountain spring—clear and calm.
“Please take care of your health. Excessive worry will cloud your judgment.”
She walked to the side of the throne, naturally standing slightly behind the king.
That positioning subtly indicated her status: not a subject, but an advisor and guardian on near-equal footing.
Dimitoli did not turn around, his gaze still fixed on the messengers below the hall—or rather, looking through them at the burning lands in the distance.
“Tina, the Blood Race have already reached the central territories. Duke Hawkwood, Marquis Flamel… all those old nobles who have been loyal to the crown for generations are begging for help.”
“Can we really keep watching?”
His tone carried a hint of barely perceptible wavering.
Tina waved her hand gently, dismissing the messengers.
Only when the hall doors slowly closed, dividing the inside and outside into two worlds, did she speak again, her voice low enough to be heard only around the throne.
“Your Majesty, the Blood Race are indeed detestable, but they have inadvertently provided us with… a rare opportunity.”
Dimitoli finally turned to look at the woman who had been his tutor since childhood and later his most trusted advisor.
“An opportunity?”
“Yes.”
Tina’s emerald eyes seemed deep in the shifting light.
“You should be well aware how swollen those old nobles have become over the past decade.”
“They claim loyalty to the crown, but in truth, they rule their own territories, treating the Empire’s lands as private property. The Ten Holy Temples have sent Inspector Envoys three times; twice were brushed off with excuses, and once was even subjected to an unexpected ‘attack.’”
Tina’s voice remained calm, but each word was like a cold needle.
“Your Majesty, the Aolai Empire has been at ease for too long. So long that some have forgotten who the true master of this land is.”
Dimitoli was silent, his fingers unconsciously stroking the armrest of the throne.
Tina leaned in slightly, her voice softer but sharper.
“Let the Blood Race weaken them for us.”
“When those nobles have been drained enough, when they realize in despair that only the crown can save them—that is when you will appear as the savior. Not only will the crisis be resolved, but you can also smoothly reclaim most of the power and lands the nobles have usurped.”
She paused, her emerald eyes meeting the king’s hesitant gaze.
“At that time, you will truly be the sole king of the Aolai Empire.”
“Not like now, hamstrung by nobles from all sides, with edicts barely reaching eight hundred li out of the Imperial Capital.”
That sentence struck the deepest unease and desire within Dimitoli.
As king, he knew all too well where the boundaries of his power lay—at the borders of the great nobles’ territories, before the castles of families that offered outward respect but were independent in practice.
Every attempt to push new policies led to months of wrangling with the Noble Council. Every time he wanted to mobilize the army, he had to balance every faction’s interests.
He was the Emperor in name, but in truth…
“You’re right.”
Dimitoli finally let out a long breath, leaning back on the throne, exhaustion mingling with a trace of relief.
“Then do as you plan. Prepare the Ten Holy Temples and the Four Major Magic Academies, but… wait a little longer.”
“Your Majesty is wise.” Tina bowed gracefully, a barely perceptible smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Just then, the door to the Saint King’s Hall was pushed open forcefully.
“Father!”
Sara burst into the hall, abandoning all royal princess etiquette.
She was still wearing the mage robe of Starlight Academy, the hem stained with dust and already dried…
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