While the little players were busy, the NPC group had work of their own to do.
Mirian led the nearly hundred people Murphy had rescued in a grand procession toward a safer area outside the city. Murphy had asked them to set up a temporary base there and wait until the little players brought back enough supplies before discussing how to distribute them.
He had wanted to send Maxim along to maintain order, but Mirian said she could handle it alone.
The girl knew how urgent things were. She had studied administration, specializing in the art of management and governance, and thought this was a perfect "internship opportunity." Besides, she now had the identity of "Murphy's blood thrall," which was enough to intimidate the civilians who had lived under vampire rule for so long.
After she led the people away, the safe passage beside the ruined city wall suddenly felt deserted. Murphy and Maxim took over the little players' monster-farming spot, steadily clearing the twisted creatures crawling out of the shadows.
Triss rested nearby, occasionally tossing out a few psionic spells to clear the area. While she did, she explained where these things came from to the two rookies.
"These aren't astral creatures.
"They're just clusters of foul astral energy that have gathered in the material world. They took shape after being drawn in by the fear and other emotions of the city's inhabitants. You could say they represent the invisible dark thoughts lurking in this city. Just look at how many there are, and you'll know how much evil Cadman City has buried.
"And there are far fewer actual astral beasts in the city than you'd imagine."
With her eyes closed as she rested, Triss continued:
"In countless tales of the Astral Realm, it's never been a place fit for survival. That's why the monsters cast into the material world each have their own specialties. Never underestimate them. Astral energy has already seeped deep beneath the surface of this land. Until it's spent, these creatures born of despair and fear will keep appearing without end.
"So many people died this time. Their lingering pain will keep their souls from resting in peace. I expect we'll see more troublesome things later, like haunted graveyards and ghoul nests."
"But how did this happen?"
Maxim slaughtered the despair-born creatures in front of him with Blood Vulture Swordsmanship, then respectfully asked Triss:
"Lady Triss, why did Cadman City suffer such a calamity?"
"Obviously, it was an enemy attack!"
Triss glanced at Maxim, then looked at her little Murphy.
She could sense the psionic mark of another vampire on Maxim. It meant the sturdy blood thrall belonged to someone else. Yet he treated little Murphy with the respect of a servant attending his master. It wasn't hard to guess that little Murphy had something else in mind.
Triss didn't intend to get involved, but because of Murphy, she felt warmly toward Maxim as well. So she explained:
"A breach in the Astral Realm on this scale couldn't possibly be a natural phenomenon. I've lived for five hundred years, and I can tell you plainly: the largest astral disturbances in the past swallowed no more than an unlucky village. For something like this to happen to Cadman City, a psion must have calculated this region's coordinates in the Astral Realm in advance!
"They used some kind of massive spell formation to temporarily break through the barrier separating this region from the Astral Realm, triggering this disaster.
"But..."
Triss hesitated, then spoke bluntly:
"There's a traitor in the city!"
"Hm?"
Murphy dispatched the despair-born creature lunging at him with several quick slashes, then flung a large-scale psionic blast at the street corner ahead, shattering the astral shadow there.
The precise, lethal attack pushed his Psionic Apprentice class level to 8. His Blood Vulture Swordsman level had already reached 9, meaning his understanding of Blood Vulture Swordsmanship was moving beyond "proficient" and toward "master."
He glanced at his character experience bar, which had also reached level 9. He was just one step away from activating the Black Iron Trial and leaving the ranks of the classed.
"What do you mean, there's a traitor in the city?"
The vampire took a few steps back, yielding the monster-farming spot to his loyal servant, then returned to Triss and asked quietly:
"Did you notice something?"
"Do I really need to notice?"
Triss rolled her eyes, took out a small bottle of wine, and drank from it before replying:
"Opening an astral rift this precisely takes more than an enormous spell formation, little Murphy. They need a guiding coordinate. In other words, when the rift opened, there had to be at least one traitor in Cadman City guiding the spell to the right location.
"What's more, the Blood Eagle Clan's 'Nocturne' psionic barrier, which they've maintained over Cadman City for four hundred years, didn't activate when danger came. That alone says enough.
"Under Salokdar's leadership, the Blood Eagle Clan is already riddled with holes! Even if this attack hadn't happened, it would have fallen to these traitors sooner or later.
"The disaster was bound to come. It would only have taken a different form.
"But if you're asking who's behind it, I'd tell you that in the human world, only the Tower of Rings has the ability to launch a massive spell formation like this. And the only people who could develop spies in a place ruled by vampires are our kin of the night. So..."
Triss reached out and stroked Murphy's cheek.
She glanced at the fierce yet obedient astral direwolf behind Murphy and whispered:
"Wolfsbane! It had to be them. You've been in contact with them, haven't you? This power of the wolf-bat—is it your 'spoils of war'?"
"Yeah. I killed a troublesome Wolfsbane thug."
Murphy didn't hide his fight from her. He told Triss what had happened with Jopan. When she heard the story, she tilted her head thoughtfully and said:
"A descendant of Korando? I've never heard of anyone named Korando in the Wolfsbane Clan. Perhaps he only rose to prominence recently and wasn't worth keeping an eye on. But my little Murphy really is impressive. Even without me giving you the true power of a vampire, you still defeated a Wolfsbane warrior who'd undergone the Silver Trial."
Triss pinched Murphy's cheek and smiled.
"I really underestimated you. But what's going on with those 'blood thralls' of yours? I can sense they don't have true bodies in the material world. So they're your summons?"
Triss seeing through the little players' true nature didn't surprise Murphy. She was a level 30 Psionic Overlord! She might have had nothing but levels and no power, but her insight was clearly still intact.
So Murphy gave her the story he'd prepared in advance, speaking in a wistful voice:
"Do you remember that failed summoning that nearly killed both of us? It didn't actually fail, Triss. That ritual formed some kind of connection between me and another world while I was on the brink of death. I was granted certain knowledge.
"After I recovered, I tried summoning creatures from that world. That's how I got my warriors.
"But it's a secret, so..."
"So you need to hide them better!"
Triss told Murphy sternly:
"This is a secret art that belongs to you alone. You can't let anyone else figure out how it works. You need to disguise your otherworldly warriors better. At the very least, no one should be able to figure out what they are at a glance."
"I already have an idea."
Murphy told Triss about the method he'd learned from the young lady, but his elder scoffed at it.
She wrinkled her elegant, upturned nose and said disdainfully:
"What does that little girl Femis, with her slight talent, know about the true essence of psionics? A trickster? What a joke! Don't mess around with those abominations. I have a simpler solution.
"Steal some mithril bars from the family's underground warehouse in the outer city—
"Ah, there's no need to steal them now. Go take some openly. I'll also need a set of alchemy tools. There should be some in there."
Triss smiled seductively and stretched, then tapped Murphy on the bridge of his nose.
"I'll help my little Murphy solve this problem, but you need to keep your distance from Femis from now on, understand? There's... a terrifying shadow hanging over that girl. I don't want you dragged into that whirlpool."
Triss sounded completely serious. Murphy had many questions, but didn't rush to ask them. Instead, he took out a calculation orb and handed it to her.
"You can use this to communicate with my warriors. You can assign them errands. They're full of curiosity about this world and eager to get things done. If you put them to good use, they'll become the best assistants, the fiercest soldiers, and the most ruthless butchers."
Triss took the calculation orb.
But she kept staring into Murphy's eyes until he started to feel uncomfortable. Only then did she look away and sigh.
"You've changed, little Murphy. Perhaps this journey along the edge of life and death brought out more of the thoughts you'd buried deep inside. I don't know if that's a good thing. We vampires live in darkness, and it's all too easy for us to fall into the eternal night. I've seen too many things like that in my life.
"Even in myself."
She touched the terrible wound on her neck. It was a sign of how worried she was about the changes she saw in Murphy.
"But you'll hold on to me, right?"
Murphy held Triss's cold hand and joked:
"If I'm about to do something terrible, you'll stop me and never give up on me, right? You're my elder. Guiding my future is your responsibility."
"All right. I will."
Triss was taken aback by the question, then broke into a radiant smile. She teased him:
"After all, I owe you my life, little Murphy. Until I repay that debt, I'll have to take good care of you. Your warriors are back. It looks like they've brought something interesting."
Murphy immediately stood up and looked toward the end of the safe passage.
Niu Niu came running back, towing a handcart from who knew where. It was piled with a jumble of supplies, and two unconscious people lay on top.
"It's the young lady! Lord Murphy, we found her and her housekeeper near the astral rift."
Niu Niu called out:
"Ge Bao found a basement full of people on another street. We're rescuing them now, but the black snow in the city is getting heavier, and those invisible monsters are getting more and more frantic."
"Be careful. Don't venture too far into the city yet."
Murphy reminded them. After Niu Niu left, he bent down to look at the young lady and Lady Adele on the handcart.
They were both covered in wounds, as if some dangerous beast had mauled them. Their injuries weren't fatal for vampires, but they were still deeply unconscious.
Murphy wrapped his fingers in psionic energy and gave the young lady several hard slaps on the cheek, but he still couldn't wake her.
"They inhaled too much frenzied astral energy."
Triss came over with her arms folded. One glance was enough for her to figure out what was wrong. She said to Murphy:
"That raw, filthy psionic energy, unfiltered by the material world, has interfered with their minds and trapped their spirits in astral nightmares. Wait!
"Is this lewd-looking half-elf your progeny?
"Why did you choose her?"
Triss eyed the unconscious Lady Adele with obvious displeasure. She looked her up and down and said coldly:
"As your progeny, she got herself hurt like this trying to save another vampire. That's far too disloyal, Murphy. You'll have to discipline her properly.
"Teach her the traditional virtues of vampires. Teach her to recognize who her master is.
"If a stray dog goes running around outside and forgets who its master is, it needs a good rap on the head!"
"Adele's situation is complicated, Triss. I can't explain it in just a few words."
Triss's sudden harshness made Murphy suspect it had something to do with him, but he promptly played dumb. He briefly explained the relationship between Lady Adele and the young lady. When Triss heard that this disloyal vampire had once saved Murphy from a Wolfsbane warrior's claws, her expression softened a little.
She went over to examine the two of them, then shook her head.
"They need a strong mental stimulus to wake up. Go take care of your business. I'll deal with these two. Also, your Blood Vulture Swordsmanship has reached the beginner level. There's no need to waste much more time on such basic swordsmanship.
"The Blood Eagle Clan's third warehouse should have advanced sword techniques and other useful things. I've marked its location on the map. You can take Maxim and search for it.
"Bring back some mithril bars while you're at it.
"Go!
"Don't worry about me. I may be weak, but despair-born creatures alone can't hurt me."
"Okay."
Murphy nodded and gestured to Maxim. The two of them followed Triss's markings on the map through the ruins toward the Blood Eagle Clan's hidden underground vault.
After they left, Triss's expression suddenly turned cold.
She stared at the unconscious young lady, Femis, as the nails on her left hand lengthened amid a swirl of crimson, becoming clawlike blades etched with scarlet patterns. She pressed them against Femis's neck.
Perhaps all it would take was a slight squeeze.
"Salokdar's spawn, you source of all evil!"
Triss whispered, filled with hatred:
"Stay away from my little Murphy! You bring nothing but calamity."
"Smack."
In the end, Triss didn't drive her claws into Femis's neck. Instead, she swung at Femis and Lady Adele, giving each of them several hard psionic slaps.
A Psionic Overlord's touch was no ordinary thing. Though her raw power had grown very weak, her exquisite control over psionics let her inflict a brief but intensely painful mental shock on the two women. A few seconds later, they slowly came to, clutching their chests and retching.
Their blood was mixed with writhing black wisps that jumped like insects, twisting into strange shapes amid the gore. The sight was eerie and deranged.
"Start talking."
Triss faced the weak and bedraggled young lady, arms folded and expression cold.
"What exactly happened in the inner city?"
Before the young lady could speak, Lady Adele got up and tried to help her. Triss shot her a fierce glare.
As Murphy's elder, Triss couldn't overrule him and control his progeny's progeny, but their bloodline ran in a single line back to her. That still gave her a powerful hold over Lady Adele.
"Get out of the way! Go clear out those despair-born creatures."
Triss ordered in a frosty voice:
"I'll talk to you later about the 'conduct' expected of a progeny. How rude!"
Lady Adele didn't know why she couldn't bring herself to resist this weakened vampire, but she knew staying here wouldn't help the young lady.
Under Triss's stern, critical gaze, she picked up a weapon from the ground and silently walked toward the other end of the passage, swaying her hips.
The young lady seemed to have been jolted back to her senses. Looking at Triss, the notorious "family failure," she knew the two of them had never had much to do with each other. But now, in front of Triss, she looked weak and despairing.
She said in a sorrowful voice:
"A dimensional meteorite punched through Blood Eagle Castle. Black, filthy flames are everywhere. I couldn't make it deep into the Blood Eagle Corridor, but I could feel that our Sacred Pool had been contaminated. No new members of the clan will be born. The family's elite were wiped out here.
"They were invaded by astral power and corrupted into monster Blood Eagles.
"The Blood Eagles are finished."
"Bah."
Triss scoffed. She toyed with her black hair and said coldly:
"Wouldn't that be better?
"But I don't want to discuss that right now. Little girl, let's talk about what's inside you. You've already guessed part of the truth, haven't you? You went into the Blood Eagle Corridor at such a risk because you wanted answers, right?
"But tell me, are you ready to face the truth?"
Before you continue