The Road to Saint Rolante City

Giant Wood City.

Old Luolin leaned against the counter, yawning as usual. It had been three whole days since he'd had a single customer. This wasn't good news for Old Luolin; if no customers came soon, he'd probably have to close down. At that point, having nothing to do with his skills, he'd likely end up homeless.

"Bite."

Someone pushed open the shop door, and the bell on the door rang out with a clear and melodious sound. This familiar sound made Old Luolin shudder, and he subconsciously stood up.

"Oh, esteemed guest, is there anything I can help you with? I certainly will..."

"I'm just here to pick up what I ordered earlier."

The visitor interrupted Old Luolin's speech, and only then did Old Luolin rub his aging eyes and see the visitor clearly.

"Oh, it's you, esteemed guest!"

Looking at Li Lin before him, Old Luolin quickly recalled this customer from his memory. His unusual generosity and the various complicated production requirements had left a deep impression on Old Luolin. To meet this customer's demands, Old Luolin had gone to great lengths, after all, the deposit this customer had given him was very substantial.

Thinking of this, Old Luolin couldn't help but look back, but he didn't see the lovely girl who had come here with the man earlier; only a maid was following him.

"Excuse me..."

Old Luolin opened his mouth, then swallowed his question. It wasn't something a businessman like himself should be concerned with. Besides, such an abrupt inquiry was far too offensive.

"You should have already made what I asked for, right?"

"Of course, esteemed guest."

With that, Old Luolin roused himself and stepped out from behind the counter. He led the customer through the hall and into the inner storeroom. There, a pitch-black coffin lay quietly. Judging from its bright and beautiful surface, it was clear that it had been carefully cleaned every day.

Everything is as you hoped.

Old Luolin walked to the coffin and spoke with a hint of pride and satisfaction. Although he knew that this was not an emotion that someone of his status could express, he had to admit that this was indeed the best work he had ever created.

"As you suggested, I used the finest wood from the Wraith Tree... These are extremely rare to find; it took me a great deal of effort to locate them... As for the inner lining, I used silk velvet for padding, and of course, the design was strictly according to your requirements."

"Very good."

After opening the coffin and examining its interior, Li Lin nodded in satisfaction. In fact, the design itself was Angela's idea. Li Lin had never studied coffins before; after all, mages didn't need to concern themselves with such things. Even liches were only concerned with how to summon corpses from coffins for their own use.

"This is the other half of the payment."

With that, Li Lin casually tossed another small bag to the old man, then nodded to the maid, turned, and walked out.

"Wow... oh, guest, this guest, your coffin..."

The old man, dazzled by the dazzling array of precious gems inside the small bag, seemed to remember something after Li Lin left. However, when he turned his gaze to the storeroom, he discovered that the coffin that should have been there was nowhere to be found.

"Ohhhh!!"

Gazing at the black coffin before her, Angela walked to its side with a sigh and reached out to stroke its smooth, heavy surface.

"I didn't have high hopes for the coffins in this world, but now they look really good..."

"So, vampires still have to live in coffins? Is sleeping in a bed really not an option?"

Li Lin couldn't understand Angela's excitement. Back on Earth, the little one always slept with him, and even in this world, Angela could sleep on a soft bed. Why did she insist on sleeping in a coffin?

"This is really uncomfortable. Why does it have to be a coffin? It's so annoying."

Yi Aier stared at the black object that represented death and misfortune, and couldn't help but frown and move away.

"Hmph, just you wait and see, you ignorant girl."

Angela glared coldly at Yi Aier, then extended her left hand and clenched it sharply. Sharp nails pierced her skin, drawing bright red blood. The blood pooled into a stream, flowing down onto the surface of the coffin. Then, the pooled blood dispersed again, flowing slowly under Angela's will, transforming into various shapes, moving along the edge of the coffin, drawing eerie and dangerous patterns before combining again. The surface's luster began to dim, eventually disappearing completely.

The coffin, now bordered with blood, had undergone a qualitative change. Even standing beside it, Li Lin could feel an extremely cold aura emanating from it. Although it quickly disappeared, it still caused everyone's expressions to change slightly.

"For Vampire Species, the coffin is their eternal dwelling place and a symbol of eternity."

As she spoke, Angela placed her hand on the coffin, looking at Yi Aier with a smug gaze.

"I was born here and I will die here. This is my final territory, a place no one may trespass upon or desecrate. Moreover, a coffin allows Vampire Species to feel the power of the earth more easily than a bed. Human beds are too isolating to this power; harmony with nature is essential for Vampire Species."

"Wow... that's quite surprising."

Hearing this, Kalin gazed curiously at the small, dark coffin and couldn't help but sigh.

"Look at you, little guy, you sometimes say things that sound like elves. Those elves also like to sleep in trees, saying it's closer to Mother Earth and stuff. But since you say that, why don't you prepare coffins for your two puppies too?"

"Hmph, those half-baked Vampire Species aren't even qualified to have their own territory."

"Alright, let's put that aside for now."

Li Lin interrupted Angela and Kalin's argument because there was a more important issue to address at the moment.

"... This thing really should be kept in the carriage?"

"Of course, Master."

It seems there's no other way.

After some tidying up, space was finally made for the little one's coffin. Of course, this made the horses pulling the cart suffer quite a bit. Although it looked like just a coffin for a child, Li Lin discovered it was unexpectedly heavy when he moved it. Even when he used his mental power to make it float, it could only stay a few centimeters off the ground. Li Lin clearly remembered that when he took it out of the store, the coffin wasn't this heavy. Obviously, Angela's tampering with it was the reason the coffin became so heavy.

Moreover, besides the weight and the dark red patterns, Li Lin also noticed a family crest at the center of the coffin. It was an inverted cross entwined by bright red thorns, the thorns forming circles that enveloped and bound the inverted cross within them. This pattern was not unfamiliar to Li Lin. Angela had shown it off a few times on Earth when she had nothing better to do, and proudly declared to Li Lin that it was her "family crest." Since it was a family crest, it should naturally involve a family. However, no matter how Li Lin inquired, Angela refused to mention anything about her family.

Li Lin didn't stay in this city for long to reminisce about when he first returned to this world. He wasn't here just for sightseeing and to get a coffin.

Saint Rolante City, located east of Giant Wood City, is the center of the Saint Rolante Autonomous Territory. It is also one of the Temple's territories. Within the Five-Nation Alliance, each nation has an agreement with the Temple, allowing the Temple to choose a territory from each nation as its autonomous territory. While this strengthens the Temple, it also plays into the hands of the Five-Nation Alliance. After all, if there were only one autonomous territory, with the Temple's vigorous development and careful management, it's hard to say whether it would become a threat to the Five-Nation Alliance. However, with autonomous territories in every nation, the Temple has to divert its attention, and coupled with maintaining the influence of churches in various locations, this makes dealing with the Five-Nation Alliance much easier. Of course, the Temple understands the principle of keeping its wealth hidden; apart from the Holy Autonomous Territory in the Xialuo Kingdom, which is the center of all Temple and thus has the size of a medium-sized city, the other autonomous territories are only small cities.

The Saint Rolante City, which Li Lin and his group were currently heading to, was one of those four small autonomous territories. Perhaps the Temple believed that although the matter was serious, the facts were not yet confirmed, and holding a meeting in the central divine district could easily cause public panic. Therefore, they chose to hold the meeting in a smaller autonomous territory. Firstly, it would not attract as much attention, and secondly, it would lower their profile and avoid giving the Five-Nation Alliance the impression that even the Temple could now dictate their actions. In addition, smaller cities are generally easier to manage and guard against.

Li Lin originally planned to pass through Giant Wood City and then head east, aiming to reach Saint Rolante City before the Five-Nation Alliance sent envoys. However, the Five-Nation Alliance reacted quickly; just as Li Lin and his group were preparing to leave Giant Wood City, they were informed that surrounding cities had increased their security due to the upcoming meeting of the Temple in Saint Rolante City. Naturally, Li Lin and his party were also questioned, but Li Lin and Nia only discussed it briefly. Then, they strolled around the city gate with Angela and successfully left Giant Wood City.

"Hmph, what an audacious lowly commoner."

Angela her chin on her hands, grumbling in dissatisfaction.

"How dare they block my and my master's path again! It seems these idiots never learn. Why not turn them into rutting dogs like last time?"

"We were lucky last time and weren't discovered. Now that security is tighter, it's better for us to keep a low profile."

While soothing the somewhat disgruntled Angela, Li Lin accepted the red wine offered by Suoxiate. This time, Mina and Fina were absent from the journey, replaced by Suoxiate and Yi Aier. He'd heard the sisters were from the area surrounding Saint Rolante Territory, and while they certainly knew the place well, Li Lin wasn't sure if they would choose to help him carry out this terrorist attack. Although Angela strongly urged Li Lin to bring them along to see if the sisters could demonstrate their loyalty through "sacrificing family for the greater good," Li Lin ultimately rejected the little girl's mischievous idea. This operation was very serious, and Li Lin didn't want any mistakes. Moreover, from his previous interactions with the sisters, he sensed they didn't enjoy a life of active combat; they were suitable as servants, but asking them to do anything too proactive might backfire.

Kalin didn't sit inside the carriage; instead, she took the lead, acting as the driver. Elves naturally had a harmonious relationship with animals, so Kalin handled the horses with ease. Although her elven appearance was a bit of a hassle, she could easily be concealed by her cloak, and besides, who would care about a carriage driver?

"... That's the plan."

Just as Kalin was humming a little tune and urging the carriage forward, Li Lin finished explaining the operation to everyone.

"Do you understand?"

"Of course, Master."

Angela smiled and hugged his arm.

"Leave the trash of Lalia and Dideyasi to me, Kudel is Nia's prey, Xialuo's people to that idiot Kalin, and the Vila Federation is Yi Aier's target. Master is in charge of dealing with the attendees at the meeting, right?"

"Thank you so much, Miss Angela."

Suoxiate gave Angela a slightly apologetic smile.

"I'm very sorry that I can only ask you to do it because I lack combat skills."

"Don't worry about it. I'd be even happier to kill more people."

"Hello...!"

Just then, Kalin's voice came from ahead.

"Excuse me for disturbing you all, but... there's a new development here. It seems someone up ahead wants us to stop. What are your orders, sir?"

"A robber?"

Before Li Lin could speak, Angela's eyes lit up, and her intentions became very clear.

"Hmm... It's a pity, it seems I've let you down, little Angela..."

Kalin spoke slowly and deliberately, maintaining her unhurried tone.

"They look like paladins."