A Common Goal

Since ancient times, sex had been an indispensable part of vampire culture. Of course, this was partly because most vampires really were handsome men and beautiful women, easily satisfying people's desires and fantasies. But the firsthand accounts of some "victims" were also widely circulated. They were quite proud of having received such "favor," and even felt as though they had been visited by a god in person. In fact, vampires naturally had more reasons for doing this than simply enjoying themselves. Their bodies were dead, yet still alive. They were half-dead, and although they could feel, their sensations were not as strong as those of humans. Thus, claims that vampires enjoyed the pleasures of bedding someone and indulging in the flesh were mostly the result of humans assuming vampires felt as they did. For a vampire to fully enjoy such pleasures, they had to drink blood first, because only when stimulated by the blood of the living would their bodies regain sensations like those of a human. Female vampires also had an easier time obtaining prey and life. After all, vampires lived on bodily fluids. Blood was a bodily fluid, and there was another kind of bodily fluid... that was also a bodily fluid. In this respect, they had a clear advantage over males. Although male vampires could obtain it in a similar way, no one seemed to have heard of one doing so.

"They haven't undergone their Coming-of-Age Rite yet..."

Curled up in Li Lin's arms, Angela moaned softly as she enjoyed his desire and explained with a quiet laugh.

"If we do that now, there could be trouble..."

One of the defining traits of vampires was their ability to rapidly heal wounds-any wounds.

That seemed to offer male vampires nothing but advantages, but it was different for females. Only virgins who had had their blood sucked could become vampires. As a result, their virginity could give them a considerable headache at times. The Vampire Species drew their power from blood, and while physical intimacy with humans was very pleasurable, constantly losing blood as a result was not a good thing for vampires. Unlike humans, they could not produce their own blood, so every drop was precious to them. They could tolerate losing blood like that once or twice, but having it happen every time was another matter. Worse still, if they lost too much blood, the Vampire Species would lose their senses and fall into a frenzy. No member of the Vampire Species wanted to end up like that.

But vampires were pleasure seekers by nature, and they were unwilling to give up a pleasure they could enjoy for a long time. So female vampires soon mastered a method of preventing this constant "regeneration." Once they mastered it, they could enjoy being bedded without worrying about losing so much blood that they went mad. This method was called the "Coming-of-Age Rite." Only after mastering this ability could female vampires enjoy themselves without worry. That was why, although Angela had said she did not mind, she still had no intention of offering up the sisters. As newly turned members of the Vampire Species, they were exceptionally sensitive to blood loss, and doing it a few more times could very well send them into a frenzy. If that happened, they could be killed on the spot, but that would be far too wasteful.

Li Lin, of course, did not concern himself with such a small matter. Since Angela was not offering them, he simply would not partake. He was not some sex-starved lecher who had never been with a woman and wanted to get his hands on every beauty he saw. He had been through so much in his previous life and encountered hundreds upon hundreds of women. Most were one-night stands, and even more were transactions with gods—he would make an artifact for a god, for example, and the god would send a saintess or priestess to spend a night with him as payment. There had been little emotional exchange. Although he had gotten along well with several goddesses, gods were gods, after all, and they and Arcane Mages were ultimately not on the same path. However close they were, when it came to business, they still kept their accounts clear, regardless of how long they had spent in each other's beds. Gods and Arcane Mages had quite an understanding in this regard: it was just fun, like drinking, singing, or dancing, an ordinary form of entertainment. Gods were immortal, while Arcane Mages would die sooner or later. They would ultimately go their separate ways anyway, so why turn it into some melodramatic soap opera?

Of course, Li Lin felt differently about Angela. He liked the little one very much. She was a little cruel, but she was also clever and obedient. Although he had known her for quite some time and they had done it many times, Angela's body seemed to possess a certain enchantment that kept a man from ever tiring of it.

Even a succubus from Hell probably couldn't compare.

Holding the little one, who had fallen into a deep, contented sleep after being fed, Li Lin thought once more about the operation to come. Then he closed his eyes and sank into a deep sleep.

The Magic-Banning Prison was not far from here, but it was heavily guarded, evidently for fear of a prison break. According to the memories he had read from the souls of the Templar Knights, they clearly had not discovered the true nature of the Magic-Banning Prison. They only knew that it could suppress magic and prevent mages from casting spells. But...

"A bunch of useless fools."

Looking at the towering, heavily guarded building before him, Li Lin still gave a cold snort.

Wensains' magic restrictions were only effective against low-level mages. In all these years, not a single mage here had managed to escape. That showed just how low their level of magic was, and they probably lacked souls that loved magic as well. Otherwise, no matter how stupid they were, they would not have ended up in such a state.

Looking at the white building rising halfway up the mountain, Li Lin held Angela's small hand and surveyed the area as though out for a stroll. Getting inside would not be difficult. The Templar Knights were evidently focused solely on physical defenses and had paid no attention to the possibility of a mage appearing. As a result, the defenses above were weak. If Li Lin cast invisibility and flight spells, he could probably enter as though no one were there.

What worried Li Lin, however, was that a place like this would naturally have a powerful figure stationed here. Since the Magic-Banning Prison existed to prevent those mages from escaping and endangering the continent, there should naturally be a corresponding "safeguard" against the unexpected. From the intelligence he had obtained, it was evidently something very formidable, but Li Lin had no way of knowing exactly what it was.

The sisters had stayed in their room to rest. For one thing, they were still newborn vampires, and bringing them along would only have hindered him. For another, what had happened the previous night had left them too ashamed to face Li Lin, so they had simply decided to be ostriches, burying their heads in the ground and pretending nothing had happened.

In his hand, Angela's small hand gently squeezed back.

"Master."

The little girl showed an innocent, carefree smile, but it did not match what she said next at all.

"There's a nasty cockroach spying on us."

"I know."

Li Lin patted Angela on the head. He had already sensed the gaze as well, but was the spy so obvious because he was unskilled, or was it deliberate?

In any case, since they had already attracted the attention of someone interested in them, Li Lin did not mind confronting him directly and seeing who dared to spy on him. With that thought, he said nothing more. Holding Angela's hand, he acted as though nothing were amiss and headed in another direction.

This was a desolate place, with a prison for serious offenders nearby. Even during the day, many people patrolled outside, and most of the residents were the families or relatives of Templar Knights. The occasional travelers merely stopped here to rest before heading south to Milia or west to Half-Moon City. So even in daylight, few people wandered about. Fortunately, Li Lin had Angela with him and did not attract much attention. After all, in the eyes of the Templar Knights, someone with such a young child was generally unlikely to cause trouble.

After slipping out of sight and entering an alley, Li Lin stopped. He closed his eyes and waited a moment, then quietly chanted a spell and pressed his hand downward.

An invisible ripple spread outward with Li Lin's movement. Soon, the transparent air at the entrance to the alley began to distort, and an elderly man in a black robe slowly appeared. His face registered surprise; he clearly had not expected Li Lin to pull a move like that.

"Dispel magic... You're really quite capable, boy."

"You had best show my master some respect, old man."

Angela opened her fan with a snap and held it before her mouth.

"As the saying goes, an old man who refuses to die is a thief. If you're rude to my master again, I won't mind doing a good deed and sending you to your death."

"..."

Hearing Angela's words, the old man's eyes widened slightly. He stared at her intently, then shifted his gaze a little.

"You have a very interesting companion, young man."

He looked at the black iron staff in his hand and walked toward Li Lin.

"After following me for so long, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation. After all, I'm not particularly fond of being followed."

Runes flickered and shifted, rearranging themselves into a spatial sealing barrier. If the old man's next words were wrong, Li Lin intended to strike and kill him immediately.

"In fact, there is something I need help with."

Seemingly oblivious to the potential danger, the old man spoke slowly. He narrowed his eyes and studied Li Lin carefully, but finally shook his head.

"You're a mage... But I can't tell where you come from. Still, I think we're the same kind of people."

"The same kind of people?"

Smiling, Li Lin repeated the old man's words. He was waiting for an explanation.

"You killed the Templar Knights, and I happened to witness it."

The old man coughed softly and continued.

"In fact, I came here this time to kill those Templar Knights myself. But I didn't expect anyone else to have the courage to do it. Since you were able to kill so many Templar Knights so easily, I imagine you certainly aren't a mage affiliated with the Mages' Association."

"The Mages' Association?"

Li Lin raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I don't know what that is. In my view, arcanists who can't independently pursue the art of magic, things that wag their tails and beg at the feet of the powerful, have no value whatsoever."

"Well said, very well said!"

The old man smiled noticeably.

"Excellent, very interesting! I thought I'd never find another companion who shared my views! Young man, what's your name?"

"My former name isn't very suitable to use in public, but I'm called Li Lin now. You can call me that. I'm rather fond of it anyway."

"Then, this young lady..."

The old man turned to look at Angela, who was still standing where she was, gently waving her fan.

"She's my companion."

Li Lin offered no further introduction. After all, the man's background was still unknown. But the old man did not seem to mind. He bowed slightly, giving Li Lin a mage's salute from the Magic Empire, though not quite an authentic one.

"I'm Sest. Greetings, young man."

"Greetings."

Li Lin was rather surprised to see the old man use a mage's salute from the time of the Magic Empire, although it did not look quite proper and had been altered somewhat. Still, meeting someone who knew the etiquette put Li Lin in a somewhat better mood. So without giving it much thought, he raised his left hand lightly to his right shoulder, then moved his index finger slightly, as if playing the piano, before sweeping his hand downward like a graceful conductor.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mage Sest."

"Oh...?"

Seeing Li Lin's response, Sest could not help being somewhat surprised.

Sest was quite famous on the continent. He had become a mage three hundred years ago and had once been a member of the Mages' Association. Unlike other mages, however, Sest was absorbed in records of the ancient Magic Empire and sought to restore its former glory. The five kingdoms naturally would not allow that to happen, and Sest himself could not bear being a mage controlled by royalty. In the end, he left the Mages' Association in anger and became a "wild mage."

A wild mage was a spellcaster who had not received an orthodox magical education—or rather, an orthodox indoctrination—or a mage who had left the Mages' Association. Simply put, wild mages were regarded as symbols of danger and were usually hunted. The old mage Sest had once been one of the Temple's most wanted criminals, but his spellcasting was highly accomplished, and while digging through records of the ancient Magic Empire, he had learned many spells that had long been lost. Ordinary people could not catch him. Instead, dozens of high-ranking Templar Knights had lost their lives in one pursuit.

After that, the Temple no longer dared hunt the fearsome wild mage, and his name spread among wild mages.

As Sest saw it, since the young man before him was not a mage of the Mages' Association, he had to be a wild mage and should naturally have heard his name. Yet, to Sest's surprise, he remained neither servile nor arrogant and even responded with Magic Empire etiquette more authentic than what Sest had seen in books. Fascinated by the civilization of the Magic Empire, Sest had studied its magic and culture, copying even its etiquette in full. But he was merely imitating what he had seen, and he was greatly surprised by how smoothly and naturally the young man performed it, as though it came to him instinctively.

Of course, from the look of it, he probably did not know who Sest was.

"So, Mage Sest, what exactly did you want with me?"

Li Lin naturally knew nothing of the mage's background. After all, Sest had risen to fame three hundred years ago, while Li Lin had already made a name for himself a thousand years ago.

"In fact, there is something I hope you two can help me with."

Sest composed himself and went straight to the point. Raising his staff, he pointed at the white hall that stood halfway up the mountain behind him.

"I believe we have a common goal, don't we?"