I Became the Progenitor Vampire
Chapter 371 - Chapter 371 Chapter 373 Preparing for War A Strong Sense of

Chapter 371: Chapter 373: Preparing for War, A Strong Sense of Urgency (6200 words) Chapter 371: Chapter 373: Preparing for War, A Strong Sense of Urgency (6200 words) Seeing Lide’s thoughtful expression, Harrison dared not delay and immediately instructed the Bloodline driving the carriage to turn.

Clip-clop~

The crisp sound of horse hooves, accompanied by the breath of the cold wind, echoed above the streets, whether in the old city district or the new one, the Dawn Church was always right next to the City Hall.

In a few minutes, the carriage slowly came to a halt.

By the time Lide got off the carriage, he suddenly realized that he had already visited several places in succession today–

Which was somewhat amusing.

“In the future, it would be better to let these people come to the City Hall for meetings. Running around to find each one like this wastes so much time in a day, or we could just use the Land of Bone-Burying for transfer. Riding in a carriage may look cool, but it’s terribly inefficient.”

Without lingering, he hurried with Harrison past the frenetically ecstatic believers who were nearly in tears and went up to the second floor of the church.

Fortunately, the Sister Flowers, Nile and Nicole, had not gone out and were both present.

After knocking gently on the open door, Lide stepped inside.

Upon seeing the more handsome figure dressed in a woven priest robe, both girls instantly beamed with radiant smiles.

Their smiles, as lovely as blossoms, made the air warm like an early spring, dispelling the chill.

“Good day, Your Excellency.”

“Lord of Kachar City, good day~”

The older sister, Nile, exuded an elegant demeanor. Her white priest gown accentuated her graceful figure, and a faint holy radiance emanated from her, her very womanly charm offset by her pale golden eyes which instilled a sense of pilgrimage in one’s heart, prompting reverence.

The younger sister Nicole had a somewhat mischievous and sprightly air, her large eyes brimming with playfulness, more akin to the naughty little sister next door. Although the two sisters looked quite similar, they were complete opposites in type.

Seeing two girls with such outstanding beauty and temperament, Lide’s exhaustion from his travels instantly vanished.

“Good, you’re both here.”

Lide flashed a sunny smile, unabashedly stepped into the room, and sat down directly on the office sofa, then gestured towards the one opposite him.

Harrison naturally stood by Lide’s side, while Nile and Nicole obediently sat on the sofa across from him, the absence of a table between them making the distance quite close.

Without any needless formalities, he sat down and got straight to the point.

“How is the Dawn Sect doing with its preaching in the Underworld?”

Preaching in the Underworld had to be said to be a bold endeavor.

It was the first time Dawn City had tried stepping out, transitioning from a protected status to facing direct competition of beliefs from the outside.

The Power of Faith was too important, being the source of Divine Power.

For this reason, most sapient races have divines contending for their faith. Humans, of course, need not be mentioned, with sects ranging from those of the Bright Gods to those of the Abyss Evil Gods–nearly every notable divine had their own followers.

Other races were no different; over the long stretch of time, most species had come to embrace their own divine patrons.

Half-Elves even had their own race-specific god–the Half-Body God.

Therefore, with the preaching in the Underworld, Lide had a clear understanding of it. He did not expect this round of preaching to achieve very impressive results; he merely hoped this attempt would reveal problems within the sect, so they could be corrected next time.

However, Nile’s words came as a surprise to Lide.

“Your Excellency, it seems that the process of preaching has gone smoother than I imagined.”

The Divine Priest’s pale golden eyes sparkled with a merry gaze as she looked at her sovereign.

“The Half-Elf sect was completely unprepared for the sudden intrusion of the Dawn Sect and was sluggish to respond.

Furthermore, the teachings of the Half-Elf sect are outdated and tedious, completely unoriginal and sleep-inducing when heard.

Unlike our teachings, the preaching stories you wrote are very popular, especially the one about a talent-dispossessed individual who joins the Dawn Sect and receives guidance from the divine to acquire an ancient heritage. It has become a hot topic within Black Iron Castle.”

Lide felt somewhat embarrassed.

Previously, during a conversation with Nile, he had whimsically merged various movies and novels he had watched into a few stories about an underdog’s reversal of fortune or someone’s triumphant comeback after a broken engagement as material for preaching.

He had not expected that after Nile and a group of priests worked on them, those stories would be further refined and even compiled into a required reading anthology for the Dawn Sect…

Compared to this world’s monotonous preaching rituals, the Dawn Sect’s approach of telling engaging stories naturally had a considerable advantage.

“Because of our excellent preaching results, even the Dark Races who harbored some hostility towards us were quite tempted.

Perhaps before long, you will have a congregation of Dark Life as your believers.”

A light flickered in Nile’s eyes, “And now, the construction of the church in Black Iron Castle is underway, and it is expected to be initially completed in a month.

The day our church takes its place in Black Iron Castle will be a shining moment for the Dawn Sect.

Your Excellency, I am confident that I can convert 70% of the Half-Elves in Black Iron City into believers of the Dawn Sect, becoming your loyal subjects.”

Seventy percent??

That’s practically no different from taking over Black Iron City…

Lide, looking at the confident Nile, felt very pleased.

His Divine Priest had never disappointed him.

It had always been so.

With this thought, he couldn’t help but reach out and, under Nicole’s somewhat envious gaze, stroke Nile’s beautiful long hair, his face full of praise.

“To preach in the Underworld is a bold attempt to test the resilience of the Dawn Sect.

“You did a fine job this time, worthy of praise.”

“But don’t get too cocky, the half-elf sects of the underworld won’t let us proselytize so easily.”

At this point, a sharp glint flickered in their eyes.

“Right now, it’s because the Dawn Sect hasn’t erupted with a force that they find threatening, so they remain peaceful and compliant.

When we truly exert ourselves, we will surely pose a threat to the half-elf sects, and continuous oppression will follow, maybe even to the point where they persuade Black Iron Castle to deploy military strength to restrict our missionary work.

That’s when the real crisis will come.”

Preaching on someone else’s turf where they have support, it’s totally normal for them to cheat if they can’t win.

Upon hearing this, Niluo furrowed his brow, “Your Highness, how shall we respond? Deploy the military?”

Lide smiled upon hearing this and turned his gaze to Nicole, who was pouting to the side and didn’t get a chance to speak, “Nicole, you say.”

When her name was called, the young girl immediately brightened up, her big eyes sparkling.

“Yes, Lord Kachar~

Sister, dealing with them is simple, just make those half-elves afraid to make a move.

When the time comes, we can send the Divine Monster Asreaga to make a round in Black Iron Castle, instilling fear and wariness in them.”

Lide looked at Nicole with approval, “Intimidation is indeed a tactic, but along with intimidation, there must also be inducement.

Using powerful force to make Black Iron Castle feel threatened might benefit us in the short term, but in the long run, it can’t eliminate completely the crux of the problem, and it might even rouse a rebellious spirit in them.

On the other hand, if we offer them inducements at this time, the outcome will be entirely different…”

Lide then stopped speaking, his dark eyes turning toward Nicole with an encouraging look, prompting the girl to continue.

Nicole’s bright eyes looked at Lide, a radiant smile gracing her face as she continued the topic.

“For instance, by strengthening trade cooperation with them, allowing half-elves to make huge profits from us, no one can remain calm in the face of interests. After tasting the sweet fruits, they might even take the initiative to support our missionary work.

The concrete operation is to support a few influential half-elf powers, making them the biggest beneficiaries and helping them increase their influence within the half-elves to counter the opponents. These people could even become a part of our power eventually.”

Nicole’s words greatly pleased Lide. Putting this young girl through the paces in the City Hall over these years was proving to be a very correct decision.

“Forgoing the minor profits to gain greater advantages, this is the basic logic of laying groundwork. Nicole has done extremely well.

When Black Iron Castle’s economy is completely bound to ours, they will be like the Iron Hoof Tribe, resistant as they might be, they won’t be able to stop the inevitable.

At that time, we might even conquer the city easily without using military force.”

First, it’s economic colonization, then fostering a large group of individuals with vested interests in our favor. When the time is right for true colonization, the lead party could erase the opposition.

It’s just that simple.

Upon hearing this, Niluo looked up with admiration, “Your Highness, your wisdom is truly awe-inspiring.”

Harrison and Nicole nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Lide couldn’t help but crack a smile. As most young boys did many grandiose things just for that look of admiration in a girl’s eyes and such praises, right?

It was just as well he had passed the age of adolescent daydreams, but his mood was still quite buoyant.

“Niluo, for now, slow down on the large-scale proselytizing in the underworld. We’ll resume in full swing after three months.

Over the next few months, we will wage war on Risier City and won’t be able to spare efforts for the underworld.”

After speaking, he glanced at Harrison, who immediately grasped his meaning and began to recount in detail to the two girls about the Divine relic.

In the end, Harrison wondered if he should just write it down and distribute the information to everyone in Dawn City’s upper echelon.

Once Harrison had finished explaining, Lide continued,

“The Magic Language Bats are naturally despised by the Light Attribute and Nature Sects and could face a united hunt by many upon appearing, so my main intention this time is to cultivate a group of Dawn Bats.”

Dawn Bat: Initial Level 10, Mature Body Level 12, Elite Body Level 14, Perfect Body Level 15, Evolution requires a Bronze One-eyed Giant’s bloodline contribution, 500 points of Power of Faith, Evolution time–30 days.

This was the method Lide obtained for cultivating the Dawn Bats after producing Castro, a king among the newly born.

Although the Dawn Bat was an ascension from the Magic Language Bat, because Power of Faith and the bloodline of a Bronze One-eyed Giant were involved in the process, it has already left the category of Dark Life.

The Dawn Bat isn’t afraid of Holy Light or the power of the sun, retaining its peak condition even during daylight.

With Magic Language Bats unable to be deployed, the Dawn Bats are undoubtedly the best alternative.

“Your Highness, we have previously cultivated about twenty Dawn Bats, which are the mounts of the high-level officers in the Dawn Wings,” Niluo stated, but did not immediately reply; instead, she frowned slightly.

“Because the Power of Faith consumption is too great, we are unable to cultivate on a large scale.

We now face the same issue.

Your Highness, if we simply aim to cultivate Dawn Bats as a substitute for Magic Language Bats, the amount of Power of Faith required may be unacceptably high…”

Everyone there was a confidant. Lide hadn’t kept the Power of Faith a secret from them.

Yet upon hearing this, he fell silent for a moment.

He had previously had aspirations for cultivating Dawn Bats, but the biggest issue, as Niluo mentioned, was the consumption of Power of Faith.

His own attribute panel only showed 120,000 points of Power of Faith at present. To cultivate one with 500 points of Power of Faith meant 100 would require 50,000 points; at most, he could cultivate a little over 200.

But even a smaller number was better than none, and cultivating Dawn Bats as substitutes when Magic Language Bats couldn’t be deployed was undoubtedly the best choice.

“Niluo, we need an air force; only with an air force can we maximize the power of the Alchemy Bombs.”

“Although I’ve made extra preparations at the Alchemy Factory, none of it can replace the role of the Air Force.”

The importance of air supremacy had been well taught through the countless wars on Earth.

And when there is a significant difference in enemy and ally strength, a powerful air force is absolutely key to victory.

Yet the identity of the Bloodline must not be exposed, as the danger they would face upon revelation could be tenfold higher than not having an air force, so the current choice was a necessary one.

“How many of Castro’s Bloodline have been stored now?”

To cultivate the Magic Language Bats, the Bloodline of the Bronze One-eyed Giants was needed, but fortunately, Lide had realized their significance when Castro evolved into a Bronze One-eyed Giant and had been extracting and storing his blood weekly.

“Enough to produce 3,000 Dawn Bats…”

3,000? The number was sufficient.

“Good, for the next two months, I won’t use the Power of Faith. You should use all the Power of Faith to coordinate with the Dawn Wings to cultivate the Dawn Bats.

Now, I can gain about 40,000 to 50,000 points of Power of Faith each month. It might increase as the new residents’ numbers grow, but for now, that’s the amount.

Including the gains for the next three months, we’ll be able to have more than 400 Dawn Bats at our disposal before the war kicks off.

Although this number can’t compare to the current 7,000-plus Magic Language Bats, it will just about suffice.”

The initial Level of the Dawn Bats was 10; 400 Level 10 flying Demon Beasts could also be considered a respectable force.

Upon hearing Lide’s orders, Nicole fell silent and immediately acknowledged.

As a Divine Priest, she considered all benefits for Lide alone; she raised points merely to cover Lide’s oversights, nothing more.

Nicole suddenly lit up as if she had just remembered something.

“Lord City Lord, intelligence reports mention that Black Iron Castle has over a thousand Black Beak Giant Eagles…

If we can’t deploy Magic Language Bats, could we borrow an army from Black Iron Castle, or rather, hire them to join this war?”

The idea was creative.

After pondering for a moment, Lide still shook his head.

“It’s uncertain whether the Half-Elves will join this war or not, but these Underworld beings cannot be exposed.

Although we currently enjoy exclusive access to the Underworld, don’t forget, who revealed the Black Dragon in the swamp and who had their Divine Artifact stolen by that Black Dragon?

Since the goblins emerged from the Underworld and were discovered by Risier City, it means there are other entrances.

Humans are unaware of this right now, but if they realize the existence of the Underworld and start searching earnestly, they might discover it.

Then, our advantage of exclusive access to the Underworld would undoubtedly be gone.”

“Your Highness, your wisdom is always so admirable…”

Harry responded with a smile.

At this time, Nello also nodded in appreciation, “Indeed, this is the gift of the Creator God…”

Lide could only offer a wry smile at that and continued with his commands.

“There are three months left until the complete unveiling of the Divine relics, Harrison, you stay at the City Hall to control the big picture, overseeing the progress of these tasks.

Nello, the issue of the Dawn Bats cannot be neglected; you must ensure they’re cultivated in sufficient numbers.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Receiving the orders, Harrison and Nello responded in unison, while Nicole looked at Lide with puffed cheeks, “What about me, Lord Kachar??”

Why was she the only one of the three not to be assigned a task?? That wasn’t fair… Hmph.

Hearing these childish words, Lide couldn’t help but laugh silently; she really was a girl who hadn’t grown up.

“Was it you who arranged for the Giants to be trained before they were put on duty?”

“Yes,” Nicole responded, her dark eyes shifting as she slightly lifted her head with a hint of pride.

“The One-eyed Giants and Double-headed Ogres are much easier to command after training.”

“Not bad,” Lide nodded, looking at the girl whose face was suddenly brimming with joy, and continued.

“But it’s still not enough. The battle is about to start, and I need you to develop a combat method suitable for the One-eyed Giants and Double-headed Ogres and then train them.

It would be best if you could train them to obey orders as human soldiers do.

Nicole, this is a challenging task; are you prepared for it?”

Looking at Lide’s encouraging and expectant gaze, Nicole responded with a bit of haughtiness, “Don’t worry, Lord Kachar; I’ll train these Giants into a qualified and strong army!”

“I look forward to it…”

After giving out the tasks, Lide turned to discuss with Nello about issues related to spreading the faith of the Dawn Sect during this period.

Every time there is a massive influx of people, it brings various faiths to Dawn City.

This is when the Priests’ ability to deal with believers of different sects is tested.

Even with the support of Dawn City’s official forces, assimilating believers from other sects often takes quite a while.

Of course, Nello was already experienced in this area, so after getting a brief rundown on the latest happenings within the Dawn Sect, Lide remembered an important matter.

The Dawn Festival marks the time when the Bloodline first embraced; it is now January 11th.

On his attribute panel the number of Bloodline had surged from 1,358 to 2,708 people…

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Harrison.

“Harrison, how did the Selection at the Dawn Festival go?”

“Your Highness, everything went smoothly. Apart from a few humans with significant contributions, all the others were selected from the army, Dawn Academy, and the Mage Tower.

Their talents and personalities are all exceptional, and all their Levels are above 5.

A total of 1350 people participated in the Selection, excluding Frey, Emi, Stanley, and a few other Bloodlines who did not undergo the Selection, the Holy Light Bloodline within Dawn City all participated.”

Harrison looked somewhat excited; he watched as the Bloodline grew from a mere two hundred to nearly three thousand in less than four years.

Lide nodded slightly. Before the war with the Cave Spiders began, there were just over 1,400 Bloodlines.

After the war with the Cave Spiders, nearly a year of prolonged conflict, although the Holy Light Bloodline defended the stronghold and cast spells from the rear, more than a hundred also fell.

As for the casualties among the Beastman Warriors, the number exceeded 5,000…

The Magic Crystal Vein was reclaimed at a bloodied cost.

War has never been about mercy.

Nor does it distinguish righteousness from unrighteousness, evil from goodness.

Everything, is for the continued growth and prosperity of the race.

If you don’t become stronger, you can only wait for death; there is no third option.

“Not bad. After becoming Bloodlines, immediately arrange for their Profession changes.

Those with strong abilities can be directly placed into the army, those who still need to learn, continue to train.

The future for the Bloodline is still long; there’s no rush at this moment.”

More than 2,700 people also meant that now Lide would earn over two thousand experience points a month, just to break even.

This was more than what most players could earn in a year doing tasks at the current stage.

Although he was still a long way from his goal of 10 million experience, if the Bloodline was to develop for another three to five years, the experience they could provide each month would reach several tens of thousands.

By that time, it would be a significant figure that could not be overlooked, meaning that the more the Bloodline developed, the greater Lide’s gains would be.

In other words, he was like a late-game Profession; as long as the Bloodline continued to thrive, he would become frighteningly powerful.

This was the greatest advantage of being the Ancestor of an Upper Race.

Having confirmed matters with the Bloodline, Lide continued to inquire.

“Any progress on the improvements to the Divine Gifted Holy Armor?”

“No…” Harrison smiled bitterly and shook his head, “Your Highness, even manufacturing the Divine Gifted Holy Armor was very difficult.

Improving it is even more challenging…”

On hearing this, Lide’s mouth twitched. Equipment that cost 5,000 Gold Pucks each truly wasn’t something he could afford to play with.

Almost three thousand Bloodlines now, and fully arming them would cost 13.5 million Gold Pucks–Dawn City had nowhere near that amount of money.

“Let them continue their research then; at this price, draining Dawn City dry wouldn’t equip all the Bloodlines.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I will urge them on…”

After asking a few more questions of concern and hearing the answers, Lide let out a slight sigh of relief.

He had been busy all day, finally assigning all the tasks.

But this was only the beginning. In the next three months, Dawn City would operate with unprecedented intensity.

That would be the time to test leadership and control.

“You all get back to your respective tasks; I have other matters to handle.

Do you have any other questions?”

“Your Highness, we will win the ultimate victory; glory will belong to you.”

Nicole showed a tender smile, staring steadily at him.

Lide felt the warmth in those golden eyes and felt warmth in his heart.

His Divine Priest, nearly his closest person, their souls were tightly bound together.

“I also firmly believe this. Just like before, I will continue to lead the army back in triumph.”

Lide’s gaze was profound.

After confirming there were no further issues requiring his attention, he said no more.

Amid Nicole and Nero’s slightly reluctant gazes, he tore through space and entered the Land of Bone-Burying.

Ever since he had decided to wage war, he felt a strong sense of urgency in his heart and dared not relax.

With the great battle looming, there was still much potential to be tapped in the Land of Bone-Burying.

The Death Spider Queen could produce Death Spiders in large numbers…

The Land of Corruption could cultivate the Death Flower, which would enhance soul energy,

The Land of Bone-Burying could utilize the Power of Death to mass-produce the Undead,

And most crucially–the sealed Twelve-winged Blazing Angel.

Divine relics, the Twelve-winged Blazing Angel… seemed all to be coincidences.

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