Gospel of Blood

Northport, Outer Island District, Shallow Water Street.

Outside the tall city walls, low, densely packed buildings were constructed against the walls, forming a crooked water street. Small, nimble boats darted through the water, with raggedly dressed boatmen strenuously pushing with their poles and calling out for passengers.

Next to the waterway, in a simple, modest inn.

In a waterside room, a brilliant flash of light appeared. A huge circular magic array materialized in mid-air, and two bedraggled figures stumbled out of it.

They landed hard, hitting the damp wooden floor with a thud. The entire room shook slightly as if it might collapse at any moment.

These were none other than the bloodborne girl Agnes and the middle-aged knight Lahel.

Both looked extremely disheveled.

Agnes' face was pale, showing signs of overextending her magical power, while Lahel was worse off, with bloodstains dotting his body and a large dent in his chest armor.

As soon as they landed, Agnes struggled on her feet, limping over to Lahel with a look of anxious concern.

"Cough, cough... I won't die just yet."

Lahel coughed violently, speaking weakly.

After a moment, he added apologetically.

"Miss... I think we left our land deed back at the Mercenary Association..."

"Forget about the deed! It's not important! We can't go back now anyway since we've been exposed. Just stop the bleeding and heal up! I'll help you up, and you need to drink some blood!"

"Damn it, I knew this cheap inn wouldn't have any proper medical supplies!"

Agnes cursed as she rummaged through the room.

The next second, the door to the room burst open with a loud bang, startling Agnes.

She grabbed a weapon from the floor and glared at the crooked wooden door. A plump woman poked her head in and shrieked sharply.

"What's all this noise?! You're disturbing the neighbors!"

"And be careful! Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to fix this room if you break it?!"

But as soon as she spoke, the woman locked eyes with the bloody pair and froze. Then, she quickly shut the door.

Her sharp voice trailed off as she moved away.

"Damn mercenaries, always causing trouble! Old man, if you take another payment from a mercenary, I'll break your legs!"

"Double! The room rate must be doubled!"

"Cough, cough... Miss, who was that?"

Lahel coughed violently, gripping his sword hilt with wary hands.

"Don't worry, it was just the innkeeper. And... stop holding your sword, it's already broken."

Agnes replied.

Lahel looked down at his sword, which had been shattered during the fight with the elf, and fell silent.

After a few seconds, he sighed deeply, his voice tinged with complexity.

"It's only been a few days, but it seems... he's gotten even stronger."

"Enough about his strength! Drink your blood and recover so we can get out of here!"

Agnes handed Lahel a blood bag.

Lahel obediently took the blood bag and drank it, his complexion gradually regaining some color as the blood flowed through him.

A short while later, the plump innkeeper returned.

Seeing the curious look on her face, Agnes stepped in front of Lahel, who was still drinking blood, and said warily.

"We'll pay the fee, just leave us alone."

The innkeeper snorted and threw a bulging package onto the floor, grumbling.

"Double! You must pay double! And don't die in my inn, I have a business to run!"

With that, she left again.

Agnes picked up the package the innkeeper had left and was taken aback.

"Miss... what is it?"

Lahel asked weakly.

"Don't move..."

Agnes stopped him from making any sudden movements and, with a softer tone, said:

"It's bandages and hemostatic herbs..."

With the innkeeper's supplies, Agnes quickly bandaged Lahel's wounds.

As bloodborne, any injury could theoretically heal with enough extraordinary blood, but their supply was already low, and the blood bags were nearly empty.

While the bleeding was stopped, Lahel's condition remained poor, making him unfit for battle anytime soon.

"Sorry, Miss... I worried you again."

Looking at the worried girl tending to his wounds, Lahel said apologetically.

Agnes shook her head and said:

"No... it was my mistake today. I didn't think we'd actually run into her..."

"No, I should have expected it! With the banquet coming up the day after tomorrow, she was bound to return at this time!"

"Damn it! How could we be so unlucky to run into her while trying to sell the castle?!"

Agnes cursed, venting her frustration on the Castell ancestors.

But soon, she heard noisy commotion coming from the waterway.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she cautiously approached the window to peek outside. She saw several longboats belonging to the city guard gliding over the water, carrying fully armed soldiers.

Agnes' expression changed slightly.

"They've deployed the guards this quickly?"

"No! They know we're still in the city!"

"Lahel! Quick! We need to leave here immediately!"

However, the middle-aged knight didn't move.

"Lahel?"

Agnes repeated.

Looking at his injuries, Lahel sighed deeply.

"Miss, you should go first. My injuries are too severe, I'll only slow you down."

"Don't talk nonsense! I'll help you up, and we'll go together!"

Agnes insisted.

But the next moment, the door opened again, and the innkeeper's plump head popped in.

Agnes looked at her warily, while the innkeeper looked back with curiosity.

"The city guards are searching for a man and a woman. Is it you?"

Agnes: ...

"Did you commit a crime?"

Agnes: ...

Seeing the gossipy innkeeper, Agnes became even more alert. But then, she saw the innkeeper pull out two tattered cloaks and throw them to them.

"Cover yourselves and escape through the back door! There's a small boat there that can get you out of Northport."

Agnes was stunned.

"You're... helping us?"

"Why are you helping us?"

The innkeeper chuckled.

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"Castell doesn't give people like us a chance to live. Their family is big and powerful, and no one dares to oppose them. But... anyone who stands up to them is worthy of respect!"

Agnes bit her lip.

"Thank... you..."

"Alright, alright! Go quickly! The pursuers will be here any moment!"

The innkeeper waved them off.

...

At the entrance of Shallow Water Street.

Charlotte stood on a longboat, looking at the dense, chaotic low buildings in front of her, her expression complicated.

"Northport, a city famous for its wealth, has such a rundown area?"

Beside her, Sebastian glanced around and sighed slightly.

"Shallow Water Street, Northport's famous slum. It hasn't changed much in ten years. No, it seems to have expanded."

"A slum... I've seen so much wealth in Castell on the way here, I didn't think Northport had a place like this."

"Master, there's no such thing as a city without slums. Where there are rich people, there are naturally poor people. It's normal."

"Is it normal..."

Charlotte couldn't help but repeat, clearly dissatisfied with this explanation.

Soon, several fully armed guards rowed their longboats to her, saluted respectfully, and reported.

"Countess, we have surrounded Shallow Water Street and are searching house by house for the fugitives."

Charlotte nodded slightly but suddenly heard a sharp voice not far away.

"Hey! What are you guards doing barging in here? What if you damage my house?"

"No suspicious people here! I've told you, we have no suspicious people!"

Attracted by the voice, Charlotte looked over and saw a plump woman standing in front of a rundown inn, angrily confronting the guards.

Around her, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, many of whom were low-level freelance mercenaries.

Though they were watching, their eyes showed caution and hostility towards the guards.

Charlotte surveyed the area.

With the influx of guards, many residents of Shallow Water Street were poking their heads out to watch.

With her keen senses, Charlotte could clearly feel the fear, vigilance, and hostility in their gazes.

Just as she had felt when she first entered Castell's territory.

However, unlike then, she was not revealing her identity as a member of the Castell family now, and this place was not one of the subordinate noble territories.

These people were merely wary because they saw the city guards representing the Castell family.

"They... don't seem to welcome us?"

Charlotte's gaze slowly swept around, and she asked softly.

"Countess, slum dwellers are always difficult! These people are unruly, disrupt public order, and often harbor criminals. They never welcome us!"

One guard said.

Hearing this, the other guards nodded in agreement.

However, Charlotte frowned slightly.

Clearly, she was not satisfied with this explanation either.

Closing her eyes again, she activated the Gospel of Blood. Using "Blood Summoning" she sensed her surroundings and then slowly opened her eyes.

"I found them."

"But they're not here anymore."

She then looked at the civilians arguing with the guards in Shallow Water Street and sighed, saying to Sebastian:

"Let's go. We need to capture them ourselves."

"If we don't, they'll really escape."

...

Outside Shallow Water Street.

Agnes, cloaked, pushed the boat pole and looked at the gradually receding Northport, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Whew, we finally escaped."

"Thankfully, the innkeeper provided this boat, or we would have been trapped in Northport today."

She then added, a bit smugly.

"Lahel, it seems the Castell family isn't as beloved in the north as they are rumored to be! Did you see? When they knew we were being hunted, many people covered for us!"

"Maybe the rumors are true. Most of the people in Castell's territory are unhappy with the young countess who sided with the church. I bet it won't be long before she's chased out of Castell like the previous Count of Tulip!"

Agnes' mockery made her feel better.

But the next moment, she heard a familiar voice from the back of the boat.

"Oh? Chased out of Castell?"

The voice was somewhat young and pleasant but utterly emotionless.

Agnes stiffened.

She turned her head stiffly and saw, to her horror, two figures at the back of the boat.

A beautiful blonde girl in a black and white dress with an expressionless face.

And the elf butler in a tailcoat holding an umbrella for her.

Agnes' hair stood on end, and she shouted.

"Lahel! Quick! Move!"

She threw her boat pole at the two figures and reached for a scroll to tear it.

But before she could act, Sebastian flashed in front of her and snatched the scroll from her hand.

Seeing the complex scroll, Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"A teleportation scroll? Miss Agnes, using this when your magic is nearly exhausted is quite dangerous. You could easily get lost in another dimension."

"Miss!"

Lahel cried out.

He gritted his teeth, grabbed his broken sword, and charged at Sebastian with a roar, his energy surging, as if ready to fight to the death. But Sebastian swiftly knocked him down with a chop to the neck.

Already severely injured, Lahel was no match for Sebastian, who quickly subdued him.

"Lahel!"

Seeing the captured knight, Agnes cried out.

But the next moment, Sebastian summoned anti-magic chains with a snap of his fingers, binding her and gagging her, just as he did with Lahel.

"Master, we caught them."

Sebastian dragged the struggling girl before Charlotte and reported respectfully.

"Alright, bring them back to the Count's estate. I want to interrogate them myself."

Charlotte glanced at the furious bloodborne girl and nodded slightly.

Although she had successfully captured the two bloodbornes, Charlotte was not in a good mood.

Remembering the hostility she felt from the residents of Shallow Water Street, Charlotte suddenly felt that the vibrant Northport was not as glamorous as it seemed on the surface.

As she looked back at the scenes she had witnessed during this pursuit, she sensed an undercurrent of unrest beneath the calm.

"Let's go back."

Turning around, she took one last look at Shallow Water Street and said.

_______________________________

I've caught them

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