Chapter 968
The Virtuously Fallen Children of the Moon
The sky had already brightened, yet Eivass had not returned.
Isabel had been busy for a day yesterday, and after removing the possession, she fell into a deep sleep. After waking up today and having just eaten, she used the Mask of Secrets Grimoire to possess the Grand Guardian again.
It was then that she heard the intelligence about the meteorite impact on the giant tree from the Grand Guardian and Lixia. She also learned that Eivass had lost contact.
This made Isabel’s mood a little heavy.
She wasn’t worried that Eivass would flee from battle or encounter danger — she had absolute trust in Eivass. Isabel believed that Eivass was at most delayed by something.
This young and resolute queen was now simply worried about whether she could complete her mission smoothly.
… After all, she was not the real Eivass.
Although a Fifth Tier artist could already imitate Fifth Tier Path Power… it was only Fifth Tier, and that wouldn’t solve the problem at all. Whether dealing with the demon legions or fighting the Fallen Heavenly Envoys, she probably wouldn’t do well.
If anything went wrong… those soldiers were innocent lives.
The lives of these people were now on her shoulders, and the strong sense of responsibility made Isabel feel exceptionally heavy.
However, she did not reveal this unease externally.
After a brief adjustment, “Eivass” walked out with her head held high and a smile on her face.
Her eyes sparkled with radiance — the emerald radiance of the Path of Beauty, but through the filter of illusion, it appeared as a golden red, consistent with Eivass, to others.
“—My soldiers, do you see the giant tree in the sky!
“Look up, that giant tree carrying the meteorite is a miracle created by your great Pope!
“Vile enemies wanted to attack the innocent, to tear the sky and make the earth rumble. However, even this conspiracy was shattered, and all the innocent will be protected!”
“Eivass” declared with high spirits, “We will win!”
“We will win!”
“We will win!!”
The soldiers, who had been defending all night and whose initial fervor had almost died down, were re-ignited.
The demon attacks did not stop with the onset of night. On the contrary, they became even more intense.
After all, demons did not need sleep, and dark magic was more active at night. Moreover, demons, all possessing dark vision, had an advantage in fighting human soldiers who lacked night vision.
However, the soldiers had to sleep — especially the casters.
It wasn’t because they would lose spirit if they didn’t sleep, but because they needed to replenish their mana by contacting the Dream Realm. Even the “hunters” and “warriors” from the Black Hawk Duchy needed mana. And the decisive battle would inevitably take place during the day, even at noon, at the time when the sun was most intense, so they could not be powerless at least at that time.
Therefore, these soldiers could only sleep in batches, taking turns.
By taking alchemical potions and undergoing a compressed three-hour forced sleep in their tents, they replenished their mana in shifts. This meant that the awake soldiers had to bear more pressure.
Even the protection of High-Tier Extraordinary was of no avail — because these demons were used to deplete their mana. Even if a certain area could not be held, it would be fine to wake up a sleeping High-Tier Extraordinary in an emergency… it would only leave them with less mana the next day. After several days of such repeated harassment, anxiety and fear would easily crush the soldiers whose spirits had already been polluted.
—Fortunately, there were the Children of the Moon, who also did not need sleep, gained power at night, and could replenish their mana by preying on demons.
If Eivass had not decided to bring these universally disliked Children of the Moon with them, their morale might have collapsed on the first night.
And these Children of the Moon had gained the initial approval of the people with their powerful combat strength at night.
Many soldiers were dissatisfied and even fearful when they first learned that they had to be mixed with these “vampiric monsters.” No one knew if they would attack them in the middle of the night and drain them dry. It was only yesterday that His Majesty the Pope personally visited the camps to comfort their anxious hearts and guarantee them that they were able to sleep soundly.
But once the battle truly began, this discrimination, vigilance, and hostility quickly dissipated.
The battlefield was a roaring, grinding machine. It would grind limbs and mix spirits.
On the battlefield, teammates were only divided into “awesome teammates,” “reliable teammates,” and “idiotic teammates” — and the Children of the Moon, whose individual combat power was significantly greater than that of demons, were “awesome teammates” they could rely on. The sense of security provided by these people as a backing dispelled much of the tension, giving rise to friendliness and trust.
And for the Children of the Moon, this was also a novel experience.
Although the Children of the Moon generally regarded themselves as “higher beings than humans,” and thus had a sense of unity and pride based on their race, they were, after all, parasites of human society and inevitably influenced by the evaluation of human society — even if a person completely disagreed with someone’s opinion, as long as they heard a similar evaluation, they would actually be influenced and changed a little.
Words could kill.
From this perspective, it was inevitable that the Children of the Moon would eventually form a group cognition that they considered themselves “superior.” Because of the birth and predation mechanism of the Children of the Moon, people would inevitably feel fear and rejection towards them, and the Children of the Moon could not ignore the impact of this cognition and public opinion on themselves…
Therefore, they would directly attack those who rejected them without regard for the matter, labeling those who rejected the Children of the Moon as “stupid low-level creatures,” so as to ignore the impact of this viewpoint on themselves as much as possible. The faith in the Blood Heavenly Envoy was actually an intensification of this idea — as long as I completely deny the value of those people’s existence, they will have no influence on me.
—But in the end, this was just self-deception.
When a person repeatedly emphasizes “I don’t care about your opinion,” they have actually broken down.
Few Children of the Moon were born pure-blooded; the vast majority were “zeroth generation,” meaning Children of the Moon converted from humans, elves, or werewolves. They had complete “memories from their mortal period,” so they could not be completely unaffected by human public opinion.
… And now, it was the first time they were accepted and recognized by humans. When they were no longer hunters but protectors; no longer the rejected, the vigilant, the hated, but accepted as trusted companions by their comrades, there were inevitably those among the Children of the Moon who wavered.
Although most of the Children of the Moon still disdained this “acceptance,” and even wove a chain of logic in their hearts that fit their worldview, there were already Children of the Moon who hesitated about their blood-drinking behavior.
—When the Children of the Moon truly realized that the people they preyed on, drank blood from, and killed were actually “their own kind,” they would inevitably feel guilt. After all, the Children of the Moon were not a naturally evil race like demons; they were just humans with “stronger desires,” and becoming a Child of the Moon did not turn them into cold, bloodless, and heartless vampire demons.
The first, most ancient Children of the Moon — those who believed in Hengwo — adhered to the “principle of devotion,” which was to only drink the blood of those who willingly offered it.
But in that case, the race of Children of the Moon could not expand at all, and would even slowly die out. The Children of the Moon elders of the past realized this problem, so they separated themselves as a “higher race” to allow their juniors to ignore this problem as much as possible.
But they ultimately had no culture of their own; they were still attached to the human race, and even had no reproductive isolation with humans — even the identity of a Child of the Moon could be partially inherited through genetics. From this perspective, they could only be considered a relatively special kind of human. Similar to superpowers among humans.
Now, Eivass had thrown this problem back at them again, forcing the Children of the Moon to face it squarely.
—If we are truly of the same kind as humans, then this act of drinking blood…
A minority of awakened Children of the Moon, in their hesitation, recalled the vast fog they had seen a few days ago.
Speaking of which, the Envoy of Mist… was also a protector of the Children of the Moon before.
They thought so, and hesitation arose in their hearts.
But the moment they felt guilt about their blood-drinking behavior and doubted the racial education they had received.
They simultaneously heard a somewhat unfamiliar, yet very gentle voice:
“My children, I am glad you have realized this…”
It was the voice of the Envoy of Mist!
—The Heavenly Envoy has descended!
These lucky Children of the Moon were almost trembling with excitement!
When had they ever received such treatment before?
Hengwo needless to say… neither the Blood Heavenly Envoy nor the Banquet Heavenly Envoy had the leisure to pay attention to ordinary Children of the Moon like them. The few who had heard the voice of the Blood Heavenly Envoy were mostly scoldings or mockery. It was even less likely to be so gentle, like a mother, forgiving and benevolent.
Without exception, they had changed their faith and accepted the power bestowed by the Envoy of Mist.
It was a new ability called “Mist Transformation”!
This ability replaced their power to transform into bats, allowing them to turn into mist. This bypassed many of the inherent flaws of the Children of the Moon, and even lessened their craving for blood.
And this was just the first step.
The Envoy of Mist promised that if they could further repent their past sins and kill these fallen demons, they could gradually transform into new, immortal beings who did not need to drink blood!
—Isn’t that a Perfect Being!?
They were excited about this.
In the legends of the Children of the Moon, the so-called “Perfect Being” was a Child of the Moon who had lost all their flaws. The necessity of drinking blood to survive was naturally included as a flaw — they were now standing on blessed holy ground, briefly experiencing the beauty of being a “Perfect Being.” Because of this, these Children of the Moon did not feel the uncontrollable, madness-inducing blood thirst.
Not needing to drink blood did not make them feel regret.
Just as some Extraordinary beings do not need to eat, and do not feel continuous hunger but continuous satiety; some people do not need to sleep, and do not feel continuous drowsiness, but remain awake. Although they did not drink blood, they were as awake and comfortable as if they had drunk their fill.
And now, the Envoy of Mist promised them — this would be the norm in the future!
Even if they left this land, they could escape the curse of blood-drinking!
This was quite tempting for these Children of the Moon who had realized the “sin of blood-drinking”!
The Envoy of Mist then encouraged them to win over more Children of the Moon to their side — this made the Children of the Moon look at each other, quietly searching for “kindred spirits” in the crowd. When they saw familiar faces looking at them, they would exchange knowing smiles; and when they saw their friends still in ignorance, they would feel regret.
—If possible, they also hoped their friends could come to “their side.”
These “virtuously fallen” Children of the Moon further stabilized the situation. These “Children of the New Moon,” who had initially shed the flaws of the Children of the Moon, actively led humans to expand outwards — no longer slacking off, but striving with all their might, even at the cost of their lives!
And so, after the sun rose, the battle situation steadily improved. The Children of the Moon became the main force of the battle, and the Mages, realizing that these Children of the Moon had shifted from passive defense to active offense, began to assist the Children of the Moon in combat.
With the unified command of these Mages of the Path of Wisdom, the increasingly excited Children of the Moon continuously repelled the demons — and felt their bodies becoming freer bit by bit!
It was a more captivating experience than drinking blood!
With each demon they killed, they felt their bodies becoming lighter and their minds clearer!
The attacks of these “Children of the Moon” became more fervent and excited.
Gradually, a thin mist accompanied their every movement. An indistinct white mist covered the entire battlefield at some point, and the demons began to be directly strangled by the invisible white mist before they could even land.
One by one, the “Children of the Moon” began to master the use of mist.
And with them at the forefront, enduring the most brutal charge, the human soldiers displayed unprecedented resilience!
As more and more soldiers woke up, their numbers were gradually replenished. The soldiers gradually recovered their mana, and the front lines began to advance outwards comprehensively!
When they began to advance outwards, it was like a destructive force!
The increasingly fervent “Children of the Moon” began to shout — their fallen emotions were transformed into fighting spirit, and their intense killing intent was directed towards the demons.
The demons, confused, were repelled by these Children of the Moon.
Finally, the demons could not bear it and sent out a call for help.
So, when the sun reached its zenith, the situation changed —
Swarms of flies, accompanied by plague, arrived.
(End of this chapter)
