Gospel of Blood

Is it really the Divine Queen Charlotte?

Looking at the young girl who had snatched back the True Ancestor’s statue, Sophia’s expression became solemn.

She looked at Charlotte warily and said in a deep voice.

“How can I believe you, and how can you prove you are indeed the Divine Queen? If you are the Divine Queen, why would you come to the North alone?”

Hearing Sophia’s words, Charlotte smiled slightly.

A flash of light appeared in her hand, revealing a beautiful elven rapier with a faint golden sheen. As soon as the rapier appeared, it chattered excitedly.

“Master! Are we going to fight? Are we finally going to fight? Huh? This aura… you are bloodbornes hiding in the North?”

“The Roman Sword!”

Seeing the elven rapier floating in mid-air, Sophia instinctively widened her eyes.

It was well-known on the Myria Continent that the Divine Queen Charlotte had subdued the Roman Sword.

The aura of a divine weapon could not be faked. As an intelligent artifact, the Roman Sword was highly recognizable. After confirming that the girl suspected of being the Divine Queen was indeed holding the Roman Sword, Sophia’s doubts about her identity diminished significantly.

After a brief hesitation, she performed an ancient bloodborne salute towards Charlotte and then respectfully, yet distantly, said,

“Sophia, captain of the Harcos Clan’s royal guard, greets Her Majesty Charlotte. However… the Starfall Kingdom has no dealings with us, and we have always kept our distance from the Nez Clan. If Your Majesty has come with goodwill, why did you stop our actions?”

Charlotte smiled slightly and said,

“The faith of the Free Tribe Alliance has a connection with my Lord. According to my Lord’s oracle, we should provide protection for them.”

“I have reached an agreement with the Northern Grand Duchy. From now on, the Free Tribe Alliance will be under the protection of the Starfall Kingdom.”

Sophia’s heart sank.

When the envoy from the Starfall Kingdom visited the Northern Archduke, she was also present. Although she didn’t reveal herself, she witnessed the conversation between the projection of the Starfall Queen and the Northern Archduke.

Given what the other party was saying now, Sophia was almost certain of the girl’s identity before her.

The girl… really was the Divine Queen!

But this made her even more puzzled.

The Divine Queen only used projections when communicating with the Northern Archduke.

But for the Free Tribe Alliance… she came to the North in person?

Was the Free Tribe Alliance so important to the Starfall Kingdom?

Or was it, as she said, that she came because of her clan?

And the “my Lord” she mentioned…

Who exactly was “my Lord”?

Was she speaking in the capacity of the “Saintess of the Holy Court”, or… was it that mysterious bloodborne myth?

Thinking of this, Sophia tentatively asked.

“Your Majesty Charlotte, may I ask, who exactly is the ‘my Lord’ you mentioned?”

Charlotte smiled slightly.

“In front of believers… They prefers to be called Nyx.”

Nyx?

Sophia frowned slightly.

Although she was only a Blood Viscount, she was a genuine fifth-generation blood descendant. She hadn’t experienced the peak Bloodborne Era, but she had done her homework on the myths of the bloodbornes and had a deep understanding.

In her memory, there didn’t seem to be a bloodborne myth named “Nyx.”

However, her knowledge was limited. After all, she wasn’t from those ancient times. No… more accurately, to this day, aside from the Prophet, no other blood descendants of the Harcos Clan had lived through that tumultuous era.

After thinking for a moment, Sophia said,

“Your Majesty Charlotte, I can convey your request for a visit to the Prophet, but before that, we hope you can further demonstrate your sincerity.”

She then mustered the courage to look into the eyes of the Divine Queen before her.

“You want to protect the Free Tribe Alliance; we won’t stop you. But the Free Tribe Alliance must abandon their faith, and the object of their worship… we must take it back.”

“This… is the Queen’s oracle.”

Charlotte was slightly moved.

“An oracle from the Crimson Queen Rowena?”

“Exactly.”

Charlotte pondered.

She looked at the resolute bloodborne girl before her and suddenly smiled again.

“The faith of the Free Tribe Alliance will be taken over, corrected, and unified by my Lord. They will become my Lord’s followers. I can assure you that as long as the Harcos Clan does not harm my Lord’s followers, they will not pose a threat to you.”

Take over the faith of the Free Tribe Alliance?

Was the prince behind the Starfall Kingdom eyeing the faith of those mortals and intending to replace it?

Sophia was slightly moved.

In that instant, many thoughts crossed her mind…

The faith of the Free Tribe Alliance had always been a headache for the clan. They couldn’t destroy it, nor could they threaten it.

If the prince behind the Starfall Kingdom could indeed subdue those mortals, sever their original faith, and lead them out of the North, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

From this perspective, there really was no conflict of interest. In fact… there might even be room for cooperation.

Thinking of this, Sophia tentatively asked again.

“And… the statue?”

Charlotte smiled.

“The statue? As a gesture of goodwill, handing over the statue to you is not a problem.”

As she spoke, a small statue appeared in her hand with a flash of light.

With a gentle wave, the statue flew towards Sophia.

Seeing the statue, Sophia’s spirits lifted.

She caught the statue and, after a careful inspection, her tense expression relaxed.

She bowed to Charlotte again, her voice carrying a hint of sincerity.

“You are a trustworthy human noble. On behalf of the clan, I thank you for your understanding.”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

What she handed over was not the statue of the Free Tribe Alliance.

The experiences Sophia and her companions had just gone through were a dream Charlotte had woven. They had never seen what the statue of the Free Tribe Alliance really looked like.

So… what to give them was entirely up to Charlotte.

However, the dream Charlotte had woven and the statue she handed over were not arbitrary.

She had given away a Faceless Statue, which the Nez Clan had “offered” to her.

The power within this statue had already been extracted and turned into a divine artifact by the Nez Clan, leaving only an empty shell when Charlotte first received it.

Of course, that was no longer the case. Inspired by the Free Tribe Alliance, Charlotte had successfully transformed this statue into a node of her own faith.

Charlotte’s original plan was to make it a “processor” to handle faith and prayers during her next period of slumber.

In other words, if a Demigod or extraordinary person tried to investigate this statue, they would be directly connected to her.

This was Charlotte’s backup plan.

If Sophia was unwilling to introduce her, this would be the way for Charlotte to meet the high-ranking members of the Harcos Clan.

As for whether the statue would be confiscated and the identity of the “True Ancestor of Blood” exposed…

It didn’t matter.

This was just a prototype, losing it was inconsequential, just a one-time communication device.

Charlotte’s true interest lay in the statue worshipped by the Free Tribe Alliance.

As for the risk of exposure…

The power within the statue was originally blood divine power. As long as Charlotte didn’t reveal her bloodline aura, the other party would likely believe she was merely utilizing the residual divine power within the statue.

Using a prototype statue that had lost much of its effectiveness to gain insight into the Harcos Clan’s Demigod seemed like a fair trade to Charlotte.

With this in mind, Charlotte turned to Sophia.

“Miss Sophia, now… can we discuss the introduction?”

Sophia nodded respectfully.

“Of course, as agreed, I can introduce you, but whether the Prophet will allow you into the clan’s ‘Sanctuary’, I cannot say.”

Charlotte nodded.

“No problem.”

Seeing her agreement, Sophia breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The Divine Queen had once used divine punishment to annihilate a Blazing Sun Bishop of the Holy Court. As the liaison with the Northern Grand Duchy, Sophia had heard about this.

She had previously doubted the credibility of this news, but the recent battle proved… the Divine Queen’s strength was indeed formidable.

The other party was evidently a God’s favored, which explained her immense power.

Such overwhelming strength was not something their team could contend with, only the Legendary Prophet could suppress her.

The fact that she was willing to communicate and show goodwill was not a bad thing for them.

“The Divine Queen seems to have no malice. If she and the prince behind her do not intend to hinder the Queen’s plans, then perhaps we can indeed have an in-depth exchange…”

“Regardless, the curse faced by other clans is much weaker than that of Harcos. Having more friends would indeed not be a bad thing.”

“Of course, I cannot outright refuse her request. With her immense strength, she could easily force us…”

“This matter… should be decided by the Prophet.”

Sophia thought to herself.

With these thoughts, she said to Charlotte.

“Your Majesty Charlotte, we have achieved our goal. Next… we plan to return. I am willing to travel with you, but… please allow me to report to the prophet in advance.”

Charlotte smiled slightly and nodded.

“Of course.”

With Charlotte’s permission, Sophia felt relieved.

She took out a scroll from her bosom and wrote on it for a while before setting it alight.

Then, Sophia retrieved a crystal-clear magic stone and waited quietly.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this should be an ancient communication magic she had read about in Nice’s magic books, said to be the earliest inspiration for the communication crystals of the Starfall Kingdom.

Time passed by the minute.

About ten minutes later, Charlotte saw the magic stone in Sophia’s hand glow faintly, emitting a blue light.

Seeing this, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.

She quickly took out a blank scroll, and Charlotte noticed that as the magic stone’s light shone on the scroll, words began to appear on it.

Charlotte’s heart stirred.

This should be the response from the Harcos Clan’s Prophet.

Unfortunately, it was encrypted, and she couldn’t understand it.

After reading the scroll, Sophia’s tense expression relaxed significantly.

When she looked at Charlotte again, she was no longer as guarded and wary as before.

“Your Majesty Charlotte, the Prophet has responded. She allows us to travel with you and is willing to receive your visit. Next… please follow us.”

Sophia said.

…

Charlotte successfully joined the Harcos team.

Of course, she could feel that the Harcos team hadn’t completely let down their guard. Their willingness to bring her along was not just due to her goodwill but also because of her overwhelming strength.

That was fine, she just needed the opportunity to communicate with the high-ranking members of the Harcos Clan.

Honestly, she hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. Compared to other bloodbornes, the Harcos Clan, though reclusive, seemed much easier to communicate with and simpler in their dealings.

Charlotte wondered if this had something to do with their long-term isolation from the world.

Following the Harcos team, Charlotte headed north into the Great Northern Forest.

The Harcos team moved quickly.

Or rather, they were in a hurry.

Although they had completed their mission, their pace did not slow down.

Moreover, Charlotte noticed that the team’s conversations had decreased, and as time went on, they fell into almost complete silence, with most maintaining a tense demeanor.

The team’s speed also seemed to increase, and their expressions grew increasingly tense.

This made Charlotte curious.

She had seen the team’s relaxed demeanor when they first set out for the Free Tribe Alliance. Now, on their return, they suddenly seemed serious and tense, which seemed odd.

“Miss Sophia, everyone… seems to be in a hurry?”

Charlotte asked casually.

Sophia glanced at her and shook her head.

“Your Majesty Charlotte, our Harcos Clan is different from you humans and the Nez Clan.”

“You can stay on the Myria Continent, but we cannot stay too long. We’ve already been out long enough to complete this mission, staying longer is dangerous.”

“For safety, we must speed up.”

Dangerous, so they couldn’t stay on the Myria Continent for long?

Charlotte was stunned.

She was about to ask more when a bloodborne in the team suddenly groaned, his face flushed, and he appeared in pain. In her perception, Charlotte noticed his heartbeat suddenly quickened, and his bloodline became agitated.

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.

This was… a sign of blood frenzy?