Chapter 86: Chapter 86 Starlight burning on the battlefield
Dracula looked up in the direction of the voice.
It was a striking girl. Her hair was half black and half white, and she had the distinctive red eyes of a vampire. A dagger-like hairpin adorned the side of her head, and she wore a short cape with a black exterior and red interior, along with a long ceremonial dress.
"It's been a while, Serina," Dracula said with a light smile, waving at her.
"It has indeed been a while," Serina descended from the sky, retracting her black and white wings, and looked at Dracula with evident anger. "You've been living it up outside for over a century, leaving Dracula Castle to a little kid like me. Aren't you embarrassed?!"
*"Ahem,"* Dracula cleared his throat and smiled awkwardly. "You're no longer a kid, Serina. You're over a hundred years old now."
"Does being over a hundred mean I should manage the castle for you?" Serina mimicked Dracula's gesture, crossing her arms. "I get it now—you picked me up back then just to find someone to manage your territory, while you happily went off to be a hands-off manager!"
Serina's accusation was actually quite justified.
Dracula was indeed too lazy to deal with the various troubles in Dracula Castle, so he sought an agent.
However, apart from powerful, long-lived vampire lords like Dracula who were also the castle's owners, proud vampires would not recognize anyone else's authority.
So, over a hundred years ago, the disinterested Dracula adopted a malnourished, near-death little girl from an orphanage.
After bringing her back to the castle, Dracula personally turned her into a vampire, successfully helping her survive the weakness of malnutrition with the strength of a vampire.
Her name was also chosen by Dracula—Serina Alucard. "Serina" represents the moon, and "Alucard" is Dracula's surname reversed.
As Serina grew up, she quickly developed considerable strength with Dracula's pure blood. Moreover, since she inherited Dracula's bloodline and was essentially Dracula's daughter, the vampires in the castle had to show her respect.
Thus, Serina soon gained the ability to handle things on her own.
Dracula left Dracula Castle with peace of mind, becoming a proud hands-off manager!
Not only that, when he got bored later, he even locked himself in a coffin he had prepared long ago, sleeping away a hundred years without a care...
Although he indeed wanted to be a hands-off manager, Dracula would never admit it out loud, or his adopted daughter might get upset.
The real reason Dracula didn't want to return to Dracula Castle was his fear of Serina's emotional outbursts.
"I'm doing this to train your abilities, Serina!" Dracula quickly came up with an explanation and said earnestly, "In the future, it will be the world of you young ones. An old man like me, over a thousand years old, should already step off the stage of history. You are the moon just rising at night..."
Before he could finish, Dracula saw Serina looking at him with disdain.
"Do you hear yourself? Is that something a vampire should say?" Serina sneered, "Since you say we are the rising moon at night, let me ask you, will you, the moon that has already risen to the sky, set?"
"Uh..." Dracula hesitated for a moment, then said without much confidence, "... It's not impossible for it to set. I could go lie in the coffin."
"Lying down again!" Serina fumed, "You've been lying down quietly for a hundred years. It's easy for you, but I've been managing all these unruly vampires, and it's exhausting."
"So I told you before, those low-level vampires without any self-control should be abandoned, let them fend for themselves," Dracula's voice softened, and he said gently, "That way, you'll have it easier."
"No way!" Serina shook her head stubbornly, "Even the lowest-level vampires were once ordinary people like me. Besides, they still have the will and obsessions from their previous lives. You can't just abandon them."
"Suit yourself." Dracula shrugged.
At that moment, the werewolves below the wall couldn't stand it any longer.
"We're already preparing for the siege, and you dare to chat up there?!" a tall man shouted fiercely from below the wall, "It seems you don't take me seriously!"
Dracula and Serina looked down together.
The man standing below the wall had gray hair and a beard, a fierce expression, and sharp teeth revealed when he spoke. His long yellow fingernails made him look like a real vicious wolf.
"Who is he? The werewolf leader?" Dracula asked.
"Probably," Serina replied uncertainly.
"Probably?" Dracula raised an eyebrow, "Dracula Castle and the Romanian werewolf tribe have been neighbors for so long, and as the current vampire leader, you still don't know who the werewolf leader is?"
"I do know who their leader is!"
At Dracula's lightly mocking words, Serina jumped up like a cat with its tail stepped on, hurriedly defending herself.
"The leader of the werewolf tribe was someone else not long ago. He had a decent relationship with us," she said, "And this werewolf's name is Fenrir Greybuck, who came from England."
"It's him who brought a whole bunch of wraiths from somewhere, integrating them into the werewolf group, enhancing their combat power. The non-urgent signal I sent you earlier was because we discovered a large number of wraiths."
"Given that we haven't seen the previous leader today, and the werewolves have suddenly launched an attack on Dracula Castle, I suspect the previous leader was killed by Fenrir."
"From England, huh?" Dracula frowned thoughtfully.
Fenrir Greybuck below saw that the two on the wall still ignored him and grew increasingly furious, his fur standing on end, and he let out a hideous roar.
"You wait! When the moonlight comes, I'll be the first to tear you apart!"
The surrounding werewolves echoed their leader's cry, howling loudly.
Most of the vampires on the wall felt intense pressure, their faces paler than usual, their bodies slightly trembling in the cold wind, looking precarious.
But one vampire stood confidently, in stark contrast to the others' weakness.
He had just seen their pillar of strength, Lord Dracula!
With him present, some mere wraiths couldn't possibly breach the castle's defenses!
As for Dracula and Serina, they were even more relaxed.
"Serina, catch him later and let me see what progress you've made in a hundred years," Dracula said with a smile.
"Why don't you catch him yourself?" Serina rolled her eyes, "Or you could deal with the wraiths below and show me if you've weakened over the past century?"
"That's also possible," Dracula said, glancing at the wraiths below, with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
...
As the last bit of sunlight disappeared from the sky, the entire area turned dark.
A full moon rose from the end of the sky, and moonlight shone on the werewolves mixed among the wraiths.
The howls of wolves echoed around the castle, and soon, countless werewolves that were originally human began to convulse.
Their front jaws extended into wolfish snouts, their backs hunched, arms spread out, and their bodies covered in thick fur.
Fenrir was the first to leap from below the wall, with astonishing leaping ability, and crashed through the wall, charging straight to Dracula and Serina.
"Are you two ignoring me?" His wolfish mouth spat out unclear human words, "You will pay for your arrogance!"
"A new breed!" Dracula's eyes lit up, "Can today's werewolves stay conscious while transforming?"
"You might not know, but a few years ago, someone developed a wolf venom potion," Serina explained, "Some wealthier werewolves take this potion before transforming to maintain human consciousness while in their werewolf form."
"When they keep human awareness, their attacks are more purposeful and cause greater damage."
"How extravagant," Dracula clicked his tongue, "Other werewolves can't even afford a bottle of wolf venom to stay conscious, and these wicked rich wolves use it to cause destruction."
Seeing that Dracula and Serina still ignored him, Fenrir, unable to suppress his strong anger, charged fiercely towards them.
In the next moment, he saw the silver-haired male vampire raise his hand.
Then Fenrir felt his limbs losing control, hanging limply by his sides.
His wolf body floated lightly, as if an invisible force was holding him by the neck, hanging in front of the two.
"Speak, who are you working for?" a deep voice rang in his ears, "A mere dog like you can't summon so many wraiths."
"Damn it, let me down!" Fenrir struggled violently, "Don't use this strange magic. Fight me fairly!"
Dracula glanced at Serina, who was smiling and looking at him.
"Are you thinking of playing a game again?" Serina teased.
"Indeed, it's rare to encounter such a physically strong species that can maintain human consciousness," Dracula admitted straightforwardly, "Watch here, if we can't hold up against the wraiths' pressure, call me."
Serina nodded with a smile, stepping aside to clear enough space on the wall for the two of them.
Dracula then placed Fenrir down with great interest and released all the magical restraints on him.
"Come on, as you wish, let's fight fairly," he said with a playful smile.
Fenrir lay on the ground in confusion, feeling his limbs regain sensation, and his head buzzed.
Such a good opportunity? A high-level vampire with strong magic choosing not to use magic and