Chapter 84
Transylvania, a hidden ancient castle in the mountains.
A beautiful woman dressed in a noble gown sat behind a desk, flipping through a scroll, when a pale-faced man in servant's attire knocked and entered.
"Your Highness, esteemed Princess, there is a guest visiting," the man said respectfully.
"Oh? Who is visiting? It has been quite some time since I've had friends over," the beautiful woman raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"He calls himself Soren Malfoy," the servant lowered his head even more, not daring to look at the woman.
"Oh, the boy from the Malfoy family, I've heard of his name," the woman chuckled, covering her lips with a hand. "Please invite him to the reception room; I will come out immediately."
In the reception room, Soren, dressed in a fitted outfit, sat upright, calmly sipping tea without any sign of distress. Several male and female servants stood respectfully around him.
"Welcome, guest," a light laugh rang out. Soren looked up to see a stunning woman in a white dress, with blonde hair and blue eyes, her curves accentuated as she walked in.
"Soren Malfoy sends his regards, Your Highness," Soren stood up and bowed.
"Mr. Malfoy, I have long heard of your great name, and seeing you today, you truly are a remarkable young man!" the beautiful woman praised warmly. Her words were not mere flattery; it was impressive that a young boy like Soren appeared alone in the vampire stronghold, surrounded by vampires, yet remained composed and courteous, without even resorting to foolish antics like applying garlic on himself. This courage alone was enough for her to regard Soren with new eyes.
"Your Highness, I..."
"Hehe," the beautiful woman chuckled lightly, "just call me Sister Eliza. Our clan has been working with the Malfoy family for so many years; we are old friends now. Just speak plainly, what is the purpose of your visit?"
Soren felt a bit speechless; why did beautiful women always insist on him calling them sister? It was one thing with Sister Giordana, but this Sister Eliza was old enough to be his ancestor!
This princess was named Elizabeth Bathory, the last remaining bloodline of the vampire royal family.
Although Bathory was over four hundred years old, she still, like most women, could not resist the custom of wanting to be called sister. Acting young and fresh, this seemed to be a common trait among all women.
There were also class distinctions among vampires. They were mainly divided into vampire royalty, vampire nobility, and ordinary vampires akin to commoners.
In the Middle Ages, vampire royalty was once extremely powerful, with various ghost emperors and ghost princes emerging one after another, but their overly arrogant style of conduct ultimately attracted mass hunting from both wizards and Muggles, leading to the uprooting of many clans. To this day, the vampires wandering in the outside world are mostly ordinary vampires.
They had long severed their lineage; apart from the basic abilities of drinking blood and transforming into bats, they knew no magic and were said to even be restrained by garlic. In contrast, the vampire royalty and nobility still retained their heritage. They not only did not fear garlic but could also learn the inherited magical talents.
Elizabeth Bathory was the last prince among vampires, bearing the heavy responsibility of protecting her kin. Seeing the vampire royalty facing a life-and-death crisis, she resolutely moved her entire clan to this desolate mountainous region and reached an agreement with several pure-blood families.
The pure-blood families would provide fresh blood from various animals for the vampire nobility, while the vampire nobility would align themselves with the pure-blood families, becoming their comrades. In matters that could not conveniently involve their families, they would become the sharp blades in the hands of the pure-blood families!
Of course, to this day, several ancient pure-blood families have declined or simply disappeared from the annals of history, and the Malfoy family is the only one that still maintains an alliance with the vampire nobility.
Initially, during the First Wizarding War, Lucius had considered using the vampire royalty as military force in the conflict, but Voldemort had already recruited werewolves through the Bathory family—vampires and werewolves have always been sworn enemies. To avoid disrupting Voldemort's ambitions, Lucius abandoned that idea.
Soren was not one to beat around the bush; he got straight to the point: "Sister Eliza, I have come to renegotiate the alliance between our family and the vampire royalty."
"I'm glad that old friends still remember us." Bathory smiled, "But you also know that our covenant was rendered void fifty years ago, when the pureblood families colluded with werewolves. For more than fifty years, our clan has lived a life of peace and seclusion, though the days have been dull, we have grown accustomed to it and truly do not wish to participate in mundane struggles any longer."
"Sister Eliza, to be honest, according to our information, the Dark Lord is about to revive, and war will begin again. Do you think you have the right to stand aside?" Soren paused, "Moreover, in this war, the pureblood families may not necessarily align with the Dark Lord... Take my own position for instance, the alliance I wish to sign with you this time is not from the Dark Lord's camp..."
"Oh," Bathory showed a look of surprise, her vibrant red lips slightly curling up, "Interesting, really interesting! Brother Soren, you have successfully piqued my interest. Let's hear your plan..."
Soren ignored Bathory's teasing tone and stated directly, "The Dark Lord has failed once; I personally believe he is no longer worth following. Furthermore, the Dark Lord employs those coarse and foolish werewolves, which makes it even harder for him to achieve great things. This time I come, my words at least represent the attitudes of the Malfoy, Greengrass, Nott, and Shafiq families, and the connections with Bock, Parkinson, Goyle, Crabbe, and others are also quite deep."
When Soren described the werewolves as "coarse and foolish," Bathory couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle, developing a bit of fondness for the young man.
"The Dark Lord's return, with his obstinacy, I estimate he will still reuse the old lineup—werewolves and giants. However, according to my intelligence, there are only about eighty giants left; perhaps the Dark Lord will turn his ambitions to others—powerful vampires are undoubtedly a good choice. Believe me, the Dark Lord won't mind using force to compel you to cooperate with those dirty and brutish werewolves..."
Knowing the plot, Soren actually knew that for some unknown reason, Voldemort ultimately chose Dementors for his latest lineup. However, this did not prevent Soren from using it as leverage in his negotiations to increase his advantage.
At this point, Bathory was already tempted. Their clan alone could not stand against the Dark Lord, and allying with Soren's faction was undoubtedly a wise choice. The reason she put on a show was merely to seek more benefits.
The two quickly reached an agreement.
Represented by Soren, the pureblood families would renegotiate the ancient covenant with the vampire royal family, of course, Soren would also have to pay a certain price. These so-called prices were mostly resources, such as blood, livestock, potions, etc., but given SOren's current wealth, these expenses were merely a drop in the bucket, hardly worth mentioning.
Having successfully achieved his goal, Soren used the vampire royal family's fireplace to leave.
["Ally" Vampire Royal Family Acquired!]
Voldemort has werewolves, giants, and Dementors; Hogwarts has centaurs and house-elves. Although Soren gained an ally from this trip, his forces still seemed a bit thin.
After returning to Great Britain, he headed to his next destination—the Deadmarsh in Leicestershire.
In a concealed cave filled with a stench of decay.
Soren stood quietly at the cave entrance, seemingly unaware of the strange odors around him, when suddenly a blue flash silently struck from a tall oak tree behind him!
Unfortunately, it encountered Soren, who had mastered the art of the Eye of Insight. Without turning his head, he pointed backward with the hand holding his wand, and a Shield Charm accurately neutralized the blue flash.
"Ms. Black, your hospitality is truly eye-opening!"
"Ha ha ha ha..." A piercing cackle came from the tree as an old witch with warts all over her face crawled down from the oak tree. Her gray-white hair hung like dry, rough tree bark, and her fingers were long and sharp, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
This was a hag, and a leading figure among hags—Annie Black.
Annie had no relation to the Black family; she was a notorious hag, skilled in various mental control and nightmare-inducing dark magic, as well as poisoning techniques like poisoned apples and wax candles, thus earning the dark name, commonly known as "Black Annie."
Annie, like all night hags, had a taste for human flesh, especially favoring the meat of young boys, particularly those who were good-looking. Soren undoubtedly fit her taste perfectly. At this moment, her gaze fixed on Soren was filled with malice, as if she were staring at a hooked prey.
"Ms. Black, please conduct yourself," Soren adjusted the Malfoy family crest on his Supreme Wizard robes, "I am Soren of the Malfoy family; you should know my family, right? Before you act, consider the consequences."
"Tsk tsk tsk," Annie's expression darkened, clearly reminded of the Malfoy family's reputation, realizing that the cooked duck had flown away. "Is the Malfoy family really that impressive? Hmph, kid, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't waste the old woman's precious hunting time!"
"I have heard that night hags, besides being skilled in dark magic and potion-making, can also glimpse a part of the future through a crystal ball or water in a basin. Is that true?" Soren asked.
"Hmph, pretentious. The fact that you can ask this question clearly indicates you already know the answer," Annie scoffed. "i do have that ability, but I won't do any divination for wizards. If you want me to read your future, you better dismiss that thought early!"
Soren's lips curled slightly. "I don't need you to read my future. You only need to look at your own future—frankly speaking, according to our information, the Dark Lord is about to revive, and war will begin again. At that time, no one in the entire British wizarding community can remain unscathed. If you don't believe me, why not try divining?"
A glint of sharpness flashed in Annie's eyes as she coldly replied, "Impressive, kid. It seems your pure-blood families have greatly improved in recent years, gaining the ability to foresee the future. So it seems I underestimated you. Now, tell me your intentions; i am listening."
"Not exactly foresight, just a sufficient understanding of the wizarding world's situation," Soren replied with a calm smile. "It is well known that the Dark Lord, besides having Death Eaters at his command, also has werewolves, giants, and other creatures in his ranks. If we pure-blood families want to protect ourselves in the impending turmoil, finding strong allies to band together is essential. Just this morning, I have already made an agreement with Prince Bathory of the vampire aristocracy; now, all that's left is your night hag clan."
"That old Bathory woman has allied with you? Tsk tsk, I thought the so-called vampire aristocracy was so proud and aloof?"
"It's the trend of the times. The prince is far-sighted and naturally knows that allying with us is beneficial. So, Ms. Black, what about your stance? I've checked, and there are at least six gathering places for night hags throughout Great Britain, with at least two hundred clan members, which is not fewer than the number of the vampire aristocracy. Their future is all in your hands at this moment!" After saying this, Soren fully activated his soul magic, and a violent dark shadow began to emerge behind him.
In Annie's view, the shadow resembled an enlarged version of a Dementor, but in addition to its cold, eerie aura, it also exuded a strange, sinister pressure. At the same time, the patterns on the Merlin's robe subtly glowed, and dark green halos appeared around Soren, while a low, ancient whispering chant seemed to resonate from the void, filling her ears and shaking her soul.
Suddenly affected by the soul magic, Annie, despite being skilled in occlumency herself, involuntarily fell into an inexplicable fear. After she struggled to break free from Soren's mental attack, a shadow remained in her mind—this boy was not to be trifled with, Annie thought.
"Young Malfoy, it seems you came prepared, having nearly figured out the details of our night hag family. I suppose I have no choice but to agree—" Annie merely vented her dissatisfaction slightly before changing the subject. "However, being able to ally with such a powerful and excellent individual like you is indeed reassuring and makes one feel reliable! Now, let's discuss the details of the alliance..."
["Allies" from the six major night hag families obtained!]
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