Free Web NovelChapter 133: A disappointing new generation
In a remote corner of N’Raeth, five vampires stand in the middle of a battlefield. They all wear the same red armor.
Around them, the mangled corpses of dozens upon dozens of other vampires lie motionless in pools of their own blood.
The five vampires — four of them in their late twenties and one nearly twenty years older — are the members of the Crimson Requiem: Dorian Mordane, the twins Lazarus and Evelyne Vesper, Blake Dulcar — son of the vampire king Markus Dulcar — and finally the oldest among them, Constantine Serev, commander of the Crimson Requiem.
"Another mission perfectly carried out by the incredible Crimson Requiem!" Dorian exclaims while stretching his back.
"Those morons from House Volkom who escaped the massacre really thought they’d be safe just because they hid in another world. I almost feel bad for them..." Lazarus adds, bumping his fist against Dorian’s.
On the night of the coup d’état and the fall of House Valakis, many members of House Volkom were missing from the final body count. They had fled to N’Raeth with plans to reorganize, rebuild their forces, and eventually attempt a coup against the Dulcar family themselves.
But now, not a single one of those surviving Volkom is still alive.
"You two have a lot of nerve acting like you did all the work when you’re actually the ones who killed the fewest Volkom! I killed more than both of you combined!" Evelyne complains.
"That’s exactly my point!" Dorian shoots back. "Me and Lazarus — the two strongest members — barely even had to do anything!"
"You two are the strongest? Oh, please! I could wipe the floor with both of you at the same time!"
"Yeah, yeah. Let’s just pretend that’s true."
"You don’t believe me? Then come fight me!"
Meanwhile, Blake — Markus’s son — stays off to the side, sitting on the ground while polishing his gleaming crimson armor and cleaning away the blood and dirt covering it.
Meanwhile, Constantine Serev watches them with deep disappointment.
Two arrogant loudmouths who think they’re hot shit, a quarrelsome girl, and one guy who kills enemies while trying not to dirty himself... the Crimson has really fallen far...
Twenty years ago, brats like these wouldn’t even have been worthy of polishing our armor...
Constantine’s eyes fill with resignation and nostalgia as he thinks back to the teammates he fought alongside twenty years earlier.
Back then, together with Isabelle, he had been part of the feared Crimson Requiem — back when the group was still known as the Otherworlds Operations Unit. While the other four members of that generation had eventually been promoted to generals, Constantine had remained where he was, and not because he lacked the skill to stand beside them — quite the opposite.
He had simply chosen to stay behind and use his experience to guide the next generation.
But things had not turned out the way he hoped.
None of the generations that served under his command ever came close to matching the previous one.
During those twenty years, the only person who had given him even the slightest bit of hope was Zayn Thzraneel, who disappeared after killing his own parents.
In Constantine’s eyes, they were nothing more than spoiled, well-connected kids more interested in bragging about being members of the Crimson Requiem than proving they actually deserved to be part of it.
Constantine believes that decline was unintentionally caused by the overwhelming fame they achieved twenty years earlier.
At first, the Otherworlds Operations Unit had simply been a branch of the Scarlet Army specialized in missions outside Elyndra. But after becoming the famous Crimson Requiem and gaining recognition throughout the multiverse, they turned into the feared elite squad they are today.
Everyone dreams of joining them, and that inevitably led to favoritism and personal connections influencing recruitment.
It’s no coincidence that the current members of the Crimson Requiem — aside from Constantine himself — are the vampire king’s son and three of his closest friends.
"Since you want to put it that way, there’s only one way to figure out which of us is really the strongest!" Evelyne exclaims before pointing toward a mountain range not too far away. "There’s a pretty big city up there. Let’s make it a game: a normal human is worth one point, a warrior without magic is worth ten, and a mage is worth a hundred! Whoever ends up with the highest score will officially be considered the strongest member of the Crimson Requiem! So? You in?"
"Need I remind you that we already played this game three days ago, and I won? Actually, I completely crushed you. I scored ten times more points than you did!" Dorian shoots back, puffing out his chest proudly.
"T-That one doesn’t count! You only won because you got lucky enough to run into the only mage in the entire city! And he was a healer on top of that, so he should’ve been worth even less than a normal warrior!"
"A mage is still a mage, so it’s still worth a hundred points. But if you really want to insist, then I’ll just have to crush you again. Honestly, those Volkom went down way too easily, and it left me seriously unsatisfied. I’m really in the mood to blow a few heads off. What about you, Lazarus? You in?"
"Isn’t it obvious?! Last time I ended up in last place only because I started from the least populated side of the city! I deserve a rematch!"
"What about you, Blake? Coming with us?"
"Not a chance. I’m almost done polishing my armor, and I don’t want it getting dirty again — especially not with the blood of pathetic humans."
"I see... Well, I’m not even gonna ask the commander since I already know his answer, so let’s get started! We move on three! One, two—"
"Where the hell do you think you are — an amusement park?!" Constantine roars. "Our duty is to carry out the King’s orders, not butcher innocent humans just to entertain yourselves!"
"Shut up, Constantine," Blake hisses coldly.
"How dare you speak to me like that?! Don’t forget that I am your commander!"
"Should I remind you who I am instead? Maybe old age made you forget that I’m the prince of the kingdom of Mildelar. Officially, you may be the commander of the Crimson Requiem, but your authority means nothing compared to mine. Or would you rather I tell my father that you ran away from the Volkom like a coward and left the rest of us to do all the work?"
"T-That’s a lie! I have never run away from anyone in my entire life! King Markus Dulcar would never believe such nonsense!" ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Are you really so sure he’d believe you over me — his firstborn son? Well, that’s your risk to take. Anyway, we just finished exterminating the surviving Volkom, and tomorrow we leave for that mission on Earth — killing Mia Valakis and recovering the Tear of Azkarith. I’d say they’ve earned a little fun," Blake concludes before returning to meticulously cleaning his armor.
