The reason why this god is called "Duke of Vampires Laoel" is because in the early years of the Fifth Era, he used a body called "Duke of Laoel" as a saint's body to commit a major crime in the material world. The change of eras has long left what happened behind the curtain of time, but clear evidence shows that it was the appearance of "Duke of Vampires Laoel" that caused the vampire race to rise in the early Fifth Era.
Therefore, people in later generations often use "Duke of Vampires Laoel" to refer to this vampire god.
The purpose of the blood-sucking gods appearing in the material world is mostly to taste the blood of different intelligent life forms in various evil and weird ways. Sometimes they just have their eyes on a special target, and sometimes they want to devour the blood of as many mortals as possible, just like the Lord of the Blood Feast.
The situation Xia De encountered this time should be the former, but I don’t know if he was the only guest at the cocktail party.
Thinking about these complicated things in his mind, after confirming that there was no other information coming to his ears, Xia De took a step forward. The white mist around him immediately dissipated, and he came to a corridor lit by kerosene lamps.
But unlike the corridor in the Dreadfort, this corridor was clearly a corridor in a frequently used noble building. On the left was a row of windows, through which one could see the eerie and quiet night scene of the courtyard outside; on the right was a closed door, from which one could faintly hear strange laughter coming from inside the door.
"If I sing the witches' song here, I don't know when I will enter the Witch Council."
Xia De thought to himself, somewhat curious that he did not encounter danger immediately this time. However, the atmosphere in this corridor and the oppressive night outside the window really made him uncomfortable, so he walked forward along the corridor.
After a few dozen steps, we came to the corner of the corridor, where we could only turn right. After turning right, we saw another fairly spacious corridor, with walls on both sides. The bottom part was white for about a palm's length, and the area above was all painted with scarlet paint.
There are faded old oil paintings hanging on the walls. With the help of the oil lamps hanging on the nails, you can see the horrific execution scenes and creatures that are completely unimaginable to humans.
Even Xia De didn't dare to look at those oil paintings for too long, as the spiritual impact of these paintings was beyond his expectations.
He walked forward with his head down as much as possible, but the whispers trying to make him stop and look at the paintings still lingered in his ears. Half a minute later, he reached the end of the corridor, where there was a double-opening magnificent golden door. The relief carving on the door depicted a lively banquet. But if you look closely, there seemed to be some people at the banquet who looked wrong.
But before Xia De could see the whole picture clearly, the two doors opened inward at the same time, revealing the room behind the doors.
Knowing that he had reached his destination, Xia De took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and then walked in.
Behind the door was a large aristocratic restaurant that seemed to be built for giants. From the ceiling to the ground, it was at least as high as from the first floor to the attic of the Xia De family's house, but the area was still barely normal.
The floor of the room was paved with white porcelain tiles, which were rare even in 1853 of the Sixth Era. Crystal chandeliers hung from high in the sky, emitting light together with the bat-shaped kerosene lamps on the wall.
There was an eerie silence and strong pressure in the room. Shade's nose twitched, and there was blood in the air. But unlike the blood mist that almost turned into blood drops when the Lord of the Blood Feast appeared, the blood in the air now was mixed with the smell of fruit wine, which was not very unpleasant.
On the left side of the room was a row of windows. There were no curtains, but the windows were closed, and one could see the depressing and eerie night scene of the manor courtyard. On the right side were some small tables, chairs, and cabinets, as if to entertain guests who could not come to the table.
A long table covered with a white tablecloth was placed in the middle of the room. Opposite the door where Shade was standing, at the far end of the long table, sat a man in his thirties wearing a blood-red cloak and with a fair and handsome face.
Just by looking at Him, cracks appeared on the skin on the back of Shad's hand, and then specks of golden light seeped out from the cracks in the skin.
He understood that this person was the host of the party.
"It's really interesting. The last guest who showed up on time for this reception was such a surprise."
The saint looked at Shad and welcomed him in the Draerion language of the Sixth Epoch with a strange and enthusiastic tone.
"Good evening, God."
Xia De did not dare to look at the saint for too long, so he bowed slightly to show his respect.
With a sharp sound, the two doors closed behind Shad, and Shad also noticed the other five people sitting at the table.
A fat, half-bald middle-aged man wearing a gorgeous robe and a crown; two little girls about fourteen or fifteen years old wearing a black gauze skirt and a white gauze skirt respectively. They have very similar pretty looks, with long black hair and blue eyes, probably twins; a proud woman in a dark blue skirt, who looks to be in her forties or fifties but still has her elegance; an old man wearing thick brown cloth armor and long-sleeved leather gloves, his face full of cracks from weathering, with sharp eyes but gray hair, he is obviously a warrior who has experienced many vicissitudes of life.
Unfortunately, there are no male extraordinary people in the Fifth Era, so they are just warriors.
"It seems that I didn't meet Miss Feliana this time."
Only the adult woman is a witch.
She whispered in Shad's ear.
Among the five people, the proud woman sat opposite the saint, which was the seat closest to the door at the other end of the long table.
The half-bald middle-aged man and the old man in cloth armor sat on the left side of the long table, the former five seats away from the witch, and the latter right in the middle of the two.
The two little girls sat on the left side of the long table, next to each other, but three seats away from the middle-aged witch.
The mortals were all sitting far away from the gods, and now they all looked at Shade.
"Unexpected guests, please take your seats. The cocktail party is about to begin. I am actually looking forward to it now."
The red-robed god urged, and then added:
"From your next sentence on, they will understand your language."
Xia De nodded and wanted to sit between the old man in armor and the bald middle-aged man, that is, facing the two girls. Unexpectedly, just as he raised his feet, he heard the god in black clothes and red cloak sternly say:
"You, give up your seat."
The middle-aged witch turned around and looked at Xia De, trembling, turned back and supported herself on the table, lowered her head and stood up. She sat down on the seat on the left, one seat away from the seat at the end, and one seat away from the two little girls.
"Take a seat, unexpected guest."
He extended the invitation.
Xia De sighed and walked to the end of the dining table under the gaze of the other five people. The chair automatically pulled over, and Xia De came to the table. When he sat down, the chair moved forward to the appropriate position.
Looking at the five people with different expressions, Xia De said nothing. He placed his right arm on the white tablecloth, leaned his body slightly to the right, raised his face and looked forward.
As he stared into the eyes of the god, the dense lines on his body spread, and the light marks bloomed like burning golden embers. The cracks even passed through his cheeks and eyes, making him stare at the god's right eye, which seemed to be cracked and flashing golden light.
Fortunately, this is just decoration. The essence is the divinity in the soul that spontaneously radiates some afterglow.
"The Duke."
Xia De said this under the huge mental pressure that almost made him faint. The other five people were stunned at the same time, obviously realizing that they understood Xia De's words:
"This cocktail party..."
The half-bald man was surprised, the two little girls were terrified, the old man in armor frowned and hesitated, and the middle-aged witch had a solemn expression.
"...How can this end?"
No one expected Xia De to ask such a question, and no one expected to see such a horrible abnormality on a man.
But no one dared to speak to Shade, because the gods were communicating with him:
"Mortals who come here on their own initiative are all eager to receive blessings through my reception."
The blood-sucking god clasped his hands together and placed them on the table. He was quite rational and did not even look like an evil god. At this time, there was nothing on the table except three candlesticks:
"He wants to save his country which is on the verge of collapse."
This must be referring to the half-bald man. Shade had just guessed that he was some king.
"They want to lift the curse and the contract and never be separated."
This must be referring to the two little girls wearing black and white gauze skirts respectively.
"He wanted to repay a favor."
This should refer to the old man in armor.
"She is simply pursuing greater power."
This sentence was said by the middle-aged witch.
"So before the reception starts, please tell me, what do you want? An unexpected guest?"
The god asked. If Shade didn't know the other party's information, hearing the tone, he would probably think that the other party was also a good god.
"I want to attend your reception and have it end when the time is right."
Shade said honestly.
"But as a guest, you didn't bring any gift to the party, which is precious enough blood."
"But I..."
He wanted to extend his wrist.
"I don't want your blood."
The tone of the blood-sucking god was unusually elegant:
"I just sniffed my nose and I knew your blood meant nothing to me."
Indeed, although Shad's soul can store divinity, there is nothing special about the body of the former homeless man. It is understandable that the god with the title of "God of Bloodsucking" despises his blood.
"Then... I'll come again next time?"
Shade asked again tentatively, while wondering where he could get enough valuable blood.
"No, no, no, I allow you to come empty-handed this time, but not next time. Next time, remember to bring the blood you didn't bring this time. It can be precious value, a blood story, or just very rare. All of these are fine."
Like the original innocent creator, the blood-sucking gods also knew about the affairs of the Shadow, but it seemed that it was not surprising to them that mortals came from the distant future to the present.
"Then, ladies and gentlemen, I declare that the cocktail party at Night Manor is officially open!"
"God, I am honored to have a wine tasting with you, but how will this wine tasting end?"
Xia De hasn't forgotten what he wants to do.
"Do you like drinking?"
The blood-sucking god asked. Shade hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth:
"I usually don't drink if I don't have to."
"Then your life is really boring."
The saint laughed and said:
"To attend my wine party, you must donate enough blood and taste the blood wine I provide. Those who survive can leave. It's very simple. You just have to taste the wine with me like them. As for the end of the wine party? When all the mortals who participated in the wine party have died, or all the blood wine has been tasted, then of course the wine party will end."