The First Vampire

Chapter 678: 676 Temptation_1
 

East, White Dew City.

The sun is just right, and the breeze is not drying.

A young maid pushes an elderly man in a wheelchair, leisurely walking in the courtyard of the White Dew Fortress, enjoying the afternoon sun.

When the guards in the castle saw the old man, they all respectfully bowed and greeted him:

“Mr. Oberth!”

Oberth St. Prowse, once, was an illustrious name.

But even the most powerful knights and illustrious nobles cannot withstand the ravages of time.

Now Oberth is old, and there are no familiar faces left in the White Dew Fortress, and even the East is completely different than in his memory.

If he were ten years younger, if he could stand up again, Oberth would never watch St. Prowse Family decline as it has now.

The wheelchair traverses a long corridor and arrives at a courtyard.

A chubby little boy is holding a short wooden sword and practicing with a knight.

The little boy is only three or four years old, at an age of childish innocence. Rather than practicing swordsmanship, it’s more like playing.

He swings the short wooden sword wildly, forcing the tall knight to retreat again and again, and immediately makes the little guy excited and laugh heartily.

Seeing her son Eckert cheerfully jumping around, Marchioness Molly also smiles. But a second later, she notices Oberth’s arrival out of the corner of her eye and quickly stops her son. Together they go to greet him.

“Grandpa Oberth!”

Oberth greets his grand-nephew with a gentle smile, but deep down he fails to suppress a rising disgust.

In his view, the fact that Eckert, the next Duke of the St. Prowse family, has chosen a Northern Earl to be his tutor, is an utter humiliation.

And the lady, Molly, is content to be Colin’s lover. Oh, right, her family of origin, the Howell family, has already betrayed the East and has become a vassal of the North Territory!

Oberth doesn’t need to think to know that the East will gradually become a de facto vassal of the North Territory, without any independence.

Although he is full of resentment, Oberth feels helpless about it.

In fact, there have been quite a few knights from the St. Prowse family who secretly came to visit him, hoping that this respected elder of the St. Prowse family could take control of the situation at this critical moment, so the East doesn’t continue to fall into decline.

But every time, Oberth pretends to be doting and senile, dismissing them.

It’s not that Oberth doesn’t want to help the St. Prowse family restore their glory, but he is just too weak to do so now.

Furthermore, even if he stood up now, what could he possibly change?

The betrayal of the Howell family has made the Angry River no longer a barrier against the North. And that Colin Angler, it’s said that he’s just led the Imperial Allied Army to defeat the Orc army in the Luwal Valley.

Oberth understands that the rise of this Northerner is unstoppable, and the East has no power to resist.

Given this, it’s better to let Eckert obediently behave. At least it could preserve the St. Prowse family, so they won’t be vanquished.

“Little guy, why are you practicing swordsmanship?” Oberth asked with a chuckle.

“To become a powerful knight, just like my teacher, and defeat all invading enemies!”

The child-like blabber of Eckert once again stabbed Oberth’s heart. He no longer wanted to maintain his surface smile. After scoffing, he let the maid behind him push his wheelchair away.

Eckert watched his grandpa’s retreating figure with a puzzled look and asked:

“Mother, did I say something wrong?”@@novelbin@@

Madam Molly tenderly strokes her son’s head and smiles:

“No, what you said was right. Grandpa Oberth is just too tired.”

The little guy acknowledged it and immediately picked up the short wooden sword, sparing no time to practice with his swordsmanship teacher again.

On the other side, Oberth had no more mood for a leisurely walk. After instructing the maid to take him back to his room, he shut the door and sulked alone.

They say that the older people get, the more they like to reminisce. The reality is that in their memories, they aren’t trapped in their decadent bodies, allowing them to rediscover their once youthful and spirited selves.

Oberth’s gaze became gradually lost, and the lines of sight faded. The faces of those he once knew seemed to be right in front of him, transporting Oberth back to his youthful days.

But the next second, a face froze before his eyes, causing Oberth to furrow his brows.

“Damn Kurd, you undying wretch!” Oberth couldn’t help but swear aloud, his hand swiping through the air as if trying to dissipate the detestable image.

“Is this how you welcome an old friend, Marquis Oberth?”

The face before him suddenly spoke, giving Oberth quite a fright.

He blinked and cleaned out his ears, thinking he had suffered an auditory hallucination. But the irritating smile on the face remained, no matter how hard he tried to disperse it.

Only then did Oberth reluctantly realize that the figure before him was not a product of his imagination, but a flesh and blood person from his past!

“You… You’re… Kurd?”

“Of course. My lord Marquis.”

“Impossible! Impossible!” Oberth shook his head vehemently, “How could you be this young! It must be an illusion, an illusion. I need to rest, need to rest…”

Kurd, the mage, leaned forward with a smile, bringing his face closer to Oberth and saying:

“To know if it’s an illusion or not, why don’t you touch me?”

Oberth took a few frantic breaths, and despite his reservations, extended a shaking hand.

But the moment he made contact with Kurd, he pulled back as if electrocuted, repeating, “Impossible, impossible,” in a neurotic manner.

“Why would it be impossible?” Kurd straightened up, a smirk of arrogance painted across his face, “Didn’t you all think the Holy Knight was invincible? But didn’t one of them get killed by my student?”

“Your student? You’re talking about… Mr. Ji?” Oberth realized something as Kurd nodded confirmation, and promptly asked, “Could this be another forbidden magic you’ve newly developed? Which city did you sacrifice this time?”

Kurd shook his head and said:

“This is an experiment I started a long time ago. There’s no city to sacrifice, just a young, robust heart will do.”

“A young, robust heart…” Oberth swallowed hard, a yearning in his eyes he could not conceal, but he tried to downplay his interest saying, “So why did you come to me? Are you here to show off?”

Kurd smiled slightly, his words dripping with an irresistible temptation:

“Of course not. I’m here to extend an invitation to you.”

“What invitation?”

“The world is becoming more and more dull, more and more degenerate.” Kurd spread his arms as if delivering a public speech. “It’s time for us, the old guard, to step back onto the stage of the game. Let’s chase away these young, ignorant clowns!”

Oberth could feel his heart throbbing, but he clung to his last shred of rationality and calmly asked:

“Don’t try to fool me with this nonsense, what is it that you truly want?”

Kurd’s lips curled upwards slightly, his voice mellow:

“I want to establish a new order!”

Without waiting for Oberth to respond, he turned around and left, leaving behind one final remark:

“Marquis Oberth, think about it. This is a forbidden magic of rejuvenation. And my invitation isn’t only for you. You have a month to decide. This offer won’t wait around.”

Seeing Kurd seemingly about to leave, Oberth could no longer maintain his calm. He asked urgently:

“Wait! What do you want me to do?”

With a smug smile on his face, without turning back, Kurd said:

“You have to show me your value. Otherwise, how can I waste such a precious forbidden spell on someone useless.”

“I can control the St. Prowse family, as long as I’m willing…”

“Is that so? Then prove it.”

“Fine! You wait and see!”

Oberth called out to the gradually disappearing figure of Kurd. His enthusiastic demeanour was nothing like that of a man on his deathbed.