Gospel of Blood

In front of a damaged fur shop at the head of the escort convoy.

Furs were scattered everywhere, many burned or torn apart.

An elderly woman sat on the ground, clutching an ancient totem sculpture, muttering prayers. Her animal-hide robe was covered in footprints and filth, clearly indicating she had been beaten.

Standing around her were several teenagers dressed in traditional northern animal-hide robes, glaring at another group of youths in Yunette-style clothing.

The latter group outnumbered the former. They held high-quality furs, obviously looted from the shop, and clustered around a young northern noble dressed in Yunette-style noble attire. He looked proudly at the chaotic scene and the teenagers protecting the elderly woman.

“Gunnar, I’m telling you again, return the stolen goods, compensate for the shop’s damages, and apologize to Granny Stella!”

In front of the teenagers, a girl dressed like a northern pirate, holding a short sword, protected the elderly woman. She glared coldly at the noble youth.

The noble youth sneered, glanced dismissively at the girl’s sword, and said,

“Astrid, don’t think I won’t lay a hand on you just because your father is a warrior.”

He then bowed in the direction of Winterfort Castle and said haughtily.

“The Archduke has decreed that all residents of Winterfort must abandon their ignorant beliefs and convert to the great Creator God! Those stubborn heretics who refuse will not be protected by Winterfort and will be forcibly expelled!”

He scoffed at the totem sculpture the old woman held.

“This old hag still clings to her false beliefs. We’re merely following the Archduke’s orders to expel these stubborn heretics.”

“That’s nonsense! The Archduke’s orders only apply to the extraordinary. You bastards just want to rob the shop and act like bandits!”

“Ungrateful scum! Have you forgotten who helped the Forest Tribe sell furs in Winterfort and transported supplies for you?”

The girl angrily retorted.

The noble youth’s expression turned uneasy at her reprimand. However, seeing more people gathering around, he regained his arrogance.

“I remember Stella’s Fur Shop’s help, but that was in the past. Such things are insignificant compared to the true faith.”

He turned to the girl.

“As for you, Astrid, I heard your father has accepted the Archduke’s terms. Why are you standing up for heretics now? Do you still cling to your foolish savior?”

“Hahaha…”

The noble youth’s taunt elicited laughter from the other northern youths around him.

“You… scum!”

Astrid, enraged, raised her short sword and charged at the noble youth.

The surrounding youths were momentarily stunned and quickly shouted.

“Stop her! Protect Young Master Gunnar!”

However, Astrid was faster. She shouted, her energy surging, and kicked away the youths one by one, heading straight for the noble youth.

Clearly, although the noble youth’s group was larger, they were no match for Astrid.

“An extraordinary! She’s an extraordinary!”

The youths cried out in shock as they felt Astrid’s power.

Facing Astrid’s charge, the noble youth named Gunnar snorted, drawing a northern short sword from under his robe to fight her.

Clang! Bang!

They clashed once, with Astrid not taking a step back, while Gunnar staggered back three or four steps, a blood mark appearing on his face.

Gunnar wiped the blood off his face, his expression darkening.

“This is the price for abandoning honor, Gunnar. You can’t even beat a zero-tier girl like me!”

Astrid taunted, pointing her short sword at Gunnar.

His face turned darker. He squinted, his aura growing dangerous.

At that moment, a rough shout came from nearby.

“What are you kids doing? There’s an esteemed guest here, disperse at once!”

The youths turned to see the angry Isaac cavalry and the grim-faced Marquis Vladimir.

“What happened here?”

Marquis Vladimir glanced at the shop and the confronting youths, asking.

Gunnar recognized Vladimir immediately. He lowered his short sword and respectfully saluted.

“Lord Marquis, I am Gunnar, son of the Forest Tribe’s chief. These heretics from the Free Tribe Alliance are trying to protect heretics in the city, leading to this conflict…”

“Rubbish! You robbed the shop and bullied civilians!”

Astrid angrily retorted.

Marquis Vladimir looked at the girl, then at the boy. He quickly understood the situation, his expression momentarily hesitant before becoming calm and cold.

“I don’t care what happened before, return to your respective tribe’s quarters! You’re embarrassing Winterfort in front of our guests!”

Hearing Vladimir’s words, the noble youth obeyed respectfully, casting a taunting smile at the girl.

Astrid grew angrier, realizing Vladimir was siding with them.

“What’s wrong? Are you dissatisfied?”

Vladimir asked coldly.

Astrid clenched her lips tighter. She looked at the Castell family and the Holy Court flags at the convoy’s rear, then at the taunting youth in front of her, fists clenched.

Amidst gasps, she suddenly cut her palm with her short sword, tore a piece of her robe, stained it with blood, and threw it before the youth.

“Gunnar of the Forest Tribe, I, Astrid of the Free Tribe Alliance, challenge you to an honor duel in the name of Northern Honor!”

Seeing this, Marquis Vladimir grew furious.

“Astrid! Do you think I won’t imprison you? Guards! Arrest this heretic and put her in the castle dungeon!”

As the guards moved to obey, a gentle voice interrupted.

“Marquis, please wait a moment.”

Marquis Vladimir’s anger dissipated, turning awkward as he faced Sebastian.

“Apologies, Sir Sebastian, our northern children can be unruly. Pardon their behavior.”

“No problem at all. I quite appreciate your country’s warrior spirit.”

Sebastian replied, waving his hand. He looked at the confronting youths with interest, especially the girl.

Recognizing her instantly, he realized she was one of the lost followers the True Ancestor had shown in visions, a target he was meant to contact.

The world truly is small, Sebastian thought, having anticipated leveraging northern nobles’ resources to find his target, only to encounter her shortly after entering Winterfort.

He then glanced at the shop and the elderly woman, noting the totem sculpture she held. The totem sculpture seemed very familiar to him, mainly because it resembled the divine symbol of the True Ancestor. It looked as if it was a thorny rose that had been half-erased.

Sebastian instantly realized the truth.

The lost believers the True Ancestor had directed him to find were likely these people. The reason these people were lost was probably because, over the long history, they had lost the true divine symbol and couldn’t establish a connection with the God.

His gaze wandered over the crowd and finally settled on the girl. The girl, with a stubborn expression, was also staring at him.

Sebastian could clearly sense the girl’s strength. The girl was quite powerful. She appeared to be at most fifteen or sixteen years old but was only one step away from advancing to the next tier. A breakthrough might just require an opportunity, making her a rather promising individual for her age.

Of course, she couldn’t be compared to the True Ancestor.

Moreover, her personality seemed too reckless and impulsive. Not only that, but her gaze towards him was also quite off. Sebastian could see the emotions in her eyes.

Anger, hostility, vigilance…

In any case, they were all negative emotions, there wasn’t a single positive one.

Sebastian touched his nose and could roughly guess why. She probably saw him as a “lackey” of the Holy Court.

He wasn’t the least bit angry about it. On the contrary, he was somewhat pleased.

Evidently, many of these lost believers in the North still held firm faith, they just needed to re-establish contact with the True Ancestor.

Thinking this, Sebastian withdrew his gaze and looked at Marquis Vladimir, smiling as he said,

“Your Excellency Marquis, just now… that was a Northern Honor Challenge, similar to the Yunette Knights’ duel, right?”

Marquis Vladimir instinctively nodded, then hesitated and shook his head,

“It’s just some kids messing around.”

“Heh, Your Excellency Marquis, judging by the expression on this young lady’s face, she seems quite serious. As far as I know, the Northern Honor Challenge is a battle where Northern warriors stake all their honor. Since she has made the choice, regardless of age or gender, I think it should be respected.”

Sebastian said.

After speaking, he looked at Astrid and, in her vigilant and surprised gaze, gently asked.

“You… are called Astrid, right? You want to challenge him in the Northern Honor Challenge. What do you wish to stake?”

Astrid glanced at the sullen-faced Gunnar and said,

“If I win, I want him to apologize to Granny Stella and compensate for all the store’s losses!”

“And… if you lose?”

Sebastian asked again.

The girl said,

“If I lose, I will not pursue this matter any further.”

Sebastian nodded and then looked at Marquis Vladimir.

“Your Excellency Marquis, what do you think…”

Marquis Vladimir saw Sebastian’s interest.

He hesitated, then looked at Gunnar and said,

“Gunnar, are you willing to accept her challenge?”

Gunnar’s expression was gloomy.

Refusing an honor challenge in the North was considered cowardly, he had no choice.

He coldly glanced at the girl and said,

“I am willing, but… I want to change the stakes. If I win, I want her to become my slave!”

Hearing Gunnar’s words, Astrid’s companions glared at him angrily, but the girl stopped them.

“Fine, but I also want to change the conditions. If I win, you will also become my slave!”

Astrid said calmly.

“Gunnar! Astrid! Don’t go too far!”

Marquis Vladimir shouted angrily.

“Your Excellency Marquis, it’s fine. Since it’s their decision, I think it should be respected.”

Sebastian said with a smile.

Marquis Vladimir hesitated.

He knew both of these brats were children of major tribal chiefs. If they truly became each other’s slaves, it would likely cause a series of problems.

However, just as he hesitated about whether to stop it, his expression changed slightly, and he looked towards the castle.

His ears twitched slightly, and the hesitation on his face disappeared. He looked at the two again and said,

“Alright, if you insist, then proceed with the challenge according to the ancient rules: until one party leaves the challenge area or can no longer stand.”

With Marquis Vladimir’s order, the crowd quickly made way, creating an open space for Astrid and Gunnar’s honor challenge.

Isaac’s cavalry drew a circle around the two. Under the onlookers’ gaze, the two faced off, raising their short swords.

Then, Astrid let out a loud shout and charged at the boy.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Bang!

Thud!

Clang!

The two instantly clashed.

Although they were both young, their strength was top-notch among their peers, and they fought to a standstill. Sebastian watched their fight with great interest.

Even with his picky standards, these Northern youths were quite strong.

He compared their strength to that of Borde’s Demon Hunters and found them much stronger than the trainees.

However, Astrid clearly had the upper hand in raw power.

This was not about technique but extraordinary strength. After a few rounds, Gunnar’s speed visibly slowed, and he began to be overpowered by Astrid.

Astrid’s companions cheered, while Gunnar’s side remained silent.

But… Is that really the case?

Sebastian’s eyes watched Gunnar with a meaningful look.

With the bloodline of the bloodborne, he could see a restless power brewing within Gunnar.

Just as Gunnar was about to be pushed out of the circle, his face flashed a vicious look, and he let out a furious shout.

A pale blue light burst from his body, and amidst the crowd’s exclamations, his aura surged. He counterattacked, slamming the girl to the ground.

“Boom—!”

With a loud crash, Astrid hit the ground and spat out blood.

Seeing the pale blue light, Sebastian’s expression cleared, then he looked at Marquis Vladimir.

“Your Excellency Marquis, if I’m not mistaken, this is some form of totem power, right?”

“Heh, it seems… this young man hasn’t truly converted to the Lord as he claimed.”

Seeing the pale blue light, Marquis Vladimir’s face turned ugly.

He snorted and was about to stop the challenge but was interrupted by Sebastian.

“Your Excellency Marquis, don’t be hasty. I see that this young lady hasn’t given up. As for the totem power…”

Sebastian paused and then smiled.

“No matter what method he used, we didn’t set any rules against using ‘faith’ power before the honor battle began.”

With that, he looked back at the challenge ground.

In the challenge ground, Astrid was coughing as she struggled to get up.

She gripped her short sword tightly and, with both mockery and laughter, looked at the boy.

“Gunnar…”

“Is this your ‘conversion’?”