98: Chapter 98 The Price of the Ritual! War Breaks Out in the Western Border of the Empire! Golan Fortress!

The clouds dispersed and the rain ceased; the room was silent.

After experiencing the Embracing Ritual and the subsequent pleasure, Elena was exhausted, curled up in Rowan's arms, and fast asleep.

The cool body temperature belonging to a vampire intertwined with the softness of a human woman, carrying a strange sensation.

However, Rowan felt a rare sense of weakness wash over him like a tide.

It was not a depletion of physical strength or mental power, but a deeper sense of emptiness.

He stirred his thoughts, and the panel unfolded in his mind.

[Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique Lv3 (869 / 30000) (Low-tier Great Knight)]

His pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

As expected!

He clearly remembered that after smelting "Scarlet Praise" and gaining the [Vampire Prince] trait, the Breathing Technique proficiency had surged from 9 points to 1209 points.

Although he hadn't practiced deliberately since then, with the Lv3 Myriad Phenomena Melting Furnace's characteristic of running spontaneously at all times, the proficiency should have increased naturally, and should be at least around 1210 points right now.

But now, there were only 851 points.

A full reduction of 360 points!

This reduced proficiency was... the cost of that Embracing Ritual just now!

Rowan's gaze calmed down, and he fell into deep thought.

He had faintly sensed it before; for the [Vampire Prince] to bestow its own origin essence blood onto others through the Embracing Ritual, completing the transformation of life form, and significantly extending lifespan—how could such an act against heaven be without a price?

Now it seemed the price was the consumption of the cultivation he had practiced in his furnace, or rather, a portion of the origin energy that formed the foundation of his power.

That drop of dark golden [Source Blood] was not ordinary blood, but the essence of the [Vampire Prince] trait within the Myriad Phenomena Melting Furnace.

Its consumption directly weakened the intensity of the furnace, reflected in the sharp drop in Breathing Technique proficiency.

"Performing one Embracing Ritual consumes 360 points of proficiency..." Rowan calculated silently in his heart.

Smelting a Perfect-grade Breathing Technique could yield about 1200 points of proficiency.

It could support three Embracing Rituals.

Daily Breathing Technique practice could yield one point of proficiency.

It was equivalent to a year of practice to perform one Embracing Ritual.

And this didn't even account for the possibility that as his strength increased, the quality of the Source Blood might be higher, and the consumption might also increase.

After calculating, Rowan felt speechless.

Elena had just eaten a year's worth of his cultivation, but he had only managed a Drain of four free attribute points in return.

This time, it was a huge loss!!!

He had been quite happy when he saw Elena successfully transformed and her score increase by two points, thinking about whether to strike while the iron was hot and perform the Embracing Ritual on Mira in the next room tonight as well.

After all, Mira's score was as high as 88, with higher potential. If he could let her also increase by two points to reach the 90-point threshold, the free attribute points harvested later would be massive.

But now, the massive consumption of proficiency made him cool down quickly.

The Embracing Ritual was not a cost-free business; it consumed his own cultivation foundation.

Moreover, the original extraordinary traits within the target's body would conflict with the power of the Source Blood, requiring the initiator of the ritual to expend mental energy and power to reconcile them.

It was not every time that there could be such a good result of score increase as with Elena.

The more powerful and unique the target's original power system, the more intense the conflict with the vampire power might be, the greater the difficulty of reconciliation, and the higher the risk of failure.

Even if successful, it might not necessarily stimulate the sublimation of their life essence and bring about an increase in the score.

Mira practiced the Mesa Family's Red Maple Breathing Technique and had already reached Official Knight level. Her battle aura attributes were Blazing and vigorous; did they conflict with the vampire constitution?

How much improvement could there be after the Embracing Ritual?

If it failed to increase her score, his 360 points of proficiency would be wasted for nothing—the risk was too great!

Thinking of this, Rowan made a decision in his heart.

Put Mira's matter aside for now, observe her subsequent development, as well as the specific changes and adaptability of Elena after the transformation, and then decide.

The urgent matter was to get the secret medicine of the Great Knight level to speed up the practice of his Breathing Technique.

Otherwise, at the current turtle-crawling practice speed, it would take ten thousand days, nearly thirty years, to advance to High-Order Grand Knight, let alone the realms after that.

He couldn't wait that long.

He sighed inwardly; practicing the Breathing Technique was still too laborious. How could it compare to the ease and happiness of a Drain of free attribute points? The progress was even faster...

He glanced at Elena, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms, and his fingertips brushed over her cheeks, which had become smoother and more delicate.

But in any case, this first Embracing Ritual was a success. Having one more fully controlled clan descendant was not a waste of effort.

After thinking for a moment, he stopped struggling with these thoughts and, together with Elena, fell into a deep sleep.

...

Meanwhile.

In the western territory of the Augustus Empire.

Unlike the undercurrents in the North, this was a cruel battlefield where flesh and blood flew and iron and fire collided.

Since the disastrous defeat at the Twilight Canyon battle years ago, and the Empire's loss of Blackthorn City, the strategic hub of the West known as the [Unfallen Iron Thorn], the Empire's western defense line had been forced to shrink significantly.

The remnants of the Empire's [Fierce Wind Legion] and various reinforcements retreated to the second line of defense, Golan Fortress.

Since then, Golan Fortress had become the forefront barrier of the Empire's West, forming a protracted standoff with the Dark Night Federation army occupying Blackthorn City on the vast Twilight Creek Plain.

Small-scale friction, scout battles, and harassment battles occurred almost every day.

And on this winter night when snow began to fall in the North again, the tranquility of Golan Fortress was completely broken.

Without warning, without a declaration of war, the Dark Night Federation's legions, under the cover of the thick night, suddenly launched a long-planned large-scale surprise attack!

Leading them was the [Silent Blade Legion], mainly composed of elite Dark Elves, supplemented by strange troop types of other races.

They were like a tide surging from the darkness, rushing silently and swiftly towards the walls and outer positions of Golan Fortress.

The shrill alarm instantly resounded through the night sky!

Magic flares rose one after another, illuminating the area under the city walls as bright as day, also reflecting countless hideous faces and cold, flashing blades.

Arrows were like locusts, magic brilliance exploded, and the roar of siege equipment mixed with the angry roars and screams of soldiers, instantly dragging Golan Fortress into a bloody meat grinder.

Inside Golan Fortress, besides the imperial garrison, there was an extremely important force stationed there.

Lunhe Magic Tower!

This high tower did not belong to the imperial military, but was one of the most prestigious spatial magic research institutions within the Empire.

The reason it chose to be established here, besides assisting in defending the border, was more importantly that there were some natural weak points in the spatial structure in the Twilight Creek Plain area, with layered sub-spaces gathered, making it an excellent place for researching spatial magic.

Usually, the mages of the tower would also provide some magic support and defense reinforcement at the request of the military.

At this moment, the interior of the tower was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

The light of the teleportation array lit up from time to time, teleporting injured soldiers or urgent intelligence back.

Low-level mages and apprentices were busy moving magic materials, reinforcing the defensive magic arrays inside the tower.

"Senior Sister Sylvia! The Dark Night Federation's Silent Blade Legion has launched a large-scale attack!"

"The front line is under pressure, Instructor Dalia wants you to go to the central control room immediately!"

A young female apprentice named Annabelle, wearing a light blue mage robe, rushed into a private research room that was simply furnished but full of elegant and intellectual atmosphere, panting.

The owner of the research room, Sylvia Latour, was currently standing in front of the arc-shaped window like an astrology platform, gazing at the magic brilliance and the fire soaring into the sky erupting from the distant city walls.