Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 566 - 566th Gods Banquet

Chapter 566: 566th God’s Banquet Chapter 566: 566th God’s Banquet The deity was known as “Vampire Duke Lowell” because in the Early Years of the Fifth Era, He used a body called “Duke Lowell” as the Saint’s vessel, committing a great crime in the material world. The passage of Eras had obscured what exactly had happened then behind the veil of time, but clear evidence suggested that it was the emergence of the “Vampire Duke Lowell” that allowed the Vampire Race to rise in the early Fifth Era.

Therefore, later generations commonly referred to this Vampire God as “Vampire Duke Lowell.”

The purpose of the Vampire God’s appearance in the material world was mostly to taste the fresh blood of various intelligent beings in all kinds of evil and bizarre ways. Sometimes He might take an interest in a special target, while at other times, He might act like the “Lord of the Blood Feast,” wanting to devour as much blood as possible from mortal beings.

The situation Shard encountered this time should be the former, yet it was unknown whether he was the only guest at this banquet.

With these complex thoughts in mind and after confirming that no other information had reached his ears, Shard took a step forward. The surrounding mist immediately dispersed, and he found himself in a corridor lit with oil lamps.

Unlike the corridors of the Horror Fortress, this one was clearly a regularly used corridor in some aristocratic building. To the left was a row of windows through which one could see the peculiarly quiet night of the courtyard outside; to the right were closed doors, behind which one could faintly hear strange laughter.

“If I were to sing the witches’ song here, I wonder into which moment of the Witch Council I would enter.”

Shard thought to himself, somewhat curious that he hadn’t encountered immediate danger this time. But the atmosphere of the hallway, as well as the oppressive night outside the windows, were truly unsettling, so he continued forward along the corridor.

A few dozen steps later, he came to a corner of the hallway, where he could only turn right. After making the turn, he was still on a relatively spacious corridor, the bottom of which was about the width of a palm in white, while everything above was smeared with crimson paint.

Faded, ancient oil paintings hung on the walls, and from the oil lamps hanging on hooks, one could see the terrifying scenes of execution and creatures beyond human imagination depicted in them.

Even Shard dared not look too long at those paintings, as their effect on the psyche was far beyond his expectations.

He walked forward with his head down as much as possible, but still, whispers that tried to make him stop and examine the paintings lingered in his ears. Half a minute later, he reached the end of the hallway where a pair of imposing golden double doors stood. The relief on the doors depicted a lively banquet, but upon closer inspection, some of the attendees seemed oddly amiss.

Before Shard could make out the entire scene, both doors opened inward, revealing the room behind them.

Knowing he had arrived at his destination, Shard took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and then stepped inside.

Behind the door was a large aristocratic dining room apparently built for giants, with a ceiling at least as high as from the first floor to the attic of the Shard Family home, though its area was still somewhat reasonable.

The room’s floor was tiled with white porcelain tiles rare even in the Year 1853 of the Sixth Era, and high-hanging crystal chandeliers dangled one by one from the sky, radiating light alongside the bat-style oil lamps on the walls.

There was an eerie silence in the room, along with an extreme pressure. Shard’s nose twitched, and the scent of blood wafted through the air. But unlike the almost visible blood mist that formed when the “Lord of the Blood Feast” appeared, the blood scent in the air now was mixed with a fruity wine aroma and was not too unpleasant.

To the left of the room was a row of windows, not tightly curtained, but closed, offering a view of the oppressive and strange night outside the manor. On the right, there were small tables, chairs, and cabinets, seemingly to accommodate guests who were unable to sit at the main table.

A long table clothed in white was placed in the center of the room. At the far end of the table, directly opposite where Shard was standing at the entrance, sat a man draped in a blood-colored cape, pale and handsome, appearing to be in his thirties.

But with a single glance at Him, cracks appeared on the back of Shard’s hand, and little dots of golden light began to seep through the cracks in his skin.

He understood then that this person was the host of the banquet.

“How interesting, the last guest to arrive on time for this party is quite a surprise.”

The Saint gazed at Shard and greeted him in the Sixth Era’s Draleon language, with a strangely enthusiastic tone.

“Good evening, God.”

Shard dared not stare at the Saint for long and gave a slight bow to show his respect.

With a grating noise, the two doors behind Shard closed, and he also took notice of the other five individuals seated around the table.

A middle-aged man with a plump figure, wearing a lavish robe and a crown, partly bald; two girls around fourteen or fifteen years old, each in a black and a white gossamer dress, their stunningly similar beautiful features, long black hair, and blue eyes suggesting they were probably twins; a proud woman in her forties or fifties in a deep blue gown still radiating beauty; and an old man dressed in sturdy brown cloth armor, with gloves reaching up to his long sleeves, his face bearing the lines of a weather-beaten life and keen eyes, his hair white with age—clearly a warrior who had lived through his fair share of vicissitudes.

Unfortunately, there were no male Transcendents in the Fifth Era, so he was just a warrior.

“It seems I have not encountered Miss Feliana this time.”

[Only that adult woman is a witch.]

She whispered in Shard’s ear.

The proud woman sat directly opposite the Saint, at the other end of the long table closest to the door.

The balding middle-aged man and the man in cloth armor were seated on the left side of the long table, the former five seats away from the witch, and the latter in the middle of the two.

The two girls sat on the left side of the table, close to each other, but three seats away from the middle-aged witch.

The mortals were all seated far from the seats of the Deity, and at this moment, they all turned their gaze toward Shard.

“An unexpected guest, do take your seat, the feast is about to begin, and I am now somewhat looking forward to this event.”

The robed Deity urged, then added:

“From your next sentence onwards, they will all understand your language.”

Shard nodded and attempted to sit between the armored old man and the balding middle-aged man, exactly opposite the two girls. Just as he was about to lift his footsteps, he heard the Deity in the black cloak utter sternly:

“You, make room.”

The middle-aged witch, turning her gaze toward Shard, trembled slightly, then turned back, using the table for support as she stood up with her head lowered. She took the seat on the left, leaving a gap between herself and the end seat and also one seat apart from the two girls.

“Take your seat, unexpected guest.”

An invitation was issued.

Shard sighed and walked towards the end of the dining table under the scrutiny of the other five. The chair pulled itself out automatically, and as Shard approached the table and sat down, the chair moved forward to the correct position on its own.

Assessing the expressions of the five different people, Shard said nothing. He rested his right arm on the pristine tablecloth and leaned slightly forward to the right, his face lifted, looking straight ahead.

As he made eye contact with the deity, a dense pattern of light traces spread across his body, blazing like the golden embers of a fire. The cracks even passed over his cheeks and through his eyes, making his gaze upon the deity’s right eye flicker with golden glimmers.

Fortunately, this was just a decoration, the essence of it was the Divinity within his soul radiating some residual brightness.

“Duke.”

Shard, with a spiritual pressure nearly strong enough to render him unconscious, said, while the other five people were momentarily stunned, clearly realizing they had understood Shard’s words:

“This wine tasting…”

The balding man looked surprised, the two young girls were panic-stricken, the old man in armor frowned in hesitation, and the middle-aged witch’s expression was grave.

“…how can it be brought to an end?”

No one had expected Shard to pose such a question, nor had they expected to see such a terrifying abnormality upon a man.

But no one dared to speak with Shard, for the deity was communicating with him:

“Mortals who come here on their own volition all seek blessings through my wine tasting.”

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The blood-drinking deity folded his hands together on the table, appearing quite rational, not at all like an Evil God. At that moment, apart from three candlesticks, the table was bare:

“He, wants to save his country that is on the verge of collapse.”

This undoubtedly referred to the balding man, whom Shard had guessed to be some king.

“They, want to break the curse and the pact, to never be separated.”

This clearly referred to the two young girls dressed in black and white gauze.

“He, has received a kindness and wishes to repay it.”

This must be referring to the old man in armor.

“She, is simply in pursuit of greater power.”

This statement was about the middle-aged witch.

“So before the wine tasting begins, tell me, what do you want, unexpected guest?”

The deity inquired, and if it were not for knowing the other’s background, Shard might have thought the deity was a Benevolent God.

“I would like to participate in your wine tasting and have it end at an appropriate time.”

Shard said honestly.

“But as a guest, you have not brought a gift for the wine tasting, that is, blood precious enough.”

“But I…”

He wanted to reach for his wrist.

“I do not want your blood.”

The tone of the Vampire God was unusually elegant:

“I can tell with just a twitch of my nose that your blood is of no significance to me.”

Indeed, although Shard’s soul could store Divinity, his former vagabond body had nothing special about it. It made sense that a deity known as the “Vampire God” would disdain his blood.

“Then… shall I come back another time?”

Shard ventured to ask again, simultaneously wondering where he could obtain blood valuable enough.

“No no no, this time I allow you to come empty-handed, but not the next time. Next time, remember to bring the blood you didn’t bring this time. Precious value, the story of the blood, or even just its rarity, any of these will do.”

Like the original “Creator of Innocence,” the Vampire God was also aware of Shard’s circumstances. But it seemed that for them, the fact that mortals came from the distant future to the present was not surprising.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, I declare the wine tasting at Night Manor officially open!”

“God, I am honored to taste wine with you, but may I ask, how will this wine tasting end?”

Shard hadn’t forgotten his ultimate goal.

“Do you like drinking wine?”

The blood-drinking deity asked, and Shard hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth:

“If not necessary, I usually do not drink.”

“Then your life is truly dull.”

The Saint laughed:

“Join my wine tasting, offer enough fresh blood, and taste the Blood Wine I provide. Those who survive may leave. It’s very simple, you just need to taste wine with me like the others. As for when the wine tasting ends? When all the mortals participating have died, or when all the Blood Brew has been tasted, then, of course, the wine tasting will end.”