The eastern courtyard of the Blood-Stone Citadel was a slaughterhouse. Just as Lylin predicted, the moment the Nine-River Alliance vanguard breached the inner perimeter, the desperate Crimson-Fang Clan elders detonated the Ancestral Blood-Pool. A roaring shockwave of boiling, acidic blood erupted from beneath the cobblestones, instantly vaporizing two thousand elite human cultivators and liquefying the flesh of the surrounding vampire defenders. The sky turned a sickening shade of rusted iron. Silence settled over the ruins, broken only by the crackle of dying fires and the agonizing groans of the wounded. Deep beneath the burning courtyard, inside the subterranean vault of the Crimson-Fang Clan, space folded like paper. The Void Gate flared to life, and Lylin stepped into the vault accompanied by Clone Twenty-Six (Realm Auditor) and Clone Twenty-Two (Siege Breaker). Row upon row of polished blood-spirit crystals, ancient bone scrolls, and chests overflowed with refined blood-jade illuminated the dark vault in a deep scarlet hue—the accumulated wealth of a three-thousand-year-old noble lineage, completely abandoned by its dying masters above. "Assessing inventory," Clone Twenty-Six (Realm Auditor) stated, his runic stamps hovering over the chests. "Forty thousand high-grade blood-spirit crystals, twelve Golden-Core level blood-art manuals, and three pristine spirit-vein cores." He slammed his auditor stamp onto the air, sweeping the entire vault's contents directly into the system's spatial storage array. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: VAULT CLEANSE COMPLETE: CRIMSON-FANG ANCESTRAL RESERVES SECURED. DIRECT RESOURCE CONVERSION: +12,500 SYSTEM ENERGY UNITS. TOTAL RESERVES: 17,250 / 5,000 UNITS (OVERFLOW STORED IN SYSTEM RESERVES). "Host," Clone Eighteen (Soul Collector) reported through the neural link from the battlefield above. "The surviving Alliance Grand Elder and the Crimson-Fang Patriarch are currently engaged in a final, mutual destruction strike on the main ramparts. Both have suffered core fractures." "Executioner, Mind Weaver—ascend," Lylin ordered coldly across the bridge. On the shattering central spire of the citadel, the Crimson-Fang Patriarch—his bat wings ragged and dripping with black blood—coughed up a mouthful of golden core essence. Across from him, the Alliance Grand Elder leaned heavily on a cracked frost-sword, his breathing ragged and shallow. "We... both lose, human," the Patriarch wheezed, letting out a bitter, blood-choked laugh. "At least... your bloodline ends today..." the Grand Elder gasped, raising his sword for one last feeble blow. SHLICK. Two strands of liquid mercury pierced the back of the Grand Elder's knees, severing his remaining spiritual meridians. He collapsed onto his face with a choked cry. Before the Patriarch could react, a hooded figure stepped out of his shadow, pressing a smoke-enshrouded palm directly against his forehead. OBLIVION TOUCH. The Patriarch's crimson pupils dilated, then went completely vacant. Simultaneously, Clone Twenty-Seven pressed his other hand against the fallen Grand Elder's head. Ten seconds later, both supreme commanders of the Blood-Moon Realm's greatest forces stood up in absolute, eerie silence. They bowed deeply to the shadow coalescing on the highest pinnacle of the citadel. "Master," both leaders chanted in unison, their voices void of all previous hatred. Lylin materialized atop the spire, his black robes fluttering in the ash-laden wind. Beneath him lay a broken realm, two crippled armies, and a completely subjugated leadership. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: REALM CONQUEST: THE BLOOD-MOON REALM (WORLD 3/11). SUPREME LEADERSHIP CONVERTED TO MIND-ANCHORED PROXIES. WORLD STATUS: INTEGRATED INTO SHADOW-REST ASSOCIATION NETWORK. Lylin looked out over the desolate horizon of the Third World, his golden eyes burning with absolute, sovereign power. "Order the surviving forces to cease fire," Lylin commanded his two puppet leaders. "Rebuild the citadel as the Shadow-Rest Association's Third Inter-Realm Hub. The Blood-Moon Realm now pays its taxes to the shadow."

The Harvest of Ashes