Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 331 A Promise Hundreds of Years Ago

Tonight seems especially cold and long.

Sylvia's body trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. What she saw was the full moon that had not yet set.

It was so quiet around.

The vampire mage found a cloak draped over her body. She struggled to get up, but almost bumped into a stone sword as thick as a door panel.

"Are you awake?" The Count's voice sounded the same as before. "Are you still able to move? While there is still time, hurry up and complete the ritual."

"My benefactor..."

"They are not dead. I spared their lives." The Vampire Count stepped aside, and all Victoria saw were her companions who were beaten without any chance to fight back.

The power that Count Richthofen pursued might not be the top-notch one, but he was in his own fiefdom, surrounded by his servants, with all magic items and equipment at his disposal, making him almost invincible to Ron's team.

Unless someone like Mazarino or Gillianis takes action, their failure is irreversible.

Sylvia managed to stand up. The magic circle they had set up was intact, but there was a big hole on the outside that was created by brute force. The half-elf warrior was pressed into the hole. The tower shield that once provided shelter for the entire team was deformed by a heavy object and was twisted into a pretzel shape and thrown aside at random.

Quest and Victoria were in slightly better conditions, but they were also in a coma; the goblin hunter was not seen until Sylvia raised her head - the vampire lord hung his belt on a relief on the second floor of the castle as a slight punishment for the guy who had tried to shoot his eyes several times just now.

As for his distant aunt and the impolite lord next door, the earl was obviously gentler, at least he did not beat them to unconsciousness. Sylvia saw several exhausted gems scattered at Ron's feet, thinking that he had tried his best just now.

"Sylvia..." Ron smiled bitterly when he saw his companion wake up, and threw away the short bow that was broken into two pieces. "I'm sorry, we can't beat him."

"But don't you understand even now? He is not someone who would give up his power for others! His wife and daughter are right next to you, look at them! Do you think you can win his favor more than them?!"

"If you can't do it with your hands, are you going to start talking?"

To the Earl's surprise, Sylvia actually said this. The vampire chuckled and looked at Ron with some pity: "My benefactor, at this point, don't you understand the situation?"

"I will not give up, and I cannot give up - Lord Earl, if I refuse to perform the ritual, can you let all of us leave safely?"

The vampire lord did not answer, but took the obsidian knife that had just been thrown on the ground and handed it to Sylvia. The answer was self-evident. If Sylvia obeyed him, the lives of others would not matter; but if Sylvia refused, the vampire would have no choice but to let her have no worries.

"Go and dig out her heart." Count Richthofen threw the giant sword that could be wielded with one hand to the gargoyle and pointed at the witch who was bound by the magic sword in the magic circle. "You must complete this step. Move quickly. If the heart is completely cold, the success rate of the ritual will be greatly reduced. I can't guarantee what will happen."

Hecate looked at Sylvia in horror as she approached with a knife, but she could not make any sound because her mouth was sealed. The obsidian sword glowed with a faint purple light under the moonlight and stabbed into her chest.

"Very good. In this way, the impurities of that witch have been completely eliminated." The count watched with satisfaction as Sylvia pushed the magic circle step by step under his command, until he took over the jade bowl filled with blood, flesh and mud, and poured the crushed and ground mixture around the magic circle.

The candles formed in a circle suddenly burst into bright blood flames, illuminating the entire manor like day!
"Okay! Now!" The Earl's eyes shone brightly, and an obscure spell came out of his mouth, turning into substance and stirring the space around him. Dark clouds gathered and strong winds howled. Ron and Yelena looked up at the sky in horror, only to find that there was no moonlight between heaven and earth!
"This is not a blood transfer ceremony!" Ron shouted, "Sylvia, get out of here quickly! He is going to summon some kind of existence!"

"It's too late!" The Count laughed wildly as he watched the sudden changes in the world and Sylvia trying to escape but being blocked by the barrier activated outside the magic circle. "Hundreds of years! I have waited for this day for hundreds of years! No matter what you do, it's too late!"

"What on earth do you want to do?!" Sylvia tried to control the Yethis hounds to come in and protect their master, but this magic circle seemed to be able to completely block the support from the etheric plane, and the hounds could not get in at all. And she herself had no chance of defeating him.

"What? What else can you do?" The Earl laughed grimly, "To gain the power of this land, of course!"

He howled to the sky, "Lich! I will follow your words and dedicate the body and soul of my loved ones to you! I will use a creature with half vampire blood as a medium, and the people of the entire territory as a sacrifice! Come, add the power of the entire delusion land to me! I will become your most powerful arm!"

In the dark clouds, there was a faint roar of some terrifying creature. Ron hurriedly took out the spell scroll to protect his mind from his backpack and tore it open to prevent him and Yelena from being affected.

But he soon found that doing so seemed a bit unnecessary, because before he cast the spell, a thin gray mist rose from the ground and surrounded Ron silently. Yelena did not know the details of the mist, and only thought it was a projection of power from the horizon. However, Ron understood: this was a gift from the End of Spells.

"Capone," a long sigh came from afar. In the rolling clouds, a being wrapped in black mist slowly approached the count's castle. "I didn't expect that after so many years, you actually succeeded."

"You are lucky. The companies that came after you were not as close to success as you were, so the agreement we made back then is still valid."

"You gave up too early," the Earl smiled smugly. He and the being in the black fog seemed to be old acquaintances. "Stop talking nonsense. I have strictly followed your instructions. Now, it's your turn to fulfill your promise!"

"In the thousands of years of the Richthofen family tradition, no one has ever been as close to success as I am!"

(End of this chapter)