Unknown Force and Conflict

The war between the vampires and the empire had persisted for fifteen hundred years.

Within the initial five hundred years, the leader of the vampires—Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, and the leader of the empire—Dragon Emperor Artorius the First, were essentially on par. Even to some extent, the vampires had a slight edge in the beginning.

After all, Artorius at present lacked experience. He wasn't the powerful existence that would later dominate the world fifteen hundred years later.

The empire's greatest enemy was the vampires.

Just a couple of days ago, Artorius had also ordered Agravain to gather all possible intelligence on the vampires.

Now, an unknown supernatural force had swept in, causing chaos and destruction. Who else could it be but the vampires?

Artorius and Agravain, the two most reliable figures in the Holy Roman Empire, had coincidentally made a mistake.

===

At the same time, still within the city of Orleans.

As the empire expanded, the capital of this empire underwent a round of expansion and renovation.

What the Dragon Emperor intended was an all-in-one approach.

Sewage systems, tap water systems, garbage disposal systems, and public hygiene systems, among others, all need to be constructed in one go. Not waiting for centuries amidst the flow of filth and sewage, amidst the slums of destitution.

Fortunately, when Artorius took over the empire, the public hygiene technologies inherited from the Roman Empire, spanning hundreds and thousands of years, hadn't completely vanished.

Elevated aqueducts, water towers, public baths, and public toilets—these technologies still persisted, not completely crumbling due to the invasion and destruction of the barbarians.

Now, finding groups capable of building, as well as engineers to design all of this, was quite convenient.

If another few decades were to pass, these engineers, these Roman scholars, would all be gone, and knowledge and technology would fall under the monopoly of the Church.

Those priests, when it came to building churches or monasteries, were quite content. Building castles or palaces was also within their purview. But when it came to constructing roads, public hygiene projects, and the like, they fell short.

These public engineering technologies of the classical era would be completely lost under the Church's oppression, and Europe would plummet into a dirty and dark medieval era ruled by religious authority.

'Why is it that the Church is so damn rotten, even though that group of pigeons was actually not bad?'

Sometimes, Artorius couldn't help but think that way.

In summary, the current city of Orleans is not like the traditional medieval European cities as in the original history, but rather closer to the kind of fantasy city from legends—a clean and orderly European fantasy city.

Or perhaps it's more of a Japanese-style fantasy city?

While Artorius was still busy with the empire's affairs, something was happening within the basement of a small manor in the upper district of the city of Orleans.

In the dim light, a group of women with eyes that either shimmered with golden dragon pupils or gleamed with green cat-like irises were sitting together.

Each one of them had a peculiar attire as if they had leaped forward in time by two thousand years—the kind that would surely attract the attention of the people of Orleans if they walked on the streets.

Looking at their appearances, each of them was young and beautiful. Roughly divided around X's age, with a variance of three years younger or older.

If one saw them, they would be mistaken as a group of twins.

Guarding the entrance in full armor was this face.

Strolling aimlessly outside was this face.

In the outermost entertainment room, the figures who played poker, games of strategy, and monopoly, also had the same faces.

Lastly, some figures also gathered in the innermost small conference room. Seated at the center of the main table, and those sitting on either side were also the same faces.

Silence reigned in this gathering of the Artoria Species.

"Alright, spill it."

After a moment of silence, the eldest one seated at the head finally spoke.

She appeared to be three to five years older than X, dressed in a small long-sleeved blue sports jacket and a blue cap. Strangely, aside from those jacket and cap, she wore only a white bikini. She was none other than Mysterious Heroine XX.

"So many things happened last night; we ought to come to a decision. After all, if we don't resolve this, we'll be exposed, and things won't go well for us."

The group exchanged glances, and the one wearing a duckbill cap spoke first.

"It's that traitor X. She swept through our turf last night and killed over a dozen of our sisters."

"Other than that?" XX continued. "What else is there besides that traitor X?"

"The Dark Rounds and quite a few members of the Order of Avalon were taken out as well. For some reason, X has become very powerful overnight, nearly reaching the limit of the Artoria Species."

"No need to ask, of course, it's because of the son, but that's not what I want to know."

XX's tone was filled with heavy dissatisfaction as she looked at the figure wearing a duckbill cap who was also the second-in-command of their organization.

"Yesterday, someone defied my orders and acted privately, didn't they?"

"Uh, well..."

The figure wearing a duckbill cap known as Mysterious Heroine YY opened her mouth and didn't quite know what to say.

"If you're not going to speak, then I will." XX coldly harrumphed. "Last night, F and S went behind my back and went to find Artorius, right? They fought among themselves and then perished."

"Elder Sister..."

Hearing XX's words, the expressions of the entire group were all rather abnormal.

If there were experts in analyzing micro-expressions present, they would immediately notice that their current behavior was akin to that of guilty thieves.

The next second, XX stood up and scanned her surroundings.

"Did all of you forget why we came together to this world?! What did we pledge when we swore to the Round Table back then?!"

"E-Elder Sister..."

As XX grabbed YY by the collar, YY put on an awkward smile, only to be tossed out in an instant. XX then shouted:

"The purpose of the Holy Lance Sisterhood is to spend wealth together and share meals together! To love the son and shower him with infinite maternal love! But look at what you've done now! You knew all of this and kept it from me! They betrayed the sisterhood, acted selfishly, and even wanted to monopolize the son?!

Both F and S, they're my trusted subordinates, my dear sisters, they've been through thick and thin with me! And now they're gone, my heart is shattered. The responsibility of the Holy Lance Sisterhood came into my hands and turned into this mess. I'm—"

Just as she was about to say the next words, XX swung her holy lance to block the attack from behind.

"I knew it, there are traitors among you!" XX yelled in anger, easily deflecting the holy swords of two Artorias. She then sneered, "You thought you could defeat me? You—ugh!"

Upon reaching this point, XX was once again struck by a backstab. She gazed back in incredulous surprise, only to find her most trusted companion, Mysterious Heroine YY, was the one who had stabbed her with an expression of complete indifference.

"You talk too much, Elder Sister."

"You! You actually—"

"What's all this nonsense talk about loving the son together? You're nothing more than using us to get rid of the Dark Rounds and the Order of Avalon. So you can have Artorius all to yourself, right? You damn hypocrite."

"..."

XX's gaze began to flicker and dodge YY's gaze, proving that YY wasn't just blowing hot air.