Upon arriving in Lampuja, they were fortunate that the city had lifted its lockdown order; otherwise, they would have had to force their way through.
The city's style is exactly the same as that of Catomero, with black houses or white bone structures everywhere.
Besides the believers dressed in death-themed decorations, undead creatures also occasionally pass by on the streets.
Phil Gray was already used to this. He glanced at the sky and said to his companion, "Let's buy two tickets for the long train tomorrow morning, then find a hotel to rest for the night?"
“Okay.” Eli had no objection.
They found the train's stop, bought tickets, and checked into a nearby hotel.
"Hello, guest. What would you like for dinner?"
They had just gone up to the third floor and looked at the room when a young man wearing a black tuxedo, with deep red eyes but an extremely handsome face, walked over.
“Vampires?” Eli asked with interest.
"Yes, but we usually call ourselves vampires. Would you like some of our clan's specialties?"
"No, we're not interested in human blood. We just want something that normal people can eat."
"Okay." The young man left respectfully.
"I never expected this to be a hotel run by vampires. I was wondering why the owner acted like such an aristocrat."
Eli disliked the hotel owner downstairs, feeling that he lacked the customer-centric service attitude.
"Where do vampires come from? Are they transformed from humans?" Phil Gray was curious. He had seen them in the Abyss before and thought that after people died, they could go to the Abyss and become various undead, such as vampires, ghosts, etc. But he clearly felt that the boy just now had the aura of a living person.
"They are all just descendants of a quasi-god from long ago. That quasi-god mastered the law of blood and could obtain power from blood. He originally had the hope of becoming a follower of the God of Death, but he fled back to the human world from the abyss for a human woman, which angered the God of Death. Not only did he lose his original divine position, but he also completely perished because he could not return to the abyss."
"But during his hundreds of years on earth, he left behind many descendants. These descendants were able to inherit his bloodline and gain power through blood. Even those who were not favored by the gods could possess physiques and speeds that surpassed ordinary people. Therefore, they were very arrogant and considered themselves true nobles."
Although Eli had been away from the Church of the Dead for a long time, he had not completely forgotten the knowledge he had learned in the church college as a child.
"I see. The eternal loneliness after becoming a god and the brief enjoyment in the human world must be weighed differently by each person."
Phil Gray didn't think that giving up one's divine position for a woman was something to be criticized. Different people have different pursuits, and if you're not the other person, you have no right to say anything.
"Yes, I would give up any divine position for my sister."
"Alright, I know you're a siscon, no need to emphasize it anymore."
Phil Gray laughed.
Before long, the vampire boy served dinner: two plates of roasted lamb chops, a vegetable salad, caviar fried rice, and a glass of wine—a fairly lavish meal.
"Thanks."
Phil Gray was always quite satisfied with hotels that provided meals, regardless of the owner's status.
"Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything else," the young man said warmly as he set out the dishes.
“We just returned to the Church of the Dead from elsewhere. What news has there been in the city lately? What news has there been at the church? You can sit down and talk to us.”
Phil Gray knew that the inn's servants were generally well-informed.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many heroes in martial arts dramas on Earth in my previous life who specifically asked the waiters for directions.
"No need for a seat, thank you for your kindness. As for the major events that have happened recently, firstly, our Pope went to the Abyss a few days ago, and all the cities held celebrations. Our celebration in Lampuga City has just ended."
"We know that."
The celebrations in the city of Catomero were still fresh in their minds.
"And then there's the selection ceremony in five days. His Majesty didn't designate any of the Holy Sons to succeed him before he left, so the elders of the Church have formed a selection committee to choose the Pope's successor from among the four Holy Sons. The entire election process will be open to all believers."
"Five days later? So soon?"
"Yes, the church cannot be without someone in charge."
"Can we get to headquarters in such a short time?" Phil Gray frowned. It was a good thing that the Pope hadn't designated a successor, so there was no need to compete with the new Pope for the position.
However, this timeframe was too rushed.
It takes about five days to travel by train. If they are lucky, they can arrive on the same day, but if there are any delays along the way, they will have to compete with the new pope elected by the public when they arrive.
That would mean becoming an enemy of all the believers in the Church of the Dead.
"Do you two wish to watch the selection ceremony for the new Pope? If you can't make it in time, that's alright. For this selection ceremony, the Elder Council has introduced their latest invention from the Church of Creation. It can rely on the Three Elders' sacred artifacts to allow all cities of the Church of the Dead to see the competition between the four Holy Sons in real time," the vampire boy said excitedly.
"No, we're going to participate in the selection process, not to watch."
Phil Gray said.
"Huh? You two are... Holy Sons? But I remember there was only one young Holy Son, the other two are quite old, and there's also a Holy Maiden..." the vampire boy wondered, even starting to doubt the gender of one of them, but he never considered that the customer might be lying to him.
“Pretty much.” Eli raised an eyebrow. “Go get me an envelope and a pen. We need to write a letter to the council of elders. The selection can’t start without us. I need to ask them to postpone it as much as possible.”
"Ah? Okay, okay." The vampire boy hurriedly ran downstairs.
A short while later, the boy didn't come, but the vampire boss who had been so arrogant when he entered came up.
He carried paper and pen, maintaining his haughty demeanor. After scrutinizing the two guests again and confirming their extraordinary strength at such a young age, he asked, "Are you the hidden holy sons of the sect?"
“That’s right. Because we are too outstanding, the elders have hidden our identities from the outside world. On the surface, there are only four Holy Sons. We rushed back this time to participate in the selection of the new Pope. The elders thought we would arrive soon, but we were delayed a little,” Eli said, pretending to be serious.
"Oh, really? Then I look forward to your performance. Today's expenses are on you two. These are train tickets for the train departing at midnight tonight. I'm sure you two will arrive on time." The vampire boss took out two train tickets from his spatial storage and placed them on the table.
Instantly, Phil Gray and Eli both found the boss much more agreeable; his noble and reserved demeanor was clearly the mark of a true aristocrat, and they withdrew their previous dissatisfaction.
"Thank you. Once we become Popes, we'll definitely help you promote your hotel and make sure it doesn't continue to decline like this," Eli said with a smile.
"Looking forward to it." The vampire boss chuckled, but his gaze remained fixed on another customer.
His vampire instincts told him that the person before him would be the key to the resurgence of his lineage.
But no matter how he looked at him, he couldn't find anything special about him. Was his statement about participating in the selection of the pope just arrogance or was he really confident?
Is it a scam or is it true?
“We still need to write to the council of elders before we set off, so we won’t chat with you any longer. Once things have settled down, the shop owner can come to headquarters to find us, and we’ll be happy to entertain you,” Phil Gray said politely.
"Alright." The vampire boss nodded slightly to them, then turned and left, showing that a true nobleman knows how to maintain proper decorum.
Hopefully, his investment will bring in a substantial return.
Phil Gray carefully considered his words and wrote many words on the letter, while Eli beside him clamored to add some content. Finally, half an hour later, they completed the letter to the council of elders.
"Should it be sent to the cathedral at headquarters?"
"The cathedral receives so many letters every day, ours is so insignificant. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to send it directly to the residence of one of the elders."
"Elder?"
“Well, I happen to know his address,” Eli said excitedly, as if he had done some kind of prank. “Hopefully it hasn’t changed over the years, but it certainly hasn’t. That guy’s mansion has been inhabited for generations. He probably just didn’t expect that there would be people other than those old guys who knew about his hideout.”
"Um, how about sending another copy to the cathedral, or to the other elders as well, to do it all at once?"
"Good idea."
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