14 Bamboozled

While the vampires had absolute loyalty toward Reed, that did not mean mechanical and mindless loyalty. Every vampire had a mind of his or her own.

No vampire would hesitate to die in battle if he ordered them to do so. Even if they were asked to pick up rubbish and clean the sewers, they would still do it, but their efficiency would certainly suffer.

The sustainable development strategy was a matter that impacted the vampire's inherent mindset.

So, changing their mindset was very important. To achieve that, he had to first change their common sense and legacy.

"Father, why are the legends of the other vampires different?"

Frey stood up. He had suffered a huge mental shock today, and his usual aloofness was gone.

"My child, this is because not all vampires are the descendants of the Divine Spirit. Some vampires are like the ones written in human legends. The goddess of magic gave them their immortality and magical talents. We are the descendants of the Divine Spirit, with a direct lineage to the gods, unlike ordinary vampires. In fact, we have an even more glorious name that was given to us by the Divine Spirit. It is..."

Reed paused for a moment and looked at the vampires below with a burning gaze before he emphasized each word slowly.

"The Vampires of the Divine Light.

"Our people are known as the Vampires of the Divine Light, and the Divine Spirit personally named us so. Although it has been lost in the sands of time, we shall now welcome back our glorious legacy.

"We come from the noble bloodline of the gods, not those ordinary evil vampires.

"From now on, all of our kin must remember the true name of our lineage, the Vampires of the Divine Light."

Reed's plan was not complicated at all.

Their reputation in the human realms had long been rotten. Mysterious, terrifying, and bloody—that was the intuitive image humans had of the vampires.

It would be too difficult to change their image.

In that case, it would work better if they started afresh and wore a new coat instead.

The Vampires of the Divine Light; the name alone was grand... at least in that world.

Just like the gods in the divine pantheon such as the goddess of love and beauty, the god of justice, the god of light, and the goddess of life, all of these names would make an ordinary individual feel good.

The vampires could also utilize the same thing. By putting on an illustrious new coat, they could directly rid themselves of their previous rotten reputation.

That way, these vampires could regard themselves as a brand new vampire clan.

A brand new legend, a brand new name, and a brand new mindset...

The traditional mindset of treating humans like mere fodder would also inevitably undergo drastic changes with these new legacies.

By the time the vampires actually came to their senses, they had already become members of this new vampire clan.

"Vampires of the Divine Light..."

"So, we come from the bloodline of the gods."

"Goddess above, the knowledge we have gained from the Lord Progenitor is just too astounding."

"We are different from the other vampires; we are the Vampires of the Divine Light..."

After receiving information that no other vampire had heard before, the originally astonished vampires became surprisingly elated.

Who would not have wanted their ancestors to possess a glorious past? They could not help but believe a majority of what Reed said after they heard such a glorious thing.

As for the rest of the tale, he would just add on as he went along, and he believed that the countless vampires would fill in the blanks themselves.

In the legend of Glory, the vampires were lifeforms that were inadvertently created from droplets of blood when the god of creation was wounded by the Sword of Creation.

However, they were only given immortality and magic by the goddess of the night during the Age of the Gods.

The original vampires in the legends were not all that great, and there was nothing prominent about them.

After Reed's own adaptation, their origin suddenly became so much greater, especially with humans playing a role in it. The new addition allowed vampires to give humans basic respect and recognition.

Also, the main reason Reed made up the myth was to distinguish his own vampire clan from the rest.

It was to build a new sense of identity and pride.

Even if the bizarre scene of vampires coexisting peacefully with mankind was discovered after the city was established, they could stand proud. It was not that they had not been killing humans, rather, they were different from the rest of those pretty faces, and they were descendants of the Divine Spirit with a divine bloodline.

"Sadly, the Remnants of the Divine completely turned to dust after passing on this lost knowledge to me. Hence, these memories were only unlocked after they lay dormant in my mind for hundreds of years."

The vampires broke into another round of gasps.

"This... Lord Progenitor, has the Divine Spirit not always been in the Fount of Blood?"

"Is the Divine Spirit in the Fount of Blood a magical phantom?"

"Lord Progenitor..."

Reed sighed deeply.

"I made the Divine Spirit in the Fount of Blood with Magic Crystals. The real Divine Spirit turned to dust a hundred years ago.

"Time has passed for far too long. If it had not been for the Divine Spirit's remaining power, it would not have been able to sustain itself until today.

"To protect the dignity and glory of our ancestors, all vampires are not allowed to talk about the Remnants of the Divine any more. While the one in the Fount of Blood is a magic crystal, since we already know the truth, I shall build a separate chamber for the Fount of Blood to protect it."

Reed had also buried the matter of the Divine Spirit along the way.

The vampires below became silent again. No one expected to be so lost after learning the truth.

That was the Remnants of the Divine, and to think that it was already destroyed a hundred years ago.

The air was still for a long, long while as all of the vampires dwelled on the "truth" of their legacy and the "fact" that the Divine Spirit was a fake.

Frey was the first to regain his senses. His deep blue eyes shone as he asked, "Patriarch, what shall we do now?"

His glorious ancestors had his blood boiling, and it never occurred to him that the humans he saw as fodder were comrades who fought alongside his ancestors.

It was really a piece of history that was hidden in the deepest of depths. Those false gods must have buried the real truth into the ground after they stole the god of creation's godhood.

All that was left was a ridiculous falsehood.

For the Patriarch to gain knowledge from the Divine Spirit to let the true history of their people shine gloriously again, it was really a blessing from the god of creation.

Reed glanced sternly at the vampires who were still silently hesitant about the great deeds of their ancient ancestors.

"Now that we are a brand new vampire race, our way of thinking needs to change as well. Humans were once assistants to our ancestors in the past, and it is not impossible for them to be our assistants in the future as well. Think about it, how many vampires can we support if we have a city as big as Grimm ruling over millions of human beings? Would we not be the greatest vampire clan in the South... No, the Norland Empire... No, the entire world of Glory? Each of you will be witness to the Vampires of the Divine Light's historical rise, and all of you will have unprecedented power as well as wealth."

Reed gave an extremely rousing speech, and he never stopped infusing mana into the magic model of the Charm spell.

One should point out that the cake was just too big. The vampires, who had never gone through the brainwashing of modern corporations, were deeply immersed in their beautiful future.

Eudes stood up and tried to suppress the blood that was almost bubbling over in his heart.

"Father, your idea is magnificent, but I have to say, it will be difficult with our current strength."

While he agreed with what Reed wanted to do deep down, he still gave the latter a timely reminder. He did not wish for the vampires to only see the rewards but not the danger.

Reed did not mind at all, and he looked directly back at Eudes. "Yes, you are right. It will be difficult but not hopeless. That is the original intention I had for making these reforms. I have a dream." Reed raised his voice. "I have a dream that one day, the vampires can walk freely under the sun. I dream that one day, no one will strike against the vampires and no mages will hunt vampires for ingredients.

"I dream that one day, we can truly become the Vampires of the Divine Light—a sacred race that fears no force—and restore the glory of the gods."

His inspiring voice echoed in the hall, and a completely different light appeared in the eyes of all who were present.

They would be able to walk freely under the sun without fear of being discovered and without fear of any forces.

That was how great the goal was.

They then looked at Reed again, their gazes full of indescribable reverence.