Li De pondered for a moment before making a decision.
Continuing the development of the Vampires in such a crude manner definitely won't work.
There are still three years until the players arrive; if we continue to prey on humans without restraint, those calamities will definitely be excited to slaughter the Vampires one by one when the time comes.
Besides, he is not some pervert, and he cannot bring himself to let the Vampires hunt living people like this; he wouldn't be able to get past that mental hurdle.
Both for public and private reasons, the Vampires must change now.
In the human world, even a king of a nation might not be able to implement major reforms for his country... The nobility and vested interests would resist in the most violent ways.
Fortunately, he is the Vampire Progenitor, and the Vampires possess absolute loyalty to him, so making changes is not difficult.
"Audis, notify all clansmen to come to the council hall."
Audis lowered his head respectfully.
"Yes, Father."
Father. Upon hearing this form of address, the corner of Li De's mouth twitched violently.
Audis is a Blood Descendant personally developed by Li De and belongs to the Second Generation Blood Descendants.
There are only seven Second Generation Blood Descendants in the entire ancient castle, and all other Vampires were developed by these seven.
There is nothing wrong with Audis calling him Father, but looking at that face appearing to be nearly forty, Li De still complained to himself.
Swish~ With a flurry of Bats, Audis went down to notify the others.
Li De did not want to stay on the castle wall any longer, so he turned into a swarm of Bats and flew straight to the hall in the center of the ancient castle, following his memories.
Flying in through the open semi-circular archway, the hall was magnificent, with colorful stained-glass windows depicting the Creator God myths and Vampire heroes.
Sculptures of human figures with clear skin textures wore Bat wings and the iconic fangs of the Vampires.
Various wild reliefs depicted terrifying magical beasts, and the ceiling of the hall was even carved with a lifelike fire-breathing dragon.
The hall was filled with the distinct atmosphere of a Western-style church.
On the main seat in the center, the Bats vanished, and Li De's figure appeared.
Looking at the exquisite architecture and decorations around him, a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes.
As expected of the Vampires, who are known for their elegance; the layout here is much more luxurious than his Mage Tower.
Various antique vessels, highly artistic statues, oil paintings hand-painted by masters, and even the carpets were very exquisite.
Just as Li De was curiously examining the various oil paintings in the hall, a flurry of wing-flapping sounds arose.
Vampires kept appearing in the hall, and in less than ten minutes, all the Vampires in the ancient castle had arrived.
The 200 people did not look crowded in the spacious hall; every move of the crowd was elegant, the men were handsome and dashing, and the women were graceful and polite.
Although Li De had such scenes in his memory, seeing so many handsome men and beautiful women with maxed-out appearances with his own eyes still put him in a great mood.
Indeed, looks are justice; it is a feast for the eyes.
The Vampires below looked at Li De on the main seat with eyes full of respect and adoration.
The pressure of the bloodline made them respectful, and Li De's own power made them adore him.
The seven middle-aged men and women at the very front stepped forward two paces.
Leading the Vampires behind them, they all bowed together towards Li De, who was sitting on the central main seat.
"Good evening, Patriarch."
Li De stood up and, imitating the arrogant posture of the Vampire Progenitor, nodded slightly to those below.
After everyone straightened up, he said slowly.
"I called everyone here today to discuss the future of our Vampires."
Once these words were spoken, the Vampires below immediately froze, looking at Li De with curious eyes.
Li De was usually obsessed with researching magic and rarely paid attention to the internal affairs of the Vampires.
Gathering all the Vampires so solemnly was a first in these decades.
Audis was the first to respond.
"Patriarch, please speak."
His expression was somewhat serious; in front of other Vampires, he rarely addressed Li De directly as Father.
Although the other Second Generation Blood Descendants were also curious about Li De's actions, they followed suit.
"Ancestor Your Majesty, you need not have any reservations."
"Father..."
As the Vampire Progenitor, these were all his descendants, and Li De possessed absolute authority within the Vampires.
Even if he were to order the 200 people to attack Green City, which had tens of thousands of troops, they would not hesitate in the slightest.
Li De was very satisfied with the reaction of these Vampires.
"It seems I still underestimated the weight of my identity as the Vampire Progenitor among the Vampires."
After pondering for a moment, he said in a solemn tone.
"My offspring, my Blood Descendants, do you know that the Vampires are about to face destruction and Death?"
Destruction and Death?
The cold words caused a huge stir in the hall.
This?
Audis looked at Li De with a face full of surprise, his blue pupils filled with deep confusion.
The Vampires were hidden deep in the secret Distant Mountain Range, and their own strength was not weak. Coupled with the protection of Li De, a powerful Vampire Progenitor, who could destroy the Vampires now?
Only the army of Green City in the vicinity would dare to say such words, he thought. Could it be that the great army of Green City had already discovered the traces of the Vampires?
Thinking of this, Audis's fingers trembled slightly. He did not directly participate in the war between the Vampires and Green City a hundred years ago, but he had witnessed the tragic state of the final battle with his own eyes.
"Patriarch, please tell us the reason."
Although the Vampires in the hall were all shocked and incredulous, no one dared to voice their doubts.
Because this was their ruler, the words spoken by the Vampire Progenitor; if it were anyone else, they would have torn him to shreds already.
Li De's handsome face was covered in coldness.
"Lucy, you tell me, in these ten years, how many humans have we, the Vampires, abducted from near the Distant Mountain Range?"
Lucy, a Mage with a level as high as 9, a female Vampire, was the youngest among the seven existing Second Generation Blood Descendants of the Vampires... her age had just passed 100 years.
Lucy stood up from among the seven; her long purple dress trailed on the ground, full of classical charm.
Her beautiful blonde hair contrasted with her purple dress, and with her appearance of being in her early thirties, every move she made exuded a strong aristocratic charm; she was extremely beautiful.
Although there was some confusion in her beautiful emerald green eyes, she still answered Li De's question seriously.
"Father, after the Vampires stopped developing Blood Descendants twenty years ago under your order, the number of humans we abduct each year has been fixed."
"For these ten years, the Sacred Race has needed nearly three thousand humans as food each year."
Three thousand per year, thirty thousand in ten years.
Li De's expression was somewhat unnatural when he heard this data spoken from the mouth of the Blood Descendant below.
After having contact with the people here, he simply could not treat these living people as NPCs in a game.
Everyone had flesh and blood and their own soul.
More than thirty thousand people became food in their mouths; even if it had nothing to do with him, he still felt a significant impact inside.
Moreover, there was another point: this group of Vampires did not seem to know about sustainable development.
After plundering humans, they only treated them as food and did not realize that humans themselves could create value; they had no concept of sustainable development at all.
It was like going outside and catching a few hundred chickens, but not knowing to keep them to lay eggs and just killing them all; this was a huge waste of resources.
The Vampires must change.
"Yes, it is because of this that the nobles of Green City and the mages of the Mage Association have already discovered our tracks."
"I have even received news that Green City is preparing to mobilize an army to carry out a roundup against us, just like the war a hundred years ago."
Swish~ A clamor arose.
No one doubted that Li De's words were false; the originally calm Vampires immediately became noisy.
Everyone knew that once the great army of Green City really marched to the Distant Mountain Range, they would not be able to stop it at all.
Although most of the Vampires here had not experienced the war a hundred years ago, after word of mouth, no one wanted to experience the feeling of being surrounded and suppressed by tens of thousands of troops again.
After Li De finished speaking, his eyes were full of coldness, and his expression was indescribably grave.
Regardless of the Vampires below who were already somewhat panicked, he continued.
"The army of Green City exceeds fifty thousand people, including 20 High-level Mages and 3 Archmages."
"If our tracks are locked by them, there is no possibility for the ancient castle to block their attack."
Even the seven Second Generation Blood Descendants could not help it when they heard this.
Audis had the most impatient temperament and hurriedly asked loudly.
"Patriarch, how should we respond now?"
Li De did not answer directly, still speaking in an unhurried but extremely oppressive tone.
"The situation goes far beyond this; even the Transcendent Mage Locke Hart, who personally participated in the war against the Vampires a hundred years ago in Green City, has already detected our existence."
"Survival or destruction."
"Death or rebirth."
"We are about to face a choice."