As for the cyclops' visions of the future and their divinations, Felix wasn't particularly interested. His attention was firmly rooted in the present.
After all, no one could say what the future truly held. What if the cyclops prophesied some ominous end for him?
While Felix was still turning this over in his mind, he felt someone watching him with a concerned gaze. He turned around and found the source: the lady from earlier—the female Sarkaz whom Logos insisted they call "aunt."
"Good day, madam."
Facing this imposing woman, Felix remembered Logos' instruction. If she was to be addressed as "aunt," she was probably older than she appeared. Addressing her as "madam" felt appropriate.
"You seem troubled."
The veiled Banshee offered a gentle smile, and the warmth behind it eased Felix's vigilance. "Would you like to share it with me?"
"It's nothing serious."
Considering her identity as a member of the Court, Felix decided to inform her about the cyclops clan's impending arrival in Kazdel.
This surprised the Banshee, her eyes widening slightly. The cyclops, a clan that had isolated themselves from the world and avoided the civil war entirely—ignoring both the general and the princess—were actually willing to return to Kazdel because of Felix's persuasion?
"Your Highness, what exactly did you say to their chieftain?"
So she still preferred addressing him as "Your Highness," fully treating him as Kazdel's sovereign. Felix could only sigh inwardly. He still preferred chatting freely with Victoria's nobles over business matters. That kind of life was far more relaxing.
"I told them about Kazdel's current situation and its changes. I also gave them a five-year development plan."
There was a hint of pride in Felix's voice.
The plan outlined Kazdel's future—how it would expand beyond a single mobile city. The city planners he had recruited from Columbia, after calculating the routes available to mobile cities, determined that Kazdel could support ten mobile towns or four additional mobile cities. Space was limited, and mobile settlements needed safe paths to evade Catastrophes. Even with careful planning, only so many could fit.
As for solving Catastrophes themselves, Felix had no solution for now. Even the technologically advanced Columbians couldn't stop their occurrence. The only defense was the same as always: move the cities.
"In the future, I plan to establish more cities in Kazdel. I promised them that if living alongside other special races feels uncomfortable, I can provide them with a small, fully mobile town of their own."
The cyclops' Matriarch had been betrayed and killed long ago. Perhaps because of that, the clan had grown wary of other races. But this wasn't an unsolvable issue. Giving them their own territory was enough.
"Your Highness… you have worked hard."
"To help wandering people return to their homeland, this much effort is nothing."
Felix smiled. "I don't expect the Court's races to cooperate with me completely, but I do hope they will help make Kazdel better. At the very least, we share that goal."
The Banshee smiled softly. She stepped forward and gently patted Felix on the head before taking a few steps back and waving him off.
Felix waved in return and continued on his way. He still had an appointment with Luna.
Laqeramaline withdrew her gaze. She had known nothing about Felix's contact with the cyclops, and now she didn't know whether to call him reckless or simply naive.
Yet that same naivety had actually succeeded.
This made Laqeramaline sigh. If the cyclops clan agreed to Felix's request, did that mean their chieftain had already glimpsed Felix's future and made the decision based on that?
The cyclops had once foretold the general's death. The Military Commission dismissed it as nonsense, but Laqeramaline knew well: the cyclops' prophecies always came true.
Perhaps it was time for the Banshees to act as well. With more and more Court races gathering under Felix, Laqeramaline was seriously considering sending some of their own out to assist him.
Elsewhere, Felix finally met Luna. Today, she wore a pure white dress, and with her silver-white hair and crimson eyes, she looked like she was dancing perfectly atop the preferences of the people from Yan.
Luna was pleased by the brief look of amazement in Felix's eyes. The corner of her lips lifted. "Leader, let's go."
"All right."
But when she thought of their destination, Luna's earlier good mood faded. She had not returned to the Vampire manor in a long time.
The Bloodfallen family was modest in size, about a dozen members. Behind the manor lay a small settlement belonging solely to the Vampire. In total, a little more than a hundred people lived there. The rest of the Vampire either followed the Vampire Duke of the Court to Londinium or were stationed on the eastern defensive line.
Because Vampire required blood to survive, it was difficult for them to wander Terra alone. Luna now drank twice a month, using the artificial blood produced by Felix's commissioned laboratories. She said it tasted a bit strange but was more filling than regular blood. She even requested chocolate or vanilla-flavored versions next time.
Of course, such habits made her a strange or rebellious outlier among the Vampire. But this had become the reality for most of them. Volunteer blood donors were impossible in large numbers, and attacking others would only worsen their reputation. Luna always bought artificial blood to send home for her family to drink, though she didn't know if they actually used it.
Even under the sunlight, the manor looked gloomy. Luna did not linger. She opened the door and invited Felix inside.
When the door swung open, torches lit one after another, as if preparing for a boss battle.
At the end of the corridor was a door. The walls were lined with photographs. Luna explained these were members of the Bloodfallen clan from previous generations.
Inside was a grand hall. Expensive silverware lay scattered neatly along the long dining table. At the far end sat a silver-haired young man with a cold expression. Since the Vampire were long-lived, Felix could not tell whether he was Luna's grandfather or great-grandfather.
"Father, this is the Pioneer."
Luna bowed.
The Vampire youth's crimson gaze lingered on Felix's face. After a long moment, he showed a faint smile.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Pioneer."
Luna looked slightly startled but did not interrupt. She waited for her father to continue.
"I am pleased to see Kazdel's mobile city grow from a junk heap into the prosperous place it is now. But I am curious. Is there still a place for us here?"
As he finished speaking, a sharp pressure swept toward Felix like a blade.
"Sir, Kazdel belongs to all Sarkaz. It belongs to those who work for it. We have never rejected any Sarkaz, even those once loyal to the Military Council."
The youth smiled slightly and gestured. "Please, sit."
Felix took a seat while Luna stood nearby, her expression stiff.
"Why is Luna's position in the Tomorrow's Development inferior to Giles'?"
The youth spoke slowly. "Does that not contradict what you just said?"
Felix smiled. "Giles is a city defense officer. He excels at guarding the city. Luna is different. She has commanding talent. For the role of leading the Second Legion, I have indeed considered her."
"Considered."
"Yes, considered, because many Sarkaz are eager to fight for Kazdel."
Luna glanced at him. Perhaps his next line would have been something like: "While some Sarkaz choose to enjoy fine meals at home and ignore everything outside."
"What is the Bloodfallen family motto?"
The youth cut in suddenly.
Luna's body trembled slightly. She answered softly, "For the family. For honor."
"Before we earn glory, the destruction of the family is not something I wish to see."
The young man cut slowly into a piece of steak, scarlet juices pooling beneath it. "That is why the Bloodfallen family must always act for the sake of the family first. Glory without a family behind it is no different from trash on the street."
Felix quietly thought to himself: So you're a family-first type after all.
"Your Highness, what can you offer the Bloodfallen family?"
The young man's crimson eyes flickered. "I am curious whether your terms are enough to sway me."
"The Bloodfallen family will become the next generation's Vampire Court."
Felix's lips curved slightly as he spoke, once again startling Luna. She couldn't help but glance at her father. The young man's expression remained unreadable.
"The Vampire King is far too extreme in his ways. Her Highness thought so once, and so do I."
Felix smiled. "The royal courts will inevitably be reshuffled. The old must give way to the new. Perhaps it is not only the Vampire Court that needs fresh blood."
"That would make it your court, Your Highness?"
"No."
Felix shook his head. "It will be the court of the new Kazdel."
"And your Sarkaz King's crown?"
The young man paused slightly, then revealed a strange smile. "You probably don't need the crown's approval."
"I do not care for any so-called Sarkaz King's crown."
Felix cut him off and pointed toward Luna. "For the new Vampire Court, I would still choose Luna. Because I know nothing about you."
"Luna is a member of the Bloodfallen family. I do not care whether the position goes to me or to my daughter."
The young man finished his steak with elegance, then glanced at the untouched plate in front of Felix. He shook his head with a faint smile. "Forget it. Bring out the dessert."
The dessert was nothing more than an ordinary cake, not a blood-soaked steak.
"Luna."
"Yes!"
In front of her father, Luna shed her usual prickly attitude toward Felix. Chin raised, she resembled a proud swan.
"From now on, the family will be entrusted to you. You may allocate our resources as you see fit, including the more than one hundred Vampire fighters the Bloodfallen family maintains."
"…Understood."
Luna was puzzled by her father's decision, but she drew a deep breath and nodded.
After finishing the dessert, Felix and Luna took their leave and stepped out of the mansion.
"This wasn't quite what I imagined."
Felix glanced back at the building. "I expected more provocations or a round of testing… or perhaps a display of force to make a point."
"The Bloodfallen family has never been the militant type. Too many deaths would tear us apart."
Luna replied, "The Vampire King was too extreme. The families who followed him have almost no members left."
"Before glory, we always consider the family first. You can call it cowardice or caution, but that is simply how the Bloodfallen family operates."
No wonder they maintained such distance after joining Tomorrow's Development. They had been watching. Observing the situation and weighing the future.
After all, they are… Vin Diesel. Everything is for family.
With a family like this, Felix felt no desire to clash with them further.
"Leader, isn't it still early for the creation of the Second Legion?"
Luna asked quietly. She remembered that the only other special races besides the Wendigo were the towering Goliath mercenaries. Altogether fewer than three hundred, still far from the one thousand needed for a legion.
"The Second Legion will be completed before the end of this year. Luna, I have high expectations for you. I never judge by family or surname. I judge by a person's name and what they have done."
"The Vampire King…"
Luna hesitated. "Leader, it is not wise to challenge him."
"Who can say what will happen in a few years? As for Londinium, Tomorrow's Development will head there eventually."
Felix parted ways with Luna and turned to another group to sorting out the remaining candidates for the Second Legion.
Their leader was Mudrock. Many of the Sarkaz who recently entered the city had chosen to follow her. They all possessed unusual Geokinetic Originium Arts, and the jobs they took were usually construction work or filling the craters left behind by catastrophes.
The other Sarkaz mercenaries respectfully called them the Children of Earth.
Felix was no fool. So many individuals with the same type of Arts appearing one after another would make anyone curious, then suspicious.
He hadn't forgotten Mandragora's strange encounter in Victoria, nor the teacher she had mentioned who taught her earth-shaping Originium Arts.
Could it be… the Gargoyles?
The thought lingered. But since their envoys had yet to appear, Felix chose to pretend not to notice for now.
The Gargoyles had always lived in seclusion. Perhaps their people appearing here was a sign. Even so, he would not be at ease until he heard it from their own mouths.