I Am Unstoppable

Chapter 407

The core members of vampire leadership were the prince, duke, marquis, and viscount, in descending order of seniority.

There were ten princes in total at present. Other than Solorel, the other princes did not condense divine mana and were sent away to different places to make a life of their own. In other words, those places were considered their personal fiefdoms.

All in all, there were ten princes, four dukes, eight marquises, and thirty-six viscounts.

Solorel had groomed eight marquises and elevated their combat force to phenomenally high levels. Hence, with the eight marquises, Aurora, and Walrion by his side, there was nothing for the prince to worry about.

The only concern he had was Anakin's return from the Lost Ruins.

Of course, that was a story for another time.

At this very moment, everyone had settled down in the meeting room.

Jonathan was seated at the head of the table, for he wielded absolute authority. Initially, he offered Solorel the seat, but the latter turned it down.

Thereafter, everyone took their seats according to their seniority. Those present were Solorel, Aurora, Yeverie, Walrion, and the eight marquises.

All of them were largely familiar faces to each other. At the very least, Jonathan recognized Aurora,

Yeverie, Walrion, and four of the marquises.

Still, even though the four marquises knew Jonathan, the history they had with him was anything but pleasant.

Right then, the meeting officially commenced.

Solorel kicked it off with a solemn voice. “Since all of us are on the same side, I'll just cut to the chase. I want all of you to understand that my sentiments are the same as our revered ancestor, Leahra. I don't expect any of you to be filthy rich or wildly successful. My hope for you is that you live a good life.”

Clueless at what Solorel was trying to convey, the crowd gave him a quizzical look.

“Few of you know that the Great Tribulation is already upon us, and Gulden Vampir is going through it now.” After a brief pause, he added, “Now, let me first explain what is the Great Tribulation.”

Thereafter, Solorel related the meaning behind the event.

Jonathan listened intently, as that was the only thing he could do for now. He understood very well why the prince was spending time providing context to everyone. The latter was trying to ensure everyone knew why they had to obey Jonathan. Only then would they be wholly won over.

After elaborating on what the Great Tribulation was, Solorel explained further, “Leahra was our revered ancestor and always had our best interest at heart. She had chosen Mr. Lawson to be our king because only he can help us survive the Great Tribulation. That said, I'm sure all of you are curious as to why only he can do it when his capabilities don't seem particularly impressive, am I right?”

The audience's silence was an implicit acknowledgment of his assumption.

“The reason is simple. Mr. Lawson is the Chosen One who possesses the largest amount of luck.”

“What's a Chosen One?” asked one of the marquises.

“Upon the arrival of the Great Tribulation, the Heavens will send a group of people to eradicate monsters and demons specifically. These people are known as the Chosen Ones.”

As divination and fortune-telling weren't a strength of the vampire race, Solorel managed to understand the Great Tribulation only with Leahra's guidance.

Regardless, even if he made the news public, not everyone was going to believe him.

That was why he didn't mention the matter to other vampires and only told his trusted aides.

These people were the ones who knew Solorel best and believed him without question.

Afterward, Solorel went on, “The reason I've gathered all of you here is for you to swear your allegiance to His Majesty. I know that all of you will obey me unconditionally while I'm still around—that is an undeniable fact. It's precisely for that reason I want your absolute compliance toward His Majesty. Our revered ancestor had foretold that I won't be able to survive the Great Tribulation. Therefore, I've gathered you guys here to promise me that you'd pledge your unwavering loyalty to His Majesty after my death. This crucial matter relates to the future survival of the vampires.”

“What?” Jonathan's face lost all color as he asked, “Prince Solorel, why are you saying that you won't survive the Great Tribulation? What's going on?”

Walrion and the others were equally shocked. One of the vampire marquises, Pike interjected, “Exactly, Your Highness. We will naturally pledge our loyalty to His Majesty. There's no need for you to scare us this way.”

Another marquis chimed in, “If you're no longer around, who is going to keep the other princes in their

place? Everyone now knows that our revered ancestor is gone.”

Raising a hand, Solorel gestured for the crowd to calm down.

Silence quickly descended upon the room.

Meanwhile, Jonathan was unsettled by the veracity of Solorel's words. His gut told him that Solorel was speaking the truth, as there was no reason for the latter to lie. That thought alone panicked him, for Solorel's absence would turn ruling the vampire race into a hot potato. Consequently, it would be an uphill task to stabilize his position as the vampire king.

A few moments later, Solorel elucidated, “Everyone is afraid of death; I am no exception. Nevertheless, I have no choice but to face the inevitable calmly. This is also the reason why I've summoned all of you here. I can foresee many behaving impulsively after my death. That's why I want all of you to support His Majesty in bringing order to the situation. As long as we can maintain stability, our survival can be guaranteed. Otherwise, it would be difficult to overcome the Great Tribulation.”

Aurora was the first to step forward and declare, “Your Highness, I hereby pledge to honor your legacy after you're gone. I swear my loyalty to His Majesty, never to betray my word!”

Next, Walrion, too, came forward to take his oath.

One by one, Yeverie and the rest of the marquises followed suit.

Even though the oath-taking ceremony felt somewhat bizarre, that was the least of Jonathan and Solorel's concerns.

After all, the latter's words came as a rude shock, especially when he announced that his time was near. Everyone present was filled with indescribable sorrow upon hearing it.

As someone who also had a heart, Jonathan couldn't escape the sense of melancholy that weighed down upon the atmosphere.

In the end, Solorel turned to him and asked, “Your Majesty, do you have anything to say?”

Getting to his feet, Jonathan swept his gaze across the room before speaking. “There's no point in wasting words. Since the revered ancestor and Prince Solorel have chosen me to carry this burden, I, Jonathan Lawson, swear that I'll ensure the safety of the vampire race for the rest of my life.”

Upon taking his oath, he sat back down.

With tears welling up in his eyes, Solorel expressed his gratitude in a choking voice, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Everyone else's eyes grew moist as they were infected by Solorel's heartfelt emotions, for it felt as if he was saying his last words.

The fact that Jonathan had unreservedly stepped up to the plate despite knowing how difficult the path ahead was had moved Solorel to tears.

Just like that, the meeting ended on a somber note.

Jonathan and Solorel stayed behind once the rest were gone.

“Prince Solorel, what did you mean when you said your days were numbered?” the former asked grimly.

Solorel broke into a faint smile. “Are you now afraid, Your Majesty?”

“Of course I am. If what you say is true, it can only mean that you'll be killed by Anakin, the only person capable of doing so. In such a scenario, none of us, including all the marquises, are capable of stopping him.”

A look of surprise flashed across the prince's eyes as he remarked, “Your Majesty, you truly are an extraordinary person for deducing what's going on from a single statement of mine.”

“Oh please, one doesn't need to guess. This is the logical conclusion of how the situation is going to develop!”

“Even then, those kids weren't able to see through the matter. The fact that you're a cut above the rest is undeniable.”

“From the way you put it, everything must be true, then.” A look of concern descended upon Jonathan's eyes. “Our revered ancestor, too, had left me a path out. It seems all of you have thought through this comprehensively.”

Solorel's expression immediately turned curious. “Your Majesty, did you already open the pouch to take a look?” This is from NôvelDrama.Org.

Jonathan lied through his teeth, “Of course not, but the pouch's function couldn't be more obvious.”

Only then did Solorel breathe a sigh of relief.

“Let's stop talking about this.” Jonathan's eyes flickered with sorrow. “I'm sure this isn't easy for you, Prince Solorel.”

The prince smiled faintly. “When the revered ancestor first told me about it, it took me a while to recover from the shock. But after some reflection, I figured I'd led a good life. So, I'll just have to be prepared to accept the inevitable.”

“Don't worry. Even though I can't guarantee anything, I'll definitely do my very best.”

“I trust that you will, Your Majesty.”

After chatting a while longer, Solorel took his leave, leaving Jonathan alone to hang his head in dejection.

Life has truly been tough lately. All I can do now is take it one day at a time. After all, there's no free lunch in this world.

Shortly after, Jonathan steeled himself.

A few bags of blood had already been deposited into his spatial ring again.

Under the current circumstances, he had yet to begin looking for bags of fresh blood. Instead, he set up a medical station and encouraged others to donate blood because his foundation had yet to stabilize.

Then, he headed to Fog City, where he intended to cultivate.

The city was saturated with so much fog that it was on the brink of condensation.

After closing the main doors of Fog City, Jonathan sat on Leahra's cultivation spot.

The moment he did, he suddenly felt as if he was at the center of the universe, where he could sense the changes and movements in every living thing.

It was a particularly breathtaking experience for him.

Thereupon, he took out four bags of blood from his spatial ring and finished them all in one go.