Progenitor Norton was exhausted from indulgence. Sometimes too much enjoyment could also make one feel fatigued and listless. The feeling of having everything one wanted only left emptiness after indulgence. So when emptiness arrived, Norton's wisdom once again occupied his mind. Norton waved his hand to shoo Priest Abraham away, then placed the wine glass in his hand on the armrest of the throne beside him. His brows furrowed tightly, though on his wrinkled skin it was impossible to tell the difference between furrowed and unfurrowed. As his brain regained control, this made him think of a very important point. "I chased Bishop Good and the others out, doesn't that mean I've exposed myself?" That's right, Bishop Good and that batch of noble vampires released from Rino City had all seen Norton! They had experienced Hakino's Aura Pressure. Now that they were released, if captured by The Church, this would undoubtedly directly expose Norton's existence! However, exposure or not actually didn't matter much, since The Church wouldn't refrain from coming just because the vampires in Rino City weren't led by him. At most, it just meant his name, Lord Norton, would be added to the must-execute list. These past two years, Norton hadn't been idle - he controlled Rino City's poor and vampire underclass to work together, digging a moat surrounding the entire perimeter outside Rino City! This was to guard against The Vatican playing dirty tricks, like secretly hiding Holy Knights or something. But now, thinking about his name being on The Church's must-eat list, Norton felt that just a single moat was extremely unreliable! After all, his vampire lords couldn't face sunlight, so if Church Knights came, there really was no way to send them out to fight during daytime. Therefore, he thought he needed to build some escape tunnels and underground areas to hide underground, simultaneously increasing his safety coefficient. Norton thought and acted immediately, his tall figure rising from the throne as he called out hoarsely toward the great hall's entrance. "Yes! Your Eminence Norton, this old servant is here!" The person hadn't arrived yet, but the fawning voice came first. It was clear Abraham had been waiting outside, wanting to be summoned by his Progenitor at any time. "Call all the vampires over. Starting today, dig several passages leading outside the city within The Church." "Yes, Your Eminence!" Abraham hurriedly responded respectfully, keeping his posture extremely low throughout, very much like a fawning old dog, not even asking any reasons. This couldn't help but make Norton feel somewhat emotional. Two years of interaction, and he was almost turned into a waste by Abraham. Just by mentioning something, no matter what it was, he didn't need to handle it personally - Abraham could effectively resolve it. This first-generation vampire was truly loyal and devoted, serving Norton day and night without distinction. Since that was the case, if Norton needed to escape in the future, he would bring Abraham along! This way he could have someone to serve him, and wouldn't need to worry about anything himself. Most importantly, it was extremely convenient. Although these three reasons essentially meant the same thing, regardless, Norton really couldn't do without Abraham! Most importantly, if they couldn't shake pursuit halfway, he could use Abraham as a shield. As the first-generation new-style vampire, his strength shouldn't be underestimated anyway. Since both Norton and Abraham were on The Church's must-eat list, escaping with one was escaping, escaping with two was also escaping - might as well both escape. "I'm really too sentimental! This is a weakness!" Norton sighed deeply, but when facing Abraham, his withered, wrinkled face and commanding tone showed not a trace of emotion, only reluctance to part with his lazy life. Norton walked slowly, emerging from the great hall. "Squeak squeak squeak..." Some bat cries sounded at the great hall's entrance. As Norton stepped out the door, a group of bats descended from the ceiling at the hall's entrance, dancing around Norton's body as if expressing affection. This nest of bats had reproduced quite a lot over these two years. Although Norton maintained suspicion and distance toward everyone, he treated his bats very well. To make hunting convenient for these bats and facilitate their return, Norton specifically had people string several lines across the ceiling at the hall's entrance, allowing the bats to hang upside down on them. To ensure they had sufficient food, Norton also specifically raised a flock of lambs within The Church to serve as their food source. Over these two years, Norton's bat family had rapidly multiplied from the original ten, now reaching over fifty in number. Among these fifty-plus bats, some were outsiders who joined, forming families with the original bats; some were naturally produced, considered Norton's descendants. Every night, bat swarms could be seen flickering through the sky above The Church. Knowing full well that The Church housed a nest of vampires, the people of Rino City finally connected the concepts of vampires and bats. Once this connection was made, everyone discovered it actually seemed quite fitting. Both were blood-sucking creatures, and both avoided daylight. Dıscover more novels at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝※𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖※𝕟𝕖𝕥 Thus, Rino City even began to spread rumors that 'vampires are people who were bitten by bats and transformed.' Moreover, because The Church always had bat swarms, this rumor carried high credibility and spread among Rino City's common people. Following trends for elegance has existed since ancient times. Whatever the leader does, that thing becomes labeled as refined or exemplary. With Norton raising vampire bats and Rino City's various rumors, this made Abraham consider this behavior a vampire exemplar, so he also began raising bats to experience its wonders. However, since Lord Norton only raised over fifty bats, Abraham couldn't raise the same number - he only raised about ten. His behavior in turn prompted other vampires with some status within The Church to start raising bats, though even fewer, only a few each. And this was the origin of the relationship between later-generation vampires and bats. Only, the other vampires were just following trends to admire Lord Norton's elegance, unaware that these bats raised by Lord Norton were actually the ancestors of their new-style vampires! The sky-filling bats circled around Norton's body in flight, with quite a few occasionally landing on Norton to express affection. Only one completely gray bat squatting in the corner, with a size comparable to an ordinary dog, didn't spread its wings to fly. Instead, it dragged its body waddling toward Norton, then spread its wings and hung onto Norton's leg. "Getting bigger and bigger, Coal Ball. Are you really trying to turn into a gargoyle?"