Among all the vampires, only Andrew, Amelia, and Victor received enough perfect blood to enhance their strength. Apart from Chen Mo and Alexander Corvinus, the strength of these four was the greatest in the world, even surpassing Marcus, the vampire progenitor who had lived for centuries.
Like all other knights, Marcus only received a drop of perfect blood to eliminate the vampire's flaws, and he believed this blood was a gift from Chen Mo.
Previously, Chen Mo did not mind Marcus's ambition because as long as he was present, Marcus could never betray him.
Many people have ambitions, and as long as it is not rebellion, Chen Mo allowed their ambitions. Want to rule humanity? Fine, Marcus had already achieved that. As one of the four dukes of the empire, Marcus stood at the top of the power pyramid.
However, now that Chen Mo was about to leave, he would not leave any hidden dangers in the empire he built. If Marcus showed even a hint of ambition for the throne, Chen Mo would not let him leave the room alive.
Fortunately, Marcus was not blinded by the desire for power and knew that the throne of a god was not something he could touch. Given this, Chen Mo did not mind letting him continue as the duke of the empire and an elder of the blood clan.
After all, Chen Mo's vampire knight order was formed with Marcus's help, and Marcus indeed played a significant role in the establishment of this vast empire.
As for whether Marcus would have any further ambitions after Chen Mo left, Chen Mo was not worried.
Firstly, Marcus did not dare to overstep because he revered and feared Chen Mo's 'divine' identity. Even if Chen Mo left, he would still be the god of the empire, and his deterrent effect would not diminish. Instead, it would become a hanging sword, constantly reminding Marcus that a true god was watching his every move from above.
Moreover, even if Marcus did have any ambitions, with Andrew, Amelia, and Victor around, he would not be able to cause any trouble.
In the movie, Victor always firmly suppressed Marcus, the progenitor of vampires, and held the power of the vampire empire tightly.
Most vampires were once subordinates of Victor and Amelia, who were lords. Marcus, despite being the progenitor of vampires, was alone and could not command many vampires.
Now, Andrew, Victor, and Amelia firmly suppressed Marcus in both strength and influence. Chen Mo believed they would manage well.
Shifting his gaze from Marcus, Chen Mo felt a bit troubled. Originally, he intended for Andrew to take over the empire. Andrew had followed Chen Mo the longest, had the most experience, and was the strongest. He had personally formed and trained the initial hundred-man knight order.
Besides the four dukes, the eight highest-ranking marquises were the ones who survived the werewolf massacre with him, defended the stone house under his leadership, and were ultimately saved by Chen Mo. They were the eight captains of the original hundred-man knight order, now known as the Silver Knights.
Although their status was not as high as the noble-born lords, skilled in command, and the vampire elders from the movie, Victor and Amelia, they were just below them. In terms of prestige and influence within the Temple Knights, they surpassed Marcus.
As Andrew's original companions and subordinates, they were like brothers, deeply bonded and willing to entrust their lives to each other. They absolutely supported and obeyed Andrew.
With their assistance, along with Amelia, Andrew would have no problem taking over the empire. He was undoubtedly the best candidate at the moment.
Of course, the most important factor was Andrew's absolute loyalty to Chen Mo.
Within the entire Temple Knights, although all knights were very loyal to Chen Mo, including Marcus, their levels of loyalty varied.
Even among believers in a god, the depth of their faith and the degree of their devotion differ.
Marcus was the type who revered and feared the divine but still considered his own gains and losses, not fully dedicating himself to the god.
He would not betray the god, but he would not give up everything, including his life, to follow the god unconditionally.
But Andrew would, as would Amelia and Victor, the eight marquises, and the original hundred-man knight order. Even the knights who joined later after rigorous selection would follow Chen Mo unwaveringly.
If Chen Mo gave the order, even if it meant going to an unknown place full of difficulties, dangers, and challenges, where the enemies were stronger, they would still unhesitatingly give up their current titles, territories, power, and wealth to follow him.
Their loyalty and faith in Chen Mo surpassed their own lives, and Andrew was undoubtedly the most loyal and devout among them. Even if Chen Mo returned hundreds or thousands of years later, Andrew would unhesitatingly hand over the throne.
No position, power, wealth, or beauty could corrupt Andrew's ironclad loyalty to Chen Mo.
So, Andrew was indeed the best candidate to take over the throne.
However, this time Chen Mo miscalculated. He never expected that Andrew's faith in him was so devout that he would resolutely refuse the throne placed before him.
This was understandable, though. For a devout believer, even if the god in the temple left his throne, he would never think of sitting on it. To him, this would be blasphemy, and he could not allow himself to commit such an act.
The best candidate, due to his excessive loyalty, firmly refused to accept the throne, which caught Chen Mo off guard.
Just as Chen Mo was troubled by this, he suddenly heard a bell-like laugh. Smiling, he walked to the window.
Through the glass, Chen Mo looked down and saw little Selina playing and chasing with William on a piece of open ground not far away.
The tall and strong William was being chased around by the small Selina, who only reached his waist. Wearing a snow-white princess dress, the petite and cute Selina was chasing him with her arms outstretched, laughing happily.
Later, Chen Mo had enticed her with a large bag of candy to drink a vial of perfect blood taken from him. Selina's body was strengthened, and despite her small size, her strength and speed were astonishing.
Since her body had not fully developed, her strength was not particularly terrifying, only slightly stronger than an ordinary vampire, about three times that of a normal person.
However, in terms of speed, Selina was on par with William, the progenitor of werewolves. In fact, her agility even surpassed that of the tall William.
No matter how hard he ran, he couldn't shake off Selina, who was closely following him. Eventually, William made a mistake and couldn't dodge in time, allowing Selina to grab his clothes. He had to stop running, dejected.
Selina triumphantly extended her hand to William, who reluctantly took a candy from his pocket and handed it to the happy Selina.
Selina grabbed the candy from William's hand, carefully put it in her small pocket, and smiled with joy, her big eyes curving into crescents.
Chen Mo stood by the window, watching the happy Selina laughing because she had won a candy, and a smile slowly appeared on his lips.
…
In the center of the imperial capital, there was a vast and towering Gothic architectural complex, more appropriately called a palace.
It consisted of many tall and majestic buildings. Surrounded by numerous churches, bell towers, palaces, and towers, the central building was a gigantic palace, taller and more magnificent than all the others. This was the Thunder Temple, the place of worship for all the empire's citizens and the residence of their emperor, Chen Mo.
The main structure of the temple, apart from the steel and concrete beams and columns, was built entirely of the same black, hard stone as Blackstone Castle.
Two rows of dozens of black giant stone pillars, each about a hundred meters high, supported the entire hall. The interior space of the temple was vast and tall, making anyone inside feel small.
The high walls around the temple were carved with large reliefs, depicting the entire process of Chen Mo leading his knights to slay werewolves and conquer Europe.
The entire temple was deep and heavy, solemn and majestic. Being inside it made people feel awe and their expressions became solemn.
Although the temple was predominantly black, the hall did not appear too dark.
The dome of the hall and the upper parts of the high walls had dozens of large glass windows. Sunlight streamed through these windows, illuminating the entire hall from above.
At the top of the hall, a wide black stone staircase with dozens of steps led to a broad platform. In the center of the platform stood a tall and imposing black throne, the Throne of God belonging to Chen Mo.
Since its completion, the temple's doors had always been closed, and no one had been allowed to enter. Today, however, was different.
In this grand and magnificent hall, hundreds of temple knights in silver armor, with the emblem of a nine-headed dragon on their chests, stood neatly on the right side below the throne.
On the other side, hundreds of elegantly dressed nobles stood respectfully with their heads bowed.
These were the empire's city lords, governors, and key administrative officials, selected by Chen Mo from the many nobles who had pledged allegiance to him. They managed the vast territories of the empire and handled various administrative affairs.
The noon sunlight shone through the large glass windows above, casting dozens of golden beams of light into the vast and towering hall. These bright and dazzling golden beams added a touch of sanctity and magnificence to the black hall.
Chen Mo sat on the high platform, leaning against the throne, quietly overlooking the thousands of subjects below.