Super Zoo-Chapter 806 - 785: The Land of Vampires

People accustomed to living in steel reinforced concrete megacities can hardly imagine what it feels like to face a castle.

In Yangchuan City, a hundred square meters of commercial housing is the goal that most people strive for. It suffices for a household of three without feeling cramped, and there could be hundreds of such houses in a residential complex covering dozens of acres. Each building is divided into neat concrete cells, packed with people living close together.

Even the enviable detached villas are no more than an acre in size, with fewer than ten rooms and an area of just two or three hundred square meters. Yet, it already feels incredibly spacious.

The Eibek Castle before their eyes, even from nearly a hundred meters away across the natural stone bridge, looks like a colossal structure carved from the mountains, standing tall between heaven and earth.

The castle boasts fifty-two separate rooms, including the lord's bedroom, main dining hall, guest rooms, armory, granary, etc., two large viewing terraces, more than ten small balconies attached to the rooms, a small square in the center of the castle for planting flowers and training soldiers, a separate water cistern, an underground chamber about the size of a basketball court, and an ancient but very scientifically comprehensive drainage system. Dozens of arrow loops and defensive positions, a beacon tower, and a natural hot spring jointly constitute the Eibek Castle.

The soft pads of wolf paws silently tread on the black stone bridge, while the carriage wheels creak and groan, heading towards the castle on the opposite side along the bridge.

The stone bridge, from a distance, seems very narrow, like a thin line spanning between two mountains, with a rapidly flowing gorge tens of meters below, the sound of water faintly audible. Both sides are sheer cliffs which look dangerously perilous from afar.

It is not until the carriage travels on it that one realizes how broad it actually is; wide enough to accommodate three carriages abreast or seven or eight people without feeling crowded, comparable to the widest lanes found in domestic highways. As long as you don't court death, there's no risk of falling off or being blown down by strong winds.

Opening the carriage, one can see ancient stone walls on both sides.

The architecture of ancient Huaxia emphasized lavish elegance and beauty, with comfort as the main priority. Most materials used were wooden, outrageously valuable, for instance, a main beam in the Summer Palace was said to cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. By contrast, ancient Western castles, due to frequent wars and poor economies, including those of kings and lords alike, had to incorporate significant military considerations and were the most solid defense structures in their territories. Hence, stones were commonly used.

Along both stone walls at intervals, are statues resembling lions and opposite to them, statues of the Virgin Mary, said to represent the castle lord's family and his religious beliefs, respectively.

However, due to the passage of a very long time, and Eugene being a poor princess, there wasn't enough money for restoration even within the castle, let alone the external passage; most of these statues are missing arms or legs.

Since getting onto the bridge, the passengers in the carriage could no longer sit still, excitedly disembarking to walk. Avitu finally found his sense of presence again and began to introduce the history of the castle to everyone. It is said that all of the castle's successive rulers were staunch Catholics; its first lord came directly from the Roman Empire, appointed by the Holy See, leading his knights here to cut through thorns and built the earliest Eibek Castle, to fend off the attacks of heretics.

Over hundreds of years, the castle has witnessed numerous glorious battles, and even on this stone bridge beneath their feet, one can find the traces of fierce sword-fights from the past.

In Romania, there are many stories about Eibek Castle, with the most famous one being its assistance to the Holy See in sending troops to attack Voivode Vlad III of Wallachia, who ruled the region of Romania at the time.

"Voivode Vlad III?" Zhao Yun stroked a limping lion statue, asking with interest, "Isn't that Count Dracula?" freewebnøvel.coɱ

"Haha, I didn't expect someone from the East to be familiar with our folklore. You are very learned. Voivode Vlad III is indeed the prototype of the legendary Count Dracula, who is said to be the king of vampires, able to command ordinary vampires. His castle is supposedly surrounded by innumerable bats, constantly drifting in the sky, appearing only once every ten years, and each time, he only feeds on the blood of a virgin. It is said that when night falls, Dracula would arrive in front of an exquisitely beautiful virgin, sitting in a carriage transformed from bats, gracefully opening the door and extending his hand, no woman could refuse his invitation, willingly stepping into the carriage, disappearing into the night sky. When the body of the woman is found the next day, she is pale yet strikingly beautiful, and her lips are sure to carry a sweet, satisfied smile..."

"A bunch of idiotic women." Chengcheng wrinkled her nose disdainfully.

Nurse Hu instinctively looked up at Eibek Castle at the end of the stone bridge, relieved that there were no so-called bats surrounding it.

Nangong Yan suddenly blinked at Suming and said, "Do you remember a cartoon from when we were kids? What was it called again…"

"Haha, Count Duckula, a vampire who goes against his ancestors' traditions and refuses to drink blood – in fact, it's just a big duck," Suming said with a laugh, recalling childhood memories.

Romania is the homeland of vampire stories, where vampires have even become a cultural icon, a tourist attraction. Apart from Count Dracula, another famous female vampire from history, Mrs. Bathory, lived not too far from Eibek Castle in Csejte Castle.

Legend has it that her husband, Count Bathory, was often waging war away from home, leaving the lady with nothing to do, so she took pleasure in capturing young girls from nearby villages, subjecting them to torture, bleeding them to death like animals in a slaughterhouse, drinking their fresh blood, and bathing in it, believing that it would maintain her astonishing beauty and youth.

"Blood contains large amounts of iron, and long-term consumption of blood can lead to gastrointestinal diseases, skin dark spots, heavy pigment deposition, and even iron poisoning," Nurse Hu analyzed professionally, "To have good skin, one should consume more high-protein foods. This Countess clearly lacked education. If she were to capture anyone, she should have captured young and strong men."

Everyone looked at her with speechless gazes. Chengcheng, curious, asked, "Why? Does men's blood contain protein?"

The moment was quite awkward, but fortunate enough, they had reached the castle's main doors – a broad iron gate like the spillway of a reservoir, drawing everyone's attention.

Avitu took out a bunch of keys, with a clank, unlocked the gate. Su Meng and Suming helped on each side, pushing the heavy iron doors open with effort.

"So dark." Looking at the dark passage behind the iron gate, the women felt a sense of fear, as if countless vampire bats might surge out at any moment or there might be a vampire in evening wear with a pale face welcoming them at the end of the corridor.

The group stood still outside the castle gate.

"Wait a moment." Suming suddenly took Nangong Yan's hand and said softly.