It took a long time for the vampires to regain their composure.
The Progenitor's vision is truly beyond our comprehension.
The seven second-generation vampires exchanged glances, and Fred was the first to stand up.
His usually aloof figure bent slightly, his eyes filled with a fervor that had never been there before.
"Father, Fred is willing to fight for you."
The vampires below seemed to be ignited, and they all rose to their feet in unison.
"We are willing to fight for you."
Under the influence of the Charm spell, these vampires were finally motivated.
Li De was greatly satisfied. No matter what happened in the future, at least he had made a good start.
"Very good, you have not disappointed me."
"Proceed as per the orders I issued yesterday. Fred will guard the Holy Land, and all other vampires are forbidden from harming humans.
I will compile the regulations and post them outside the hall. Every vampire must memorize them."
"Odys, starting today, clear the Southern District. Have all vampires move out of the Southern District. In the future, the Southern District will be a gathering place for humans."
"My children, the future of the vampire race will undergo tremendous changes from today onwards, and humans are our important allies. I do not wish for my clan members to foolishly harm them."
"You may leave."
After the crowd dispersed, Li De fell into deep thought.
The most crucial step of the farming plan had been taken. Changing the long-standing beliefs of a race was an extremely difficult task.
But fortunately, the Goddess of Fate was on his side this time, and he had once again lifted the hem of her skirt.
What the ancient castle lacked now was humans. The main body of the farming plan was humans, not vampires. All this groundwork was to prepare for the arrival of humans.
Although there were no humans in the ancient castle yet, Li De was the least worried about this.
From the large number of refugees flooding into Green City recently, it was clear that the war between the Nolan Empire and the Beastmen Empire in the southern part of the Far Mountain Range would have a significant impact.
The Beastmen living in the barren wastelands would invade the borders of the Nolan Empire every winter due to food shortages.
Such invasions had been ongoing for over a century, and the Beastmen had never missed a year.
But unexpectedly, this year's war had started earlier for some reason.
It was only early autumn, just past October, and there were still two full months until the Month of Deep Winter.
According to past conventions, the Beastmen would not launch their attacks until after the Month of Deep Winter.
However, the Beastmen's early invasion had caught the Nolan Empire's army completely unprepared, and millions of civilians at the border had lost their homes due to the war.
No one in this world cared about the lives of a group of civilians.
In such a context, the ancient castle only needed to avoid the Green City army and bring a small portion of the refugees from the border to the castle—conservatively, five thousand people, with a maximum of no more than ten thousand.
No hero could slay a dragon with a single sword. The development of any force required a process of growing from small to large.
The ancient castle could not accept too many humans at once. With only two hundred vampires, an excessive number of humans would undermine the vampires' dominance.
Therefore, the process of acquiring a population was destined to be a long one.
Moreover, before acquiring the population, the preliminary preparations needed to be completed.
Food, winter clothing, farming tools—all these were things Li De needed to prepare in advance.
The vampires' survival model inherently depended on humans.
Vampires viewed humans as food, but this was just a euphemism. In Li De's eyes, the current vampires were more like parasites—parasites that could not survive without humans.
Although these parasites were a powerful superior race, with everyone being natural spellcasters, this fact remained unchanged.
Unfortunately, Li De was one of them. But as a modern man, he naturally would not allow his subordinates to continue developing in such a barbaric manner.
With a sufficient number of humans, the vampires could be well-supported.
Could one million humans not support ten thousand vampires? On average, one hundred humans supporting one vampire, with each human donating a small amount of blood each month, would be enough for the vampires to survive.
Moreover, this was a harmless method.
As for ways to make humans willingly donate blood, Li De had already thought of countless methods.
Additionally, the existence of the Holy Spirit allowed blood to be preserved for a long time, making the plan of humans supporting vampires highly feasible.
For the sake of the farming plan, Li De had considered most scenarios within the limited time.
After a long while, Li De stood up from his seat and took a deep breath, looking at the now empty hall.
Let it begin here.
After the vampires left, they immediately began to carry out Li De's orders.
The vampires clearing the Southern District had started moving out of the designated area.
At its peak, the ancient castle had housed twenty thousand humans, so its scope was sufficiently large.
Since the castle was built at the mouth of a gourd-shaped basin, the east and west sides were flanked by towering mountains.
The three-thousand-blade-high peaks were difficult even for dragons to fly over, perfectly serving as city walls.
Apart from that, the castle was divided into three areas. The Northern District, where the city walls were located, was situated between the two mountains and had always been the main activity area for the vampires.
The Central District was where the vampires resided, with the council hall and Li De's manor located there.
The Southern District was built for humans during the vampires' most powerful era and was the most spacious.
Behind the Southern District lay vast, fertile, undeveloped land, which was Li De's confidence in supporting humans in the future.
The Southern District, which Li De had ordered Odys to clear, could accommodate twenty thousand people and was the largest residential area in the entire castle.
It contained rows of two-story houses, wide streets, and a complete drainage system.
There were even structures that greatly surprised Li De—septic tanks for processing feces.
Even in Green City, such structures, which significantly improved the quality of life, were only found in the areas where the most powerful nobles lived.
In the slums of Green City, feces were almost everywhere on the streets.
Li De had thought that the ancient castle, at best, would not be much better than Green City, but he had not expected the living facilities to be so comprehensive.
This discovery filled him with confidence for the upcoming plans.
No one would resist a high-quality living environment.
Once accustomed to clean streets and a safe environment, who would want to return to filthy, stinking streets and a life where death could come at any moment?