"Kelu, right? I have seen your hard work, and I am very pleased with your growth."
"From now on, you shall be my personal executive chef. You have the right to recruit subordinates to provide meals for me."
"This is a privilege I bestow upon you; you must cherish it."
Hearing Jona Velli's words, Kelu was ecstatic.
"Thank you, My Lady!"
Jona Velli stopped paying attention to Kelu and looked toward Little Shunzi instead.
"Alright, take me to see those Lurkers."
"Yes, Great Master."
Little Shunzi led Jona Velli toward the prison of Demon King City.
It was a rather dark space, filled with Magic Arrays for mana suppression, hardening, binding, will weakening, and so on.
However, while these Magic Arrays might be very restrictive for average races, for a Giant Dragon... if you could suppress mana as vast as the sea, then you might as well be the top race yourself.
To completely suppress a Giant Dragon's magic, one would need at least a demigod-level mana suppression spell.
Under Little Shunzi's lead, the Observer, Jona Velli, had already walked inside.
In the relatively empty corridor, faint voices of conversation could be heard.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are we being imprisoned?"
"If that's the case, what should we do-desu?"
"According to human habits, should we wait for death? Or resist?"
"Why isn't anyone saying anything-desu?"
"Hello, hello? Are you still awake?"
"Why are you all ignoring me?"
"I'm so bored-desu, tell me a story."
"Eh, you haven't answered me yet. Are you a Demi-human or a vampire?"
"So strange."
"Sigh, I kind of want to leave. Staying here is so boring."
"By the way, how long have you been here? I just arrived and don't know what to do."
...Chirping sounds came one after another, like a continuous barrage of sugar-coated bullets.
Hearing this crisp voice, Jona Velli frowned slightly and looked at Little Shunzi.
"This is..."
"Replying to Master, she is a human captured only last week, but she didn't resist when we caught her."
"On the contrary, she seemed quite proactive, or perhaps excited?"
Little Shunzi scratched his head; he also found it very strange.
When they found her, she was watching an anthill outside Demon King City. They didn't intend to bother with her, but she approached them herself.
She kept babbling, asking them to tell her stories, take her to play, and show her the world.
In the end, they couldn't take it anymore, and since she knew nothing when questioned, they just locked her up.
Little Shunzi's words piqued Jona Velli's interest, and she quickened her pace.
"Quite interesting."
Soon, the group arrived at a large cell, and the scene inside was a bit bizarre.
Several humans in gray cloaks sat around, their ears stuffed with rags, resting with their eyes closed.
However, their hoods had long since been pulled back.
There were also two vampires with medium-long pointed ears, red eyes, and black hair, dressed elegantly.
The most eye-catching one was a tall figure with cat ears and a cat tail, but her eyes had the red pupils unique to vampires.
They leaned elegantly against the wall, brows furrowed, because beside them was a brass-haired little girl full of curiosity, chirping away and disturbing them.
"Hey, hey, hey, are vampires all this cold and aloof? I thought only elves were like that?"
"By the way, do you think Drow Elves are better looking, or Wood Elves, or Silver Moon Elves..."
The cat-eared vampire didn't reply but looked up outside the cell, meeting Jona Velli's heterochromatic eyes.
"Quite alert."
The people inside the prison looked up toward the outside, their expressions varied.
In contrast, the brass-haired human girl's eyes sparkled with stars when she saw Jona Velli and Friel.
"Wow! Are there more newcomers?"
"Come here, come here! I'm bored to death-desu."
"These people are so cold-desu."
The girl waved toward the outside. Seeing this, both parties couldn't help but twitch their lips.
Floating barefoot, Jona Velli looked down at the people inside. Seeing the obviously abnormal human girl, she chose to ignore her.
Instead, she met a pair of blood-red pupils and sneered.
"Even vampires are so idle that they come to the Jesup Continent to join the fray?"
The leading cat-eared vampire showed no arrogance, nor did she underestimate Jona Velli.
Instead, she walked respectfully before her and gave a slight bow.
"Greetings, Great True Dragon. It is my honor to meet a being such as yourself-miao."
I am the person in charge sent by the Vampire Clan True Progenitor to investigate the matter of the sword of the rose, named Valena Seve.
"You may simply call me Valena-miao."
Jona Velli sized her up: crimson pupils, straight jet-black hair, and a demeanor carrying innate nobility and the elegant manners of a vampire.
Though she possessed the typical vampire pride, she was also observant.
She was an extremely special vampire.
"I see, little kitty. There is no sword of the rose here."
"Even though you didn't come to be my enemy, I will not let you leave."
Valena's expression stiffened at the name 'little kitty,' but upon learning that Jona Velli would not let them leave, her expression became serious.
"I don't quite understand what you mean-miao."
"If you want to leave, fine. Have your True Progenitor bring enough treasure to exchange for you."
"Otherwise, this place can provide your meals for the rest of your life."
As Jona Velli spoke, a glint of greed flashed in her eyes.
Although over a century of development, Little Shunzi and other Dependents had already amassed many treasures for her...
...the greed of a dragon is bottomless.
In any case, she might as well extort as much as she could.
Hearing this, Valena's composure began to crumble.
She was a Legendary Ninth Ring, after all. If not for the Vampire Clan True Progenitor's orders not to have unnecessary conflicts with this rising power, she would have acted long ago.
Now, setting aside the fact that the sword of the rose traded with the First Generation Demon King hadn't been found, she actually had to provide a massive ransom to this Giant Dragon.
Are you kidding me?
"Great True Dragon, our arrival has not caused you any unnecessary trouble. Furthermore, we haven't even completed the mission given by the True Progenitor. I hope you can be more magnanimous-miao."
"I'm not listening. Either pay up or face life imprisonment."
Huff, huff—
Valena's breathing became heavy, clearly suppressing something by force.
Thinking of her position among the vampires—while not a Prince, she was known as the True Progenitor's top combatant and the Vampire Queen's most trusted person—when had she ever endured such indignity?
"What? Not convinced? How about this: let's have a fight. Within ten seconds... no, five seconds. If I don't seriously injure you within five seconds, I won't trouble you. I'll even consider it my loss."
(New Year is approaching; readers, hurry up and join the Penguin group. This humble author has a little benefit for the fans.)
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"