Blinding sunlight, noisy crows that love to scream, insects gnawing on coffins... vampires have many things they detest, and swamps are undoubtedly one of them.
In swamps, not only are there all sorts of savage, filthy magical creatures, but also those sticky, muddy marshes that could soil their opulent formal wear and delicate leather boots at any mont.
For vampires who care deeply about their appearance, this is absolutely unbearable.
However, Viscount Casimir was already stepping into this place for the third ti.
Even he himself hadn't realized that, unknowingly, he had grown accustod to this filthy swamp he once avoided like the plague, and had even begun to vaguely appreciate its beauty.
Whether it was the bright afternoon sunlight piercing through the dense canopy to sprinkle upon the swamp, or those slis huddled under the warm patches of light, lazily basking in "sunbaths," everything seed to him filled with the beauty of nature.
In contrast, his companion, Viscount Zoran, who had co with him, hadn't stopped complaining since they stepped into the swamp's edge.
"This damned mud."
Zoran carefully lifted his trouser legs, now dotted with mud splashes, waved away a buzzing swamp blood-sucking mosquito, and muttered under his breath:
"I'm finding it more and more strange, Casimir. What on earth could be so incredible that it has you so obsessed, insisting on coming to this godforsaken place to suffer?"
He subconsciously smacked his lips, feeling his decade-dormant craving for tobacco seed to be stirring again.
But they had co in a hurry this ti, not even bringing half a stick of his treasured cigars, which undoubtedly made his mood plumt to rock bottom.
"You'd better not be lying to ."
"If this is just to have accompany you out to enjoy the 'swamp breeze,' I'll lie back in my coffin right now and refuse to wake up, no matter what."
"How could that be, Viscount Zoran."
A mysterious smile played on Casimir's face as he pointed ahead. "Trust , you will absolutely not be disappointed. Look, we're almost there."
The two pushed aside the dense thickets, and their view suddenly opened up.
The slightly harsh sunlight shone down, making Zoran feel a bit uncomfortable as well, but his attention at this mont was completely captured by the sturdy, tall fortress ahead.
What made his jaw drop even more was when he looked toward the woodland beside the city wall, he actually saw dozens of round, plump slis diligently carrying stones and lumber, working together to build tree houses.
"What in the world, Casimir, these slis can build houses?"
Zoran thought he was hallucinating from being out of touch with the outside world for too long. He desperately rubbed his eyes, blinked several tis, and only then dared to confirm that this absurd scene before him was real.
"These slis are far more exaggerated than what you said before."
A flash of surprise crossed Casimir's eyes. In fact, this was the first ti he learned that these slis could actually build houses.
But in front of his old friend, he tried hard to maintain his composure, putting on a calm expression that said, "What's there to be so surprised about?"
Since they had already identified themselves and stated their purpose to the patrolling Poison-stinger Wasps before entering the swamp, the master of this place had clearly been inford of their visit long ago.
Two tal slis, presumably guards, quickly rolled up to them, gestured for the two to follow, and then hopped and bounced their way toward the largest tree house next to the city wall.
"What do they an?" Zoran asked.
Casimir actually wanted to ask the sa thing.
"Ahem, it must be that the Undead Lord values our alliance with the vampire clan greatly and even specially built a dedicated eting hall." He pointed at the tree house that looked quite sturdy.
His guess wasn't wrong.
To welco their "generous" allies, Chen Yu indeed attached great importance to this eting.
He had not only personally participated in the design and partial construction of this eting hall but had also been waiting inside the tree house early on.
There was even a row of slis forming an honor guard outside the tree house door. They tried their best to stand up straight and, as the two passed by, swayed their bodies slightly in unison, as if "saluting" them.
Seeing this display, Zoran couldn't help but lower his voice and say to Casimir, "Not bad, Casimir. I didn't expect you to have quite the face here."
"That's only natural. I represent the vampire clan."
Casimir's face bead with radiance, and he even walked with a bit of a spring in his step, his chin unconsciously lifting a few degrees.
This treatnt was simply worlds apart compared to the previous two visits. It seed Viscount Casimir's na was starting to carry weight in this swamp.
He thought with satisfaction.
Sunlight stread down through the tree house's skylight, illuminating the entire interior of the eting hall brightly and clearly, dispelling the dampness of the swamp.
As soon as the two stepped onto the hall's floor paved with smooth stone slabs, they saw, at the far end behind a crude stone table, a short, small skeleton wearing a tiny crown seated upright.
Casimir imdiately put on an elegant smile, stepped forward, placed his right hand over his chest, and perford a standard noble bow. "Good day, esteed Undead Lord. It seems your domain has been developing quite well in the days since my departure."
"This ti, I have brought you new good news."
Chen Yu didn't reply imdiately. His empty eye sockets slowly turned, his gaze falling upon the unfamiliar vampire beside Casimir.
As an "Undead Lord," even if he appeared to be just a short skeleton, he had to maintain the necessary dignity and posture.
He couldn't lose his composure easily just because of gold coins.
Unless... the gold coins were plentiful enough.
Before coming, Zoran had already learned about this skeletal lord from Casimir, so he didn't show any disrespectful expression, rely smiling and bowing in the sa manner.
"Good day, esteed Lord. I am Viscount Zoran. It is an honor to et you."
Chen Yu gave a slight nod, inviting them to sit down.
Two sli agronomists, temporarily pulled from the farmlands to act as attendants, hopped over. Their gel-like little hands gripped the chair legs, helping to push open the chairs woven from vines and wood.
"As allies of our undead, the two Viscounts deserve our respect. Please, have a seat."
"Thank you, Lord."
Only after the two were seated did Chen Yu speak. "Then, please state your purpose."
The smile on Casimir's face remained unchanged.
"According to reliable intelligence, signs of the sumr Magical Tides have begun to appear, and the activities of the Goblin Army entrenched at Riftrock Pass have beco increasingly frequent."
"I wonder what specific plans you, Lord, have for dealing with these green-skinned threats. Perhaps our vampire clan can provide so assistance within our capabilities for our esteed ally."
This ti, Chen Yu didn't directly deny wanting to deal with the goblins. He rely sighed inwardly about these vampires being such "great benefactors," always finding ways to try and send him supplies.
He went along with the other's words:
"Assistance? Oh, thank you, our generous allies. We are indeed short of funds to expand our military equipnt. It's not much, just casually give us three thousand gold coins."
"Th-three... ahem, ahem, ahem..."
Casimir was directly choked by his own saliva, coughing for a good while before catching his breath.
What did he an by 'casually give us three thousand gold coins'?
Are three thousand gold coins a small amount?!
That's enough to equip a proper-looking army!
These undead are simply obsessed with money. Every ti we et, all they talk about is money.
Casimir raged inwardly, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
He struggled to maintain the smile on his face, though it appeared sowhat stiff:
"Ahem, Lord, perhaps we could change the request? This is really..."
Chen Yu tilted his head in confusion, his empty eye sockets fixed on Casimir. "Do you an you don't have gold coins anymore?"
These words, seemingly light, were like a naked question: Are you poor?
"Of course not!..."
Casimir was sowhat at a loss for words.
Three thousand gold coins, even for the Blacktooth rcenary company controlled by the vampire clan, wasn't a sum that could be produced at a mont's notice. It would be difficult to gather in a short ti unless they could go and swindle another massive bounty from the goblins.
But here's the problem: if they could swindle the bounty themselves, why on earth would they hand it over to these greedy undead for free?
He had intended to politely refuse this request but suddenly seed to rember sothing. He pondered, then said in a tentative tone, "If you, Lord, could provide us with so more of that special 'blood' from last ti, perhaps I could find a way to help you gather this portion of the funds."
Sure enough, these vampires were fundantally after his gel.
Chen Yu instantly felt confident.
But so gel was nothing to him.
And he had long prepared a "special" version.
As he willed it inwardly, two buzzing Poison-stinger Wasps flew in through the eting hall's open window.
They hovered in front of the two vampires, then with a soft *plop*, placed two blobs of erald-green gel infused with life energy onto the stone table before them.
Seeing this familiar delicacy, Casimir's heart was instantly filled with wild joy.
He fought back the urge to pounce on it imdiately and said to Zoran beside him:
"Zoran, try it. The taste is absolutely unforgettable."
Zoran picked up the warm, soft, bouncy blob of gel before him. For so reason, he felt this jelly-like substance seed to be tempting him.
He didn't retort Casimir's words as he normally would. He didn't even need Casimir to say more;
an inexplicable impulse drove him to lower his head and take a bite.
"Gulp..."
When that cool, smooth life energy slid down his throat and rged with his cold blood, Zoran's eyes widened abruptly, and his body trembled slightly, uncontrollably.
Delicious!
Unbelievably delicious!
How could there be... food in this world more intoxicating than the blood of a virgin?!
Even his precious cigars seed so diocre and bland in front of this miraculous green gel.
He finally understood Casimir's words.
What tobacco addiction? Compared to this, that's not an addiction at all.
He greedily sucked the blob of gel in his hand clean. Only when his hand was empty did he lick his lips sowhat reluctantly, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward the untouched blob of gel still in front of Casimir.
Seeing his expression, Chen Yu knew another vampire had fallen.
This was gel secreted from his own body. Although he didn't know the principle, it seed to have a fatal attraction for these vampires.
He simply couldn't resist it.
Seeing the timing was right, Casimir said to Chen Yu, "To be frank, Lord, this special 'blood' is rich in nutrients required by the vampire clan. For us, it is an exceptional food."
"If your domain is willing to provide this gel blood stably over the long term, once I return and persuade those old fellows in the Evernight Domain to gather three thousand gold coins, or even more funds, for you, it will no longer be a problem."
His voice carried full confidence.
Casimir admitted he did have selfish motives.
He wasn't wholeheartedly loyal to Salacha. Compared to so-called plans, he cared more about this gel blood.
Those shiny gold coins?
In front of them, they were simply worthless.
If gold coins couldn't be exchanged for gel blood, then to Casimir, they were no different from worthless scrap iron.
As long as he could get his hands on this gel blood, he had plenty of ways to hide it from Salacha and persuade him to provide more gold coins.
He could even use the gel blood to secretly bribe and win over a group of vampire nobles, pushing this matter forward behind the scenes.
Zoran, sitting beside him, glanced at Casimir, seeming to see through his thoughts, but he didn't voice any opposition.
Because... he wanted it too!
He already didn't get along with Salacha and his arrogant apprentices. Following Casimir to enjoy delicious food wasn't bad, and he could even annoy Salachar in the process.
Simply perfect.
"Trading gel?" Chen Yu pretended to ponder, then agreed.
Using worthless gel in exchange for gold coins? This kind of trade was simply a huge win.
And not only would he give them gel, he would secretly add so talent orbs. Perhaps he could use Casimir as a connection to develop more vampire informants.
Hehe... he might even be able to hollow out the vampire clan from within.
Seeing Chen Yu agree, Casimir's smile grew even brighter. He bowed and said, "Thank you for your generosity and trust, my esteed Lord. Please rest assured, the matter of funds is in my hands. It is absolutely not a problem."
"However, to give a proper account to Lord Salacha after returning and make him willingly take out this huge sum... I believe it is necessary for your domain to appropriately demonstrate your 'determination' and 'actions' in dealing with the Goblin Army."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I will secretly bribe human rcenaries to spread the news extensively in the Dark Realm. That way, Salacha won't have any suspicions."
Chen Yu thought to himself that this guy was quite considerate, even knowing to fabricate news.
This informant wasn't bad at all.
"Pleasure doing business."
"Pleasure doing business." Casimir responded with a smile.
Both sides were very satisfied with this negotiation and cooperation.
Casimir didn't even realize that his actions were approaching substantial betrayal. His heart was still imrsed in the joy of soon obtaining more gel blood.
When he and Zoran left the eting hall and saw several slis struggling to carry over a few sealed clay pots, their eyes lit up.
They carefully took the clay pots, then left the fortress contentedly, their figures soon disappearing into the swamp's mist.
Chen Yu gazed in the direction they disappeared, also showing a satisfied expression.
"Next, prepare to organize a trade team heading for the White Horse Kingdom, and just wait for the gold coins to be delivered."
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