Chapter 33: The Hunt
Even after being exposed, the lead werewolf didn’t get angry. He even glanced at Adele, “You’re quite observant.” He shrugged at his companions behind him, “I told you your trick wouldn’t work. See, the vampires didn’t fall for it.”
“It’s your fault. If you had remembered the name, we might have actually fooled them.”
They continued chatting nonchalantly, but some of the vampires were already getting restless. An adult vampire flicked his claws and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before the werewolf. The werewolf drew his sword, blocking the vampire’s attack.
“Attacking while talking isn’t very gentlemanly. Don’t you vampires value your noble conduct?”
“There’s no need for manners with you filthy otherworldly beings!”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
The werewolf gestured to the otherworldly being behind him. The black-robed figure slightly opened their robe, revealing a child standing beside them… a vampire child, no more than six or seven years old. He stood there, trembling, not daring to make a sound, as the black-robed figure’s hand gripped his neck.
He shivered, tears streaming down his face.
Recognizing his face, the noblewoman who had cried out “My child” earlier screamed again, “My baby!” She tried to rush over but was blocked by her husband. The moment she moved, the black-robed figure tightened their grip, causing the child even more pain.
“Ah!” The noblewoman cried out in agony but couldn’t take another step forward.
Judging from the black-robed figure’s physique and black-painted nails, they were likely female. Their body was undeniably human, but the snake scent was too strong. Jasmine guessed that not only she, but other vampires could also smell it.
How did she manage to conceal that snake smell and remain hidden from daytime until now?
Setting aside the black-robed figure, these guys were truly despicable, using a child to threaten the vampires. But it had to be said, it was a very effective method. Vampires had exceptionally long lifespans. Adele’s parents, as Jasmine had learned, had lived for over six hundred years. However, compared to their long lives, having children was extremely difficult for them.
Just look at Adele’s family. They had only had two children in all those years. Although the two children were born relatively close together, they had been childless for many years before that. And based on the characteristics of the vampire race, they probably wouldn’t have any more children in the future.
Low-ranking vampires were relatively more fertile, but their offspring were still just low-ranking vampires. Some nobles didn’t even consider them to be their own kind.
Perhaps because vampire children were so rare, all nobles were protective of them. They were not only the future hope of a family, but also the future blossoms of the entire vampire race. These ancient beings had lived for so long, they couldn’t bear to see a young bud wither away in front of them.
Even the adult vampire who had charged out to fight the werewolf gritted his teeth but reluctantly retreated.
“Hmph, you vampires are really protective of children, even those who aren’t your own,” the werewolf sneered. He scanned the room again and spotted two more underage children. They didn’t intend to snatch the children from their parents’ arms now. That would provoke the wrath of all the vampires.
They weren’t necessarily afraid of these vampires. Discovering this child had been a pleasant surprise. If they hadn’t found him, they would have chosen to fight these vampires head-on. They had a mission, and it would be best to complete it without bloodshed.
However, they couldn’t reveal their true objective too obviously. They had to proceed step by step, subtly and discreetly, so that these vampires wouldn’t even know their target until it was too late.
The werewolf looked around. He couldn’t touch the children, because doing so would provoke all the vampires. But to make an example, he didn’t have to target the children. The moment he entered, he had noticed another extremely unusual presence: Jasmine.
She stood out among the vampires like a grain of white rice in a pool of ink, so conspicuous that it was impossible for the werewolf to miss her.
“Well, well, what do we have here? A human? Step forward and let me have a look.”
Adele stood protectively in front of Jasmine. Hearing the werewolf’s words, she even stepped back slightly, as if to tell Jasmine to stay back and not come forward. However, the werewolf’s tactic was too despicable. He gestured to the black-robed figure behind him, who tightened their grip, causing the vampire child to cry out in pain.
Seeing this scene, Adele’s heart clenched. On one hand, she had been taught from a young age that she must never ignore the life of another child. Just like countless vampires had protected her when she was little, when she had the ability, she also had to protect other vampire children.
On the other hand, the child represented weakness, and Adele had always considered herself a symbol of strength. As a strong individual, how could she stand by and watch the weak get hurt?
But… but Jasmine was also weak. How could she put Jasmine in danger?
Jasmine gently patted Adele’s shoulder, “It’s okay.” She stepped out from behind Adele and walked two steps forward. Adele unconsciously followed her. The werewolf pointed his sword at Adele, “You, stay where you are.”
Adele’s face looked young, but a vampire’s appearance after maturity didn’t correspond to their age. As long as they didn’t look like children, they were considered adults in the eyes of otherworldly beings. So the werewolf was wary of Adele. Seeing her move, he immediately stopped her.
Adele almost gritted her teeth in frustration, but she could only stay put.
Jasmine stood before the otherworldly beings. Behind her were the vampires, and in front of her were the otherworldly beings. She was the most unique presence in this space, the only human.
The werewolf took two steps closer to Jasmine, marveling, “Aren’t you a human? How did you end up among the vampires?”
“As you can see, I’m a human, my lady’s maid. That’s why I’m allowed here.” Normally, even as a maid, she wouldn’t be allowed into the vampire dining hall, but her young miss was both willful and privileged. The restaurant manager was nothing to her.
But this common sense seemed unusual to the otherworldly beings. They didn’t know if Jasmine was telling the truth, but it sounded plausible. Although they didn’t know this particular custom, they knew one thing: wealthy and powerful vampires wouldn’t bring human maids with them, but rather low-ranking vampire maids.
The werewolf curled his lip and glanced at Adele. This vampire seemed like the real deal, but she was actually a declining noble. They weren’t looking for someone like her.
The werewolf continued, “I heard that life under the vampires is quite tough for you humans. You get your blood drained all the time.”
“It’s alright.” Jasmine told the truth. Her life was actually quite good. Although Adele constantly pestered her for blood, she had never succeeded. And her treatment was indeed good. She could even dine in the restaurant. Who could say she was treated poorly?
The werewolf clicked his tongue a few times and then extended an olive branch to Jasmine, “How about working for us? Since you’re a maid, you must be good at cooking, right? Our team is great in every way, except we’re lacking a cook. Don’t worry, you’ll only be responsible for cooking. You won’t have to offer yourself up.”
As a professional maid, Jasmine was proficient in basic tasks. Only cooking was beyond her capabilities. In her previous life, she had relied on takeout for survival. When she was truly hungry, she resorted to instant food. The only cooking skill she had mastered was scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Moreover, these otherworldly beings were dressed in rags, clearly not wealthy. Abandon Adele to join them? Jasmine wasn’t crazy.
So Jasmine shook her head, “No, my master treats me quite well.”
The werewolf’s smile faded, “You’d rather be drained of your blood than cook for us?”
“It’s not that…” Adele had never actually sucked her blood, but the werewolf obviously misunderstood, thinking that Jasmine had changed her mind. Then he heard Jasmine say, “It’s mainly because you guys seem quite poor. I’m better off staying with my master.”
The werewolf wasn’t offended. He actually found Jasmine quite interesting. Her words played right into his hands. He even chuckled, “Interesting, truly interesting! You’re right. Our team is indeed quite poor, otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”
He no longer looked at Jasmine but turned to the other vampires, “I’d like to make a deal with you all. We need some money. Of course, I know you probably don’t carry much, so I’m going to kidnap you and ask your families for ransom.”
Jasmine had guessed as much. It was probably all about money. After all, over 70% of the world’s wealth and resources were controlled by vampires. Even if some vampires were willing to do business with otherworldly beings and secretly sell them resources, they still charged in vampire currency.
Otherworldly beings weren’t very intelligent. They couldn’t escape the monetary trap that humans had meticulously woven for vampires, so they could only resort to the most primitive method of obtaining money—hunting. They had targeted this airship for robbery.
But Jasmine felt that there was more to it than that. She smelled a sewer-like stench. Otherworldly beings with such good equipment and a well-organized team wouldn’t rob an airship just for a small amount of money. They might not even know who was on the airship or whether they could actually afford the ransom.
And they wouldn’t live in the sewers just to avoid being hunted. The only ones who were powerful enough to do so but still frequently lurked in the sewers were hunters.
In other words, there was their prey among the vampires on this airship.
After thinking for a moment, Jasmine reached a conclusion: their prey was probably Adele. She was a member of the thirteen clans, and the bounty on the Blake family in the Hunters’ Association was so high that even Jasmine was sometimes tempted. Going through so much trouble to infiltrate an airship just for some small fry wouldn’t be worth their effort. Only a big game like the thirteen clans would make the hunters go all out.
The werewolf extended his hand towards the vampires, “Now, tell me your family information.”
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