Two days ago.
"Brother, trust me this time!"
"Roll."
"No, when have I ever lied to you?"
"Every time."
"So I only told a little lie, I didn't betray you, did I?"
You just can't beat me.
"Oh my, why are you so stubborn?"
"Get out! Don't make me say it a third time."
"No, this really is the last chance! Do you think Vanessa will still have any reservations after today? Once she's gained the benefits, she'll advance to the next level!"
How did she know about today's events?
"... Don't worry about that for now."
"Tell me, why are you so sure Vanessa will get involved today?"
"Yes, yes, I told her, okay?"
Deep within the Demon Realm, in a complex underground cavern, Grand Duke Hall was speaking eloquently.
The person he was trying to persuade was Grand Duke Wens, the " Drain," and his... blood relative.
Hall wiped the fine sweat from the body's forehead, his expression slightly embarrassed.
"Yes, I said it, so what?"
"I not only told Vanessa, but also Rosalind and you. Isn't that fair?"
Hall became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke—although he had an almost negative reputation score among the Grand Dukes, his logic was very clear.
At that moment, he poured out all the things he had been thinking about lately:
"The resources of the Demon Realm are simply insufficient to sustain the existence of three lineages of Blood Corpse. Don't you realize that?"
Even if your Authority allows you to Drain life from plants, moss, and even fertile soil, how long can that last?
Even if they survive, how much of their fighting strength will they retain?
"I've only been in the Demon Realm for less than two months and I've already discovered that if things continue like this, within twenty years, this vast wasteland of the Demon Realm will be completely barren under the rampage of the three of you."
Do you think you can keep this up for twenty years?
Will a solution emerge on its own twenty years from now? Or are you absolutely certain you can outmaneuver 'Carefree' and 'Unhappy' and become the king of this land?
Even if you win—though I don't know how you'll win, but even if you do win—what about Vanessa?
"She'd be more than happy to see the three of you entangled in this mess..."
Hall pressed him aggressively, Wens remained silent.
He knew, of course, that his brother was right.
Hall discovered the problem in less than two months, and Wens, who had spent more than half a century in the Demon Realm, couldn't possibly be unaware of it.
But what good will knowing do?
The walls of the Graycast Corridor grew higher and higher, the knights of the Eternal Domain grew stronger and stronger, and the Floating Corpse Sea became an abyss of danger for them.
What can he do?
In fact, Wens realized this more than sixty years ago, when the Eternal Domain and the Graycast Corridor had not yet become powerful and were temporarily on the defensive against the three major Blood Corpse.
But wasn't that battle a failure?
Since then, the Graycast Corridor and the Eternal Domain have each encroached upon a section of the edge of the Demon Realm, completely completing the division and encirclement of this part of the continent.
From that time on, the lineage of Rosalind, Wens, and York was already on its deathbed.
The countdown was just too long, so long that he even forgot about it for a time.
But at this moment, Hall's words reminded Wens of that desperate moment when he foresaw the future.
"No need to say anything more."
Wens, sitting on the stone chair, gently raised his hand to stop Hall:
I understand what you mean.
"And you..."
Hall was unsure whether his blood relative had agreed or not, and only felt that the other person was about to kick him out at any moment.
"Roll!"
As expected.
Hall made no attempt to hide his smirk. It was just a temporary body anyway; eat it if you want.
"Or..."
Wens suddenly changed the subject, his tone softening slightly.
Hall was startled and looked up sharply at Wens in disbelief—the old fogey had finally seen the light!
" True Blood Covenant "
"What?"
"I said, the True Blood Covenant."
Wens looked at the Hall and said:
"Why do you think the three of us have been able to get along peacefully for so long? Subjective restraint is certainly one of the reasons, but Rosalind's appetite doesn't care about any of that when it strikes, so we invented this."
"The name is a reference to the ' True Blood Alliance ' that Rosalind convened. Although the three of us didn't attend, we had a similar agreement."
With a flick of his wrist, Wens revealed a bead of blood the size of a knuckle in his palm.
The blood bead was composed of three distinct parts: one part was almost animated, as if it were about to bite; another part had a restrained light and a slightly cold feel; and the last part was deep red, almost black, as if it would melt and drip into the darkness if its brightness were to drop even slightly.
"This is... the ' True Blood Covenant '?"
Hall felt the three forces, seemingly originating from the same source yet antagonistic to each other, surging within the blood bead.
Wens nodded seriously and said:
"Yes, form an alliance with me, and I'll take action."
What about the content?
Don't betray me.
Wens was concise and to the point.
"... Uh, it's that simple?"
Hall scratched his head.
"It's not difficult for anyone other than you."
Wens raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed... you know me, backstabbing is just a piece of cake..."
That's your style.
Wens nodded:
"So this time I won't back down. You agree to sign the True Blood Covenant, then I'll make my move."
"What about the time limit?"
Hall, unusually serious, asked:
"We're bound to have a fight someday, unless you're strong enough to make me kneel down, then I'll definitely hand over my True Blood."
Wens paused for a moment upon hearing this:
"Then you'd be dead?"
"That's because you're out of touch."
Hall grinned arrogantly, seemingly having nothing to brag about, but he still said boastfully:
" Vanessa has already taken a portion of my True Blood, but look at me, I'm still alive and kicking!"
Wens froze, looking at the Hall with a puzzled expression:
"Real?"
"Of course it's true!"
Hall patted his chest:
"So I've already decided that if any of you actually advance in rank, I'll immediately kneel down. That way, I'll at least be able to survive. We've been brothers and sisters for thousands of years, surely you won't even give me this much face?"
"... If that's true, I wouldn't mind draining you dry and leaving you half-dead."
With a stern face Wens couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement:
"As expected of someone who can dismantle their own Authority, they've already prepared their escape route so early."
"That's natural."
"But how much True Blood have you lost?"
"Not much, just a quarter."
"... Isn't that enough?"
"It's really not much. I could have slowly taken it back, but Vanessa has already begun to erode my Authority, and that part is simply irretrievable."
"All right."
Wens said with some emotion:
"At least for now, York isn't the weakest among us."
"You know what..."
Hall smacked his lips:
"By the way, you still haven't said how long the contract will last."
Three days.