"Any conditions are acceptable?"
Bennett repeated Earl Luoli's words, but his tone rose slightly as if he had already decided on a price.
The mummified vampire in the stone coffin twitched its throat in a daze, sensing the smug satisfaction in the other's words—the self-satisfied air of someone who had dug a trap and was waiting to ambush their prey.
But after much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and continued with what little strength he had left:
"I know you are a powerful compatriot, so please state your terms!"
Although Luoli Adelaide was sealed in the sarcophagus, his five senses were not completely blocked.
Of the five senses, sight, touch, and taste are useless, but he can hear and smell.
The aroma of fresh meat and the strong beat of a heart are characteristics unique to high-quality food.
The information conveyed by smell and hearing both point to one fact—
There are humans with that count outside!
Living, breathing human beings!
More than one human!
Luoli, completely unaware of the drastic changes in the outside world, certainly wouldn't believe that the current situation was that these humans had enslaved another vampire count.
On the contrary, he thought that Earl Bennett was quite capable, having subdued many humans of decent strength as his followers, and even being able to control his Blood Corpse so they wouldn't attack them.
From any perspective, Bennett Antos is undoubtedly one of the best vampire counts.
Although he was also an earl, the progenitor's ability in the Adelaide Lineage determined that the vampires of this lineage were not known for their direct individual combat skills.
Adelaide, whose Authority is " Absolute Punishment," excels at applying various marks and negative statuses to her enemies, which, when accumulated to a certain extent, can even cause the enemy to die instantly.
Enemies who fall victim to this attack will enter a state of perpetual, all-encompassing weakness.
At this point, facing enemies in a weakened state, whether fighting alone or in groups, the Blood Corpse has a clear advantage.
Adelaide's favorite tactic was to unleash a large-scale negative effect herself, followed by having her vampire nobles lead Corpse Tide in an attack.
Therefore, Luoli in the sarcophagus was ready, prepared to treat these humans as his appetizer.
As his thoughts wandered uncontrollably, Bennett's aged, hoarse voice came again:
"Would you be willing to forsake your Adelaide blood and join the great Antos Lineage?"
There was no movement from inside the stone coffin.
After a moment of silence, Luoli's tone was weak yet serious:
"Mr. Bennett, you may leave now."
He said:
"I can promise you many things, but I cannot relinquish the Grand Duke's True Blood."
The dozen or so players inside and outside the cave overheard the conversation between the two vampires, but for a moment they were all a bit confused.
In the group communication, someone quickly asked:
What are those two tugging at here for?
Another player replied:
"You don't understand, do you? This is called asking for an exorbitant price, then negotiating on the spot. Even seasoned veterans like Bennett have to look to this for a reason..."
"What do you mean, buddy? Don't play the riddle game!"
"It means Bennett is deliberately trying to annoy the other side in order to gain the upper hand."
"What's there to control? That Luoli is still locked in his coffin."
"Yes, he's still locked up, so of course he can say anything. But what about when he gets out? What about when he sees Bennett as a withered, frail old man? Won't he want to absorb Bennett's horde of Blood Corpse? Don't forget that the bestiary describes Blood Corpse as 'exploding in civil wars from time to time.'"
The player who was given the tip thought for a moment and then realized:
"So, he's trying to increase his mystique?"
"That's right, at least that's what I think. Bennett is also worried about being killed, so he plans to pretend to be very powerful while also gaining the upper hand in the conversation."
"Wow, I never realized the old man was so cunning!"
"All you ever think about is seducing people, what have you learned from that! Just you wait, Bennett will immediately back down and say something like, 'I didn't realize you were such a loyal subject.'"
"I didn't realize you were such a loyal subject."
After a long silence, Bennett sighed leisurely, and the players outside the stone wall gave a thumbs up to the guy who had analyzed the situation in the group earlier.
The response from within the stone coffin remained cold:
"Please leave. If you still care about our kinship, please don't take away all the Blood Corpse nearby. I will slowly break the seal."
Bennett seemed lost in thought. After a few seconds, he suddenly burst into laughter and said:
"Very well, Lady Adelaide has such a loyal heir. In that case, it's not a bad thing to lend you a hand."
"Real?"
Upon hearing that the other party had agreed not to require him to switch allegiance to Antos, Luoli's tone immediately softened and became excited:
" Bennett very much, Lord Bennett. Once I get out, I'll definitely find a village and turn all the inhabitants into Blood Corpse to send to you."
Find a village for a blood sacrifice?
Give it a try.
Bennett scoffed inwardly, but spoke very politely:
"No need, no need, I'll rescue you right now. How much blood do you need?"
After a moment's Luoli, inside the sarcophagus, said:
"Based on my perception, the blood of an ordinary Blood Corpse would require the blood of about two hundred."
"Let's go!"
Bennett was displeased and turned his wheelchair around to leave.
"I was trying to save you out of kindness, but here I am trying to extort money from you. I've been free for almost half a year now. Do you really think I can't see that most of the seal here has already failed? Two hundred of them, you want to devour me as soon as you come out, don't you?"
The players listened silently to the conversation between the two counts. As players preparing to focus on the Eastern Front ( the Blood Corpse Front), they had a general understanding of the mechanics of the Blood Corpse breaking the seal.
As for how they learned about it, it was naturally through the best posts on the forum, a collaborative effort by [ Clear Soup Master ], [ Ham Warrior ], [ Lettuce Priest ], [ My Buddha Ciba ], and others who had participated in the entire process of a Marquis's revival.
They learned the following important information from it:
First, once the Blood Corpse Unsealing begins, it cannot be stopped.
Secondly, the more blood prepared, the stronger the Blood Corpse will be when it leaves the seal. Conversely, if only the minimum amount of blood is prepared, the resurrected Blood Corpse will be much weaker.
Third, Blood Corpse don't like to drink vegetable juice.
Putting aside the last point, based on the analysis of the first and second points, it can be seen that Earl Luoli clearly wanted to recover in a better state, hence the exorbitant price of two hundred Blood Corpse ' blood.
The shrewd Bennett had clearly seen through this. If he had really prepared so much, Bennett himself might have become the Earl's meal in the next second.
"Then, is 150 okay?"
A pleading voice came from inside the stone coffin.
"Fifty, live or die as you please."
With those words, Bennett pushed his wheelchair away from the tomb.