Chapter 306: Super-Giant Blood Sacrifice (5K Bonus 96 97)

"City entry tax!"

Herbert glanced at the excited gate guard, his brow lifting slightly.

That guard was no dark elf, but a half-dragon slave with a great lizard's head and a human body.

Slaves can serve as guards now?

Herbert thought it over, then casually flicked out a gold coin he had ready.

*Snap. *

The half-dragon guard snatched the coin out of the air, tossed it to his mouth, bit it, then spat it back out.

"Pah!"

Looking at the coin split in two, he nodded in satisfaction: "Real stuff, good on you! Good to see you know your place, get in there!"

Herbert smiled and nodded, not bothering to chat with him further.

But that half-dragon wore a smug look, and after Herbert stepped forward, he went on talking to himself: "Hehe! Be grateful! The Grand Matriarch Mor said she's holding the 【All Souls Festival】, everyone's city entry tax is canceled! Hahaha!"

Herbert turned back, looking at him with a half-smile, and shook his head.

He had long since noticed something off about this fellow. The city entry guards couldn't possibly be just one person, and that person a slave wearing shackles around his neck.

Herbert simply didn't want to argue with an idiot, didn't want to waste time on something so pointless, so he chose to just toss a coin and send him on his way.

They had disguised themselves to enter the city for something big; the fewer complications the better.

But this fellow, having gotten the better end of the deal, still had to needle them with a parting jab.

Buddy, you got too much free time on your hands?

Herbert looked at the half-dragon and asked, amused: "Then what was it you were asking me for just now?"

"Haha, that was naturally tribute to my lord! Don't even think about it, I'm not giving it back to you lot!"

The half-dragon smugly puffed out his scar-covered chest, trying to intimidate with his pectorals, but not a single person reacted.

"... Hehe."

Seeing he had no intention of asking for the coin back, the half-dragon bared his teeth at Herbert and the other two in a big grin: "Seeing you all so well-behaved, I'll tell you another piece of news!"

"During the 【All Souls Festival】, every crime can be pardoned, except for one—no killing! Absolutely no killing!"

"Other than that, do whatever you want!"

Saying so, the half-dragon licked his lips, took a step closer to Herbert, and let out a sinister chuckle.

"Hehe..."

His greed made him want more than just one coin.

Far more.

He wanted more!

Mo—hmm!!?

The half-dragon's steps came to an abrupt halt, and he stared at Herbert with wide eyes.

He had vaguely caught, on Herbert's person, a whiff of an aura that filled him with dread!

It was a terrifying aura radiating from his very bloodline and soul.

Th-this man...

*Gulp. *

The half-dragon silently swallowed, then, without leaving any trace, turned and walked off to the side.

He wanted to get away from that terrifying fellow's side.

The half-dragon still pretended to be brave, muttering: "Ahem! Ahem... you lot better stay safe, now!"

Herbert:?

"Hm? Oh, thanks for that."

Just as they were about to part, Herbert asked out of nowhere: "By the way, are you a slave?"

"Hmph, I used to be! I'm free now!"

The half-dragon kept walking, snorted unhappily, and said loudly: "During the festival, some lucky slaves have been temporarily granted freedom—the Grand Matriarch paid good money to buy them all outright from the slave merchants."

"Although these slaves aren't supposed to leave the city in name, you can bribe the guards for a little coin, hehe."

Where the money came from, Herbert didn't ask—he knew well enough it wasn't by any honest means.

"Then I wish you a safe journey." Herbert turned his head, paying the fellow no more attention.

Behind him, the half-dragon smugly snorted and said: "We're all free now, who'd want to stick around here! Naturally, I'm heading back to—"

*Fsssk. *

Accompanying an extremely faint light sound, the half-dragon's smug voice cut off short.

Hm?

And when Herbert turned back, he found the half-dragon slave who had just been swindling them was already gone.

No telling where he'd gone off to.

Herbert's brow furrowed slightly; he sensed something was wrong.

"Eliza, did you notice?"

The vampire Young Lady, who had been spacing out, came back to herself and asked instinctively: "Ah? Notice what?"

She had been off in her own world the whole time, recalling the feeling of drinking blood earlier, simply following Herbert and the others on autopilot.

"He was teleported."

Sifanne, on the other hand, hadn't been distracted, and said softly at this point: "The chain around his neck activated—he was probably teleported straight into the city."

"Slaves are property; dark elves don't give up their property lightly."

"My sister granting the slaves a few days of freedom is already strange enough—she wouldn't really let the slaves leave."

"Those soldiers knew this, which is why they took the money and let him through."

Herbert nodded and withdrew his gaze: "Since you say so, then that must be how it is."

After the three of them continued on for a while, Herbert finally saw the genuine dark elf soldiers.

They weren't guarding outside the gate, but inside it, all facing toward the city.

Herbert narrowed his eyes at the scene and said softly: "What they mean is… entry permitted, exit forbidden?"

No one answered Herbert's words, and he didn't need a confirmation.

The truth would likely come to light very soon.

Passing through the gate and entering the city, Herbert blinked as he looked at the surroundings.

"This is the dark elf city-state."

The scene here was different from everything he'd seen in Frost Crystal — the architecture, the races, the environment… vastly different from the surface.

Some dark elf maidens, upon seeing Herbert's handsome appearance, clearly lit up, whistled at him, and tried to come over and chat him up.

But before they could get close, they noticed the strength of the dark elf woman beside Herbert.

She was a lady far more powerful than them!

They lowered their heads toward the veiled Swani and said respectfully: "Ah, my lord… apologies, we didn't know this was your prey."

Swani gave a faint nod and waved dismissively; the maidens fled as if granted a great reprieve, never daring to look at Herbert again.

Among the dark elves, those of higher status may exploit those beneath them at will.

This is the rule here.

If Frost Crystal was still a civilized feudal kingdom, then this place was a thoroughly backward, pure slave-state city.

Alien slaves everywhere, and dark elves punishing them… no, the identities of master and slave weren't fixed either.

Among the slaves were dark elves; among the masters, aliens as well.

"Place your bets! Place your bets!"

Screams came from the street to the left — a dark elf priestess hung upside down, and with every lash, roses of blood bloomed across her back.

Around her, a group of alien gamblers shouted frantically:

"Hold on a bit longer! Just a bit longer!!!"

"Drop! Drop down! Hurry up and drop!"

They were anticipating her falling from the rack into a pit swarming with venomous insects below.

Every face was twisted with excitement — even the priestess being whipped was the same, a bewitching smile curling at her lips.

One glance at this scene was enough to grasp the madness within it.

And beyond the madness, there was a desire that set one's hair on end.

Here, no one was exempt from becoming a slave, and no one was exempt from becoming a master.

This place was like a decadent realm born of desire swelling without limit.

Herbert watched for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and gave a slight shake of his head.

"No, this is a deity's domain — that one's influence here is already obvious."

Though the dark elf city-state was evil, it still had the most basic order.

They would spread slaughter and death in others' homelands, but would never tolerate such madness and chaos spreading within their own city.

This was plainly obvious.

Yet now, not only did no one step forward to stop it, they actively joined in?

Without anyone needing to remind him, Herbert already knew… something major had gone wrong here.

"Everything here disgusts me." Elisa clearly didn't like this place; she turned away in disgust and gave a cold snort.

However, though she put on a look of utter abhorrence, her eyes still secretly swept toward those being tormented, a flicker of curiosity flashing in their depths.

Why are their expressions so exaggerated? Does it really feel that good? Or are they faking it?

Should I find a chance to try it… ahem.

Thinking this, Elisa's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Herbert, then quickly withdrew before he noticed.

Whoosh—

"…"

Another peek.

Another turn of the head.

"…"

Another glance.

Another turn.

"…hehe."

……

Herbert noticed Elisa's "extremely covert" furtive peeking, but had no mind to tease her at this moment.

The situation had far exceeded his and Swani's expectations.

They had guessed that Stella might have taken control of Malagass, and even successfully transformed it into a solid block.

But they hadn't expected this one had already used her identity as a god-blessed to influence the entire city!

And not in secret — almost brazenly.

"No, it shouldn't have reached the worst yet; the people in the city have been influenced long-term," Swani said softly, soothing him.

They were outsiders, not yet affected by the domain, which was why they sensed something was off.

The others in the city had long since adapted to this atmosphere, immersed in it, and thus failed to notice anything wrong.

"I hope so."

Herbert shook his head noncommittally and asked, "There wasn't something called the 【Grand Spirit Festival】 before, was there?"

Svan silently shook her head, her gaze fixed on the Gao Ta at the city's center—the seat of the city lord.

The dark elf, wearing the form of "Vilaneia," narrowed her eyes, a complex mix of emotions flashing through them.

Herbert wasn't paying attention to her subtle expressions; he clicked his tongue and murmured softly, "Then this festival must be a ritual to appease 【Miss Xie Shen】."

He squinted, his instincts as a Holy Knight sending out the highest-level warnings.

"Let me count: a 【Miss Xie Shen】 Chosen, a massive ritual, a 【Sacrifice】, living beings... hey, everything's in place."

The object of appeasement, the appeasement ritual, the 【Sacrifice】, the beneficiary—all essential elements present, none missing.

"Phew... we've probably walked into a massive 【Miss Xie Shen】 blood ritual."

"Hah!"

Herbert laughed.

Indeed, people laugh when they're speechless.

Their timing was just too perfect.

They arrived right as the ritual was underway—if they'd come a moment later, once the ritual was fully formed, they wouldn't have been able to get in at all.

Worse still, they'd come of their own accord—walking straight into the tiger's mouth.

This wasn't just delivering themselves... it was like sending themselves straight to their doom.

Svan's mood sank; she bowed her head and apologized in a low voice to Herbert: "I'm sorry—it's my fault. I didn't expect her to be this insane."

What Stila has done is equivalent to burning all the accumulated resources of the Mor clan over the years to ash.

Regardless of success or failure, her secret as a 【Miss Xie Shen】 Chosen will be exposed.

And worse—she's the apostle of the abhorrent 【Desire】!

That wretched creature is so abstract that even 【Miss Xie Shen】 has few allies in 【Tade Alliance】.

When that happens, the righteous camp will send forces to hunt her down; the evil camp won't help her; even the shadow realms will shun her to avoid attracting trouble.

The only fate left for Stila is to flee into the Abyssal Realms and wait until she gains enough power to return.

"No, this is also my own decision."

Herbert did not shift all blame onto Svan; coming here was his own choice too—there was no need to shirk responsibility now.

"True, the current situation is indeed surprising to me."

Herbert sighed, unable to help but shake his head.

I came to assassinate a 【Miss Xie Shen】 Chosen—now it's turned into stopping a forbidden ritual to appease a god. Is this really my job?

Hey... come to think of it, it really is!

Isn't this exactly the Holy Knight's duty?

I just wanted to play the assassin for a change—how did it suddenly become my core duty as a Holy Knight?

"... Wait, maybe it's not as bad as it seems."

Switching into Holy Knight mode, Herbert's thinking subtly shifted.

"Think of it differently—we arrived at the perfect moment."

Once his mindset changed, possibilities multiplied.

"If we'd come any later, we'd have lost all chance—a Chosen granted massive divine favor might ascend directly into an Epic-level apostle."

"If we'd come earlier, the ritual hadn't begun yet; Stila would've been fully alert, and with her other forces, she'd have been far harder to deal with."

"But now—the ritual is halfway through; Stila's focus is mostly on maintaining it, and her personal defense relies heavily on others' protection."

"Exactly. This is the best moment for a decapitation strike."

Yes, as long as your mind doesn't give way, solutions always outnumber difficulties.

If there's an opportunity, take it.

If there isn't one, create one—and take it anyway.

Herbert's confident tone made Svan glance at him sideways; thoughts flickered through her mind, and after a slow exhale, she nodded. "Your words do hold some merit."

She had been shaken too deeply at first, her composure slightly unbalanced—but she recovered quickly.

She had never been a weakling easily frightened by hardship.

Seeing her emotions stabilized, Herbert nodded inwardly and asked softly, "The question now is: can you bypass most of the defenses and reach Stila's side directly?"

The most critical point of the decapitation strike is whether Svan, the "mole," is truly reliable.

"Rest assured."

Svan nodded slowly, firmly: "Long ago, I prepared a secret passage inside the city that leads straight to the city lord's residence—no one knows of it."

"Then lead the way."

Herbert gave a light nod, then tugged at the lowly vampire who was still sneaking glances at the "performance" along the street.

"Come on, stop staring—your eyes are going to fall in."

"Oh oh..."

Elisa snapped back to reality, nodded, then immediately realized what she'd done and hurried to protest: "What? What did you say? I wasn't looking! I really wasn't!"

Don't say that—I didn't see anything!

"Alright, alright, you didn't look, you didn't look."

Herbert nodded dismissively, then whispered to her: "Elisa, the situation is worse than I thought—are you afraid now?"

On the way to Maragas, Herbert had quietly explained their mission to Elisa in detail.

He'd even prepared arguments to persuade her if she refused—but she agreed without hesitation, never caring how dangerous it was to assassinate the city lord.

"Afraid? Hmph!"

Elizabeth snorted: "What's there to fear? It's just a Chosen of Miss Xie Shen. What's there to change about it?"

She glanced sidelong at Herbert and "Vilaneia," sneering: "What? Are you afraid of death? What's there to fear? Worst case, you die."

Elizabeth feared losing herself, dying as a monster—but she had never feared death itself.

On the day she became a vampire, she had already died once.

The human she had been was long dead; all that remained was an arrogant vampire.

Herbert and Svania exchanged a glance, both slightly surprised by the taunt.

"... Heh."

Svania laughed and shook her head, leading the way ahead.

Herbert then spoke seriously to the Vampire Young Lady: "Let's be clear—I'm not afraid of death, but I don't want to die just yet."

"I have too many reasons not to die."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, curious: "For example?"

"For instance..."

Herbert reached out and took her hand, whispering: "Between us, there's still so much we haven't done, isn't there?"

Elizabeth:!!?

"... W-what do you mean by that?"

Herbert's smile was mysterious, his reply crisp.

"I won't tell you~ Hah! If you want to know the answer, then do everything you can to keep me alive."

Herbert left Elizabeth stunned and bewildered in the wind, catching up to Svania ahead.

Elizabeth:?

"You... puh."

Under Svania's guidance, they moved unimpeded along the secret passage.

Perhaps because of the festival, crowds had gathered en masse, leaving these corners devoid of living souls.

But as they entered a secluded alley, Elizabeth suddenly twitched her nose.

"Someone's here."

She smelled blood.

This area had been deliberately isolated from its surroundings—otherwise, she would have smelled it long ago.

Soon, Herbert saw the source of the blood—a brutal scene of several men attacking one person.

"Huh? A Snake Demon?"

Herbert had intended to walk past as if nothing were happening, but as he looked at the besieged Snake Demon girl, he narrowed his eyes.

"Hmm?"

(End of Chapter)