Chapter 252: A Curious Girl
Within the underground palace, outside the Secret Realm, the True Ancestors constantly monitored the shifting rankings. The first to score a kill, a werewolf-vampire hybrid named Wofoo, rocketed to the top of the leaderboard, earning the True Ancestors’ grudging admiration.
“As expected, these wolf cubs aren’t so easily tamed,” Snyder, Sharon’s ancestor, remarked with a sneer. He had participated in the war against the werewolves and harbored a deep-seated animosity towards them. He even kept several pure-blooded werewolves as slaves in his estate, descendants of the war’s captives. He wasn’t attracted to their beastly forms; they were merely curiosities, objects of his cruel amusement.
However, the hybrid offspring of these slaves and vampires, inheriting the vampire’s form but retaining the wolf ears and tails—beast-eared girls, essentially—were far more... intriguing. If it weren’t for his status and his disgust for werewolves, this ancient True Ancestor, his libido undiminished by the centuries, might have indulged his baser desires. But such entanglements were messy, and he preferred to avoid the complications of offspring. This explained Sharon’s neglected childhood; it seemed most of Snyder’s male descendants had inherited his emotional detachment.
“Their plight is pitiful,” Lady Chen Xi said, defending Wofoo. “It’s only natural for them to seek... an outlet for their frustrations. Besides, this is a fair competition, and there’s no real danger.” The protective runes she had bestowed upon each participant ensured their safe return, even in defeat.
“Speaking of which,” she continued, turning to Snyder, “I mentioned abolishing the slave status of all werewolves in Twilight City. If I recall correctly, you objected.”
Snyder sneered. Of course, he objected; he wasn’t about to release his slaves without compensation. “Chen Xi, must you bring up this trivial matter again?” he asked, his voice laced with irritation. “Aren’t you magnanimous enough? Both vampires and humans sing your praises. Why bother showing sympathy for these... invaders? Do you crave their gratitude?”
“That’s not what I seek, you know that,” Lady Chen Xi replied calmly, though the tension in the air thickened. “Besides, the pure-blooded werewolves who participated in that war are all dead, their final days spent in servitude, their sins atoned for. But their descendants are innocent; they had no choice in their birth. Should we hold their heritage against them forever? Especially considering many carry vampire blood in their veins.”
Snyder, unwilling to argue further, simply said, “You know abolishing their slave status won’t change anything.” The prejudice in people’s hearts was a far greater obstacle, one that couldn’t be so easily overcome.
He turned his attention back to the leaderboard. Wofoo’s name had already been pushed down the rankings. Her killing spree had been interrupted by an unexpected encounter with Adele. She hadn’t scored any more points, while the other vampires continued their battles, her rank steadily declining.
After a while, Lady Chen Xi’s eyes widened slightly, as did the other two True Ancestors. Adele, who had been at the bottom of the leaderboard, had suddenly gained points, her ranking rising.
At the same time, a Sequence Three vampire girl was teleported back to the underground palace, collapsing onto the ground in a daze, her eyes wide with disbelief. It was a common reaction among the eliminated participants, the shock of near-death still fresh in their minds.
But because she had been defeated by Adele, the girl instantly became the focus of the True Ancestors’ attention.