That fellow Heji Stone had suddenly declared himself the dwarf king.
Anbaixiu sensed something was off and hurriedly tried to scroll back through the chat history. However, the Necrotic Codex could only store a brief log. Scrolling through, he saw nothing but Heji Stone endlessly gloating; even reaching the very beginning of the log didn't reveal how this vampire had ended up as the dwarf king.
Anbaixiu could only send a message to ask: [What happened? Weren't you supposed to renegotiate with the dwarf king? Did you go back and start a rebellion?]
[Dislikes Humans: A rebellion? I would never stoop to something so crude and devoid of skill. For a true sage, seizing a nation requires no violence whatsoever. One needs only to gently pluck the threads of fate, and everything falls into place naturally. A lich like you, buried head-down in experiments all day, could never understand.]
*Wow, look at him gloat.* Anbaixiu truly harbored no racial prejudice, but a dwarf vampire genuinely had nothing to do with grace or elegance.
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Brother, stop asking! This kid has been strutting around all day. Don't give him another chance to show off! The process doesn't matter!]
Headless Bro's reaction only piqued Anbaixiu's curiosity. Could there really have been some earth-shattering, god-defying scheme that brought an entire kingdom under his thumb? If so, that was definitely worth studying.
Anbaixiu pondered for a moment, then adopted an inquiring tone: [What kind of incredible trick could possibly get the dwarf king to abdicate to you? You couldn't have... you didn't bite the dwarf king and turn him into your blood thrall, did you?]
Anbaixiu had only asked off the cuff, yet the group chat instantly plunged into silence.
[Ultraman Tiga: Say something, everyone. What's going on?]
[Dislikes Humans: How did you guess?]
[Ultraman Tiga: ...]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Now you've ruined the fun! Why did you have to get it right on your very first guess? We've been guessing here half the day!]
[Pale Little Skeleton: You're making the rest of us look stupid!]
[Ultraman Tiga: ...]
An awkward lull descended upon the chat. Anbaixiu felt like the ultimate buzzkill—not only had he interrupted Heji Stone's grand posturing, but he had also left everyone who had failed to guess looking utterly foolish.
It was really a case of overlooking what was right under their noses. Who could have imagined this vampire would be bold enough to bite the dwarf king? Even if Heji was a legend, the dwarf king's guards were more than enough to impale him a hundred times over.
There was another issue: even if the dwarf king was bitten, it wasn't incurable. The bite of a vampire wasn't irreversible, merely a bit troublesome. Even if you bit the dwarf king, it wouldn't be too hard for him to break free of the control.
With all these factors, nobody had entertained the thought. Even Anbaixiu hadn't seriously considered it; he had just tossed it out casually.
Who could have known that Heji Stone had actually done it, and had even succeeded?
This was truly absurd. Deeply curious about how he had pulled it off, Anbaixiu quickly asked: [It was just a wild guess, pure dumb luck. But after biting the dwarf king, how did you survive? Why didn't he nail you to a cross to fry in the sun?]
His thunder stolen by Anbaixiu, Heji Stone dropped the smug act and explained directly: [He was willing. When I returned with the news of Hoffman's death, I found the dwarf king on the verge of dying...]
Ever since the kingdom had been thoroughly battered by Ryan, the dwarf king's health had steadily deteriorated. He spent most of his time asleep, and during the rare moments he was awake, he would fly into blind rages, barely able to handle affairs of state. That was precisely why Hoffman Ironfist had assumed full authority, taking charge of all administrative matters.
In spite of the dwarf king constantly barking at Hoffman Ironfist and calling him useless, he knew that the dwarf kingdom depended on Hoffman to stay afloat.
Upon hearing of Hoffman Ironfist's unexpected death, the dwarf king didn't even have time to demand who had killed him before coughing up a mouthful of blood on the spot.
Heji Stone had been dumbfounded and hurried over to check on the king. Perhaps because the dwarf king was usually so tyrannical, Heji was able to walk right up to him without the maidservants reacting at all. They didn't even dare step forward to attend to the dwarf king, leaving Heji Stone standing face-to-face with him.
Stimulated by the scent of the dwarf king's blood, Heji Stone's eyes turned red, and his fangs involuntarily slipped out.
Who knew what was going through the dwarf king's head, but in that moment he grabbed Heji Stone and wheezed with his dying breath, "Bite me. Turn me into a vampire."
Heji Stone hadn't dared agree at first; turning the dwarf king into a vampire meant death if anyone found out. Yet the dwarf king gripped him tightly and refused to let go, looking like he would die with his eyes wide open in grievance if refused.
Only then did Heji Stone realize he was trapped. If the dwarf king died, all the blame would fall squarely on his shoulders. Had the kingdom been stable, he might have had a chance to plead his case. But in its current precarious state, no one would give him a chance to defend himself; making him the scapegoat and punching bag was the natural course. Thus, after a few seconds of hesitation, Heji Stone sank his teeth into the dwarf king's neck. After taking a couple of gulps of blood, he slit his own wrist and poured vampiric blood into the dwarf king's mouth.
The vampire transformation ritual was just that simple: an exchange of blood and the sealing of a blood pact could turn a living creature into one of their own kind.
And the results were instantaneous. Once transformed into a vampire, the dwarf king immediately regained his vitality, his ailments vanishing without a trace.
The dwarf king didn't hold back either. He immediately snatched up the nearby maidservants and began draining them in greedy gulps, even ordering Heji Stone to join him in slaughtering every living servant in the room.
Once he had gorged himself on fresh blood, the dwarf king shook off his illness entirely, revitalized and high-spirited.
"It's been a long time since I could stand on my own two feet. This feeling... it's truly wonderful."
Those were the words the dwarf king said to Heji Stone, after which he told Heji Stone to clean up the mess.
[Dislikes Humans: The servants' deaths are nothing; any excuse will do. The real trouble is the dwarf king turning into a vampire—no telling what kind of backlash that will stir up. But now that the dwarf king is my bloodkin, we're on the same side. It's practically the same as me being the dwarf king.]
After reading his explanation, Anbaixiu asked curiously: [Blood thralls are immortal too. Why turn him into a vampire? Wouldn't it have been better to just enslave him?]
There was a vast difference between a blood thrall and a vampire. The former could never break free from their master's enslavement, while the latter was more like a created "blood relative"—though endowed with a natural affinity, they enjoyed far greater autonomy, remaining independent individuals.
[Dislikes Humans: I wanted to, but in the end I didn't dare. Just like you said, a vampire's bite isn't an incurable curse. Turning him into a blood thrall would only control him temporarily. If he found a loophole and broke the thrall binding, I'd be a dead man. It was better to just make him an independent vampire. That way, the chances of him turning on me are slim—unless he wants to go back to being a sick invalid waiting to die.]
Anbaixiu was speechless. In the end, it just came down to a lack of guts. Heji Stone had taken cowardice to an art form, walking away from such a massive prize dangling right in front of his nose.
Still, everyone had their own way of surviving, and Anbaixiu didn't intend to offer unsolicited opinions. He merely pressed on: [Then the terms we discussed earlier shouldn't be a problem, right?]
[Dislikes Humans: Of course. The elves surrendering all their territory was the best outcome for the dwarves all along. Even though Hoffman is gone, the dwarf king is lucid again and has already agreed to your demands. In two days, the dwarf king will come in person to sign the armistice.]
Anbaixiu had finally heard some good news. As long as the peace talks succeeded, it would all be worth it.
As for whether the dwarf king would silence Heji Stone afterward...
Thinking of this, Anbaixiu quickly warned: [Even if the vampire bite makes the dwarf king look favorably on you, a man like that wouldn't hesitate to murder his own wife. You'd better watch your back so you don't get silenced.]
[Dislikes Humans: Don't worry, I know that full well, which is why I've already gone home. As you know, I just excavated a massive underground city. This place is a labyrinth—killing me won't be easy. I've even set up several teleportation circles so that when push comes to shove, I can teleport straight to the other side of the continent. Guaranteed no one will ever find me.]
A vampire who truly lived by caution above all else—Heji Stone was nothing if not thorough.
With that matter settled, Anbaixiu hurried to send a message to the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss, explaining Geronimo's situation to see how much gold the dragons would be willing to pay for this mutated dragonkin.
However, the outcome left Anbaixiu sorely disappointed.
[Pale Little Skeleton: Um, I doubt anyone would pay for this half-dragon. At the end of the day, he isn't a true dragon.]
[Ultraman Tiga: But he can turn into a giant dragon—an exact replica. And his legendary boon is very special.]
[Pale Little Skeleton: Plenty of things can turn into giant dragons. Are those archdruids who turn into dragons our kin too? Besides, do we dragons lack legends? From what you said, his legendary boon carries the risk of losing control and is even contagious. I'm certain none of them will want him. When it comes down to it, our dragon race only cares about true dragons. How is a mutant monstrosity like him any different from a kobold dragon-blood sorcerer?]
A callous response, but it made a lot of sense.
There were indeed many strange breeds carrying draconic blood; dragons generally sired offspring without ever caring to raise them. Geronimo was, for all intents and purposes, a monstrosity that desecrated the dragon race. If not for his slight connection to the Goddess of Evil Dragons, the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss probably would have told Anbaixiu to just crush him to death.
Now this was awkward. He had even promised priority sale to the dragons, only for them to want no part of him; Anbaixiu had completely jumped to conclusions.
That left only two choices. If Goddess Shar also looked down on him, then selling him to Ryan really would be the only option left.
Anbaixiu sighed to the slumbering Geronimo, "Sigh, it's not that I want to break my word, but nobody wants you."
Chapter 141