Chapter 282 : The Current Situation in the Jungle

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Current Situation in the Jungle

The Vampire Magitech Academy, with the discipline of "magitech engineering" within it, was a higher evolution built atop traditional "engineering"—it allowed profound exploration into the core of vampire technology.

The Vampire Mage Tower, as the name suggests, was certainly a building related to vampire magic. It served as a place dedicated to researching various forms of vampire magic; research targeting the power source of vampire spells, the "Blood Spring," could yield units of vampires with even greater strength.

Given all this...

"Unlock the Vampire Magitech Academy!"

System: Consumed "Blood Altar Level-3 Building Permit" x1. Unlock status for Vampire Magitech Academy has been lifted.

Looking at the now-illuminated building icon, Serea understood that once the prototype was constructed, spending 1000 blood crystals would allow full build access. However...

She opened the building blueprint for the Vampire Magitech Academy. Even though she was not particularly knowledgeable in architecture, Serea could tell just how tremendous the undertaking would be to construct such an "academy."

Even with Skeleton Drudges working day and night, it would still take a long time.

But it didn't matter. Serea had plenty of time.

"Lola, choose a suitable location based on this blueprint, and commission the Dwarf Clan's craftsmen to help with the construction. As for compensation, I'll leave it to you to negotiate with them in detail on my behalf."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Having delegated the matter to her personal secretary, Lola, Serea went to sleep, attended on by her "full-time maid,"

Dogsius.

......

Time flew by; in the blink of an eye, three days had passed. During that period, Serea had handled many trivial matters in camp. Now, as usual, she got up to "work."

"Good morning, master."

Dogsius, dressed in a black and white maid outfit, smiled and offered a slight bow to the girl in bed.

Truth be told, the maid outfit was certainly very attractive...

And the sight of Serea staring intently at Dogsius was caught by Lola and the others. As the "newcomer" who, on account of just her outfit, could win the Queen's favor, the handmaidens realized what this implied and couldn't help scheming a little in their hearts.

"So the Queen likes this kind of vibe? In that case, I should..."

They kept those thoughts private, while Serea began her morning routine with the help of her handmaidens.

"Queen Serea, the Magitech Academy's construction has already started. Meanwhile, the outer walls of the camp have been completely finished, and internal basic facilities are under way. Yesterday, envoys from other tribes visited the camp. Since you were out, I hosted them on your behalf. All tribes said that if trading terms are fair, they could accept the Xiyun Merchant Guild."

Hearing Lola's report, Serea replied, "Mm, I know. Thank you for your hard work."

"Everything for the Queen."

Lola answered with a note of exhaustion—apparently, she had worked through the night handling camp affairs again.

"You should take better care, Lola. Do your work within working hours, and rest when you can."

"Mm."

Lola only responded quietly; a workaholic's habits hardly change.

Once her morning routine was finished, Serea sat down at the dining table, which was already covered with another lavish breakfast. According to Dogsius...

"Ensuring the master's nutritional needs are met is a standard every perfect maid must keep to."

If nothing else, as a personal handmaiden, Dogsius was absolutely flawless.

Eggs, toasted bread, vegetable salad, kakashi Fruit, fried meat, porridge, vegetable soup, dried fish...

A sumptuous aroma floated up. It might have looked like a routine breakfast, but since it was made by Dogsius—this "royal chef"—it was certainly extraordinary.

Watching Serea expectantly as she chewed, Dogsius awaited her appraisal.

"It's delicious; as expected of Dogsius."

At this praise, Dogsius broke into a bright, innocent smile. While eating, Serea also noticed a plate of "misfit" cookies.

"This is..."

Examining the cookies' charred black surface and that inexplicable odd smell... There it was—evil incarnate in this world!

Before Serea could reach for them, Celia had already picked up the plate, saying coldly, "I'll go dispose of this."

As she suspected—Celia must have made them. Probably nobody else in this world could produce such a thing.

Thinking this, Serea placed her hand over Celia's and, under the girl's surprised gaze, took a piece of cookie and put it into her mouth.

Salty and a cloying sweetness—two violently clashing flavors mingled, plus the burnt bitterness of charred dough. These extreme tastes assaulted Serea's palate.

Yet her expression didn't change as she commented, "It's tasty as well."

The words made Celia's body twitch. Before she could react, Serea had already stuffed the whole plate of cookies into her mouth.

"S-still not bad..."

"If it tastes bad, you can spit them out. I only made them on a whim anyway."

"It's fine, they're really delicious."

Forcing a smile, Serea clutched her stomach. Seeing this, Celia turned away.

The breakfast interlude was over, and the new day's work began. First on the agenda—

"Queen Serea, your escort detail has assembled."

"Good, let's move out. Doluka will be in charge of the camp's security while I'm away."

"I will not disappoint!"

Standing atop the completed outer wall, Doluka and her people sent Serea off. As for the purpose of this outing—

A jungle council!

Half an hour after departure...

Glancing at the nervous Avril beside her, Serea said, "No need to be nervous. The tribal envoys have already visited previously. Their stance is: as long as conditions are right, even a human merchant guild is acceptable."

"That's good, thank you Queen Serea."

Hearing this, avril's visible anxiety eased a little, though lingering worry still clouded her features.

But as far as Serea was concerned, the jungle now had no other option. Why?

In the "Demon King Subjugation War,"

Serea and the others had achieved a temporary victory, but the jungle's issues weren't fully resolved.

Death magic still existed; its concentration had ceased rising, but hordes of low-level Undead wandered the jungle, absorbing the death magic in the air. This was a challenge every tribe had to confront.

Low-level Undead might not immediately threaten the tribes, but the Undead toxin was fatal.

Any injury might cause infection with the toxin, and without an antidote, it was a slow death sentence.

But most tribes couldn't produce antidotes quickly enough; smaller tribes couldn't produce them at all, and the Spring of Life was extremely precious. What could they do?

Trade was now the only way to obtain antidotes in bulk.

And with a little nudging by Serea, for the sake of survival and mutual interests, those tribes would certainly accept the Xiyun Merchant Guild.

Some tribes had considered migration—but...

Migration was an act of last resort, involving dangers along the journey and inevitable warfare over territory afterward.

No one could guarantee victory, and the price of losing was dire. After all, migrants were always outsiders!

So, rather than gamble everything on a likely-disastrous war, it made more sense to wait for the Undead magic to fade and keep the jungle as their beautiful home.

Thus, xiyun Merchant Guild's entry was inevitable, and Serea's commercial alliance would soon cover the entire western jungle.

Looking at it like this, the death magic outbreak worked to her own advantage.

Even as Serea indulged in speculation, raven suddenly spotted an unexpected situation.

"Stop!"

Serea's command rang out; the group halted. Then, using Raven's vision, she observed the scene up ahead.

......

A girl stood ahead, dressed in a miko outfit, red-haired with red eyes. Despite her dazzling beauty, what drew the eye even more were the fox ears atop her head and the fluffy tail behind her.

Sahi Akatsuki! Level 29! Gold Elite! Foxkin!

Around the foxkin girl named Sahi stood over sixty members of her tribe—mostly women, with a handful of male guards warily facing the humans who had surrounded them.

"What do you want?"

Sahi demanded of a human who seemed to be the leader. The man sneered.

"What do I want? Heh..."

Rather than answer, fifty fully-armed human warriors surrounded the foxkin.

"Drop your weapons now, or don't blame us for being ruthless."

As the man spoke, he flashed the badge on his chest. That was...

"You're with the Luka Merchant Guild!"

"So you know. Then surrender immediately."

"We just traded with you not long ago! If you do this, don't you even care about your guild's reputation?"

"That's a different case. Last time's trade is over. This time, there's new business. The trade now is: exchange your bodies for your lives!"

At that, the captors' true identity was clear.

They were Luka Merchant Guild's slave-hunting squad!

On the sidelines, Serea asked Avril, "Ms. Avril, have you heard of the Luka Merchant Guild?"

"I have. Luka is an independent guild, unaffiliated with any country. It rose to prominence a few years ago. Despite being a major guild, it gets up to all sorts of unsavory deals behind the scenes."

"Give me more details."

"Rumor has it they often use force to snatch trade resources from other guilds and even target their trade partners with violence. They also engage in black market deals like 'slave-trading.'"

"Doesn't anyone try to restrain them?"

"No one can. They're not part of the 'trading alliance,' so they're not bound by any trade treaties. And their targets are mostly non-human jungle tribes—who would stand up for them?"

As Avril spoke, Aruka's gaze flared with anger.

"Understood,"

Serea nodded.

With that settled, she kept watching the standoff ahead.

After heated words, battle was about to break out; but the Akatsuki Fox Clan boasted barely 20+ fighting strength, up against 50 well-armed and prepared slavers—their chances were virtually zero.

Thus, sahi gritted her teeth and played her last card.

"Think this through—we are the Akatsuki clan and have always been allied with the Cangyue fox tribe!"

"Heh, I don't care about your damn Cangyue or Green Moon. Today, we—"

The leader, Captain "Kenra," started to sneer, when his underling nudged him.

"Boss, the Cangyue foxes are under the protection of the Xiyun Merchant Guild."

"Xiyun Merchant Guild!?"

"Yes, that big guild from the Holy Dragon Empire. Rumor says Xiyun is also helped by an elf tribe in the jungle, and the 'Holy Maiden of the Dragon' is that tribe's leader."

Kenra hesitated.

"The Dragon Holy Maiden?"

"Yes—the one who defeated the demon lord. Some say she's a dragon; others claim she can summon dragons, or—"

"Enough already, what nonsense."

The more he heard, the more outlandish it sounded. At the mention of "dragons,"

Kenra dismissed it.

A dragon appearing here?

Why not say the elves of the southern continent are sailing in a Sun Fleet!

"Captain, it's true!"

"True, my foot. You'll believe anything, huh? By your logic, we should drop this slave business and just pack up and go home."

"I... I didn't mean that."

"Then shut it. Who cares about the Xiyun Merchant Guild? I'm taking these slaves all the same, got it!"

With that, kenra glared at Sahi and the other foxkin.

As "premium non-human slaves," these fox girls could fetch a fortune. Compared to wishful threats, cold hard gold was more convincing!

Seeing the threat was ineffective, a foxkin fighter whispered to Sahi, "Holy Maiden, what do we do?"

"We have to fight. I'll cover you while you escape toward the Trading Post on the jungle's edge—Sabela and the Cangyue tribe are there."

"But you—"

"Don't worry about me. Only when you reach the Cangyue will I be safe, too."

With the plan settled, the group prepared to break out, but Kenra's men had already anticipated this. The human soldiers charged without hesitation.

Sword drawn, the level-27 Kenra lunged at Sahi, knowing full well she was the toughest enemy—if he took her out, the fight was over. He had prepared for this.

Sword unsheathed!

Pa!

The girl caught the sword blade in her bare hands. Her astonishing strength let her stop his greatsword with ease, but she hadn't realized that she'd played right into his tactics.

Kenra released his blade and instead flung a handful of white powder—Sahi, caught off guard, breathed in a lungful.

It was bonemelt powder!

After these days trading with the Akatsuki, kenra had learned their weaknesses. If he neutralized the girl's super strength, everything else was easy.

Through willpower, sahi stayed upright, but the drug severely weakened her strength. With her greatest asset gone, her fighting power plummeted.

After a few exchanges, with the guards outnumbered and unprepared, the foxkin were swiftly overwhelmed. Distracted, sahi left an opening that Kenra caught immediately.

A perfect chance!

(To be continued....)