“It’s just strange,” Bai Li said, half-doubting.
“Is it…?”
Longjiu was skeptical.
“Of course it is.”
Longjiu lowered her head and gently touched his forehead, declaring dominantly, “With me here, no one can lay a finger on you.”
Baining calmly interjected, suppressing her unease, “Regardless of who their target is, we will simply block them during the meeting three days from now.”
Bai Li nodded slightly.
“I understand.”
It was late at night.
Ziya curled up against the hem of Bai Li’s clothes, afraid he would disappear if she let go.
Baining leaned back in her chair to rest, her breathing steady as she maintained a cool alertness.
Longjiu continued to hold Bai Li, remaining motionless like a giant Dragon guarding its most precious treasure.
Leaning in her embrace, Bai Li listened to her steady, powerful heartbeat, and his restless heart gradually calmed.
He closed his eyes, but scenes from the day involuntarily surfaced in his mind—the messenger’s gaze, the ‘bound sacred aura’ Ziya mentioned, Longjiu’s occasional abnormalities, and that persistent sense of crisis…
All the clues were like a tangled mess, suffocating him.
He vaguely felt that a massive secret was looming over everyone.
—
Human Great Camp.
Sok’s Suspicion and Attention.
At the same moment, in the Human Great Camp.
The Vice General reported as if facing a great enemy, cold sweat dripping down his body as he recounted everything truthfully.
When the Hero was mentioned, the other party’s expression shifted, especially regarding the Dragon Race’s Longjiu.
Sok slowly looked up, his gaze cold.
“Oh? How much does she care?”
“She almost immediately showed killing intent,” the Vice General said quickly.
“Besides that, I discovered something… extremely eerie and unprecedented.”
Sok’s brow twitched.
“Speak.”
“Throughout the entire process, the three great Lords of the Demon Race guarded an unidentified Monster right in the center, never leaving its side.”
The Vice General lowered his voice, his tone filled with undisguised suspicion.
“That Monster appeared young, yet had snowy white hair and Heterochromatic Eyes—one pink and one gold. It had the curved horns and tail of a Succubus, but on the back of its hands… grew the golden scales of the Dragon Race!”
Sok’s movements froze, his eyes sharpening like blades.
“A Three-Race Hybrid?”
“Yes!”
The Vice General nodded heavily.
“I have never seen such a bloodline—the traits of a Succubus, a Dragon, and a Vampire all gathered in one body. It is definitely no ordinary Monster. What is even weirder is that Longjiu, Baining, and Ziya value it to the extreme. Longjiu guarded it forcefully, Baining arranged the defenses, and that youngest Succubus girl—despite appearing obedient and timid—blocked the path of anyone approaching that hybrid, acting as if she would give her life to protect it…”
Sok’s fingertips tightened, his knuckles turning white.
“A Three-Race Hybrid… treated as a treasure by the three great Demon Lords… it was eerily alarming.”
In his life, what he hated most were those born with heaven-defying bloodlines, those standing at the peak from birth.
That brilliant figure from back then, whom he could never catch up to despite a lifetime of effort, flashed through his mind again.
“Bai Quelu…”
“Are you sure it’s just an ordinary hybrid Monster?”
Sok’s voice was low, carrying a dangerous probe.
The Vice General paused but nodded firmly.
“That is what I saw.”
Sok remained silent for a moment, a sinister smile slowly curling on his lips.
“Interesting… truly interesting.”
It seemed he had caught a more terrifying and lethal card.
“Continue the investigation,” Sok said coldly.
“I want to know its origin and its relationship with the three Demon Lords.”
“Yes!”
“Also,” Sok added, his eyes dark, “since they care about it so much, we will use this person to set our price during the negotiation in three days.”
The Vice General’s heart shook.
“Does the Marshal mean…”
“I won’t kill it,” Sok sneered.
“I will turn it into the ultimate bargaining chip to force Longjiu to hand over the Hero and make the Demon Race back down.”
He didn’t know that the Three-Race Hybrid being protected was the very same Bai Quelu he had been jealous of for half his life.
He only knew—
This person, with a strange bloodline and noble status, was the Demon Race’s Achilles’ heel.
Cold laughter echoed in the dark tent, sending chills down one’s spine.
A scheme targeting Bai Li had quietly begun.
—
Day of Negotiation.
The Storm Approaches
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The day of the negotiation finally arrived.
The sky was gloomy, thick with dark clouds and howling winds, as if foreshadowing an approaching storm.
The gates of the Demon Camp swung wide, and the large Human Diplomatic Mission entered slowly.
Sok still had not come in person, leaving the Vice General to lead the team, though this time, the group included several mages in long robes who radiated a sacred aura.
Longjiu, Baining, and Ziya walked toward the negotiation venue, guarding Bai Li in the center from all sides.
Wherever they passed, everyone instinctively bowed their heads.
Longjiu wore her Dragon Pattern Battle Armor, her presence domineering as her Dragon Might subtly spread.
Baining wore a moon-white dress, her temperament cold and steady, her composed steps deterring anyone from looking down on her.
Ziya wore a small purple dress, looking like a delicate and obedient young beast that would melt at a touch, but her eyes held an unwavering vigilance.
Bai Li walked in the middle.
His snowy white hair fluttered in the wind, his pink and gold Heterochromatic Eyes were calm as still water, the small horns on his head glowed slightly, and his tail hung down gently.
The Dragon Scales on the back of his hands shimmered with a faint golden light under the sky.
That innate nobility and strangeness caused the distant human soldiers to steal glances, their hearts filled with shock.
“Don’t be nervous,” Longjiu whispered, glancing at him.
“I’m here.”
“I’m not nervous,” Bai Li replied softly.
“I’m just worried that Sok has another trick up his sleeve.”
“The more tricks he has, the more miserable his death will be,” Longjiu sneered.
“Today, I’ll let him know the consequences of angering the Dragon Race.”
Baining spoke calmly, her tone steady and reliable, “The venue is under full control. The Dark Guards are in position, and the Illusionary Realm has been formed. No matter what happens, we can take control of the situation immediately. Just stay behind us.”
Ziya nodded vigorously, her small voice soft yet earnest as she gripped Bai Li’s sleeve tightly.
“Father, hold on to Ziya! If there’s danger, Ziya will take you away immediately! Even if Ziya is scared, she will protect Father!”
As the four of them stepped into the Negotiation Tent, the Human Vice General opposite them stood up, a strange and determined smile on his face.
“Everyone has waited a long time.”
The Vice General’s tone was even more arrogant than before.
“My Marshal has ordered that today’s meeting will not discuss territory or reparations. We will only discuss two things—”
He paused, his gaze suddenly locking onto Bai Li as his voice rose sharply:
“First, hand over the Hero you have been imprisoning since that year. Second, hand over this Three-Race Hybrid you are guarding to our custody. If you do not comply, the human army will fight to the death!”
As those words fell, a deathly silence filled the room.
Longjiu’s Dragon Might surged instantly, Golden Dragon Flame flickering at her fingertips, her gaze cold enough to shatter steel.
Baining’s eyes turned icy, her fingers already gripping a hidden blade as her aura dropped to the freezing point.
Ziya trembled, but she immediately pulled Bai Li closer, her small body shielding him firmly.
Though her eyes were rimmed with red, she summoned her courage, her voice tearful yet incredibly resolute.
“I won’t… I won’t let you touch Father!”
Meanwhile, Bai Li froze in place, his mind exploding with shock.
‘Imprisoning… the Hero?’
He slowly turned his head to look at Longjiu, whose expression had shifted dramatically, no longer able to hide her panic.
The concealment, the abnormalities, the avoidance, and the unease…
At this moment, everything had an answer.
The wind howled outside the tent.
Undercurrents surged within.
Sok’s probing, the shadow of the Black-clad Man, the disappearance of the Hero, Longjiu’s secret, and Bai Li’s fate of being targeted…
All the threads were now completely tangled together.
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