"The territory of the Vampires... But why is it so dark? A moment ago everything was fine... but suddenly it became like this..." Leah mumbled, a puzzled look on her face as she couldnāt understand what had just happened.
Even Yuan and the others were confused by the sudden change, except for Long Yuyan, who only appeared slightly surprised.
"I have no idea... It feels as though something is blocking the sunlight from entering this land... but I canāt sense any barrier here," Mireya added, wearing the same puzzled expression.
Long Yuyan moved closer to Yuan with a faint smile and looked at him. "Have you sensed anything?"
"No... I didnāt sense anything... Hmm, judging by your expression, you know something that we donāt, Lady Yuyan," Yuan responded with a smile, shaking his head slightly.
"You havenāt sensed it because you arenāt concentrating enough. Try again and search carefullyāyou will definitely be able to perceive it," Long Yuyan replied before slowly descending toward the ground.
Yuan and the others followed her and soon landed near a small lake, where the moon above reflected beautifully across the still water.
"We should rest for a while and recover our lost Spiritual Energy before we arrive at the Vampire Kingdom... Iām really curious about what kind of non-human beings these vampires are," Long Yuyan said as she sat on a large stone.
"Have you never heard of vampires before?" Nerith looked at Long Yuyan with both confusion and disbelief.
"Actually, no. Iāve never heard of vampires before... No such race existed in my time," Long Yuyan responded calmly.
"What?! H-How is that possible?!" Nerith exclaimed in disbelief.
She stared at Long Yuyan with a strange expression, her eyes wide as she struggled to process what she had just heard.
"Not just vampiresāeven you so-called demons didnāt exist back then. However, there were demons in that era, just not the kind like you," Long Yuyan said.
She continued, "The demons of my era were truly terrifying, and their appearance reflected their natureācompletely evil. They fed on human flesh and blood, and they terrorized the entire Divine Heaven for ages."
"So when I first heard about all of you, I was shocked. Youāre clearly not demons... so why do you call yourselves demons?" Long Yuyan looked at Nerith sharply, expecting an answer.
"Iām quite clueless about this matter as well... Iāve fought a few demons inside a secret realm, and I have to agreeāthey were terrifying," Yuan added, nodding.
He continued, "Their regenerative ability was so powerful that even if I chopped one into a thousand pieces, it would regenerate instantly as if nothing had happened."
"Indeed. Demons possess the strongest regenerative abilities in the entire world. No matter what you do to themācut them into pieces or turn them into pasteāit makes no difference. They will return to normal in the blink of an eye," Long Yuyan said, nodding in agreement.
Nerith looked at the two of them talking with a dumbfounded expression, her mouth slightly open in disbelief.
āWhat Divine Heaven? Iāve never heard of such a place before... just who is this young woman?ā Nerith screamed inwardly, completely shocked.
āFurthermore, what are they talking about? Are we not the real demons? How is this even possible?! How could there be another demon race?ā She was utterly puzzled by everything Yuan and Long Yuyan had just discussed.
Long Yuyan looked at Yuan and asked, "Yuan, you said that youāve killed a few demons inside a secret realm. Is that really true?"
"How could I lie to you? Itās all true," Yuan nodded with a smile and began explaining everything to her.
Nerith also listened to his words with a shocked expression on her face; she was completely dumbfounded by what she was hearing from Yuan.
āJust who in the world is he? Everything he is saying is going over my head... I canāt understand a single thing heās talking about!ā Nerith thought, still wearing a stunned expression.
A couple of minutes later, Yuan finished his explanation to Long Yuyan and said, "Thatās about it. I never expected to encounter them inside that Secret Realm."
"Indeed. It must have been quite an unexpected encounterāand very dangerous as well," Long Yuyan nodded with a faint smile.
After a brief pause, Long Yuyan said, "I wonder how they managed to enter a secret realm. Unless the master of that realm placed them there, they wouldnāt be able to enter, much less survive inside it."
āIt must be the āLordā of the Secret Realm who placed them there... but for what reason? Was it to test me? Or something else entirely?ā Yuan wondered inwardly.
"Princess Nerith, you havenāt told me about the vampires yet. Would you mind explaining them to me?" Long Yuyan asked, noticing that Nerith was still in a daze.
"Huh? Oh, rightāthe vampires..." Nerith snapped out of her thoughts after hearing Long Yuyanās voice and immediately began explaining what she knew about them.
Before long, Anna Grace and the others finished cooking and began serving food to everyone.
They each took their portions and began eating, as they had not yet arrived at the Vampire Kingdom.
Once they finished their meal, they immediately resumed their journey.
Within just a few minutes, Yuan and the others could see a massive city aheadāa city shrouded in darkness.
Lights illuminated the city, and people were going about their usual activities. The streets were bustling with movement, and shops remained open for customers.
Despite the darkness surrounding it, the city looked lively and full of life.
Yuan and the others descended near the enormous city gate, where nearly twenty vampires stood guard.
Seeing Yuan and the others approach, the vampires immediately became vigilant and gestured for them to stop.
"Who are you people? What business do you have in our kingdom?" one of the guards asked, looking at Yuan and the others with a sharp gaze.
"Brothers, I can smell the scent of a human among them. Lookāsome of them are humans," one of the vampires pointed at Yuan and his wives.
"Indeed. This is quite the surprise. Iāve never seen a human before, even though Iāve heard much about them."
"So, what are a group of humans doing in our territory? Donāt they fear that we might suck them dry?"
The guards whispered among themselves, staring at Yuan and the others with keen interest. After all, no humans had stepped into the lands of the Demonic Continent for a thousand years.
Yuan and his wives ignored the ignorant remarks of the guards, as they had come here for a purpose, and he did not wish to cause unnecessary trouble for the Demon Empire.
Nerith stepped forward and said, "Iām here to meet your King. I have a very urgent matter to discuss with him on behalf of the Demon Empire."
"Y-You... Youāre Princess Nerith of the Demon Empire..." one of the guards recognized her and trembled in fear.