Slime Immortal.

Chapter 176 Payment First in Negotiation

Enjoying the wind from above, the cool, damp air of the Eastern Swamp brushed against the gel, and Chen Yu could see the swamp fortress in the distance, its outline appearing and disappearing in the thin mist, giving it a serene and peaceful appearance.

However, a sight near the fortress gate shattered this harmony: a corpse appeared to be lying under a swamp oak tree.

Huh?and many more.

Something doesn't seem right.

Chen Yu lowered the flight altitude and took a closer look. It didn't seem to be a corpse, but a skinny, emaciated nobleman, pale and bloodless.

Could it be the vampire Xiaohua was talking about?
How did you get so thin? Are the vampires in the Underdark so poor that they can't even afford to eat?

Or is this skinny look the current trend for vampires?

Driven by curiosity, he adjusted his direction and glided down silently, landing on the fortress's battlements.

In order not to reveal too many secrets of the slime territory, he had a sudden thought, and the gel twisted and deformed, mimicking a small skeleton.

In order to highlight his authority as a lord, he also carefully "molded" a small crown with gel on the bare skull. Although it looked a bit comical, it was at least a symbol of his status.

Under the oak tree, Casimir was in a semi-comatose state, his consciousness blurred, and he was about to completely faint again.

Suddenly, with a "plop," a small clump of sticky stuff fell onto his forehead.

Immediately afterwards, a voice that tried to sound serious came:

"You vampire down there, I heard you've been searching for me, lord?"

Casimir was startled awake by the sudden sound and the cold touch on his forehead, and struggled to lift his head.

His gaze first swept blankly across the city wall, then landed on the short skeleton wearing a ridiculous little crown. He looked around suspiciously, and finally confirmed with disbelief that the one speaking was the little skeleton in front of him who looked like it could be blown away by a gust of wind.

Is this the undead lord who defeated Calvin?
It was far from the tall, mighty, high-ranking undead he had imagined.

For a moment, Kazimierz seriously doubted whether he was hallucinating from blood loss, or whether the lord of this territory had no intention of seeing him at all and was sending a little skeleton to fool him.

But he managed a weak smile, mustered all his strength to support his upper body, and performed a trembling noble salute:

“Oh, Your Excellency, I am Kazimierz, a lowly vampire, and I offer you my sincerest greetings. You look quite, uh… rather capable and powerful.”

He racked his brains before coming up with this not-too-out-of-place adjective.

Chen Yu could see the doubt and disbelief in the other person's eyes. It wasn't that he didn't want to mimic the image of a tall and mighty undead, but that was the limit of gel mimicry at present.

Just make do and fool people; as long as the meaning is conveyed, that's fine.

"Um……"

Chen Yu responded in a disguised low voice, "Vampire from the Underdark, what are you doing in my territory? The behavior of your mercenary groups was far from polite."

Just as Casimir was about to explain, another wave of intense dizziness struck him. He coughed a few times and said, "Ahem... No offense intended, Your Excellency. This is precisely why I have come, to express my deepest apologies to you, my powerful neighbor, and to convey my Lord's greetings."

He took a breath, his face showing an extremely eager expression: "But before that, could you please... generously give this lord a drop of your blood?"

Chen Yu immediately became alert, tilting his skull head slightly: "What do you want?"

A vampire begs for blood from a strange undead lord.

This sounds like a provocation, doesn't it?

These vampires are so arrogant, don't they know this is someone else's territory?

Kazimir waved his hand weakly.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal the truth—that he had been sucked dry by swamp mosquitoes, a truth that would be utterly disgraceful for a vampire—so he could only make up a reason on the spot.

"Ahem... Well, in order to see you as soon as possible and clear up any misunderstandings, I left in a hurry and forgot to bring my daily blood pack. Now I'm a little... anemic."

Is the vampire anemic?
Chen Yu tilted the skull's head, expressing his confusion.

He looked more closely at Kazimir, who was so thin you could see his bones, and thought to himself that this wasn't just anemia, he was practically on his way to his coffin.

However, judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to be lying; he really is nearing his end.

Is there blood in the territory, or should we have the anvil draw some out for him?

Forget it, he can do it himself.

Chen Yu secretly secreted a small ball of green gel rich in life energy, then threw it out with his limp skeletal hand, which landed right in Kazimir's arms with a "plop".

There's no more blood left; as for life energy, take it or leave it.

"Is this blood?"

When Casimir saw the green gel in his arms that was emitting a soft ripple, he didn't know why, but he felt that it was delicious and wanted to eat it in one bite.

"It should be considered slime blood," Chen Yu said.

Whatever it was, the thirst for blood overwhelmed everything. Gasping for breath, Kazimir disregarded any aristocratic decorum, bared his fangs, and bit down on the bouncy gel.

As life energy was injected, Casimir opened his eyes wide in disbelief, feeling a vibrant life force reviving his body.

This feeling, this taste... made his body feel as if parched earth had received sweet rain, and withered trees had regained their vitality, far more intoxicating than the satisfaction brought by cold blood.

So delicious!!
Why does this strange thing tantalize him even more than the finest virgin blood?

Kazimir sucked greedily, his face unable to suppress the expression of extreme pleasure, almost intoxication. He didn't look like he was eating; he looked like he was experiencing the ultimate enjoyment.

Chen Yu, perched on the wall, looked on with a puzzled expression.

It's just a regular gel with a little life energy added, why are you making that drug-like face?

It seems the vampires in the Underdark have a really tough time; they've never seen anything good.

When the gel completely disappeared from Casimir's arms, he seemed to be reborn, letting out a long sigh of relief. His previously withered skin seemed to regain some luster, and his body was filled with strength again.

The only drawback is that he still cannot sense the presence of blood, and many vampire spells that rely on blood cannot be cast.

But at this moment, Casimir was completely captivated by the deliciousness of the gel.

He licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, then realized that Chen Yu was still watching him. He quickly straightened his loose clothes, stood up, and performed a standard aristocratic bow again, this time with much smoother and more powerful movements.

"Oh, thank you, generous and powerful lord, the blood you bestowed upon me is truly... unparalleled!"

Kazimir's voice regained its strength, his eyes gleamed, and lies came out of his mouth effortlessly.

"Please don't misunderstand, Sir, I'm not here to ransom prisoners." "In fact, we vampires are completely unaware that that fool Calvin has taken the goblin bounty without permission and offended your territory."

"That mercenary leader, who reeks of money, only has eyes for glittering gold coins. He ignored our warnings and insisted on making an enemy of your territory, which is why he has ended up like this."

"Our lord, Your Excellency Salazar, was deeply saddened upon learning of this matter and specially dispatched this lord, Sir, with gifts to visit you, in order to clear up the misunderstanding and establish friendship."

After saying that, he confidently clapped his hands, attempting to summon the blood bat servants responsible for carrying the gifts.

However, there was only silence in the air.

A few seconds later, a rustling sound came from the nearby woods. A swamp squirrel emerged, perched on a branch, puffed out its cheeks, and looked at them curiously, a small piece of a torn bat wing drooping from its mouth.

Kazimir: "..."

His perfect smile froze for a moment, but immediately returned to normal, even letting out a soft chuckle, as if everything was under control.

"Heh, it seems that Lord Salazar's gift is too precious, even the little creatures of the swamp have been attracted."

Just then, Anvil came over carrying the little flower slime. Realizing that the little skeleton on the wall was his own king in disguise, he leaned closer to the base of the wall and whispered a reminder.

"Your Majesty, you must be careful. These old bats from the Underdark are liars and are more cunning than the maze grass of the swamp. It would be best to pry open their mouths and see what their purpose is."

Kazimir's eyes flickered slightly when he saw the anvil, and he immediately spread his hands to indicate that he posed no threat.

"Oh, my dwarf friend, please relax. I swear on the honor of Lord Salazar that I have no ill intentions on this trip. I am here purely on behalf of the vampires to discuss cooperation with your territory."

"Cooperation? Hmph!"

Iron Anvil rolled up his sleeves, revealing his hairy arms, and said in a gruff voice, "You cunning vampire, just say what you want. Don't try anything funny, or my iron hammer won't care who you are."

Kazimir maintained his elegant smile, as if he hadn't seen the anvil's threat: "Friend, please don't misunderstand. Lord Salazar's proposal is very simple: he hopes to establish friendly relations with your territory and jointly deal with the threat of the goblin army."

He lowered his voice and said, "I know what you're thinking. It's not our wish to befriend those savage greenskins, but they have powerful backers, so the vampires have no choice but to go along with them..."

When they got emotional, they burst into tears, even crying themselves, as if their vampire clan were victims of goblin oppression.

"In fact, we vampires are the race in the Underdark that most respects the dead and most desires to form an alliance with them. I believe we must have a lot in common and be able to get along very well."

Chen Yu watched his performance quietly, then suddenly said, "Mr. Casimir, anyone can say nice things, but the sincerity of the vampires cannot be expressed by words alone; there must be some practical gestures."

Kazimir's smile froze slightly: "You mean...?"

"It's simple. Just hand over the bounty for the mission submitted by the goblin legion intact. It's better if we purify and process these tainted coins," Chen Yu revealed his wicked intentions.

Kazimir's lips twitched. He had spoken so persuasively, but the skeleton hadn't listened to a word and was still thinking about the gold coins.

However, this reward is no small sum; it's thousands of gold coins. Who wouldn't be tempted?

He coughed lightly, his face filled with sorrow, and said, "To be honest, we vampires don't like money. It's just that the Underdark is in chaos and we need funds to maintain order here, so most of the bounty is used to hire mercenaries."

This vampire is shameless for saying he doesn't like money.

Chen Yu suppressed his urge to jump around and said, "I don't care. You don't like money, and we're still scoundrels. When will that bounty be returned to us? When will the friendship of the vampires be worth anything here?"

"Come back when you've thought it through."

"Little Ka, take this Sir Kazimierz back. Don't let him get bored on the way."

Upon hearing this, Little Kazimierz, who had been squatting on the wall watching the show, immediately flapped his wings and landed lightly on the edge of the wall. He blinked his seemingly innocent big eyes and stared straight at Kazimierz.

"Yalong?!"

The vampire knight's expression changed immediately, and he waved his hand while backing away.

"You're too kind. I'll leave on my own."

After saying that, he ran away without looking back.

"Ouch~"

Little Ka made a fierce gesture, flapped its wings, and followed, disappearing into the forest together.

The little flower slime, who had been secretly observing from within the anvil's embrace, finally poked its head out and asked curiously, "Vampires like to lie. Should we really form an alliance with them?"

The skull twisted and turned back into green gel, reforming into Chen Yu's round shape.

He patted Xiaohua's head with his gel-like little hands.

"Of course it's fake."

"These vampires want us to fight the goblins so they can profit from it, but they don't know that the Underdark is also a target for our Slime Kingdom to expand into."

"Hmph, let's collect the bounty first, drive the goblins away, and then it's their turn."

"Wow! Brother is so smart!" Little Flower looked at him with admiration.

Iron Anvil chuckled and scratched his head, saying, "I thought you were really going to cooperate with these guys."

He continued to wait on the city wall until Little Ka returned and confirmed that Kazimierz had indeed left the swamp before asking about the lizardmen.

Xiao Hua thought for a moment and said, "A lot... In the summer, they hunt a lot, collect game skins, and dry meat... It seems like they are preparing to migrate."

"Migrate away? Where are they going?"

The anvil beside him reminded him in a gruff voice, "Your Majesty, you've forgotten, the demonic tide is coming soon. Not to mention the demi-humans, even in the past, our Copperfire Clan would gather enough food before the demonic tide arrived, then close the fortress gates and wait for the tide to pass before daring to come out."

"These reptilians have migrated north, clearly to seek refuge. They'll be back after summer."

After thinking about it carefully, Chen Yu realized that it made sense.

Count Bran exaggerated the summer tide so much that if the Moss Tribe were still on the banks of the Reed River, they would have been washed away in less than half a day.

When will they likely migrate?

Xiaohua thought about it carefully, "Half, half a month later."

No.

These are all excellent candidates for soldiers; we can't let them just leave like this.

Chen Yu decided to truly play the role of a divine messenger and first lure these lizardmen back to his territory.

(End of this chapter)