Monster Girl Development Master.

Zhuang Sen was awakened by the knocking on the door. He struggled to get out from the entangled pink arms and jade legs, and gave himself a series of healing and purification spells before he felt his brain was no longer drowsy.

"Who?"

Lady Leah's voice came from outside the door: "It's me, Johnson. Cross sent a message saying that you need to come in person to give a detailed account of the circumstances and details of your discovery of the death."

Zhuang Sen looked at the mess in the room and felt a little guilty. Dantalian occupied the entire bed, Nia leaned against her outstretched left arm, her two small, fleshy legs spread apart, and sticky white fluid was still flowing out; Lydia was headless, her head on the bed and her body hanging on the back of the chair, her buttocks facing the sky; Ange and Mira were in their monster girl forms, their wings knotted, lying on the table together, also with their buttocks facing the sky, their two pairs of jade-like legs still in the way Zhuang Sen had separated them, and there was already a lot of white fluid piled up on the table; the only one in a better position was Hana, at least she was lying flat, if she wasn't naked and covered in life essence.

"I understand, Mother. I'll come find you later!"

Zhuang Sen responded loudly to Madam Liya to keep her waiting outside. After all, the situation in the room was probably not easy to clean up in a short time, especially his undigested essence. It would be quick to clean it up with purification, but that would be a bit wasteful. Zhuang Sen didn't care, but they disagreed.

So he could only wake up his beloved wives one by one and let them handle their precious essence themselves. Under his kisses and caresses, the girls also woke up. But smelling the terrible smell in the room and seeing each other's terrible appearance, recalling the madness of last night, their already radiant and beautiful faces became even more alluringly flushed.

Hana, in particular, blushed so quickly on her first try that it made one wonder if she was actually an apple. She even avoided eye contact with Zhuang Sen. If it weren't for the occasion, Zhuang Sen would have teased her a bit more...

However, time was of the essence, so the girls helped each other to collect the overflowing essence into various containers. If they couldn't clean it off, they would just lick it into their mouths before going into the bathroom to wash up.

In short, nearly an hour later, Zhuang Sen finally opened the door, intending to go and ask Mrs. Lia about the details. However, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Mrs. Lia standing in the doorway.

"Mother?"

Lady Lia did not respond to Zhuang Sen's questioning greeting. She looked at the radiant girls in the room and suddenly caught a strong, strange scent. A blush rose slightly on her elegant and mature face, but it was only for a moment. She also noticed something was wrong, mainly because Dantalian and the others were also looking over.

She coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Be quicker next time, Johnson. Cross wants you to go over there right away. He said he needs to meet with and question the nobles around the victims."

Zhuang Sen and the others were also quite embarrassed. They were naturally delighted that Lady Liya was willing to change the subject: "Then let's set off now, Mother. Should we go to the manor or the castle?"

"To the manor." Lady Leah turned around, her gaze inexplicably drifting to the women behind Zhuang Sen. Looking at their radiant, glowing faces, Lady Leah felt a pang of jealousy. Especially when she looked at Dantalian, who also possessed a mature and alluring style, she felt even more displeased.

But no one knew what she was thinking, and it only lasted for a moment before Lady Leah walked on by herself.

Lydia, who had already put on her armor with the help of her sisters, quickly caught up and naturally stuck close to Zhuang Sen, who was also following behind Lady Lydia. Her icy gaze softened into gentle, watery eyes when she met Zhuang Sen's, which aroused Zhuang Sen, who had been resting for a while.

It's already 2 PM.

Of course, Zhuang Sen did not spoil his second brother. He sternly reprimanded him and changed the subject: "Dantrian, Ange, let's go together."

Dantalian is a member of the Church of Vengeance, and Ange is an eyewitness who discovered the secret room with Johnson and is also Leon's son; both can and should go. As for the others, let's not talk about Mira, the vampire, and Nia and Hanna both have more important things to do; there's no need for them to listen to Count Cross's bureaucratic talk.

……

After some time, Johnson entered the drawing room of Leon Manor. There were already quite a few people there, and Earl Cross, unlike at the last banquet, hadn't arrived late; instead, he was already seated in the main seat, chatting with those around him. Johnson recognized several people, such as William Leon Colby, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Earl of Leon's court, from the Shadow Raven Knights, and Bernard Burke, the Minister of Justice, among others.

It seems the old man is in a hurry; he's even pulled his little group out to discuss things. I wonder if it's because too many of his children or blood relatives have died.

Zhuang Sen shook his head, and after the welcoming waiter finished loudly announcing the names, he put on a polite, fake smile, stepped past the crowd that had made way for him, and walked up to Count Cross: "I am honored by your summons, Count Cross. Is there anything I can do for you...?"

Zhuang Sen's voice paused in surprise, for he finally saw the terrifying, mutated black raven above Count Cross's head, and as he made up for the pause, a screen of light unfolded before him.

Close Leon

Shadow Harpy: Bloodline Abnormality

The two simple lines struck Zhuang Sen's mind like a thunderbolt, making his scalp tingle. At this moment, the scattered clues finally came together, revealing the truth—the one who killed the sons of Leon and drew the sacrificial array was none other than Count Cross! The father of the sons of Leon!

No wonder those sons of Leon fell for it, some even dying with smiles on their faces. After all, how could Count Cross normally harm his own children? No wonder, no matter how hard Zhuang Sen investigated, he couldn't find a single clue! Although he was willing to spend money and had some clever ideas, it would be a miracle if he could find out anything when facing Cross Leon, the kingdom's Minister of Intelligence! And no wonder, why did every manor have a similar secret room? As a count, Cross could certainly arrange things arbitrarily among the manors under his jurisdiction. Perhaps even the succession trial itself was set up to facilitate his actions!

Zhuang Sen's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was churning with turmoil. He was even prepared to take action. Fortunately, he had already awakened three times, so dealing with a mutated Shadow Harpy should be no problem, right?

No one paid much attention to Zhuang Sen's mistake. Most people thought it was because Zhuang Sen was too unfamiliar with Earl Cross and was a little nervous. Earl Cross, on the other hand, thought it was due to his powerful fourth-level bloodline aura. Of course, the main reason was that Zhuang Sen only paused for a moment and managed his expression very well.

In short, Count Cross casually asked, "Johnson, my son, tell me how you discovered those secret rooms?"

Chapter 108: Truth and Decision

Faced with Count Cross's question, Zhuang Sen, having already controlled his emotions, did nothing superfluous. He simply calmly recounted the prepared explanation, placing all the blame on himself. "Don't ask why. It's because of my special bloodline and special abilities."

Count Cross naturally didn't believe it, but seeing that Zhuang Sen didn't mention his past experience, he didn't press the matter further, nor did he have any intention of making Zhuang Sen a scapegoat, because that was simply unreasonable. With Zhuang Sen's prestige and strength, he had no need to harm the other sons of Leon, especially since everyone knew that he was using Ange Leon to subdue the other sons of Leon.

Simply put, Zhuang Sen is already the undisputed next Earl of Leon. No one else has the ability to compete, so there's no need to harm them, especially those who haven't even awakened their bloodline. They don't deserve to be targeted at all.

Since Zhuang Sen couldn't be implicated and the Bloodline Order still had room for cooperation, Count Kross chose the third-ranked scapegoat—a spy from the White City Alliance!

Don't ask why the merchants of White City would target his children, or how they managed to do it right under the nose of him, the royal intelligence minister. The answer is that the evil merchants of White City deceived the kind Earl and attempted to invade the great Falling Star Kingdom!

Of course, it would be too fake to bring it up now. We need to spend some time fabricating evidence and bringing in a few people from White City. Fortunately, the White City Alliance is a commercial nation with branches in all its major cities, including Starry Night City, the capital of the Earl's territory.

As for which ones, that depends on which one is the most sensible.

Count Cross pondered and began to make polite remarks, but Zhuang Sen had no interest in listening any longer. He stared at the deformed raven on Count Cross's head, with three heads and six claws, and blood constantly seeping from its black feathers, and pondered how to deal with this old man.

It certainly couldn't be done on the spot. Killing Jem Lyon, his adopted brother, could be considered a noble tradition. Which noble patriarch hasn't killed his siblings? But openly killing one's father is a bit too extreme, even in this world—even killing him secretly would be better!

Even if they could find an opportunity to lure Old Deng out to kill him, they might not be able to keep him alive. He seems to have become Shadow Harpy now. Although his bloodline is mutated, his escape ability is definitely not weak. They don't know if he has retained the strength from his third awakening... He probably has, otherwise Old Deng would not dare to show himself so confidently. In other words, he can win, but he can't be sure he can kill him. If he escapes, they will have to prepare to face the entire army of Leon's territory for siege, and maybe even other territories.

This is such a hassle. Can't they just honestly collect gold coins? Damn old man.

Zhuang Sen maintained a humble and polite smile until the meeting, which was essentially a performance by everyone, came to an end.

……

Back in the carriage, Zhuang Sen looked at Lady Liya and said, "Mother, I think I know who the murderer is."

Lady Leah, who had been staring at Dantalian, paused for a moment upon hearing Zhuang Sen's words before realizing what he meant. Overjoyed yet bewildered, she grabbed Zhuang Sen's hand: "Zhuang Sen, are you sure? Who is it?"

As she spoke, she began to announce her name, prompting Zhuang Sen to interrupt her with a name: "Kross."

Lady Leah froze, and instinctively said, "That's impossible... What reason would he have to attack Zhuang Sen?"

Indeed, on the surface, Count Cross had no need to harm Johnson, just like the other sons of Leon.

The carriage left the manor and gradually accelerated down the main road. The rolling wheels couldn't mask the panic in Lady Lydia's heart. Although she subconsciously denied Zhuang Sen, she had already believed him in her heart. Zhuang Sen had no reason to lie to her like this. After all, their deal stipulated that Zhuang Sen would help her kill the murderer. Normally, if he wanted to deceive her, he would choose an easy target, not a powerful earl to make things difficult for himself.

but why?

The carriage sped along, bumping along a bit. Zhuang Sen leaned against Dantalian and pulled Ange into his arms: "I just got close to Count Cross and discovered that his bloodline has changed. He's become a Shadow Harpy like Ange, but a mutated version."

Ange's eyes widened suddenly at the mention of the monster girl: "Your father is also a monster girl?"

Zhuang Sen was momentarily swayed by those words, then almost vomited, and forcefully smacked An Jie's butt: "Don't say such disgusting things. Didn't I already say he's mutated? Only women can have monster girl bloodlines—except me!"

Anjie wiggled her buttocks with a strange expression and didn't interrupt any further.

Zhuang Sen continued, "You all remember how those sons of Leon died, right? Although there were no visible wounds, they were all drained of blood. Don't you think this is related to the changes in Count Cross's bloodline?"

Although Johnson hadn't dissected the corpses, with Mira, a vampire, present, it was immediately obvious whether there was blood in the bodies. Furthermore, the original Johnson Leon provided strong evidence. This also explains why the killer didn't even spare Leon's son, whose bloodline hadn't awakened—because what he needed was the bloodline, regardless of whether it was awakened or not.

"Just for this?" Lady Lia's voice choked slightly, and upon realizing it, she turned her head away.

“You should know the importance of bloodline better than I do, Lady Liya.” Zhuang Sen held down the restless Ange. “The difference between a level four bloodline and a level three bloodline is several times the territory, or even the ability to establish one’s own duchy, not to mention the difference in lifespan and strength.”

Given such immense temptation, the fact that he only secretly killed his own children instead of beginning the "territorial transformation" already demonstrates Count Cross's composure and restraint. Of course, it's also possible that he was simply trying to make things easier for others.

However, Zhuang Sen couldn't guess the specifics, since all he needed to do to change and upgrade his bloodline was to work hard to develop monster girls.

Lady Lia's eyes reddened slightly, and she bit her lip, suppressing a sob. She desperately wanted Zhuang Sen to kill Count Cross right now—but reason told her that doing so would only harm Zhuang Sen, the one who had always trusted and helped her.

That's right, Zhuang Sen has already awakened three times, but he only has a level three bloodline. How could he possibly defeat Count Kross, who already has a level four bloodline? Even if he could win, the life-or-death struggle between the three awakenings would not be without any impact. And once others are alerted, how could Zhuang Sen, who murdered his "father," become the next count?

What should she do...?

The usually decisive Lady Leah hesitated once again because of Johnson, becoming timid, though she was unwilling to admit it.

Zhuang Sen, however, hadn't received a reply from Lady Liya, so he had to stop teasing Ange: "Lady Liya, do you have any ideas on how to get Count Cross out alone? Once I've completed the third awakening for Dantalian and Nia, maybe I can get Bishop Rosa to join us. The four of us together should be able to quickly smash his head in. Then we can have Lydia manipulate his corpse to show up, and then make him disappear to another territory. That should solve the problem."

Lady Liya, who was struggling with her thoughts, looked up in surprise at Zhuang Sen, who was analyzing the situation with a serious expression. Her full lips moved slightly, her emotions fluctuating between gratitude and astonishment, and she didn't know which to say.

In the end, he could only manage to stammer out, "What do you want me to do?"

“Let me think…” Zhuang Sen hugged Ange and counted on his fingers, “Dantrian and Nia’s potion will take at least three days, and then we need to give them a day to pass on their skills and familiarize themselves with the new abilities. In addition, we need to persuade Bishop Rosa… at least five days from now?”

The author says:

Author's Note: This volume is coming to an end, please vote with your monthly tickets!

Chapter 109: The Vampire and Anawaen (4119 words)

Back at Glorious Manor, Lydia, who had been driving, escorted the troubled Lady Leah back to her room. Johnson didn't disturb her; what she needed now was peace and quiet, to quietly mourn her deceased son. As for Earl Cross, putting aside the fact that the two had no feelings for each other and their marriage was purely political, given Lady Leah's feelings for her son, even if Earl Cross were her true love, he would probably still be dead.

Because that's what Zhuang Sen thought, he never expected that Lady Lia would worry about him or even consider not seeking revenge against Earl Cross. This was mainly because Lady Lia's maternal love had left a deep impression on Zhuang Sen.

……

Entering his room, Zhuang Sen glanced around and, unsurprisingly, saw that only Mira was there. He patted his little sister, who was still clinging to him, and said, "Angie, go and call Nia and Hana into the room."

"Yes, brother!"

Anjie gave a sweet reply, took the opportunity to kiss Zhuang Sen on the cheek, and then threw a provocative look at Mira, who was pretending to read a book but actually watching them the whole time.

Mira scoffed, giving him a look as if he were an idiot, then slowly put down her book, walked over to Zhuang Sen, expertly hugged him, and kissed him—as if she knew everything! She only dared to kiss his cheek! What a shameful idiot.

Anjie, who had already reached the door, almost turned back, but Zhuang Sen pulled Mila off him and pressed her into a chair, which stopped her.

"Alright, you two, we have important business to attend to later tonight."

Ange pouted and left to find Hana and Nia.

Zhuang Sen sat down, sipped the black tea that Dantalian had brewed, and began copying down the three awakening potion recipes of Dantalian and Nia—he wasn't the only one who benefited from last night's madness.

Holy Lamia's Third Awakening Elixir, auxiliary ingredients: three White Star Serpent Gallbladders, five Holy Night Flowers, 600 grams of Holy Attribute Ore Powder...

The Dwarf Girl's Third Awakening Elixir, auxiliary ingredients: 500 grams of adamantite, 500 grams of mithril, 500 grams of oriental copper, nine 15-year-old fiery flowers...

Mira looked at Zhuang Sen's two full pages of writing and asked with some confusion, "Why are there only supplementary materials?"

Zhuang Sen looked up at the sky helplessly: "Because we can't buy the main materials."

"Can't buy it?" Mira frowned. "What kind of material is it? It's not available in Starry Night City. Is it a specialty material from another country? What's it called? Maybe I know how to get it."

A genius scholar from a noble family speaks with confidence.

But Zhuang Sen wasn't particularly excited; instead, he seemed somewhat helpless: "Well, you do know how to get this, because you've already tasted it."

"I've tried it...?"

Mira hesitated for a moment, then her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Zhuang Sen's direction. But she immediately realized she'd been led astray and looked at Zhuang Sen's neck. It must be Zhuang Sen's blood, after all, she had awakened using Zhuang Sen's blood, which meant it indeed possessed special power.

"You've misread it." Zhuang Sen closed the two pages and straightened them. "You want my essence."

Mira paused for a moment, then asked, "Why didn't you use it during your third awakening?"

Zhuang Sen shrugged: "Maybe the formulas for men and women are just different, anyway, there's nothing I can do about it."

Mira was conflicted; she wanted to laugh but felt it wasn't appropriate, so her lips awkwardly formed a wavy shape. She struggled to find a topic: "So... is the quantity enough?"