Chapter 28: News of the Underground Auction House

“We are men of justice, and our word is our bond, so you can rest assured,” Cheng Feng declared with conviction. The vampire listened, half-believing and half-doubting, but in such a desperate and hopeless situation, it had no other choice if it wished to survive.

It swallowed hard before slowly beginning, “After Elena was captured, she was locked in the dungeons by the Monarch, subjected daily to flaying and countless other agonizing tortures.”

Cheng Feng unconsciously clenched his fists; this answer was not unexpected. Dracula had raised Elena as a mere tool for twenty years, grooming his ‘daughter’ so that, one day, she would compete in the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, win, and help him realize his ambitions.

Yet, midway through his plan, his daughter rebelled, transferring the power of her bloodline to a human. Two decades of meticulous effort had been all but wasted. How could Dracula not be consumed with rage, not torment Elena to death to vent his hatred?

Cheng Feng pondered for a moment. “During her imprisonment, did she ever mention me?”

“No…” The vampire hung its head, answering honestly. “Since the day Elena was captured, she has never spoken of her first sire. No matter how severe the torture, she never uttered a word. The Monarch only learned of you through intelligence gathered by his subordinates.”

Cheng Feng’s brows furrowed. He hadn’t expected Elena to go so far for his sake. It made it impossible for him to truly dislike this female vampire.

Was she a fool? He had never done anything for her, after all. She had made her own decisions, dragging him into this mess… The thought left Cheng Feng irritated.

At his side, Liu Shiyu suddenly recalled something. “Earlier, you mentioned an underground auction. What is it, and why did you kidnap these girls?”

The vampire, trembling with fear, replied, “A new underground auction has opened recently in the northern district. It’s a massive venue run by monsters, specializing in the auction of humans. Vissick, under Dracula’s orders, had us target schoolgirls because girls of this age have the most tender, delicious flesh and fetch the best prices at auction.”

Liu Shiyu instantly understood. No wonder these vampires kidnapped four girls without drinking their blood—they intended to sell them at the underground auction.

Rage surged within her. These depraved monsters deserved to die! To sell living humans as merchandise—she could almost see the cold, cruel scene: under the glare of spotlights, one bound human after another thrown onto the auction stage, awaiting their fate in despair as the monsters below bid for them.

Monsterkind, unlike other creatures, often lived among humans for years, adapting to their ways. Their high intellect often turned to terrifying purposes—like auctioning off humans.

Liu Shiyu was seething. How many innocent lives had been bought and sold because of this auction? How many families had been torn apart? Her gaze grew icy, her tone edged with controlled fury. “You said the northern district? Do you know exactly where this underground auction is held?”

“I—I don’t know!” The vampire stuttered, overwhelmed by fear.

“You don’t know?” Liu Shiyu clearly didn’t believe him, her gaze growing ever colder. “You think you can fool me?”

“I swear I’m not lying!” The vampire bowed its head, terrified of incurring her wrath, not daring to meet her eyes. “I really don’t know! I’ve only been following Vissick for a few days. We just captured the four girls—then you appeared. Otherwise, our plan was to take them to the auction tonight! I’ve never been to the location—only Vissick knew where it was!”

He trembled so violently, he didn’t seem to be lying. If so, only Vissick knew the exact location of the underground auction.

Cheng Feng’s brow furrowed—Vissick was already dead by his hand, so that trail had gone cold. They had to destroy that auction house; otherwise, even if they saved these four girls tonight, who knew how many more would be taken and sold in the future?

It seemed the only way to find the auction was to report it to the Disaster Association.

Cheng Feng returned to the topic of Dracula. “What about Dracula? What does he intend to do with me?”

“After the Monarch issued his command, all vampires across the world now consider you an enemy. To claim the power of your bloodline, you will be hunted during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons—a chaotic, demonic battle.”

At the mention of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, Liu Shiyu seemed to recall some unspeakable memory; her expression turned cold and distant.

The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons occurs once every ten years, and each time, it brings unimaginable disaster to human cities. The most powerful monsters from legends all over the world gather, waging a chaotic war. The last one standing becomes the new Abyssal Lord—a calamity-level demon, ruler of a dominion.

Every great monster in the world dreams of joining the Night Parade and claiming ultimate victory.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Cheng Feng pressed, “When does this Night Parade begin?”

“In three months, in Winter’s End City.”

Three months… Cheng Feng’s brow knitted tighter and he asked no more.

Sensing his silence, the vampire looked up trembling and asked, “I’ve told you everything. Will you let me go now?”

“How could I? Naive, foolish child.” Cheng Feng sneered coldly. His blood blade pierced the vampire’s heart without a shred of guilt or mercy. “Did you spare your victims when they begged for their lives? Idiot.”

Ding! Host has slain an undead monster.
Scan complete… Target: low-level vampire destroyed.
You are awarded a superpower. Would you like to claim it?
Kind reminder… If you do not need a superpower, you may exchange it for skill points.

As expected, the system’s prompt sounded in his mind. Cheng Feng chose to claim the new ability.

Ability awakening… 30%… 50%… 70%… 100%.
You have acquired the active skill: Spiritual Power Release +1.

Spiritual Power Release was a strengthening skill usable only by elite demon hunters. It could multiply combat abilities several times over. The catch was, you needed to own a spirit blade to use it. As an intern with the Disaster Association, Cheng Feng had not yet been issued such a weapon.

It was truly frustrating—to gain a new skill, yet be unable to unlock it.

Glancing at the vampire’s corpse, Cheng Feng stood and called toward the wooden cabin, “Lin Xiaoqin, you can all come out now—it’s safe.”

From the cabin, hearing Cheng Feng’s voice, the four girls peeked out through the crack in the door, their curious eyes searching the scene.

They saw the lawn, littered with shocking amounts of blood in the night, but not a single living vampire remained.

The only ones standing were Cheng Feng and Liu Shiyu.