This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 356, Section 355: A One-Month Ceasefire

Sigismund, for the first time in a long time, shifted his attention away from the problem of how to expel the evil guest from his body and turned his attention to something else that stirred his mind.

He gently shook the crystal jar in his hand, which still contained about a quarter of the dark red liquid. To his surprise, the guy didn't finish it in one go this time!

Because of the deep connection between the soul and the body, even when he loses control, his senses are still partially connected, but as if separated by several layers of thick gauze, all sensations become blurry and hazy.

Even so, when Lin Jun tasted the liquid, the explosive, exquisite freshness that penetrated through layers of barriers still gave him an unprecedented shock!
Besides sustaining their lives, the greatest source of "deliciousness" for vampires lies in the sense of power they derive from plundering life and appropriating the power of others.

Therefore, absorbing directly from fresh prey is always the best option.

But the liquid in my hand is completely different.

Its "deliciousness" is purely sensory, a direct and ultimate pleasure to the taste buds, without any impurities from energy absorption!
This most primal and direct pleasure should be the permanent price that these vampires, who have abandoned the joys of life in pursuit of power and immortality, have paid!
However, this liquid has now rekindled that forgotten thrill for him!

"It's really... incredible..."

He muttered to himself, gently shook the crystal jar again, and brought it close to his nose to sniff carefully.

The smell is nothing special, even a bit bland, but once you put it in your mouth, it creates such a revolutionary experience!

Although he is now a duke, in his human days he was just a lowly and nameless slave within the empire, and naturally had no chance to obtain those fruits with the [delicious] property.

After being transformed from a lowly, nameless person into a vampire, even if they have the ability to acquire them, they have long since lost the ability to savor their delicious taste.

Like Lin Jun, this was the first time in his life that he had truly tasted "deliciousness"!
The value of this liquid is beyond question.

In Sigismund's view, only His Majesty the Emperor, the most esteemed ruler of the empire, was worthy to enjoy it!
Thinking about how he had been busy dealing with his "roommate" inside his body lately, he had neglected to suppress the High Fortress and had even been repeatedly harassed and provoked by Alama.

In addition, that wretched Eleanor kept tattling on him, and his various slack behaviors had already aroused the emperor's dissatisfaction. Recently, the orders urging him to launch a renewed offensive have become more frequent and severe.

If he could present this treasure now, all his previous minor mistakes would surely be forgiven, and he might even... receive some extra rewards!

The only problem is...

Sigismund licked his lips, his gaze falling on the crystal jar that had unknowingly emptied, and fell into a brief silence.

Do you... have any left?

"beg me."

"..."

Sigismund took a deep breath, forced himself to close his eyes, and suppressed his surging anger.

He had to calm himself down and not follow the other person's lead. He had almost forgotten what kind of person his "roommate" was!

Just then, the ring on his index finger, a symbol of the Duke's authority and inlaid with a dark red gemstone, suddenly flashed with a light—a signal that His Majesty was summoning him!
The long-distance telepathic communication consumes a lot of resources each time it is activated, so it must be for an important purpose. Sigismund dared not be negligent and immediately focused his mind into the ring.

……

In the heart of the Hermit Empire, inside Mulin Castle.

Inside the magnificent yet dimly lit hall, twelve enormous red magic crystals floated in mid-air, emitting a soft yet chilling glow. Sigismund's silhouette gradually emerged from one of the crystals. The connection had barely been established when a sarcastic female voice bombarded the room: "Oh, isn't this our esteemed Duke Sigismund! Always holed up in your crimson spire, we thought you were busy with some earth-shattering event. Turns out you have time to attend a meeting!"

It was Eleanor. At this moment, only the two magic crystals representing him and Eleanor were lit in the hall, indicating that they had been summoned separately.

Faced with this clumsy provocation, Sigismund snorted and retorted, "Eleanor, after all this time, have you finally learned how to set up camp instead of crying out for help every time you're ambushed?"

“You slave…” Eleanor stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

Sigismund also suddenly realized something was wrong!
The background of the magic crystal projection he was on was like being splashed with thick ink, with a constantly spreading black mist! This thick mist almost dyed the entire crystal black, making his own image blurry.

At the same time, his roommate's complaint echoed in his mind: "It's so crowded..."

"Look at the occasion! Tone it down! For our own good!" Sigismund growled in his mind.

Lin Jun seemed to realize that the situation was unusual. She muttered something and then stopped moving, silently observing everything.

"What's wrong with you?" Eleanor asked.

"What's it to you?" Sigismund offered no explanation whatsoever.

"Hmph, I've heard you've recently become quite interested in abyssal magic, and are even recruiting those ominous users on a large scale..." Eleanor's voice regained its malicious veil. "Heh, I'm actually looking forward to seeing your end~"

Sigismund remained silent.

At this moment, the third crystal in the arena finally lit up. It was located to the right of the throne and represented Prince Vesalius.

"Your Highness." Sigismund and Eleanor almost simultaneously restrained their auras and greeted him respectfully.

Prince Vesalius immediately cut to the chase upon connecting: "I summoned you on behalf of His Majesty, Sigismund, at High Fortress..."

He paused mid-sentence when he noticed the unusually large magic crystal projection of Sigismund, shrouded in thick black mist.

Sigismund quickly interjected, "Your Highness, the front lines remain deadlocked, Alama..." He swiftly recounted the situation, concluding with a promise, "Please convey to His Majesty that I will do my utmost..."

However, Prince Vesalius interrupted him: "No, you will temporarily halt your attack for the next period of time. A large amount of logistical supplies will be transported to the front lines afterward, so just be careful to protect them."

Eleanor asked in bewilderment, "Why stop the attack but increase supplies so much?"

Sigismund immediately guessed the answer: "Your Highness, are you sending new reinforcements? May I ask who is leading them?"

Vesalius said in a deep voice, "Yes, in a month, Veralis will arrive on the Eastern Front to assist you in the battle. As for me, I will personally go to the Western Front to provide support!"

“That crazy woman?!” Eleanor exclaimed in shock, her voice filled with fear.

Sigismund then asked, "Your Highness, since you and Veraris are both personally involved in the war against the United Kingdom, won't the Empire's eastern forces be too weak? And what about the dwarves...?"

Vesalius chuckled lightly: "It's alright. In a month, the dwarves... will no longer be a threat to my empire."

Sigismund and Eleanor were making wild guesses about the Empire's plans with the dwarves, but Lin Jun stared at the silhouette of the vampire prince for a long time before finally recognizing him!

(End of this chapter)