After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

"Even if they are born by chance, they will be quickly eliminated by adventurers. What spawns afterward are basically monsters without intelligence, acting only on instinct."

"Even if there are intelligent monsters hiding in the dungeon, not discovered by adventurers, and then surging out of the dungeon along with the dungeon riots and remaining on the surface, there should be very few of them."

Mu Qiu's expression turned serious.

"You mean... there are too many intelligent monsters appearing here? Something's definitely fishy?"

"Ah."

Vera nodded.

She had just noticed that the goblin that Fiona had killed did not run away or beg for mercy before its death like a normal goblin. Instead, it gave up resisting, and even had a look of relief and liberation on its face.

Those two peak silver-level demons are one thing.

How could a mere bronze-level goblin possibly possess such intelligence?

It can even communicate with other monsters normally, just like a human...

"I doubt……"

Just as Vera was about to speak again, an indescribable terrifying aura suddenly erupted from the deepest part of the forest without warning, sweeping across the entire forest clearing like an invisible tsunami.

The moment this aura descended, all the wildly flailing branches of the twisted tree spirits, which had been baring their fangs and claws, froze in mid-air as if dead!

The menacing yellow eyes on their trunks were filled with unspeakable fear, and they all closed tightly. The huge tree trunks trembled violently uncontrollably, emitting faint but mournful cries, as if begging for mercy.

The two surviving young adventurers couldn't even utter a scream.

Their pupils dilated to their limit from extreme fear, their bodies stiffened as if frozen, only their teeth chattering uncontrollably, making a terrifying "clucking" sound. Overwhelming fear completely engulfed their minds, and even breathing became a luxurious torment.

"Well!"

Vera gasped almost instinctively, her body trembling as she shrank into Mu Qiu's arms.

Fiona, standing behind him, instinctively gripped Mu Qiu's sleeve tightly, her voice trembling slightly as she whispered urgently, "Master, Master! Shouldn't we run?"

Mu Qiu's lips twitched slightly.

run?

The earth dragon beneath him had already gone limp and was completely sprawled on the ground, its massive body trembling and utterly incapacitated. Why was it running away?

"Prepare for battle."

Mu Qiu looked towards the center of the open space ahead, ready to call out to Lily in his heart at any moment.

In the center of that open space, the space seemed like a wet oil painting, silently torn open with a dark gap.

There was no earth-shattering light, no deafening sound.

Only a dense darkness, so pure and seemingly capable of swallowing all light, slowly flowed out from the gap and quietly coalesced into a human-shaped outline.

She wore an ancient and luxurious black dress, which looked as exquisite as a burial object but appeared lifeless.

Pale skin, sharp nails...

Almost the instant his figure solidified, Vera's voice rang out again.

This time, her voice was low and hoarse, filled with unbelievable horror:

"……demon!"

"Only high-ranking demons from the depths of the abyss possess the terrifying ability to awaken and control the intelligence of dungeon monsters!"

She gripped the staff tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, and her pointed ears twitched intermittently.

The race of this uninvited guest was self-evident.

vampire!

Moreover, he was no ordinary vampire, but a high-ranking vampire whose level of life far exceeded imagination!

Mu Qiu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Upon hearing Vera utter the word "demon," he quietly released the demon king aura bestowed upon him by the system!

"Ho ho..."

A strange laugh echoed through the empty clearing in the woods.

At this moment, Lem was in a very good mood.

As the most powerful vampire lord under Slossenia, the Sloth Lord of the Fifth Abyss, he has always envied the other lords in the Abyss.

Logically speaking, a great lord of his caliber should be able to freely enter and exit the abyss.

But the Fifth Abyss is an exception.

Because the original sin of the Demon King that Lord Slother inherited is... sloth.

Moreover, Lady Slothor has an unexpectedly high affinity with the Demon Lord's Original Sin, so much so that even though she is the Sloth Lord in the Fifth Abyss, her true strength is not to be underestimated even by the Wrath Lord, who is ranked second in the Abyss!

With a superior like that, he should have been able to walk sideways in the abyss!

But... Lord Slosser is lazy and very self-willed!

For example, Great Lords like them, who have surpassed the ninth rank and are on the same level as human Saints, should all have a very domineering name and nickname!

But Lord Slosser forbids it!

She said that her name was too long and it would be troublesome to pronounce.

If Lord Slosser forgets my name... I might one day wander into Lord Slosser's Sloth Domain and fall into a deep, unawakened slumber.

Given Lord Slosser's poor memory, it's highly likely he won't remember where she set up the Sloth Fields...

So much so that he, the most powerful vampire lord, uses a name that sounds like a slime, Rem Rem!

Is this ridiculous?

What made Lyme want to vomit blood even more was...

Lord Slosser didn't even bother to open the gates of the abyss for them!

Other Abyss Lords have long treated the surface as their backyard. Although they dare not appear openly, hiding their identities and going to the human world to play around is a routine operation.

Only the high-ranking vampires and lords in their Fifth Abyss couldn't even step out of the gates of their own abyss, and could only watch helplessly as the high-ranking demons and lords in other abysses brought back a whole bunch of strange and interesting things from the human world...

"Fortunately... the Demon King has arrived!"

Thinking about this, Lem felt like crying.

Three hundred years and three hundred years, three hundred years and three hundred years, a full nine hundred years!

He, a dignified vampire lord, has never drunk the blood of a single human since birth. From childhood to adulthood, he has relied on the sap of dark tree spirits in the abyss to replenish his nourishment...

Ok!

The Demon King has arrived, and the blue sky has returned!

Upon hearing the news of the Demon King's arrival, Lady Slosser finally managed to raise her noble little hand and open the gates of the abyss a crack...

Lyme closed her eyes, greedily breathing in the outside air and enjoying the dazzling sunlight.

Ah!

So, the feeling of a vampire being burned by sunlight... is actually so wonderful?

So this is the world on land?

Haha! Humans! I, Lyme Lyme, am here!

Right, I should probably change my name to something more powerful and imposing, shouldn't I?

Lyme thought to himself.

There seem to be a few human adventurers here. Having lived their whole lives, they can finally taste what blood is like!

Moreover, once he left the abyss, no one could command him anymore!

Such a wonderful start! Even if I were to see the Demon King in person, I would have no regrets!

Lem Lem opened his eyes with a smile.

Then, he saw Mu Qiu sitting on the earth dragon, recklessly spreading his demonic aura around him.

Lyme's smile froze instantly, and the laughter emanating from his throat became strange.

"Ho... ho ho..."

Is he still asleep?

Why did I encounter the legendary Demon King again after just emerging from the abyss and escaping Lord Sloser's clutches?

Is it an illusion?

It must be my imagination, right?

Lyme's gaze swept across the room and then fell upon the silver-haired elf in Mu Qiu's arms and the dragon girl behind him.

His heart sank again.

The legendary moon elves, the noblest creatures on land, and a dragon-blooded knight with red dragon blood...

They all have slave contracts with the Demon King, yet... they are so obedient to him.

This is something that humans could never do.

In LemLem's view, the moon elves, who could be called the noblest race on land, should be even more noble than their vampire race.

Even he himself was imprisoned in the Sloth Realm for over two hundred years before he finally submitted to Lord Sloth.

Humans, with their short lifespans, could not possibly conquer such a noble race as the moon elves.

Then, Lem looked at Mu Qiu again, and faintly sensed the aura of a Great Lord from him.

It really is... the Demon King!

Lem's lips twitched almost imperceptibly as he suppressed the urge to run away. He was about to step forward and bow to Mu Qiu.

But at that moment, a cold female voice echoed in his mind.

【Don't ruin the Demon Lord's hero persona!】?

Lyme was stunned for a moment.

That voice... is it Lady Lilith?

But what did Lady Lilith just say?

He understands each word individually, so why can't he understand them when they're put together?

What is meant by "the Demon Lord's Hero Character"?

Can these two completely unrelated things be combined?

You don't need to know that much.

Lilith's indifferent voice continued to resonate in Lym's mind.

All you need to know is that the Demon Lord's goal is to infiltrate humanity and dismantle it from within. Therefore, the Demon Lord is currently playing the role of the Hero.

If you kneel down now, one of the others present—you or someone else—will die.

But the Demon King doesn't know you, so you'll be the one sacrificed.

Cold sweat instantly slid down Lyme's forehead.

Is that so?

He almost ruined the Demon King's plan.

So... what should he do?

Lady Lilith didn't tell him what to do next, she just gave him a hint, was she trying to test his comprehension?

Lyme's mind raced. Remembering the group of goblins from earlier, he suddenly had an idea.

Hey! He has an idea!

Under the tense gazes of Vera and Fiona.

"Ho ho..."

The vampire in the middle of the forest clearing let out two more eerie laughs, and its body suddenly began to twist and deform.

Soon, he turned into a giant slime!