Chapter 198 Departure Or Arrival? (2)

A couple of days later, Ashton finally arrived at the famed city of Transylvania. Just by stepping a foot into the mist-shrouded mountainous region, Ashton could feel an overpowered and mysterious force around him. Something which was proven true when a system prompt appeared in front of him.

[Your vampire genes have received a buff due to the following effect <Homeland>.]

[The place where once the Progenitor of vampires lived, is regarded as <Homeland> of all vampires.]

[While in this region, your vampire genes would be upgraded by 2 levels, along with your vampiric abilities.]

"This is..."

"Majestic, I know." The attendant assigned to guide Ashton around interrupted him, "The mist shrouds the entirety of the city and is said to have been the aftereffect of a skill cast by lord Dracula himself. It also empowers any and all vampires that it comes in contact with."

Ashton turned his gaze towards the lady who had dawned a classy outfit just to welcome him into the capital city. Her skin was as white as snow itself, which complimented her raven coloured outfit with a deep neckline.

The lady wasn't as gifted as the other vampire ladies Ashton had seen so far when it came to her 'physical assets', but her good looks and charm more than made up for it. Her red hair and emerald eyes also attracted Ashton's attention, but most of it all, Ashton valued her stats...

She was at level 45... had evolved once and was still a mere 'attendant' and 'tour guide' to him. There was no way Jonathan would have let someone like her go around and act as a tourist guide.

Apart from that, she wasn't the only one dressed up for the occasion. The entire city had been decorated just to welcome him. After a long time in his eventful life, he felt a bit... overwhelmed. More like all of it seemed like a dream to him. But there were a couple of things he wanted to enquire about.

"Um... Lucille was it? Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Oh, I already know what you're about to ask, sir." Lucille fixed her spectacles while smiling, "And the answer to that question is the mist."

"The mist also protects you from sunlight?"

"Indeed it does. That's one of the reasons why vampires would give anything to live in this region. Transylvania is by far the largest vampire city in all of the empire, our holy texts often state that when Lord Dracula first came across this city, it was nothing more than a toxic wasteland."

She continued, "Nothing could grow here, whether it was plant or animal, all of them eventually died. Some even said this place was cursed. But for some reason lord Dracula took a liking to this place and using his magic, turned the wasteland into a paradise where he spent the rest of his days."

Ashton nodded along as Lucille kept telling him more and more about the significance of the city. From its strategic location to the numerous resources scattered all over the mountains. The more Lucille talked to him, the more and more Ashton took a liking to the Vampires.

Especially considering the way they treated the humans within their empire. Unlike the werewolves, the humans weren't slaves there, but respectful and hard-working citizens. They had the freedom to do anything they pleased, as long as they paid a small amount of their blood in exchange.

It wasn't an absurd rule either. The amount of blood taken from them was minimal and could regenerate over time, but the profits they could receive because of it were exponential. If there was a utopia for humans on this accursed planet, it had to be the vampire kingdom.

"Is there anything else you would like to know?" Lucille asked with the sweetest smile on her face.

Ashton shook his head and turned towards the royal knights that had accompanied him on this adventure. Despite what Ashton advised him, Jonathan wasn't going to let someone as precious as Ashton go to the heart of the vampiric empire, without proper security.

That being said, Ashton was more or less sure if a fight were to break out, the knights might not have been able to retaliate in kind. Mainly because of the boost the vampire had thanks to the mist. But that wasn't all... apparently, sending the knights wasn't enough.

That's why Michelle too had accompanied them. But Ashton had his suspicion there was an alternate motive behind sending Michelle along with him. Only time would tell whether his hunch was correct or not. For now, Ashton could only do what he did best... nothing.

"Finally found you!"

Ashton felt like smacking his head as soon as he heard that voice. The whole point of him insisting on touring the city was to get away from the annoying bastard. But it would appear Kai had different plans.

"Hello... your highness..." Ashton greeted Kai with a forced smile, "It's so good to see you again."

"Haha, drop the pleasantries, you can call me Kai like before. The way you left the palace earlier almost felt like you were intentionally avoiding me, haha!"

"And here I thought you would get a clue..." Ashton whispered under his breath.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing at all! I just wanted to learn more about your culture and other important things, in the hopes that I'll pick up a thing or two when I go back to governing a city on my own."

"Ah, yes yes, Lady Michelle informed me about the reward King Jonathan gave you. Are you really satisfied with such a small compensation?"

Small compensation? It was nothing less than a dream come true for a human to even own a house in their world, let alone a city. But then again, their understanding of humans was much different than that of the werewolves so Ashton couldn't blame Kai for thinking the way he did.

But more than that, Ashton had picked up on something much more important. He might just have discovered what Michelle was after when she decided to tag along with him.

'Does she wants to get close to Kai? I mean with her looks and charisma, it wouldn't be a difficult task. Is this Jonathan's ultimate plan to form an alliance through political marriage?'