Chapter 424 - 237: Promotion to the Bronze Blood Faction? (2)

As time passed, the seats in the venue gradually filled up. Maids moved through the crowd, carrying trays of aged red wine and distributing the numbered paddles for the upcoming auction.

Freya was assigned number 506. A strange number—it happened to be the same as Baron’s university dorm room number from his past life.

After the maids had left, other Attendants came up with high-end red wine to pour for the guests. Each guest was entitled to one glass.

It was said to be a wine brewed in the 17th century by Alchemists, using the blood of a Third Generation Dragon Species combined with a special Alchemy Array. It was exceptionally precious. If a Law Enforcer drank it, they could increase their Spiritual Power. If an Old Race drank it, it would strengthen their body. If a Bloodless drank it... on the Inner Side, a Bloodless would most likely never be qualified to drink such fine wine.

The Attendant also explained that the price of a single glass was equivalent to the entire annual income of a working-class laborer.

"That’s actually quite cheap," Freya said, downing the red wine in one gulp.

’So rich it’s inhuman...’ Baron also downed the red wine in a single gulp. Immediately, his pupils quivered.

’Something’s wrong with this wine!’

It wasn’t that the wine was much stronger than ordinary red wine. Rather, Baron was shocked to find that the wine had directly awakened the bloodthirsty instinct within him!

He could clearly feel some of his teeth sharpening in their rows, and the color of his irises was shifting toward the crimson of the Blood Faction. Fortunately, Glimpse of the Mysterious Crystal had a cosmetic contact lens effect, so these superficial abnormalities were completely unnoticeable to ordinary people.

This time, the sensation seemed to be more than a simple manifestation of his Blood Faction abilities. There was something else... like... absorption?

’This wine... it contains the blood of the Blood Race!’

Baron realized it instantly. Although it was diluted, he could tell from the Spiritual Power stirring within him that this wasn’t just the blood of the Blood Race—it was from a High Tier Blood Race, at the very least!

And it went without saying what it meant for a Blood Demon Hunter to drink the blood of a High Tier Blood Race...

Since the auction hadn’t started yet, he made an excuse to go to the restroom. He didn’t go into the public one, however, instead finding an empty employee lounge. After locking the door from the inside, he faced the lounge mirror to check his condition.

Even though he was still in his imitator state, he could see in the mirror that he looked a little haggard. At the same time, his Spiritual Power was rising rapidly... This was the precursor to an advancement ritual!

’Damn it, why the hell would there be blood from a High Tier Blood Race in this damn wine?! I’m not prepared at all!’

He cursed internally but knew he absolutely could not begin the advancement ritual here. The auction was full of powerful figures, and the Dragon Eater Association was lying in wait, preparing to make a big move. The fluctuations in Spiritual Power from breaking through to the next Tier would definitely draw everyone’s attention.

Besides, he couldn’t guarantee how long the breakthrough would take or if he would even succeed. Given his terrible luck, if the Dragon Eater Association made their move at the auction and the Mad Dragon broke its seal all at the same time, he’d be completely screwed.

At this point, his only choice was to forcibly suppress the advancement ritual—not interrupt it, but suppress it... ’If I remember correctly, this helmet should have that kind of function.’

’After all, it had even suppressed the restriction placed by that old schemer, the Dream Master. An advancement ritual should be similar, right?’

He placed the Dragon Helmet on his head. And then he felt like his head was about to explode.

It was like countless silver needles churning in his brain. Intense pain, like a knife, sliced through his nerves one by one. Baron’s face instantly turned purple, blood streamed from his seven orifices, and his body convulsed. At times, Fire erupted from his skin; at others, blood oozed out.

Blood and Fire mingled on his body. Reflected in the mirror, he looked like an Angel that had just crawled out of Hell, with Demons still clinging to him, tearing at his wings.

"Fuck... I’m such an idiot. Couldn’t the advancement ritual have been postponed...? I feel like I’m going to die..."

Acting on instinct, he pulled a playing card from his pocket and tossed it onto the blood that now almost completely covered the floor.

He passed out. When he awoke, he found himself standing in a sea of ethereal blue flowers. A Shepherdess wearing a Bonnet Hat and holding a Shepherd’s Staff was sitting on the back of a Black Goat, speaking to him calmly:

"Mr. Constantine, I have violated the confinement of the Dream Law to save you again. As payment, I hope you will give me another bouquet of flowers that do not exist here."

"Miss Shepherdess, forget the flowers. Right now, if you asked me to give you the whole world, I’d do it."

Baron said, panting heavily. The relief of surviving a near-death experience made his words reckless and wild.

He felt that if Miss Shepherdess hadn’t pulled him into this dream, he probably would have inadvertently typed "GG" on his legendary career as a fugitive.

"I have no need for the entire world, Mr. Constantine. My sole mission is to assist you in collecting the remains of Lord Dream Master and to bring you his latest revelations. Beyond that, I have no other purpose or value."

The Shepherdess’s expression remained placid as she spoke these words, like unglazed pottery.

However, having spent some time with the Shepherdess, Baron was already used to her programmed, robotic manner of speech and movement. He didn’t pay it much mind, simply sitting dazedly on the ground for a moment before asking:

"Can you tell what’s going on with me?"

At this, he shook his head. "Never mind. You’ll probably think I’m an idiot for saying it. I actually tried to use a Taboo Item to suppress the advancement ritual that was about to begin."

The Shepherdess said placidly, "The Blood Race are incarnations of the Master of Blood. Their blood carries a curse and a powerful bewitching force. The foolish idea to suppress your advancement ritual only appeared in your mind because of this blood’s deliberate guidance."

"High Tier Blood Race control Low Tier Blood Race and Blood Demons by relying on this very aspect of their blood."

The Shepherdess said, "You drank the blood of a High Tier Blood Race. When the difference in Tiers is not significant, those with insufficient Mental Power will naturally be controlled by the High Tier Blood Race... However, because the blood that made you a Blood Demon Hunter also belonged to a High Tier Blood Race, they could only suggest things to you, not control you completely."

"But precisely because you are a Blood Demon Hunter, you absorbed the blood of the High Tier Blood Race more thoroughly. Therefore, you were affected to a greater degree than an ordinary person. This is also what triggered the ritual for your advancement to the Bronze Blood Faction."

Hearing the Shepherdess’s words, Baron was once again struck by his own shitty luck. ’It sounds like if the Blood Race blood I used for my Blood Faction advancement hadn’t been high-level, I would have already been controlled by that hidden Blood Race member?’

’There was Blood Race Blood hidden in the auction’s red wine? Could this also be the work of the Dragon Eater Association? Don’t tell me they’re mixed up with the Blood Race, too?’

A shadow once again fell over Baron’s heart. If he remembered correctly, most of the people in the venue, including Isabella Freya, had drunk the so-called red wine. Didn’t that mean they could all be controlled or influenced by that hidden Blood Race member?

In response to Baron’s question about a solution, the Shepherdess maintained her placid expression and said softly:

"There is no specific countermeasure for the blood of a High Tier Blood Race. One can only choose different methods based on the dosage. Other than that, it comes down to Tier and Mental Power. As long as your Tier is higher than your opponent’s, you can also be immune to the subconscious influence they exert through their blood."

The Shepherdess said, "Resisting with Mental Power is also a viable method, but Mental Power is something determined at birth. Unless you can get help from someone at the Golden Tier or higher, your best option right now is to stay in this dream and not leave until your body has completely consumed this drop of High Tier Blood Race blood."

’But by then, it’ll be GG for everything.’

In the end, Baron decided he couldn’t just sit back and wait for death. The Mad Dragon and the Dragon Witch were his main objectives for coming to this auction. How could he just cast those goals aside so easily?