Blood Elf Monarch

Splat!

Layla's eyes opened wide when she saw the blood splattered on the ground in front of her.

Now laying on the ground was the crimson ape that previously rushed at Layla. Medium-length hiltless swords made of blood were all over its still body; one stabbed its head, two stabbed the middle of its body, one in its shoulder, and another one cut its arm and leg.

Tristan coldly looked at the crimson ape. Even though it was dead, it still had the fierce expression it previously had before it died. However, he did not care about the crimson ape on the ground. After making sure that the creature was dead, he turned to look at the dazed girl in his arms.

Just a moment ago, as soon as he saw the ape breaking its chains, he instantly created several blades with his [Blood Synthesis] to stop the large red ape and rushed to pull Layla back.

Meanwhile, the others on the sidelines looked at the scene with shock. Faunt froze in fear when he fully comprehended what just happened.

"Layla, are you okay?" Tristan asked the silent girl.

When Layla heard him call her name, she immediately snapped out of her daze.

"Ah… Mm, I'm okay," she weakly responded with a smile. She wanted to assure him that she was fine, but her unconscious act of tightly holding the side of Tristan's clothes told him otherwise.

Tristan turned to look at the hybrid standing a distance away. The moment their eyes met, Faunt felt chills down his spine.

"My apologies, my king! It is due to my negligence that things turned out this way!" the hybrid fell into a kneel. His eyes looking at the ground were filled with fear as his body trembled from the pressure.

'I should've triple, no, quadruple-checked that thing!'

When he saw those piercing eyes, he felt as if he was going to have the same fate as the crimson ape on the ground. Although Layla walking toward the legendary creature's cage was something he could not control, this would not have happened if he had been more careful!

Tristan stroked Layla's head to calm her down before walking to the crimson ape on the ground. Feeling him move away, Layla wanted to follow him, but when she saw that he was walking toward the ape, she decided to stay where she was.

Tristan crouched in front of the crimson ape. After briefly scanning the legendary creature's body, a sharp blade made of his [Blood Synthesis] came out of his palm and pierced the dead creature's head. Layla, who was watching him from behind, felt that it had been a while since she saw her brother use this bloody skill.

Tristan was absorbing the ape's Blood Essence. After a moment of silence, he finally stood back up. At the same time, the hiltless blood swords on the crimson ape's body dissipated into thin air.

"Mister Faunt," Tristan called while turning to the kneeling hybrid. "Let's continue, shall we?"

"Y-Yes, my king!" the hybrid instantly stood up. However, when he saw the cold smile on Tristan's face, he froze. He wanted to kneel back down.

Faunt shortly thought of which creature they were last at before walking to another row of cages. While Faunt briefly explained about the various magical creatures one by one, the hybrid sometimes stuttered and stumbled over his words. This annoyed Tristan a bit, but he still managed to stay patient.

As Tristan walked from cage to cage following the hybrid to observe the numerous magical creatures, Layla quietly followed behind him. She still curiously listened to the explanations about the creatures and looked around, but this time, she was more careful and did not run around on her own.

On the sidelines, Herrera and Illiana only silently watched the two, each with their own thoughts.

"...And that is the last of the creatures we brought today, my king. Are they to your satisfaction?" Faunt asked while nervously looking at Tristan.

"Yes, they're quite satisfactory," Tristan said with a satisfied smile. In total, there were about four to five dozen magical creatures. Looking at them, he really hoped that they would be able to give him a large amount of Blood Essence.

"I will take them all," Tristan said with some anticipation.

When the hybrid heard this, the expression on his face became a bit awkward.

"That puts me at ease, my king, but…" Faunt seemed to be hesitating to mention something.

Tristan looked at the hybrid with a questioning expression.

"Actually, these creatures are all I currently have in my collection, so if you were to take them all, I'm afraid I won't have any left, so, my king…"

Of course, how could Tristan not understand? What else would this money-hungry hybrid want?

Tristan relaxedly smiled.

"Tell me how much more you want, as long as it's fair.. I will see to it you will receive them".

The hybrid was thanking him as not only he wasn't harmed, the king was even willing to pay him more.  Tristan also told Faunt the hybrid to look up for more of such magical creatures in the future for him. He was willing to pay good money for them, after all money was not a problem at all for him now.

The hybrid's face lit up even more and quickly agree.

"Of course! Thank you, my king!"

Soon after, they completed the magical creature transaction. When the night came, Tristan did not waste any time and immediately absorbed the Blood Essence from the various magical creatures. 

Shrieks and roars from different creatures echoed through the night, but no one dared to ask what happened in the palace backyard that night.

For Tristan himself, he had no feelings of attachment or the sort when he pierced these creatures with his blood weapons. When the last of the creatures died in front of him, an image flashed in his mind. It was a memory of the stray cats and dogs of his teenage days. Unfortunately, it felt like such a long time ago that he had already forgotten the feeling he had toward it.

He took a deep sigh. The memory reminded him of how much of himself was still left in him.

After he finished, he quickly checked the amount of Blood Essence he had and compared it to the amount he needed to upgrade his skills.

[Tristan]

[Blood Essence: 130,796]

[Upgrading Blood Synthesis to stage 4 requires 200,000 Blood Essence.]

[Upgrading Blood Seal to stage 4 requires 50,000 Blood Essence.]

[Upgrading Blood Monarch Body to stage 6 requires 100,000 Blood Essence.]

Tristan was satisfied with the amount he got from this transaction. From those four to five dozen magical creatures, he got a little over 50,000 Blood Essence.

It was quite a harvest. But looking at the skill upgrade requirement, the satisfied smile on his face faded.

He still needed more.