Chapter 30: The Little Vampire in the Ancient Castle 3

The man’s tone was blunt and indifferent. There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face, and his deep, black eyes held a flicker of inexplicable irritation.

He lowered his gaze, looking down at this beautiful yet delicate creature from his height, and added, "Besides, you were the one who bumped into me."

The man’s voice was low and magnetic, but his words were decidedly unpleasant.

[Damn! What kind of attitude is that! How dare he be fierce to our baby?!]
[Fine, fine, so this is how you treat your wife, is it? Don't cry when someone else steals your score.]
[Where did this stinky dog come from? Baby, hurry up and scold him!]

Yu Deng rarely encountered someone with such a bad attitude, and he stood stunned for a few seconds.

His forehead and wrists were still throbbing with pain. Between the hurt and the sense of grievance, the corners of his eyes turned red. Warm tears trembled on his curled lashes for a few seconds before sliding down his cheeks.

Why be so fierce...

[Host, you need to be a bit more bad-tempered in this dungeon.] The system sighed softly, reminding its little crybaby host.

Yu Deng sniffled and decided to vent his anger on the man: "I don't care, it’s all your fault anyway! Your muscles are so hard, and your tone is so mean... shouldn't you reflect on yourself?"

The man: "..."

How could anyone be this delicate, yet have such a temper?

He felt an urge to continue mocking him, but for some reason, looking at that aggrieved, beautiful face, the harsher words he had prepared just wouldn't come out.

The man even found himself uncontrollably pondering the situation.

This beautiful boy was so upset... was he really being too harsh?

After Yu Deng finished his reprimand, the butler, who had been behind him, arrived at his side, reaching out to support his shoulders and pulling him almost into an embrace.

Wen Luo asked in a low voice, "Are you in a lot of pain? Do you need me to carry you over?"

The tall man opposite them heard the butler's words and, looking at the two of them, his brows knit even tighter.

Are these two that close?

Just as the man was about to say something to Yu Deng, Yu Deng turned away without mercy and walked off, pulling the man in the tailcoat along with him.

"...Tsk." The man felt inexplicably annoyed. He let out a heavy "tsk" and lifted his feet to follow.

...

The patch of thorns was already very close to the castle, only about a hundred meters away. Yu Deng walked with his head down, hearing the electronic chime of System 01.

[Beep—Detection complete... Data analysis complete. Host, that person just now is also one of the targets for your mission in this dungeon.]

Yu Deng slowed his pace: "Ah... he is too?"

The man was quite handsome, but his tone was so aggressive... Yu Deng didn't like him.

"Then, System, is he a player or an NPC?"

[...] The system said a few words, but Yu Deng only heard the sound of static. The system quickly realized it had been censored. [Sorry, Host, I don't think I can tell you.]

"Huh?" It was actually uncertain?

[Due to the game rules of this dungeon, the identities of some mission targets are unclear and require the Host to explore them on your own.]

Yu Deng scratched his cheek: "I see, alright then..."

There was one more thing he had to use his brain for... Yu Deng looked at the butler beside him and suddenly found him very pleasing to the eye.

So much less trouble.

...

The castle was vast, with pale gray exterior walls. The sky hung low, and the spires of the main building seemed to disappear into the gloomy storm clouds, appearing at least fifty or sixty meters high.

Accompanied by the butler, Yu Deng walked for seven or eight minutes and, well within the one-hour time limit, arrived at the banquet hall on the first floor of the castle's main building.

The interior of the castle was not dilapidated at all; instead, it was filled with luxury, and the hall was incredibly spacious.

Wen Luo first guided Yu Deng to a small room on the first floor. He found a new shirt from the wardrobe: "Young Master, your clothes are ruined. Shall we change them first?"

Oh, right, his shirt had been torn by his wings just a moment ago.

Yu Deng took it: "Okay."

Wen Luo turned around, waiting quietly and steadily for Yu Deng to finish changing before bringing the young vampire master back to the hall.

A good number of people had already gathered in the hall. Yu Deng glanced over them roughly and saw at least twenty people standing together in small groups.

There were too many people, and Yu Deng only caught a glimpse of a few faces—some were purely Western, others had mixed Eastern features. Most of these people carried faint non-human traits.

Yu Deng couldn't tell at all who was a player and who was an NPC.

The moment Yu Deng stepped into the hall, the noisy crowd went silent for a few seconds before sounds slowly returned. These people observed Yu Deng openly or covertly, their eyes filled with amazement.

One gaze in particular was scorching hot.

Yu Deng looked up in confusion and met the eyes of the owner of that gaze—an exceptionally tall man with fluffy, short black hair and thick, solid arm muscles. His demeanor was extremely fierce, making one subconsciously overlook his handsome features at first glance.

Yu Deng went silent. How to put it, he felt that this man could punch him all the way to the sky.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and the man flashed a smile at Yu Deng.

Yu Deng quickly turned his face away.

The one-hour countdown hit zero.

[Ding, time is up. Unfortunately, one player failed to arrive at the castle within the specified time and is considered eliminated.]

[Remaining number of players: 8.]

Elimination actually meant death!

The players in the crowd had varying expressions. Moreover, this dungeon had actually announced the number of players and the number of survivors.

Yu Deng heard the announcement as well. He mourned silently for the eliminated player.

The dungeon was definitely cooking up something wicked.

[Ding, the dungeon has officially begun.]

[The name of this dungeon is "The Castle’s Blood Banquet."]

[Main quest: During the banquet, players must conceal their identities, participate in the castle gala games, and survive until the banquet ends.]

[Specific game rules will be announced later. There are no side quests for this dungeon.]

[Note: This dungeon is in Hard Mode.]

Yu Deng didn't know if there were any unlucky newcomers hidden among the players, but there were no screams of despair in the hall; whether they were veterans or newcomers, their composure was quite high.

As soon as Yu Deng heard "Hard Mode," he knew things were going badly. There were definitely going to be strange traps!

He fretted for a moment, then, looking at the few obvious Eastern faces in the crowd, his focus shifted to something strange.

This dungeon was supposed to have a Western background, right? He hadn't met any foreigners among the players, so wouldn't the players entering the dungeon be identified just by their appearance?

Or did they have other disguise techniques?

Perhaps Yu Deng’s gaze was too obvious, as the butler explained thoughtfully: "Young Master, since this is your first time attending such a banquet, you might not be aware. Non-human races also have Eastern descendants and mixed-race individuals."

Yu Deng realized, standing on tiptoe to try and look at more people's features, and found that it was indeed the case.

"Are you one too?" Yu Deng looked at the butler curiously.

Wen Luo answered every question: "You could say that. My ancestors lived in the East for a long time, and my mother is said to have Eastern blood."

Wen Luo paused after speaking: "Young Master, the banquet is about to begin."

"Hm?"

The butler asked patiently: "When His Highness the Prince is not present, these banquets are managed by me and hosted by Countess Claudia, who is a subordinate of His Highness."

As he spoke, he gestured for Yu Deng to look at a woman not far away.

The lady was very tall, wearing a black evening gown. She was beautiful, with fiery red, long wavy hair, and a pair of fangs could be seen at the corner of her lips.

Wen Luo said: "But now that you have awakened, would you like to host this banquet?"

Yu Deng shook his head quickly: "No!" Host what? His mind was a blank; if he went up there, he would be exposed!

"Then, would you like me to introduce you in a grand fashion?"

Yu Deng continued to shake his head: "Forget it, forget it."

"Very well, I understand."

After confirming, the butler accompanied Yu Deng to the front of the hall. Lady Claudia walked over quickly and gave Yu Deng a polite smile: "Young Master?"

Yu Deng nodded at her.

At this point, everyone had arrived, and the castle gates slammed shut. All the players and NPCs present realized that the revelry was about to begin.

Claudia looked at Yu Deng as if seeking his opinion, waiting for the newly awakened young vampire to speak.

Yu Deng met her gaze passively, confused for a moment, when inspiration suddenly struck. He looked at the crowd and said softly: "Then, let it begin."

Click.

The giant enchanted crystal chandelier at the top of the hall suddenly flared to life.

The crowd below watched Yu Deng, growing somewhat restless.

This beautiful, exquisite boy was clearly delicate and fragile, showing not a single trait of a vampire, looking exactly like a human.

But Lady Claudia called him "Young Master"... he was actually a little vampire from His Highness the Prince's household!

The tall, scorching-eyed man and the man who had called Yu Deng delicate were both staring intently at Yu Deng.

Lady Claudia announced aloud: "His Highness is still in slumber, so this gala will continue to be hosted by me."

"My lords and ladies, welcome to the castle for the gala. We shall revel here and enjoy a wonderful holiday. However—"

She scanned the hall: "We know that at every banquet, besides the invited vampires, werewolves, and witches, there are quite a few humans disguised as our partners mixed in. But these clever fools always end up becoming our sacrifices."

A malicious burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

[Ding, the detailed rules for player identities are as follows:]

[1. Players will randomly replace the identity of a non-human noble and participate in the banquet in their stead.]
[2. The system has automatically adjusted the player's appearance style.]
[3. Players may mimic non-human physical traits, but they will differ from authentic ones; please use with caution.]

As the system broadcasted, a transparent light screen appeared before Yu Deng's eyes, displaying the rules.

Yu Deng felt dizzy. The first two points were easy to understand, but he didn't grasp the meaning of the third.

Did it mean players could also have vampire wings or werewolf tails? Coupled with the appearance adjustments mentioned in the second point, wouldn't that make it... even harder to find out which ones were the hidden players?

However, if the mission was just to hide one's identity and survive, it didn't seem to matter if he didn't find the other players, right? As long as he wasn't discovered by the NPCs, it would be fine.

Yu Deng's eyes began to lose focus, a feeling like his CPU was about to overheat.

Amidst the eager gazes of the non-humans, Lady Claudia continued:

"Of course, everyone here is our honored guest, and we would never be rude to our guests. So, for this banquet, we will once again use everyone's favorite old game to find the sacrifices hidden among us!"