The festival began with a clamor. Xie Qing scrutinized each participant.
Their strengths ranged from A+ level to SS level. Despite the strong competition, Xie Qing was not worried.
He was more interested in how Lloyd would behave and how his race would react to such an act.
Walking through the royal garden, Xie Qing smiled. He could clearly feel the stares on his back.
Many of them were full of lust and desire. At first it pissed him off, but he soon got used to it.
It was worth acknowledging again that the Guardian of the Abyss had very good potential. Xie Qing was also aware of this, but he never thought that the attention to him would be so great.
Besides, he had a first-rate appearance. People like him are usually called gigachads.
His manly appearance and ferocious aura definitely attracted the attention of the warrior races.
Xie Qing entered the VIP room, which had a great view of the platform where the battles were being fought.
Following him, the maid, who is supposed to fulfill his desires, entered. Naturally, sexual favors were not on the list of possibilities.
There were four rounds of qualifiers in all: eight contestants, including Xie Qing, would fight for the right to enter the semifinals.
The first round is between Lloyd and a man from the dragon race.
The dragon, whose name was too long, so Xie Qing didn't remember it, had an ordinary appearance.
However, his aura and physical strength definitely did not give and opportunity to underestimate the dragon.
The referee stepped up onto the platform, signaling the two contestants. They climbed onto the platform and looked at each other piercingly.
"And so, today we begin the Vampire Queen Festival!"
"There will be four rounds in all, where it will be decided who will make it to the semifinals."
"But before we begin, please pay your respects to the Vampire Queen!"
Suddenly a flying platform appeared in the sky with a throne on it.
On this throne sat Valentina, watching from above with a sweet smile.
Instantly, the spectators and the participants themselves knelt down, except for Xie Qing. He was just twirling a spinner in his hand, waiting for the battle to begin.
The maid behind him paid no attention to Xie Qing's disrespect and only watched for an object unknown to her.
Sensing her gaze, Xie Qing turned around with a smile and held out the spinner.
"T-This is for me?"
"Yeah. Consider it a welcome gift." Xie Qing smiled softly and turned around, watching the battle.
The maid, with glowing eyes, repeated Xie Qing's movements and giggled happily as the spinner began to spin.
Smiling at her sweet demeanor, Xie Qing looked at how Lloyd and the dragon were preparing for the battle.
Since Xie Qing was too lazy to remember his name, he decided to give him a nickname, "Red Lizard."
Red because the dragon had scales of that color on his arms, and the lizard... because, dragon?
Nodding at his ingenious choice of names, Xie Qing watched with a smile as Lloyd unleashed his power.
Within seconds, Lloyd's entire body was covered in fur, and within ten seconds he had transformed into a werewolf of five meters.
Surprised by his size, Xie Qing whistled.
However, not everyone was as relaxed as he was.
The vampires, for example, covered their noses in an effort to stifle the unpleasant smell. Disgruntled shouts echoed through the hall.
Hearing the taunting, Lloyd gritted his teeth and attacked his enemy.
"Huh, attacking right in the forehead? As expected from a dumb dog." The red lizard grinned, dodging.
Both the lizard and Lloyd were on S level because of the limitations of the formation. This was done to keep things fair.
The level is chosen by the strength of the weakest of the two fighting, as it is impossible to level up the other person without some complications.
Lloyd roared and his claws lengthened, becoming sharper. He swung his arm and the claws sank into the Red Lizard's side.
However...
"ROAAAR!"
Lloyd screamed shrilly as his claws snapped in two. It appeared that the dragon's body was too strong.
Xie Qing squinted and examined the dragon with his miracle eyes. It turned out that there was a special object hidden inside its body.
In short, the item could increase the user's protection in exchange for life force.
"Tsk... There are those tricks again, instead of fighting normally." Xie Qing looked at the Red Lizard with disgust, changing his alias to "Rotten Lizard."
And then, the dragon grinned. He looked haughtily at Lloyd, who gritted his teeth in anger.
"What's the matter, doggie? Give up already?"
Lloyd didn't answer, only continued to stare at the dragon. The lizard got angry when Lloyd didn't answer the question.
"I'm talking to you!"
The dragon took a step forward and appeared behind Lloyd, instantly knocking him down.
Before it touched the ground, however, Lloyd's body glowed, and then there was an explosion.
The onlookers watched the battle with interest. Two silhouettes could be seen in the smoke.
When the referee blew away the smoke, a shocking picture emerged. Lloyd was holding a dragon by the neck.
The dragon had a hole in its stomach, and its eyes had lost their vitality. With each passing second, the dragon's body looked more and more like a mummy.
The noise, the clamor.
The onlookers were schooled as they did not understand the situation.
And only Xie Qing and Valentina squinted, clearly understanding what was going on. However, not to say that they were for the sake of it.
On the contrary, Xie Qing was extremely annoyed. This energy was all too familiar to him.
Devouring.
Or to be more precise, its counterpart.
During the Ancient War there was a cult that called itself the Children of Chaos. They had abilities very similar to the Devourer.
Naturally, this ability is weaker, as it can only absorb blood, but there is one catch.
Thanks to this power you can create undead that will obey your master's orders.
And people who have been turned into zombies...
Will never find peace.
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Guys, my new book, My Milfhunter system, is out. It has the same universe, so you'll find familiar places.
There may be spoilers, but please give the book a chance.
Brief synopsis: The main character has his memories back in his twenties. But as if that wasn't enough, a systemic window appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations, you've awakened the milfhunter's system!]
Features: MC milfhunter, anti-hero (can sometimes act violently to save his life), no NTR (maximum netori, but that's not certain).
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20 power stones - 1 additional chapter.
40 power stones - 2 additional chapters.
60 power stones - 3 additional chapters.
At the end of the week, if we get that many chapters, the promised number of chapters will be released on the same day.
Good luck to you all.