A Rather Special Encounter

Once back in the underground network, Prince Aether and the 70 soldiers who were with him began to force the passage through the various underground networks. There were about 35 different passages with several floors each time, and they had to do all of them if they wanted to save all the slaves who were still in the cells.

The biggest problem with this was that they would probably be in danger of wasting an extreme amount of time and that they might not arrive in time at the place where the auction was taking place, which was at the very bottom of the underground network. The prince, therefore, decided to separate the soldiers into groups of 2.

They all then took a tunnel to finish the work as quickly as possible, so that they could come in time to the place where the sale was taking place. Each soldier was tasked with capturing the merchants, and if that was impossible, they were ordered to kill them. As for the slaves, they had to escort them with them to the end and not leave them alone, so that they would not be captured a second time.

So the prince left with Kraal in one of the paths and began to clear the passage. Every slave seller who surrenders will have a penalty other than death. As for the others, well... they will be eliminated immediately.

The number of slaves in the underground was something the prince didn't expect to see. He could have easily said that they have collected slaves for about 6 months, or even 1 year to succeed in having so many. There were about 100 slaves in his path, so he couldn't imagine the total number if he added up all the paths together. 3500 slaves were just something too huge, so huge that even the royal family will have a hard time taking care of them after the rescue.

He told himself that a large part of the slaves would have to register in the army if they did not want to die from hunger. Except that even like that, there will always be far too many people who will have to be put somewhere so that all their efforts to save them were not reduced to anything.

After about an hour of fighting and rescue, all the groups that the prince had sent had come to the end of their corridor and were right in front of the entrance of the place of sale. They were separated only by a door and could hear the salesman talking about a special product who had not been seen for about fifteen years.

Five minutes later, Prince Aether arrived with his guard Kraal, and the soldiers already present immediately reported to them what seemed to be past the door.

After hearing what was happening and putting a plan in place, the prince and the 70 soldiers took action. They first started by using someone who had mastery over electricity to cut off the power, and thus, blind them and make things simpler.

Few people owned glasses to see in the dark, and nobles fell into this category.

Then they barge into the room and immediately saw the people panicking. Few people had the reflex to use magic to light up the place, but those were quickly knocked out to prevent others from taking advantage of their light to counterattack.

Deprived of all kinds of light, the nobles cast spells blindly. It was a real mess, but the prince's group took advantage of this to quickly finish the job most efficiently.

Soon after, they put the electricity back and began to tie all the nobles with ropes absorbing mana, like the one put on Eden, before putting them aside and then going to save the slaves who were going to be sold during today's auction. As the guards finished the work, Aether noticed that a person was sitting on a red chair at the top of a platform.

Seeing him, he immediately understood the meaning of the "V.I.P. merchandise".

However, there was nothing he could do to him. If even the royal family did not respect the laws, who would? Then advancing towards the man, he quickly arrived in front of him and could not help but be amazed at such beauty. However, he had to keep his mind clear if he wanted to have a real conversation with the person in front of him.

"So you are the V.I.P slave. No wonder they're doing all this stuff. Aether said to the man who was still sitting in the chair, obviously not knowing respect.

"And to whom do I have honor," Eden replied as he raised an eyebrow.

"Your Highness, should I execute him for his insolence," Kraal asked Aether in a calm voice.

"Relax kraal, it's not every day that you see a vampire. You're not going to kill a beauty of nature just for this" Aether replied nonchalantly.

"Let me introduce myself then," Aether continued. "I am the second prince of the Empire of Chronus, Aether. Now, I guess it's up to you to introduce yourself, right?"

Hearing Aether, Eden found something strange, even 2. First of all, the fact that he can understand him. He hadn't noticed it before that, but the language that was spoken here was different from what he knew when he was on earth. However, he told himself that it must have been another power of the system or something with his vampire race, or as a last resort, something that has a connection with his body that was not his.

Then, the fact that he was talking about the Empire of Chronus, and if his memory was good, Chronus should refer to the primordial god Chronos, having the power to control time. So the fact that he refers to a god from one of the many mythologies present on Earth, which is also a primordial god, was ruining his brain. He was sure that all these myths and legends were just stories, so hearing someone talk about these gods as if they existed was something new for him.

However, upon reflection, it is thought that all this would simply be possible. If a system, dungeons, powers, and monsters could exist, then why can't the gods? He, therefore, concludes that if the man in front of him was a prince of one of the cities governed by Chronos, then he must've held a high position in society and possibly even have some power over time.

However, Eden was not the type to bow to a person.

The person in front of him was no one for him so why would he do it? Moreover, it would seem that the fact that he was a vampire was to his advantage because the so-called Aether could not, or rather did not want to kill him.

"I see, my name is Eden," He said, paying no more attention to the man who was in front of him than necessary. He was far too preoccupied with containing his tiredness for this.

"Tell me... Eden, don't you know respect? I told you I was a prince, right? Aether asked with a slight vein that began to be seen on his forehead.

"Oh my God! What a shame on my part to have presented me like this, oh almighty Aether," Eden while bowing to the almighty figure in front of him, which made Aether smile. However, he simply did not see that Eden was playing with him.

"However, I am sure you know that all men are equal, so I have absolutely no obligation to show you respect" He continued while he stand up. "Especially since I have not pledged allegiance to you, so what is the point?. And the very fact that we talk without fighting is a form of respect in itself"

After seeing Eden's behavior, Aether was delighted. Delighted that a vampire knew manners so well and that if he played his cards well, this vampire will be his possession.

However, after seeing him get up, sit down and talk, he simply wanted to cut off his head in a milking. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't do that. Especially since Eden was right. He did not have to owe him respect if he had not pledged allegiance to him. It wasn't like a millennium ago when royalty was all-powerful. Today, guilds and adventurers were more powerful than the royalties themselves. So he couldn't do anything that would offend Eden.

However, he will be able to bring him back to the queen so that he can see the terror that royalty exerts on level 8 insects.

"You know I can kill you right away if I want to, right ?"

"Indeed, I know it. Knowing that I cannot see your level, I deduce that you are out of reach. And even if I could, you still have the numerical advantage. What am I supposed to do against an army of 70 men? Nothing. However, I can always deduce that you will not kill me under any circumstances. You would have already done it if you wanted to, and knowing that I speak to you without showing you some respect is enough to decapitate me. There are still other reasons but I don't know if you would be willing to listen ?" Eden asked, who was visibly exhausted at the very thought of speaking. He only needed one thing and that thing was a good night's sleep.

"I'm all ears. We have all the time after all," The prince replied with a smile to Eden who was insulting him with everything that went through his head. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to someone like him. He already felt his consciousness disappear, so talking even more will only speed up the process.

Taking a deep breath, Eden began to speak.

"First of all, the fact that you came to attack this place which visibly seems very well guarded, given the number of slaves and guards inside. I deduce from this that there are also places like the one where I was, so probably a huge network full of slaves. I also think you came under someone's orders, the king or queen perhaps? Otherwise, why come and save underlings like us apart to have a good image with the public? Then, the fact that there are about 3,000 slaves, and almost 1,000 guards waiting for you at the top shows first of all, that you came to save the slaves, of which I am part of, and that you decided to leave alive the guards who decided to submit and kill those who refused. I can smell the blood up there and it's quite disgusting, to say the least. Finally, the fact that vampires seem to be an extremely rare breed. Given how much my introduction had been made, and how people were willing to outbid me, I doubt you would want to do anything to me. So to kill me, you will have to erase the memory of all those people you tied up, of all the guards and other slaves who would have seen me unless you wish to have a civil war with the nobles faction and all those who will learn that you killed a vampire? And wouldn't you like to present a race extinct for 15 years to the current emperor or empress? Yet it was them who ordered you to come here, and I do... bt that killing an exceptional loot like myself will be an acceptable fault.... for... Your.... high... "Eden finished before fainting and falling from his chair, then from the platform directly into Aether's arms.

As soon as Eden landed in Aether's arms, Aether couldn't help but blush. He had managed to keep his composure so far, but the fact that he had fallen directly into him like that had destroyed his composure to pieces. In addition, he smelled extremely and strangely good, even though his back was completely wet, which suggests that he was in very bad shape. And despite that, he still managed to impress him.

He had no expectation to see that he would be able to describe and analyze the situation just with the little information he had gathered here and there. Nor did he expect that he would be able to pinpoint the exact number of all the slaves and guards who were more than twenty meters from their position, and above all, the fact that he had managed to deduce their plan, just by smelling the blood coming from the corridors.

He wanted Eden to join his ranks, and he will do everything in his power to get him. Whether it's military, civilian, or sexual relief, he'll do everything to get him.

Lifting Eden slightly from him, he saw his face more closely, and the red that was on his cheeks and ears spread all over the top of his face.

Noticing that he had become all red, Aether took Eden on his back and began to order the soldiers to imprison all the guards, to take all the slaves to the empress palace so that they could find what they were going to do in the following days and to restrict entry within a perimeter of 10 km all around the entrance to the network.