When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

According to common sense, aside from the spire that hasn't been explored, there's only this place left in the entire palace.

This underground cave is obviously used for hiding people. In broad daylight, this woman is actually lying in bed sleeping; if she's not a vampire, then who else could she be?

But her frail appearance made Horn's initial caution and his anxiousness after arriving on the island seem like a pointless battle of wits with thin air.

Horn was all set to push open the misty door and engage in a boss fight, even ready to remove his pants, but this is it?

Or should he just go up and capture her now? Or should he stick to his original target and slay the wolf woman to secure a survival space on Autumn Dusk Island, a land under the sun?

Without putting away his weapon, Horn cautiously stood aside, watching the wolf woman who had her gaze firmly locked on him, "I didn't ask for your name, I asked what you are?"

Light streamed through the hole in the floor, illuminating the dust in the air in fine detail, casting a shimmering glow on the face of the wolf woman.

"What are you?" The wolf woman named Hilov didn't directly answer Horn's question but instead asked, "Isn't a black shell still a shell? I'm not anything; I am Hilov."

"I'm asking what race you are."

"I'm just like you."

"I'm human, but you're not human, are you?"

"Human is just your perception of yourself; everyone can see themselves as human or anything else."

Feeling educated now, aren't we?

Horn was at a loss for words for a moment, but he still keenly noticed Hilov's gaze fixed on the Blood Covering Cloud in his hand.

She seems quite familiar with this thing, like those red steel swords commonly used by vampires across the sea?

Raising his head, Horn continued to ask, "Looks like you know what kind of sword this is?"

"Red Steel Sword, a weapon commonly used by Advanced Vampire Lords. My mother had one too. My legs and Ah Fu's hands were chopped off by a Red Steel Sword."

"Ah Fu, is that the blood slave just now?"

"Ah Fu is my steward. Mother dug out his vocal cords, nose, eyes, and reproductive system, leaving only his ears intact.

I made a pair of brass hands for him; I intended to communicate with him through writing, but he was illiterate..."

"Wait wait... you made those brass hands?" Remembering the intricate brass claws, Horn couldn't help but interrupt eagerly.

"Yes." The wolf woman's face was icy, but her tail wagged furiously, seemingly enjoying the opportunity to talk to a living person. "I learned from the artisans in the small town outside."

"There were artisans here before?!" Horn was even more surprised.

"Originally, there were about four hundred people in the small town outside, but mother wouldn't let them get close to me. After mother left, a group of Demon Hunters came and massacred all the town residents. I hid here and survived, but now you've found me."

Hilov looked down at her legs as if remembering something, her tail limp on the bed, "…Are you Demon Hunters here to kill me?"

A mother using a Red Steel Sword? A massacre by Demon Hunters?

Horn furrowed his brow. In other words, this wolf woman's mother, or foster mother, was a vampire?

After pondering for a moment and before determining whether the other party was friend or foe, Horn decided to tell the truth, "We are outsiders, and we don't know your mother."

The fluffy wolf tail stood up again.

"Does your mother drink blood?"

"Yes, if you put it that way, mother is a vampire." After saying this, the wolf woman finally showed a barely noticeable contemplative expression, "I also drink blood, but I've never thought about whether I am a vampire. Does that fit the definition of a vampire?"

"Would you die if you don't drink blood?"

The wolf woman Hilov looked at him like he was an idiot, "I only drink blood because mother led me to do so. I would die if I don't drink water... Ah, then perhaps I'm not a vampire."

"Do you have venomous fangs?"

Hilov pulled at the corner of her mouth with her fingers, speaking indistinctly, "You see, none."

"Then why are you sleeping now?"

"I've been like this since I was young, sleeping every morning at five twenty."

So the wolf woman really isn't a vampire? To be cautious, Horn continued to ask, "How did you come here?"

"My mother gave birth to me." The wolf woman's expression didn't change, but her tone was so assured it made Horn doubt.

A vampire giving birth to a wolf woman? That can't be right, Horn narrowed his eyes.

Besides this, another thing that puzzled Horn was her almost expressionless reactions no matter what she said.

Despite her gentle and magnetic voice, like a university professor giving a lecture, she spoke in a dramatic recitative style.

If Horn hadn't personally felt the wolf woman's body warmth, he might have thought she was a finely crafted doll.

"Is your mother here?"

"No, she left ten or nine years ago."

Hilov's words made Horn loosen up a bit, but he didn't dare let his guard down entirely, "Then can you help us open the door to the spire outside?"

The entire palace had been searched, and if Hilov's words were true, opening the spire posed no loss.

If Hilov was lying, there's a Witch and a Great Wizard right now during the daytime, perfect to deal with the vampire.

Hilov nodded in response, "Of course, but you must answer me a question— even if you're not Demon Hunters, will you kill me?"

Though her face showed little expression, Horn could still hear both anticipation and fear in her words.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Horn stepped forward and pushed a wheelchair over to the bed, "As long as you are innocent, we will not kill you."

Her tail wagged slower, but Hilov did not climb into the wheelchair. She looked into Horn's eyes, "I guess you're here to kill my mother, but she left long ago. I advise you not to kill her; she really is very strong."

"If she's not on the island, we have no reason to kill her."

Hilov turned her body to lie on the bedside, still not getting into the wheelchair, "If what I said is true, then you have broken into my home; Ah Fu has already been captured or killed by you, right?"

Horn was momentarily at a loss for words, while Victor beside him angrily said, "Weren't you pretending to be part of the Evil God Faction to kill beastmen? You are not entirely innocent either."

"No, I didn't." Hilov shook her head, "I can only tell the undead what I want but can't command or control them. The culprit is my mother, not me."

"Then what do you want in compensation?"

"Since I can remember, I've lived here. Mother wouldn't let me go out. You're the first living person I've talked to."

"So..." Without any ripples on her face, Hilov's mouth opened and closed, "As compensation for your intrusion, after I open the spire and prove my innocence, I want to become friends with you.

But whether friend or foe, as a minimum courtesy, you ought to tell me your name, shouldn't you?"

Horn didn't immediately answer, considering that in this bizarre world, who knows if there are spells that curse a true name or similar?

Licking his lips, he was about to use Patrick's name but then stopped abruptly.

Although the wolf woman's face was serious and devoid of emotion, her wolf ears stood up like antennas, and her wolf tail, curling upwards, wagged slowly with nervousness.

She seemed quite expectant.

After a moment of silence, Horn opened his mouth and spoke his name, "Horn, Horn Gallar."

After all, his real name is in Chinese characters, and she wouldn't guess it with a hundred brain cells.

"Alright." Hilov's lips trembled slightly, making Horn think it might be a smile, "My name is Hilov."