Burns slumped over the table, looking somewhat dazed. He had thought that coming here would bring him a new life, but he hadn't realized that he had been starving for almost a month.
He was only holding on because of his Tier 3 strength; the Tier 1 and 2 children in his family had already fallen into a deep sleep due to hunger.
Yesterday, when he heard Cecilia say that he could go to New Aini City to buy blood, he was very excited. However, this morning, reality dealt him a heavy blow, as not a single person came to him to sell their blood.
Ten gold coins for a bag of blood! In the old days, that price would have been enough for him to take a bath in fresh blood. A virgin slave would only cost one gold coin.
Burns couldn't help but wonder if his decision to bring his men to this world was right or wrong. Perhaps it would be better to perish with the world than to endure hunger and fall into an endless slumber here?
As his thoughts drifted, he suddenly felt his vision darken. Looking up, he saw Prince Cecilia of the Aeneas standing in front of his stall with his guards.
"Your Highness, the most sought-after prince, the new king of the Aeneas, come to mock a fallen vampire?" Burns sat up and sneered, his voice weak but still full of composure.
In the past, he might have been afraid of the other party's status as a prince, but now they were just a group of fugitives, groveling for mercy under the lord's charity.
“I never thought that the noble vampires would be so destitute. Ten gold coins for a bag of blood? I doubt even the blood of a virgin has ever sold for such a high price.” Cecilia laughed, not caring about the other party’s attitude. She sat down in front of the other party with a relaxed expression and extended her right arm.
"I'm here to earn ten gold coins and a bag of prince's blood. Compared to that, you've made a huge profit in this deal!"
Upon hearing this, Burns was taken aback, seemingly not yet reacting. "Are you serious?"
“Actually, I would prefer that you vampires disappear from the world forever, but unfortunately the lord wants to spare your lives, so cherish your chance to live!” Cecilia said. Not only him, but the four guards who had followed him also sat down in front of the stall, removed their arm armor, and extended their right arms.
Seeing this, Burns believed what the other person said was true. He turned to look in the direction the other person had come from, where Xia Qingyi, dressed in a business suit, was standing in the distance, watching the Aini people rush to buy food.
“Thank you for your mercy, my lord!” Burns said, licking his chapped lips, then took out a syringe and plunged it into Cecilia’s arm.
"Don't worry, I will use the unique methods of the vampires to preserve this bag of blood. This is the blood of the King of the Aenei, the first bag of blood our vampires have obtained since arriving on the Primordial Star, and a great favor from our Lord. It has a very significant and far-reaching meaning!" Burns said while drawing blood, which made Cecilia's lips twitch slightly.
“As expected, I still don’t have a good impression of vampires, and I hope you won’t say such things while drawing my blood!” Cecilia said. Burns chuckled, and as he was drawing blood, he could feel the trembling of her arm. Clearly, his heart was not as calm as it appeared.
"I admit, you will be a good king. I believe that under your leadership, the Aeneas will reach a new peak!" After the blood bag was quickly drawn, Burns sealed the blood bag, resisted the urge to drink it, and put it away. At the same time, he said to Cecilia.
"Thank you for your kind words!" Cecilia said with a smile as she stood up, then turned and left with her guards.
A prince and four guards brought Burns a total of five bags of blood. Of course, Cecilia's bag was not to be drunk, but four bags were enough for the people present to enjoy.
"Ah~~~ an intoxicating taste!" Taking a deep breath, Burns drank the blood in his hand. His originally thin body visibly became fuller. Although he hadn't returned to his normal state, he was no longer as listless as before.
Not only him, but also the two vampires who came with him felt the same way. A month of hunger was finally relieved, and everyone felt like they had finally come back to life.
"Alright! Time to get to work! You guys don't actually think Cecilia is being so kind as to just give us a free blood transfusion, do you? We're in for a lot of work now!" Burns said, looking at his companions who were still lost in their own reverie.
Cecilia's arrival was merely to set an example for the surrounding commoners. With him, the prince, taking the lead, others would naturally let go of their fear of vampires. Even if many were still afraid, there would eventually be some daring individuals who would take the risk.
"Well done!" Xia Qingyi said with an approving smile when she saw Cecilia and the others return.
The commotion caused by the blood donations of these individuals was considerable, and many people witnessed their actions. The identity of this prince is now almost universally known in New Aini City. Given the current political climate, Cecilia's ascension to the throne is only a matter of time.
Therefore, after confirming Cecilia and the others' identities, many civilians were eager to make their move. A bag of blood didn't amount to much, but it could be exchanged for ten gold coins, which was enough for them to earn a month's wages. Xia Qingyi's current salary was quite high.
In their original world, a single gold coin would be enough to support a family of three for a year; many people had never seen so much money in their lives.
"I hope there will be less praise like this in the future!" Cecilia shrugged with a wry smile. Who in their right mind would willingly sell their blood?
"Let's go. Just have someone keep an eye on things here. We still have a lot to do!" Xia Qingyi smiled and didn't say anything more before leading her people away from the trade zone.
In less than an hour, quite a few daring people began to get restless and started walking toward Burns' stall to sell their blood. Burns had already stated that ten gold coins for a bag of blood was only for today; starting tomorrow, it would be five gold coins, and the day after tomorrow, it would be three gold coins.
Even wealthy vampires couldn't afford ten gold coins. Burns had brought over a hundred people with him, and at this price, he would have to pay hundreds of gold coins a day for food, which was far too expensive compared to the food of other races.
However, he was powerless to do anything about it. The racial defects of the vampires meant that they had to obtain power from blood. Although they did not need blood as their main food, it was still an indispensable part of their diet.
Burns looked at the Ani people who came one after another to sell their blood, a hint of comfort and helplessness flashing in his eyes.
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