Boiling Beast Bloodline
Chapter 195 - 6_1

Chapter 195: Chapter 6_1

The owner of the estate where Bauman resided was a hereditary silver-eyed noble, whose forefathers once produced a Four-winged Winged Knight. The party they hosted was ostensibly open to a wide array of guests, but in reality, attendees were mostly of the silver-eyed lineage.

Although three Witch Kings had already emerged in the Demon World by then, the number of Winged Knights remained just over one hundred, and the political status of the silver-eyed clan often showed signs of instability. Unfortunately, merely boosting member numbers with cloning potions would only go so far, as establishing a spiritual connection with nightmares or summoning entities across dimensions required innate gifts. Even if there were a great deal many silver-eyed individuals, those who lacked the mental capacity to form a connection from a young age would be no more than wastes of space, regardless of how many of them live and abound, as they would not even qualify as prospective knights.

The wine parties were as ruthless as battlefields. Anything that couldn’t be obtained through innate talent had to be seized by cunning tactics. Regardless of whether they were declining families or rapidly rising upstarts, most of them spent days and nights maneuvering through similar parties, building a complicated network of relationships.

The grand era of territorial expansion had passed. Billions of people were already jam-packed on the three main continents. The Demonic Sea Clan was not to be trifled with, let alone the likes of the Demon Dragon and the Ancient Alligator King, the high-tiered powerhouses. For the new generation of Demon Clan elites, the task of ascending step by step through achieving military merits, like their predecessors, was now almost impossible.

The Space-Time Rift that reopens during the Silent Moon Return only opens once every 10,000 years. To regain the homeland lost to the invaders of Aegean, they would have to wait for at least several thousand more years. While some naturally occurring small rifts allowed teams of a few people to pass through, it was a foolhardy act for hot-headed fools, not the clever, to engage in cross-dimensional warfare without logistical support; something the nobles would never do.

The sad result was hundreds of mutated Arcane Beasts on the Demon Continent dying of blood mold. Some prominent forces had to face hundreds to thousands of adventure teams challenging them nearly every day. Most of these forces were simply trampled to death, not even given a decent way to die. However, the production of Bi Xue Dan Qing maintained a steady trend of growth...

However, none of this was directly related to Bauman. After all, she was just a weak-bodied ordinary Lich woman, who originally had no access to offensive Arcane arts. The quick wit required to bestow negative Arcane amplifications was something Bauman didn’t possess either. The shelter had conducted simple training courses, but Bauman’s performance couldn’t even pass the lowest three-star rating. The only thing suitable for her was to merely be a presence in the noble’s estate. Taking her to the party might have been somewhat of a discredit.

Therefore, during that under-staffed party, no one in the estate had any expectations for her, a novice unexpectedly pushed to the front - Bauman included. As her maid’s outfit was borrowed from someone else, Bauman had to strain her weakened daytime eyesight to alter the dress and fit into it. However, owing to this minor discrepancy in her outfit, she attracted more attention from guests than any other maid without even knowing it.

This included Woek, a middle-aged rascal from a fallen noble family. His surname was no longer prestigious. He had not achieved anything significant for hundreds of years, but was rather well-known for his extravagant hedonistic lifestyle. However, his naturally handsome silver-eyed appearance salvaged his reputation. It was rumored that he frequented the female relatives of some high-ranking officials and noblemen, occasionally getting wind of behind-the-scenes information. This was also the reason why he was able to mooch off of various parties.

Usually, he wouldn’t dare to act inappropriately towards maids at such parties; at most, he would just feast his eyes. Unfortunately, Bauman was always rather unlucky. Her eyesight was never good, and whilst serving a hot dish, the steam blurred her sight. Screwed up, she dropped both the dish and the plate over the rogue’s head.

It was as if Bauman had delivered herself to his doorstep. Woek had never been the sort to refuse such opportunities. The estate’s owner may have disdained the silver-eyed man, but they certainly would not cause a ruckus over a solitary orphaned maid. With the owner’s tacit consent, matters took the expected turn. Even though Bauman fought back desperately, it was all in vain. The partying nobles watched the spectacle as if it was a cheap third-rate play, none of them willing to step up nor disrupt their "fun".

Several buttons on Bauman’s white maid’s dress were torn off by Woek in plain sight, leaving her modestly covering herself with her hands to avoid being exposed. Yet, during this deeply humiliating moment, she vaguely heard nearby nobles betting on when Woek would rip the rest of her clothes off.

The poor Lich maid was quickly exhausted and was about to give up fighting, with everything around her becoming blurred in her mind. This situation felt eerily familiar as if it had happened many years ago. Back then, she was just a little girl, constantly mocked and called "blind" by older children. Those nasty kids always enjoyed pushing her around. Bauman remembered having been bullied just like this...

But back then, someone had chased away those bad kids and rescued her.

Who was it? Why has she started to forget the face of her little savior? That purple hair hanging over their shoulder, the bright silver eyes, and that dazzling smile, just like Emperor Polo’s, always hanging on their lips.

"Humphry..." Bauman unconsciously murmured this name as she was on the verge of passing out.

Vague noises of high pitched yelling and objects being struck and falling over were heard in the lingering consciousness. The next moment, Bauman fell into a broad, warm embrace. Her surroundings were filled with a familiar scent deeply etched into her mind.

"Don’t be afraid, Bauman, I’m here..."

The hosts and guests of the feast were astonished to find that someone would directly knock Woek out for a maid, and the latter, disregarding his noble status, would flee. Discussions started all over the hall.

"Who is that silver-eyed guy? I don’t recognize the face, but it seems Woek knows him?"

"Isn’t that the new silver-eyed knight from the Baojia family? A prodigious warrior who has slain no fewer than ten mutant Arcane Beasts alone just after coming of age. Every time he comes to a city, it is said that the enthralled ladies and misses would flock to the doorstep of his inn..."

"He’s so handsome~~~ Look at that face, the lines of his muscles~~~ That little maid is so lucky, How good it would be if I could take her place now~~"

Even though her eyes still couldn’t see clearly, from the whispers of the guests around, Bauman figured out the true identity of the man holding her. Endless joy suddenly filled her heart. "Humphrey... is it really you?"

"Yes, Ingrid, it’s me." Suddenly, a jacket warmed by Humphrey’s body temperature was draped over her. It felt like things were back to how they were many years ago.

A relieved smile crept onto Bauman’s face. Her spectacles had fallen during the dispute, her maid’s cap was also missing, her hair naturally spread out loosely. The young witch-girl in Baojia’s arms was not very beautiful, but her alluring demeanor and natural aura impressed all the guests around, causing the noise to die down gradually.

The lord of the manor unwillingly stood up. Since he hadn’t shown up at the beginning, he had missed the best opportunity to resolve the issue. Now seeing Baojia, hailed as the hope of the young generation, resort to violence, it seemed a bit late to remedy the situation.

One should know, Humphrey Baojia’s reputation has claimed a place in the three mainlands of the Demon World. The Temple Knights and the Burning Legion are squabbling over the prospect of recruiting this young man, even a certain Witch King reportedly intends to take him under his wing. Although Baojia hasn’t summoned his nightmare mount yet, this proved his excellence. Such a heavy-weight individual was something even the descendants of the Four-winged Knight had to consider.

Of course, provided Woek would not take revenge, the resolution could be described as a happy ending. Bauman was only a little maid and hadn’t suffered any abuse either in the shelter or in the mansion. Everyone turned a blind eye to this incident. Gifting maids was quite common amongst the nobility...

And so, Bauman left the mansion where she had lived for many years. Baojia had a small adventure team, even the Dungeon Archer was a young woman. While there were obvious shortcomings in arcane attacks, Bauman’s addition made things easier.

When packing her belongings, Bauman didn’t have much to take with her. She only bid her mistress goodbye in the piano room just before leaving. The two girls of similar age even sobbed bitterly. Partly in happiness for Bauman, partly in sadness for her mistress’s immutable destiny.

The young noblewoman, who was both a teacher and friend, was quite poor herself and barely had anything decent to give as a parting gift. Naturally, she couldn’t offer the piano in her room, and neither she nor Bauman liked the other crystal instruments... In desperation, the young mistress found an ancient music score. Bauman took it, and the two cried again for a while. Finally, the little witch set off on her journey of parting.

Due to her lack of knowledge in this area, Bauman didn’t realize how coveted her Humphrey was. This was not just in terms of his worth measured by women’s standards, but also officially, temples and large adventuring organizations had extended olive branches to Baojia. An honor of this magnitude was remarkable for a silver-eyed person of ordinary background, but he seemed oblivious, even not in a hurry to summon his nightmare mount for an upgrade.

Bauman didn’t comprehend any of this at the time. All she wanted was to simply stay by Humphrey’s side.