Brewing Storm - Chapter 180

“Aside from being a little fairer, a little taller, and a little more powerful than me, there’s nothing that remarkable about her.” Du Na scoffed scornfully.

Being a descendent of the Yulan Clan, a clan once known for their ability to shift into any flying beasts, she hated the Snake Clan with a vengeful edge. If it wasn’t for the fact that the other was more powerful than her, she would’ve rushed forward and clawed her seductive face to shreds!

I just need to appear before the Werewolf King once. After that, the Serpentine Queen will no longer be the sole master of the Underworld Palace.

A fierce light flashed through her eyes, and Du Na tightly clenched her fists.

Although there wasn’t any chance for her to become his soulmate, she could always gain his affection and raise her status in his heart. If she was lucky enough, she might even succeed in replacing the serpentine as his heartmate.

In such a manner, the Serpentine and Yulan arrived at the back of the Main Hall. The storeroom was even more unsightly than the Main Hall but for a different reason. If the other was small, cramped, and dim, here was the complete opposite.

Large, bright, and spacious, the amount of rations present was so little that Versailles doubted she was in the right place.

“This is the Storeroom?” How was this a storeroom? It was more fitting to call it a dumpster. Empty stone plates and pots laid littered across the floor, as uncooked Flame Wheat1 and Ice Grains2 spilled across the red floor.

“Yes, Serpentine Queen. The Gold Blood, Luciana used to keep an eye on everything. But once she stopped coming, the male beasts responsible for cleaning have been slacking off. But that’s only a matter of course. With no one checking on them, why would they work themselves to death.”

Her implication was that the place was orderly because of the Gold Blood’s presence. Once she left and with the serpentine Queen not doing her duty, the beasts saw no reason to remain on their toes.

Versailles ignored the female and walked around the room, the stack of Red Stones floating behind her. There wasn’t much to confirm.

With one glance, it was evident the accounts didn’t match up with the items present.

“Gather all the beasts that work in the Storeroom and handle the accounts. I want to see them within thirty heartbeats.” Giving the place one last glance, Versailles turned and walked out.

The Yulan beast threw a disdainful sneer at the serpentine’s retreating back.

“Chee! Acting all knowledgeable when you’re nothing but a serpentine mated to the Wolf King by luck. You’ve just entered the Underworld Palace. How would you even know how to keep stacks?” She scoffed.

Du Na was confident the Serpentine Queen was only acting. After all, even the Queens of age took at least 2 decades to figure out how much rations were brought in and how to accurately record them. The division of the rations to each slave group, servants, and feeding races was an entirely different matter.

Head raised and eyes filled with the same arrogance and pride, she went off to gather the beasts.

The Nar! Was the Crimson Palace looted?

How was this a stack capable of feeding the entire palace slaves and servants?

Sitting under a Flame tree outside the Storeroom, Versailles felt her head spin as she went over the records and looked into the empty building. No doubt, the beasts in charge weren’t honest.

But to dare steal from the Werewolf King? Only the Gold Blood would have such courage.

As she thought of all the missing rations, her heart pained and she had an urge to puke a mouthful of blood. Such blatant thievery was out of her expectations.

“Heh…I bet Ramose doesn’t even know how much he’d been skinned.” A gleeful smile spread across the serpentine’s lips as she thought of her mate being cheated in his own home-ground.

Right at this moment, a stream of female and male slave and servant beasts appeared before her. Separated into four groups, the female and male servants stood on one side, while the female and male slaves stood on the other.

And of course, the females were dressed scantily to tempt and entice the opposite sex.

Seeing this, Versailles couldn’t help but frown in displeasure.

These females would truly stoop to any level to get their way. Compared to her who shied and blushed at her mate’s every touch, caress, and whisper, they were more open and, even inviting, in their manners to bedroom matters.

With the way the females were dressed, one didn’t need to rack their brains to figure out who they desired to tempt.

Good thing Ramose doesn’t step into the Crimson Palace anymore.

Retracting her sight, Versailles threw the stack of Red Stones before the group of beasts.

“You have ten breaths of time to flush out everything you’ve skimmed from this Storeroom. Ten breaths. If within that time any of you feel to present the items of your thievery, then don’t blame me for being ruthless.” Versailles crossed her arms and legs, leaned back on the wall, and coldly smirked.

Panic flashed in some of the docile beasts’ eyes, sweat forming on their foreheads as they lowered their heads.

Items of thievery? Hmph! Without evidence, how can she freely throw around such blame?

Truly a vicious and venomous serpentine.

“I know what most of you must be thinking. You must be thinking how can I throw around such blame without evidence, right? Heh…as it happens, I can actually read the accounts. As such, I don’t even need to search for evidence. If I present what’s written in the records to the Werewolf King and tell him my findings, what do you think he’ll do?”

One of the most important reasons why the Queens of the past took so long to take over management was because they were illiterate. Before entering the Underworld Palace, the only thing they knew was to kill and survive, to eat and look forward to another day.

But the same couldn’t be said for the present Versailles.

Reborn in the rocky Sybil realm, Versailles strived hard to grow plants and herbs, and hunt in the barren woods for meat to keep herself and her Grandpa Al alive. And when her grandpa fell ill, she had to count every coin, grain, and meat they had to arrange for his medicines.

As such, matters like reading accounts and keeping track of expenses were second nature to her.

But what surprised her was the fact that the Werewolf Clan actually took inventory of their rations and kept account of their spending.

If she didn’t know she was in the Underworld Palace of the Werewolf Clan, Versailles would’ve truly mistaken the place for one of the other six realms’ indigenous cities.

The slaves and servants froze in shock when they heard her words. The next instant, they huddled together and whispered in fearful tones.

“Read the accounts? The Serpentine Queen can actually read the accounts?”

“That’s impossible! It hasn’t even been ten ice nights since she entered the Underworld Palace. How can she read the accounts? I say she’s bluffing.”

“But what if she isn’t? After all, this is the Serpentine Queen.”

At this, the beasts fell silent, complicated emotions flickering in their eyes, and tension filled the air.

“Five breaths. You have five breaths of time left.”

The Yulan beast felt dissatisfied at the way the beasts trembled and cowered before the Serpentine.

In her eyes, the snake was just bluffing and trying to establish her prestige in the Werewolf Clan by picking on the lowliest and weakest of beasts.

As long as the beasts stood firm, she believed the serpentine would have no choice but to rethink her actions.

As such, she fearlessly stepped forward to shatter her oppressive aura.

“You…Even if items are missing, how can you be sure it’s them that stole it?”

And just as she wanted, the trembling beasts regained their wits and straightened their figures.

That’s right! If the items were missing, how could the Serpentine Queen be sure they were the ones that stole them?

Thinking this far, their eyes flashed with fiery light as they looked defiantly at the Serpentine Queen.

“That’s right, Serpentine Queen. Items might be missing, but that doesn’t mean it’s us that stole them.”

“We have been slaving in the Crimson Palace for years. Don’t we know the Werewolf King’s temper? Why would we steal in his palace?”

“I say you should check the accounts again. It’s only your first day at management and you’re already causing a ruckus.”

Versailles’s gaze sharpened and she looked sideways at the idiotic Yulan beast.

What was wrong with the female? Was she blind or stupid to step up at this time?

From her actions, it seemed as if she’d hit her head somewhere. Otherwise, why would she step up to defend the slaves when she herself was one?

“Excuse me, I think you’re forgetting your place, so I’ll be kind and give you a reminder. You’re no different from those under suspicion, and in fact, are as much of a suspect as them. As a mere slave of the Werewolf Clan, what right do you have to speak to me?”

With a swift flash, the serpentine appeared before the Yulan and kicked.

Bang!

Yellow blood sprayed into the air as the Yulan violently crashed onto the floor. When the dust settled, she lay on her side, coughing her lungs out.

Cough! Cough!

Versailles’s one kick was enough to crush all her arrogance.

“Yulan, you forget your place. As a slave, let alone accuse, if I so desire, I can even beat you to death. What right do you have to question me?”

The beasts that were roaring with righteous indignation became as silent as mice. Their eyes filled with fear as their gazes shifted between the bleeding Yulan and the overbearing Serpentine.

“She…She’s the Serpentine Queen that slaughtered a horde of beasts.”

That was all the beasts needed to hear to return to their senses. A cold shiver went down their spine, and they trembled even harder than earlier. Clenching their fists, as if they shared a telepathic link, they drew in a deep breath of air and simultaneously took a step back.

The Nar! They actually had the gall to talk reason with the Serpentine Queen?

Who did they think they were? The Werewolf King?

As mere slaves of the Werewolf Clan, they’d be more fortunate not to end up scorched under her fiery rage!

Cough!

The Yulan felt fiery anger surge in her heart and cloud her mind. Just when she was on the verge of exploding from anger, the serpentine’s words reached her ear.

As if doused with a bucket of ice water, her towering anger instantly collapsed and she went limp with dread.

For a split instant, she’d truly forgotten her status.

Versailles saw the beast’s listless expression and coldly snorted.

Although she was empathetic more often than not, that didn’t mean she was an easy prey to pick on.

If a beast desired a beating, she was more than happy to oblige them.

Turning her focus back to the trembling beasts, she folded her arms and coldly sneered.

“Of the Flame Wheat and Ice Grains, there should’ve been 10 sacks remaining in the Storeroom after the allocated amount for the kitchen was set aside. The meat rations are all gone when at least 8 kilos should’ve remained. The dried fruits from the…”

As her words rang out, some conspicuous individuals exchanged frightened glances as cold sweat slid down the beasts’ backs.

Even the beasts that normally turned a blind eye to the matters of accounting pricked their ears and listened closely. Although they weren’t involved in taking inventory, they had a general idea of the number of stacks placed in the Storeroom.

As such when they heard the Serpentine Queen, they felt their hearts tremble.

Every number for every item she called out was right on point.

It was only now that the beasts realized that the Serpentine Queen wasn’t bluffing when she said she could read the accounts.

Slowly, their fearful expressions morphed into horror as they gazed at Versailles like she was the most horrible of all monsters.

“I gave you ten breaths of time to come clean of your crimes. But it seems to me that you don’t appreciate my kindness. Just as well…”

Versailles nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and cracked her neck with a dark grin. Just as she opened her mouth and prepared to rain flames, male servants anxiously ran out and knelt before her feet.

“Serpentine Queen, please forgive us for our crime. We were muddled and got controlled. Please forgive us. We’ll return the items! We’ll immediately return the items!”

The other beasts stared at the males in horror and disbelief.