Chapter 85
"O Irutis River, tell me,"
"In this vast wilderness, where is my hometown?"
"Tell me, O moon of Tomalya,"
"On this muddy road, who is my lover..."
In the moonlit night, the lush fields shimmered with a dark, luminous green. Dewdrops slept peacefully on the leaves, and birds perched in the nearby woods. A stream meandered through the road that ran through the fields, and the villagers had built a short bridge across it. The stone bridge was so sturdy that it could support several people without collapsing.
These crowded shadows moved silently and orderly, like a group of strangers traveling in a foreign land.
The young man at the very back of these shadows held a modified lute and sang softly.
In the vast moonlight, the figure walking in the darkness before him was a living, breathing corpse.
Following the soft singing, Long caught up with him and walked silently behind him, glancing at the mercenaries whose figures were swaying slightly, a chill running down his spine.
It had once soared through every corner of the Icarus continent and knew of the Irutis River, a long river in Phoenix County that meandered south into Salem County, where it split into several smaller rivers.
At this time of year, the upper reaches of the Irrut River are estimated to have just thawed.
The soil on both banks of the great river, which had been covered by heavy snow for half a year, was beginning to sprout green shoots, but the year-round frost within the soil prevented fertile fields from appearing on both sides of the river.
Therefore, although the upper reaches of the Irrut River have flat land, they have become wilderness overgrown with weeds.
When the heavy snow arrives, everything turns white, and the dark river flows on, gradually freezing over.
Tomalya was once the general name humans used for the mountains and forests surrounding the Dragon Canyon. Tomalya has attracted countless adventurers over the centuries, but very few have been able to obtain the dragon's treasure; at most, they have picked up some gems that the dragon didn't want.
That place experiences continuous heavy rains in spring and summer, which softens the soil and makes it muddy and impassable.
The dragon's thoughts were somewhat dazed.
The late spring wind blew, and the temperature in Salem was still a bit low. In the night, the young man's black hair was blown by the wind, and his long, pale fingers brushed across the strings of the lyre, bringing the poem he was reciting to a close.
For many years, he carried his zither like this, traveling almost all over the continent of Icarus.
The music gradually subsided, and his voice rang out: "Have you taken care of it?"
The dragon knew what he was asking and snorted, "Of course, I'll just burn that human. By the way, where are you taking these people?"
He felt the most convenient method was to kill these people.
Veris chuckled. "They're still useful." He glanced up at the moonlight. "Let's go to the next village."
The man and the dragon headed west, since they landed in a place on the Salem border, right next to Angar County, in the southeast of Salem.
This time, Veris did not stop the mercenaries from passing on messages as he had done during the day. He decided to first walk around this border. It was obviously unlikely that Duke Salem had placed men in every village on the southern border, so he only planned to walk through the areas that the Lortheran army was originally scheduled to pass through.
The dragon followed him and helped him identify which humans smelled like they had killed someone.
After walking all night, it was noon again, and in the blink of an eye, the sun was setting. The young man seemed tireless, and even the vigorous dragon began to get restless, but he remained calm.
Completely wipe out the entire Salem border.
During this time, they also encountered assassins sent by the Duke of Salem, but they only ended up as part of that army of walking corpses.
The spies, seeing the huge, throng of people following Veris in a daze, were terrified and nearly burst into tears when they reported back to their superiors.
In the last couple of days, the Lor'theran army suddenly executed two officers. These two officers held high positions and were considered prestigious even in the capital. They were simply taken out and executed on charges of treason. The incident occurred right at the border where the Lor'theran army was about to enter Salem.
It's obvious that this was done for the Duke of Salem's benefit.
The messenger sent by the Duke of Salem to welcome the Lortheran army looked stiff.
Mar.
Having witnessed the prosperity of the capital city of Lortheran, the dragon clicked his tongue twice upon seeing this small town, but said nothing more.
Veris was dressed in a plain black robe, with only a few ruby chains adorning it, making him look less shabby. The two had just left the church in Mar and were planning to find an inn to rest.
“I never expected you would send all these people to the church,” Long muttered as he walked beside him.
The young man carried a backpack; his face was handsome but not strikingly so, yet his unique aura still attracted the attention of many.
He smiled upon hearing this: "Make the best use of everything."
These people are still young and strong; it would be best for them to stay in the church to atone for their sins.
Although the church priests were all terrified, after receiving Veris's assurances, they chose to believe this mysterious cardinal from the Papacy.
Erasing memories and planting new thoughts, when the dragon saw Veris using these methods, it finally understood where the faint chill on its back had come from.
Transforming a naturally irritable person into an honest and kind one is a truly terrifying method.
It was as if a new soul had been forged in that body; was the person inside that body still him? Yes, or no. Veris said that some of their positive preferences would be retained, while some bad habits would be eliminated.
He simply smiled at Long's confusion and said, "But I don't need them from before."
The more Long thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Now, he was like a quail, obediently following Veris's side, but he still couldn't help but want to know how he did it.
The man and the dragon found the hotel and checked in smoothly. Veris said he was tired and told the dragon to go play by itself.
There was no answer to the dragon's question.
After several days of travel without rest, Sylvain's messages had lit up countless times, and he was about to come looking for her in a fit of anger. Veris sent the dragon away and fell into a deep sleep on the bed in his hotel room.
The dragon was left troubled for a long time. It wasn't tired, but Veris's terrible methods had left a shadow in its heart. Such a transformation of a person seemed to violate the laws of nature, and dragons, a race that originated from nature, would naturally feel uneasy.
After thinking it over, I realized that since things had come to this point, I had no choice but to go to the Central Mountain Range.
My brain capacity is running low, I'll have to eat some Warcraft to satisfy my craving.
The magical beasts in the Central Mountains have been unusually quiet lately, showing none of their former arrogance. Young adventurers and mercenaries who come to the mountains for adventure have all sensed something unusual, but they have been unable to find the reason. This abnormal behavior has caused panic among everyone.
For a time, few dared to set foot in the Central Mountain Range, and instead hunted in the Central Forest.
The desolate Central Mountain Range fell into an eerie silence. In the usually dense forest, a dragon dressed in a gray-white robe walked along a muddy path. Perhaps because it had rained a few days ago, the sound of the mountain stream crashing against the rocks was louder.
The aura belonging to the highest-ranking beast race instantly rendered all the magical beasts in the Central Mountain Range immobile.
Soon, a huge black shadow flew across the forest, sometimes diving and sometimes charging. Before long, even the magical beasts that thought they were hiding well hadn't reacted before they were inside the dragon's belly.
The unusual situation in the Central Mountains also reached the Royal Capital Academy. Part of the Royal Capital Academy's entrance examination is located in the Central Mountains. In order to ensure the safety of the next batch of students, the deans discussed whether to send someone to investigate and give the outside world a definite answer.
Otherwise, if everyone were to stay in the Central Forest instead of the Central Mountain Range, they would eventually wipe out all the monsters in the Central Forest.
The resources of the Central Mountain Range and the Central Forest have always been in a virtuous cycle.
After much deliberation, the Royal Capital Academy organized a group of people to explore the Central Mountain Range.
The formation of the Royal Capital Academy is inextricably linked to the Papacy, and this decision naturally spread within the Papacy as well.
During dinner, Sylvain, the Holy Son, paused in his seat, suddenly looked up at Copperfield opposite him, and said, "The magical beasts in the Central Mountains are acting strangely?"
Copperfield was taken aback, then nodded subconsciously, and began to talk about those messy rumors, such as the emergence of a ninth-tier magical beast and the appearance of an unparalleled treasure. In short, it was always the same old stuff.
The rumors couldn't be allowed to spread unchecked, so the Royal Capital Academy decided to send someone to investigate.
Sylvain hummed in agreement, then calmly said, "It's nothing serious."
Upon hearing this, Copperfield realized that His Holiness the Holy Son seemed to know something, so he quickly asked what was going on. Several archbishops who also taught at the Royal Academy also perked up their ears.
After all, their colleagues or students were also in the reconnaissance team.
Sylvain slowly cut the roasted meat and said, "It's the dragon hunting. As long as you don't provoke it, it won't harm humans."
dragon?
The elf Finney, who was not far away, reacted the fastest: "Didn't dragons disappear many years ago?"
Fikry immediately retorted, "Aren't there always legends of dragons being witnessed on the continent? How do you know the dragons have disappeared?"
Finney didn't want to pay him any attention.
Granva, standing nearby, seemed lost in thought.
Copperfield was also surprised. His first thought was the same as Bishop Finney's. Seeing their astonishment, Sylvain kindly explained, "The dragon has recently awakened."
"You won't find anything even if you go; it will leave after it has finished hunting."
Clark and Garcia, good friends, were also present at dinner tonight. Upon hearing this, Clark mustered up his courage and asked, "Does His Holiness know the location of the dragon?"
Sylvain nodded: "He is beside Father."
The entire second-floor restaurant fell silent for a moment, then a few seconds later, the archbishops continued eating as if nothing had happened.
What else can be said? With His Holiness the Pope watching, they'd better not go and join the fun. Sigh, as expected of His Holiness the Pope, even the legendary dragon was easily subdued...
Granva nudged Copperfield, who was lost in his daydreams, with his elbow, reminding him, "That dragon and His Holiness the Pope used to be partners, what are you thinking?"
Copperfield was startled; he had completely forgotten about it!
Speaking of which, His Holiness the Pope has left the Papacy again, and no one knows where he went. Alas, this is not something they can pry into. This time, he even brought a dragon with him, so he must be going to do something very important.
With that in mind, Copperfield accepted it well, continued eating his dinner, and said to Granva, "Are you only going back to the Papacy today?"
Granva nodded: "It was such a long and tiring journey back from the parish."
Garcia suddenly appeared and said, "Hey, Granva, I heard you've started selling new novels in the parish. Aren't we still good friends? Why don't you send me a copy?"
"Ahem, I'm afraid His Holiness the Pope is still here." Granva coughed twice, somewhat embarrassed, and shrank his neck.
However, he still promised Garcia a complete set of his latest novels.
Garcia was satisfied, but then he remembered something and said jokingly, "My crown prince nephew is a huge fan of yours. With him leading the way, the whole capital is chasing after your novels."
Granva: "..."
The old man's face turned pale and then red, his lips trembling. Having lived to his age, aside from that time when he was carried away with his pride, Granvar had never been anything but cautious. Yet now, he couldn't help but look mournful: "Old man, where have I offended His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Isn't this just labeling him as "neglecting his duties" and then showing it to the newly crowned king?
Garcia chuckled twice.
He patted Granva on the shoulder and said, "Look on the bright side. The Pope isn't in the capital. You'd better think of something. You can't be the only writer of a novel. Create a few more impressive characters so that people's attention isn't always on you."
This is to let others stand out and draw fire.
Granva shook himself and gave Garcia a grateful look.
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Author's note: See you tomorrow! [kissing emoji]
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