Chapter 412: Chapter 412: A Maxed-Out Pro Pretending to Be a Newbie in a Starter Village
Within the forest near Chek City.
The young sorceress, her face full of innocence, skipped joyfully through the dense forest, picking beautiful flowers and enjoying their fresh fragrance. Strands of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting slanted beams on her cheeks, enhancing her naive charm.
"Ah, a butterfly!"
The young sorceress spotted a colorful butterfly and immediately lit up, chasing after it along the forest path.
Not far away.
The silver dragon whelp walked at a leisurely pace, quietly following her.
In such a tranquil atmosphere, time passed quietly.
Before long, the young sorceress sat by a babbling, clear stream, admiring a butterfly that had landed on her hand, while softly talking to the silver dragon whelp beside her. Her radiant smile made the surrounding flowers seem dim in comparison.
Suddenly.
From about a hundred meters to the left, rustling sounds came from a bush, along with faint human footsteps.
The silver dragon whelp and the young sorceress simultaneously turned to look.
In their view, the noble previously swatted away by the silver dragon whelp was approaching with two casters and eight warriors, emerging from the shadows of the trees and moving towards the location of the young sorceress and the silver dragon whelp.
"Humph."
"Thinking you could offend Viscount Feiqi in Chek City and leave safely?"
"Young Miss, do you really think that insulting a noble will lead to no consequences?"
Viscount Feiqi's previously graceful demeanor had vanished.
A malicious smile played on his lips as his gaze moved between the young sorceress and the silver dragon whelp, his eyes brimming with greed.
"What do you want to do?"
The young sorceress, panicked, retreated to the side of the little silver dragon, speaking meekly.
With a hint of pity, the noble couldn't help but laugh out loud and said, "What do I want to do? I merely wish to invite the young lady to my estate, to imprison her so she'll never see the sun again."
"And to enslave this little silver dragon, to harvest its blood, scales, and teeth for a continuous stream of wealth."
Saying this.
The two casters began to weave spells, while several warriors advanced, encircling the young sorceress and the little silver dragon.
Under the watchful eyes filled with malice, the young sorceress bit her lip nervously, drew her exquisite magic wand, and trembled slightly.
"Don't resist, I wouldn't want to harm that frail body of yours."
Viscount Feiqi spoke condescendingly.
At the same time, the young sorceress, appearing fearful, weakly looked at the silver dragon whelp and whispered, "Little Dragon, you will protect me, right?"
Hearing the young sorceress's words, the three-meter-long silver dragon whelp stepped forward, its gaze indifferent as it swept over the people in front, spreading its wings to shield the young sorceress.
Seeing the reaction of the silver dragon whelp, Viscount Feiqi was momentarily stunned.
Then, he laughed heartily, saying, "Just a whelp that hasn't even fully grown its teeth, can barely protect itself, let alone others?"
Because he had been embarrassed by the silver dragon whelp before, Feiqi's face darkened after his laughter, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Daring to harm a viscount like me, once I catch you, you will understand what cruelty is."
Although he knew that the metallic dragon race was not something a mere viscount could provoke.
But once the dragon whelp was captured and imprisoned deep underground, secluded away with anti-magic arrays to block its draconic presence, there would be no issues as long as it wasn't discovered by any adult members of the metallic dragons.
Such a risk was always present.
Should the dragon race discover one of their young was being tortured and imprisoned... An enraged true dragon might set the entire Chek City, no, the entire Kingdom of Shasen, ablaze.
But driven by immense profit, there are always those who dare to ignore the potential costs.
After speaking, Viscount Feiqi hoped to see a look of unease on the face of the whelp.
He knew dragons understood human speech.
However, what made Viscount Feiqi uneasily nervous instead was the indifferent gaze of the silver dragon whelp; it showed no fear at all, making Feiqi instinctively take a few steps back.
Regaining his composure.
The viscount, humiliated by a whelp, became furious.
"First, severely injure this whelp to immobilize it, then deal with this little sorceress."
Following Viscount Feiqi's command.
The warriors, wielding axes or greatswords, charged towards the silver dragon wh
elp, while the two casters, not bothering with direct attacks, prepared their spells, watching quietly, ready to prevent the whelp from flying away.
For dragons, age is a crucial factor that affects every aspect of their strength.
Just a whelp.
Not much more powerful than a typical adult magical creature.
A few well-trained warriors should be able to handle it easily.
Watching the enemies approaching, the little silver dragon shifted its gaze slightly, opened its mouth as if to release a breath attack.
But.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind swept down from the sky, destabilizing the charging warriors, making it difficult for them to advance even an inch further, struggling merely to stabilize themselves amid the swirling dust.
From a distance, Viscount Feiqi's eyes narrowed.
At that moment, as the wind and the dust settled.
Two tall, dark-skinned, muscular humans with somewhat androgynous features, seemingly male, appeared between the silver dragon whelp and Viscount Feiqi's men.
"Who are you?"
"Trying to interfere with my plans?"
"I am Viscount Feiqi of Chek City, my father is a duke, and our family has long been in good standing with the royal family. You'd better consider your capabilities before opposing the Feiqi family."
Seeing the two impressive figures who had arrived with the wind, obviously not simple guests, Viscount Feiqi's gaze flickered as he mentioned his family background.
"If you pursue further, you bear the consequences."
With that, the wind rose again, forming a tornado that whisked the startled young sorceress and the little silver dragon away, disappearing with the two mysterious figures in the blink of an eye.
Watching the departing tornado, Viscount Feiqi looked bewildered.
"What are you waiting for, cast your spells and follow them!"
After coming to his senses, he hastily instructed his casters.
"My lord, the strength of those individuals far exceeds ours, and they seem to have also targeted the dragon whelp and the naive girl from another world."
"These mysterious and powerful strangers are best left unprovoked."
"They could easily kill us all."
The caster spoke gravely.
Just from the spectacle of the tornado sweeping through the forest, the caster felt a chasm-like gap in power; being spared from a casual death was fortunate enough, let alone daring to pursue further.
"Bad luck."
"What a waste of my time, let's go back to the city."
Hearing that he had unknowingly stepped halfway into hell, Viscount Feiqi was inwardly shocked but grumbled loudly, feigning indifference to mask his fear.
Then.
Viscount Feiqi led his men back to the estate.
Along the way, they encountered many others who had also targeted the girl and the dragon, harboring ill intentions, but clearly, none could catch up to the targets swept away by the tornado.
"Eh, my lord, what's happened to your face?"
Walking towards Chek City, Viscount Feiqi suddenly heard the caster's alarmed voice.
"What do you mean, what's happened?"
As he spoke, Viscount Feiqi took a step, but for some reason, a bone-deep fatigue suddenly overcame him.
The caster pulled out a mirror and handed it to Viscount Feiqi.
Through the mirror's reflection, Viscount Feiqi saw his own face.
His previously youthful and handsome face was now covered with wrinkles, which were slowly increasing at a visible rate, and his skin was also gradually withering, becoming loose and dull with age spots.
He was horrified, feeling an itch on his scalp, and reached to touch his hair.
With just a light touch, lifeless strands of hair were pulled out.
"Ah, what's happening?"
"Help me."
A young creature in the prime of life, under the influence of a curse transformed by the power of time, experiencing visibly slow aging, was undoubtedly undergoing a form of torture that afflicted both body and mind.
The caster hastily pulled out various antidotes and healing potions, making Feiqi drink them, while also casting spells meant to exorcise, heal, and remove curses.
But to no avail.
As time passed, Viscount Feiqi's vision grew increasingly blurry, and pain from aging spread throughout his body, making even basic movements shaky and requiring all his strength, like a withered old man nearing the end of his life.
His brain, however, was not aging, allowing him to feel these painful changes with disturbing clarity.
Aside from not aging mentally, Viscount Feiqi also felt as if time around him had slowed down, each minute and second stretching like years. His mind remained sharp, but his body did not respond, forcing him to experience the unrelenting torment of irreversible aging.
On the other end of the forest, hundreds of kilometers from Chek City, near a town.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind from afar gathered on the ground, forming four figures.
Two large,
muscular humans with androgynous features, along with a delicate young sorceress and a rare silver dragon whelp.
"Who are you, and why have you brought me here?"
The young sorceress, still in a fragile pose, hid behind the silver dragon whelp, asking timidly.
Seeing this, the two large humans exchanged glances.
The one with a calmer demeanor scanned the young sorceress and the silver dragon whelp and spoke in a tone devoid of malice, "We're over four hundred kilometers from Chek City now. Those villains from the city who were after you probably won't follow us here."
"Ah?"
"What villains? Do you mean those people just now?"
The young sorceress still seemed clueless.
"Not just them."
The voice paused before the other person, speaking gently to the young sorceress, said, "This world isn't as safe as you might think. Everywhere, there are malevolent beings lurking, ready to pounce on suitable prey."
"For a young sorceress like you, inexperienced and unguarded against the outside world, you appear as the plumpest lamb in the eyes of evil beings."
Looking at the silver dragon whelp, the person continued, "Especially when you act so conspicuously and without any subtlety."
Meanwhile.
The young sorceress and the little silver dragon exchanged glances, communicating briefly on a mental level.
"These two Dukes of Wind were actually following us to help avoid harm from the villains."
"I thought they wanted to get involved too."
Yuna expressed slight disappointment.
"Having once represented the side of order in the war, it's not surprising for beings like the Dukes of Wind, who are of the lawful good alignment, to want to help when they see our plight."
Garon responded.
After pondering for a moment, Garon continued, "Following these two Dukes of Wind, we might just find the location of Eigu."
"Eigu, a place that moves ceaselessly among the endless material worlds, is so elusive that even gods find it hard to pinpoint."
After the ancient war between order and chaos, Eigu had chosen to remain hidden.
The severely weakened Dukes of Wind had even become the stuff of legends.
Yuna agreed, "With the Dukes of Wind in this material world, Eigu is likely also here."
Yuna also had a fair understanding of the Dukes of Wind and Eigu.
As beings who had assisted the gods and could even be considered the main force that sealed the first Demon Prince, they were far from obscure, though they had been hidden for too long.
Both Garon and Yuna, as immortals themselves, were curious about a secret gathering place for immortal beings.
A moment later.
Garon and Yuna concluded their quick and simple communication.
At this time, the older Duke of Wind, unaware that their disguise had already been seen through, said to the young sorceress, "We're just seeing you and this dragon whelp off from Chek City. Afterward, you'd better keep a low profile."
"If you encounter danger again, next time there might not be people willing to meddle and help like us."
The younger one asked, "If you have a way to contact your family's strong members, find a safe place to wait for your family to come over, and then you can enjoy your travels under their escort."
Hearing their words.
The young sorceress fidgeted with her fingers, saying uneasily, "But I've already thrown away the magical artifacts that could contact my family to avoid being found."
The two Dukes of Wind looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
Such a delicately nurtured young lady, who had run away from home, seemed somewhat difficult to handle.
To simply leave her be didn't sit well with the inherently good-natured Dukes of Wind.
Given the young sorceress's previous actions, they estimated she would likely soon find herself in similar peril.
At the same time.
Seemingly having a sudden good idea, the young sorceress's eyes lit up as she looked at the two Dukes of Wind and said, "Why don't I come with you? I came to this other world specifically for an adventure, and making new friends was part of my plan."
"You guys are good people. Be my friends."
"You can call me Naya."
"Two good friends, what are your names? I still don't know your names."
Listening to the young sorceress's familiar words, the little silver dragon gave a side glance.
"Yuna's acting skills are truly masterful."
Long ago, Yuna would have had the impulse to destroy other inferior beings just by their gaze.
However, as she aged, she had gained good control over her instincts, especially when not in her true form.
Moreover, Garon was unaware of how many worlds Yuna had visited to play her hobby games and hone her acting skills. But being able to communicate
warmly with the Dukes of Wind also had to do with their status as immortals, barely earning the respect of a proud true dragon.
At the request of the young sorceress, the two Dukes of Wind showed a troubled expression.
These two Dukes of Wind, one older and one younger.
The younger had just turned three thousand years old and was allowed to travel the outside world, accompanied by the older, legendary creature.
Due to their secluded lifestyle, they wouldn't stay outside Eigu for long.
But seeing the innocent, doe-eyed gaze of the other party, ultimately, one of the Dukes of Wind sighed and then said, "Alright, but you can only follow us for a while. We will be leaving soon to return to our homeland."
At the same time, they revealed their names.
The younger was named Godalthe, and the older was named Cestra.
"Yay."
Hearing their agreement, the young sorceress pumped her fist and then, as if tired, climbed onto the back of the silver dragon whelp.
"True dragons are proud. Allowing you to sit on its back indicates a good relationship between you two."
Compared to the mature and composed Cestra, who exuded a sense of age and stability, the younger Godalthe had a lively gaze and was very curious about the outside world.
The growth period of the Dukes of Wind was extremely long, with both mind and body taking three thousand years to mature fully.
Dukes of Wind aged over ten thousand years had only legendary strength.
In contrast, dragons reaching adulthood at one hundred years were considered very fast.
Although they were immortals, compared to legendary dragon breeds, the Dukes of Wind couldn't even begin to compare in terms of potential or growth rate. Their only advantage over ordinary beings was their immortal bodies, unaffected by the ravages of time.
"Of course."
The young sorceress affectionately pressed her rosy cheek against the little silver dragon's scaly back and asked.
"Now, where are we heading?"
Cestra calmly replied, "Since it's an adventure, there's no need for a clear destination. Let's head west and enjoy the journey."
Having taken the clan's newly adult Duke of Wind on tours outside several times, Cestra was experienced, hence the sense of everything being under control.
But no matter how experienced, Cestra could not have anticipated meeting two legendary dragons disguised as the weak, who had completely fooled them.
Following.
Two Dukes of Wind, two legendary dragons.
A total of four immortal beings began their journey westward.
As time passed, they traveled through bustling magical cities, crossed deep, dark forests, over glaciers, across oceans. The group encountered undead attacks in graveyards, sailed between battling royal fleets at sea, witnessed magical meteors fall from the sky and turn plains into basins, and faced off against cults of evil gods.
No matter what happened along the way, they always managed to come through unscathed.
Even in situations that Cestra found dangerous, they seemed to be protected by Lady Luck herself, turning peril into safety.
Eventually, after a year had passed.
Heading west, the group had circled the planet of Francis and arrived at the northeastern part of the planet, known as the Endless Great Forest.
Within a certain area of the Endless Great Forest was the hidden location of Eigu.
After circling the planet, the Dukes of Wind's travel in the outer world was over.
Eigu wouldn't stay in the material world for long. Before long, it would leave the planet of Francis and move to another material world; the Dukes of Wind would also return to Eigu.
That day.
In the gentle breeze, at an inn on the outskirts of the Endless Great Forest, the two Dukes of Wind turned to the young sorceress and the little silver dragon and softly said, "The time has come for us to part."
"If fate allows, we'll meet again."
The young sorceress waved goodbye to the two Dukes of Wind.
Then, without saying where they were headed, they simply vanished from the spot, leaving the girl and the dragon's sight.
In the inn room.
The silver dragon suddenly spoke, "Yuna, did you enjoy this trip?"
Yuna, still in the form of a young girl, collapsed onto the soft bed in the room, rolling around as she replied, "Not bad at all, just like you said, it was quite an experience to live like ordinary beings."
With the Dukes of Wind present, Garon and Yuna had not conducted their usual law enforcement fishing.
However, hiding their true strengths and adventuring like ordinary beings, only subtly intervening when necessary, was also a worthwhile experience, allowing both Garon and Yuna to enjoy themselves.
"Cestra and the others have entered the Endless Great Forest."
"Eigu is probably hidden within."
Yuna stated.
Garon nodded, "I've marked them
with a time stamp, finding Eigu now is as easy as flipping my hand."
After thinking it over, Yuna said, "Since the Dukes of Wind prefer to live secluded from the world, perhaps we shouldn't disturb them anymore. I think their species is quite decent."
Garon looked towards the Endless Great Forest, his gaze piercing through layers of space, his voice low, "I had the same thought."
"But... it seems there are other uninvited guests lurking around Eigu."
Even with the suppression of the material world, Garon's near-divine senses still sharply detected anomalies in the Endless Great Forest.
"What kind of uninvited guests?"
Yuna, who hadn't noticed anything unusual, asked.
In the view, watching clusters of black and purple evil light that were almost invisible, blending with the forest shadows, Garon calmly said, "Demons from the Abyss."
"It is said that the holy staff of the Dukes of Wind can release the Wolf-Spider Miska from its seal."
"The former lord of the Abyss has always been searching for Eigu, trying to liberate her prince. It seems she has found it, but for now, she is biding her time, probably waiting for a moment when Eigu's defenses are down."
"The Dukes of Wind of Eigu probably haven't realized they're already under the watchful eyes of the Abyssal demons."
Yuna asked, "Should we help them?"
"The Abyssal demons have obviously come prepared; Eigu is in danger."
Garon spoke unhurriedly, "Let's just watch for now. We're in the shadows, and the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware that the oriole is behind. The demons won't expect that they are already under the gaze of a dragon god."
In Garon's view, the source of the disturbance in the dominion of fate was now quite clear.
Eigu.
This place was key to whether a powerful demon, potentially a new demon lord from the Abyss, could break free from the gods' seals.
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