Chapter 926

Chapter 926: Act 99 – The Girl of the Thread and the Falling Dragon

After all, QiYala was still a child. Though she spoke confidently during her analysis, when faced with a real problem, she was inevitably at a loss. The dog-headed mentor approached Poli Fireanvil with a staff, pretending to prepare a spell, and both QiYala and the sprite couldn’t help but turn pale with fear. Just at that moment, Romaine softly exclaimed, “Strange, there are no magical ripples on that staff.”

Upon hearing this, QiYala and Xainne also sensed something was off: although the dog-headed mentor’s actions looked convincing, the incantation it uttered was completely unrecognizable. Not to mention that the laws of magic in the surrounding space showed no sign of disturbance, nor were there any waves in the sea of magic. This was no precursor to casting a spell; rather, it was—

A charlatan putting on a show!

“d*mn it!” QiYala quickly realized that this dog-headed creature was no mentor but a lying con artist. Such quacks were not uncommon among humans, and many rural lords had been fooled by them.

QiYala’s face turned from red to pale; she had boasted about being a genius, only to find herself making the same mistakes she had always looked down on when she was supposed to be careful. The young girl couldn’t help but grit her teeth, fearing she might inadvertently cast a fear spell on the damned dog-headed creature to make it understand why magic should never be disrespected.

Poli Fireanvil was also so frightened that his legs felt weak. He knew what was behind him, but just when he thought there was no way out, the dog-headed mentor nodded with satisfaction and signaled to the other goblins and dog-headed creatures that it was acceptable to release him. What was going on? The dwarf alchemist widened his eyes; he hadn’t expected that these little girls’ spells were so powerful they could evade magical detection. He let out a heavy sigh of relief while also feeling a bit of confidence in the ridiculous plan.

After the false alarm, the small team finally encountered no more trouble. The dwarf Poli Fireanvil, guided by the goblins, soon came across Lady Sargoss.

This legendary lizard lady looked just like a lizard, but one that walked on two legs while wearing a fitted leather armor. When Poli Fireanvil saw her, she was calming her mount—a subterranean multi-legged lizard. The poor creature seemed to be struggling to adapt to the surface environment, appearing sickly as Lady Sargoss used a spear to prod a piece of rotten meat, which the creature took with half-closed eyes, appearing disinterested.

Finally, she angrily tossed the piece of meat aside and turned back to face the dwarf. “You say you’re Poli Fireanvil?”

The dwarf inhaled deeply, nervously nodding.

Sargoss scrutinized him, “Where’s the proof?”

Poli Fireanvil seemed to have prepared for this and promptly retrieved a metal insignia from his pocket. His precious alchemical materials had been ruined in the water, but the insignia itself was unharmed.

The lizard lady glanced at the insignia and confirmed his identity. Then she responded, “A lord earl has asked me to take you to Golden Pine Fortress. There, your people will come to receive you. I can dispatch a small squad of underground lizard cavalry to accompany you, though it won’t be many. They can ensure you won’t be attacked from Jotungrund, as for the route, you can choose it yourself. What kind of mount do you need?”

Who is the lord earl? QiYala, hiding behind the refracting curtain, couldn’t help but frown slightly. There were many earls in the empire, even over a dozen with real power, making it difficult to discern who she was talking about based solely on a single remark. Their meeting place was at Golden Pine Fortress, which was in the mountains on the western side of Yasar. This way, it was clear that Jotungrund had already prepared to invade Anziluwa. They had considered this point when arranging this plan, including routes for retreat if the plan succeeded or failed. The phrase “premeditated” struck her mind like a bolt of lightning. Observing Poli Fireanvil’s appearance, it seemed he did not know what the earl looked like, which meant there would be someone else responsible for receiving him. If not for the purpose of silencing him, it was likely for confidentiality.

She furrowed her brow slightly; it seemed rather far-fetched to employ an earl for this task, whether for confidentiality or silencing.

“What mount will do? I can ride a human horse,” the dwarf replied vaguely, fearing that saying too much would give him away.

Fortunately, Sargoss was not his direct superior and didn’t detect anything unusual. She simply nodded—indeed, both of them had only recently learned of each other’s existence through aboveboard channels; this meeting was merely a casual encounter.

Just then, QiYala, who had been lost in thought and unable to glean any useful information from their conversation, finally resolved to implement her second plan. She gently patted the sprite’s shoulder, causing it to jump in surprise and instinctively glance up. Perhaps their movements were too large, as Sargoss, who had been speaking with the dwarf, suddenly raised her head and scanned the area where the three were hidden. “Who’s hiding there?” she asked sternly.

“Quick, sprite!” QiYala shouted at the same time.

At that moment, the sprite, despite its reluctance, was forced to make a singular choice. It immediately raised the demon-slaying spear in its hand, and with a soft hum, a faint silver light pointed toward Lady Sargoss’s chest. With this action, the three revealed themselves from their concealed state. Although Romaine’s invisibility spell was unique, it was still a low-level spell and couldn’t be maintained if the recipient displayed hostility or a tendency to attack.

“Sargoss, if you don’t want to d*e, don’t move and don’t make a sound!” QiYala threatened coldly at the lizard lady, who stood not far away, fearing that the moment she slipped up, her guards would come rushing in. At that time, there would be a question of whether to let the sprite attack or not.

But in fact, she was overthinking it. The instant Sargoss was targeted by the demon-slaying spear, she felt as if she had plunged into an ice cave. After all, that spear was only second to a divine artifact, and it was a rare weapon with significant single-target effects. Its lethality could even breach some high-ranking demons’ defenses—Sargoss was certainly no match for it.

After a moment of shivering in fear, the lizard lady finally regained her composure. She coldly regarded the group of children, then glanced at the dwarf in front of her, seemingly understanding, “d*mn it, you traitor!”

Poli Fireanvil was also dumbfounded; this was not what he had signed up for. He looked angrily at the three “demons,” finally realizing he had been tricked again. “You vile liars!”

“You cannot tarnish the reputation of a noble lady; I never deceived you,” QiYala replied disdainfully. “I merely suggested you do this; I never forced you. Did I ask you to extract information from this lady lizard? No. I merely asked you to tell her what has happened since yesterday, which was in your interest, hence your choice. As for what we do, that’s our freedom. It’s all your own foolishness. We followed behind you into the camp, but that doesn’t mean you brought us in. If you can be recognized, that’s your own stupidity—rotten wood cannot be carved.”

Poli Fireanvil was left speechless; could it really work like this? He vaguely felt that there was something wrong with this reasoning, but it sounded quite reasonable and left him dumbfounded like he was turned to stone.

Meanwhile, Sargoss squinted at the group of little girls. Even though she had never been to the surface world, she could recognize that they were merely children. However, these detestable little brats were brandishing a weapon she had never seen before, a weapon whose mere aura was enough to instill dread. She had no doubt that the moment she moved even slightly, these vile children would turn her to ash; the terrifying aura of the spear would never lie.

But she still hadn’t figured out what was going on and could no longer restrain herself from coldly asking, “Who are you, exactly?”

“It doesn’t matter who we are, Sargoss. Just understand that what she holds is a demon-slaying spear. Even in the depths of Jotungrund, I believe you must have heard of this spear’s reputation,” QiYala replied, patting the sprite’s shoulder with a smile.

A demon-slaying spear! Sargoss’s expression changed immediately. This spear had been a nightmare for countless demons, gaining notorious fame beneath the River of Sulfur. Jotungrund was established on the upper level of the Infernal Realm, and the inhabitants often had to deal with demons; as a native, she was certainly aware of the spear’s reputation. The concentration of magical ripples around the spear in the sprite’s hand showed that it was definitely not a counterfeit; her battle experience in the underground world had given her discerning eyes.

“What do you want?” Sargoss forced out those words from her throat.

“Right now, you are our captive, so you will naturally obey our orders,” QiYala responded.

“You’re dreaming!” Sargoss scoffed in fury, thinking it better to d*e than to surrender to a few little brats. “If you want something from me, be forthright. I don’t believe you dare k*ll me. You won’t get out of this camp.”

“Hmph,” QiYala saw that she could not intimidate the woman and had to settle for less. She understood that this lizard lady was still a lord, and her knowledge and bravery were many times greater than that foolish dwarf’s. “We want to confirm some information from you, but I’m more interested in who that lord earl is that you mentioned.”

“Is that all?” Sargoss let out a sigh of relief, as at least these annoying children were not coming at her with aggressive intent. “I don’t know that guy very well, but I’ve heard people refer to him privately as Earl Rodney.”

Then she responded somewhat angrily, “You little ones certainly know how to make a big fuss—”

This showed the difference between Sargoss and Poli Fireanvil. The latter was wholly unwilling to disclose anything related to their connections, whereas Sargoss was indifferent to doing so. QiYala’s eyes brightened slightly; while this might seem like a mere difference in personality to others, to her, there was a significant issue at play. The crux of the matter was that Poli Fireanvil was an insider; leaking information was treachery that could spur revenge from colleagues, whereas Sargoss was an outside participant in the plan and could freely sell intelligence without any psychological burden.

This meant that these underground residents of Jotungrund did not fully belong to the same side as humanity; combined with the earlier dragon’s tone, it seemed that their cooperation with humans was likely limited to high-level dealings.

QiYala began to guess something and instinctively bit her fingertip, retorting, “You Jotungrunders really are just as selfish as the rumors say. You don’t hesitate to make deals with your enemies for personal gain.”

“Acting for one’s own interests is only natural,” Sargoss replied nonchalantly, which indeed related to her character as a resident of Jotungrund—selfishness had long been their tradition. One’s own safety came first, and everything else was exchangeable. If the benefits outweighed the risks, she had no qualms about cooperating with enemies. Right now, to save her life, she was even willing to betray others.

“Rodney, Rodney.” QiYala murmured to herself, “I think I’ve heard that name before. Yes—”

She suddenly remembered. Wasn’t that the incompetent younger brother of the Duchy of Elishiko? Could this matter be related to the Elishiko family? QiYala couldn’t help but shake her head; although the family behind the Azure Legion was a significant force in the empire, it didn’t seem powerful enough to manipulate the dragon race.

While she was deep in thought, Romaine suddenly exclaimed in surprise. A gale swept through the forest, blowing everyone off balance.

…

At the moment the wind struck, Brendel was teaching Prince Haruze magic. Of course, he couldn’t cast any spells himself, but he had Queen Saint Ausoor and Otales in his mental world. However, Queen Saint had recently become rather silent, rarely appearing unless she was instructing Haruze. Brendel felt that she seemed to be researching something on her own, but no matter how he asked, he couldn’t get a clear answer. It felt as if after retrieving those two rings from the hunter girl and her brother, the Sage Lord had changed.

Today’s elven senior sister was explaining the basic theories of magic, deriving from the three fundamental lines of the magical triangle: elements, energy, and laws. Elements represented the material world of Vaunte, energy symbolized the vast sea of magic, and laws formed the framework of the world. Marsha built the world visible to mortals with these three, and it was also the ultimate truth pursued by wizards. Of course, these theories sounded profound, but for novice apprentices, it wasn’t necessary to grasp such complex knowledge. In fact, just understanding how the lines of law acted upon the material world was enough to signify a true entry into the realm of magic.

Meaning, true spellcasting could only commence—though what Prince Haruze had previously done, with his sporadic bursts of brilliance, didn’t count.

The teaching process was also quite straightforward. Ever since Tumen taught magic, it had barely changed at all. Simply put, it involved repeatedly practicing simulations that projected the lines of law onto the sea of magic.

Prince Haruze’s spellcasting actions were still quite clumsy. Regardless of how exceptional his talents might be, he was still a ‘novice’ who had been exposed to magic for less than half a year. Brendel was patient and corrected his student repeatedly. After practicing for quite some time, the little prince was soaked in sweat and suddenly remembered something. He looked up at his teacher with his light silver eyes and said, “Teacher, Sister Laisimeka said she wants to meet you.”

“Laisimeka?” Brendel paused slightly, not understanding why his student would suddenly mention this. He knew that Prince Haruze usually concentrated fully on whatever he was doing and would not randomly get distracted. It took him almost a moment to remember that this was the name of the medusa who followed the little prince. “What does she want with me?”

“Sister Laisimeka said she might know why Jotungrund is invading the surface world in large numbers.” The little prince recalled seriously, pausing at every word.

“What!”

Brendel suddenly stood up. “Why didn’t you say this sooner?”

Haruze was startled; he was already timid and scared at this moment, rendering him unable to speak. Realizing he had overreacted, Brendel took a deep breath. But indeed, this was a mystery that had troubled him for some time—Jotungrund’s invasion had completely deviated from history. In his understanding, there must be some inducement behind it, but without any insight into the surface world regarding the underground world, he couldn’t gather any relevant information, let alone analyze why things had come to this. Little did he expect that the answer was right beside him.

He took a deep breath and asked, “When did she tell you this?”

“Earlier today.”

Brendel wasn’t foolish; he immediately connected the dots. That meant the medusa hadn’t decisively intended to reveal this secret but had changed her mind due to something that had happened.

From last night to today, something significant had indeed occurred; however, he believed that the greatest shock for everyone, perhaps, had been that dragon.

While he was contemplating Marlaxias, suddenly a fierce wind swept through the forest. Brendel was fine; being so close to the side of truth, this sudden gust felt no different from a gentle breeze. However, the young prince, unprepared, let out a scream as he was blown away. If Brendel hadn’t reacted quickly to pull him back down, it was uncertain how far the wind would have sent him.

“Th… thank you…” The little prince stammered, still shaken.

But Brendel looked up at the clear blue sky, unable to suppress his thoughts. Could it be that pesky dragon was arriving just as he thought of it?

He wasn’t mistaken; the violent gust descending from the sky was indeed caused by dragon wings. In an instant, two massive shadows flashed across the sky, and the only solace for Brendel was that neither was Marlaxias. What passed above, one after the other, were Mistral, whom he met last night, and Modest, who had just fled. A fierce roar from the mother dragon echoed through the air:

“d*mn you, how dare you sneak attack me! I will k*ll you!”

Accompanied by this roar, a shadow suddenly pressed down from the sky, growing larger. Brendel stared wide-eyed in horror, watching as a gigantic figure plummeted directly toward their position.

Oh no, surely not!