Chapter 453: Crisis in Green Swamp Town

"I thought he might actually die like a man," Sera grinned, letting out a soft, mocking laugh. "Turns out he’s still the same, just with a few more twists and turns."

"Their so-called ideals are too ’niche.’ It’s unlikely anyone will want to carry them on after they’re dead," Silvia said, glancing intentionally-yet-unintentionally at Jilannis. "It’d be a wonder if they were willing to die for them."

People will martyr themselves for an ideal only when they know others will follow. But you can’t expect anyone to follow you when you’re driving against the flow of history.

"Perhaps someone will walk this same old path many years from now, but that will have nothing to do with them." Jilannis pretended not to see the Vampire Descendant’s gaze. She summoned Mage’s Hand to drag the two corpses in front of the Green Dragon’s skeleton. As she cast a few more spells, faint, gossamer threads peeled away from the two bodies, forging a tenuous connection with the massive skeleton.

"Just as I thought. We know who killed this Green Dragon," the Moon Elf nodded. "That Witch Demon killed it, and likely stripped its flesh and hide to use as Casting Materials for its magical research."

"The Dragon Queen’s power isn’t so easily stolen. Even a being that was once close to an Ancient Dragon couldn’t grasp the full picture. It had to rely on its own intellect to fill in the missing pieces."

"Are you saying it ultimately succeeded?" Ron asked, looking at the corpses. The colors of their bodies were clearly different. The sheen on Ming Datiss was noticeably closer to that of a Green Dragon, while Saran Laine’s scales were much darker.

"Hard to say, we only have two samples, after all. But there’s no doubt it’s making progress in that direction," Jilannis said, reaching out to peel a representative tissue sample from one of the corpses. "These samples will help me understand the level of its power. You don’t mind if I take them back with me, do you?"

Ron certainly wouldn’t stop an action that would help them deal with future crises. However, before burying them, Ron had to ensure their bodies were completely annihilated. He tore a Fireball Magic Scroll, and under everyone’s gaze, the two tough bodies, now devoid of any wondrous power, turned to ash. The Wind Creation Skill stirred, sweeping all the ashes into a pre-dug pit, which was then hastily covered.

This way, not even the Black Dragon Lich, let alone Tiamat herself, could resurrect them without a great deal of effort.

"Do you... hate them that much?" Anastina swallowed hard. Although these two were not on her side—biologically or culturally—watching two former Elves be utterly destroyed, their bones ground to dust and scattered, still filled her with a sense of shared sorrow.

"This is to prevent their remains from being used by others with ill intentions," Ron said, tilting his head back slightly and putting on a wistful expression. "I’m sure they wouldn’t want to suffer such a fate again. They’ll be grateful to me."

"I don’t think so..." Delaford muttered, pursing his lips.

"They *will* be grateful to us!" Ron’s eyes flashed, and the Goblin Hunter immediately shrank behind Aive.

’Right, right, whatever you say. It’s not like they can get up and argue anymore, can they?’

"Let’s go," Ron said, clapping his hands in satisfaction. "Anastina, thank you for your help along the way. I’ll pay you your reward as promised when we get back to Green Swamp Town. There are plenty of caravans around here now, so getting back should be easy."

"I didn’t really help much along the way... I’m quite ashamed," Anastina said, a little embarrassed. "But I certainly got quite a few scares..."

She was inclined to refuse the payment, but as a Mercenary, she had expenses. The wear and tear on her equipment during this journey had been significant. She couldn’t bring herself to say she wouldn’t take a single coin.

"Please, don’t refuse. This expedition was full of unexpected situations, so the previously agreed-upon price is no longer valid. Once we’re back in town, I will ensure you receive satisfactory payment," Ron said with a smile, seeing her internal conflict.

He wasn’t short on this bit of money. Besides, if Gracia wanted him to stay here obediently and face the future, she would surely toss him some bait. And among the countless treasures of the Hells, money from the Material Plane was the least valuable.

He, and indeed all of Delusional Land, wouldn’t be short on money for some time to come. Ron was absolutely certain of this.

The Old Banyan Tree wasn’t far from New Green Swamp Town. Even without using any powerful Magic, Ron’s party quickly made it back. But the moment he stepped into town, Ron’s heart skipped a beat.

’Is... is this still the New Green Swamp Town I knew?’

Ron admitted he hadn’t paid much attention to the development of his domain, but he had a group of companions who excelled at it. Together, they had managed the territory in a relatively orderly fashion. But now—

Several scruffy-feathered crows cawed ominously as they flew overhead. There were no guards stationed at the town gate, nor were there any pedestrians coming or going. Looking down the street, one could hardly sense a living soul. Black sewage trickled slowly along the stone-paved street; some of it had long since dried and caked, while another part looked like it had only recently begun to flow.

"What... what happened here?!" Sera’s eyes went wide as she stared at the scene in disbelief. "Did that Dragon Lich come for revenge already?!"

"Don’t be ridiculous. That’s impossible," came a stern rebuke from the Sword-Singing Arm Armor on Jilannis’s shoulder. "Tell me, was your town always like this?"

Jilannis didn’t answer her other self’s question. Instead, she opened her memories to it directly. As it browsed through them, the Elven face on the Sword-Singing Arm Armor’s eyes gradually widened. "How... how did it become like this?"

"Let’s go in and see!" Ron said in a low voice, rushing into the town. The rest of his companions quickly reacted and followed him.

Along the way, the houses on both sides of the street were all shut tight, as if unoccupied. Even the shops and taverns were completely empty. Some seasonal fruits and vegetables were left to rot, unattended, and a layer of dust covered the rest of the merchandise.

Never mind traveling merchants; it looked as if everyone in the entire domain had fled in an extremely short period of time! Ron and the others first checked the post station and the inn. Just as they expected, there wasn’t a single soul to be found.

"This looks like it happened in the last few days," Delaford concluded after examining the tracks in various places. "The newest tracks are from this morning."

"The outsiders all left recently. I just don’t know what happened to the residents," Ron mused for a moment, then suddenly remembered another place that should have been crowded. "Let’s go! To the Gagawaah tavern!"