Chapter 481 - 479: Stories of Dragon Island’s Past

The day of the volcano eruption is approaching.

A chilling atmosphere is spreading across Dragon Island.

Hilia noticed the number of patrols in the city increasing.

Occasionally encountering the patrols led by a Tier Four Mage.

As the imperial capital, it can’t be said that Tier Four Mages are everywhere, but they can only be big captains or small legion captains.

It’s like undergraduates being rare in towns and small counties, while in big cities even cats and dogs disdain them.

Here, Tier Three is the basic requirement for applying to the elite guards, which were rarely seen before, as it was always Tier One and Two ’temps’ patrolling. With the volcano becoming active, Tiers One and Two were gradually replaced by Tier Three.

Hilia went to the inn’s first floor to have a meal and watched another team of guards pass by outside, the leader being a Tier Four Mage. Unable to resist, she asked the receptionist in the inn.

"Does it always happen like this every time the volcano erupts on Dragon Island?"

Upon hearing this, the receptionist nodded: "The last eruption was ten years ago. According to my father, it was like this back then. On the day of the eruption, strict orders were issued to prohibit going out, urging everyone to stay home."

Curious, Hilia asked, "Is it because of concern about the damage from the volcano eruption?"

"Of course not. Under the strong leadership of Captain Erina, there’s nothing to fear from the volcano eruption. If it were just about the eruption, the Dragon Throne would have long allowed everyone to go watch the spectacle."

The Dragon Throne is the name used by the people for the monarch of the Blue Dragon Empire, meaning the king riding on the dragon’s back, using the dragon as a mount.

In ancient times, everyone wanted to be a dragon knight, and it’s the same now, except dragons have since disappeared. The Blue Dragon Empire, named after the dragon, naturally uses the ancient revered dragon knight as its symbol, resulting in the creation of the Dragon Rider Corps, Dragon Island, and the Dragon Throne, with the people of the Blue Dragon Empire claiming that everyone is like a dragon.

Hmm... everyone is like a dragon, but the monarch uses the dragon as a mount...

A king riding on the people’s heads?

A thought flashed through Hilia’s mind.

She didn’t say it out loud; such words are considered blasphemous in the Blue Dragon Empire.

"So what’s actually going on?" Hilia asked.

"It’s all about those outsiders, each eyeing the treasures within the Dragon Island Volcano, hoping to take advantage during the eruption. There was even a major incident before."

The receptionist was quite talkative, as the inn was relatively far from the Dragon Island Volcano. Even if the rooms were full, each guest was in a hurry, not knowing what they were up to. Few were as leisurely as Hilia on the first floor enjoying a meal.

With nothing else to do, he was quite enthusiastic.

"That was a hundred years ago. Legend has it that at the time, the Bathing Fire Essence gave birth to the Fire Spirit, attracting the attention of the Elf Race, the Beastman Empire, several other empires, and various other organizations. They fought fiercely around the volcano."

"In the end, powerful Mages shaved off a layer of the volcano, damaging many nearby houses, and it was only Captain Erina’s intervention that finally quelled the turmoil."

The receptionist sighed.

"It is said that that battle resulted in the death of over ten thousand innocent people, with over a thousand Mages also perishing."

Hilia was more interested in something else: "What happened to the Fire Spirit? Was it taken by someone?"

The receptionist said, "Of course, it was Captain Erina who got it. Legend has it that he was already at Tier Six back then, and now he’s even stronger. Rumor has it that he relied on the Fire Spirit to successfully break through to some level and reach Tier Seven."

"But such things are too distant for us ordinary folks; we can’t even tell the difference between Tier Six and Tier Seven."

Not just him, even Hilia didn’t have much concept, just knew it was powerful and she couldn’t defeat it.

Speaking of which, why does every ordinary person know about Captain Erina’s situation if the rumor about breaking through to Tier Seven is true?

"Such rumors, like coming from nowhere, have a high probability of being true."

"But if ordinary people know it, it’s less likely to be true."

"It’s true, but really not likely."

"Since then, every time the volcano becomes active, the Dragon Throne orders the Dragon Rider Corps to garrison Dragon Island, and if anything goes wrong, Captain Erina will immediately return."

Hilia nodded, "So that’s how it is. Then why not just prohibit foreigners from entering the city directly?"

"It’s not that easy; Dragon Island is so big, you can’t stop them." This wasn’t said by the receptionist but by a burly man eating at the table next to them, who looked like a Mercenary.

He put his hand to the corner of his mouth, loudly speaking as if in a whisper: "I myself know of at least three ways to sneak past the dragon scales into the city."

"That’s true."

Hilia herself had gotten around the dragon scales using a slave cart, although the slave trader who brought her there had already given her a dragon scale after she killed Galton.

Dragon Island is so big that it’s difficult to spend so much manpower and resources to search the entire island.

Rather than doing that, it’s better to let things flow naturally and allow outsiders to enter the city freely.

Hilia suddenly remembered what the Mercenary had said before.

When the Dragon Island Volcano erupted and Spiritual Objects were formed, they would follow the veins of the volcano and escape.

Combining this with what the receptionist just said, perhaps this information was leaked by the Blue Dragon Empire’s official sources? The aim was to make everyone go out and fight, rather than causing commotion inside Dragon Island.

But for now, it seems like people don’t quite believe it.

After all, every inn around Dragon Island is full of people, as are inns at some distance from Dragon Island.

Hilia looked at the Mercenary at the next table and said, "I heard Spiritual Objects born on Dragon Island will follow the magma veins to escape. Do you know if that’s true?"

The Mercenary said, "I know. It’s said that Captain Erina gathered Array Masters nationwide to set up an Array within the Dragon Island Volcano. Whenever a Spiritual Object is born, it guides the object to flee the volcano and run outside.

"However, that’s only for ordinary Spiritual Objects. Those like the Bathing Fire Essence that can give birth to a Fire Spirit aren’t included. It’s been exactly 100 years since the last Fire Spirit was born, so it’s very possible for another to be born this year, and everyone wants a piece."

Saying this, the Mercenary looked strangely at Hilia, puzzled: "Aren’t you here to try your luck?"

Hilia replied, "I’m just here for tourism. I just happened to come across the volcano eruption and wanted to take a look."

"I see. Well, that’s good; at least it’s not too dangerous. If you’re watching the volcano, remember not to enter the volcano’s range, just watch from the wall."

A wall was set around the Dragon Island Volcano, very high, which would block the lava from flowing into the city range.

However, looking at it now, maybe the wall’s purpose isn’t to block lava but to prevent Mages fighting inside the volcano from spreading the battle into the city.

Speaking of which, since Erina is so powerful, why don’t they consistently position him there after each eruption to just monopolize the treasure?

Hilia was very curious.

To this, the receptionist proudly said, "Of course, it’s because our Blue Dragon Empire has a generous heart, not minding others competing for the treasures."

Then why establish a city on Dragon Island and enclose the Dragon Island Volcano?

Who would willingly hand over the treasures in their own capital for others to compete over?