Chapter 405: Suspected Relic of the Arcane Empire

Four days after the great battle, the Seventh Army Group under the command of the White Dragon Lord took over the city wall once again. Only this time, there was no demon attack; the Seventh Army Group's mission was strictly routine patrol and guard duty.

Defenders were stationed at regular intervals along the hillside's city wall. Clad in standard-issue armor with longswords at their waists and spears in hand, the fully armed soldiers also carried longbows and full quivers on their backs. They stood upon the wall, vigilantly watching the endless Scarlet Plain. Though the Demon Army was nowhere in sight, the wind still carried their distinct, sulfurous stench.

The White Dragon Lord walked the city wall to conduct a routine inspection of the defensive line. Soldiers along the way greeted him respectfully; despite their different races, the White Dragon Lord had earned their recognition and respect through sheer strength.

Amidst the soldiers' greetings, the White Dragon Lord examined the state of the wall. Having endured the battle four days prior, it had suffered numerous breaches. While the obvious damage had already been repaired, lingering traces remained—blood seeping deep into the stone crevices and crisscrossing blade marks gouged into the battlements.

Leaning over the edge of the wall, the White Dragon Lord looked out at the ground that had once been piled high with corpses. The bodies had all been properly disposed of, but the blood-soaked earth had been left untouched. Over the past few days, the blood had dried into an ominous, dark red crust that exuded a pungent, metallic reek. Unless a druid came to purify the soil, the land would remain like this for a very long time.

After finishing his routine inspection, the White Dragon Lord went to a resting room not far from the city wall, pulled out a book on magical theory, and began to study.

Immersed in the ocean of magical knowledge, the White Dragon Lord gradually lost track of time, right up until Commander Chelmo came looking for him.

The White Dragon Lord sensed Chelmo's aura before he even approached the tent and put the book away. Without a sufficient reason, his subordinates wouldn't take the initiative to disturb him.

Chelmo lifted the door flap, finding the White Dragon Lord already looking at him composedly.

"Lord Overseer, a human adventurer is looking for you."

"A human adventurer? Looking for me?"

The White Dragon Lord was slightly surprised. Here on the front lines of the Blood War Battlefield, he was certain he didn't know any human adventurers.

"Does he have some intelligence to deliver?"

"Uh... it's a she. She doesn't seem to be here to deliver intelligence. Furthermore, she acts like she knows you very well. She's waiting for you in the overseer's main tent right now."

Intrigued, the White Dragon Lord stood up.

"Very well. You're in charge of the wall. I'll go take a look."

The White Dragon Lord headed toward the Seventh Army Group's camp and strode into his own overseer's tent. As he lifted the flap, he saw a slender, graceful young adventurer. She had a beautiful face and skin as white as porcelain, but no one would mistake her for an innocent little girl—the fierce, murderous aura knitting her willow-leaf brows was enough to rival any battle-hardened general.

Sensing that aura, one he couldn't possibly be more familiar with, the White Dragon Lord froze for a moment.

"Felicia?!"

Seeing Amos in his dragonborn form, Felicia's face broke into a smile as bright as a spring flower.

"Hey, Brother! It's been so long. Why didn't you tell me you were coming to the front lines?"

Hearing Felicia's playfully scolding tone, warmth blossomed in the White Dragon Lord's chest.

"It was a temporary assignment. I didn't expect to end up here myself."

"And you've already made a name for yourself just a few days in. Amos Winter's Breath. Your name has spread even to our adventurer camp; otherwise, I wouldn't have known you were here. Nicely done, Brother!"

"Let's put that aside for now. I slaughtered a few Titans a while back—more than enough for you to advance. If you don't have any pressing matters, head back to Evil Scale Fortress immediately to advance, and then return."

"Really?! That's great! Thank you, Brother!"

Felicia was thrilled, but a conflicted, troubled look quickly crossed her face.

"But I've already promised my companions I'd go on a mission with them."

"What kind of mission?"

"Hunting down a Legendary Rank infernal minotaur. A mage urgently needs its organs for an experiment and is paying a high price. Our team has already accepted the request. If we fail to complete it, our reputation will take a hit."

"Alright then..."

The White Dragon Lord chatted with his Dragon Sister for a little while longer before Felicia hurried off.

Life returned to normal. The White Dragon Lord continued his routine in the military camp, carrying out missions when assigned and sparring or exchanging knowledge with the other High-Tier Legends when he had free time. Over time, he grew quite familiar with the gathered legends.

Among the twenty-odd High-Tier Legends, the White Dragon Lord built the best relationships with Mage Alan and Osiris Giant of Light. With the former, the friendship was mutual and deliberate: the White Dragon Lord was deeply interested in the knowledge of the Arcane Empire that Mage Alan possessed, while Mage Alan was equally fascinated by the secrets and knowledge recorded in the Dragon Inheritance. As for the latter, they simply shared the same hobbies. In his spare time, Osiris Giant of Light always sought out the White Dragon Lord to play chess, persistently challenging him despite suffering defeat after defeat.

One day, while the White Dragon Lord was off duty and studying magic in his overseer's tent, a message arrived from Osiris Giant of Light.

"Amos, come to the main tent. I'll introduce you to a new friend."

Curious that Osiris Giant of Light would personally reach out to introduce someone, the White Dragon Lord headed straight for the main tent.

When the White Dragon Lord arrived at the main tent, he saw a woman—or rather, a tomboy—having a "pleasant" chat with Osiris. A heavily built woman in leather armor sat haphazardly in a chair with her legs spread wide, slapping the table as she argued fiercely with Osiris. Both were red in the face from shouting.

"You purple lightbulb! You're definitely wrong! How could Orichalcum possibly be harder than my teeth?!"

"You rude black-skinned pig! There's no way I'm wrong! I calculated it three whole times!"

"@#¥%...&!"

The White Dragon Lord stared blankly at the two who were on the verge of coming to blows. This scene felt completely wrong!

No! They were actually about to fight! Seeing the burly woman reach over to grab Osiris by the collar, the White Dragon Lord hurriedly coughed twice.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

The White Dragon Lord's cough stopped the two just before they came to blows. They turned their heads, looking awkwardly at the White Dragon Lord by the entrance, then quickly let go of each other's clothes and sat down.

"Ahem!"

Osiris feigned a few coughs of his own before regaining his composure.

"Amos, allow me to introduce you. This is the commander of the Boar's Howl Adventurer Group, Namagani Skyhowler, also known as Heipi..."

Catching the dangerous glint in Namagani's eyes, Osiris quickly shut his mouth.

"Namagani, this is Amos, the one I just mentioned to you. He's a fellow countryman of yours, and his chess skills are superb. Even I admire him."

"What do you mean 'even you admire him'? Are you saying I'm worse than you?!"

The commander of the Boar's Howl Adventurer Group, Namagani Skyhowler, continued to bicker with her old friend while sizing up the White Dragon Lord, comparing him to a certain dragon in her memory.

The White Dragon Lord studied Namagani Skyhowler in return. He had heard of her past shortly after arriving in the Abyss. Namagani Skyhowler had once been the animal companion of Nordhill's very first Druid Dragon, Hakmudiro Desert Bane. Hakmudiro Desert Bane was a figure from the same era as Merlin Heavenly Principle and the Arcane Trickster.

Over ten thousand years ago, Nordhill had suffered an apocalyptic war that wiped out vast expanses of vegetation and corrupted massive swathes of land with abyssal demonic energy. It was Hakmudiro Desert Bane who had saved everything, earning a reputation in Nordhill that nearly matched that of the golden dragon hero, Stuart Jodmedin.

"Lady Namagani, I've heard much about you."

"Hah, I've heard of you too. That little girl Felicia's brother, the architect of the Frozen Land, and now Winter's Breath. You've done well; you haven't brought shame to the old man."

The White Dragon Lord naturally understood that the "old man" she spoke of was the brass dragon, Hakmudiro Desert Bane. He recalled the necklace the Silver Dragon Scholar had gifted to Elena. That necklace had originally belonged to Hakmudiro Desert Bane, and it bore several layers of seals. Even with his current proficiency in magic, the White Dragon Lord wasn't confident he could unravel them.

"Lady Namagani, do you know where Senior Hakmudiro Desert Bane is right now?"

"The old man went off roaming the Star Realm. I don't know where he is either. Are you looking for him?"

"It's nothing major. It's just that the senior left behind a necklace, which is now in my younger sister's possession. I inspected it once and found several seals on it. They are incredibly tricky. I can sense some sort of power sealed within it—a miraculous power. I've never encountered anything like it, but I can feel its immense strength."

The White Dragon Lord looked at Namagani Skyhowler, hoping to glean some useful information from her expression. Upon hearing his words, Namagani Skyhowler looked utterly bewildered for a long moment before casting a complicated glance at the White Dragon Lord.

"Has a second Druid Dragon appeared in Nordhill?! Which school of druids does she belong to?"

"The Withered Vine Druid School. Do you happen to know what is sealed inside the necklace? Is there any danger?"

"There's no danger! It's a treasure! A treasure I couldn't get even when I begged for it!"

Namagani's tone was thick with resentment, and no matter how much the White Dragon Lord pressed her, she refused to say another word on the matter.

"Alright, Amos, you don't need to pry anymore. Since the old man left that power for his own kin, it won't harm her. Besides, it's true that only a druid can maximize its value."

The atmosphere grew awkward, prompting Osiris to hurriedly step in as a peacemaker.

"Hahaha, I called both of you here so we could play some chess together! How did we end up dragging out all this ancient history? Come on, come on! Let's play a game!"

Saying that, Osiris laid out the chessboard and took out the pieces.

Since Namagani refused to speak further, the White Dragon Lord had no other choice but to sit down and play with them.

While playing against Namagani, the White Dragon Lord discovered that her mind was nowhere near as unrefined as her outward appearance. Her playstyle was ruthless and decisive; she frequently spotted her opponent's weak points and meticulously calculated how to exploit them.

As expected of a pig that had lived for tens of thousands of years—she was as shrewd as they come!

While the White Dragon Lord was in the middle of a match with Namagani, Mage Alan suddenly walked in.

"Amos, I was looking everywhere for you. So this is where you were."

"What's the matter, Alan?"

"I'm heading out with a companion to hunt down some demons. I wanted to see if you'd come with us."

The White Dragon Lord was somewhat tempted. He and Mage Alan both looked over at Osiris Giant of Light; after all, he was their nominal superior.

Osiris asked, "Alan, who else did you invite?"

"Odom Mad Axe and Amos."

Osiris breathed a sigh of relief. Three people leaving wouldn't be an issue. If too many left and weakened the defenses, it would have put him in a difficult position. Although High-Tier Legends like the White Dragon Lord were nominally subordinates to the commander of the Allied Forces, their statuses were actually equal. Osiris was simply better at fighting wars than the average High-Tier Legend.

"Then go quickly, and return safely."

"The target is already chosen. If everything goes smoothly, we'll have it handled in an hour or two."

Off to the side, Namagani Skyhowler showed an expression of keen interest. "Oh? What target? Care to share?"

Alan asked, "And who might this be?"

Osiris replied, "This is Namagani Skyhowler, commander of the Boar's Howl Adventurer Group, and a good friend of mine."

Realization dawned on Alan's face. Clearly, he knew of Boar's Howl as well. "It's not really a secret. A while ago, a team of Legendary adventurers discovered a demonized hydra in the Rotting Swamp on the 71st Layer of the Abyss. That's our target."

The White Dragon Lord was a little confused. "Does a single Legendary Rank hydra require this much mobilization?"

Alan explained, "This hydra was already at the peak of the Legendary Rank. Now that it's demonized, its strength has grown even further. It is infinitely close to becoming a High-Tier Legend hydra emperor. It's better to be safe than sorry. Furthermore, the Rotting Swamp is the territory of the Lord of Putrid Silt."

The White Dragon Lord sifted through his memories for information on the Lord of Putrid Silt and the 71st Layer of the Abyss. The Lord of Putrid Silt was a High-Tier Legend demon, resembling a gigantic, sickly-green slime. It possessed overwhelming corrosive abilities and incredible resistance to physical blows.

The abyssal lord of the 71st Layer of the Abyss had fallen during the last blood war. Since then, the seat of the layer's lord had been left vacant. The Lord of Putrid Silt was a strong contender for that very position, possessing strength far exceeding that of an ordinary High-Tier Legend.

Namagani smiled at Mage Alan. "Even so, a mere hydra isn't worth the simultaneous effort of three High-Tier Legend powerhouses. Or is it that the hydra possesses something that caught your eye?"

"As expected of a seasoned adventurer commander. That's exactly right." Mage Alan admitted openly, "There is indeed something in that hydra's lair that interests me. In the magical recording that the team of Legendary adventurers sent back, I spotted an object suspected to be from the era of the Arcane Empire. But it was buried under gold coins, with only a corner exposed, so I couldn't be completely sure. I was originally planning to keep it to myself until I could verify it, so as not to get everyone's hopes up for nothing."

"I see," Namagani said. "Then, Lord Alan, would you mind adding one more companion to your group?"

"Of course not."

Hearing about an artifact from the era of the Arcane Empire, even Osiris Giant of Light felt tempted. But as the commander of the Allied Forces, he absolutely could not abandon his post. He had no choice but to drop the thought.

"Go quickly, and return safely."