Why would anyone think it’s a shame! No normal person would even consider trying to eat a zombie puppet created by necromancy, right?
Listening to Anke’s words, Vera silently thought to herself.
As the Blue Water Dragon’s corpse was systematically dissected, crimson flesh and various colored internal organs were exposed to the air, and an indescribable fishy, bloody stench gradually began to permeate the surroundings.
Some of the commoners, unable to bear the stench, cursed under their breath about the foul smell as they fled the square.
But many others remained, watching the scene of the dragon’s dissection—a sight they might only witness once in their lifetime.
Anke was among them.
Even though he was holding a handkerchief over his nose, Anke still stubbornly insisted it didn’t smell bad.
The work of processing the dragon corpse proceeded in an orderly fashion.
An experienced old butcher, while slicing open the dragon’s stomach and scooping out its contents with a wooden bucket, suddenly discovered a stone.
Although there was nothing particularly special about this stone, an inexplicable feeling drove the old butcher to take notice of it.
And because of Anke’s kind treatment of the commoners, upon noticing the stone, the old butcher didn’t hesitate much before reporting his discovery.
The guards maintaining order then brought both the butcher’s report and the stone to Anke.
“My lord! A butcher reported finding a stone inside the dragon’s stomach.”
A guard, carrying the bucket containing the stone, came before Anke.
“A stone? It doesn’t have something like ‘The kingdom prospers, King Anke’ written on it, does it?”
Anke looked down at the stone placed in the bucket and asked.
“‘The kingdom prospers, King Anke’? Your Highness, what kind of prophecy is that you’re talking about?”
Hearing Anke’s words, Vera asked curiously.
“Hmm, it’s a type of saying from a historical story of an ancient Eastern country. It’s a kind of artificially fabricated prophecy, though it wasn’t discovered in a dragon’s belly, but inside a fish.”
Anke answered Vera’s question.
“A historical story from an ancient Eastern country, an artificially fabricated prophecy, a fish’s belly…”
Vera extracted the key points from Anke’s words and fell into thought.
“Fetch a bucket of clean water. Wash this stone clean, and I’ll take a closer look.”
Anke ordered his subordinates to bring clean water and wash the stone.
After all, it was found in a dragon’s stomach. It might be something valuable, but it could also just be a gallstone from the Blue Water Dragon.
“Yes, my lord.”
The guard quickly fetched clean water and, in front of Anke, carefully washed the filth off the stone without damaging it.
“My lord. It’s clean.”
The guard, holding the cleaned stone with both hands, presented it to Anke.
“Good. Well done.”
Anke took the stone, praising the guard at the same time, and then began to examine the stone carefully.
The stone bore clear carving marks, clearly a man-made object.
However, likely due to its age and the corrosion it suffered inside the dragon’s stomach, the patterns on it were blurred and mostly indistinguishable.
“Vera, can you tell what the pattern on this is? What does it represent?”
Anke handed the stone to Vera, asking for her opinion.
Vera understood that Anke truly saw her as a white dragon that had taken human form.
Given a dragon’s wisdom and experience, identifying a damaged, ancient man-made object shouldn’t be difficult.
But unfortunately, Vera was not a dragon, so she had to give Anke a heads-up first.
“The pattern on this is severely worn. I’m not sure I can discern anything.”
“It’s fine, Vera. It’s best if you can figure it out, but it’s okay if you can’t.”
That’s what Anke said, but Vera could see deep expectation in his eyes.
Sigh, I’ll try my best…
Vera sighed inwardly, then first observed the lines on the stone. In her mind, she constructed a damaged pattern.
It could be the totem of some tribe, the rune of a fallen race, or the symbol of some church deity.
In short, there were far too many possibilities corresponding to this damaged pattern.
But because the discernible lines were too fragmented, even after constructing an outline in her mind, Vera couldn’t lock onto a clear direction or target.
“Even you don’t know, Vera? Then maybe let’s forget it. If we can’t figure it out, we can’t. We’re not lacking this anyway.”
Seeing Vera remain silent for a long time, Anke asked with concern.
Just as Anke was about to give up investigating the stone’s secret, Vera became somewhat stubborn. She felt she was on the verge of grasping the answer.
“Your Highness, let me think a little more.”
After saying this, Vera infused a bit more magic into the stone. If it were some kind of totem or rune, it should react to magic.
But unfortunately, the stone remained unchanged.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry. I cannot determine this object’s origin or purpose. But I am certain it must have some kind of use.”
Vera apologized to Anke, but her gaze still involuntarily drifted towards the stone.
“It’s alright. Then let’s put it away for now. Sometimes, when luck strikes, its mystery might unravel on its own.”
Anke comforted Vera.
“Perhaps it will be as Your Highness says.”
Vera nodded to Anke.
And the awakened Anke wasn’t having an easy time either.
After dealing with the dragon corpse, he still had to prepare for the visit of the Three Counts to the Border City to discuss cooperation in exterminating the bandits.
From the Royal Capital, the inquiry letter from Anke’s father, King William, had arrived.
Anke also needed to prepare a detailed reply, reporting his achievements in repelling the barbarians and hunting the Blue Water Dragon to his father.
Since these achievements could be exchanged for rewards, Anke needed to prepare and send the reply as soon as possible.
Besides that, a series of tedious matters concerning the Border City, the New Border City, and the Iron Jaw Tribe all required Anke’s review and handling!
Even with Mustafa and Kano assisting, by the time all the work was finished, the sun had already set long ago.
“Finally, I can rest! If only I had a few more civil officials. Then I wouldn’t be so tired.”
After stamping his personal seal on the final piece of parchment and handing it over to Kano to take away, Anke stretched with a great sense of relief, once again complaining about the shortage of personnel.
“Then, Your Highness, why not set aside a specific time to publicly recruit retainers? I believe many young nobles would be willing to serve under your banner.”
Vera suggested to Anke.
“Sigh, forget it. I don’t quite trust young nobles. They all have their own family backgrounds and agendas. I also don’t have the ability to manage people well. If I don’t control them properly, it could easily lead to trouble.”
Anke said, holding his forehead.
“Civil officials? If Your Highness trusts us, you could try Kamal, the Centurion from our Iron Jaw Tribe. He was raised by a human noble from the Windmill United Kingdom, is well-versed in human knowledge, and is the smartest person in our Iron Jaw Tribe. With a bit of training, he should make a good civil official.”
After the Iron Jaw Tribe’s surrender, Kaxier, who had been assigned by Gros to follow Anke, began recommending a candidate.
“Kamal? The one I tricked with the Empty City Stratagem? The one who took my donkey cart and then returned it?”
“That should be him.”
“Wait, if he’s the smartest person in the Iron Jaw Tribe, wouldn’t transferring him here affect the tribe’s operations?”
“That won’t be a problem. Our Iron Jaw Tribe doesn’t really need civil officials anyway.”
“Well then, Kaxier, please use your Blood Secret Art to contact the Iron Jaw Tribe and have Kamal sent over.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Kaxier received the order and immediately went to carry it out.
After Kaxier left, a voice suddenly rang out again.
“Directly appointing a beastman as a retainer. You’re quite bold.”
“Of course. I’ve always been bold. You know that, Vera.”
Anke replied habitually.
“Your Highness, I didn’t say anything.”
Vera shook her head; she hadn’t heard any sound.
“Then who was speaking?”
Anke asked, puzzled.
“It was me. Hello there, Fourth Prince of the Black Cross Kingdom, Anke.”
This time, Vera heard it too, and it was right beside her!
Vera turned her head and was startled to find a black-haired female knight in purple-black armor, enveloped in a soft, glowing aura, standing beside her. She had no idea when she appeared.
“My name is Heladis. Though humans more commonly refer to me as the Goddess of Death and Night. No need to be wary, little one. I won’t harm you or your little lover.”
The woman who called herself the Goddess of Death and Night, Heladis, placed a hand on the armor over her chest and spoke amiably to Anke, also attempting to calm Vera, who had already drawn her sword and was pointing it at her.