Early the next morning, the silver dragon appeared briefly above Betkul before spreading its wings and flying southward, soon disappearing from sight.
Laity, wrapped in a thick cotton coat, stood on the ground, waving vigorously to bid farewell to the silver dragon. Then she turned to the surrounding gray dwarves, whose somewhat disappointed faces quickly brightened into smiles, revealing expressions full of anticipation.
“Let’s go back underground. I hope to see those adorable subterranean farmlands as soon as possible!”
Laity spoke in a strange accent that sounded odd to the dwarves, her awkward Dwarvish echoing around them.
Umail Steelhammer, who had also come to see off the silver dragon, heard Laity’s words and admired her all the more. At once, he asserted his authority as the clan leader, instructing his people to take better care of Laity.
After all, Laity had been brought by that silver dragon. Although the gray dwarves’ supplies were scarce, raising one more drow was completely manageable. Besides, even if they were raising an idle person, it was worth it to show some respect to the dragon. If that dragon ever returned and found the drow living poorly, it might find an excuse to cause trouble for them.
However, this particular drow was slender and clearly unsuitable for blacksmithing. Her purple skin did not align with the dwarves’ aesthetic preferences, and her long ears were not exactly endearing.
But aside from these shortcomings, her height was acceptable, and surprisingly, her straightforward personality was very much to the gray dwarves’ liking. She also possessed the ability to accelerate crop growth. These advantages combined meant that even without Umail’s reminder, they would naturally treat her with great care.
Previously, the silver dragon had mentioned that Laity was fleeing racial persecution and had been brought here as a refugee, though this actually made little difference.
Since their own clan’s territory was extremely remote and they needed to avoid the wrath of the golden dwarves, they had not sent envoys outside for a thousand years. The drow had long since separated from their clan, and there had been no contact between the two races for centuries. The feelings between them had long since faded.
But after waiting for a millennium, their hearts finally found a drow mage who could help them cultivate farmland and enjoy rich ale freely. Such a treasure was something to be cherished and protected, regardless of the fact that the drow were wanted by their own kind.
Even if those drow were to travel thousands of miles here, they wouldn’t even need to make a move before the elves on the surface could wipe them out.
The gray dwarves’ attitude perfectly suited Laity. After a reminder from Lu Qiuchen earlier, she had already understood the reason for their enthusiasm: it was because she brought enough value to them.
Yet she felt no resentment about such a relationship based purely on mutual benefit. On the contrary, the drow race had always upheld a principle of profit above all else, a fact evident in their frequent internal conflicts.
As a descendant of the former drow queen, Laity was rather naive compared to other drow due to her upbringing. But drow society was exactly like this, and having spent decades immersed in it, she had naturally picked up a few tricks.
For example, when Childers mentioned the Sky Fragment earlier, she already knew she couldn’t protect her mother’s relic no matter what and had mentally prepared to hand over the fragment.
Since the decision was made, she needed to consider the best timing to give up the fragment to maximize benefits.
However, Cecilia had been accused by insignificant and lowly humans in the castle but hadn’t defended herself, which confirmed her identity as a malicious dragon, making Laity extremely nervous.
But then Laity recalled Childers’ behavior in the castle, which seemed to truly restrain this wicked dragon. Plus, his proposal had some appeal to her. So she decided to assist Childers with the plan, watching the silver dragon falter before handing over the Sky Fragment to them.
As for Childers being a villain himself, Laity never considered that possibility. Otherwise, she would still be clinging to the dragon’s back ten thousand meters up in the air, unable to escape their grasp no matter how much she struggled. It was better not to dwell on it.
A few days later, although the grand finale didn’t happen, both the man and the dragon kept their promises and successfully helped her find a place to stay. So when she saw them return yesterday, Laity, out of gratitude, reluctantly handed over the Sky Fragment.
Zhang Cheng had been worried about Laity’s situation, fearing that mishandling it would further lower Lu Qiuchen’s impression of him. But when he saw Laity voluntarily give up the Sky Fragment, he was overjoyed, as this solved his urgent problem.
Zhang Cheng thanked Laity repeatedly and even selected several unused mage-class equipment pieces from the game gear he had brought into the Eternal World as a reward for her.
Seeing his excitement, Laity felt a little confused by his attitude, but the magic gear was undeniably tempting. She took it as a sign of Childers’ honesty and raised her opinion of him, wishing him well to claim the silver dragon with ease and took the gear gratefully.
After inspecting the Sky Fragment inside the small box, Lu Qiuchen returned it to Zhang Cheng for safekeeping but secretly scoffed at his approach.
The Eternal Group’s conspiracy could come to fruition at any time. Now was a race against the clock, and Zhang Cheng’s slow method was too wasteful. If they proceeded this way every time, who knew when the mission would be complete? Zhang Cheng showed no sense of urgency!
If following the dragons’ approach, they would have directly snatched the fragment and dumped Laity among the gray dwarves. Zhang Cheng’s dithering only earned useless thanks and did nothing to further their goals.
But Zhang Cheng was human after all, so such considerations were not surprising. Since Lu Qiuchen had decided to let him take charge of this mission, she naturally respected his choices for now. But in the future, she would take over.
Hmm… Had she ever told Zhang Cheng about what Odyn said? Lu Qiuchen suddenly realized a blind spot, feeling like she was taking all the blame.
Putting personal feelings aside, they were now allies on the same side. Zhang Cheng had the right and should know the Eternal Group’s intentions and the disasters they could bring to Earth.
Also, Umail said the armor would be finished tomorrow, and now that she had the Sky Fragment, this matter was more or less settled.
Let him enjoy his moment today, and she would tell Zhang Cheng everything on the way to the Dwarf Kingdom tomorrow.
*****
Zhang Cheng was now fully dressed, standing upright on the silver dragon’s back. His shining white armor gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight.
At Lu Qiuchen’s request, the gray dwarves had camouflaged all weapons and gear, making the armor’s color closer to that of ordinary materials. Now, unless one was very familiar with these two rare magical metals, no one could recognize the true value of Zhang Cheng’s equipment.
His right hand gripped the hilt of a one-handed sword made entirely of adamantine, pulling it repeatedly in and out of the scabbard fixed to his waist—draw, sheath, draw, sheath…
Out of Zhang Cheng’s sight, Lu Qiuchen rolled her eyes in disdain at his childish behavior.
Since he hadn’t seen the armor yesterday, he dragged her to the workshop early this morning. After confirming the armor was complete with the dwarf craftsmen, he put it on immediately and refused to take it off.
Seeing Zhang Cheng so happy with her gift, Lu Qiuchen felt satisfied.
But inwardly, she was also jealous. Even without scanning his mind, she could easily imagine the proud, smug expression hidden behind his heroic mask.
“Damn it, I want to wear cool armor too and be a mighty knight…”
Unfortunately, she was currently the dragon being ridden by the knight. That was all she could dream of.
Putting those useless thoughts aside, Lu Qiuchen prepared to tell Zhang Cheng what she had learned.
Although she didn’t want to admit it, Zhang Cheng’s mind was probably… better than hers. But really, only by a tiny bit!
“Hey! I have something important to tell you.”
A call snapped Zhang Cheng out of his excitement. He immediately stopped what he was doing and listened attentively.
Zhang Cheng had decided to return to his original mission of rescue and, wanting to make up for his past mistakes, was very obliging and compliant toward Lu Qiuchen.
Their relationship had eased somewhat. If he forced her again in the future, that would no longer be rescue but just a disgusting desire for satisfaction.
Whether their relationship could deepen depended on whether his sincerity truly moved her.
After a while…
“You mean… the Eternal Group’s goal is to exterminate humanity on Earth? That’s ridiculous!”
Zhang Cheng’s first reaction to Lu Qiuchen’s words was disbelief.
But he soon recalled his parents’ secretive behavior and murmured, “No! Although it’s uncertain whether the Group has the capability, based on Lai’s answers and what they have done, the Group probably has that intention! And the methods they conceal surely don’t end there…”
‘What role does Dad play in this? He seems to be on Lai’s side, sharing the goal to stop the Group…’ Zhang Cheng pondered the serious question.
‘Right, Lai mentioned there’s a faction inside the Group opposing them and cooperating with him, which might be Dad’s faction. I’m so curious! But if I ask Lai directly, he can’t answer because of the contract… So what else does this opposition want besides stopping the Group’s plans?’
Lost in thought, the two fell silent again.
“Enemy approaching!”
Lu Qiuchen’s sudden shout startled Zhang Cheng once more.
At her cry, Zhang Cheng quickly drew the broad sword at his waist, glancing nervously around. Then he realized they were still tens of thousands of meters in the air on Lu Qiuchen’s back. Even if a fight broke out, he would only be a burden.
A wave of anxiety mixed with helplessness rose in his chest.
He wanted to help ease Lu Qiuchen’s burden, but that was likely an unattainable luxury for now. For the time being, he could only offer her mental support.
“Where is the enemy?”
Zhang Cheng had just asked when he spotted a blonde-haired, blue-eyed long-eared elf floating high ahead.
LV ??? 【Archmage】Victor Visviva.
(Note: Lu Qiuchen had never seen an Archmage in a normal mental state before and thus had no system knowledge of his strength.)
This was a titled powerhouse! Zhang Cheng clearly remembered Lu Qiuchen saying during the world introduction that this was a mark of a star-level warrior, equivalent to above level 140 in the game!
But whether in-game or reality, the gap between levels widened the further one progressed.
At the highest levels, the difference between star-level and legendary-level was massive—each level’s gap obvious and incomparable to the difference between levels 20 and 40.
“Run! The opponent’s title is ‘Archmage’!”
Hearing Zhang Cheng’s telepathic warning, Lu Qiuchen was shocked. She recalled the memory of her druid rampage, where someone among her attackers seemed to be this very person.
Apparently, he had held back then; otherwise, she would have been reduced to mere materials or equipment by now.
The opponent was an elf, and the mage robe bore space runes—definitely a master of spatial magic, a spatial lord… no, what was the title for a star-level spatial lord?
But whatever the title, Lu Qiuchen knew they couldn’t escape and didn’t heed Zhang Cheng’s advice, stopping in place to await the opponent’s approach.
“Haha! I knew you’d come back after showing up at the dwarves. I’ve been waiting a few days, and now I’ve finally caught you!”
The figure suddenly appeared right in front of the two, accompanied by a hearty laugh.
Stopping before the man and dragon, he glanced at the nervous Zhang Cheng and Lu Qiuchen, ruffled his slightly messy blonde hair, and smiled warmly with open hands, signaling no ill intent.
“Greetings, Archmage. Are you here for me? I don’t think I’m worthy of attention from such a star-level powerhouse.”
Lu Qiuchen decided to take the initiative. Facing a star-level foe, she could only struggle a bit longer than an ordinary legendary warrior. If she were to die here, she would die with a clear conscience.
If she could get some information, she could at least leave Lai a message. After all, killing her would mean making an enemy of Lai, which might allow others to avenge her through him someday.
But the handsome elf looked puzzled, then suddenly understood. He laughed again and said, “Star-level? No, you misunderstand. My title was granted for other reasons; I haven’t broken through to legendary level.”
Lu Qiuchen didn’t know if he was telling the truth and could only remain still, waiting for him to reveal his intentions.
“This time I came not for anything else but to spar a bit and see your magic.”