Chapter 30: A Strange Mission

Letachino Empire, Brull.

Brull was the second largest city in the Empire and home to the headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild.

The Guild headquarters sprawled across two square kilometers. Even from a bird’s-eye view of the entire city, it was one of the most eye-catching landmarks in Brull.

This was York’s second visit here in just a few months—but this time, his companion was a dragon.

It was early April, and Brull had just entered a warming phase. As the most progressive nation on the Southern Continent, the Empire’s streets were filled with people in light, breezy clothing.

York looked down at his own thin shirt and shorts, then glanced at Cecilia beside him, who was wrapped up from head to toe. He could feel the stares from the crowd converging on them. Even with his thick skin, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of embarrassment.

But Lu Qiuchen didn’t see it that way. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the redness creeping up York’s face, and a wave of triumphant satisfaction rose in her heart.

That’s right—she’d deliberately paused to dawdle here. After all, no one could recognize her in a different outfit with her face hidden. Hmph! You almost made me embarrass myself this morning. It’s only fair that you get your turn this afternoon!

‘Huh? When did I develop this kind of petty streak?’ Lu Qiuchen suddenly realized this didn’t quite fit her usual personality. But at the same time, there was a vague sense that maybe she’d done things like this before. She set the thought aside for now.

“Let’s go.”

Hearing the gentle but cool voice beside him, York hurriedly stepped forward and headed into the guild.

They’d been standing at the entrance for two whole minutes. If they didn’t move soon, York felt like he was going to crack—there was something strange stirring deep inside him, some unknown kink he’d rather not name.

He might be a Saint-rank adventurer, but compared to the dragon beside him? Not even worth mentioning. Dragons were born high-level beings, and upon reaching adulthood, most were already at Epic or even Legendary rank.

So when Cecilia stood there spacing out, he had no choice but to accompany her. If he annoyed her, she could teleport herself away, while he… couldn’t. And it would take more than half a month just to get back to the Kingdom of Tara.

Once they entered the guild hall, the walls cut off the heavy stares from outside. After what he’d just experienced, the glances inside the hall barely registered. York led Lu Qiuchen to the front desk, presented their credentials, and they were soon invited to a lounge on the upper floor to wait.

A steward arrived shortly thereafter, skipping pleasantries and getting straight to the point—very much in the no-nonsense style of adventurers.

After York explained their purpose, the steward’s brow furrowed deeply. The matter was clearly more complicated than expected, and it was beyond his authority to handle. He could only report it up the chain.

Word soon reached the Brull regional director and the Kingdom of Tara’s regional director.

When the two directors arrived, they brought with them several other regional heads—clearly, this issue touched on more than just the Tara Kingdom.

York explained their purpose once more, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

The directors exchanged glances. The director for the Tara region cleared his throat and said to the two adventurers:

“We’ve reviewed your information. If this intelligence is accurate, then your proposal concerns not just this continent, but possibly the safety of the entire world. The Adventurers’ Guild is more than willing to lend its strength to the cause.”

The Tara region supervisor paused briefly before continuing, “However, the Adventurers’ Guild only accepts support missions. We will accompany the Church or other forces in confronting the demon invasion. But the Guild cannot and will not approve your proposal to mobilize adventurers across the entire continent to independently confront the rebels and demons. We are responsible for all adventurers. We cannot just send them to their deaths.”

York grew visibly anxious upon hearing this, but he forced himself to stay calm. Since Lady Cecilia had proposed this plan, she must have had her reasons.

And as expected, Lady Cecilia was already taking action!

Lu Qiuchen pulled back her hood, removed her scarf, and stood up to take off her outer coat. The elegant dragon horns atop her head and the long, slender tail behind her were now clearly visible. Combined with the girl’s stunning beauty, the effect was instantaneous—everyone in the room was utterly speechless.

York was completely dumbfounded. Although he’d already confirmed this morning that the girl was a dragon—and had even seen her horns several times before—seeing the full form of the silver dragon girl left him in a daze.

It wasn’t just her beauty that made people fall silent, that alone wasn’t enough to captivate a room full of seasoned adventurers and officials. It was the mysterious pressure she emitted, a spiritual force that seemed to resonate deep in their minds. Her appearance and this pressure didn’t simply add together—they merged perfectly, as if she were a goddess descending from the heavens, just like in a bard’s song. The only reaction one could have was stunned awe, with no space for any stray thoughts.

Lu Qiuchen had developed this technique inspired by the way Nightmares attacked. Dragon’s Might was already a form of mental assault, though non-lethal. She had combined it with her beauty to create a new technique she named: Psychic Intimidation.

She smiled to herself. This was one of the reasons she always kept her body hidden. If she only released Dragon’s Might, the effect wouldn’t be nearly as strong. It had to be unleashed at the precise moment when the target was dazzled by her beauty.

The principle was simple—but timing was everything. The targets needed to be completely focused on her at the moment of release.

On her journey from Dragon Island to the Kingdom of Tara, she had tested this ability on some innocent bystanders from other nations. She’d discovered that the first-time effect was always the strongest—repeated use on the same people had a much weaker impact.

She speculated that the shock caused by beauty could only be felt once at full intensity. To reuse the technique effectively, she would need to find other ways to stun or captivate the target.

The others in the room slowly recovered from their shock. They had already been informed of the identities of their two visitors. Even though they had guessed that this oddly dressed girl was the dragon, seeing the real thing with their own eyes was still enough to leave them breathless.

“She’s a Silver Dragon!” someone exclaimed, recognizing her identity by the shape of her tail.

Seeing that they had regained their senses, Lu Qiuchen spoke: “I can guarantee the authenticity of the documents with the honor of the Dragon Clan. If you’re worried that fighting the demons will result in casualties among the adventurers—then we dragons will take full responsibility for all direct combat against the demons!”

Her tail swayed behind her. That mass-scale Psychic Intimidation had been her first time using it—and it had gone remarkably well. She was genuinely thrilled by the success, though she hadn’t noticed that her tail had been wagging the entire time.

“Can the Dragon Clan guarantee that no adventurers will be harmed?” one of the regional supervisors asked.

Lu Qiuchen looked at him like he was an idiot. Was he brain-damaged by the psychic pressure she’d just released? If so, she might need to consider fleeing now. As for the mission Auduin had assigned her… she’d have to find another way.

Realizing he had just asked a stupid question, the supervisor looked a little embarrassed, but he quickly adjusted his attitude and resumed questioning Lu Qiuchen.
“Can the Dragon Clan ensure that they can suppress the demons head-on?”

Lu Qiuchen replied, “That I can guarantee.”

To reinforce the credibility of her words, she took out the teleportation magic stone that Auduin had given her.

“A directional teleportation stone!”
Seeing that the people across from her recognized its value, Lu Qiuchen nodded in satisfaction—this saved her from having to explain further.

The regional supervisors gathered to discuss for a while, and eventually, the supervisor from the Tara region—the one who spoke first—delivered their response.

“Honorable Silver Dragon, after our deliberation, we have decided to accept your proposal.”

“However, we have a condition. If your side cannot accept it, we will proceed with our original plan.”

Hearing this, Lu Qiuchen knew the deal was practically sealed. With confidence, she said, “What condition? Speak freely.”

The Tara regional supervisor smiled and said, “Our request is simple. We ask that the Dragon Clan do their utmost to ensure the survival of the adventurers during this war, and that all costs associated with the long-distance teleportation arrays be borne by the Dragon Clan.”

Lu Qiuchen smiled. “But of course.”

The teleportation array costs were barely a drop in the bucket for the Dragon Clan’s immense wealth. And as for these empty promises—she could make as many as needed. It wasn’t like the Dragon Clan would actually listen to her anyway.
Besides, what kind of war doesn’t have casualties?

The two sides happily reached an agreement and signed a contract. The regional supervisors promised to immediately publish the relevant war-assistance missions and activate the teleportation arrays across various regions so that adventurers could quickly travel to Druid, the capital of the Tara Kingdom.

Ever since Cecilia got in touch with the Guild leadership, York felt like he no longer had any role to play.
Why had he even come here in the first place? Why did Miss Cecilia say this task couldn’t be done without him?

His head full of question marks, York eventually couldn’t hold back and asked the question out loud.

Lu Qiuchen gave him a look as if he were an idiot.
“Your being here is exactly your biggest contribution. Without a local like you from the Tara Kingdom to bridge the gap, do you think they would’ve believed anything I said just because I claimed to be from the Dragon Clan?”

York suddenly understood.

There was also another point that Lu Qiuchen didn’t say out loud—Auduin’s stance was clearly aimed at severing the ancient ties between the dragons and the Tara Kingdom.

It had been thousands of years. The dragons no longer wished to be bound by any contracts.
So in truth, her mission wasn’t to help Tara Kingdom survive this crisis, but to let the kingdom fall into crisis… and then have the Dragon Clan step in to rescue it.

Of course, there was no need to explain all that to York. After all, she did genuinely want to help the Tara Kingdom through this tough time, too.

Unlike the journey there—where she and York had used multiple teleportation stones and taken half a day to arrive—this time, they used the Adventurers’ Guild’s official teleportation array and returned directly to the guild branch in Druid.

As for why York and his party hadn’t used teleportation back when they returned to the Tara Kingdom?
Wasn’t it obvious? The Brave Justice adventuring party was broke!

Sigh! Raising an alchemist really is expensive. Even if I hunted ten more mountain dragons, it still wouldn’t be enough to cover Phyllis’s expenses…

York, Phyllis’s boyfriend, groaned inwardly.

“Attention, all adventurers! Attention, all adventurers! A continent-wide war support mission has been issued for the Tara region!”

Compared to guilds in other areas, the Imperial Adventurer’s Guild headquarters occupied an enormous area—just the quest halls alone numbered three. As a result, all the facilities here were much more luxurious and advanced. Even the recently developed communication magic had already been implemented.

Since the introduction of communication magic, this new method of fast information transmission had become a favorite among all. However, due to its cost and difficulty of use—even more so than teleportation arrays—it was only employed for special or high-danger missions. Regular epic-ranked quests were still delivered via Holy-rank wind mages who could use Levitation, or through teleportation arrays.

“A continent-wide war support mission? What the hell is that? Never heard of such a thing before!” The No. 1 quest hall of the Adventurer’s Guild exploded into chaos.

“The Druid Defense Battle of the Tara Kingdom. The objective: eliminate the infected among the rebels who have been affected by berserk magic…”

“Tara Kingdom is too far away! Riding there would take at least half a month!”

“What? Berserk magic? Isn’t that the demonic mental spell used by the fiends?”

Cries of shock rang out among the adventurers. Thanks to the Church’s warning issued a few months ago, most high-level adventurers now had at least some awareness of the demons.

“Participation reward: 20 Adventurer Points. Minimum requirement: Saint-rank strength. All participants will be transported to the destination via the Guild’s teleportation.”

“The Guild is covering teleportation? And giving points just for showing up? I’m in!”

“Ah, what a shame! I’m just a bit short of Saint-rank…”