Chapter 429 - 428: Subsequent Arrangements
"A member of the Aethersos Clan."
"Hmm... no wonder you were so tense," Yuri nodded to himself. "I can’t believe those bastards dared to get this close. The Elves are being a bit overly cautious."
Colin was listening intently when he suddenly felt a nudge on his arm.
He turned to see Kase grinning at him and whispering, "What’s the Aethersos Clan?"
"The Aethersos Clan is the Legendary Blue Dragon Clan that has a monopoly over the Kasus Desert. Tea prices in Thousand Masts City pretty much depend on that dragon’s mood," said Colin.
"Huh? They have clans too?"
"Ahem..." Ale coughed lightly, her face expressionless as she said, "Don’t apply your stereotypes about White Dragons to all Dragon Species. And I seem to recall us discussing this topic before."
"I gave up on Kase’s memory a long time ago," Colin chimed in.
Just as Kase was about to settle the score with Colin, Ronan, who was standing nearby, seemed to feel this wasn’t a conversation he should be privy to. He took the initiative and said, "I have some things to go over with the Foresters. I’ll see you next time. Thank you for taking care of my son back then."
The group bid him farewell.
After Ronan left, Edwin hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Let’s talk in the living room."
Discussing such a topic on the street was indeed inappropriate. The group promptly went to the living room of the cottage Colin was staying in, and each found a place to sit.
"The Aethersos Clan seems to be taking this operation very seriously. After I arrived near the village, I discovered a Blue Dragon hiding in the dark clouds. It looked like an adult Blue Dragon, so I had to keep an eye on him."
Edwin stood up and gave a slight nod to Colin and the others. "I originally intended to say this on a more formal occasion. My deepest apologies for not being able to support you immediately at that time."
"We know you had your reasons," Colin said quickly.
Leaning back lazily in his chair, Yuri said, "It’s not that this guy did it on purpose. Generally speaking, Legendary Figures don’t get involved in Ordinary-scale battles. It can cause the scale of the conflict to spiral out of control, which is definitely not a good thing for the average person."
"Do the Evil Dragons also obey that rule?" Orelia asked curiously.
"Yeah, shouldn’t Evil Dragons be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their faction? They’d rather die to achieve a strategic objective for their master or some evil ideal, right?"
"Doesn’t that put us at a huge disadvantage?"
Yuri looked at her and sighed deeply, explaining with a hint of resignation, "No, because most Evil Dragons wouldn’t do that."
"Oh..." Orelia nodded meekly.
"Can you explain it more clearly?" Edwin said, slightly reproachful.
Yuri retorted, "You can be the good guy."
Edwin sighed.
He didn’t engage with Yuri, simply remarking with a sigh, "You know, I actually miss the days of adventuring with the old squad. At least I was free back then."
"We’re not young anymore, Edwin," Yuri said flatly.
Colin listened silently to their conversation from the side.
’This so-called rule is actually quite easy for me to understand.’
’The Legendary Figures of this world are like nuclear bombs or other weapons of mass destruction; they’re naturally subject to certain rules and restrictions.’
’Take what happened recently, for example. If Edwin had joined the fight, that adult Blue Dragon might have come down to join the fun. Then maybe the Great Druid from Moss Stone Village would have come to help, and then the Dragon Worship Cult would have called in who-knows-what else.’
’If the battle kept escalating like that, it would undoubtedly lead to a huge disaster.’
’For any normal person, that’s definitely not a good thing.’
’This also explains, to some extent, why people like Edwin place so much importance on newcomers. After all, fresh blood is the key force for solving problems.’
’Edwin being "put in confinement" for dealing too harshly with the White Dragon back then was probably also because of this unwritten rule.’
Thinking of this, Colin felt a chill run down his spine.
If Ale had shown her trump card back then, he felt that the adult Blue Dragon would not have let things go so easily.
’What would have happened then? Would it have turned into some kind of regional super-war?’
Colin sighed, turning to Ale to ask, "By the way, where’s that secret letter from the Dragon Worship Cult?"
"I forgot," Ale said, and ran off with a PITTER-PATTER.
"You found a secret letter from the Dragon Worship Cult? You lot seem to have a real affinity for ’secret letters’," Edwin said, his interest suddenly piqued.
"A secret letter and a stone. I actually have a feeling the Dragon Worship Cult’s attack on the village might be related to this letter."
As Colin finished speaking, Ale walked back into the room carrying the items.
Edwin took the letter and stone and examined them carefully, but Yuri, standing beside him, spoke up directly, "Don’t waste your time. This is a job for a professional Mage."
"In that case, this trip has been quite fruitful for you," Edwin said, putting the items away.
Colin glanced back at Ale again.
He finally decided to probe with a question. "There’s one more thing. The Dragon Worship Cult’s hostility towards Ale is pretty intense. Have they made any unusual moves lately?"
"Not that I know of, but I’ll keep an eye out for it," Edwin said.
Seeing that Colin had no more questions, Edwin spoke again. "Alright, the main reason I’m here is to discuss future arrangements. As you know, the Dragon Worship Cult launched large-scale attacks on the villages around Silver Star Court a while ago.
Although they also suffered heavy losses, we must respond. The Elves will be mobilizing their Rangers and Silver Knights on a large scale, so our continued involvement won’t be as necessary. We should be heading back to Thousand Masts City soon."
Hearing this, Colin breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to being dragged all over the Supreme Forest by a Pegasus all day, he was much happier to just hitch a ride on a carriage in Thousand Masts City.
He looked at Ale beside him. Although her face was still expressionless, he could sense that the Half-Elf was also much more relaxed. Staying here had been a burden for her, too.
The group chatted for a little while longer.
When it was almost time for lunch, Yuri and Edwin left the room. Colin and the others went about their day as usual.
「Roughly three days passed.」
On the morning of that day, Colin and the others gathered in the main hall of the house. Dressed in their gear, they packed up the materials they needed to take with them one by one and moved them into the hall.
Even though the White Dragon wasn’t very old, the sheer amount of materials harvested from it was staggering. Each piece was heavy, far exceeding the weight limit of a [Dimension Bag].
Fortunately, Edwin had said he had a way to move everything; otherwise, Colin felt this would have been quite a hassle.
A little while later, there was a knock on the door.
Colin went to open the main door and was surprised to see that besides Edwin, there were many unfamiliar faces standing outside. A crowd filled the yard and the path beyond it.
The moment the door opened, everyone stared this way with burning intensity, their eyes filled with a sincerity and gratitude Colin had never seen before.