Myriad's Conquest

Zilong cupped his hand as he congratulated Adrian with an energetic voice.

"Thank you... But don"t exaggerate things, will you?".

"Exaggerate? No, Lord! I do not exaggerate things. Moreover, I"ve regarded your bloodline activation as an omen, and a good one I believe."

Zilong eagerly protested. It"s very rare for him to be like that. Adrian thought it must be because of his bloodline, which source was coming from a dragon.

Dragons were heavily revered in the country where Zilong was originated from. So, it just natural for him to be pa.s.sionate about them.

Adrian could only sigh in response. This was the result of informing Zilong about his bloodline.

Initially, after successfully killing the False Earth Dragon earlier, Adrian returned back to the village. Coincidently, Zilong had just arrived too from his usual militia"s duty. Then, Adrian ordered him and the militia to fetch the false dragon"s corpse and brings it back to the village.

The corpse now already stored inside the warehouse. Guido said several of the body parts could be used as materials to make both armors and weapons. He has several ideas about both equipment, however, he still needs iron in order to forge them, because according to him both copper and bronze didn"t sit well with the lizard"s parts.

Adrian thinks it"s really a pity that Seastar didn"t have a single iron ore yet. Since it was like that, he and Guido could only put the matter rest for now.

It"s already at night currently. Adrian and Zilong were inside the Lord"s office.

"By the way, Lord. Is it just me who knows about your bloodline?"

"Yes. You"re the only one who knows..."

"What about the villagers then? They told me they had seen a huge dragon image appeared above your manor in the morning. As such, wouldn"t it better to reveal about the bloodline in order to calm them down? They"re still a bit restless after all."

Adrian was pondering for a moment before speaking while shrugging, "I didn"t really mind if the truth about my bloodline was revealed. But I"m not the one who"s gonna reveals it... It"s just... Nevermind."

He averted his eyes bashfully.

If the truth regarding Adrian"s bloodline was known by the villagers, it will be certain that they would revere him more. That"s why Adrian was kinda reluctant to reveal it.

Zilong smiled knowingly while shaking his head. It appears that his Lord still hasn"t got used for being highly revered.

"Anyway, Lord. I have important reports for you. But I need to tell you about something first." Zilong changed the topic while looking very serious.

"What is it?"

"Just before the sun rises earlier. I have conducted a scouting mission into the northern forest, without your permission... Forgive me, Lord." Said Zilong apologetically.

Adrian was shocked, his eyes widened, "What are you doing there?! Didn"t I"d told you to stay away from that place?!"

Adrian had ordered every villager including Zilong and the militia to stay clear from the northern forest after the appearances of Vargas Guardian Tiger. That is also the reason why he had canceled the plan for the village"s expansion across the river to the north.

Former Yarra"s villagers had witnessed the beasts came out from the northern forest before they attacked Yarra. Based on that, Adrian had a.s.sumed that the entire forest must be the domain of that Lord-grade beast. Hence, doing any kind of activities near the vicinity of that forest was deemed as extremely risky and dangerous.

"My deepest apology, Lord. I do not have a particular reason for doing it. I guess, curiosity just gets the better of me...."

Hearing such an absurd reason, Adrian began to look at Zilong with narrowed eyes.

"You bring the militia too, right? Which squad did you bring along?"

Adrian asked with a stern voice. He did not like the fact that Zilong had disobeyed his order.

Though, it"s more like Adrian didn"t like that Zilong had gone to the northern forest rather than the disobedience itself. Because, if Zilong had encountered the Vargas Guardian Tiger, even though he was strong, he would be surely killed without having a chance to fight back.

That Lord-grade beast"s strength was terrifying.

If that happened, Adrian would lose his most loyal subordinate and the impact to Seastar would be unimaginable. Besides, Adrian was rather close to Zilong, he already regarded him not only as a subordinate but as a friend as well.

Adrian does not want to lose Zilong. No! He definitely couldn"t lose him.

"Yes, Lord. I"ve brought the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th squad..."

Zilong answered quickly. The Lord had raised his tone when he spoke, making Zilong feels nervous and guilty. This time, he really has angered Adrian.

"No wonder I"ve only seen the 1st squad in the village this morning..."

Adrian sighed and his face relaxed again.

"Since you and the militia have returned safely, without a single casualty, I"ll let this one slide. However, don"t ever disobey my orders again. Do you understand, Zhao?"

Zilong stood up from his chair and kneeled with one leg.

"Certainly, Lord! It won"t happen again."

He complied while crossing an arm on his chest. Adrian nodded weakly after seeing that.

"Good... Now let"s move on. You have something to report, right? Is it related to the northern forest, by any chance?"

Zilong returned back to his seat and heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his lord has forgiven him.

"Indeed, Lord. We"ve found something... interesting... deep within the forest."

Said Zilong with mysterious kind of voice.

Adrian"s curiosity was picked.

"And what did you found?"

"A ruin..."

"A ruin?" Adrian was confused.

According to his knowledge that he got from Rogar, the northern forest or what the people from outside old Seastar and Yarra called the northwestern forest, was entirely empty from any kind of civilization activity.

All people that lived in the north know they could go to every forest within the northern area of the island, but they would never try to enter the northern forest.

Not only it was filled with dangerous beasts that were more ferocious compared to other forests, but the northern forest itself also seems to be always shrouded by a mixed air of mystery and malign.

Therefore, for ruin to be discovered there was really mind-boggling. Since the discovery proved that the northern forest must have some history in the past.

"Ehm... What kind of ruin?"

Zilong shakes his head and spoke helplessly, "We don"t know. We only saw it from afar... But, judging from the ruin"s size, its large numbers of buildings and the fact that it has a st.u.r.dy stone wall circling around it, we believe the ruin was a remain of a city or at least, a small town."

Adrian frowned, he was even more confused now.

"A walled city? The size must be quite large then."

"Did the militia"s members know anything about the ruin? Or stories behind it at least? All of them are natives around here after all."

Zilong shakes his head again, "No, Lord. They do not... However, they had a myth about that tiger beast, it is said the beast was the guardian of the forest. Several members even tell some stories about how their grandfathers and ancestors swore they had seen the very same beast in the past. Of course, the members didn"t believe it back then, they all thought those old people were only speaking nonsense. Who would have known that the beast is actually real."

Adrian thinks it"s not strange for the militia members to have stories like that. That time in Yarra was probably the first time for the Vargas Guardian Tiger to reveal itself outside the forest. Before that, people might have caught the beast"s sight from time to time, thus, the stories.

*Ding!*

[System Notification: New Quest is available.]

[Quest: Investigate the ruin in the northern forest: (0/1).]

System notification suddenly rang at the same time Adrian was pondering. He also received a new quest.

"Did the System want me dead or something?" Adrian complained inside his mind after reading the content of the quest.

"A Lord-grade beast, Dragon"s bloodline, a ruin, and now a new quest... It looks like Zilong was right, it"s definitely an omen."

Adrian sigh again with an unsightly expression.

This quest"s risk is too much. The ruin was located deep within the supposed domain of Vargas Guardian Tiger. If back then Adrian already knew about the presences of a Lord-grade in Yarra beforehand, he probably would not do the quest to help Yarra"s men.

But, he somewhat feels that he absolutely must do this quest, and he didn"t know from where this feeling"s coming from.

"Zi, tell me. How far the ruin from Seastar?"

Asked Adrian while his head was tilted.

"Around 15 kilometers."

"What about the situation over there? Is the forest really crowded with beasts?"

"Unfortunately, it was. But the inside of the ruin itself seems to be devoid of beasts."

"15 kilometers is not that far... And a ruin without a single beast inside is a good ruin."

Adrian was really tempted by now. Sometimes, ruins were filled with wealth and treasures, who knows what will be found if he went there. And just like the ancients had said: No Risk No Gain.

As long as the Vargas Guardian Tiger does not present itself near the ruin, all will be well.

"At first, I didn"t care about the ruin, but I"ve changed my mind. I want to investigate the ruin now. What"s your opinion on that?"

Zilong didn"t have a particular opinion regarding Adrian"s decision, so he only spoke, "I think it"s fine, Lord. Besides, the ruin is extremely close to our village. It"s natural for us to study and explore it. As for the tiger beast, it wasn"t there this morning. Of course, we don"t know what would happen tomorrow, but I"m sure if we took extra caution, the investigation will be safe and smooth."

Adrian nodded and smiles in agreement.

"I agreed... Thus, tomorrow morning, a.s.semble the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squad. I"ll bring them together with you to the northern forest, just let the 4th squad stay here and defend the village."

"At once, Lord." Zilong stood up and bowed as he complied.

"Since it"s already almost midnight, I"m gonna let you rest. You"re dismissed, Zhao." Said Adrian leisurely.

Both of them will have a long journey tomorrow, so rest is a must.

Afterward, Zilong exit the office while Adrian continues to sit on his seat and spoke, "I hope this would end well..."

***

The morning has arrived.

Zilong and the militia were already prepared. They were now standing by close to the rows of small boats next to the river while being surrounded by the villagers.

"Are really sure you want to go?"

"Yes, I"m sure."

"But its the northern forest you know. I know you have a Dragon"s Bloodline now, and you"re stronger than before but it doesn"t mean you can act... crazily... like this. It"s dangerous out there!"

Both Adrian and Millea was there too, and they were in the middle of a heated conversation.

"Did you worry about me, miss? I"m really flattered, you know." Said Adrian teasingly.

"Do you think this is the time for joking?! I"m serious! You could have died there..." Millea roared at Adrian.

She really worried about him. After all, the tales about how frightening the northern forest is was known to her ever since she arrived at this island.

"Don"t you worry. I"m not going alone this time. You see, I"ve got another 31 men with me. So, I"m sure our journey will be flawless." Adrian a.s.sured her with a gentle voice.

Millea nodded meekly, she knew when Adrian had decided on something it"s not easy making him change his mind. She could only give up.

Adrian then shifted his sight at Rogar, "Old man, We"ll probably be back by nightfall. I"m leaving the village to you. Take care of it, okay?"

Rogar quickly banged his chest and replied, "You can count on me, Lord. Good luck to you and please be safe."

Adrian gave him a nod, and turned his body towards Zilong, he spoke, "Let"s go."

Not long, a party of 32 men departed using boats and they crossed the river while being watched by the rest of villagers.