“You"re a male?”
I felt a bit down hearing that. I looked at the area between the Winged Silver Dragon"s legs but couldn"t find any identifiable parts. I tried to check its level, but literally all of its stats were hidden by question marks, meaning that its level was leagues ahead of mine. If Xinran wasn"t here, I would"ve run away a long time ago. From what I heard from Xinran, this dragon would never let a weak dragon slayer like me escape.
“Big brother?” Xinran c.o.c.ked her head at me while asking, “What do you want to do? This dragon"s fate is in your hands…”
I pondered for a moment before replying, “How about you make it your mount instead?”
“Oh? But why? It"s a brutal creature,” Xinran asked in surprise.
I took a few seconds to organize my thoughts before answering, “It is exactly because this dragon is cunning and brutal that it needs you to be its tamer. You"ll be able to save a lot of time and energy if you use this Winged Silver Dragon as your mount, and it won"t be able to harm anyone with you keeping a tight rein on it. Also, you"ve always been fighting alone, and I think you"ll be safer if you have a powerful dragon by your side…”
Xinran blushed and giggled. She hugged me again and said, “Are you worrying about my safety, big brother? Tell me!”
I smiled helplessly at her and nodded. “You often travel back and forth between the G.o.d Domain and the purgatory, so of course I"m worried about you. This Winged Silver Dragon might be an incredibly ugly b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but as a mount it"s a pretty good choice.”
Xinran nodded and looked at the Winged Silver Dragon. She said, “Akachi, you are a despicable b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but I"m giving you a chance to live right now. Will you abandon your sinful ways and become my mount? Or will you die?”
Akachi nodded hurriedly, “It is my honor to become the mount of the G.o.ddess of purgatory!”
“Very well!”
Xinran smiled sweetly before turning toward me. “Big brother, it"s been a long time since you came to G.o.d Domain to see me!”
I was about to say something when I noticed a gleam of cruelty flas.h.i.+ng across the Winged Silver Dragon"s eyes. Ice condensed around its horn without warning, and it attempted to skewer Xinran from behind!
“Xinran, watch out!” I shouted in a hurry.
My worry turned out to be unnecessary. Seemingly knowing that the dragon would try to ambush her, she turned around and parried the attack with ease. Then, she grabbed the dragon"s horn and said in a menacing tone, “You dare act up against me, you stupid dragon?”
Crack! The horn was crushed by her bare hands just like that. What strength! The Winged Silver Dragon immediately groaned in pain.
Angry with the transgression, Xinran started throwing punches at Akachi"s head and neck area. Every punch was infused with some sort of red energy that sent the dragon"s scales and blood flying; it didn"t take a genius to figure out how much pain it was in right now. It was its own fault, however.
I was glad to see that both Xinran"s insight and power were absolutely stronger than the Winged Silver Dragon"s. No matter how unruly this dragon might be, it would never be able to harm her.
“Ohh, my G.o.ddess, I swear I"ll serve you loyally for eternity!” The Winged Silver Dragon screeched. “But please, hit anywhere but my face, I beg you! I am an exceptionally handsome male among the dragons, so please don"t hit my face…”
Xinran punched it a couple more times before she finally stopped. She warned, “If you dare to attack me or my big brother ever again, Akachi, I swear I"ll refine your soul into a horse hoof and gift it to the dirtiest human brave. I will make sure that you suffer the biggest humiliation in a human"s hands and trample your so-called princely pride to nothing!”
The Winged Silver Dragon screamed, “My master, my G.o.ddess, my loyalty is sworn to you for eternity. Please, do not doubt your loyal servant any longer…”
Finally relaxing, Xinran bit open her index finger before placing a b.l.o.o.d.y palm on top of Akachi"s head. As she chanted the words of a master-slave contract, the dragon begged, “My beloved master, can we sign a beast contract instead? A master-slave contract is too rude for the likes of—”
Xinran"s eyes turned chilly. “One more word and I"ll chop your head off!”
“Oh, okay, my cute master…”
The Winged Silver Dragon finally submitted to its fate and signed the master-slave contract.
I still warned Xinran. “Keep a tight leash on this dragon like you would a rabid dog!”
Xinran nodded. “I know, big brother…”
……
The Winged Silver Dragon obediently curled next to Xinran. When it tried to rub its ugly a.s.s head against her smooth legs, Xinran kicked it away without hesitation before hugging my arm. “So, big brother, you haven"t come to see me in a long time. There must be something you want from me since you came all the way to G.o.d Domain, am I right?”
I nodded. “Yep. I would like to receive a quest from you. Do you have any to offer me, Xinran?”
“A quest?” Xinran stuck her tongue at me. “What if I send you to kill the Nine Sovereigns of h.e.l.l?”
I shuddered. “Something easier, please!”
“Hehe…” Xinran let out a giggle before humming in thought for a moment. Then, she said, “Actually, I do have a quest you can do. It"s very difficult though.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Xinran gazed to the distance and started, “When the old Silver Moon Alliance crumbled into nothing, a powerful country called the Roland Empire had appeared on the continent. Back in the days, it was one of the most powerful countries in the world, one that was charged with the heavy responsibility of protecting the continent. However, one day an incredibly powerful divine weapon called the Blade of Thunder emerged from the purgatory, and any human who was seduced by its power would find themselves lost to its influence. That was why the greatest swordsman of the Roland Empire, a man named Thunder, willingly turned himself into a devil to obtain it. He had walked into the palace himself, killed his own king, and led an army of Corpse Eaters to slaughter the entire city.”
Xinran let out a long sigh before continuing, “Today, all that is left of the great Roland Empire is a forgotten ruin. If it"s okay with you, I want you to travel there and seek out the body of Mengchuan, the Imperial Knight Captain of the Roland Empire. I have found his soul in the purgatory, and I plan to reforge his body with its power to resurrect him back to life. But for that, I need his body. This ancient brave possesses incredible strength, and I am sure he"ll be of great aid in the human resistance against the Night Creatures.”
“Mn!”
The moment I nodded, I received a quest notification—
Ding~!
System Notice: You"ve accepted the quest [Roland"s Demise]! (Current Quest Rank: SSS-)
Description: Head to the ruins of the Roland Empire find the body of the Imperial Knight Captain, Mengchuan, and bring it to Xinran the Wind Singer. But be careful, the Roland Empire is now a land of devils and undead creatures after it has been transformed into a purgatory entrance. Countless braves who were once famous throughout the continent had ended their lives there.
……
I rubbed my palms excitedly after seeing the rank and the description. Hehehe, a triple S-rank quest is the equivalent of a divine quest at this stage of the game, right? Xinran must think highly of my abilities if she gave me such a difficult quest. Should I find a couple of helpers before I go?
Unfortunately, it didn"t look like that was possible. The quest couldn"t be shared with anyone.
Oh well, I supposed that was better for everyone. Even I couldn"t be sure I could survive this quest, and I wasn"t in the habit of dragging my friends to their graves.
I opened the map and checked the location of the Roland Empire. It was located in a desolate jungle to the south of Sky City, Floating Ice City and even the Violet Empire. Moreover, the region was almost fully occupied by the Night Creatures and swarming with the undead. The visuals on the map alone made it clear just how difficult the quest would be.
Technically, I could hire a priest to accompany me on this quest. However, Murong Mingyue was traveling to Changzhou with He Yi, so she couldn"t help me unless I delayed the quest until nighttime. As for everyone else, I couldn"t bring myself to trouble them for a personal quest, and that included my good friend Yamete, who was the chief priest of b.l.o.o.d.y Mercenaries. In the end, I decided that I would solo the quest as intended.
“Alright then, I"m going, Xinran!”
“Mn. Be careful, big brother!”
Xinran gave me a sweet smile before grabbing the Winged Silver Dragon by its broken horn. Then, she ordered, “Come on, we"re going to the hills in the west to murder some mermaids there!”
Akachi hurriedly replied, “Oh, my cute master, this little one shall fly as you commanded!”
……
I shot Xinran a dumbfounded look as I pulled out a return scroll. Xinran isn"t suffering from a split personality disorder, is she? The way she treats me and that dragon is night and day...
I crushed the return scroll and returned to Sky City. After taking out some Saint Spirit Potions from the warehouse, I teleported to Floating Ice City. It was way faster to travel to the ruins from there.
Swhoos.h.!.+
It had been a long time since I was last here. I exited the city and started running through the forest that I once fought in. Not far away, I saw a bunch of new players fighting with all their might against my old friend, the Green Praying Mantis.
The new players couldn"t hide their envy when I pa.s.sed by them. Clearly, they saw me as a super expert. Ah s.h.i.+t, I forgot to turn off my equipment"s visual effects. I wasn"t someone who enjoyed flaunting my superiority in the norm. No, I was the kind of person who lay low in the norm and shone only when the time was right. When that time comes, hah, I will s.h.i.+ne like the sun that wakes the entire world!
……
The trekking lasted almost an hour before a coniferous forest finally appeared before me. However, the ground was crawling with purple, diseased air, and I couldn"t sense any life anywhere. The undead"s strongest weapon had always been their poisonous corruption, and the plague was how they attacked. Through the plague they transformed the living into their brethren. Bit by bit, they corrupted the land and enslaved everything in their wake.
In comparison, the undeads of the Violet Empire were much more peaceful. Despite being a Night Creature herself, Queen Sophia made sure to clean up the pestilence within her domain completely. Her undead civilians didn"t only give up their blood thirst and cruelty for more peaceful ways of living, they were even trading with the merchants of Floating Ice City and Sky City. Violet Empire was a living miracle and one of the reasons Princess Karinshan decided not to attack them after reclaiming her birthright.
Of course, the Violet Empire was a powerful force in its own right, and Sophia was able to a.s.semble large groups of undead cavalry thanks to Xinran"s support. A military force made of tens of thousands undead itself was a powerful deterrent.
I ventured deeper until a couple of crumbled walls appeared in front of me. It looked like the perimeter walls of the empire. Skeletal soldiers wielding bone swords also started appearing between the ruins, and they were all high-rank undead. That was perfectly fine by me because killing these undeads would give me a ton of experience and undead soul sparks. I was an Asura King now, and the next rank after this was probably Asura G.o.d. I wondered how it felt to become a G.o.d of the undead?