"You go back first. I'll go meet him this time." After understanding the situation, Kael planned to go take a look personally.
"Alright, I'll go tell Carlos the news that you woke up. Maybe he's still hunting in the east right now." Saying that, Nora left in delight.
Seeing that both of these little fellows had heeded his advice and hadn't gone into the forest alone, Kael felt much happier.
However, he had to eat first. His golden dragon pupils greedily stared at the small animals in the river.
After satisfying his appetite, Kael arrived at the agreed-upon spot with Grok.
A deep-green-skinned, muscular goblin was already waiting there.
Seeing Kael's flying figure approaching, a trace of pleasant surprise flitted across Grok's eyes. He took a step forward, lowered his hands, and bowed:
"My Lord."
"Thank you for your hard work over these past few months." Kael landed on a boulder by the riverbank, looking at this partner he had met by chance.
"Tell me, what is the situation in the forest?"
Grok reported everything in detail.
This winter, the Whispering Forest was as quiet as usual. Because heavy snow blocked the roads, adventurers rarely came to the forest, only occasionally roaming the plains outside it. Nothing major had happened back at the tribe either.
The only thing worth mentioning was that after early spring arrived and the ice and snow on the roads melted, sporadic carriages began passing through, likely merchant caravans carrying goods.
"Caravans?" Kael narrowed his eyes. "In which direction?"
"Heading to Emberfire City," Grok said. "They're just small caravans transporting pelts and medicinal herbs. Early spring is always like this every year, but there are indeed a few more carriages this year."
"Oh... alright." Kael nodded.
"Keep watching them. Once the weather warms up completely, the adventurers will come out as well. When there's any activity, report to me promptly."
"Yes, My Lord," Grok answered, just about to turn and leave.
Kael calmly tilted his head, his golden vertical pupils passing over Grok's shoulder to glance faintly at the dense bushes on the opposite bank of the river.
It was quiet there, with only the rustling of the breeze passing through the leaves.
However, Kael's gaze paused on a certain spot for a second.
He saw it: a hunched, elderly figure leaning on a cane was hiding in the bushes. A faint aura of magic enveloped his body, keeping his presence suppressed extremely low.
Any other creature would likely fail to spot him.
After reaching the young dragon stage, a dragon's restraint against magic begins to manifest.
For other races to display greater magical power, they generally need to use enchanted weapons—such as enchanted greatswords, enchanted shields, staves, and the like.
A dragon's own body, on the other hand, is itself a powerful enchanted weapon. Eyes nourished by magic can see through camouflage; dragon claws can pierce defenses; dragon wings can fly at even faster speeds; even dragon breath gains far greater power.
Combined with Kael's own Eyes of Starshine, he not only saw through the camouflage but also completely knew the other party's information.
Grisnak: Fourth-Tier, goblin, Goblin Priest. Skills: Beast Bone Divination, Concealment, Low-Tier Alchemy, Fireball, Gale... Talent: Low-Tier Life Perception.
Watching Grok walk away, Kael waited a moment longer before unfurling his dragon wings. He flew a short distance toward the extinct volcano, then swerved sharply, circling back silently along the treetops and landing in front of the bushes on the opposite bank.
"Come out," Kael said. "Crouching there for so long, aren't you tired?"
The bushes went still for a moment.
A moment later, the branches parted, and a hunched figure leaning on a beast-bone staff walked out trembling.
The old priest of the Broken-Tooth Tribe.
This goblin was far too old.
His grayish-green skin was covered in wrinkles like sun-dried bark. A pair of turbid eyes was deeply sunken into their sockets, and his spine was bent like a fully drawn bow.
If not for the bone staff in his hand, he might not even be able to walk very far.
The old priest walked in front of Kael, stopped, laid the bone staff flat on the ground, and slowly and solemnly knelt down, touching his forehead to the ground.
"Priest of the Broken-Tooth Tribe, Grisnak Broken-Tooth, greets My Lord."
Kael did not immediately tell him to rise. His golden vertical pupils slowly swept over him, sensing the power of this Fourth-Tier practitioner.
Is this a practitioner whose tier has reached Mid-Tier? Why do I feel he's so weak? Is it because he's too old?
"You certainly have nerve, daring to come here alone even though you know dragons live in this forest."
"Speak. Why were you hiding here?" His gaze turned dangerous. If this old guy couldn't provide a convincing reason, Kael was prepared to use his full strength to keep him here forever.
"This old one absolutely has no intention of doing anything against My Lord. I merely discovered..." The old priest began recounting his reasons for coming here.
As it turned out, the old priest had discovered an abnormality in the draconic transformation of Grok's body.
He possessed the ability to sense other creatures' vital signs. When Grok returned to the tribe, he had already noticed something amiss. Later, during a fight with a Third-Tier magical beast, he saw scales instantly condense and then disappear on Grok's shoulder.
Afterward, he began searching through ancient books left by predecessors, finally finding the answer in the notes of an old human mage.
Grok was undergoing dragonization.
However, to reach such a state required at least a drop of pure-blood true dragon blood.
Could it be...
To verify his conjecture—or more precisely, to gain an opportunity—he followed Grok out this time while he was on patrol.
"In the end, I encountered you here, Lord Red Dragon."
Hearing this, the killing intent in Kael's eyes gradually faded.
"So, you also wish to seek a drop of dragon blood?"
"Yes, My Lord. To gain My Lord's favor, this old one is willing to offer everything." The old priest lowered his head even further.
"Oh? Then what value do you possess? Or rather, what can you do for me?" Looking at this humble goblin, Kael asked.
"This old one knows the distribution of most magical beasts in this forest, as well as the active territories of other tribes and the locations of certain magical herbs."
"Interesting." Kael's eyes brightened. These were precisely the things he needed most right now.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Do you know the situation regarding the adventurers in Emberfire City?"
"This... this old one only knows a general idea."
"Tell me about it."
Seeing that there was hope, the old priest told Kael everything he had learned over his fifty-plus years regarding the general state of adventurers in Emberfire City.
"Oh? You're saying that the highest rank among the adventurers in Emberfire City is only Fifth-Tier, and there are no high-tier adventurers?"
"Yes. No high-tier adventurers have ever appeared in the Whispering Forest. However, their Adventurers' Guildmaster..."
The General Charter of Adventurers on the Continent of Veland stipulated that any Adventurers' Guild established in a city must have its guildmaster position held by at least a high-tier practitioner. This served as protection for the city's adventurers and as a deterrent against unstable elements.
After listening, Kael nodded.
"Mm, your experience is indeed helpful to me. I can bestow dragon blood upon you, but you must first agree to my conditions."
"This old one agrees to everything, Lord Red Dragon!" The old priest raised his head, his eyes filled with excitement and longing.
Kael raised his foreclaw, a fine cut opening in his palm. A drop of blood was forced out, floating in the air with magic.
The old priest's eyes remained fixed on that drop of dragon blood, his body still prostrate on the ground, without the slightest intention to snatch it.
"First, keep this a secret. What happened between you and Grok stays between you two and must never be known to others."
"Second, if Grok shows any flaws and is suspected by other goblins, should a situation like today's happen again, you need to cover for him."
Rate on N.U.
