Chương 122: What?! The intelligence was fake?

! The intelligence was fake?

! The intelligence was fake?

In the Ronia Mountains, inside the Red Moon Castle.

Grand Duke Lucian looked at the newly delivered intelligence, remained silent for a long time, and then, with a sorrowful expression, muttered to himself, "Alas, Vespera, even you have left me—" As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at the burly man not far away who was frantically gnawing on a roasted wild boar: "The Imperials' capabilities have exceeded my expectations. As an ally, what are your thoughts on this?"

The burly man didn't even turn his head: "What opinion could you possibly have? The strong live and the weak die. The imperial people are strong while your subordinates are weak, so it's not unusual for them to die—" His tone was very casual and rude.

Lucian wasn't angry. He simply walked gracefully to the burly man's side and continued, "After those Imperials left Longlance Keep, they invaded the territory of a blue dragon. This situation has exceeded the limits of what my men can handle. I can't send them to their deaths anymore—" What's your opinion on this? Do you know the blue dragon that dwells in the southern desert of Longspear Fortress?

The burly man stopped eating and replied somewhat impatiently, "There are countless dragons on the Primordial Continent; how could I possibly know them all? And don't expect me to help you hunt down the descendants of the Ash Duke. I'm here to do something far more important!"

Lucian's lips curled up slightly, and he changed the subject: "That's true, an ordinary blue dragon doesn't really interest you, so how about adding a red dragon?"

The burly man frowned.

Lucian continued, "A red dragon lady from the Gulf region who chose to help the Empire, isn't that interesting?"

""

"It's certainly novel; it sounds like something abducted."

The burly man pursed his lips, thinking once again of his foolish sister.

Could it be— Tsk, in that case, they'll have to be taught a good lesson.

Let that little bastard understand what a real Red Dragon should live!

After hesitating for a few seconds, he threw down the wild boar he was holding, stared at Lucian, and said, "Fifty thousand gold coins, and I'll help you with this trip."

.

We've gone this far, do you still want money?

These dragons— Lucian sighed softly and agreed to the strong man's terms.

A few days later.

The ferocious behemoth that came from afar broke into the desert in the northern part of the Miracle Plains. After searching around without finding anything, it turned around and clashed with the local blue dragons.

They barely exchanged a few words before erupting into a full-blown fight, igniting the entire sky with their fury and dragon breath—while providing a delightful spectacle for the surrounding orcs and nomads.

After a long time, the ferocious beast emerged victorious.

However, despite his great effort in subduing the local tyrant, he still didn't get what he wanted and could only roar angrily to the sky: "Lucian, your intelligence was fake! You fucking got fooled!"

at the same time.

A little further north.

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

Richard sneezed three times in a row for no apparent reason.

Is someone talking about me?

Oh ho ho, could it be that the vampires finally fell for my trick and thought we went to the blue dragon's lair?

That's right.

The vampire captive was deliberately released, and everything he saw and heard on his escape route was a play arranged by Richard.

The goal was to get them to spread false information, thereby misleading the vampires into focusing their attention on the wrong path.

Let's get back to the present.

Richard wasn't clairvoyant and couldn't see what was happening in the blue dragon's territory, so he only made a slight connection before withdrawing his thoughts and continuing on his way.

Led by Malek's eldest son, Richard and his party have taken a hidden path these past few days, successfully avoiding the threats of orcs and blue dragons.

Finally, they arrived at yet another mountain range.

Marek's eldest son silently recited a few words to an unremarkable cliff at the foot of the mountain, and immediately a stone gate appeared on the cliff.

He pushed open the stone door and said to Isabella, "Your Highness, I'll leave you here."

"This place used to be a mine for dwarves. After the mines were depleted, the dwarves all moved away. My father took over their legacy and transformed it into a tunnel that runs through the mountains."

"There aren't many side paths inside, and there aren't any decent monsters. If I had to name one, it would just be some low-level slimes."

"Just go straight for three or four days to reach the exit, and from there go east for half a day to reach Silver City."

Isabella nodded.

"Thank you for your guidance along the way. Please convey my gratitude to your father."

Marek's eldest son bowed with his hand on his chest, wished everyone good luck, and then turned and left.

The group then entered the tunnel and headed east.

There's not much to say about the rest of the journey.

The tunnel was indeed quite safe, so Richard was able to focus his energy on improving himself.

He first practiced the Rose Sword Technique persistently, which finally earned him the system's recognition and made it appear in the regular skills section.

After that, he formally made Isabella his harpist mentor, teaching her a great deal about the Harpist Alliance.

For example, who are the leaders of the secret alliance? What are their commonly used codes? When they need help, what are the markers to leave on the walls of which buildings?

Incidentally, during his studies, he also peeked at Isabella's current stats and discovered that she had also leveled up and become a level 9 paladin capable of using 5th-tier combat skills.

Considering Isabella herself doesn't have a system, achieving this at such a young age already makes her worthy of the title of genius.

Back to topic.

As the group continued their journey, on the afternoon of the third day, the ranger scouting ahead finally saw a ray of sunshine after a long absence.

"Everyone, keep up the good work, the exit is just around the corner!"

At Holcher's shout, everyone perked up, took two more minutes, and finally passed through the last tunnel, arriving at the sunlit surface.

"ah----"

"I've finally figured it out!"

After squinting to adjust to the change in light, most of the people in the group shouted happily.

There's no way around it; while there's no danger inside the tunnel, it's undeniably too dark, and after a while, it inevitably affects one's mood. Perhaps only a few people like Richard, with their unique experiences, would be moved by the sights and feel nostalgic in the underground world.

After Isabella and the others had vented their emotions, she gave a new order: "Everyone, let's keep going! The sun will set in a few hours. Instead of resting now, let's make the most of our time and reach Silver City, then spend the night there!"

Although it was an order urging them to set off, the thought of soon reaching the empire's territory made everyone take a deep breath and agree in unison.

Just as everyone was checking their luggage and preparing to set off again, shadows suddenly loomed over them.

Richard looked up and saw that there were about a dozen bipedal wyverns—as the name suggests, these were dragon-like monsters that were much smaller than giant dragons, with two fewer forelimbs.

However, when they gather in large groups of a dozen or so, they are probably not much less threatening than dragons.

Therefore, Richard couldn't help but shout nervously, "Watch out!"

Unexpectedly, after hearing his warning, Isabella, at the front of the group, not only didn't draw her weapon, but instead let out a long sigh of relief and smiled, "Don't be nervous, Richard, they're here to greet us—" >