Chương 19: The Poet and the Dragon Embark on a Journey

Grace smiled, her eyes narrowing, and retorted to Richard, "My little poet, you don't actually think you can seal Zoya away forever with just that one song of yours, do you?"

Richard blinked.

"You mean...?"

Grace didn't answer directly, but instead snapped her fingers.

A beam of light then shot out from her forehead, swirled in mid-air, and entered Richard's head.

"What kind of magic is this?"

"This weakened version of the spiritual connection doesn't mean anything else. I just want you to hear these grumbles echoing in my head. Hehe, I can't be the only one suffering like this."

Before Grace could finish speaking, Richard felt a familiar, sharp voice, more girlish or more like Little Ray's, enter his ears.

"Don't you, bronze dragon, have any self-respect? To actually serve as a bodyguard for a mere insect? A disgrace to dragons!"

"You... you let him touch you so easily? You let him lie on your lap?"

"Damn, it itches so much! It's disgusting!"

"Don't use my body for random things!"

Damn, there's no mistake.

It was Zoya's voice.

Richard scratched his head: "So, this red dragon isn't even asleep, let alone showing any signs of sleepiness, and can even share your senses and curse you in your head?"

"That's right~" After Grace finished speaking, she suddenly grinned mischievously, raised her hand high, and then slapped her own bottom hard.

She herself remained calm, but Zoya in the telepathic connection immediately became furious.

"Hey! Don't film there!"

Then, realizing that Richard could now hear her, she turned her anger on him:

"You despicable poet, it's all your fault! I took pity on you and gave you the opportunity to sing, but you deceived me. How shameless! How vile!"

"That's called outsmarting him, baby."

Richard replied to Zoya, then looked at Grace, waiting for her to explain further.

Grace shrugged.

"That's all there is to it."

"Your singing did help me gain control of the body, but this control is not secure. This body ultimately belongs to her, and once I give her a chance, she will come back for revenge."

"Oh no, actually, there's no need for any opportunity. Just give her some time, or when I feel a little tired or overexert myself, she will revive inside me."

Richard swallowed hard.

This is truly terrible news, like being in Guangzhou and suddenly finding two hairs sticking out of your toothbrush cup when you're brushing your teeth at night!

Fortunately, Grace didn't have any malicious intent to scare Richard at this moment, and immediately said:

"But there's no need to worry so much that you can't sleep."

"As long as you sing me a requiem every week, well, let's be on the safe side, every five days, I'm confident I can keep Zoya under control."

"Of course, this is only a short-term solution. In the long run, I still need to completely resolve the issue of having two souls in one body. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to deal with you when you die of old age in a few decades."

"But to be honest, it's a bit difficult, both for you and for me, because Zoya's soul and mine have already merged to a certain extent. We are intertwined, and neither of us is pure anymore. Even a legendary mage would find it a headache."

"So I haven't thought of a good solution either. I can only leave here for now and take it one step at a time. It just so happens that I don't have any treasure to guard now, so I feel quite relaxed."

"In short, Targaryen, whether we like it or not, we shall embark on this journey together."

"... Unless you're so heartless as to abandon me and plan to have a one-on-one fight with little Zoya in a week."

That's not called being heartless, that's called suicide.

Richard rubbed his temples and thought: Well, now their backside is on fire.

There's another reason why we must become stronger.

However, looking at it from another angle, he also completely tied the bronze dragon to his rocking horse.

Good fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

He took a deep breath, extended his hand to Grace, and said in a deep voice:

"From now on, we're companions. Just call me Richard. Don't call me Targaryen or Little Poet anymore."

"Okay, little poet, no problem, little poet~" Grace grinned mischievously and took Richard's hand.

……

A few more days passed.

In the eastern part of Phoenix, inside a large mansion with high walls and towers.

Jostein Green signed his name on the contract in front of him, then straightened up and shook the hand of the man next to him.

He secretly slipped the gold coin into the other person's palm, and then said politely yet warmly:

"Thank you for your recommendation, Steward Jason. I assure you, my brothers and I will complete the mission with utmost care!"

The man called Jason quietly accepted the gold coins and returned a satisfied smile: "You're too kind, Commander Grin. I only did a small, insignificant task. What truly convinced my master was the formidable strength of your mercenary group..."

The two exchanged a few more words until Jason picked up the contract, indicating that it was time for him to return.

Jostein escorted him all the way to the carriage.

Then he returned to the mansion, went into the dining room on the first floor, and said to the dozen or so burly men sitting on either side of the long table:

"I have great news for you... the deal is done! To celebrate, I've decided to throw a grand banquet here tonight! Fine wine, beautiful women, everything you could want!"

"Long live the commander!"

"Congratulations, sir!"

"By the Lord of Radiance! Brother, you are simply omnipotent!"

Jostein raised his chin, basking in the cheers and praise of the crowd, feeling as if he was about to reach the pinnacle of his life...

His plan has been progressing smoothly over the past few days.

After bidding farewell to the mage William, he immediately took out his treasure and changed into a set of powerful equipment.

Then he went to the black market and bought the summoning scroll he had been longing for, equipping himself with a powerful otherworldly follower.

Then he wrote to his cousin in the countryside and hired an experienced veteran at a high price. With these two as the core, he formed his own Green Mercenary Group.

Then, today, through a series of bribes, he got in touch with the steward of the Phoenix family, an old aristocratic family in Phoenix, and secured a good job!

The job wasn't difficult, the pay was good, and it was especially suitable for him to build his reputation and network.

If he works for a few years, he can expand the size of his mercenary group, and then snowball it until he eventually becomes one of the nobles who rule the city!

A bed infested with lice, dried salted meat so hard it could be used to sharpen a sword—the past as an adventurer on the edge of the world was completely gone, and wealth, power, and authority—the wonderful path adorned with these words—was laid out before him!

He wants everything he desires!

As Jostein pondered this, a smile crept onto his lips...

At this moment, blocking the end of the long table, a person wearing a hood, mask, and gloves, completely obscuring their body, asked in a whistling tone:

"Hey Joe, will there be any fruit at the feast? Preferably the kind that's rotten and infested with worms. You know, I'm not really interested in regular meat and wine."

... Oh, to correct you, not everything is so wonderful.

Jostein looked at the person who had spoken.

The other party called himself Dulu, and was the otherworldly follower he summoned using a scroll.

Because of their extremely unique race, they usually cover themselves tightly with clothes, and their behavior is also unusual, making them quite troublesome to deal with.

He smirked and asked Dulu, "Can't you eat something that's not so disgusting?"

Dudu immediately retorted:

"Everything I eat is completely natural, how is it disgusting?"

"On the contrary, what you eat—burnt limbs, tangled flesh and blood, dismembered corpses soaked in some unknown yellowish-purple viscous fluid—ugh..."

"That's disgusting!"

Jostein stood there for a few seconds, and it took him a while to react before he said:

"Those are roasted chicken wings, stewed meatballs, and butter mushrooms, not some limbs, flesh, or dismembered bodies! You can't... Fine, I give up, I'll go buy you some rotten fruit right now!"

"Haha, thanks a lot, Old Joe, you're such a good person~" Considering the other party's value, Jostein decided to hold back a little longer.

He summoned two of his men and left the mansion with Dulu.

On the way, he walked with unusually fast steps because he was a little annoyed by Dulu.

As he rounded a corner, he suddenly felt himself bump into something. Looking down, he realized it was a little girl selling flowers.

He looked to be about ten years old, thin, with long gray hair, and his clothes were tattered and patched.

At that moment, the little girl was knocked to the ground, and all the flowers in her arms fell into the muddy puddles by the roadside.

The original blue, red, and yellow petals were all dyed brownish-black, and it seemed they wouldn't sell.

Jostein quickly apologized...

That is impossible.

He didn't think the little girl's experience had anything to do with him.

Since he was the weaker one, he should open his eyes wide... This was a lesson he learned in the winter when he was eight years old.

then.

Jostein looked away and left as if nothing had happened.

in situ.

Elsa Cinderella looked at her scraped arm, the scattered flowers, and Jostein's strong back as he walked away. She shrank back and didn't dare to say a word.

She simply picked up the flowers silently and walked into the depths of the alley.

After a few minutes, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and began to sob softly...