Soul of Burning Steel

Of course, future adventures are of course very interesting and worth looking forward to, but Joshua still has some important things to do right now.

After Yu Israel and Nostradamus agreed on some details about exploring the space-time distortion point, everyone left Fairy Town together and returned to the center of the Morlaix Palace.

During the period, some goblins also flew to say goodbye. They followed the will of the four goblin queens and came to congratulate the two new legends, Nostradamus and Joshua. The goblins actually know the current situation on the mainland very well. They have a complete information channel, but because the Queen of Earth Element was seriously injured by the energy torrent of the Great Demon Tide last year, and the other three also suffered from large and small injuries, so during that time, Fairy Township blocked contact with the outside world, and there was no time to dispatch them. Envoys go to the North.

After Nostradamus advanced to legend, there is nothing urgent to do, but before going to his residence to consolidate his strength, the old mage still needs to rearrange the magic circle around the imperial capital - because he advanced to legend Splitting time and space, he walked back to the Mycroft Continent from the stargazer in the void, so the time-space anchoring circle over the entire imperial capital was severely damaged, which was also a side effect of his shocking appearance.

And Israel is going to sort out some housework - the emperor's housework is actually government affairs. If he doesn't return to the imperial capital for a few months, the imperial capital will be reborn under the tide. Many nobles and powerful forces are about to move. His Majesty the emperor wants to suppress . In addition, there are still a lot of important matters around the empire waiting for him to deal with. During the entire Spring Festival, Israel probably has no other time to do other things.

As for Joshua.

"Let's go, Yingying, No. 3, I kept you waiting for a long time."

He picked up Hotaru, who was still waiting in the hall, and put her on his shoulders. Joshua held the hand of No. 3 beside him, and controlled his strength to lift it up a little, so as not to trample on the walls of the Palace of Morlaix. Carpet floor or something else: "Let's go check out this festival."

"Okay, Master!" This was Yingying's cheerful echo. The girl had long been used to Joshua leaving suddenly by herself from time to time, so she must have something to do anyway.

"It's too slow, Joshua." This is No. 3's complaint: "Where have you been?"

Even so, she still held the soldier's hand obediently.

The process of shopping was a bit lackluster. After all, no one would be so stupid as to strike up a conversation with the female companion of a legendary warrior, and it was absolutely impossible for any noble whose head was kicked by a donkey to provoke the Earl of the Northland. In fact, those who had a grudge against Joshua The family members of the Fertao family and the Suward family had retreated in full force at the same time as the soldiers entered the imperial capital, leaving only a few fringe members of the family to investigate the news.

What's more, Joshua also used a secret method to shield his presence at this time, and most people couldn't notice his existence—of course, the price was that the passers-by around him would feel palpitations and chills for no reason, and many of them murmured I wonder if there are ghosts around here, and although most people have heard of the legendary warrior Earl Radcliffe, they don't actually know what Joshua looks like, so Hotaru and No. 3 want to buy it. What, and when the warrior pays the bill, the store owner or the cashier of the chamber of commerce will not have any special reaction except for being startled by the 'sudden appearance' of the warrior and his party.

Otherwise, wherever the soldiers go, they will rush to the street, so how can they go shopping like this?

In the commercial street of Queen's Boulevard, Joshua accidentally saw the two of Brandon Verdani in the VIP area of ​​the Frost Diamond Chamber of Commerce. Brandon seemed to be talking about the current situation and Queen Edna with great interest. The topic of miscalculation today, but the purple-haired countess said a few times in a lack of interest, and then asked in a soft voice why the swordsman paid attention to other ladies and Queen Edna.

This is indeed a good question - even after going through thousands of battles and advancing to the ultimate level, Brandon can't answer it. He can answer some truths, for example, he is the heir of the Chaos family after all, so of course he should pay attention to the situation in the imperial capital, but he will definitely not be able to please him after returning home like this.

So not long after, Joshua, who saw the two of them again at another luxury goods store, discovered that there was an extra string of delicate necklaces made of [Elam crystal] around Verdani's neck, which according to rumors The precious crystal from the depths of the ground is worth ten times its weight in pure gold because of its terrifying magic power capacity. Brandon seems to be bleeding profusely.

Be careful, my friend. The soldier shook his head with emotion, but he could actually tell that the blond swordsman was also very happy.

"What are you looking at, Joshua?"

Hearing the sound, the soldier lowered his head and looked to his side. No. 3 didn't pay attention to Joshua's movements, she probably just asked casually, because Miss Artificial Intelligence was scanning the large expanse of crystal ore in front of her.

This is the exhibition area of ​​the Cangyan Chamber of Commerce from the wind-eroded sand plain. They are the largest luxury goods trader in the southeastern region of the empire. In front of Joshua and the three of them are the raw amethyst they exhibited today. Amethyst is the second largest. Natural magic-storing gemstones based on Elam crystal and several other rare ores are mostly used to inscribe runes and serve as the cornerstone of some large-scale magic circles.

Speaking of which, the body of No. 3 seems to be a large piece of rune crystal?

Thinking of this, why doesn't Joshua know what Miss Artificial Intelligence is thinking? So he waved his hand: "Buy."

And just when the soldiers were shopping in the imperial capital.

Northland, deep in the Great Ajax Mountains.

The sun at noon shoots obliquely from the rolling clouds, and shines on the land that has just thawed from the ice and snow. It covers the green jungle in the mountains with a dazzling golden halo, and officially announces the coming of spring. .

In the depths of the dormant Great Ajax Volcano, there is the sound of lava surging, and between the concave and convex ravines on the surface around it, you can see a large area of ​​black forest growing vigorously relying on the fertile volcanic ash. As the representative of [Cthulhu God's Abundance]'s remaining will after death, the black forests all over the continent have a vigorous vitality that is different from normal life. This vitality breeds countless monsters. They are monsters that threaten the lives of the people of the Northern Territories. , It is also the target of countless adventurers who come from afar to hunt and hunt, because many of these monsters that grow in volcanoes and extreme cold are very cherished and have great value.

But no matter how great the value is, it cannot be compared with a living creature.

That is the dragon.

Astral dragons, original dragons, no matter what kind of dragon they are, their existence itself means gold and merit. A sub-dragon with dragon blood has many treasures that can be excavated. For example, the poisonous blood that is comparable to strong acid will It was purchased by alchemists at a high price, and the tough and light leather will also be sought after by some rangers, not to mention the sharp claws and fangs that can be used to sharpen daggers and short knives. Some countries are enough to be a knight or even a baron.

Just sub-dragons have such value, not to mention astral dragons and high-level original dragons whose flesh and blood are equivalent to the same weight of gold. It seems that no creature can surpass them in terms of pure value. The crystallization on the top of the Italian star crown dragon can buy a city in Xishan, and the poison sac in the body of a high-level green dragon can be made into a terrifying biochemical weapon that poisons tens of thousands of people. Their value has surpassed luxury goods, and is equivalent to The incomparably scarce strategic materials, who can kill a giant dragon, will be worshiped by everyone as the "Dragon Slayer", because that is the best proof of strength.

But in fact, there is still a kind of biological value that overrides them.

That is Gu Long.

Ancient dragons, creatures that exist in legends and history, have fallen into silence in the last era. The last time news of ancient dragons appeared was in the Northland four hundred years ago. At that time, to expel ancient dragons—only to expel them, not to For hunting, the empire dispatched hundreds of gold powerhouses and several extreme powerhouses to lead the formation, and a legendary mage was on call for support at any time. The money consumed by dispatching such an expeditionary force is enough to directly bankrupt a small country and put a heavy burden on an empire. In the end, after it is confirmed that Gu Long has left, no one will think that such a cautious move is a waste of time and money. Everyone is glad that they don't have to be enemies with such an existence.

This is the value of the ancient dragon. Its existence alone is enough to compare with an empire. Its rumors can make a country stand ready to fight against it. It is no longer a 'battle', but a 'war' .

Therefore, because of the great value of ancient dragons, there is such a kind of adventurer who is listed separately in the classification of all adventurers. They chase the news of ancient dragons and look for clues of their existence. They are called ancient dragon chasers. They are all looking for the resting place of those legendary dragons.

Among all the ancient dragon chasers, the most famous ones are the two legendary powerhouses, 'Rune Master' Barnir and 'Mind Master' William.

Because of their childhood dreams, these two legendary powerhouses resolutely decided when they were young to give up all the family property and inheritance rights, and have been wandering outside, looking for every trace of the ancient dragon. They have explored the most dangerous Jedi and entered the world. They once parted ways because of some things, but reunited because of some things. They have discovered more than ten hidden places where ancient dragons once lived, [Extreme Cold Ice Crown] [Lava Sanctuary] [ Canglei Tower] [Ice Erosion Frost Top], many extremely hidden special areas were discovered by them, and the two even found the fossil of an ancient dragon's claw in the bedrock of the overseas islands, but until today, they still haven't found it. To a real, still alive ancient dragon.

"This is not good, William. We have been looking for the Northland for almost a year. If this continues, the White Tower of Guantian will cancel the status of our two special mentors."

In the depths of the Great Ajax Mountains, two legendary mages stood on the top of a mountain. One of them, who looked older, took out his eyes with some distress—a crystal mask carved with densely packed runes. In a blink of an eye, the very tidy-looking old mage shook his head and said: "The ancient dragon breath in the Northland is the strongest I have ever seen in my life. If it wasn't for the fact that the empire has not allowed us to enter the country before, we would have come here to explore a long time ago." , and there is no need to stay here for the reason of helping to take care of the territory before."

"Indeed, the lava area found at the bottom of the Great Ajax Volcano is indeed very similar to the [Lava Sanctuary] we discovered before. It seems that the ancient dragon that lives there should have some relationship with the [Ancient Dragon Melting Steel Mountain Dragon] .”

On the side, the younger-looking bard nodded, but he also looked a little disappointed: "But it's the same as before, no matter how hard we search, we can't find the whereabouts of Gu Long."

Although they seem distressed and disappointed, both of them actually understand that this is the normal state of ancient dragon chasers. In fact, except for the two legendary powerhouses who want to find a living ancient dragon wholeheartedly, the other ancient dragons Most of the chasers have become bounty dealers looking for and selling the materials left by the ancient dragon. You must know that even if it is a little bloodstone left by the ancient dragon, or a small piece of bone fragment, there will be a large number of people who will spend it. Buy at a high price.

As far as William knew, the lord of their territory, the newly promoted legendary warrior Joshua Van Radcliffe, once bought some ancient dragon blood and ancient dragon bones from one of his descendants who was an ancient dragon chaser. It is said that it is for his dragon blood horse to awaken the bloodline to advance.

"Wait!" Thinking of this, the mind controller couldn't help frowning, he pushed the shoulder of his friend beside him, and asked with some doubts: "Barnier, did you, old man, take Radcliffe? The earl's black dragon with the blood of an ancient dragon is regarded as the smell of an ancient dragon? If this is the case, you can really retire and go to the White Tower of Guantian to be your mentor."

"Nonsense, you are not much younger than me! And how could I be mistaken, there is a world of difference between the breath mixed with other dragon blood and the pure ancient dragon breath!"

The neat old man blew his beard and stared at him immediately. Both of them are acquaintances, and they don't need to maintain the majesty and reserve of a legendary strong man on weekdays. Who is afraid of anyone who has known each other for so many years, but he also frowned: "But what you said Yes, part of the strong ancient dragon breath in the North is likely to be emitted by the black dragon mount on weekdays. Its smell will not be confused with the real ancient dragon, but it should still affect our judgment, such as some key places We can't track it down, and that's probably how misleading it is."

"Then let's do another wide-area search. This time, forget about the breath of the black dragon—and the breath of its owner—and completely block the breath of humans and creatures from Moldavia."

Saying so, Barnir and William closed their eyes at the same time. In front of the two of them, a large dense rune circle appeared. It was the [specialized detection circle against ancient dragons] that they had been perfecting for many years. In just a moment, the two The spiritual power of the legendary spellcaster sifted through the entire Northern Territory through this magic circle, causing all people and monsters above the gold level to feel a faint palpitation.

This is also the reason why they don't use this magic circle, it can be easily taken as a provocation, and they only have the opportunity to use it when Joshua and others are not present.

After a while, the two legendary powerhouses opened their eyes again, and their expressions became strange.

On the northern border, the great demon Laldan As, who had just lurked from the west mountain, just jumped over the northern border. After a long period of cautious actions, it successfully avoided all the detection circles in the empire , came to the Northland Earl's territory that had killed its clone once, and had a great connection with the rekindling of the Mycroft Continent.

But it doesn't know.

What is waiting for it.