Chapter 2556: Chapter 1711: Reunion (Still Curling Up to Sleep)

And so, Duanmu Huai, who had slain the Upper Dragon, became the hero who saved the city, receiving a warm welcome from everyone — it should have been like that, but unfortunately, there was really no time for that now.

[Attention all citizens, attention all citizens, this is the Lize Kingdom Army. We inform all citizens that there has been a large-scale dragon incident in the cities near the national boundary. All citizens, please follow the command of military forces in each city and evacuate to the Royal City... The Royal City is very safe; if you are unable to evacuate there, please await military rescue on site and do not approach the national boundary.]

Duanmu Huai sat at the table, listening to the announcement from the recorder with a somewhat complex expression, only feeling... this mess is really quite messy.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

"This is the notice we just received."

The mayor in front of Duanmu Huai stared at him solemnly and seriously, then turned down the volume of the radio.

"Honorable Dragon Hunter, do you have any opinions?"

"Hmm..."

Duanmu Huai squinted his eyes and thought for a moment.

"I’m curious, why does the Royal City believe they won’t be breached by the dragon pack? Relying solely on the city walls should be ineffective, right?"

"That’s true, but the Royal City has a barrier set up by the Sun God Sect which can prevent the dragon pack from entering."

"Oh, there really is such a convenient thing? Why don’t you have it?"

"Ah, esteemed one, you might not know, the Sun God Sect only helps those forces they favor; for others they don’t favor, they won’t assist."

"Hmm..."

Duanmu Huai knew there was a religion called the Sun God Sect in this world, which was normal. Since dragons here feared sunlight, worshiping the sun was indeed an option.

"What is your plan?"

"As of now, the safest way is to head to the Royal City, but..."

The mayor said, while also frowning.

"To be honest, the Royal City cannot accommodate too many people. Even if we manage to go there, it doesn’t mean we can get many resources. Therefore, I have a request."

"Oh?"

"Brave Lord, could you stay in this city?"

Saying this, the mayor stared at Duanmu Huai.

"As long as you are here, even if the city faces another dragon pack attack, we can repel it. Also, this is our city; frankly, as long as we don’t have to leave our homeland, we’d rather stay here."

"Even if I could protect you for a month or two, it doesn’t mean I can protect you for decades."

Duanmu Huai shook his head.

"I don’t plan to stay here long; at least for now, I haven’t planned to settle here."

"In that case, the remaining option is to evacuate the citizens, to let them leave the city as quickly as possible before the dragon pack attacks again."

"A very prudent decision."

To the mayor’s proposal, Duanmu Huai nodded. Against a dragon pack, employing human sea tactics is futile, and frankly, aside from Dragon Hunters with silver swords, it’s almost impossible for anyone else to eliminate a dragon pack. Thus, most civilians become burdens here. Staying would only increase casualties; they are of no use.

Therefore, the best option is to evacuate, or as they say, if the green hills are left, there will always be firewood. No matter how fierce the dragon pack is, it can’t field every person to search every inch of land; there’s always the possibility of someone escaping.

"In that case, I hope you can stay a little longer, at least until most of the citizens are evacuated."

"That’s not a problem, how do you plan to proceed?"

"Those willing to go to the Royal City, send them to the Royal City; those willing to go elsewhere, send them elsewhere; if they really don’t want to go, they can stay."

Seems like there’s no other way.

"Alright."

Duanmu Huai thought for a moment and nodded.

"I’ll wait for you for three days; after three days, I’ll go to the Royal City to check out the situation."

"Okay."

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s answer, the mayor also breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, the door suddenly knocked. Hearing the knock, the mayor’s expression sank.

"Come in."

"Yes!"

Quickly, a soldier opened the door and walked in, respectfully saluting.

"What is it?"

"Reporting, sir, there’s a magician outside requesting to see you."

"Magician?"

"Yes, she claims to be this... Hero’s companion."

"Companion?"

Upon hearing this, not only the mayor was stunned, but Duanmu Huai also raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

He remembered he didn’t have any companions in this world, right?

"Hero? Your companion?"

"Let her in."

Duanmu Huai revealed a smile and nodded.

"I’m also looking forward to meeting her."

He wanted to see who dared to mess with him like this.

Soon, a guard brought in someone entirely wrapped in a cloak; well, judging by appearance, indeed somewhat suspicious.

But Duanmu Huai also felt the silhouette seemed familiar; who could this be?

However, before Duanmu Huai could inquire, the other person chuckled softly.

"As expected, I knew you’d be here, Xiao Ai."

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this voice, Duanmu Huai was stunned.

Wait, could it be...!?!

However, as if to confirm his suspicions, the other party lowered their hood, revealing a face that was all too familiar to Duanmu Huai.

"... Chi Yin?"

"I really didn’t expect Xiao Ai to be so famous in this city; at least my search wasn’t in vain."

Hei Chuan Chi Yin stared at Duanmu Huai, giving a gentle smile.

"I really didn’t expect you to come... Hmm, it truly surprises me."

Although Duanmu Huai had many things he wanted to say, it was clearly not the right time, so he paused, changed the subject, and then looked towards the mayor again.

"Well then, I’ll leave things here to you."

"Understood, Brave Lord."

After this, the mayor went to carry out the evacuation of citizens, while Duanmu Huai took Hei Chuan Chi Yin to a nearby guest room, then silently stared at her.

"Why are you here? You didn’t come here by chance, did you?"

"Of course not, my lord."

But before Hei Chuan Chi Yin could speak, Princess Noren quietly appeared from the air, giggling as she looked at him.

"Long time no see———"

However, before Princess Noren could finish her words, Duanmu Huai’s expression suddenly darkened, and an overwhelming aura burst forth from him!

"Ugh———!"

At this moment, even Hei Chuan Chi Yin turned pale. She had felt similar pressures while acting before, but compared to the daunting aura erupting from Duanmu Huai now, those previous experiences were nothing. Hei Chuan Chi Yin even felt as if her heart had been frozen. The souls of Fureya and Noren, who appeared behind her, were directly swept away by this terrifying torrent, like sandcastles battered by the waves, becoming vague before completely vanishing into the air.

Not until then did the oppressive force from Duanmu Huai dissipate, and Hei Chuan Chi Yin let out a breath, collapsing into a chair, breathing heavily. Her gaze towards Duanmu Huai, for the first time, was filled with fear.

Terrifying!

Hei Chuan Chi Yin could feel that the Duanmu Huai just now seemed as though he could mercilessly kill her, that chilling, murderous intent was enough to freeze even blood and soul.

"Xiao, Xiao Ai?"

"Worthy of the Brave Lord."

However, unlike the panicked Hei Chuan Chi Yin, the reappearing Princess Noren seemed very pleased.

"Indeed, you still immediately strike when seeing any threatening presence, just like before, unchanged in the slightest."

"... Hah..."

Looking at Noren appearing again, Duanmu Huai sighed quietly, then sat down, staring at both of them.

"So, what’s going on? You should both be dead."

"Yes, that’s right, my sister and I died a long time ago. We established a unified Imperial empire and maintained a brilliant century, but we are ultimately humans, so it’s normal we would eventually die. Ah, no need to worry, my sister and I did not marry, we just adopted a few children."

"And she particularly enjoyed having those children fight each other, claiming only the victor could become the next ruler."

Fureya complained to Duanmu Huai somewhat mischievously.

"Thanks to her, the Imperial was nearly on the brink of collapse."

"But in the end, the victor was well decided, wasn’t it?"

Princess Noren clearly wasn’t bothered by Fureya’s complaints.

"To rule a powerful empire, one necessarily needs the power and character to match. We can’t control what happens later, but we should make good decisions when we can intervene."

"I’m not interested in this topic."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand listlessly; he wasn’t surprised that Princess Noren made such a decision because, despite her seemingly naive and cute appearance, Noren was essentially a cold realist. Besides, no matter what, the empire they established ended centuries ago, so discussing the past was meaningless.

"I just want to know, what is your current situation?"

"Hmm..."

Upon Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, Fureya and Noren looked at each other.

"We’re not really sure either. How should I say it, our souls have not left this world, as though many people desire us to remain here as Guardians. Originally, we were meant to fly high and depart."

Noren gestured as if flapping wings.

"But those people’s... prayers? Or beliefs were injected into us, making us feel heavier somehow, then we slowly returned."

"But we can’t really do anything."

Fureya seemed quite disgruntled.

"We have appeared before the successors as illusions, attempting to guide the Imperial’s direction, but..."

"Every country eventually falls; some things are beyond our power to reverse, especially after being forgotten by people."

In contrast to Fureya, Noren just chuckled, indifferent.

"Then, we continued to sleep, feeling... "

"Felt what?"

"The Brave Lord’s aura. No matter how many years pass by, it’s an aura we would never forget. So we followed this aura and found this young lady."

"Why her?"

Duanmu Huai found it surprising, honestly, if they found Ruby, it wouldn’t surprise Duanmu Huai. After all, in that world, she was his biological sister, with a bloodline connection. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

But Hei Chuan Chi Yin?

"We’re not too sure either, better leave it to the Brave Lord to explain?"

"...I think I can guess."

By process of elimination, the relationship between Hei Chuan Chi Yin and himself that others don’t have must be the only possibility.

And judging by Princess Noren’s expression, she clearly did it on purpose.

"In short, this young lady is troubled by matters concerning you, my lord. I can understand, weak and powerless, just anxiously waiting. Hence, my sister and I decided to lend her a hand and made a mysterious transaction with her."

"Transaction?"

Faced with Duanmu Huai’s questioning, Princess Noren didn’t immediately answer, instead playfully winking, looking towards Hei Chuan Chi Yin, who hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

"Actually... they said they wanted to be born as my children..."

"... Huh?"