Slaying the Dragons
It was Dugu Qing who made the move; those who had promised not to interfere were now facing their fate.
Revolte gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury, and was enraged.
Throughout history, Demons have used their appearance and language to deceive humanity countless times.
I never imagined that I, a member of the Great Demons, would be deceived by humans today.
In Revolte's eyes, Dugu Qing's image instantly transformed from an innocent and handsome young man into a filthy, despicable person.
"You are despicable, shameless, and utterly lacking in martial ethics..."
Before he could finish speaking, Revolte's body vanished into nothingness, carried away by the wind, and returned to the world.
"Revolte, you died with your eyes wide open! I feel like you're the reason it died."
Dugu Qing slayed the Demons, and although Stark was saved, he was still resentful that his monster had been stolen.
"Nonsense! Revolte was killed by Dugu Qing in a fair and square manner. What anger could there be?"
Fern jogged over to Dugu Qing's side, his eyes filled with utmost protectiveness.
Dugu Qing raised his hand and took out the Holy Scripture. The pages glowed faintly, and a gentle holy light slowly covered Stark, healing his wounds.
Methode stepped forward and also cast a healing spell on Genau.
Having recovered from his injuries and regained his spirits, Stark couldn't help but tease Fern, who was still protecting Dugu Qing.
"I'm so angry!"
"Killed, lifeless." Fern stood on tiptoe, his imposing presence completely overwhelming Stark.
"I'm so angry!"
Stark walked away slowly, but his tone remained unyielding.
Dugu Qing looked around. Good, the Demons have all been wiped out. We can deal with the rest tomorrow.
All he wants now is a good night's sleep.
"Good night."
Dugu Qing waved to Frieren and entered the church.
I pieced together a bed from tables, laid out a blanket, a quilt, and a pillow, lay down on it, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next day, the village was still a scene of ruins.
But the atmosphere of peace returned once again.
Stark got up early and exercised in the forest.
Dugu Qing took a walk along the river and caught a fish along the way for breakfast.
Frieren and Fern were sleeping in the same bed, in an intimate and unseemly manner, until ten o'clock in the morning.
A faint aroma of fish wafted in from outside the window. Frieren and Fern woke up, brushed their teeth, washed their faces, and stepped out of the room.
The group enjoyed the meal and then said their goodbyes.
Frieren, Fern, Dugu Qing, Stark stood together, watching Genau and Methode leave.
The Knights of Norm arrived late in the afternoon.
A grand funeral was held for the knight who died in battle.
Dugu Qing and his companions stood in the setting sun, following the forest path, and set off again for the Aureole further north.
In the 30th year of the Xinshi Era, in the Northern Plateau Dura Sea Region.
The residents of this area were attacked by a horde of dragons, and most of their carefully built homes collapsed and were destroyed.
People suppressed their grief and gathered bricks, stones, and timber to build houses, turning the entire village into a construction site.
Dugu Qing, Frieren, Stark, Fern witnessed the devastation along the way and were deeply saddened by the suffering of the villagers.
Some elderly people even have to fight monsters in the wild in order to collect timber.
Fern was heartbroken and took out his savings, gold coins, and gave them to the elderly man in need.
Seeing this, Frieren, Dugu Qing, Stark also generously offered their help.
They've just made a fortune and aren't short of money at all; they spend it without a second thought.
Upon hearing of this, the village chief came to visit the adventure team, urging them to defeat the culprit, the dragon pack.
Having seen the Stark Red Mirror Dragon, as large as a mountain, the village chief now entrusted him with the task of vanquishing a group of dragons.
He instinctively assumed that it was a group of dragons as powerful as the Red Mirror Dragon.
"How scary."
Stark couldn't hold back any longer. He clung to Dugu Qing's shoulders, trembling, his fighting spirit completely gone.
Frieren looked at the village chief and asked what the reward for the quest was.
The village chief was a little embarrassed. "The reward is the magic that prevents me from biting my tongue when reciting tongue twisters."
"It doesn't sound like much help, but let's help if we can!"
Frieren extended her hand and shook hands with the village chief, signifying that an agreement had been reached.
The village chief told Frieren everything he knew about the dragons.
Frieren entered the dilapidated house, looked at the dragon claw marks left on the wall, and absorbed the magic within.
Using Detection Magic, they found a group of dragons with the same aura deep in the forest on the other side of the mountain.
The group left the village, traversed the barren forest, and tracked the dragon herd.
Looking at the magical runes in Frieren's hand, Stark sighed sincerely.
"Magic is truly amazing!"
Frieren hummed smugly, clearly enjoying Stark's praise.
The group continued their journey, crossing lush meadows, wading through rushing rivers, and climbing rugged cliffs, finally arriving at a deep canyon.
The valley was spacious, with dozens of small pterosaurs lying haphazardly.
Dugu Qing was confident that he could solve the problem easily.
Frieren began assigning missions, with Stark acting as the vanguard to draw aggro, while she, along with Dugu Qing and Fern, would then work together to annihilate the demonic dragon.
Stark gave a wry smile, then plunged into the dragon horde, his axe slashing down.
A pterosaur was instantly decapitated and vanished into nothingness.
The remaining pterosaurs were enraged and roared as they swarmed to surround them.
Stark suppressed his panic, wildly wielding his axe to carve a path, and desperately rushed out of the canyon.
The dragons, their fangs bared and mouths agape, moved with astonishing speed, closely following behind Stark.
Dugu Qing, Fern, Frieren flew into the sky, subtly surrounding the dragon horde, while simultaneously unleashing Ordinary Attack Magic.
A dense barrage of Mana Bullet ripped through the sky, followed by a continuous series of explosions.
One after another, the dragons fell to the ground, turning into ashes and vanishing into thin air.
Stark, clutching his wound, ran disheveled to Dugu Qing.
"Hurry, heal my wounds."
Dugu Qing took out the Holy Scripture and casually cast a healing spell to heal Stark's injuries.
Soon, Stark recovered from his injuries and regained his health.
The group returned to the disaster-stricken village.
The village chief, moved to tears, stepped forward, took out the Grimoire, and respectfully presented it to Frieren.
Frieren took the Grimoire and led the group on their way.
Fern followed behind Frieren, somewhat curious.
"Ms. Frieren, why do you always accept payment when you help others?"
Frieren flipped through the Grimoire and said calmly,
"Because that's what Himmel did."
Dugu Qing fully understood why Himmel did this.
"If you simply help the other person, it can make them feel guilty. That feeling, though light, can sometimes be quite heavy. If you get some reward from them, then it's fair and reasonable, and everyone gets what they want."
Fern, Stark nodded in sudden realization.
Himmel's actions were indeed gentle, but Dugu Qing, who could see through the underlying reasons at a glance, was also remarkable!