Chapter 269

"Fortunately, I did some preparation before coming."

As he spoke, Leon took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, along with a silver coin he had found on Nacho.

The disguise was secondary; the most crucial element was actually this silver coin, which represented the royal family's status and position.

When Leon served in the Dragon Slayer Army, the Empire's Royal Family also gave him something like this.

It looks nice, but he's never been interested in this kind of thing.

So he went home and modified it, turning it into a rattle for livestock, which he hung around the Donkey Donkey's neck.

This time, as soon as Donkey Donkey started pulling the millstone, the pleasant sound of the bell rang continuously, adding a lot of fun to Donkey Donkey's monotonous "996" life.

Leon put on his sunglasses, toyed with the silver coin in his hand, then gestured with his chin towards the four guards, deliberately adopting an air of officialdom.

"Let's go, Miss Noa."

Hiss--

What's with this contradictory feeling of disliking him but also wanting to go along with him?

Was my Mom like this when she was dating him?

He's already twenty-three, you old man, can't you be a little more mature?

Despite her inner complaints, Noa still went along with him.

"Yes, Lord Leon."

The father and daughter remained calm and composed as they walked towards the entrance of the underground facility.

The four guards heard the footsteps and immediately became alert.

"Who goes there? Coming to the royal family's Western Regions tribute storage area in the dead of night?" the lead guard questioned sternly.

Leon did not answer, and continued to fiddle with the silver coin in his hand.

The silver coins tumbled back and forth between his fingers with fluid ease.

Noa stepped forward and replied in a low voice.

"The culture of the Western Regions is renowned throughout the world. It is inconvenient to visit during the day due to the large number of people, so we chose to come at night to observe it."

The guard lifted the alert, glanced at the silver coins in Leon's hand, and realized that the other party was an official of considerable status. So he quickly changed his tune, "My lord, please forgive me, the password is arranged by the royal family. No matter who comes, they must check the password first."

The code was cleverly integrated into the question-and-answer dialogue. Although it was a place to store the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale, it was disguised as a "tribute from the Western Regions." Anyone who did not know the code would definitely be tricked.

Leon secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still had no intention of saying anything.

The communication was still handled by 'Miss Noa'.

"It's alright, I understand. It's all for work. We're just going in to check something out, it's a routine inspection, so please dispel the barrier for now."

"Yes."

The guard nodded respectfully and immediately removed the barrier around the underground facility.

Noa turned her head slightly. "My lady, may we go in now?"

"Ladies first."

Ladies first

Yue!

Old Deng is actually quite the drama queen.

Oh, Mom can be quite dramatic sometimes.

That's alright then.

You can't have two kinds of people sleeping in the same bed.

The father and daughter entered the underground facility one after the other and went down the stairs.

Torches were lit one by one, and after passing through layers of stairs, they finally arrived at the basement where the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale were stored.

The basement was very large and spacious, with dozens of stone platforms neatly arranged inside, and dragon scales of different colors of light floating above the platforms.

The moment Noa stepped into the basement, she felt a heavy pressure.

She frowned slightly as she looked around the room filled with Heart-protecting Dragon Scale.

She knew that the oppressive force came from these dragon scales. The Dragon King's body may have perished, but the power residing in the dragon scales still existed.

However, Noa didn't know much about this, since the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale only slowly condense after Dragon's hundredth birthday.

She is only twenty-two years old this year.

"There aren't many dragon scales..."

Leon said slowly, "Many of the stone platforms are empty."

"Hmm, they might have already been used up, or they might have been saved for newly collected dragon scales."

Noa said, "But the small number also shows that the Empire doesn't want every dragon scale, right?"

Leon nodded. "Yes, centenarian Dragon Race are quite common. If the Empire were simply collecting dragon scales, the numbers couldn't be this few. Unless their target is some special Heart-protecting Dragon Scale, like..."

"The Dragon King's Heart-protecting Dragon Scale," Noa added.

"And Xiao Guang's Reversal Magic also requires Dragon King level Heart-protecting Dragon Scale to activate," Leon said.

Noa clicked her tongue. "But how can we be sure which dragon scale has a similar magical property to Ravi's?"

If they take the wrong one, the reversal magic won't be activated, and they'll have lost a lot of money on this adventure to the Empire.

However, General Leon said calmly,

"Isn't that simple?"

Noa glanced at him sideways.

Then the old man took a black cloth bag out of his pocket. "Why don't you just take it all?"

Broken.

It has a kind of beauty, like Sun Wukong joining the Peach Garden.

At the entrance, Leon fastened a black pouch to his waist, which was filled with Heart-protecting Dragon Scale.

He and Noa arrived at the entrance one after the other.

Upon seeing this, the guards lifted the barrier, allowing the two to walk out safely.

"Sir, what are the results of the inspection? Not a single dragon scale is missing, right?" the guard asked with a smile, his tone full of self-satisfaction.

Not a single one is missing?

Incorrect.

Not a single one was left.

Correct.

Although General Leon had never been a thief, he still knew the principle that a thief never leaves empty-handed.

In response to the guard's question, Leon nodded almost imperceptibly and gave a muffled "hmm," "Not bad, keep up the good work, I'll put in a good word for you with the adults."

"Then, thank you very much, sir!"

Leon tensed up, stealing glances at Noa as they exchanged a knowing look:

See? He even has to thank us!

Noa rolled her eyes, speechless.

"My lord, it's getting late, we should head back," Noa said.

"Okay, let's go."

Just as Leon was about to take a step, he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to the guard, saying, "Don't forget to restore the barrier, or the enemy might sneak in."

"You're right, sir!"

The guard immediately turned around and, together with his companion, restored the barrier to its initial state.

"Please take care, sir."

"Um."

The father and daughter exchanged a glance, then turned to leave.

But after taking only a few steps, a young guard suddenly called out, "Sir, what... what's in the pocket on your waist?"

Leon paused, closed his eyes helplessly, and sighed slowly.

The other guards also noticed something amiss and became alert.

"Sir, this pocket wasn't there when you went in, was it? Please allow us to check it."

"Sir, please cooperate and slowly back away—plop!"

Before the words were even finished, a dark figure flashed in front of the guard and then delivered a jab punch so fast it was too fast for the naked eye to catch, slamming it into his stomach without giving him any time to react.

The guards nearby reacted quickly, "Quick, activate the barrier's alarm!! Someone's invading, someone—oh no!"

Noa pushed off the ground with her right foot, leaped into the air, and slammed her knee directly into the man's face, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.

Meanwhile, the guard who tried to use the barrier to sound the alarm was easily subdued by Leon.

There is only one guard left.

Seeing that his three colleagues had been dealt with by the two men in front of him in the blink of an eye, the guy immediately knelt down and surrendered.

A wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can't avoid; as long as the green hills remain, there's always hope for a comeback!

Leon snorted coldly, stepped forward, and knocked him unconscious with a chop to the neck.

"Luckily, they restored the barrier before we took action. If it had remained open for a long time, it would have definitely attracted the attention of those sorcerers."

Leon said, looking at his daughter, "Let's go, Miss Noa."

Noa rolled her eyes at him with a playful laugh and muttered, "Tch, drama queen."

The father and daughter worked together seamlessly, and immediately began to work on the dragon scales after obtaining them.

Returning the way we came, the secret passage to the Imperial City was not far ahead.

If they can get through and then find a way to leave the empire, they can use the stolen dragon scales to help Aurorla complete the reversal magic.

Then... go back to the past—

"Who are those people over there?!"

"Stand there, don't move!"

"The royal family has just issued an order that, due to the disappearance of an important official, no one is allowed to move freely within the Imperial City."

"State your name and official title, then slowly walk over."

Leon was startled.

But he quickly calmed down.

"As expected... things won't end so easily."

Leon said, "Noa, just climb over the wall and leave here. Don't worry about the perception barrier anymore. After leaving the Imperial City, go find your sisters, then find a way out of the city, go back to your Mom, and complete the reversal magic."

After saying that, Leon handed the bag containing the dragon scales to Noa.

The Empire's reaction and actions were too swift; Nacho had only been missing for two hours, and they had already ordered the entire Imperial City to be placed under martial law.

Just now, Leon was able to use the coded messages he had obtained to fool the guards.

But in the current situation, these tricks are no longer effective.

This is ultimately the Empire's home turf, and even if Leon is extremely careful, there will still be a high risk.

Of course, they had anticipated such risks before coming to the Empire.

Taking away something as important as the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale will certainly not be a smooth process.

Given this situation, the optimal solution is for Leon to stay behind and hold off the imperial pursuers, while Noa, who has the ability to fly, and her two other daughters take the dragon scales and leave first.

Noa looked at the black bag in her hand with a serious expression.