Dragon Rider and Chronicler

As night fell, under the cold moonlight, a massive shadow rose silently from the outer courtyard of the royal palace and flew toward the outskirts of the city.

Traveling by wyvern and by train were indeed two very different sensations; the wyvern's flight speed was faster than imagined, and it didn't take long to reach Blue Wave Lake.

Pagliu lay on a patch of grass by the lake, boredly fiddling with the exquisite set of Independent Diamond Chess that Chen Rui had given him last time. In his own words, he had slept in this damned lake for over two thousand years, and unless absolutely necessary, he had no desire to enter the water again.

The rapidly approaching shadow caught Pagliu's attention. When he saw it was a wyvern, he let out a look of disdainful mockery. Although wyverns were quite powerful and possessed toxicity that even ordinary dragons had to be wary of, a poison dragon was different. The poison attacks that wyverns relied on were completely useless against a poison dragon; in terms of pure toxicity, a poison dragon could easily make a wyvern's intestines rot away.

However, there seemed to be someone on the wyvern. A dragon rider? No, to be precise, it should be a sub-dragon rider or a wyvern rider; to the Dragon Race, those low-class sub-dragons were not worthy of the noble title of "dragon."

Just then, a familiar voice came from the wyvern: "Pagliu, where are you?"

"Who is it!" Pagliu had a seal on him and didn't want to cause trouble. He had originally intended to hide, but upon hearing someone call his name, he became instantly alert, secretly channeling his power and ready to strike.

The other party discovered his location and flew over, saying as he approached: "Pagliu Sanderoarchicas, your most important partner has arrived. You promised to give all the treasures of the Gloomy Night Wetland to him!"

"No way! You increasingly greedy human!" Pagliu laughed and cursed, withdrawing his power.

Although the poison dragon did not transform into its dragon form, the wyvern instinctively sensed the terrifying nature of the creature and showed signs of fear after landing.

Chen Rui jumped down and patted the wyvern's neck: "Mengda, don't be afraid. He is a friend. Go wait for me over there."

The wyvern flapped its wings and flew away. Pagliu looked astonished: "Although this lowly sub-dragon has low intelligence, it still has some strength. How could you tame it so easily? Could it be that the Grandmaster's inheritance has changed again?"

"You guessed it." Chen Rui praised the poison dragon for its quick wit: "After accidentally absorbing the power of two Vine Stones, I gained the ability to tame beasts, but this ability requires the energy of certain specific materials. If you have any, don't be stingy."

"Hmph, why does good luck keep falling on a greedy guy like you." Pagliu glared at him with jealousy: "I've been sealed for two thousand years, where would I have any treasures on me? What are Vine Stones? If you're talking about magic materials like that, I have plenty of better things in my treasure hoard in the Gloomy Night Wetland, it just depends on whether you have the ability to take them."

"Really?" Chen Rui's eyes lit up as if he had seen massive amounts of spiritual energy: "I won't hide it from you, that wyvern came from the Gloomy Night Wetland. I spent a lot of effort to get it, precisely for my future plans. My current strength is far from enough, but fortunately, with the wyvern, I can come to Blue Wave Lake to find you for special training every day."

"A wyvern from the Gloomy Night Wetland? I suppose you have some heart!" Pagliu didn't know there was some exaggeration in that statement and looked pleased: "My treasure hoard does indeed contain many rare materials and minerals. If you need them, I can give them all to you; the stronger you are, the more secure I am. However, don't think of all magic beasts as too simple. If the wyvern hadn't been tamed, your communication with them would definitely not have been this easy. Now, let's hurry up and start the special training."

"Another sneak attack! Despicable Dragon Race!"

"Your reaction was much faster this time, but it's still not enough!"

"..."

The painful, masochistic special training began again, and corresponding to it was the steady increase in the proficiency of Star Power and experience points.

It was already midnight when he returned to the laboratory. An exhausted Chen Rui took a quick shower and fell into a deep sleep, not waking up until nearly noon the next day.

Chen Rui woke up feeling refreshed. Due to the characteristics of the Star Body, all injuries from the special training had recovered. Only then did he remember Shea's instructions, so he hurriedly washed up and headed to the royal palace's Council Hall.

When he arrived at the Council Hall, perhaps because it was so late, the old Gauss that Shea mentioned yesterday was not there; instead, the Grand Princess herself was sitting at the table flipping through documents.

"Read through these documents, then extract the important parts and write them into the Territory Log. If possible, add a few personal opinions." Shea said without looking up.

Chen Rui hurriedly took the documents and the logbook and began to get busy. The difficulty of this work was not high, and there were not many major events happening in the territory. For instance, yesterday's Aerial Competition and the Master Challenge Tournament held by Aldas a while ago were included. Chen Rui's writing skills from university were not for nothing, and he quickly summarized the trivial matters, expressing them with very concise prose.

"Well done." Shea took the completed notebook and glanced at him: "Next time, come earlier. Old Gauss has already gone out today."

Chen Rui felt embarrassed himself; it was his first day on the job and he was already late, and he had been caught red-handed by his boss.

"Actually, Grand Princess." Chen Rui thought for a moment and decided to make an excuse for his late-night outing to confess to Shea. One who walks by the river often gets their shoes wet. After all, the palace guards weren't just there for show; if they noticed the unusual activity at the laboratory at night, it would only make Shea suspicious.

After listening to Chen Rui's explanation, Shea frowned: "You went out late at night riding a wyvern to practice beast taming?"

"Yes," Chen Rui nodded, "I absorbed the Vine Stones you gave me last night, and my beast taming ability has been somewhat stabilized and enhanced, but I didn't want to expose this ability, so I went out late at night to practice to avoid being discovered."

"It is indeed not the right time for you to attract too much attention," Shea had originally hoped he would remain in the background as a secret weapon: "Since that's the case, come to the Council Hall every afternoon from now on, and try to get more rest in the morning."

The boss wasn't bad, but unfortunately, there was no raise. Chen Rui added: "I communicated well with the wyverns in a quiet place last night and learned that they originally lived in the Gloomy Night Wetland and belonged to a large group. These two were accidentally captured by magic beast hunters while they were out. If there is a chance in the future, I would like to go to the Gloomy Night Wetland to scout the situation."

Magic beast hunters were a profession that made a living by capturing or killing magic beasts, and they had high requirements for their own strength. The two wyverns had indeed been captured that way.

A light suddenly ignited in Shea's eyes, and she was moved: "Are you thinking of finding their group, and then..."

If Chen Rui could successfully absorb this large group of wyverns, then Darkmoon City could possess a powerful aerial force, and might even be able to contend with Prince Heiyao's dragon rider legion. This couldn't help but move Shea.

"This is just a hypothesis," Chen Rui saw that Shea's train of thought had indeed shifted to this line, and he hurriedly explained: "Wild wyverns are not like those two that have been tamed; they are difficult to communicate with and extremely aggressive. I only have such a long-term plan; for now, I'd better focus on mastering the Beast Taming Technique first."

The trip to the Gloomy Night Wetland was in Chen Rui's plan, but the real purpose was the poison dragon's treasure. Of course, if he could incidentally lure a group of wyverns back, that would be even better, and it would be worth it for the beautiful boss and the little loli. Telling Shea in advance meant he could head to the Gloomy Night Wetland in a logical manner when the time came.

Shea calmed down and began to consider the feasibility of this plan: "The Gloomy Night Wetland is north of the Chiyou territory, spanning across the Chiyou territory and the Shadow Empire. There are very powerful magic beasts there, and the danger level is extremely high. With your current strength, you cannot go there at all. I will provide the materials you need as much as possible. It's just that the resources I have on hand are very scarce, and the conditions I can provide are limited. Xilang Mountain was originally a very important source of minerals and economy, but due to being plagued by underground creatures and bandits for years, production has greatly decreased, making Darkmoon's financial situation even worse."

Chen Rui hesitated for a while, then asked: "Grand Princess, please forgive me for asking directly, but as you work so hard to manage the Darkmoon Territory, do you still harbor the intention of toppling Prince Heiyao and reclaiming the throne?"

"Does the purpose of this question mean that you have already planned something? If so, then I will tell you," Shea's beautiful eyes narrowed, but the light within them was even more daunting: "This is my father's lifelong wish, which he never forgot even before he died, so I must do my utmost to fulfill it. I will never submit to the Imperial Capital, even if it means being crushed to pieces."

Shea's expression was incomparably firm, but what Chen Rui saw was the faint helplessness and sorrow behind it. This twenty-three-year-old beautiful woman carried too much weight, yet she had no choice but to continue carrying it. No matter which world or plane, it was the same; where there are people, there is a world of conflict. Once in the world, one cannot help oneself.

The situation in the Demon Realm was like a game of chess; whether it was the Darkmoon Territory or the three great empires, all were on the board. Chen Rui had originally only wanted to be an inconspicuous little pawn who could retreat at any time, but things had gone against his wishes. In fact, from the moment he was reborn into the Demon Realm, he was destined to be a part of the game. Since he was in the game, how could he be just a bystander? Even an insignificant little pawn was a piece; the key was how to move.

If a little pawn played well, it could even influence the entire situation. Moreover, a pawn wouldn't always be a pawn; those who truly controlled the situation were often those who had walked up from being pawns step by step.

The foundation of the Darkmoon Territory was too weak. Let alone Prince Heiyao of the Imperial Capital, even the Chiyou territory, which controlled the lifeblood of Darkmoon, was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, ready to cut Darkmoon's throat at any time.

The key now was when Prince Heiyao would comprehend the Sword of the Fallen Angel. Otherwise, even if Darkmoon kept a low profile and didn't attract attention, its destruction was only a matter of time, not to mention Shea's resolute attitude. Judging from the previous Master Challenge Tournament and the Aerial Competition, Prince Heiyao was gradually losing patience.

The Super System provided a great platform. Currently, what Chen Rui lacked most was time. Likewise, the Darkmoon Territory was also in urgent need of time for stability and development. For his own sake, and also for Darkmoon, even if he wasn't professionally trained in politics, he had to bite the bullet and plan with all his might.