Chapter 38

The information the God of Redemption gifted to Sui Xiong primarily covered continental geography, notable powerful entities, and most importantly, the knowledge one must possess as a deity.

What is a god? How does one be a good god? What are the principles for constructing a Divine Kingdom? How should one select their own divine portfolio? How are divine power acquired and utilized? What is the relationship between divinity and combat strength? And so on, and so forth.

Questions like these are inevitably passed down to a new god belonging to a pantheon by their predecessors or superiors. However, for those gods who strike out on their own and start from scratch, this is secret, hard-to-obtain knowledge. The God of Redemption clearly held nothing back, meticulously imparting the "life experience" he had accumulated over long ages to Sui Xiong. The content was rich, the records were detailed, and it included many highly educational examples, leaving Sui Xiong with much to gain.

A few days later, once he had fully understood these materials and memorized the most important parts, he finally moved past the "stranger in a strange land" phase, becoming a visitor with a fairly accurate understanding of the world who could travel about with peace of mind.

Then, he pulled Palin along and began his travels through the Four Northwest Towns.

The first stop was Dragon Roar Town—the mission to expel the evil dragon offered a reward of five thousand gold coins. For the sake of building the Pioneer Village, this sum of money could be a huge help!

Dragon Roar Town is the northernmost of the Four Northwest Towns, and it derives its name from the evil dragon that lives in the nearby deep mountains, known as the "Tyrant of Extreme Cold."

Decades ago, before this evil dragon arrived, the town was called "Hunter Town" because its primary output came from hunting in the nearby mountain ranges, and there were many professional hunters in the village.

Although the Tyrant of Extreme Cold is powerful and terrifying, its aggression is actually not very intense. To this day, the main output of Dragon Roar Town remains the hunting of Magic Beasts in the mountains, and it has not been significantly affected by the giant dragon living there.

Of course, every few years, that blue-and-white dragon, whose scales are as smooth and cold as ice, raids the town. Its goal, naturally, is not to eat people or cause destruction, but to extort gold coins.

This dragon seems to treat Dragon Roar Town like a giant ATM—the kind where you can swipe your face without needing an actual receipt—and it even has an account with an infinite overdraft limit. Its arrogance is comparable to those top-tier gold diggers who head straight to a high-end restaurant on a first date and then go buy a Chanel bag afterward—yet Dragon Roar Town is neither a domineering CEO carrying a stack of infinite-overdraft black cards, nor a rich second-generation heir who can casually toss around tens of millions for fun; it is just an ordinary small town.

To the people of this town, perhaps that dragon that comes to plunder periodically is just an obnoxious tax collector.

Aside from the dragon's raids, Dragon Roar Town is generally quite peaceful. The most interesting thing in town is when, from time to time, skilled hunters bag a powerful Magic Beast, and a group of people drags the massive creature back like ants moving a mountain, only to butcher it outside the town.

That is a scene famous not only in the Four Northwest Towns but across the entire continent, and curious onlookers often brave the mountains and rivers to come to Dragon Roar Town to witness such a spectacle.

When Sui Xiong and Palin arrived in town, a hunting party had just killed an Earth-Walking Sub-Dragon. The butchering work had reached its second day, and it was expected to take another day to complete.

The carcass of the giant beast, which was taller than Gerald even while lying dead on the ground, was placed on a massive plaza outside the town. This plaza was built specifically for butchering prey, and it took the Church of the God of Hunting nearly ten years to complete. The plaza, which is nearly as large as half the town, is completely covered in dark green stone slabs, each engraved with the holy emblem of the God of Hunting and consecrated through sacred rituals. As long as prey is transported here, it will not rot or spoil, allowing it to be butchered slowly and safely. Even if the prey has already begun to rot, one can ask a priest of the God of Hunting to cast divine spells to restore its texture—this marvelous divine art is unique to the God of Hunting and is an important source of income for his church.

Watching from afar as the giant beast's corpse, larger than a big house, lay on the stone slabs, with several veteran hunters wielding sharp blades busy butchering it bit by bit, a group of young people assisting, and eager merchants waiting with cargo carts, Sui Xiong couldn't help but laugh.

"This place is truly thriving, full of vibrant energy!"

"Indeed, compared to other parts of the Four Towns, the people of Dragon Roar Town are more confident and energetic. Perhaps it is because they are constantly fighting Magic Beasts; those who lack courage and confidence simply cannot live in a place like this." Because Gerald had to maintain order for the pioneers and train personnel, Palin became Sui Xiong's guide. The young mage had a favorable impression of the hunters who could use courage and wisdom to hunt large Magic Beasts, and his words were full of praise.

He was certainly right, but he missed an important reason: this town is raided by a dragon every few years. The dragon's might is terrifying, and those who can persist and stay without being scared away have often developed extremely strong hearts and incredibly resilient nerves.

Having seen a dragon attack, what else in the world is there to fear?

Therefore, the people of Dragon Roar Town generally possess a slightly self-deprecating optimism; they are cheerful and straightforward, with smiles hanging on their faces all day long.

Fully armed hunters can be seen everywhere on the streets here. To hunt in mountains where Magic Beasts roam, reliable equipment is indispensable, so this is also the largest trading hub for weapons and armor in the Four Northwest Towns. As long as you have enough money in your pocket, even powerful weapons capable of fighting dragons, or even the legendary Dragon-Slaying Blade, are not impossible to buy.

...As for those who think they can go slay a dragon just by holding a Dragon-Slaying Blade, their intelligence is so low that instead of going out and causing trouble for society, they might as well die and be reborn sooner, and grow a bit more common sense in their next life.

"Is there really a Dragon-Slaying Blade for sale here?" Hearing Palin say this, Sui Xiong couldn't help but ask curiously, "Isn't it supposed to be 'Dragon-Slaying Blade, click to receive'?"

"What is a click? Why would they give away a Dragon-Slaying Blade?"

Sui Xiong chuckled twice and urged Palin to hurry to the weapon shop; he really wanted to see what the "Dragon-Slaying Blade" of this world looked like.

There are several weapon shops in Dragon Roar Town. Palin, having been here before, went straight to the largest one, and the name of this shop was, quite strikingly, "Dragon-Slaying Blade."

As soon as they entered, they saw a massive cleaver hanging from the giant pillar supporting the roof, wider and taller than his own body.

"There, that is the Dragon-Slaying Blade."

The black bone bracelet on his wrist flashed, and Sui Xiong used his soul power, attempting to analyze the structure of this blade, wanting to replicate it later.

But he quickly discovered with regret that this blade had nothing special about it; it was merely larger, heavier, and made of denser, sturdier material, with a few magic circles engraved on the blade. That was all.

"Is this blade a sample or the real deal?" he couldn't help but ask.

Palin asked the shop clerk, who guaranteed with certainty that the blade was genuine and absolutely a Dragon-Slaying Blade.

So, Sui Xiong examined it carefully from the inside out once more.

It was absolutely an ordinary blade!

Admittedly, the materials used were quite good—the finest refined steel—and it was crafted very well, with not even a single air bubble hidden inside the blade. Sui Xiong could even clearly discern every hammer blow and quenching process used to forge this blade; a lot of thought had indeed gone into it. But is that enough to call it a Dragon-Slaying Blade?

Could it be that it is only because of the enchantments on the blade?

There were four magical effects attached to this blade: "Sharpness," "Durability," and "Swiftness" were constant, while "Gravity Shift" was activated temporarily by the user. That was all.

Just because of these four spells, a large steel blade becomes a Dragon-Slaying Blade?

Sui Xiong clicked his tongue: "As expected, when it comes to bragging, merchants in every world are the same! 'Antarctic people aren't afraid of the cold,' 'Dragon-Slaying Blade'... it's all the same trash!"

"Your Majesty, do you think this blade is a fake?" Palin asked curiously.

"How should I put it... if Gerald were holding this blade—assuming he could use a blade in addition to his axe—he would certainly be able to slay a dragon. But the key to slaying a dragon doesn't lie in the blade, but in Gerald. If it were that coward Rod, even if you gave him ten such blades, he would still cower and run away upon encountering a dragon, and would likely throw the blades away just to run a little faster!"

"If you put it that way, this blade isn't actually bad, just slightly exaggerated..." Palin said, "Perhaps the craftsman who made this blade only hoped its reputation would attract true legendary powerhouses to come and drive away or even kill the dragon?"

"Perhaps." Sui Xiong lost interest in this overhyped blade and turned his gaze to the other weapons in the shop.

Upon closer inspection, there were actually many fine pieces in this shop. If one didn't raise the requirement to the "Dragon-Slaying" level, there were quite a few good things worth looking at.

For instance, he quickly took a fancy to a long dagger. This was a dagger crafted from a special material called "Ice Iron." Several external enchantments made it sharper, sturdier, and faster to swing, and it could even create illusions while being swung to confuse an enemy's vision.

If it were only that, it wouldn't have made Sui Xiong look at it twice, but this dagger had a hidden secret—embedded inside it was the magic core of a fire-attribute Magic Beast, the "Crimson Flame Rhino." Through the magic circles on the dagger, it could unleash powerful flame energy when necessary, and the dagger would then act as a buffer, like a sword hilt.

In other words, it was not only a sharp dagger imbued with the power of ice, but it could also transform into a flame sword when needed. Such a change would absolutely catch an enemy off guard, and in actual combat, it would likely achieve unexpected results, making victory a simple matter.

Sui Xiong's new believer, Rod, was not doing well. As the vice-guild leader of the Thieves Guild, the weapon he carried was merely a long dagger made of refined steel with a "Sharpness" effect. Its mediocre material and not-particularly-high-level craftsmanship, even with the enchantment, were far inferior to the dagger named "Soul of Ice." If the two weapons collided head-on, it would likely be snapped in two. As for further changes and fire, it was a difference as vast as heaven and earth; they were completely incomparable.

The super-sized battle axe Gerald used was not available in stock here, so Sui Xiong decided to prepare a suitable weapon for the down-and-out Rod, lest that appraiser, who was already lacking in combat skills, get himself killed by a skeleton one of these days.

Uh, in his view, the only creatures he had encountered so far that didn't deserve the prefix "lacking in combat skills"—aside from deities—were the One-Horned Giant Whale he met in the sea and the Four-Faced Monster he had eaten not long ago. According to his ideals, as his early followers, they needed to at least reach that level for him to feel at ease.

Although it is said that even if a novice holds a Dragon-Slaying Saber, they won't slay the dragon but will instead be slaughtered by it, after all, clothes make the man just as gold leaf makes the Buddha. Jumping straight from weapon-determinism to spiritual atomic bombs is not right either...

"Is it really necessary to buy a weapon for Rod? That guy clearly only pledged his allegiance to Your Majesty for the benefits; his faith is not pious at all!" Upon learning of Sui Xiong's intention, Palin immediately expressed his indignation.

In his view, only piety is worthy of a god's reward.

But Sui Xiong did not think so. He was an Earthling, or more specifically, a Chinese person. The Chinese attitude toward faith is: "I believe in a god, so the god must give me benefits; it's a fair exchange." Rod did indeed believe in him and was running errands and working for him; these days, he had been so busy he barely had time to touch his heels to the ground. Even now, he was still out there bustling about.

Sui Xiong saw his efforts. Wanting to provide a reward was only human nature.

He did not approve of the way the gods of this world demanded unconditional sacrifice from their followers and judged their worth solely by the level of their pious devotion!