The Holy Kingdom of Millis, the second most powerful nation on the continent, is renowned for its pristine white architecture and profound faith.
The capital city of Milishion is protected by a barrier of seven magic towers. At the center of the city lies Lake Gran, and in the heart of the lake sits the pure white royal palace, the White Palace.
The lake is surrounded by the Golden Cathedral and the headquarters of the World Adventurers' Guild.
Early in the morning, the sun had just risen, and the thin mist had not yet dissipated.
A group of people stood on the water bridge outside the Adventurers' Guild, as if holding a final farewell.
Having said everything that needed to be said last night, there was no need for Luo Ge and the others to say anything more now. However, as they saw them off, everyone still felt a sense of unease.
Paul and Luo Ge stood facing each other, neither of them saying a word or uttering any sentimental remarks.
After exchanging a glance, they both made the same gesture in perfect unison: Paul raised his fist, and Luo Ge did the same.
The two fists lightly touched in the air, producing a dull but crisp sound.
Paul smiled, and Luo Ge returned the smile; they understood each other perfectly.
"Alright, alright, that's enough for now, Old Deng!"
Luo Ge turned around, waved to the crowd with his back to them, and walked towards the other side of the bridge.
Nanahoshi followed beside him, carrying her bag, their figures gradually receding into the distance in the morning mist.
Lilia stood behind Paul, her hands clasped in front of her, and bowed slightly. "May Young Master Luo Ge have good luck in his military campaigns."
"Big brother!"
"You must come back soon!"
Aisha suddenly shouted, her voice high-pitched and bright, carrying far through the morning mist.
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Norn beside her, curled her lip, and made no attempt to hide her disdain. "Um... Sister Norn, why don't you say something?"
Norn pursed his lips, clenched his small fists, and then shouted with all his might at the ever-shrinking figure, "... Brother... Brother, come back soon!"
Although Luo Ge has come a long way.
But the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly; he had heard it.
From an angle unseen by others, he grinned, suddenly revealing a row of large, white teeth.
Nanahoshi glanced at him sideways and said, "Hey, do you know how creepy your smile is?"
"Yeah?"
Luo Ge didn't back down; instead, he turned to look at Nanahoshi with a grin that made Nanahoshi feel inexplicably uneasy.
She'd known Luo Ge for quite some time now, not even since she'd first transmigrated to this other world.
If Qixing suddenly saw a man on the roadside giving her that eerie smile, Nanahoshi would definitely be terrified.
Suddenly noticing that Luo Ge was already ahead, Nanahoshi quickly slung her bag over her shoulder and decisively chased after him. "Hey, slow down, wait for me!"
The two left Milishion chatting and laughing, embarking on a new journey.
at the same time.
In the far north of the Central Continent.
In the Sword Sanctum in the northwest corner, heavy snow was falling.
Inside a temple.
With a snap of the wooden sword, Nina was sent flying by the Sword God Gal. She slid backward, her feet carving two shallow tracks in the wooden floor before she finally came to a stop.
" Nina, is this all you can do today? You've really disappointed me. I'm sure it won't be long... before you're sitting at the same table as Gino." Gal sheathed his sword, looking down at his daughter and criticizing her.
"Hmm... I can still continue..."
Nina tried to get up, but her arms were trembling and her knees were weak and sore. After struggling for a couple of moments, she slumped back down.
She gritted her teeth, her face full of resentment.
Before long, she and her cousin Gino sat side by side in front of the Sword God.
Gal sat cross-legged at the head of the table, his gaze lowered, quickly sweeping over the two men.
" Nina, do you know where the biggest gap lies between you and Luo Ge?"
"Strength?"
"Wrong."
"Courage?"
"That's not right either."
"Determination?"
"It's still not right."
Gal completely rejected Nina's claims, then turned to look at Gino beside him, though he didn't have high hopes for this disciple either.
Gino, what about you?
Gino, whose name was called, scratched his head awkwardly and tentatively asked, "Is it... a talent?"
"Really..."
Gal clutched his forehead, his face contorted in pain; Gino's performance was utterly disastrous.
He shook his head and turned his attention back to Nina. " Nina, please continue."
Just now, Nina had seriously considered this question.
"Effort?"
"Wrong."
"No, none of that is right."
Gal shook his head, rejecting all possibilities, then lowered his hand, his gaze becoming calm and profound. "It's desire."
"Because I saw desire in that kid, that desire to defeat the Dragon God no matter what."
"Based on this alone, you can't compare to him in any way."
When Luo Ge is mentioned, the Sword God Gal can't help but smile slightly. Even this arrogant Sword God can't find any fault with Luo Ge's performance at this moment.
He's too perfect.
If there is anyone in this world who can surpass him, the Sword God, in the future, then Gal would answer without hesitation.
It's Luo Ge...
Despite her resentment at the Sword God's assessment, Nina was powerless to change it, as even she had to admit it.
Luo Ge is excellent...
He is better than her, better than Gino, better than all the swordsmen in the Sword Sanctum, far better.
Compared to Nina's resentment, Gino was completely indifferent. Honors and the title of Sword God were all unimportant to him.
After all, swordsmanship is something like... well, how should I put it?
In Gino's eyes, a little practice is enough to get by and be done with it.
She was quickly and thoroughly defeated by her cousin Nina in the dojo, completely unable to put up a fight.
Although Nina could easily beat Gino up, she didn't feel particularly happy.
Exhausted from the day, Nina returned to her room from the dojo and was just about to take a nice, hot bath.
The moment she opened the door, a little red thing came running over, circling around her feet and making soft, whimpering noises.
It's Little Red.
A unique lizard-type monster that Nina didn't recognize.
More than half a year ago, when Luo Ge left the Sword Sanctum, he specifically asked her to take care of this pet.
At the time, Nina didn't know if she had taken the wrong medicine, but she agreed immediately.
Taking care of someone else's pet, especially one she absolutely hated, felt strange to her even now.
Logically, she should have firmly refused such a request.
But when faced with Luo Ge's request, she shamelessly agreed.
Despite her outward expressions of dislike and aversion to Luo Ge, Nina also didn't find the pet particularly appealing.
However, Nina would still take time out of her spare time to take care of the monster named Little Red.
Because Nina often took Little Red to hunt monsters in the forest, Nina noticed that this monster was different. Although it was a juvenile, it could breathe fire and its own combat strength was not bad.
This only made Nina more curious about what kind of rare monster this was.
Just as Nina was planning to take Luo Ge's pet to the western forest to hunt monsters the next day...
Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the door, " Nina, are you there? Someone delivered a letter for you!"
Nina didn't even need to go get it herself; Little Red had already darted out on her own.
Not long after, in less than two and a half minutes... Little Red returned with a letter in her mouth.
Little Red proudly placed the letter at Nina's feet and began to act cute and roll around on the ground.
Nina ignored Little Red.
He picked up the letter that had been sent to him.
In fact, over the past six months...
To date.
Nina had actually received letters like this more than once before.
The letter came from the southern Asura Kingdom, a long and arduous journey...
At first, it was one letter a month without fail, until later it started sending one every ten days or so.
Nina couldn't read.
But there's no need to guess; the only person who could send a letter from Asura to the Sword Sanctum is Isolte, and it can only be Isolte.
After all, among the people she knew, only Luo Ge and Isolte were literate, and Luo Ge didn't seem like the type to write letters to her.
Therefore, it can only be Isolte...
At first, Nina was quite happy, after all, Isolte was one of her few friends.
But when she excitedly took the letter to the Adventurers' Guild outside to find out the truth, she was met with a cruel reality.
Um...
She is not good.
This is an incredibly cruel truth for Nina.
Not a single letter from Isolte was for her; they were all... all for that guy Luo Ge.
Ugh, really... I made her happy and touched for nothing.
By now, Nina had completely lost interest in these letters, although to be honest, Nina quite gossipy and curious.
For example... the content of the letter.
So, what would Isolte write to someone like Luo Ge? But since she's illiterate and her education level is really low, Nina says she can't understand a word of it.
If Nina wanted to watch it, she would have to go to the magician in the Adventurers' Guild to find someone to translate it, but that was too much trouble for Nina.
so.
The plan to peep could only end in failure because she couldn't read.
Finally, Nina simply put all the letters that Isolte had sent into a wooden box and kept them safe.
After doing all this, Nina couldn't help but sigh heavily, even she didn't know why she had done such a thing.
Not only do they help take care of other people's pets, but they also help collect mail.
"The letter has been delivered again this year."
"By the way... this is the thirteenth one this year, right?"
After carefully examining her, Nina returned to her bedside and sat down again.
Suddenly, Nina went to the window and lay down completely, using one hand as a pillow. Her gaze followed the view of the distant, snow-covered landscape outside the window, and she quickly fell into deep thought.