Berit Manor

Elder Mo Yuan of the Black Dragon gladly accepted Su Ming's invitation. After dinner, he and Elder Zhimeng set off with Su Ming and his entourage.

"The goblins have set up a series of warning arrays along the border with us," Mo Yuan's deep voice rang out. "They will detect us immediately if we approach."

The goblins do not forbid dragons from entering, but all dragons entering their territory are required to register, explain their purpose, and specify the duration of their stay. Afterward, the dragons' movements are exposed within the goblin territory and placed under the surveillance of their large anti-dragon magical weapons.

"These goblins are meddling way too much!" Ruixiuli complained. "This sky isn't theirs!"

"It's not entirely their fault," Zijin said, unusually defending the goblins. "If they hadn't done that, their livestock would probably have been snatched up and eaten clean by the dragons."

Compared to the rare and extremely wary wild beasts in Dragon Valley, the cattle and sheep raised by the goblins are plump, strong, and have tender meat, making them easy to catch.

When the two sides first demarcated their territories a thousand years ago, this was the dragons' favorite "hunting" shortcut. At that time, in the goblin territory, groups of dragons could always be seen wandering around under the pretext of "getting lost".

"Then how should we sneak in undetected?" Su Ming asked.

Tonight they're going to violently disrupt the event, so naturally they can't make a big fuss about it.

"I have my own way!" Mo Yuan replied confidently.

He took Zhimeng and flew straight to the vicinity of the border. Then, he circled seriously over the surrounding mountains and forests, pretending to carefully search for prey.

Sure enough, a sharp and piercing alarm sounded immediately from the nearby goblin border camp. The goblin soldiers quickly launched an investigation and, as expected, discovered that it was another dragon that had come to "hunt for food."

Mo Yuan seemed to be "unlucky" today. He wandered aimlessly near the border for about twenty minutes before "clumsily" swooping down and managing to catch a wild boar with difficulty. After sharing the food with Zhimeng, he left the area in low spirits and began to head back towards the heart of Dragon Valley.

Below, the goblin sentinels, who had been tensely monitoring and tracking the two dragons' behavior the whole time, breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed when they saw that the dragons had finally decided to leave.

However, the moment they were out of sight of the goblin border post, the two dragons suddenly turned around and began to fly towards the border. Powerful stealth spells quickly enveloped their massive bodies.

The Zhimeng's body, which was originally emerald green and crystal clear, now became as translucent and pure as the finest gemstone. The life aura and energy fluctuations it emitted almost disappeared without a trace in the deep night sky.

As for Mo Yuan, he was originally a jet-black Black Dragon. Especially after being treated with a special matte wax, the entire dragon now resembled a piece of evenly light-absorbing black jade, blending into the boundless night. There was no need to make any further embellishments to its color; it was enough to simply conceal its aura.

Su Ming and the other three immediately put on their magic-banning cloaks.

The two enormous creatures instantly transformed into two silent shadows, swiftly crossing the border with an agility disproportionate to their size, and disappearing into the interior of Gray Ridge.

Below, the alert array of the goblin border camp was triggered again, and the urgent "beep beep beep" alarm sounded throughout the camp once more.

The duty officer hurriedly checked the magic array, but found no trace of the dragon's signal, and the warning array quickly quieted down.

The captain, who rushed over upon hearing the news, stared at the blank array feedback, also looking puzzled.

"A false alarm?"

He checked again, and the area above the camp was indeed empty; no dragon-shaped targets were detected.

According to regulations, any alarm regarding a dragon's entry into the country must be recorded in detail and dealt with seriously. Even if it is a false alarm, the cause must be investigated and reported to higher authorities.

But the goblin border captain's eyes darted around, and he quickly came up with a reasonable explanation.

"It must have been those two dragons that left earlier. They were dawdling as they left, their flight paths barely touching the edge, triggering the alarm at the edge of the magic circle," the captain asserted. "Report this alarm as part of the incident we just witnessed."

"Yes!" the goblin on duty immediately replied with a sigh of relief.

****

After crossing the border, Mo Yuan led the group, flying silently around the goblin city.

It was just past eight o'clock in the evening, and the goblin cities we passed through were already shrouded in darkness, with only a few scattered lights shining. These lights either came from the residences of the city's nobles or from places of gathering and entertainment such as taverns.

Even so, in the hazy darkness of the night, the city's vast outline and its rolling buildings could still be vaguely discerned.

"I often wander over here," Mo Yuan said in a deliberately lowered voice, his voice carried on the night breeze. "Every time I see these cities in the goblin territory, I can't help but feel a pang of emotion."

From Su Ming's perspective, the goblin city's backward appearance was hardly impressive. But from the dragon's point of view, envy was understandable.

"Currently, about five hundred giant dragons have gathered around the perimeter of the Ruby Base, forming a mobile settlement," said Zijin.

"As long as the necessary supporting facilities keep up in time, the flow of people in Longkou will tend to stabilize over time, thus beginning to form a town," Su Ming stated. "Then, within the town, some service industries that would not exist in a scattered state will emerge, and specific industries that can only be formed through aggregation will also arise."

As for what exactly it would be, Su Ming wasn't a dragon, so he couldn't predict what would happen.

"This transformation is fundamentally about the improvement of productivity," right? During this period, Zhimeng has clearly observed and reflected a lot. "Our traditional agricultural economic structure, which exists solely to feed the population, cannot support the consumption brought about by large-scale settlement."

"That's how we must develop! We can't just be satisfied with eating!" Mo Yuan's tone was resolute. He turned his gaze to the center of the goblin city, to the massive arrays of magic formations and alchemical weapons. "Look at the goblins! Individually, their strength is so weak, yet through production and accumulation, they've created weapons powerful enough to threaten us dragons—all of this is the power brought about by production!"

Upon hearing this, Elder Zhimeng Weaver fell into deep thought.

****

Just as Mo Yuan said, he was indeed very familiar with the goblin territory.

The Black Dragon elder led the group, taking a circuitous route to avoid the goblin's scouting points. When they had to cross sensitive areas, he and Zhimeng both activated stealth spells, barely making their way through.

After a three-hour flight, they finally arrived at the estate called Burit that Bowers had mentioned.

This place is outside the goblin city, and normally it would be a very secluded spot, but the assassin's soul "knew the way" and returned.

At the agreed meeting point, Su Ming quickly found the trees marked with concealed markers. Following the markers, they soon encountered Bowers.

"Your lineup—" Bowers' gaze swept over the crowd, and he commented, "Truly, you've brought out your best."

"The two dragon elders will not directly participate in the attack," Su Ming stated clearly. "The traces they leave behind are too unique and would easily expose their identities."

Although Gelie had already decided to settle old scores with the Gray Ridge goblins over the territorial division at the border between the two races, one matter should be dealt with separately. There was no need to give the goblins a handle for the sake of this current task, leaving them with an unjustifiable pretext for the dragon to cross the border and attack.

"I've only been observing for a short time, and the situation inside the manor is still unclear," Bowers said. "However, logically speaking, with our current fighting strength, we should be more than capable."

"If we encounter any troublesome enemies, it's not too late to ask the two Elders of Dragons for help," Ruixiuli said casually. "It's been a long time since we've had such a confident and advantageous game."

Just as Su Ming was about to step forward, Jielusi reached out and grabbed his hand.

Zijin, who was standing to the side, turned her head and glanced at the two of them.

"You have to stay here; you can't come in with us," Jielusi said. "Among us, you're the least capable of dealing with assassin-type combatants."

Su Ming wanted to argue that he was perfectly capable of handling opponents of similar skill levels. The current situation was entirely due to being carried into higher-level matches!

But on second thought, it seems that from the moment the battle plan was formulated, no one took enemies below the Master Rank seriously.

"Alright, I'll take care of the backup." Su Ming shrugged, accepting the arrangement helplessly.

****

Su Ming found a secluded spot on higher ground, set up the communication base station, tested the sound, and confirmed that everyone could receive the signal. Then he picked up his night vision goggles and carefully observed the movements in the manor.

The outskirts of the Berit Manor are dotted with a number of simple bungalows, where many ordinary guards are stationed or where some workers live.

These people were irrelevant to the purpose of this trip. The Grand Elder of Zhimeng quietly cast a dream spell, and a powerful spiritual force spread out like a tide, instantly pulling everyone in the outer area into a deep sleep.

"These are just ordinary people," Elder Zhimeng confirmed. "They won't wake up before dawn."

Next is the core area of the manor. Amidst a cluster of lush fruit trees stands a typical Gothic building. The soaring roof is covered with sharp spires, and the walls feature distinctive large windows. Pointed arches are extensively used at the connections between the house and the corridors.

Su Ming sighed inwardly. With such an obvious church-style architectural style, couldn't these people at least be a little more discreet?

He activated the UWB ultra-wideband radar and began penetrating detection of the building. With the scanning of pulse signals, the main structure of the building and the layout of its interior space were quickly outlined on the equipment screen. As more echo signals were further processed, the faint breathing and heartbeats of the people inside the building were also captured by the radar system and quickly marked and located.

"A total of twenty-seven people have been detected inside," Su Ming said into the communicator. "Their exact locations have been transmitted to your wristband displays."

The group quickly looked down and operated the touchscreens on their wrists, soon seeing the building's internal structure and the distribution of people.

"This thing of yours is really convenient," Bowers remarked.

"The leftmost room has the highest density of enemies." Ruixiuli checked the enemy information on the screen. "I'll storm in from there, then use the corpses to snowball and clear the area to the right."

"Those two separate signal points on the third floor must be the ones on night watch," Bowers deduced. "I'll handle them."

"This building has a basement?" Zijin frowned as she looked at the structural diagram on the screen.

"Hmm." Su Ming nodded in confirmation, "We can only detect a small area near the basement entrance. Further in, the soil is too thick to penetrate the radar."

"In other words, there might be enemies lurking below as well." Zijin immediately understood the situation. "Then I'll just break through from the main entrance and go straight to suppress the basement."

"Be careful to identify valuable targets, and try to capture some alive," Su Ming concluded, giving everyone his final instructions.

****

It was Ruixiuli who launched the first attack. He smashed the window, burst into the designated room, and with a flash of cold light, instantly created two still-warm corpses.

The two men on night duty on the third floor reacted quickly, rushing towards the scene of the incident based on the commotion. However, they were intercepted by Bowers, who had been lying in ambush, and were struck by a heavy blow that Bowers had been preparing for.

One of the night watchmen was immediately severely injured and rendered incapable of fighting.

The other night watchman, however, was quite skilled and reacted swiftly to dodge the attack. He abandoned his attempt to provide support and launched a life-or-death battle against Bowers.

With such a huge advantage, Bowers naturally had no need to fight him head-on, and for a moment the two became entangled in combat, resulting in a brief stalemate.

On the contrary, with a continuous supply of "materials", Ruixiuli was unstoppable. In just over ten breaths, he wiped out all the remaining enemies in the left room and then pounced on the right side, where the enemies had been awakened and were hurriedly gathering.

Jielusi, who acted last, noticed the stalemate on Bowers' side and decisively chose to help him. A light of enhancement magic enveloped Bowers, followed by a halo of light shining with holy runes, which was cast upon the desperate night guard.

"Holy Restraint!"

Inside the building on the right, a group of enemies finally gathered, forming a coordinated defensive array that caused considerable trouble for Ruixiuli's solo advance.

High above, Su Ming gripped the QLZ-201 automatic grenade launcher and clicked open the heavy 50 rounds of 35mm ammunition.

Belt.

The distance wasn't too far, about 600 meters. Considering Su Ming's appalling shooting skills, Jisu thoughtfully equipped it with a smart scope that integrates laser rangefinding and a real-time ballistics calculator.

Su Ming held his breath and focused intently, following the guide lines provided by the scope to lock onto the target and fire decisively.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of clicking sounds, interspersed with slightly muffled explosions, followed by the whooshing of grenades tearing through the air at high speed—these sounds carried a strong sense of physical impact. They should have brought with them a powerful psychological pressure, but unfortunately, the otherworldly enemy, the target, merely tilted his head slightly, looked in this direction, and showed a puzzled expression.

A few seconds later, the seven or eight grenades, with their downward arcs, exploded precisely in the center of the enemy's formation!

With the aid of advanced technology and a saturation-coverage attack, Su Ming finally achieved his first effective hit at long range!

Several enemies were immediately knocked over by shrapnel and blast waves, falling to the ground screaming in agony. The rest were also blown about, their tight formation collapsing instantly. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ruixiuli into the chaotic enemy ranks like a tiger descending a mountain, swiftly and decisively eliminating the remaining enemies in the blink of an eye.

Immediately, he looked up at Su Ming with great vigilance.

"You didn't fire a second round, did you?" Ruixiuli asked cautiously. "These guys can't hurt me, but if they get hit by the thing you're holding, I'll be in big trouble."

"Can't you have a little more faith in me?!" Su Ming protested indignantly.

Bowers ' opponents were quickly and completely overwhelmed after Jielusi. They had intended to take one prisoner alive, but they found that the desperate fighter suddenly convulsed violently, collapsed to the ground, and died.

Bowers rushed to check on the man he had previously severely injured, only to find that he had met the same fate; the man had already passed away.

"Are all these people out of their minds?" he said, extremely dissatisfied. "They fight like madmen, and then commit suicide the moment they lose—don't they have any survival instinct?"

"These are Divine Covenant Faction, trained from childhood using mental magic and deep psychological manipulation to create death warriors," Jielusi explained. "They have long since lost any normal fear or will to survive."

She casually cast Stamina Restoration Spell on Ruixiuli, then raised her wrist to check the monitor.

The screen indicated that several signal points were hidden on the second floor. She exchanged a glance with Bowers, and the two of them simultaneously lunged upwards to launch their attack.

Su Ming quickly turned his gun around and aimed it at another group of enemies, launching another barrage of grenades.

Soon, the enemies on the ground were completely wiped out.

Half of the enemy were low-level combatants, and the enemy was completely overwhelmed by their superior strength. Furthermore, our side possessed wallhacks and aimbots, making the outcome of this battle utterly unsolvable for the enemy from the very beginning.

However, the vast majority of Temple of Light agents chose to commit suicide when defeated or seriously injured, some even shouting "Eternal Radiance" before they died.

One of them, clearly weak and seemingly an office worker, was carrying a ball of alchemical explosives and attempted to lunge at Ruixiuli, intending to take him down with him. Rishuli reacted swiftly, sending several sharp bone fragments flying, instantly knocking Rishuli to the ground and transforming him into a rapidly expanding orange-red fireball!

The Grand Elder of Zhimeng above was prepared. With a sudden flap of his enormous dragon wings, a sound-absorbing magic spell was instantly deployed, forcibly absorbing and weakening the massive sonic wave generated by the explosion.

The sound that reached Su Ming was as slight as a glass bottle shattering.

"What utterly brainwashed fanatics." Looking at the wreckage, shattered into pieces and splattered with flames, Ruixiuli sighed, "Is there any way to bring these people to their senses?"

"Of course," Zijin's cool voice rang out over the communication channel, "We can just physically brainwash them."

"Scholar lady," Su Ming said half-jokingly, "How's your dungeon exploration going?"

Although UWB radar cannot penetrate deep underground structures, the sound detection equipment deployed by Su Ming did not detect any sounds of intense fighting underground.

"There's only one researcher who seems to have been coerced into coming, and two guards," Zijin replied calmly. "I used too much force and accidentally killed one of the guards."

Very well, after a fierce battle, both on the surface and underground, not a single survivor was left.

"Protect that researcher at all costs!" Su Ming emphasized immediately, "Otherwise, there won't be a single survivor today." He glanced at his watch, "Everyone, start searching for valuable documents and information immediately. Be quick, and evacuate immediately after you're done!"

****

The researcher who was found was a middle-aged man with a stubble beard and a haggard face. He was thin, with a sickly pallor that seemed to have never seen the light of day, and his hair was disheveled like straw.

When Su Ming entered the slightly damp basement, the "researcher" was huddled in the darkest corner of the room, his hands tightly covering his head, trembling uncontrollably. No matter how Su Ming questioned him, he remained silent.

"Why did you bully him?" Su Ming looked at Zijin with confusion.

Zijin innocently spread her hands, "You've seen it too, I'm very gentle."

"Then why is he like this?" Su Ming asked.

How should I know?

As she spoke, Zijin was peeling a bright red mango, revealing the whitish flesh inside. It was already April, and some of the early-ripening varieties had grown quite large. Zijin had picked this mango from a Zijin tree in the manor when she came in.

She took a bite of the peeled mango, her brows immediately furrowing. She pursed her lips tightly, enduring the sourness, concealing her expression, then took another mango from her pocket, turned to Su Ming, and tossed it to him.

"Thank you!" Su Ming, unsuspecting, took the mango and began looking for a place to peel it.

Zijin casually waved her hand, and an invisible force drew the souls of the two murdered guards from the ground, suspending them in front of her. She prepared to begin the interrogation to obtain information about the trembling researcher.

In that instant, a sudden change occurred! A shadow, so fast it was almost invisible, suddenly appeared behind Su Ming, and two sharp, cold lights, like the spitting of venomous snakes, slashed at the back of Su Ming's neck with a sharp sound as they tore through the air!

"Finale Pierce!"

The entire process took only 0.2 or 0.3 seconds, fully demonstrating the assassin's extremely high level of skill and honed expertise.

However, Su Ming, who was hit by such a vicious attack, shattered like a mirage, turning into magical fragments that shimmered with light and scattered in the air.

It's a "Greater Illusion" spell!

An undisguised look of astonishment flashed across the assassin's eyes. He, an expert in stealth and assassination, had been tricked into revealing his most deadly technique using a mere illusion?

While Zijin's ethereal illusion magic, devoid of any trace of human emotion, was certainly one reason, her interaction with "Su Ming" was so casual and natural that it left no room for doubt about its authenticity.

In particular, her interrogation of the guards' spirits perfectly struck a nerve with the assassin—he feared that the souls of these "his own people" would reveal his presence, so he had to take action!

This person is a master at dealing with assassins; his skill level has reached the point where he can handle them with ease and effortlessness!

Alarm bells rang in the assassin's mind. He shifted his feet, intending to retreat without hesitation. However, the mango, which had been Levitation Spell in mid-air, exploded before he could leave, bursting into blinding flames!

The assassin hastily deployed his shield, but the distance was too close. The scorching air blast slammed into his face, leaving several bloody marks and temporarily blinding him.

Taking advantage of this momentary delay, Zijin released the Binding Spell she had prepared. Several energy chains, shimmering with a ghostly light, wrapped around the assassin as if they were alive, tightening around all the joints of his body.

The powerful binding force rendered the assassin unable to make any effective struggles, and his prized escape techniques were completely sealed off. Following closely behind was the Elemental Deprivation Spell, which instantly suppressed the assassin's Magic Power, causing him to lose all ability to cast spells.

Zijin's movements were fluid and seamless, without the slightest pause. With a light tap of her staff, a magical blade formed from pure light energy, gleaming with a dangerous light, was placed against the neck of the defenseless assassin.

But what happened next was not unexpected—a resolute glint flashed in the assassin's eyes, then his body stiffened abruptly, and a large amount of dark red blood gushed from his mouth and nose. He lay there, lifeless, devoid of any vitality. The assassin's soul, along with the glow of the magical brand on his skin, was shattered.

Zijin looked at the corpses on the ground and the scattered fragments of souls in the air, sighed softly, and then waved her staff.

Several sharp blades flashed, cleanly slicing the assassin's body into several pieces, completely eliminating any possibility that the assassin might have faked his death or been disguising himself.

"The target on the other side has always been you." From a high vantage point near the Berit Manor, Mo Yuan's enormous dragon head turned towards Su Ming.

"That would be an honor," Su Ming said with a self-deprecating laugh.

****

The operation quickly came to an end. The group hastily bundled up the large bags of documents they had looted and tossed them onto the broad backs of the two giant dragons.

Ruixiuli found a body that had not been dead for long in the graveyard outside the manor, threw it into the basement, and filled the void left by the researcher.

"Basic operation," he said to Su Ming.

"Then we should set it on fire and burn everything beyond recognition," Su Ming said.

"Absolutely!"

Then they actually started the fire. The core buildings of the manor were engulfed in flames, the wood burned fiercely, making cracking sounds, and thick smoke billowed into the sky.

They didn't manage to capture any survivors besides the researchers, but they did manage to leave behind quite a few dead ones. Jielusi took out a specially made alchemical vial and drew over the still intact souls from the scene, imprisoning them inside the vial.

Even a wealthy and powerful organization like the Temple of Light cannot afford to equip all its members with the expensive mark of separation after death.

Of course, those fanatical believers were an exception. With their fervent faith, at the moment of their death, they exploded along with their souls, turning into dazzling specks of light, leaving onlookers sighing in disbelief.

"Hopefully, when we launch our final assault on the Temple of Light, we won't encounter too many guys like these," Ruixiuli murmured, watching the dissipating light.

"That's hard to say." Jielusi put away the small bottle, capped it, and sealed it. "Fanatical followers of any cult are the most troublesome and headache-inducing group."

In the distance, goblin figures, startled by the fire and explosion, were already rushing towards this place in the darkness.

Without further delay, the group leaped onto the dragon's back. Mo Yuan and Zhimeng immediately flapped their enormous wings, soaring into the air and leaving the escalating flames below behind.

Compared to the group that arrived, there was now a silent, huddled researcher on the dragon's back. From the initial questioning of the basement guardian's soul, Zijin learned that he was called "Hechun" by this group, and his real name was unknown.

The member of the Final Bone Mad Machines who accompanied Bowers was left in the vicinity to gather intelligence on what happened after the manor was destroyed.

"I'm genuinely starting to fear the Temple of Light now," Su Ming sighed, watching the flames gradually shrink. "Special agents and High Rank assassins keep appearing one after another." He shook his head. "Is this the profound foundation of what's supposed to be a millennium-old organization?"

"I think they're the ones who should be crying even harder," Zijin smiled slightly. "These are strongholds that have been established for many years, along with those well-trained agents and highly skilled and devoted top assassins. They're not like cabbages that just grow in the ground. Such a huge loss is a deep wound for them."

"The problem is," Su Ming retorted, "That if even one operation isn't defended, it's over for me." He rubbed his shoulder; the recoil from the grenade launcher was considerable. "This kind of gameplay is just so unfair!"

"Excuse me for interrupting," Ruixiuli interjected, "When you're using those weird and wonderful devices to utterly crush your opponents, it's them who should be complaining about how unfair it is."

Su Ming, and it seemed to make sense. "Alright, then let's just hurt each other."

Zijin took out a few mangoes from her pocket—mangoes she had picked from the tree before she left. She quietly pinched them all, softening the outer layer of the fruit, before distributing them to everyone.

Su Ming, Jielusi, and Ruixiuli took the mangoes, looked at their bright and tempting orange-red skin, and squeezed them; they indeed had the soft texture of ripe fruit.

"Thanks!" Ruixiuli said. "I'm really thirsty after that fight."

"It's been so long since I've had a mango!" Jielusi said happily.

Preserving fruits from another world is very difficult; there are almost no fruits that can be harvested out of season.

Zijin's lips curved upwards into a barely perceptible smile. "You're welcome."

Su Ming took the first bite of the plump fruit. However, almost simultaneously, Jielusi and Ruixiuli, who were also tasting the fruit, suddenly changed their expressions and spat out the fruit in their mouths with a "whoosh"!

Zijin immediately giggled, a gleam of triumphant mischief flashing in her eyes.

Su Ming looked puzzled, glancing at the half-eaten mango in his hand. "What's wrong?"

"It's incredibly sour! So astringent it's almost bitter!" Jielusi clearly realized she'd been tricked, tossed the mango aside, and then looked at Su Ming with some confusion, "Isn't yours—sour and astringent?"

Su Ming lowered her head and took another bite, chewing and savoring it, confirming, "Mine is very sweet and juicy."

"You're so biased, Bay Owl!" Ruixiuli complained, "You're only giving Su Ming the good food."

Zijin suddenly reached out and snatched the sweet mango back from Su Ming's hand. She tossed another mango to Su Ming, "Then try this one, see if it's sour."

Then, she picked up the mango and took a big bite. Instantly, a strong sour and astringent taste exploded in her mouth, causing her pretty brows to furrow and her whole face to wrinkle.

Seeing Zijin's face contorted from the sourness, Su Ming couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, covering his mouth.

Zijin also covered her mouth, clenched one fist, and angrily punched Su Ming's shoulder.