Chapter 92 (continued)

Hmm... what does the stock price increase have to do with this?

I looked at Mel, Mel didn't seem to understand either, so we continued to discuss how to rescue His Majesty the Dragon Emperor.

--Aside from the people of the Holy Dragon Empire themselves, we foreigners often can't tell the difference between their Dragon Emperor and Dragon King. I just heard Moli next to me angrily muttering, "Is this current affairs commentator stupid? The Dragon Emperor is human, the Dragon King is the dragon! He actually suggested making the Dragon Emperor a prototype? What an idiot! You're the one with a prototype, your prototype is a poop-colored slime! You must have gotten into this TV station through connections!"

Sigh... Young people are so inexperienced. There are too many journalists who lack professional knowledge and spout nonsense, which really tarnishes the reputation of the media industry.

However, the situation in Holy Dragon is truly unique. They are ruled by both humans and dragons, so there are two supreme leaders, one human and one dragon, with equal status. It's no wonder people are always confused; they're the only country on the entire continent where two races coexist. Our Federation is nominally inhabited by multiple races, but in reality, humans are in charge. Most of the city elves in South County, let alone participating in politics, would rather not even spare a moment to vote for a representative than feign illness, stupidity, or death to avoid it.

Uh, how did I get off-topic again? Am I really like Moli said before—to have an old-fashioned mentality, which is why I tend to think about random things regardless of the situation, and grumble on and on for no reason?

Suddenly, Reynold screamed, "Which one is Doug? Has he really never turned back?"

Doug?

Who is that?

I tilted my head, Moli immediately leaned close to my ear. "Teacher, Doug is the Five-Star Old Man you were talking about."

Um?

"Isn't his name Duoji?" I rubbed my temples, feeling like my memory wasn't working so well.

"Teacher, can't you just call him by his name correctly even once?" Moli said, her face filled with despair.

In Reynold's phone, Ms. Alessia said, "... It's the Magic Research Institute... Doug wasn't captured, he was just taken to the Sanctuary of Truth to have the Archmage cast a spell... to restore him to human form. The kidnappers are bluffing..."

"So, the Sanctuary of Truth is saying that the slime they have is Doug?"

I'm confused too, because through the screen, I really can't tell which is the real slime and which is the real Duoji... uh, not Duoji, what's that again? Ah! Right, Duoge!

Of course, I also hope the kidnappers threw down a real slime.

Ms. Alessia showed Reynold a clip from Federation Central Television. Two staff members from the Magic Research Institute —both of whom I recognized—were holding a shiny, glossy green slime. The slime even had a sign hanging on it: Director of the National Magic Research Institute.

However, visually, it is indeed difficult to distinguish them. Moreover, this slime seems very human-like, wearing a sign and obediently posing for photos with the reporter, not even frightened by the bright flash. It is indeed possible that it is a human in disguise—slimes prefer to grow in dark and damp environments, so they might be unable to resist launching a slime attack when photographed with a flash.

"Whether the slime that was thrown out is real or not is irrelevant now, because it's already been thrown out and can't be brought back. And if we don't hurry, His Majesty the Dragon Emperor will be thrown down too!" Goliath suddenly interrupted us, "His Majesty the Dragon Emperor is 100% certain that it's not fake!"

!

Yes! And there's a Dragon Queen lady standing there enjoying the cold wind!

To reiterate, His Majesty the Dragon Emperor is a pure human! If he were thrown down there...

The underground ruins were a complex maze, and we had no idea where we were. We were surrounded by hordes of recklessly charging at us. Goliath, aside from killing the leader, showed mercy to the lower-ranking cyborgs. He explained, "This kind of human mechanics, which doesn't quite comply with Federation law, can be manipulated in many ways. I can't be sure whether these low-level, weak cyborgs are attacking us willingly, or whether their behavior is being controlled by chips implanted in their brains."

--No wonder Reynold vehemently opposed the legalization of mechanized military modifications by the Federation.

We walked for a while, and during that time the live stream continued. The kidnappers were shaking His Majesty the Dragon Emperor's cage, and the rope suspending the cage looked very fragile. Reynold, on the other hand, received a message from the Federation saying that the Holy Dragon Empire was making urgent negotiations, demanding the release of the Dragon Emperor, but reportedly still refusing to pay the ransom.

However, the film studio that Dragon Emperor signed with seems to have demanded a ransom... After all, the Empire felt it would be a loss of face to be threatened, while the film studio didn't care.

But kidnapper Reynold said they refused to negotiate with something like a film studio, so they were talking to high-ranking Federation officials about ransoming the "Speaker of the Magic Council."

Reynold's face contorted with rage as he spoke, thankfully it was Ms. Alessia he was video chatting with, not one of his crybaby secretaries.

"I'm already out of danger; I can have my spokesperson hold a press conference now!"

"... Oh no!" Alessia's tone suddenly became urgent. "Something's happened here, and you... beep beep... hissing..."

A burst of static appeared in the video, and something unusual also appeared in the kidnappers' live stream—we saw a row of dark figures on the horizon in the fluctuating signal. Moli immediately recognized them as high-speed flying dragon knights. It seemed that the Holy Dragon Empire had located the Dragon Emperor's location and was preparing to launch a rescue operation.

But even dragons can't Teleportation, no matter how fast they fly! The kidnappers only need to press a small button to drop the Dragon Emperor!

Suddenly, rows of magical fighter jets took off, flying out from the gaps in the underground ruins, preparing to intercept the dragon knights, while the kidnappers had already placed their hands on the mechanism outside the dragon emperor's cage.

The situation became critical. Damala suddenly stopped us and said, "Going this way is too slow. The terrain of the ruins is complicated. It might take us a whole day to get around. So let's just dig out."

Ah?

"Master Xipei and this Mage Madsen, please both cast a spell to stabilize the tunnel, otherwise it may collapse," Damala said.

I was taken aback. Damala made a sharp hand gesture, and the banshees who had followed us as if on a spring outing collectively turned to me with pleading expressions. Damala let out a piercing howl, perhaps in the language of the undead... but as their master, although I couldn't understand it, I could sense her urging. The banshees reluctantly extended their hands, and then...

"Whoa!" Reynold jumped up in fright—because the banshees' hands twisted into giant claws in an instant... If I remember correctly, Reynold had even shaken hands with these banshees in a gentlemanly manner when they were fighting side by side just now...

... I looked at the twenty-three banshees that had transformed into excavators, my feelings were complicated. Mel reacted quickly and hurriedly cast a reinforcement spell.

The Banshee's excavator was incredibly fast, digging through the mountain in just a few minutes. Radiant Fortress was built in the center of the mountain, and fortunately, our digging direction wasn't far from the outside world. However, the sheer speed of the digging still caused many of the Banshees' fingernails to break off...

However, they quickly found an outlet for their anger—undead creatures have a very strong sense of the presence of the living, and they almost immediately knew where the kidnappers were gathered. After receiving my permission, the banshees screamed and flew up, elated... I could almost picture a large group of Moli preparing to snatch discounted game discs...

Damala went even further; she... she raised a huge banner?

I was completely bewildered, having no idea where this lich lady had produced such a huge flag—the one she carried on her back was just a small command flag, while the one she was now holding was three meters tall, draped with black velvet cloth, and adorned with black gauze at the bottom. It could flutter far in the wind, making it incredibly conspicuous as it paraded through the streets, and on the flag...

"Wait!" I had to stop Damala's actions. "This... isn't it inappropriate for you to raise the banner of the Shadow Moon Temple?"

Damala looked at me with a puzzled expression, while Goliath enthusiastically explained, "Ah, you actually recognized this as the Shadow Moon's flag? This isn't the current Shadow Moon's flag; it's the Shadow Moon of the Fourth Age. This design is from six thousand years ago. It's alright, you can use it; most people won't recognize it."