Chapter 106

We looked out the window, and the sun was shining brightly; there was nothing unusual about it.

But Moli stopped chattering, and Anna's ears twitched.

After a moment of silence, Mel's and my phones suddenly started ringing—and as if to prevent us from forgetting our phones, Moli and Anna's phones also started ringing. We all pulled them out at the same time and saw Goliath, Crow, Luolan, and Lusien. Considering they should be together, we hung up on three of them and answered mine.

Sure enough, four identical faces with furrowed brows appeared on the screen immediately. Lady Crow said, "Something terrible has happened! My subordinates just reported to me that an explosion occurred deep within the foundation of the prison on the outskirts of Holy Light City, the one where you were held!"

Mel and I certainly remember that prison. Ms. Crow was the warden there, and we had a very comfortable time there, if it weren't for the cyborgs who broke us out...

"Did the cyborgs break out of prison again?"

"It wasn't a prison break. Part of the prison area wasn't affected by the explosion. Only a few cells were damaged. At most, one or two prisoners managed to escape in the chaos, but they couldn't even leave the prison."

While Ms. Crow's answer reassured us somewhat, their expressions clearly indicated they were far from relaxed, leading me to suspect that Ms. Crow had something more important to hide.

Sure enough, she said, "Commander Goliath told me that when you were rescuing Reynold, he told you about the capital's defense system— the Northern Cross Barrier?"

Hmm... is that super complicated system, but I know that if it's compromised, the entire country will lose internet access?

"Beneath the foundations of the Central Prison lies one of the energy nodes of the Northern Cross Barrier, and the recent explosion just happened to destroy that energy node," said Ms. Crow.

No wonder! That Magic Power fluctuation wasn't due to anything wrong with Mel or Mel, but rather a fluctuation in the magical defense system covering the entire city! That would naturally affect the energy cycle within our mage tower, since Magic Power also intersects with the surrounding area.

At this moment, the two apprentices exclaimed, "Are we going to have to disconnect the internet?"

Lady Crow's lips twitched slightly, and I couldn't help but press the two apprentices' heads back down. I heard Lady Crow say, "It hasn't caused any devastating damage to the entire system yet, because there are a total of eighteen energy nodes in the shadows. Destroying more than half of them would cause the system to malfunction."

I nodded—great, it seems these Machine Zealots can't wait to do something bad!

You stole my teacher's belongings, and before I even went to confront you, you delivered them to my doorstep?

It seems Damala's undead army will soon be put to use. Since everyone calls me the "Master of the Undead," it's not enough to just shout it online. I really need to let the Machine Zealots know about this title too.

Chapter 106

Our visit to the Holy Light City Central Prison was now a government-sponsored mission, so we first used the magic teleporter to reach the nearest teleportation point in the suburbs, and then flew there. It was incredibly fast, much faster than when Moli was speeding. Plus, the cost of using the magic teleporter was reimbursed by the Shield of the New Star Finance Department, making it very economical.

Mel and I received two small badges from the Shield of the New Star members who gave us the badges. They were identical shield badges with star patterns. We could fly around freely by pinning them to our chests, and throwing Black Magic around wouldn't trigger the Northern Cross alarm—this was the insignia of Shield of the New Star members. Once we put them on, the symbol inside the badge was activated and bound, granting us the green light of the Northern Cross Barrier: the protective barrier prevents enemies from causing trouble, so if our own people used magic to beat up the enemy, it wouldn't trigger the alarm.

And when we arrived at the prison, the guards at the gate saluted us and called us "commander," which was actually quite amusing. But I would have felt more comfortable if they had swallowed the "Master of the Undead."

We were led by a soldier to find Lady Crow, but as we turned a corner in the corridor, we suddenly saw...

Yes, one of the doors in front flew out.

A row of soldiers, as if collectively with invisible tails tucked between their legs, stood stiff as sticks, trembling uncontrollably, by the shattered door. Inside stood a slender woman— the Crow Lady we were looking for, of course—loudly berating her subordinates. Her voice was terrifying, like that of an enraged bear, making one wonder how such a slender body could possess such a vocal organ. She was roaring:

"... Have your brains been filled with porn and you've masturbated so much that your IQs have been shot out? Why are you only saying the most important thing now!"

Mel and I peeked over and found that Lady Crow was furious. It was as if someone had stuffed a dark cloud into the whole room, and the air pressure was extremely low. Lightning that was invisible to the naked eye was circling around Lady Crow. Her body seemed to have become a crack in Abyss, from which a certain negative power was constantly emanating. The atmosphere of withering and death made everyone present fall silent.

Hmm... this is the aura a Druid Mourner should have!

Beside her was Luolan clinging to Lusien... clinging to? Lusien was truly a proper knight, though a little too serious. Luolan, the entire elf, was hanging on him like a koala, and he didn't even react. If elves weren't so flexible and agile, they wouldn't have been able to hold on at all.

There was also Reynold, pale-faced, clutching his clothes with both hands, his legs trembling—he woke up so quickly? But judging from his condition, he was in terrible shape. I knew before that Reynold was very dedicated and cared a lot about the affairs of the Federation, but I didn't expect him to insist on coming to the scene even in this condition. Even Mel had a bit more respect for Reynold.

Lady Crow's expression changed, then she immediately turned around and ruffled Reynold's hair...

Um, is it just my imagination? I think Reynold's face looks even paler...

Wait, are they already together?

Wow, congratulations to Ms. Crow! As for Reynold, we were once a couple, and even though we broke up, I won't make a scene like those young kids like Moli, saying things like "breakups are enemies" or "we'll never see each other again"—that's impulsive and very impolite. I still hope Reynold can be happy. Whether it's me or Mel, Reynold has already lost his chance with his Stand and his true love. So I think, after this lesson, he should learn to cherish Ms. Crow, after Crow, she's such an excellent druid.

Look, they're so affectionate! Lady Crow is gently stroking Reynold's hair and whispering, "Don't be afraid, I won't hit you."

Seeing us enter, the oppressive atmosphere around Ms. Crow eased considerably. She snorted and handed us a screen displaying a prisoner's information.

To be precise, is it a dragon-related offense?

"Huh? This is amazing," I exclaimed. "Is this a prisoner in our Federation prison? He's a dragon? Why would dragons be imprisoned in Federation prison? Aren't they usually sentenced by the Dragon Court and then handed over to the Dragon Speakers for supervision?"

Mel looked at him and said to me, "I know this dragon. He has absolutely no sense of self-awareness as a dragon. Not only did he trespass into the Dragon Clan's sacred tomb and show disrespect to the Radiant Dragon God, but he also tried to forcibly sign a contract with the Dragon Queen Agnes. Then... uh, Agnes, who was still the Crown Princess, along with the contracted dragon she had chosen and the Dragon Queen Cynthia, beat him half to death. This guy even tried to usurp the throne, attempting to seize the current Holy Dragon's throne."

Wow! Is this really describing the dragon race? Aren't dragons supposed to be straightforward, power-obsessed types like Xuefeng? Would they really engage in power struggles? And the formation of a pact between a dragon knight and a dragon is usually a classic, sacred scene full of chivalry, perfect material for bards. Whether successful or not, it perfectly showcases the knightly spirit of the Holy Dragon Empire. I even saw a documentary about it on Federation Television before; it was a truly captivating sight. How could such an unseemly brawl occur?!

"That's why he doesn't resemble a dragon at all," Mel said.