A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 195: Chapter 157: Dragon Roar (A new month, this kitty seeks for monthly tickets and kibbles)_1

As the black giant dragon left, the battle came to an end. Though the dragon’s arrival destroyed more than half of the town, thanks to Ann’s timely barrier installation, a portion were spared.

Afterward, Duanmu Huai and his companions were summoned by the Imperial Legion.

“Was it you who repelled the evil dragon’s attack?”

Standing before Duanmu Huai was a short and bald man. He was General Tulus of the Imperial Legion. Seeing Duanmu Huai for the first time startled him, but soon enough he recognized the adventurers before him to have the strength to defeat a giant dragon.

It was clear that a ferocious appearance had its benefits.

“Who are you?”

“We’re just a group of adventurers passing through.”

“Adventurers?”

After hearing Duanmu Huai’s reply, General Tulus looked puzzled at the young girls behind him, but quickly averted his gaze.

“Regardless, you have done us a great favor. Here, on behalf of the Empire, I thank you.”

As he spoke, General Tulus brought out a pouch of coins.

“This is a token of my personal gratitude. Please accept it. Also… being adventurers, I hope you could do me a favor.”

“What is it?”

Duanmu Huai took the money pouch and looked at General Tulus. He didn’t mind helping out. After all, their group didn’t have any coins from this kingdom; it’d be somewhat useful in the event that money was needed.

“As you have seen, an evil dragon roams these lands. We must remain on high alert. I request that you go to Snow City and notify Lord Balgoff of this situation.”

As he spoke, General Tulus brought out a letter.

“This is a letter handwritten by me. He will understand upon seeing it.”

“Of course, no problem.”

Duanmu Huai took over the letter, then nodding his head.

“However… we are not very familiar with this place. It’d be perfect if someone could lead the way.”

“Ha ha ha, you don’t look like locals.”

General Tulus didn’t seem to mind Duanmu Huai’s reply. He simply nodded, then signaled. An Imperial Soldier walked over and saluted respectfully.

“General.”

“Take them to Snow City.”

“Yes.”

The Imperial Soldier nodded, then looked at Duanmu Huai and the others, and saluted them as well.

“Please follow me.”

“Alright.”

It happened that Duanmu Huai also wanted to know the situation here, as well as the current state of the empire, so he didn’t refuse. Soon, the group packed up and set out again.

During the journey, from the Imperial Soldier named Hadawa, Duanmu Huai and his group finally understood the circumstances of the current internal war here.

At its root, it can be considered as a conflict between faith and race.

Although the Sky Province is nominally part of the empire, the relationship between the two is a mix of separation and union. It wavers between unification and independence.

The recent rebellion, however, was related to the faith of Talos in Sky Province.

The Empire worships nine deities, also known as the Nine Saints. Talos is one of them. Unlike other deities, Talos began as a human and became a deity.

However, some people dispute this – the High Elves Race from the Ancestral God Province.

The Ancestral God Province and the Empire have been mortal enemies in history, engaging in several wars. But now, the Thalmer Elves are powerful, and the Empire is gradually waning. As a result, the Empire had to humiliatingly sign the Platinum Agreement to barely attain peace with them.

However, one clause in the Platinum Agreement incurred the wrath of the Nords in Sky Province—it required the Empire not to recognize the ninth saint, the War and Mortal God – Talos who ascended from human to God. For this, the Thalmer Elves even sent teams to garrison in Sky Province under the guise of overseeing the Platinum Agreement, ruthlessly slaughtering Talos’s believers.

Faced with this situation, the Nords obviously can’t stand idly by, so a rebel force led by Ulfric was established. Their slogan is that Sky Province is the land of the Nords, and Talos is the god worshiped by the Nords, so they should drive out all enemies who dared to eradicate their faith and slaughter their people from Sky Province, whether it be the Thalmer, the Empire, or anyone else!

This way, the Sky Province plunged into internal war and rebellion, until not long ago they finally managed to capture Ulfric.

Well… then he escaped during the black dragon attack.

Now General Tulus has to send someone after him. Otherwise, once Ulfric returned to his territory, things would turn even more troublesome.

Although Hadawa as a local was also very dissatisfied with the actions of the Thalmer Elves, he didn’t think that causing a rebellion was a better choice. That’s why he joined the Imperial Legion rather than the Rebel Army.

After listening to Hadawa’s story, Duanmu Huai had no fondness at all for the Thalmer Elves and the Ancestral God Province. Moreover, as a Guardian, Duanmu Huai is originally fighting to protect humans. You dare to trample over humans, an elf? Want to die, is that it?

Well… if push comes to shove, why not conduct an orbital airstrike on the Ancestral God Province?

No rush, we can think about it later.

“By the way, Greiya.”

While Hadawa was leading them to Snow City, Duanmu Huai looked over to the dragonkin girl at his side.

“What did you mean by ‘dragon shout’ earlier?”

“That’s a legend among the Dragon Race…”

Perhaps the memory of the Black Dragon’s power made Greiya’s expression a little grim.

“I remember the legends saying that, in ancient times, the Dragon Race possessed immense power. Just their voice, their language alone, could alter the world. I originally thought it was only a legend…”

Come to think of it, that Black Dragon just roared, and then a meteor shower started… is the Dragon Roar really that powerful?

“Can’t you?”

“Well, about that…”

When faced with Duanmu Huai’s question, Greiya was evidently struggling for an answer.

“Apologies, this is only a legend in Regnes as well. I never expected to actually encounter a genuine dragon capable of using the Dragon Roar. In fact, I could only tell that it seemed to be talking, but what it was saying, I couldn’t understand at all.”

Well, that’s normal, just like the languages of a thousand years ago, barely anyone knows how to speak them nowadays. If someone from the Tang Dynasty were to time travel to the present, language communication would likely pose a problem.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to arrive at Snow City.”

Then, Hadawa’s voice returned Duanmu Huai’s focus to the present. Looking up, he saw a stone-built city standing high on the plains not too far off. Though it didn’t look as grand as the cities in Manaria, it had some scale to it – to Duanmu Huai, such a city would be at the level of a town in the present time.

For this place, it was already quite good.

Soon, the group arrived outside the city. They discovered, upon nearing the gate, that the whole entrance had been sealed shut. There were soldiers, fully clad in armor, stationed along the neighboring city walls and watchtowers. In no time, one of the soldiers approached them, nervously glanced at Duanmu Huai for a moment before angrily calling out.

“Halt! Due to sightings of a Giant Dragon in the vicinity, the city gate has been closed. Only those dealing with official matters are permitted entry!”

“We come in the name of General Tulus of the Empire!”

Hadawa also, not to be outdone, quickly explained their purpose.

Duanmu Huai then reached out and brought out the letter from his pocket. After seeing the seal on it, the guard paused for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright, you may enter. But beware; we will be keeping an eye on you!”

As he spoke, he was glaring at Duanmu Huai – there was no need to question whom this caution was intended for.

Soon, the gate was opened, and the group made their way into Snow City.

As Duanmu Huai had suspected, Snow City was not too big. Still, the houses were spread out beautifully giving a sense of peace and tranquility. However, the fully armed soldiers positioned all around gave the atmosphere a tense feeling.

The arrival of Duanmu Huai and the others naturally attracted the attention of the city’s inhabitants. Even so, they only observed from their homes far away, quietly watching this hulking figure clad in fearsome battle armor, afraid to say too much. Under the escort of the guards, Duanmu Huai and the others quickly reached the Dragon Night Palace, the highest part of the city, where they had an audience with Lord Balgoff of Snow City.

“I see…”

After reading the letter delivered by Duanmu Huai, Lord Balgoff’s brows furrowed. He was an elder appearing to be about fifty or sixty, possessing the Nord’s distinctive long beard and hair. Though not particularly muscular, he held the aura of a sovereign.

“Hailgen is under attack by a Giant Dragon and has been destroyed, and even Ulfric, who should have been executed, has slipped away. It’s such a headache…”

“M’lord!”

A minister standing by Lord Balgoff’s side hastily interjected.

“We should assemble our forces immediately to defend Snow City from a potential dragon attack!”

“So you’re suggesting I abandon my people and allow them to be attacked by a dragon?”

Hearing this, Lord Balgoff abruptly raised his brow and slammed his fist on the chair.

“I would never do that, Iriles!”

He turned to another woman standing beside him as he spoke.

“Dispatch our forces to other towns immediately, ensure they won’t be attacked by the dragon, and also… ”

“Bang!!!”

But before Lord Balgoff could finish his sentence, the door to the hall was suddenly kicked open. A soldier dashed in, panting heavily.

“Re-report to the Lord, trouble! A Giant Dragon at the Southern Watchtower!”

“What?!”

On hearing this information, Lord Balgoff involuntarily stood up.

“What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?”

“I don’t know, my Lord. It was circling above my head when I left. I’ve never run so fast in my life… I thought for sure it would catch up to me.”

This moment, the soldier’s face was ashen, drenched in sweat. Clearly, facing a Giant Dragon was a bit too terrifying for him.

“Alright, I understand. Go eat something and rest a bit in the camp, soldier.”

After comforting the messenger soldier, Lord Balgoff took a moment to consider before turning to the captain of his guard.

“Iriles, I order you to take a few guards and find out what exactly is going on there. Also…”

While saying this, Lord Balgoff’s gaze turned to Duanmu Huai and his companions.

“I know this may seem presumptuous, but I hope you can also proceed there. According to General Tulus’s letter, you were able to repel the Giant Dragon that attacked Hailgen and thus, you must possess great power. Therefore, I hope you can accompany my guard captain, Iriles, to the Southern Watchtower to investigate the situation. Of course, as a Lord, I will prepare suitable compensation.”

Hearing Lord Balgoff’s request, Duanmu Huai’s brow raised slightly, and he nodded.

“Sure, no problem.”

He then responded with these words.