The Lord’s Chronicles - Volume 2

Swoosh! A single arrow shot out from the depths of the forest, finding its target with deadly precision as it struck the leading alpha wolf that was scouting ahead. The wolf let out a pained and mournful howl, as the arrow pierced its neck and it fell to the ground, leaving behind a trail of fresh blood.

The rest of the pack was caught off guard and immediately became agitated, but their confusion was short-lived. Soon, a resounding shout echoed through the forest, as more than ten guards burst out from the tree line, brandishing swords and knives as they charged into the midst of the pack.

Alpha wolves were a common sight on the Modena continent, renowned for their incredible strength and agility. Their grey bodies were covered in sleek fur, and their most striking feature was the tall, erect horn that protruded from their heads. These cunning and ferocious beasts hunted in packs, making them a formidable adversary for any challenger.

Despite their strength, even a full platoon of soldiers would struggle to take down a pack of alpha wolves. But for the Lowell guards’ team, who had spent their lives dealing with all manner of magic beasts, a mere dozen guards were enough to quell the threat.

The guards swung their long swords with agility, backing up one another in pairs to support their comrades. They were familiar with the horned wolves’ attack patterns, and each of their strikes seemed to land at impossible angles, cutting deep into the wolves’ bodies.

Among them, Kress dealt the most damage, wielding his enormous sword with deadly precision. With each swing of his weapon, which was thicker and longer than any regular sword, he could unleash a shower of blood and gore that took out nearly half the pack by himself.

Meanwhile, the members of the previous Rulin Empire Night Shadow Brigade, led by Chipp and Yoda, used their bows and arrows to take out any wolves that tried to escape. They weren’t as skilled in one-on-one combat, but each one of them was a master of long-range weaponry. Especially Yoda, the vice captain, who wielded a composite bow specially made for him by Manson. Every arrow he fired hit its mark, taking out one wolf after another, and even the seasoned hunters among the guards couldn’t help but be impressed by his marksmanship.

In just a few moments, the pack had been decimated, and the remaining wolves huddled together in a last stand, knowing that their defeat was inevitable.

Looking at the corpses of horned wolves scattered on the ground, Chipp expressed his surprise, “I never thought that such a small territory would have such powerful warriors. They may soon catch up with the Berserker Brigade.” The Berserker Brigade was one of the four ace armies of the Rulin Empire, which was made up entirely of fighters and was best known for its siege warfare. Its soldiers were renowned for their martial arts prowess and bravery in battle, and it was one of the four elite armies of the empire, alongside the Night Shadow Brigade.

Yoda pointed at Kress, who was killing with enthusiasm in the middle of the field, and exclaimed, “Especially this guy. He has a magnitude of power that is hard to fathom. It’s a pity that he was born in this small place. If he joined the Berserker Brigade, he could at least become a platoon leader.”

Chipp let out a sigh, “But isn’t it a good thing to live a peaceful life in this small place?”

Yoda was taken aback for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.

At that precise moment, the situation in the field took an abrupt turn. Out of the remaining dozen or so horned wolves, an enormous gray shadow suddenly lunged forward, catching several of the guards off guard and sending them tumbling to the ground. With a brief pause upon landing, the grey shadow then bolted towards Kress’ back at lightning speed.

It was only then that the onlookers could see clearly what was happening: a massive horned wolf, much stronger and larger than its ordinary counterparts, with long, spiraled horns protruding from its forehead.

“The wolf king!?” one of the guards exclaimed in disbelief.

“This is not good,” Yoda muttered, swiftly readying his bow and arrows. Every wolf pack had a dominant male wolf known as the wolf king, possessing both formidable strength and cunning. The wolf king had been hiding among his pack after the initial attack, and now, he had launched a sudden surprise attack.

The wolf king moved with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it had already reached Kress’ back. The long horns on its head were aimed straight at his heart, intent on piercing the man who had killed so many of its brethren.

At this critical moment, Kress twisted his waist, and with a swift motion, he swung his enormous sword towards the wolf king. But the beast was unfazed, and it bit down hard on the sword blade. With a powerful thrust of its body, it pushed Kress forward several steps, causing him to stumble.

With his sword now out of reach, the wolf king lowered its head and charged towards Kress’ abdomen area with its long horn. The latter, still off-balance, had no way to dodge the attack. Suddenly, a sharp flying knife hit the wolf king’s horn with a loud clang, causing its head to tilt to the side. At the same time, a long arrow pierced through the wolf king’s left eye, pinning its head to the ground.

As the garrion team’s vice captain, Bocci, who threw the flying knife, and Yoda, who shot the arrow, looked at each other, they both saw a hint of admiration in the other’s eyes.

“Thanks!” Kress expressed his thanks to both of them.

“Haha, captain, you made a fool of yourself this time,” the guard members who had killed the remaining wolves laughed and gathered around him, seeming to be completely unconcerned that their captain had just narrowly escaped death.

“Go on, I was just careless for a moment. Besides, getting stabbed a little won’t kill me,” Kress insisted, putting up a brave front.

“Brothers, you did a great job just now.” “Your archery skills are amazing. I’m really impressed,” ……

After teasing their captain, the team members warmly hugged the members of the Night Shadow squad and praised them, revealing the simplicity and enthusiasm of the Lowell people.

Due to their long-term assassination training, the Night Shadow members were generally “cold” in personality. However, after spending time together and going through the crucible of fighting the bloodthirsty monsters together, the relationship between the two sides had become as close as old comrades. Under the influence of the hearty members of the guard team, many people became more cheerful, and some Night Shadow members even learned to joke around.

Chipp looked at the changes in his subordinates with emotion and then walked towards Kress. “What’s going on?”

.

Kress confidently wiped off the wolf blood from his greatsword and pointed to the dead wolf king. “I know this guy. He killed the Rath family two years ago by biting them to death. The scar on his back was my souvenir. No wonder he charged at me today.”

Bocci voiced his concern, “The horned wolves never come down from the mountains during the day, yet this time they’re acting out of the norm. The magic beasts in the mountains have been more restless than ever this year, which suggests that something must have happened.”

For the past two weeks, the magic beasts around Lowell had entered their active period earlier than usual, and they were more active than ever before. The beasts were descending from the mountains to attack villagers, taking away livestock, and damaging crops. It was unexpected to see them moving during the day, as they normally only ventured out at night.

Many villagers were injured in the attacks, but fortunately, there were no casualties. During this period, the town’s garrison became the busiest group of people, constantly driving away the beasts and setting traps. Just a moment ago, they were in the process of setting traps in this section of the road during the day to prevent the beasts from entering the town. However, they coincidentally encountered a pack of wolves descending from the mountains, which resulted in the battle that just took place.

Chipp also knew about the habits of horned wolves and believed that Bocci was telling the truth. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll send a few team members to accompany you to the mountains to see what’s happening.”

For ordinary people, entering the mountains during the active period of the beasts was akin to committing suicide. However, for Bocci, who had grown up in the mountains, it was not a problem. Additionally, with the help of the skilled members of the Night Shadow, the mission was even safer.

After hearing what Chipp said, Yoda promptly said, “I’ll go with Bocci.”

Kress also said, “Good idea. We’ll give you one day. If we don’t see you coming down from the mountains by this time tomorrow, we’ll go into the mountains to find you.” Although Kress was usually carefree and silly, he never took work-related matters lightly.

After Bocci and Yoda left, Kress immediately organized the guards to dig traps and skin all the horned wolves. The wolf meat could be dried and stored as food, while the wolf skins could be sold to magic beast merchants, and the wolf horns were good magic materials.

As for the wolf heads, they were all chopped off and hung on tree branches around the area in a chaotic manner. The battlefield was not cleaned up, allowing the blood to flow freely. Magic beasts were intelligent animals, and this could effectively deter them.

The guards were all seasoned professionals and worked with ease. The Night Shadow members were also learning from the side. For them, killing was a habit, and this was to be their new responsibility.

Shortly afterward, they finished their work and carried the wolf carcasses and other materials back to the town, chatting happily along the way.

“What a great harvest today! How about we have a barbecue tonight?”

“Sounds good! Let’s go ask Uncle Ruah for some wine. I saw him secretly burying a barrel in the backyard the day before yesterday.”

“The barracks are too small. Why don’t we go to the Lord’s place? The yard is spacious.”

“Yes, yes! We’ve been busy for half a month, but the Lord is always hiding in his study, sleeping and lazing around. This time, we’ll make that lazy bum feel guilty.”

“And Night Shadows, you guys are coming too, right?”

“For sure! We’ll show you how the Rulin’s barbecue is the best in the world.”

“Hahahahaha ……”

※※※

At this moment, the lazybones Saul, whom everyone was talking about, was lying leisurely in the study, with his head resting on Marlene’s slender and beautiful legs that were half-kneeling behind him. He was half-closing his eyes and eating the sweet mountain fruits that Marlene had carefully peeled, enjoying a Lord’s benefits to the fullest.

The sunlight shone through the window, gently swaying with the curtain’s movement, and the soft light and shadow fell gently on the two people, making Marlene’s golden hair sway like water waves. The cicadas sang in the yard, and the tranquility of the afternoon made people feel particularly comfortable. Saul smelled the faint girlish fragrance from Marlene behind him and occasionally touched her ivory-like, delicate legs, satisfying his urge and feeling that this was the pinnacle of life.

Damn comfortable! This is the life I wanted to live….

Unfortunately, the beautiful scene was completely shattered by the unpleasant sound of a “ga” call. The big head of the griffin beast, Simba, stuck its way through the window and kept calling for Marlene.

Marlene giggled and stuffed the fruit she had peeled to feed Saul into Simba’s mouth instead. The latter let out a satisfied growl and went back to sleep by the wall. Saul grumbled in frustration as his familiar snatched the fruit from his grasp. After summoning Simba twice before, the creature had become increasingly unwilling to return to its ring. After several failed attempts, he gave up on controlling it.

Now Simba had made the Lord’s mansion grounds his own, building a nest on the largest oak tree in the courtyard. He especially enjoyed the company of beauties like Marlene and Jessica, and Saul couldn’t help but wonder if there were wolf genes in its body. To make matters worse, Marlene and the others spoiled Simba rotten, making him more and more disobedient toward Saul, his rightful owner.

“Hehe, don’t be mad, Brother Saul. This one’s for you.” Noticing Saul’s sulky expression, Marlene smilingly peeled a mountain fruit and fed it into his mouth. When there were no outsiders around, she would call him directly by his name.

After letting out a comfortable hum, Saul rubbed his face against Marlene’s thigh, left and right, before finally shifting his attention to the book in his hand. He had found it on his dead father’s bookshelf; it was titled “Modena, the Hero’s Legend,” and was filled with tired cliches found in all third-rate novels. The story was about a dwarf named Talon who saved the continent of Modena, but the author’s writing was decent, and it was good enough to kill time.

As he flipped through the pages, Saul couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that even this world had its own version of cheesy novels. Suddenly, a loud bang interrupted his thoughts, and the door to the study was unceremoniously pushed open.

Saul and Marlene were startled, but when they turned to see who had come in they found it to be—Jessica. Her face was taut with tension, indicating that her mood wasn’t particularly good.

Jessica’s eyes quickly scanned the study before landing on Saul. He felt a chill run down his spine as she continued to stare at him, and his gaze followed hers….coming to a sudden stop at his hand, which was habitually stroking Marlene’s slender ankle. He hadn’t even had time to move his lecherous hand away.

Not even aware that she was being taken advantage of, Marlene smiled and beckoned to Jessica, whose countenance was getting ugly: “Jessica, come eat some fruit.”

“Hold on, things aren’t what you think they are!” Without waiting for Jessica to speak, Saul jumped up as if he had been electrocuted. After spending these days together, his response to his female steward had become a reflex.

“What do you mean?” A vein on Jessica’s forehead slightly bulged.

“If I said I was massaging Marlene, would you believe me…?”

“What do you think?”

“Ah, no, don’t hit my face! I’m a lord who still needs to go out and meet people!” Seeing that Jessica’s expression was getting worse and knowing that he couldn’t escape punishment, Saul wailed.

Just as she was about to raise her hand, Jessica saw Marlene looking at them with a puzzled expression. She clenched her fist tightly and trembled a few times before finally managing to suppress her anger.

She then pulled Saul to the side and said fiercely, “If I catch you behaving like this again, I’ll… I’ll…”

But she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

Secretly relieved, Saul knew he couldn’t let Jessica maintain this state, or who knows what might happen. He quickly changed the subject, “What’s happened that’s got you in such a hurry?”

Little did he know that bringing it up would reignite the anger that Jessica had just managed to suppress. She grabbed Saul by the collar and pulled him close, seething with anger. “How dare you ask me that? There are magic beasts all around the territory as we speak, and just now, Kress reported that the horned wolves are attacking even during the day! As the lord of this land, all you do is hide in your study and sleep! Do you have any sense of responsibility?”

“Ugh… help, help me… I’m suffocating…”

With a snort, Jessica released Saul, who was now turning blue in the face. She turned to Marlene and said, “Marlene, would you mind stepping out for a moment? I need to talk to him about something.”

“Okay,” Marlene obediently agreed and got up to leave. As she walked past Saul, she made a silly face, which clearly meant, “You’re in trouble again.”

After Marlene left, Jessica didn’t hesitate to sit on the lord’s chair and looked coldly at Saul, who was standing respectfully with his head down and hands hanging by his side.

“These are freshly picked fruits, try one,” Saul knew he was in the wrong and tried to please her by offering the fruit plate to Jessica.

“Hmph!”

“Oh, by the way, the fruit tastes better when it’s peeled,” Saul quickly peeled a fruit with a smile and handed it to her.

Jessica gave him a glance. “My lord, what are you going to do?”

“Huh? What am I going to do?”

Snap! Jessica didn’t say a word, but the hard fruit pit cracked in half between her fingertips.

A large drop of sweat slid down Saul’s forehead, and he immediately turned and headed towards the door. “Needless to say, as the lord, I naturally have to personally investigate when such a big event happens in my territory.”

Watching Saul run off like his pants were on fire, Jessica’s cold expression suddenly revealed a sly smile. She grabbed two fruits, folded her arms behind her back, and walked briskly after him with small and light steps.

※※※

Under Jessica’s “persuasion” Saul visited the entire town with unprecedented enthusiasm, comforting the bitten townspeople and urging Manson’s construction team to build fences. Finally, he arrived at the barracks to hear Kress’ report.

“What, come to my house for a barbecue tonight!?”

“Hmph,” Jessica snorted lightly.

“Ah, no… Bocci and Yoda went up the mountain!?”

Kress nodded his head. “The movements of the magic beasts are quite strange, and we suspect that something has happened in the mountains. Don’t worry, Bocci has been wandering in the mountains since he was young, they’ll be fine.”

Saul quickly got into character and began flipping through Kress’ records of monster sightings over the past half month. “That’s good, we need to understand the situation before we can figure out what to do. Did they say when they’ll come down from the mountain?”

Kress replied, “We agreed on one day. If we don’t see them by this time tomorrow, I’ll personally lead a team up the mountain.”

“Okay, then we’re going to temporarily relocate the townspeople who live in the more isolated areas to the town for easy protection. We need Vince to help us with this,” Saul said, turning to Jessica.

Seeing him starting to take the matter seriously, Jessica smiled. She nodded and said, “I will go ask grandpa for help.”

After giving some instructions, Saul and Jessica bid their farewell and left. But before departing, the team members who always loved to stir up trouble, reminded him, “Don’t forget about the barbecue tonight, Lord. You just need to prepare the wine.”

Saul felt a pang of distress, “These guys, it’s going to be a huge expense again, ah…”

Suddenly, he tasted something sweet in his mouth, and he realized that Jessica had put a soft, fragrant fruit into his mouth.

Saul was surprised and asked, “What’s this for?”

Jessica felt a bit shy when Saul’s lips accidentally brushed against her hand. She turned her face away and replied, “I picked it up on my way out. You’ve been busy all afternoon, so have a sip of this to quench your thirst.”

As Saul was about to say something, Jessica hurriedly walked away as if escaping, saying, “I’ll go ask Grandpa for his help. You can go find Uncle Ruah for the wine. I saw him secretly burying a barrel in his backyard two days ago.”

Watching Jessica’s receding figure, Saul shook his head in confusion. Sometimes she could be so fierce, and other times so gentle. He just couldn’t understand this woman.

※※※

The barbecue that night was held without a hitch, but the development of events far exceeded Saul’s expectations. He had bought some wine from Ruah for more than ten silver coins and had it placed in the yard. He instructed Marlin to set up the grill and waited for the arrival of the “ogres” from the garrison.

Suddenly, he saw two people who should not have been there.

“Huh? Aunt Mercy, Julie, what are you doing here?” Saul looked surprised as the mother and daughter pair walked into the yard carrying a large basket of food.

Julie put the basket down, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and smiled, “Kress said that the Lord was going to hold a barbecue to reward everyone, so he ordered a lot of food from us. It’s a total of 2 gold coins and 11 silver coins. Thank you for your patronage.”

“What, what!? I…”

“Hahaha, it smells so good. Lord Saul, you are so quick to prepare the food,” interrupted Albert, the village chief, with laughter as he entered the yard with a large group of children in tow.

“W-wait, how did you guys…” Saul was stunned as he watched Albert and the children enter.

Seeing the food that Julie and her daughter had brought, the group of children let out a cheer and rushed towards it. Julie quickly put the basket on the table and tapped the heads of the few children at the front, saying, “No, you have to wait for everyone to come before you can eat.”

Relieved that the food had not fallen into the hands of these “little monsters,” Saul let out a sigh of relief. “Exactly, we have to wait for everyone… Wait, what am I saying? I never ordered these things…”

Unfortunately, his protest was quickly interrupted by another brash voice: “I heard that the lord is hosting a banquet for everyone, and I knew the wine you bought from Ruah this afternoon wouldn’t be enough. Today, I’m feeling generous, and I’ve got some ale I’ve been keeping for two years. I’ll sell it to you for a cheap price of three gold coins.”

On the other side, as he carried a giant barrel of beer into the courtyard, Ruah shook his head, “It’s strange. I buried a cask of wine in the backyard two days ago, but how did everyone find out?”

From then on, Saul stood there like a stunned goose, gaping with a mouth big enough to fit a soccer ball, watching the villagers stream in from the town. Soon, the small courtyard outside the lord’s mansion was filled with people, and there was the sound of adults conversing and children playing, while a bonfire blazed, giving off a spicy and lively aroma.

Unfortunately, Saul couldn’t see any of this anymore. All he could see was a group of gold coins with small wings flying away from him. He roughly calculated that all the expenses added up to more than a dozen gold coins, and he, as the lord, had to foot the entire bill!

Oh my god, why do other lords get to treat their subjects like dirt, while I’m the only one suffering like this? The territory was already short on money, and yet you all still waste so much…

Just then, he finally saw the person responsible for all of this—Kress.

Under Kress’s leadership, the guards carried the wolf meat they had hunted during the day, already cut into pieces, and sang their way to the mansion. Walking beside them were the apprentices led by Manson, as well as Reed and Hiches. The night shadow members, led by Chipp, were at the back of the group.

Seeing Saul standing in front of the mansion with blazing eyes, Kress called out from a distance, “Meat is here! My Lord, you’re too kind to come out and greet us personally. Huh? Your eyes look strange. Are you okay?”

“I-I’m going to fight you!”

※※※

In the end, Saul could only resign himself to his fate. Frustrated, he vented his anger on food and ale, indulging himself and muttering as he tried to salvage something from the situation.

“Look at how happy everyone is,” Jessica said, sitting down next to Saul with a glass of wine in hand. She beamed as she watched the revelers fill the courtyard with laughter and merriment.

“Well, of course they’re happy,” Saul grunted. “You have no idea how much money this cost.”

Jessica looked at him, half-smiling. “Everyone’s been feeling down lately because of the magic beasts, so I thought a banquet might lift their spirits. Look at those smiles; they haven’t been seen in ages.”

“What!? So, it was you…” Saul exclaimed, surprised, as he turned to look at Jessica.

“Of course it was me who told Kress to notify everyone. Is there a problem?” Jessica responded matter-of-factly.

“No, nothing,” Saul turned away, tears of humiliation streaming down his face. “Damn it, I can’t get revenge now.”

“Miss Jessica, may I have the honor of dancing with you?” A member of the guads approached her boldly.

Jessica politely shook her head after glancing at Saul, who was still stuffing his face with food, “I’m sorry, I’ve had too much to drink and feel a little dizzy. I’d like to sit for a while. Please find someone else to dance with.”

Disappointed, the guard left, and Saul had just finished the last piece of bread. Phew, even though it’s expensive, Mercy and her daughter are truly talented cooks. Well, it’s only eighty percent filling, I need to eat some more to break even.

Just as he was about to get up to fetch some roasted meat, Kress hurriedly approached. “My lord, Miss Jessica. Bocci and Yoda have returned, and there’s something they need to report to you.”

Saul and Jessica looked at each other in surprise, both feeling that something was amiss. They immediately got up and followed Kress to the mansion. As they passed by the table, Saul grabbed two pieces of roasted meat on a whim.

In the study of the mansion, Bocci and Yoda, covered in dirt and looking exhausted, were waiting along with Chipp. Saul felt relieved to see that neither of them was injured.

“How’s the situation in the mountains?” Jessica asked. Since they had come down from the mountains so late and secretly summoned her and Saul, they must have made a startling discovery.

“My lord, things are not looking good,” Bocci said with a worried look after exchanging a glance with Yoda.

Saul, with his mouth dry, was grabbing his glass to drink water and asked in an unclear voice, “Oh, what happened exactly?”

“We found a dragon in the Northern Mountain,” Bocci said with a worried expression, while Yoda nodded in agreement.

“What? A dragon?!” Saul sprayed the water all over Kress’s garments, who was standing nearby.

“Shh, keep your voice down. Do you want everyone outside to hear?” Jessica quickly covered his mouth.

Chipp was also surprised, and he calmly said, “Tell us the details.”

Yoda nodded and quickly recounted the situation. It turned out that the two of them had followed the traces of a wolf pack into the forest during the day and had not discovered anything until dusk. Just as they reached the northern mountain, they unexpectedly found a cave where a dragon was living. They didn’t dare approach it and quickly came down the mountain to report it.

“Are you sure it’s really a dragon?” Chipp’s eyebrows furrowed.

Bocci nodded firmly. “Absolutely, it’s an adult blue dragon. Uh, at least it looks exactly like the one in the field guide I saw.”

Saul was stunned and speechless. What kind of territory had he gotten himself into? Not only were there troublesome monsters and magic beasts, but now even a dragon had appeared.

On the continent of Modena, dragons were considered mysterious creatures, but not so much so that they could not be seen. The majority of these awe-inspiring creatures resided on Dragon Island overseas, while only a few dared to venture onto the continent. These colossal beings possessed great strength and wisdom, much like the legends depicted, and were far beyond the capabilities of mere mortals.

Saul let out a bitter chuckle and turned to Jessica, saying, “Please go and summon Vince, Manson, and the village chief Albert. This is a critical matter that requires careful consideration.”

He then handed the roasted meat he had brought along to Bocci and Yoda, who had been famished all day. They eagerly accepted it and began to devour it ravenously.

Within a short time, Vince and the others arrived upon hearing the news. The study was soon filled with the sound of the dwarf Manson’s distinctive, booming voice as he exclaimed, “What! A dragon!?”

Immediately, the sounds of Saul and the others rushing about could be heard as they urged, “Shh, be quiet!”

After hearing Bocci’s report, Vince stroked his beard and said, “This doesn’t bode well. It seems that this dragon has already chosen Lowell as its new habitat.”

When adult dragons venture onto the continent, they typically choose a specific area as their dwelling place and remain there for an extended period. Generally speaking, dragons won’t harm the creatures within their habitat unless the other party gets too close to their lair. However, these were merely descriptions found in books, and nobody could say for sure what the actual situation is.

Albert added, “It seems that the root of the unusual activity of the magic beasts is specifically this. This dragon must have caused the monsters in the mountains to panic, which then forced them to come down and harass the territory.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. For ordinary creatures, the existence of dragons was like throwing a lion into a flock of sheep—it would be strange not to panic.

Saul asked Manson, “Have you ever seen a dragon?” The dwarf had traveled extensively across the continent and may have some solutions.

Manson shook his head, “I’ve never seen a real dragon before. But when I was in the Karachi Mountains, I heard the dwarves there say that over a decade ago, a few tribes of ogres nearby enraged a dragon, and as a result, the entire tribe was wiped out. Nobody survived.”

His words made everyone break out in a cold sweat. After a long pause, Kress suggested, “Since that dragon won’t attack Lowell, let’s just ignore it.”

Jessica shook her head and said, “Although it is not a direct threat, the magic beasts in the mountains are in panic because of it. We are already struggling with the lower-level monsters. What if the higher-level monsters are forced out?”

Saul forced a smile and said, “What else can we do? Kill it or drive it away?”

Everyone fell silent. They had found the root cause of the monster’s unrest, but they had no way to deal with it. However, could they really just stand by and watch as the beats destroyed Lowell?

Jessica glared at Saul and said, “Hey, think of a solution quickly.”

“I…” Saul was stunned and speechless. Come on, big sister, you’re really overestimating me. “That’s a dragon, do you want me to negotiate with it?”

Jessica said as a matter-of-factly, “As the lord, you are responsible for the safety of the territory. Besides, you have a lot of quirky ideas, so it’s only natural that you should figure out a solution.”

Saul felt a bit depressed. What does she mean by “quirky ideas”? He had accumulated modern knowledge for thousands of years. However, dealing with a dragon this time meant that unless he could make a few missiles, his ideas would be useless.

Vince and the others looked at him expectantly, even the usually composed Chipp didn’t say anything, indicating that he was out of ideas as well.

With a sigh, Saul said helplessly, “Alright, Kress and a few of you can go up the mountain tomorrow and observe that dragon carefully. Figure out its size, the exact location of the cave, the surrounding environment, and if possible, its daily routine, such as when it sleeps, how long it sleeps, and when it goes hunting. Just be careful not to become its prey.”

Seeing him speak so confidently, Kress was puzzled and asked, “My lord, do you already have a solution?”

Saul shrugged, “Absolutely not. But having more information can’t hurt, can it? It’s the only thing we can do at the moment.”

Suddenly, Jessica spoke up, “It’s safer to see it with our own eyes. Let’s go tomorrow too.”

For no reason at all, Saul’s hair stood on end. Whenever he was with Jessica and had this kind of reaction, something bad always happened.

He asked cautiously, “Jessica, when you say ‘we,’ you don’t mean me too, do you?”

“Of course.”

Saul pounded his chest and stamped his feet, “Wait a minute, I’m the lord. I should stay and oversee things from the rear. Why should I go too?”

“The idea was yours, so who else should go if not you?” Jessica retorted.

Unable to argue with Jessica, Saul turned to Vince and said, “Grandpa Vince, you’re not going to let me go to my death, are you?”

Jessica became furious, “What do you mean? So it’s okay for Kress and the others to go?”

“It’s indeed too dangerous for the lord to go,” At this moment, Vince suddenly said.

Saul was overjoyed and turned his head. He had never felt so fond of Vince’s old face at this moment. “Grandpa Vince, I finally feel your love for me…”

But Vince’s next words almost made him fall flat on his face: “So bring the griffin with you, in case of danger, you can run faster.”

Sob sob sob… I’m not a lord, I’m clearly a doomed pawn in a thief’s den. If the dragon finds us out, riding on the griffin will be the most conspicuous moving target. It would be a miracle if I could escape.

“That’s settled then. We’ll go up the mountain early tomorrow morning,” Jessica made the decision.

After everyone left, Saul sat on the ground like a resentful woman, reaching his hands towards the door with a face full of sorrow: “No, don’t go. Can’t we discuss this further?”