Chapter Eleven: The Indelible Shadow

  Rod had originally planned to rest for a while near Moonlight Lake and then continue on his way, but after encountering the giant wolf he had to change his mind. Considering that the corpse's bloody smell might attract more unnecessary trouble, Rod finally chose a relatively flat highland upstream of Moonlight Lake as his campsite when the sun went down.

  After dinner, Rude took on the role of sentry again, although it was a bit harsh on his body. However, considering that among the three of them, only he was most familiar with the environment of Silver Moon Forest, and only he had combat ability, this was an unavoidable thing. Although the fat merchant Meis had also volunteered to help, looking at his obese body, Rude and Liche didn't say much, but their eyes already fully revealed their attitude. So the fat merchant, who wanted to cry but had no tears, could only sit aside and idly sort out the luggage they had rescued from the wreckage of the airship.

  Of course, Liche also didn't have a free moment, at this time, she was kneeling beside Rude, placing both hands on his left shoulder.

  "Dragon's Tongue: Healing."

  Accompanied by the girl's clear singing voice, a faint white glow emerged from her palm and slowly enveloped Rode's body. In the Dragon Soul Continent, spellcasters generally use dragon language to cast spells, as about 70% of magic has been passed down in the form of dragon language since creation, widely adopted by humans during the Great Magic Era. The remaining parts are composed of angelic language, elven language, demonic language, and undead language. As the first race created and protected by the ancestral giant dragons, they also inherited the giant dragons' magical talents and long lifespan. This has become the dividing line between different classes on the continent, whether in the Night Country (Dark Night Dragon Country), the Light Country (Light Dragon Country), or the Law Country (Judgment Dragon Country). Regardless of their political system, the highest-ranking individuals are always the dragon soul holders who inherited the five giant dragons' souls. Next are non-humans mainly composed of angels, elves, demons, and undead, followed by humans.

  Of course, due to the differences in political systems, the class composition of each country is also quite different. As a country ruled by the monarchy, the class system of the Night Country is relatively strict, and there are no humans among its upper echelons. In contrast, the Light Country, which practices parliamentary democracy, has half of its high-level members belonging to humans in its parliament. The upper-class angels, elves, and humans in the Law Country each occupy one-third of the positions, which is because the Law Country, ruled by religious centralism, believes in the way of balance, and for them, balance is the most perfect choice.

  Rode had a good grasp of the situation on this continent, and he knew what was going to happen next, which made him somewhat worried. In the game, players are just players after all, if they can't play anymore, they can take off their helmets and turn around and leave. But now it's different, he has become a part of this continent, so what should he do in the face of the impending disaster?

  "Mr. Lode... Mr. Lode?"

  "What's wrong?"

  Lilith's voice awakened Rod from his contemplation, he lifted his head and gazed at the girl in front of him. After that, Lilith finally returned to her usual self, although a hint of worry still occasionally appeared between her eyebrows, but compared to the previous gloomy expression that seemed like the end of the world, it was much better.

  That's right.

  Lijie shook her head, carefully glanced at Mais who was sitting by the fire with an expression as if he had been bitten by a snake, and was checking the supplies in his pocket. She lowered her voice and spoke seriously.

  "In our previous battle with Fūjin and Ryūjin, I sensed something."

  "Oh?"

  At this point, Roder raised an eyebrow.

  "What is it?"

  "I sensed a dark aura from that Wind Snake Lord."

  At this point, Lijie bit her lower lip.

  "But this aura is very faint and doesn't seem like what a dark attribute creature should have... Mr. Rode, Wind Snake, shouldn't be a dark creature, right?"

  Of course not, Feng She belongs to the wind element creature, and the existence of the dark element is eight poles apart and will not hit a distant relative, however...

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes, I'm sure."

  Upon hearing the girl's confident and affirmative response, Rod fell into deep contemplation. He knew what had happened during this period in history: the Wind Snake gang's continuous attacks on cargo ships along the Windy Road of Commerce had caused significant losses, while the Kingdom of Light claimed that it was the nomadic people living in the disputed area at the southern border of Pafiride, under the rule of the Dark Kingdom, who were behind the attacks. Soon after, the Kingdom of Light sent troops to attack the area and drove out and slaughtered its residents. In response to this move by the Kingdom of Light, the Night Kingdom quickly retaliated by sending troops to attack the Kingdom of Light's garrison, reclaiming the land they claimed as their own, and using it as a pretext to launch a full-scale invasion of the Kingdom of Light.

  This historical event occurred during the open beta period, when Lord and other players were busy getting familiar with the new environment, systems, and upgrades. There wasn't much in-depth exploration of this background at that time. By the end of the open beta period, when the game officially launched and a large number of players flooded in, the Luminous Kingdom and the Night Kingdom had already broken out into full-scale war. As for what exactly happened during this time, players have different opinions. Some people think it was a tragedy caused by the Luminous Kingdom's failed attempt to reclaim its own territory. Another group of conspiracy theorists believe that the Night Kingdom intentionally provoked the war in order to expand its territory. And many more people believe that the Night Kingdom had been eyeing the Luminous Kingdom for a long time, and this was just an opportunity created by the Luminous Kingdom's mishandling - of course, players have no standing, and it all depends on individual preferences and speculation.

  As for these statements, Luo De thinks they all make some sense - the southern border area is rich in crystal mines, which are important resources for any country, and there's no reason for Guangzhou to give them up. And the dark night dragon Iao, who ruled Ye Country at that time, was indeed a very powerful ruler, until mid-war, even players known for being cunning and deceitful found it hard to gain an advantage in his hands. There were even rumors that he wasn't an NPC, but rather a member of the game company playing a role. As for the last statement, during wartime, Guangzhou's parliament performance was simply indescribable, with many brainless commands causing players to complain, and eventually, there were even cases of players from the same camp defecting to Ye Country to fight against Guangzhou, which shows just how tragic the situation was at that time.

  But now it seems that the conspiracy theory of the second faction is closer to reality.

  Lijie's intuition won't be wrong, as a being of light elements, angels are extremely sensitive to dark elements. She, who inherited half of the bloodline, should also be close to that level. In that case, the Wind Snake Gang's attack on the Wind Tide Trade Route was indeed a premeditated move by the Night Country, a precursor to a full-scale attack on the Light Country?

  Things don't seem so simple.

  "Lijie, don't tell anyone about this."

  "Alright, Mr. Rhodes."

  Upon hearing Rod's response, Lijie nodded her head. She withdrew her hands and carefully examined Rod's injuries once more. A faint smile appeared on her pale face.

  "Your injury has healed a lot, and at this rate, it will probably be fully recovered in about five or six days."

  "Thank you."

  Rod nodded slightly in gratitude towards the girl, then lowered his head and gazed at the system information that had appeared before his eyes.

  The healthy part of his body has gradually recovered its green color, and if this continues, he will be able to move freely without too much time. Now, there is still a lot of work to be done in front of Road.

  What should I do first?

  Luo De furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought...

  At the same time, at the place where the airship crashed, two figures slowly emerged from the forest.

  "Is this the ship you were talking about?"

  The man at the forefront spoke coldly, wearing a beautiful white armor with a streamlined shape, on which was engraved a pattern carved by golden lines that shone with a faint light. If Rode were here, he would surely recognize this as the emblem of the Border Defense Officer of the Kingdom of Light.

  The person standing behind the man was wrapped in a black hood, and his appearance could not be seen. When faced with the man's inquiry, he only nodded slightly as a response.

  "They killed my messenger."

  A hoarse voice echoed through the forest under the night sky, giving people a chilling and eerie feeling.

  "It's unbelievable that I would be taken down by a group of filthy and incompetent mercenaries. It seems your pet is indeed useless."

  "This is still your fault!"

  The man in black's voice suddenly rose a lot.

  "If you can find me a more advanced... Dominant... No, Master-level Lord, I wouldn't have to use such a lowly creature!"

  "What kind of joke is this, Dominant?"

  The man snorted coldly.

  "What do you take us for? We are only responsible for providing resources, your affairs must be handled by yourself. If we can handle everything well, then what is the use of having you?"

  At this point, the man paused for a moment and then spoke in a softer tone.

  "How long will it take you to be able to start acting again?"

  "At least half a month is needed, you think it's easy to find a group of wind snakes that can be manipulated?"

  "We'll give you ten days and double your pay."

  Upon hearing the other person's discontented grumble, the man's face sank, then he reached into his pocket and threw a pouch of money over.

  "In ten days, I want you to start acting again."

  The purse fell to the ground, making a heavy metallic clanging sound. The black hood bent down and stretched out a withered hand to open the purse, then immediately closed it again.

  "Alright, ten days, I will keep the promise."

  "I hope you understand that this matter will not be known by a third person."

  "Of course I understand... Ah, looking at the situation of this ship, it seems that there are about two or three mice running around. Do you want me to help catch them?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  The man waved his hand.

  "I have my own way."

  Heard his answer, Hei Dou Peng coldly smiled.

  "Alright, then let's see what you've got."

  A dense shadow suddenly appeared, enveloping the black hood in it, and then disappeared. As he gazed at the place where it had vanished, a hint of obvious disgust floated onto the man's face.

  "The greedy deceased will one day have even their bones turned to ashes!"

  After a cold hum, the man turned around, with a thoughtful expression scanning the surrounding forest. Then, he put one hand on the hilt of his sword and the other to his mouth, blowing a loud whistle.

  Soon, a Griffin swooped down from the sky and landed on the ground. At the same time, three figures emerged quietly from the depths of the forest. The man glanced at them, then turned over and mounted the Griffin.

  "Go and find those three old mice and get rid of them."

  He then indifferently gave the order.