Chapter 462: Sacrificial Pawn

The victory banquet was forcibly halted.

The brilliant firelight in the sky startled the guards of Deepwater City; before long, a large group of personnel gathered around.

Deepwater City truly deserved its status as one of the top pearl-tier cities, far larger than the combined area of Stormwind City, Jade Jade City, Blazing City, and Axe Beach.

And with such vast territory came the need for more soldiers and guards, along with complex public security management.

On this front, Deepwater City still performed admirably.

The guards sent to investigate operated in squads, each squad containing at least two mages; though their ranks were not high, mages' abilities often saved considerable trouble.

And so it was.

Initially, many suspected Luo De was causing trouble, or perhaps believed he was a fanatic fan of Lyla Starwhisper.

Only when the mages cast Truth-Seeking Spells and questioned the soot-covered dragon-slayers outside the tavern did they clarify the entire incident in under half an hour.

Fortunately, several skilled individuals among the crowd had noticed the anomaly in the crystal ball—they simply hadn't reacted in time.

Since it had nothing to do with them,

and since they were a group of warriors who had just slain a dragon, the authorities of Deepwater City did not wish to provoke trouble and quickly let them go.

Luo De and the halfling Lily, hearing the guards were releasing people, decided not to linger and walked together along the street.

"Another green dragon?"

Lily's expression turned grim.

Luo De did not hide anything—he described everything he had seen.

But sadly, no one fully believed him.

They likely doubted that a spiritual warrior like Luo De could not only see through surveillance spells but also reverse them, achieving spell reflection.

Such an operation was difficult even for a proper mage.

The official mages proposed an alternative interpretation: that the crystal ball had generated an emergency illusion to avoid detection.

Of course, the testimony about another green dragon spying would still be recorded and handed over to more specialized personnel for judgment.

However,

the halfling Lily believed him immediately.

"Is this the season when dragons are particularly active? I've seen several lately."

Luo De paid little attention, watching the shops along the street—some lit dwarf lanterns, others summoned light spirits for illumination—thinking about what local specialties he could buy for the girls.

The explosion had little impact on the locals; once the lockdown was lifted, the street quickly buzzed with activity again.

"There's no such claim. Perhaps it's due to fluctuations in the extradimensional space—but I'm not a mage skilled in exploring such realms."

Unlike those obsessed with cosmic creatures, Lily clearly focused more on the physical dimension.

As they spoke,

they stopped before a stall selling charcoal-grilled serpent-chicken egg soup.

Lily ordered the sea-salt flavor; Luo De, with his heavy palate, chose the spicy and numbing version—with extra chili and sourness.

The halfling girl poked out the egg yolk with a wooden fork and said:

"Deepwater City is having a string of troubles—just after slaying one green dragon, another is already watching."

"Hmm, it probably isn't new—it's been watching Deepwater City for over a year. The magic in that crystal ball was fused with the stage's backdrop; it couldn't have been installed in less than a year."

Luo De scooped up a large spoonful of serpent-chicken egg soup and put it in his mouth.

Damn, the spice was weak—only sourness and numbness remained.

It seemed the chili from Jianwan had little punch.

But it was tender and smooth—smoother than Vivian's face—and he quite liked it.

"Oh? Over a year?" Lily suddenly seemed to realize something and fell into thought.

"What is it?"

"Something's off, Luo De—what were the features of the green dragon you saw?"

"Features? I've never seen many live green dragons. Oh—it kept chewing on something."

Lily's face changed instantly.

After a long pause, she exhaled heavily.

The excitement from slaying the dragon vanished completely.

"That's it—I knew something felt strange about the dragons we've slain these past few days. They seemed too young."

She gave a bitter smile: "To be honest, Luo De, I think today's green dragon was just a sacrificial pawn. The real culprit—the one you saw—is probably still lurking behind the scenes, smugly pleased."

Luo De was stunned—he hadn't expected such a twist.

"Then what will you do? Keep searching for it?"

"No. That thing is too cunning. It's seen our methods, and now it's been exposed—it won't show itself again so easily. Just look how it immediately detonated the spying crystal ball."

She sighed. "I'll inform the members of the Heroic Alliance. It's a shame—we needed this case to establish ourselves in Deepwater City. Now that the mastermind escaped and the green dragon took the fall, it will seriously affect us."

"Can't you just keep quiet?"

Luo De suddenly felt as if his good intentions had caused harm.

Lily shook her head: "We chase fame, but we won't bury the truth. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be unfair and irresponsible to the victims of the fraud—it would also weigh on our own conscience."

"I just feel… sorry."

The girl smiled coolly: "Why apologize? You helped us uncover the truth—we should thank you!"

She stuck her wooden fork into the half-eaten serpent-chicken egg soup, clearly done eating.

Halflings have small appetites indeed.

Luo De leaned over: "Can't finish it? Can I have it?"

"Huh?"

The night breeze blew, and he'd just had alcohol.

The halfling's round, cute face was flushed, slightly flustered: "But I already ate from it…"

"No problem. Don't waste it."

"Then take it if you want."

"Thanks."

Luo De didn't hesitate—he grabbed it and devoured it in three bites.

Lily felt a little embarrassed.

This halfling girl was more boyish than feminine—she hadn't developed romantic feelings, or perhaps they hadn't surfaced yet.

Now, staring at his lips, she felt something entirely new inside her.

"Is it that good?"

"Pretty good. Shiying Town doesn't have serpent-chicken eggs—this is novel."

"I can make serpent-chicken egg soup too—just plain soy sauce flavor. If you like it, I can make some for you."

"Really? Then I'll buy more serpent-chicken eggs. When we get back to Shiying Town, make it for me several times."

Lily laughed: "I'm not your cook."

As they spoke,

Tally jumped out from the shadow—she'd been feeling dizzy from the meal and had slept in the shadow.

Seeing Lily, she paused, then grinned:

"Hey, little shorty."

"."

The halfling girl's lip twitched.

Luo De gave Tally a sharp tap on the head; she yelped and clung Weiqu ly to his arm.

"Sorry, Master—I'm hungry."

"You've had your fill for today. Wait till tomorrow."

"Aww, nooo~~"

Lily chuckled teasingly: "You've been raising a succubus alone for over half a year, Luo De—you're the first I've ever seen."

Luo De laughed heartily, thoroughly pleased.

Just as he was about to speak, a voice called out from behind.

He turned—there was Lyla Starwhisper's manager, the famous cloud elf, panting as she waved frantically at him.

She had clearly chased after them from behind.

(End of Chapter)