Chapter 511: Patting Heads and Tax Collection

The black dragon Mikhail departed first.

His black-scaled body was a natural concealment in the moonless night, further masked by a thin veil of magic, making him nearly undetectable.

Generally, the larger the body, the harder it is to cast concealment spells.

To master it as effortlessly as he does, he must have put in considerable effort.

Luo De watched his retreating figure.

He still held back a smile.

Though killing oneself was a rather strange thing.

But he still agreed.

On one hand, to fit the dragon's characterization; on the other, this payout was too good to pass up.

"Luo De! Perfect! Perfect performance!"

Lily jumped out from the shadows, bouncing excitedly beside Luo De.

Her chestnut ponytail bobbed up and down behind her head.

The halfling girl was clearly a girl who deeply admired tales of heroes and champions.

Her clear, bright eyes sparkled at Luo De, brimming with admiration and awe.

"On one hand, you sparked a war between two great dragons; on the other, you laid the groundwork for the next payout! This is practically a fairy tale of outwitting dragons! I've memorized it all! Next time I meet a dragon, I'll do the same!"

"It was mostly your illusion magic—without it, Mikhail wouldn't have been so easily misled."

Luo De smiled.

He instinctively reached out to pat Lily's adorable little head.

But immediately realized that as a friend, the halfling might dislike such behavior.

His raised hand instead scratched an itch.

Lily had plenty of Xiameng friends—she knew exactly what Luo De wanted to do.

In fact, both her close friends, the catgirl Koi and the mage Doris, liked to pat her head, and she didn't mind much—if it was a good friend.

"Here!"

She grinned, pressing the crown of her head against Luo De's palm. "I saw it—you wanted to pat my head, didn't you? All you tall folk always want to pat halfling heads. As payment for putting on such a good show, fine!"

"Really?"

"Of course! For Luo De, it's fine!"

Since she said so.

Luo De naturally didn't refuse.

His palm gently settled atop her fluffy chestnut curls.

A small, rounded head.

Soft to the touch, her hair carried a faint scent of sunshine—fine, elastic strands, like a warm cloud beneath his fingers.

Lily initially still grinned brightly.

When she felt Luo De messing up her hair, she feigned annoyance with a mock glare.

Then she hummed softly, eyes half-lidded like a contented kitten, a satisfied smile tugging at her lips.

But for some reason, her cheeks gradually flushed, her breathing quickened, and when Luo De accidentally brushed her scorching ear, she trembled slightly.

Luo De thought she disliked having her ears touched.

He was about to pull away, but she Zhudong leaned in, pressing closer to his palm.

Warm breath brushed his wrist, sending a tingling sensation through him.

It strangely reminded him of Tally's affectionate behavior.

"."

The banshee Kriste drifted out of the shadows at an inopportune moment, appearing right between them.

She stared oddly at Luo De, then at Lily.

"What are you two doing?"

Lily's dazed eyes snapped wide open.

She coughed and took a big step back, trying to hide her reddening cheeks.

Luo De raised an eyebrow.

But turning to Kriste, he snapped: "Go collect the money. What's it to you?"

"Oh!"

At the mention of collecting money, Kriste perked up instantly, ignoring Lily and her master's oddness, and called out to Tally to go handle the treasure.

For collecting money, Tally's shadow magic was extremely useful.

She gathered it up, then channeled it like a funnel into her spell satchel.

The millions of gold coins visibly shrank and sank.

Seeing the progress going smoothly, Luo De turned to Lily again:

"Sorry. Are you okay?"

Lily fanned her cheeks, glaring at him. "We're friends, Luo De. When you pat my head, don't treat me like your girl."

Luo De frowned. "It's just patting your head. What's the difference?"

"There is! You were too... sensual!"

"."

Soon.

All the red dragon's treasure was accounted for.

The group crossed the defenses within the treasury and emerged onto the outer slopes of Black Scar Mountain.

Of course.

To turn the black dragon Mikhail and the red dragon Nas's covert maneuvers into open conflict—and conveniently pin the blame on some "passing white dragon."

Before leaving, Luo De cast a 【Purifying Dragon Roar +1】 using the White Dragon's soul at the original spot.

This skill was meant to purify magical weather—tonight's overcast sky had perfectly set the stage.

With a thunderous dragon roar, half the sky instantly cleared.

The moon shone bright, stars sparse.

Luo De's group quickly slipped away.

Upon re-entering Shi Ying Town, they heard another dragon roar—hot and furious.

No need to guess whose it was.

Our big paymaster, the red dragon Nas.

The townsfolk of Shi Ying were startled by the deafening roar; some thought it was Coral Bay attacking and immediately activated the town's guardian array.

Luo De couldn't explain easily—not with so many ears around.

Let the spell materials be wasted; he'd compensate the town later.

The next day.

Luo De stepped out of the forest guard cabin, refreshed and alert.

A spectral shadow flickered behind him, urgently leaping from the room.

It solidified, snatching a spell satchel from Luo De's hand.

She barely landed before nearly collapsing—her legs and waist were limp, powerless, her expression a mix of exhaustion and delight.

"Mine!"

Kriste urgently sought confirmation.

One hand gripping a tree, the other clutching the satchel full of Jin Along.

When Luo De nodded, she burst into ecstatic joy.

Wobbling on her swollen rear, she limped away.

Yet with every step, faint traces leaked beneath her plain wrap dress.

Kriste cast a resentful glare at the man leaning against the doorframe, smirking at her.

Damn it!

The promised reward came with a 50% tax! What else is this but pure exploitation?!

After half an hour of pleading, she finally got it reduced to 20%—in exchange for spending a week in bed with him!

Kriste strongly suspected the guy didn't care about the money at all—he was just mad at the succubus and wanted someone to sleep with.

Ughhh.

So full.

It's only the first night.

Luo De watched the banshee's retreating back.

He couldn't help but find it amusing.

Last night, after counting the treasure, she'd gotten overly excited—even dared to secretly stash some away, for which Tally had beaten her.

"No wonder it's a dragon's treasury."

Excluding the fifty thousand taken by Mikhail, Jin Along alone totaled four million three hundred thousand!

(End of Chapter)