Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: Emergency Situation

Facing the shopkeeper's suggestion, Aolang's expression didn't change.

Though he thought the same inside.

"Thank you for the reminder, but I promised my teacher I wouldn't use any other type of weapon in combat until she approved—I can't break that promise."

"I see." The shopkeeper nodded.

Since the other wasn't unaware but had been specifically instructed by their mentor, she had no reason to press further.

She rose from behind the counter, picked up the sword and shield, and entered the back room of the Workshop.

Though it was merely the most basic Ore Series One-Handed Sword and Shield—technically unnecessary for the boss herself to handle—it was rare indeed for a Novice Hunter to wield such a weapon into this state; for safety's sake, she decided to handle it personally.

She placed the chipped Iron Sword into the furnace, heated it until dark red, then removed it and laid it on the anvil to hammer.

Aolang waited outside, stretching his neck to watch.

Beside him, Reisha grinned: "How's that? Not bad, right? Don't let her youth fool you—her craftsmanship is excellent. Not just repairing beginner-level weapons, she can forge gear rated four or five stars!"

Aolang nodded in agreement.

Repairing a beginner's weapon revealed little about technique, but her willingness to reheat and reforge proved she was a highly responsible craftsman.

At another Workshop, they'd likely just cold-hammer it a few times and polish it, then be done.

That wouldn't be wrong either—the Hunter Dagger is a pure metal weapon forged from Iron Ore, quite durable.

But reheating and reforging ensures maximum structural integrity of the blade, restoring the weapon's strength to its peak.

Sitting on the bench outside the Workshop, waiting patiently, Aolang chatted idly with Reisha.

Most of the time, Reisha talked; he only replied occasionally.

An hour and change later, the equipment repair and maintenance was complete.

Aolang donned his gleaming Armor, took the still-warm Weapon, bowed deeply, sincerely thanked her, then handed over what he considered an unfairly low repair fee.

Amid the shopkeeper's call of "Come again next time," the two and the cat exited the Workshop.

Reisha sized Aolang up from head to toe, nodded satisfied—he was clean and shining, yet not brand-new; the repairs and signs of use only made him seem more trustworthy.

"Boss Qiaoda will like you!"

"Hmm." Aolang nodded, though inside he wanted to say, Why does it sound like I've already joined the Citadel Guerrillas?

But he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it aloud, and could only hope the "Boss Qiaoda" Reisha mentioned was a reasonable person.

The two and the cat continued walking through the increasingly bustling streets of Luokelake.

According to Reisha, the Citadel Guerrillas had no fixed office—only dormitories, and those were likely communal bunk rooms.

At first, Aolang assumed Reisha was taking him to the dorms, but in fact, they were heading to the district where Qiaoda patrolled, to find him directly.

That the leader still personally participated in patrols gave Aolang two more points of favor toward the "Boss Qiaoda" Reisha described.

"We're almost there—turn right at the end of this street, walk a few more minutes, and you'll reach the district Qiaoda patrols." Reisha explained, as if sensing Aolang's impatience.

"Hmm." Aolang gave a simple reply—he wanted to stress again that he was a local, and knew the streets just as well.

But he still couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Beeep—"

At that moment, a sharp, urgent whistle pierced the air.

Reisha's cheerful expression vanished instantly; Aolang knew exactly what that whistle meant.

—Emergency situation.

The Citadel Guerrillas had limited manpower and couldn't station someone at every street and alley at all times, so they encouraged citizens to carry whistles.

In danger, blow the whistle—the nearest Guerrilla would respond as quickly as possible.

Due to the Citadel Guerrillas' fearsome reputation, bandits rarely dared cause trouble within the city; most emergencies were Monster invasions, since Luokelake had no actual walls.

As for what kind of Monster...

Outside the city, Yellow Velocidrome or Sand Dragon were possible, but here, deep within the inner city, the threat was almost certainly airborne.

The winding streets and ubiquitous fabric awnings severely limited visibility; Aolang scrambled up the side of a nearby building with hands and feet, scaling the roof in seconds.

He looked toward the whistle's source—and there, barely two hundred meters away in a straight line, a Winged Serpent Dragon circled low in the air, diving repeatedly as if attacking something.

It was a small Monster, wingspan no more than three meters, slender limbs, weak strength—no threat to Hunters unless in swarms; the only real danger was its venomous fangs.

"Head to the end of this street, turn left! Winged Serpent Dragon!" Aolang shouted down to the building below, then didn't jump down—he ran along the rooftops instead.

In the Desert, rain was rare and sandstorms frequent, so buildings were low and tightly packed, with flat roofs—running across them was effortless.

Even when encountering alleys between buildings, a strong leap carried him easily over, and without the crowds and stalls of the streets, he moved faster than on the ground.

Normally, doing this would earn a reprimand and fine from the Citadel Guerrillas, but this was an Emergency situation—no time for rules.

Reisha, left behind on the street, stamped her foot—she lacked Aolang's agility and couldn't leap onto the roof without a ladder; but Shajili swiftly followed after him.

Fortunately, Aolang had left the location details before leaving; Reisha had no choice but to shout for panicked citizens to take shelter indoors while forcing her way through the crowd toward the Winged Serpent Dragon's attack site.

Sprinting and leaping across rooftops, in less than a minute he reached the scene.

The situation eased his heart slightly—the Winged Serpent Dragon wasn't attacking humans; its small size and fragile bones made carrying off an adult human nearly impossible.

Its target was a few goats tied to a merchant's stall.

Most citizens had already taken shelter indoors or retreated far away.

But the unusually bold merchant refused to leave, waving a Bamboo Pole to drive off the Winged Serpent Dragon, ignoring the blood streaming from his wounds.

Aolang didn't know whether to praise, "No wonder they're men of the Desert!" or scold, "Are you willing to die for a few goats?"

Either way—first, eliminate the Winged Serpent Dragon!

As the Winged Serpent Dragon flapped its wings, rising ten meters into the air, preparing to dive again.

Aolang shouted to Shajili, who had followed him onto the rooftops: "Go protect the merchant!"

"Got it, meow!"

Meanwhile, Aolang stepped back, fixing his gaze on the Winged Serpent Dragon hovering in the air, poised to strike.

Now!

The instant the Winged Wyvern dove to the halfway mark, Aolang swept both arms wide, activated Demonization, sprinted at full speed, and leapt off the edge of the roof, colliding with the diving Winged Wyvern in midair.

Shield and Short Sword slashed repeatedly at the Winged Wyvern's slender neck and the base of its wings; the Winged Wyvern instantly lost its balance and tumbled to the ground together with him.

Apart from the advantage of being able to fly, the Winged Wyvern was in every respect—whether strength or the toughness of its hide—somewhat inferior even to the Yellow Velocidrome.

The Winged Wyvern that had crashed to the ground shrieked sharply, flapping its wings in panic.

Before it could manage to flip itself over, Aolang lunged in first, swung his Shield and slammed it down on its snake-like head, knocking its head back.

Immediately after, he reversed his grip and pressed the Short Sword against the Winged Wyvern's slender neck, then yanked hard.

Fresh blood sprayed out; the cut-throat Winged Wyvern collapsed limply to the ground.

"Not bad, kid!" The burly man running over from afar, wearing a Conical Hat and outfitted in the Citadel Guerrilla Team Set, slowed his pace as he saw the danger had been averted.

"Aerial Wild Dance, Dual Blades used pretty... wait, why is it a One-Handed Sword?!"