Chapter 389: A Grand Ruse

Besides the high‑rank Holy Grail Knight, the silver‑winged Pegasus behind him should not be underestimated.

Each Pegasus knight is fully armed, with enchanted armor bearing a rose on the chest, wielding a silver‑white spear nearly three meters long; they all possess at least the strength of a high‑rank knight, and the silver‑winged Pegasus they ride are high‑rank magical beasts, not only extremely fast in flight but also capable of multiple lightning spells.

Silver‑winged Pegasi are noble creatures, both powerful and beautiful; once only elves could tame them.

Bu Lan Ta Ni Ya is the only nation besides the elves that can cultivate silver‑winged Pegasus knights, and its taming methods remain a secret unknown to outsiders.

The Holy Grail Knight raised a hand in a gesture, and over twenty silver‑winged Pegasus knights spread out in the sky, forming a defensive formation; their broad, pure white wings dispelled the mist.

Amid the raging wind, the Silver Dragon landed lightly.

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long leapt from the dragon's back, scanned the surroundings, and found no other orcs, which surprised him a bit; however, he saw from afar the Sky‑Patrolling Wind‑Rider rushing over at top speed, evidently leaving the other orcs behind.

"High Priest."

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long placed a hand on his chest and bowed, appearing very courteous.

His voice is robust; anyone who hears it will not forget, filled with resolve and authority, bearing an unmistakable gravitas as if a deity incarnate—one of the Holy Grail's traits.

Lei En merely nodded, his gaze feigning a search for traces, and muttered incomprehensibly, "Um…"

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long instantly realized that the shaman priest was searching for the dragon's nest.

"High Priest, according to our prior agreement, you should not interfere in Bu Lan Ta Ni Ya's affairs with that Black Dragon; I have already paid you the corresponding price," the Holy Grail Knight frowned, his expression turning somewhat displeased.

Lei En heard this and thought internally that things were not looking good.

Di Lei Ke Ta had indeed contacted the other side, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty of his own disguise; perhaps a single slip of the tongue could give him away.

He didn't even know how Di Lei Ke Ta referred to Ma Xiu*An Sai Long.

Lei En's thoughts raced, pondering how to respond, when the Silver Dragon beside Ma Xiu*An Sai Long suddenly transformed, its massive body instantly taking the shape of a human woman.

She wore a modest magical robe, tall and strikingly beautiful, with flowing silver hair; an aura of scholarly elegance surrounded her, like a learned academic. In fact, this Silver Dragon is also a devotee of the God of Magic, akin to Oxyriya, mastering both mage arts and reaching a profession level of fourteen, making her a very powerful spellcaster.

The moment the Silver Dragon assumed human form, Lei En's soul eye saw an Arcane Element flare within her soul.

Six‑ring Divination—clearly, this Silver Dragon mage grew suspicious.

Divination is less effective than True Insight Technique; when the airship was ambushed, Rokannan's True Insight Technique could not pierce disguises, yet the difference between disguising as a legendary orc warrior and as a legendary high‑rank shaman priest was too great.

Lei En could not be certain he could fool the Silver Dragon.

His complexion darkened, his copper‑bell eyes fixed on the Silver Dragon as he angrily demanded, "Silver Dragon, are you probing me?"

Using probing spells on others is extremely impolite, tantamount to covert spying; even among friends it must not be used casually.

If a probe is detected, it often sparks an immediate conflict.

The Silver Dragon mage's expression froze; her Divination was exceptionally refined, confident it would go unnoticed, yet before she could cast it she was uncovered, so she hurriedly halted the spell and explained, "You are mistaken, I did not do that."

But her voice lacked conviction, revealing some insecurity.

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long, as the Silver Dragon's knight, naturally understood the dragon's thoughts and did not conceal for her; he bowed sincerely, saying, "High Priest, I apologize for Ge Ni Si's rudeness; by my honor I swear I can attest she harbors no ill intent, and I earnestly ask your forgiveness."

He kept his posture very low, showing none of the arrogance of a high‑rank Holy Grail Knight—humble, open, and honest.

Lei En felt somewhat impressed; Holy Grail Knights truly are moral saints.

Lei En could naturally see that the Silver Dragon bore no hostility toward him, merely that her refined magic led her to subconsciously probe, a habit she likely always had.

He stared at the Holy Grail Knight for a few seconds, then magnanimously waved his hand, "This will not happen again."

"Thank you for your magnanimity, High Priest," Ma Xiu*An Sai Long finally straightened his back, while Silver Dragon Ge Ni Si turned her head away, clearly displeased.

Lei En let out a silent sigh of relief; his disguise had succeeded.

He ignored the Holy Grail Knight and the Silver Dragon, continued searching the riverbank, and soon found a set of footprints—actually those left by himself, Ai Mi Li Si and others.

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long's expression shifted slightly, "High Priest, are you going to tear up the agreement between us?"

Lei En looked at him, the corner of his mouth—where a tusk had been broken—twitching, a sly glint appearing on his weathered face, "I did say I wouldn't interfere with you and the Black Dragon, but I now suspect dangerous enemies lurk in this swamp, possibly threatening the orc tribes; can I not act?"

"This..." Ma Xiu*An Sai Long was momentarily at a loss for words.

The horn sounded earlier was strikingly similar to a dragon's roar; Ge Ni Si claimed it was the legendary Dragon Summoning, so she rushed over, only for High Priest Di Lei Ke Ta to arrive first—what an unfortunate coincidence.

"Ge Ni Si, are you certain it's here?" he asked in his mind via a soul contract.

The Silver Dragon replied instantly, "It's here, no doubt. Black Dragons like to build their nests beneath ruins; I don't know the relation between that Black Dragon and the Dragon Summoning, but this place has the highest likelihood. Our every move may be watched by the Black Dragon, so we must act quickly."

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long soothed, "That dragon carries so much gold; it cannot escape."

While they conversed, Lei En followed the footprints and located the stone wall marking the Black Dragon's nest entrance. The Shadow Gate was sealed, and not far from the wall, the ground bore several massive claw marks—left by the Black Dragon when it transformed into a wind‑roc and rushed back, too fresh to have been erased.

"High Priest."

Seeing Lei En had already found the nest entrance, Ma Xiu*An Sai Long could no longer stay calm and hurried, "This is likely the Black Dragon's nest; please honor our agreement, High Priest."

"The Black Dragon's nest?" Lei En turned back from the stone wall, a puzzled look on his face, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ma Xiu*An Sai Long nodded solemnly.

Lei En burst into a solemn laugh, assuming a reverent pose toward the Orc God, and said, "You have been searching the swamp for the Black Dragon for over half a month; now I have found it first. Clearly this is guidance from Ge Luo Shi, and we orcs must receive His reward. Forgive me, I cannot defy the deity's will."

If Ai Lun E Si wishes to tear up an agreement or do something else, good or bad, as long as a deity is invoked, one can act openly in the name of a god.

Deities are awe‑inspiring, yet they also make the best scapegoats.

Silver Dragon Ge Ni Si stared at the old orc, wanting to call him shameless, but fearing to trouble her own knight, she muttered angrily in her mind.

Holy Grail Knights, of course, are not so easy to fool.

He examined the stone wall, trying to discern clues, and asked, "High Priest, what exactly do you mean?"

Lei En rubbed his hands, "Those who see share; I want half of the Black Dragon's treasure."

"That's impossible," Ma Xiu*An Sai Long retorted firmly. If the orcs took half the treasure, he could not report back to the Knight King and nobles. After pondering, giving nothing to Di Lei Ke Ta seemed impractical, so he said, "I can decide; at most I can grant you one‑twentieth of the treasure."

"Heh..." the old orc sneered, "Who are you sending away?"

The Holy Grail Knight gritted his teeth and said again, "One‑tenth, no more."

Lei En gave no answer at all.

Assuming a stance of unwillingness to continue, he reached out to the stone wall, his fingertips sparking a current; with a 'clack' the Shadow Gate on the wall manifested.

"Shadow Gate, interesting," Lei En stepped back a few paces, scrutinizing the magical gate on the wall, as if it could be broken at any moment.

Yinlong Gennisi widened their eyes, as a legendary mage proficient in Arcane, they are an expert on the Magic Gate, but judging by the shaman priest's appearance, they seem to know the Shadow Gate well and should be able to open it soon.

Although the shaman priest's casting ability is far inferior to that of mages and Wizards, Dileiketa is a Legendary High-rank, an extremely rare sage among orcs, and it is also possible that they understand the method to break the Shadow Gate.

Yinlong hurriedly urged their knight in their mind.

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long was a bit flustered, "Sir, you may take one‑fifth of the treasure, but you must ensure that the black dragon does not escape; will you lend your effort as well?"

"One‑third." Lei En did not stop studying the Magic Gate, speaking without turning his head.

The Holy Grail Knight looked troubled, "That's too much."

The two haggled, constantly bickering.

Lei En deliberately delayed, lowering the demand from half the treasure gradually to one‑third; after several rounds of back‑and‑forth, unwilling to be too obvious, both Lei En and Ma Xiu*An Sai Long each conceded, reducing the price to one‑quarter of all the treasure.

By the time both sides reached agreement, almost ten minutes had passed.

However, he sensed Ai Mi Li Si and the others through a metal sigil; they were still lingering in the nest, and the gold had not yet been loaded.

Yinlong Gennisi asked anxiously, "Sir, time waits for no one; can you break this Shadow Gate?"

"I can give it a try."

Lei En put on a pretentious air, looking completely confident.

He stood before the stone wall, feeling around, tapping east, bumping west, intermittently activating a few runes on the gate, studying them carefully while muttering something.

Second by second, the Magic Gate showed no sign of opening.

"Sir, shall I try then?" Yinlong Gennisi volunteered, though they had been studying the Magic Gate all along, only refraining out of respect for Dileiketa.

"Are you doubting my ability?" Lei En stopped his study, turned back and looked at Yinlong with displeasure.

Yinlong hesitated twice, shook their head and said, "I wouldn't dare."

"Hmph…" Lei En finally turned back to continue studying the Magic Gate; after trying several methods, the runes on the gate fluctuated violently, seeming on the verge of collapse, yet always just missing the breakthrough.

Ma Xiu*An Sai Long could no longer hold back.

"High Priest, let me do it!" he wasn't asking for advice; he simply brandished a massive Dragon Spear, its silvery shaft as thick as an arm, forged from some unknown magical metal, its half‑meter‑long razor tip gleaming with cold light, strands of holy radiance coiling around the spear, emitting a terrifying aura.

The Holy Grail Knight let out a low shout, his whole body merging with the Dragon Spear as he charged forward.

Lei En hurriedly dodged.

It flashed by like a bolt of lightning.

Boom!

In the explosion, countless shards of stone and earth sprayed out, the small hillside where the stone wall stood was flattened, revealing a pitch‑black cave entrance.

The Holy Grail Knight swapped the Dragon Spear for a two‑handed Greatsword, his whole body shining with dazzling light, like a humanoid lantern charging into the cave.

Yinlong Gennisi followed closely behind, casting several amplification spells on both him and herself.

Lei En watched the man and the dragon vanish down the passage, feeling no panic at all; just half a minute earlier, Ai Mi Li Si and the others had already left through the Teleportation Gate. Now, with an excellent chance to flee, he looked up and saw more than twenty Silver‑winged Pegasus Knights in the sky, unlikely to be shaken off.

"Since they haven't seen through my disguise, there's no need to risk it." Lei En made an instant decision, drew two War Blades from his waist, and rushed in.

This month's update was a flop; August must bounce back! Please send a few monthly tickets, okay!

(End of chapter)