novelraw Chapter 283
Chapter 283
Chapter 283: The Brave Hero’s Return
Lachlan Kingdom.
Almost fifty years ago, the Lachlan Kingdom was still a vassal city-state under the rule of the Lyon Empire.
Because of the high taxes and conscription, Lachlan City and its lord united and raised the banner of rebellion.
The long-planned rebellion joined forces with the expeditionary force that had also rebelled in the east, successfully overthrowing the Lyon Empire’s centuries-long rule.
The vast empire was torn apart.
New empires and kingdoms rose from the ground.
And the Lachlan Kingdom gained the territory in the northwest of the continent.
It was a place with fertile land, rich in crystals and metal ores.
Because the western territory bordered the Dragon Homeland, the Lachlan Kingdom, in addition to constant friction with the surrounding human dynasties, was most troubled by the dragons that would occasionally come to their territory to wreak havoc.
To this end, the Lachlan Kingdom issued countless subjugation commissions.
Dragons occupied their territory, stole their metal mines, and burned their homes.
So, they captured dragons and used their bodies to pay for their blood debts.
The conflict between the races had existed since the founding of the Lachlan Kingdom.
Until——
25 years ago.
The Lachlan Kingdom successfully summoned a Brave Hero from another world.
The righteous Brave Hero drew the artifact, the Demon Repelling Sword.
As the prophecy foretold, he wielded the artifact and repelled the Silver Dragon Queen, who was feared throughout the Azure Continent.
Unfortunately, the Brave Hero disappeared along with the Silver Dragon Queen in the third year after he came to this world.
Some said they perished together in battle.
Some said the Brave Hero had completed his mission and returned to his homeland.
No one knew the truth.
Now, the Brave Hero had been gone for 22 years.
The Lachlan Kingdom enjoyed 22 years of peace because of the Brave Hero’s fearlessness and righteousness.
After the Silver Dragon and the Brave Hero disappeared at the same time, disasters and invasions also disappeared.
Dragons vanished from the border, no longer plundering mines or wreaking havoc in villages and towns.
According to the dragon-human hybrids, the dragons were warned by the black dragon ‘Neer Hulk’ from the Dragon Homeland.
The Lachlan Kingdom developed rapidly during these 22 years.
Even though it was only one of many small countries, the Lachlan Kingdom’s development momentum was no less than that of the largest existing empire, the ‘Orca Empire’. More advanced magical items had penetrated the entire country, and the people lived a life free from worry about food and clothing.
However, as a kingdom with highly developed civilization and magic, Lachlan did not forget its roots. They did not forget who liberated them from the racial war.
They praised the Brave Hero, sang his praises, and compiled his deeds into books, spreading them far and wide.
In major towns and cities, one could even see statues of the young man holding the Demon Repelling Sword, pointing towards the sky.
◈◈◈
Year 83 of the Lachlan Calendar.
Lachlan Royal City.
The busy streets were surging like a tide, with pedestrians and merchants bustling in front of shops, and the paved road made of bluestone was clean and tidy.
The architectural style was still the backward medieval style, but under the interweaving of human civilization, it presented another harmonious and prosperous scenery no less than the modern city.
At the city gate.
The long queue for entry inspection was like the morning rush hour of the subway, with a crowd of people huddled together, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Xia Li looked at the long winding queue, feeling a little desperate.
When he saw the huge magic stone hanging above the city gate, emitting an aura that clearly indicated its extraordinary nature, he felt even more despair.
Undoubtedly, it was a magic detector.
And a very advanced one at that.
Although he had heard along the way that dragon invasions and destruction had become rare in recent years, the Lachlan Kingdom still retained this ‘security check’ procedure.
Those travelers also said that this ‘security check’ could not only detect dragons and other foreign races but also identify the types of weapons and magical items carried by those entering the city.
Its intensity was almost comparable to X-ray imaging on Earth.
Terrifying.
Taking Lucia inside would definitely expose her,
“How about…”
Lucia backed down when she saw such a complicated process.
The gap between humans and dragons could not be bridged in a few decades.
She was still afraid to appear in any human city on the Azure Continent.
She didn’t want to face the looks of rejection, disgust, and expulsion from humans just because she was a foreign race.
“No how about,”
Xia Li insisted on his decision, holding Lucia’s hand and placing it on his chest.
“I said I would take you in, and I will.”
Leaving Lucia outside alone was impossible.
Xia Li would rather break through the magical barrier over Lachlan Royal City with his sword than leave Lucia outside and go in by himself.
He didn’t want to experience that kind of lost and disheartened feeling again.
Moreover, he was the Brave Hero.
Back then, Xia Li was summoned here without knowing anything. In order to fulfill his promise to the old king and for the sake of the people here, he had put himself in danger countless times.
For an ordinary Earthling who would cut himself while peeling an apple, the sudden burden of drawing a sword and going to battle was unimaginable.
Back then, Xia Li had truly risked his life to shoulder the responsibility of the Brave Hero.
Based on that determination alone, the entire Lachlan Kingdom owed him a favor.
“I want to see King Lachlan I.”
Bypassing the long queue, Xia Li went directly to the front.
Such queue-jumping behavior was naturally not allowed in this young and civilized kingdom.
The guards at the city gate were also quite strict about this, and one of them walked over, holding a black spear.
“His Majesty the First is enjoying his retirement. It’s not like you can just see him whenever you want.”
The soldier held the spear horizontally in front of Xia Li, driving him away.
Xia Li’s face might not be recognizable to these young men in their early twenties.
But the old king would definitely recognize him.
“If you want to enter the city, go to the back of the line. Merchants need to register in advance.”
The young guard glanced at Xia Li and quickly saw the package behind him, judging that he was most likely a traveling merchant who had come here for the first time. He added solemnly,
“Recently, the city has reduced taxes on merchants by 20%, hoping that more of you will come here… As for seeing King Lachlan I, you can forget about it.”
The guard’s tone was not polite, just routine, and he kept waving his spear to drive Xia Li away.
The black spear looked sharp under the sunlight. Lucia didn’t like this behavior, but for the sake of Xia Li’s reputation, she didn’t choose to express her dissatisfaction here. Instead, she started to back down, pulling Xia Li to leave.
“…Let’s find another way to get in. You can ask someone to call your teammates out, or send a signal or something. Or you can secretly dig a hole in the city wall.”
The clever Lucia instantly came up with solutions.
But Xia Li shook his head and reached behind him.
“Clang—”
As the metallic sound of a sword being drawn rang out, the guards became alert.
To dare to act wild outside the current Lachlan Royal City, this young swordsman must have had a death wish.
“Engage the enemy!”
The soldier standing closest to Xia Li shouted, and within seconds, dozens of people swarmed from inside the city gate, surrounding Xia Li.
Xia Li frowned at this.
It was fine if these people didn’t recognize him… after all, he had only been on the Azure Continent for three years.
But it was unreasonable if they didn’t recognize the sword in his hand.
The Demon Repelling Sword had been planted on the land of the Lachlan Kingdom for a full fifty years.
In that era of a newly established kingdom and constant warfare, this Sword in the Stone was the common hope of all the people of Lachlan.
The prophecy said that as long as the Brave Hero who could draw this sword appeared, they would be saved.
“……I am the Brave Hero.”
◈◈◈
Although he had drawn his sword, Xia Li had no intention of attacking.
He weighed the sword in his hand, deliberately showing the front of the Demon Repelling Sword to the nearest person.
The man frowned and shouted,
“The Lachlan Kingdom only has one Brave Hero!”
“I am that Brave Hero.”
“You’re not only being disrespectful, but insulting the Brave Hero is a serious crime in Lachlan!”
Xia Li: “…………”
Perhaps, during the years he had been gone, the people of the Azure Continent thought he was dead.
So, when he stood here again, they would only think he was an imposter.
Xia Li glanced at the man holding a staff among the guards.
He thought, why not let the other party cast a magic spell to attack him and prove the authenticity of the Demon Repelling Sword.
At this moment, there was a commotion in the crowd.
A woman in a long blue robe and a large witch’s hat walked over from afar.
The woman was tall and slender. Although she looked a bit old in appearance, her skin was well maintained. Coupled with the gold-trimmed noble robe, it was obvious that her status in Lachlan Royal City was definitely not low.
The soldiers lowered their heads and said very humbly:
“Archmage, we apologize… You have just returned and you have to encounter such a thing. We will drive him out soon.”
“For such an act of insulting the Brave Hero, we will definitely punish him severely…”
“Captain?”
Before the soldier could finish his words, Archmage Uni widened her eyes, looking at the man surrounded by soldiers with some disbelief.
After more than twenty years, they had all grown old.
But only he still had the youthful appearance in her memory.
Uni tentatively called out his name, and only after the young man turned his head and glanced at her did she become 70% certain that this was the person they had been waiting for for a long time.
“Captain???”
“Captaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!!!”
At this moment, Uni no longer cared about her image as an ‘Archmage’. She let out her usual scream from her youth and rushed towards the center of the crowd.
The soldiers hadn’t reacted yet and automatically made way for the Archmage.
Archmage Uni was the magician in the Brave Hero Squad.
Later, when the Silver Dragon Queen disappeared and the dragons retreated, everyone in the Brave Hero Squad received the highest honor of the kingdom.
Except for the Brave Hero himself.
After all, the Brave Hero had also disappeared along with the Silver Dragon Queen.
So now…
The only person Archmage Uni would call ‘Captain’ could only be one answer.
Uni threw away her wide-brimmed witch’s hat and pounced towards Xia Li. The braid under her hat fell down, hanging long on her waist.
“Captaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!!!”
Following another scream, Uni drew the magic staff from her waist.
With absolute proficiency, she didn’t need any chanting at all. A ten-meter-long water dragon roared and attacked from above Xia Li and her.
Xia Li seemed to have anticipated her actions and raised the Demon Repelling Sword with a flick.
The magic circle shattered, and the water dragon disintegrated and disappeared in mid-air.
“It really is the Captaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!!!”
If Uni still had 10% doubt when she pounced earlier, then when Xia Li effortlessly dispelled her magic, her doubt dropped to 0%.
“If it was a fake Captain, he would have been dissolved by that attack just now.”
Xia Li was speechless.
This girl was just clueless.
Back when they were still in a team to subjugate dragons, she often made mistakes.
A walking, talking trap-triggering machine.
The most common phrase she uttered in her life:
Captain, save me! >口< "of="" course="" a="" fake="" would="" be="" dissolved!="" according="" to="" our="" kingdom's="" law,="" anyone="" who="" insults="" the="" brave="" hero="" deserves="" to="" go="" to="" hell!"="" tears="" streamed="" down="" uni's="" face,="" but="" she="" couldn't="" successfully="" pounce="" into="" the="" captain's="" arms="" after="" all="" this="" effort.="" she="" felt="" like="" something="" hard="" was="" blocking="" her="" way.="" looking="" down,="" uni="" saw="" a="" girl="" who="" looked...="" maybe="" just="" barely="" an="" adult?="" the="" girl="" was="" very="" pretty,="" wearing="" a="" white="" fur="" cloak,="" with="" the="" long="" cape="" covering="" her="" hands.="" facing="" uni's="" confusion,="" the="" girl="" raised="" her="" face.="" her="" golden-red="" eyes="" looked="" somewhat="" bewitching="" under="" the="" sun,="" and="" her="" gaze="" was="" surprisingly="" sharp.="" she="" stood="" in="" front="" of="" xia="" li,="" her="" eyes="" seeming="" to="" say:="" 'this="" is="" mine'.="" "captain,="" we="" haven't="" seen="" each="" other="" for="" over="" twenty="" years,="" how="" come="" you="" already="" have="" a="" child!!"="" uni="" calculated="" with="" her="" fingers.="" the="" years="" the="" captain="" had="" disappeared="" were="" just="" enough="" to="" produce="" a="" seventeen="" or="" eighteen-year-old="" girl.="" "this="" is="" not="" my="" daughter,="" this="" is="" my="" wi..."="" xia="" li="" was="" about="" to="" introduce="" his="" wife="" to="" his="" former="" mage="" teammate.="" however,="" lucia="" took="" a="" step="" back.="" she="" silently="" stepped="" on="" xia="" li's="" foot.="" xia="" li="" frowned.="" did="" she...="" not="" want="" him="" to="" say="" it?="" xia="" li="" didn't="" know="" what="" this="" dragon="" was="" worried="" about.="" for="" him,="" even="" if="" he="" let="" his="" teammates="" know="" that="" his="" wife="" was="" the="" silver="" dragon="" queen,="" he="" wouldn't="" mind.="" his="" teammates="" were="" all="" normal="" people,="" and="" they="" would="" understand="" after="" he="" explained="" it.="" but...="" lucia="" might="" have="" her="" own="" thoughts.="" xia="" li="" decided="" not="" to="" say="" it="" for="" now,="" and="" wait="" until="" everyone="" was="" present.="" "uni,="" long="" time="" no="" see,="" you've="" matured="" a="" lot."="" xia="" li="" turned="" his="" attention="" to="" the="" archmage="" in="" front="" of="" him.="" although="" her="" personality="" hadn't="" changed="" much,="" the="" reckless="" girl="" had="" indeed="" become="" mature="" and="" steady.="" "..."="" hearing="" this,="" uni="" knelt="" down="" as="" if="" she="" had="" lost="" her="" support,="" her="" hands="" on="" the="" ground,="" a="" sense="" of="" frustration="" washing="" over="" her.="" ojz="" "captain,="" you're="" still="" so="" tactful..."="" or="" rather,="" sarcastic,="" mean,="" and="" sharp-tongued.="" everyone="" was="" the="" same,="" including="" the="" captain.="" "do="" you="" mean="" i'm="" old!"="" uni's="" eyes="" were="" wet="" with="" tears,="" and="" she="" turned="" around="" and="" asked="" sharply.="" xia="" li="" pursed="" his="" lips="" and="" didn't="" speak.="" uni="" was="" about="" to="" start="" making="" a="" fuss.="" however,="" after="" so="" many="" years="" of="" experience,="" she="" was="" no="" longer="" the="" little="" girl="" who="" would="" roll="" around="" and="" cry="" in="" front="" of="" the="" captain.="" patting="" her="" robe,="" uni="" stood="" up.="" she="" wiped="" away="" the="" tears="" of="" joy="" on="" her="" face.="" uni="" knew="" that="" she="" couldn't="" persuade="" the="" captain="" with="" her="" own="" strength="" alone.="" she="" needed="" to="" gather="" everyone's="" strength.="" she="" held="" her="" luxurious="" crystal="" staff="" and="" slammed="" it="" heavily="" on="" the="" ground.="" turning="" to="" the="" onlookers,="" she="" said="" loudly,="" "open="" all="" the="" city="" gates!!"="" "welcome="" our="" hero!!"="">