Chapter 29: Rumors

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“No prophet? This is simply an outsider who unknowingly entered the inner world,” a certain apprentice hero sneered coldly, having received some information through certain channels.

His mood had been quite sour these past few days. His subordinate, Kang Quan, a Bimon, was severely injured when trying to communicate with the two green dragons. Not only did he fail to recruit these dragons as followers, but he also lost a precious incandescent stone.

Although this incandescent stone could usually be obtained by Light-aligned apprentice heroes through small tasks or even by exchanging some spiritual coins, the amount he had brought into the inner world was limited. Losing even one stone was a significant loss, making it impossible for him to bring any followers out of the inner world.

Thinking this over, the apprentice hero took out the last incandescent stone he had, playing with it in his hand for a long while. Eventually, he made a decision—to visit the City of Crystal Gleam. If the young man who wrote this book truly was an outsider who accidentally entered the inner world, he would try to recruit him as a follower.

After all, everyone knew that someone who could enter the inner world by themselves had far greater potential than followers found in the real world.

However, he was not ready to abandon the foundation he had painstakingly built in Dragon City. After some thought, he summoned Kang Quan.

Kang Quan’s once-strong muscles had obviously atrophied; his left arm hung uselessly at his side, and his right eye was missing. Although he knew he could heal his body upon returning to the real world, his current state made him feel profoundly insecure.

After stepping out the door, he leaned against the wall, placing his only usable right hand on his waist.

The apprentice hero shook his head at Kang Quan’s demeanor. “Kang Quan, we’re in our own room now. What are you worried about?”

“As long as you’re around, I can never feel safe,” Kang Quan said coldly. “This time I survived, so I won’t give you a chance to hurt me again.”

“Kang Quan, why can’t I make you understand? We’re not enemies. You’re my subordinate and my friend,” the apprentice hero tried to persuade earnestly.

“I never thought otherwise. Yes, I’m your subordinate, but I’m also your rival in affection. My very existence is an obstacle to you. If you weren’t temporarily unable to handle me, I would have been dead long ago,” Kang Quan replied coolly.

“Forget it. You’ll understand my intentions eventually,” the apprentice hero said, seeing that persuasion was futile. “By the way, I’m going to the City of Crystal Gleam soon. Stay here and guard the place. If anything happens, handle it as you see fit. This time, you should trust me.”

Judging from Kang Quan’s expression, he still didn’t believe a word. In the end, the apprentice hero could only shake his head helplessly. After briefing his main forces, he took a small contingent and left Dragon City.

Unbeknownst to him, his departure caused a major upheaval among Dragon City’s upper echelons. His recent dealings with the two green dragons had already come to their attention.

They were also fully aware of Kang Quan’s severe injuries at the hands of those dragons. Now, with this apprentice hero heading to the City of Crystal Gleam, anyone receiving this news would suspect that he had some connection with the Sword Saint residing there.

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It was well known that the City of Crystal Gleam had been established because it was home to a Sword Saint capable of fighting the green dragons. If this apprentice hero had discovered the dragons’ weaknesses and then sought counsel with the Sword Saint, Dragon City’s dominance in this world would be lost.

For their own interests, the high-ranking officials of Dragon City unanimously agreed to temporarily monitor and suppress the apprentice hero. They also resolved that if he truly allied with the City of Crystal Gleam, they would launch a thorough purge against his faction within Dragon City.

This news naturally caught the attention of Kang Quan, still in Dragon City. After receiving some intelligence from his informants, the gravely wounded Kang Quan pondered whether to pass the information to his apprentice hero.

In the end, he decided against it, marking in his daily reports that all was calm in Dragon City.

Simultaneously, news sent by Aisha stirred someone in the Night Elf City. This person, holding recently gathered information about the novel’s content, hesitated for a long time before abandoning the plan to visit the City of Crystal Gleam.

But three days later, the Night Elf City announced the appearance of a prophet or seer whose book surpassed that young man’s work. This new tome revealed long-forbidden secrets of the elf race and was titled The Dark Elf Twin Blades, Cuir.

During these days, Li Mingxing had not been idle. Leveraging the young man’s understanding of the city, he contacted some of the local nobility to gauge the city’s strength.

The City of Crystal Gleam maintained a standing army of about seven thousand, with the largest contingents being spearmen and halberdiers numbering around four thousand. These troops formed the main patrol force along the city walls.

Next came formidable sharpshooters and crossbowmen—not the blowgun-wielding harpy-like creatures Li Mingxing had; even the lowest rank crossbowmen could kill enemies from seven hundred meters away. The sharpshooters and crossbowmen numbered approximately fifteen hundred, capable of unleashing a sudden rain of arrows.

Then there were eight hundred crusaders, three hundred priests, and four hundred knights. Not included were the griffons deployed specifically against Dragon City’s flying cavalry and the Night Elf City’s griffon riders, whose numbers Li Mingxing could not ascertain.

Compared to this official army, Li Mingxing valued the private militias of the noble houses more. While he didn’t know their exact numbers, he had heard that most of these militias were composed of retired soldiers from the city’s military, with a smaller portion being highly skilled professionals from their own races.

For example, the Crusader Lord commanded a personal guard of about a hundred sword attendants—former or elder servants of the Sword Saint. Their fighting style resembled that of the crusaders but their strength far exceeded them.

Based on this assessment, Li Mingxing estimated that the other two major cities had at least thirty thousand troops, with about three thousand at rank four or above.

With such strength, Li Mingxing might have had confidence to continue if he hadn’t known better. But now, all he wanted was to secure some benefits and leave as soon as possible.

However, his current mission was quite troublesome. Even partially darkening a forest required a significant area.

His previous efforts hadn’t even reached one percent of that goal—not for lack of trying, but because he dared not act recklessly. Many races inhabited the area; if he darkened the forest, none of the three major cities or their inhabitants would let him off easily.

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It wasn’t until he entered one of the three major cities that Li Mingxing finally understood the true purpose of his mission: not to completely darken the forest, but to build a projection of a city. Only after the city was constructed could he legitimately darken the surrounding area.

But could he really build a city in this inner world? Having become familiar with its history, Li Mingxing doubted his own strength.

Originally, this inner world had only two elf cities. It was only after the appearance of the human Sword Saint that the third city was gradually established.

If building a city were so easy, then the various factions wouldn’t still be living in treehouses, nor would the Light Alliance apprentice hero have gone to the Elf Dragon City.

From this, it was evident that Li Mingxing’s initial efforts had been almost entirely in vain. At least for now, he had lost all confidence.

Just as Li Mingxing lost sight of his goal, Aisha, who had been monitoring the young man, suddenly came to him.

“Sir, someone else has contacted the young man, and they talked for a long time.”

“Is that so? How many troops did that person bring? Have you been tailing him?”

“No. That person seems to be a mage, using teleportation magic. We don’t know how many people are with him, but judging by the city entry records from the past two days, not many have come in.”

“A mage?” Li Mingxing frowned upon hearing this news. The more he tried to avoid trouble, the more problems arose.

Originally, he had planned to kill that apprentice hero to offset the failure of his current mission. But now, that seemed unlikely.

After all, even if Li Mingxing managed to surround a teleporting mage, there was no guarantee he could capture him intact.

Just as Li Mingxing’s heart filled with disappointment and helplessness, Aisha suddenly remarked, “Sir, what’s wrong? You seem to have lost all confidence and morale.”