Chapter 182: Persuasion? Not Happening

Chapter 182: Persuasion? Not Happening

Her methods were cruel and vicious. Those who fell into her hands not only suffered immense physical torment, but their souls were not spared even after death. She had also caused numerous disasters, and massacring entire cities was like an everyday occurrence for her…

Whether such exaggerated claims were true or not was uncertain. Listening from the side, Zheng Yichen muttered to himself. Information gained through hearsay naturally couldn’t be fully trusted, but by filtering it, he could still gather plenty of useful details. For instance, this Undying Witch, who had recently left traces, belonged to the type that was very difficult to get along with…

Most likely from the evil faction, in that case… Tsk, what does it have to do with this dragon!

Zheng Yichen didn’t think that just any Witch could have any connection with him. Feeling he wouldn’t hear anything useful here, he no longer lingered, picked up his bundle, and left the Tavern. Not long after leaving and reaching the town entrance, Zheng Yichen saw a dark spot appearing on the horizon in the twilight. The dark spot rapidly approached the direction of the town.

Visually, it was a Flying Magical Beast. Judging from the person riding on the back of this rather magnificent Flying Magical Beast, it was tamed. Probably a power ful individual passing through this town, or perhaps a wealthy youngster with nothing better to do who was out for a “drive.” After all, this Magical Beast looked quite formidable. With such a mount, the rider could simply watch from the sidelines when encountering many situations, rarely needing to lift a finger.

However, after seeing what the person riding on the Flying Magical Beast looked like, Zheng Yichen could no longer smile!

Why did the other’s hair and face look so familiar!? Without hesitation, he hoisted his bundle over his shoulder and turned to run. Deya, who was about to land at the town entrance, looked at the figure running wildly with some confusion at first. But after a Magic Artifact she carried reacted, her eyes suddenly narrowed. This Magic Artifact had no other effects; its main purpose was to sense certain special presences, such as an Alchemical Puppet!

Generally, such a thing was quite rare. Most Alchemical Puppets lacked strong autonomy and usually remained in the user’s home, rarely sent out for tasks. After all, the cost of producing an Alchemical Puppet was not low. Sending out an Alchemical Puppet with little combat ability was practically inviting others to snatch it away, wasn’t it?

Currently, the one that utilized such freely roaming, highly autonomous Alchemical Puppets the most was that Little Dragon.

“Stop!!”

The Flying Magical Beast preparing to descend let out a sharp screech at Deya’s command and swiftly gave chase. Zheng Yichen, who had climbed onto a small hilltop in the distance, also lost his composure. He grimaced and decided against using his usual flamboyant jump-and-fly method. Instead, he used a running start, and when he felt he had enough speed, he spread his wings and glided into the air.

The direction the Alchemical Avatar was running was definitely the opposite!

This Alchemical Avatar was an ordinary type. Even if it could run at speeds exceeding ten meters per second, it was still no match for something with wings. It was quickly caught up, pinned to the ground by a claw from the Flying Magical Beast. Zheng Yichen didn’t immediately withdraw the Projection from the Alchemical Puppet. Instead, he started chatting casually with the girl standing behind the Flying Magical Beast:

“Hey, girl! Meeting is fate; no need to be so ruthless, right?”

“Where is your true body?” Deya jumped down from the Flying Magical Beast, reached over, and grabbed the bundle that had fallen to the side, opening it. She thought that since Zheng Yichen had sent an Alchemical Avatar out from this town, he must have obtained something special inside. Therefore, the town needed extra attention…

After opening the bundle, the contents—bulk seasonings bought in quantity for a better price—made her pause for a moment. Huh? Why were they such ordinary things? Skeptically, she rummaged through and found nothing special except for an extra bag of coins. She let out a soft sigh, closed the bundle back up, and placed it behind the Flying Magical Beast.

“This is robbery!!!” The Alchemical Avatar pinned under the Flying Magical Beast’s claw roared with grief and indignation, causing even Zheng Yichen’s true body, who was seizing the time to flee, to stumble in mid-air.

“This is reasonable compensation,” Deya said calmly, her gaze steady on Zheng Yichen. “This Alchemical Puppet of yours has been caught by me. Rather than discarding it, it’s better for me to take it. Unless your true body plans to come retrieve it afterward?”

“Tsk…” The Alchemical Avatar slightly pursed its lips. Zheng Yichen actually did have such an idea. He hadn’t tasted any salty or spicy flavors for many days; the sudden craving to eat food with seasoning wasn’t so easy to suppress.

“Alright, let’s talk serious matters. Associating with Witches won’t lead to a good outcome. Quickly cut ties with her. With the Sanctuary Church here, she cannot carry out any retaliation,” Deya said, looking down at Zheng Yichen calmly. “You might even avoid some punishments from the Dragon Clan.”

“Punishment? Tsk!” Zheng Yichen curled his lip. If taken back by the Dragon Clan, talk of punishment? His identity would be exposed and he’d be dead on the spot. Even with the Sanctuary Church, if they learned Zheng Yichen was a Cursed Dragon, they probably wouldn’t let him off easily. Even if they didn’t kill him, they’d likely use it as blackmail, forcing him to do this and that unconditionally.

Dare to resist? The Sanctuary Church just needed to inform the Dragon Clan, a mere few words, and they wouldn’t have to lift a finger. They could just watch the Dragon Clan take him down!

Deya looked at the Alchemical Puppet before her with a headache. Dragons were quite united, and their sense of belonging to their race wasn’t poor either. There were no rumors of abusing offspring. Even when encountering a strange Young Dragon, they could speak amiably. Like the Red Dragon Zheng Yichen encountered earlier—that was purely because his behavior crossed taboos. The Red Dragon was probably newly adult, wanting to give a paternalistic lesson to assert its authority or something, but ended up being slapped down by Zheng Yichen.

So, under such circumstances, what reason did Zheng Yichen have to hold such strong rebellious feelings toward the Dragon Clan?

“We have nothing to discuss. After all, I was nearly killed by Humans back then,” Zheng Yichen said bluntly.

“Those people cannot represent all Humans,” Deya said, her head aching a little. This Little Dragon was not only rebellious but also held grudges. “Actually, many Humans are friendly toward the Dragon Clan.”

“Friendly? Don’t kid me. Without sufficient strength, what friendly talk is there for the Dragon Clan? The friendliness you speak of is more like fear, isn’t it?”

“…” Deya’s head truly ached this time. This Little Dragon not only held grudges but was also quite sharp-minded. Although Dragons were intelligent, she had never heard of any Little Dragon seeing things so clearly. Was she really capable of persuading this Little Dragon?

“Hah? What’s up? Feeling that gentle methods won’t work and preparing to use force? Let me tell you, you should have done this sooner. Am I the kind of dragon easily swayed by words? You underestimate me.”

Using force was something Deya really didn’t want to do. It would only make things worse. Even if she could subdue Zheng Yichen… the situation might later evolve into a second Dan Marina. Uh, if only more people from the Sanctuary Church had been among those who saved Zheng Yichen during the Human encirclement back then…

“Wait! You’re stalling for time!!”