Chapter 116: Attitude

Chapter 116: Attitude

Having figured things out for himself, Tirui did not stay idle during this time. He revealed his intention to divide the Green Kingdom to the Dragon Riders, but the result turned out to be like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response.

Currently, the entire East Coast was under the actual control of the Dragon Riders, and their influence reached even further. The Dragon Riders had no need to pay attention to suggestions of division. Even if it were divided among three parties, would they gain more?

The Dragon Riders were now too lazy to deal with the Anya People. In some aspects, they were similar to the Northlanders. Both currently had more than enough to defend themselves but lacked the drive for expansion. And like the Northlanders, the Dragon Riders also had a populace where everyone was a soldier. Perhaps their total population was not large, but their overall combat strength was not weak either.

The area of the Azure Wave Archipelago limited the Dragon Riders’ development. They had long sought a broader piece of land. But their power came from the archipelago, from a unique type of dragon found there. They could not abandon the very foundation of their existence. The dragons of the Azure Wave Archipelago had bodies similar to snakes, colored emerald green. Their limbs, though degenerated, still had some remnants. Upon reaching adulthood, they could reach three meters in length and adapt to many harsh environments, but they had rather demanding requirements for their breeding environment. Hindered by this, the Dragon Riders’ actions appeared contradictory and hesitant in the eyes of outsiders.

For many years, the Dragon Riders had been transforming the environment of the East Coast. But how could changing the environment be accomplished overnight? Persistence was all they could do. Large quantities of plants unique to the island were transplanted and were gradually taking over the coastline of the Eastern Sea. The dragons of the Azure Wave Archipelago had now begun to live and reproduce on the East Coast, and the Dragon Riders had finally put down roots here.

Just as the Dragon Riders prepared to speed up their gradual encroachment on the Green Kingdom, the Anya Kingdom disrupted their plans. The Dragon Riders were not in a hurry. They could continue managing the East Coast and strengthening their foundation. Having the Anya People take care of the Royal Family was something the Dragon Riders were happy to see. They would not get involved. At the right opportunity, they would use this as an excuse to drive the Anya People away.

In dealing with the matter of the Northern Wizards, they had already made a mistake by acting too hastily. They would not repeat the same mistake a second time. This time, the Dragon Riders were lying completely low. Recently, they quietly watched these people jumping up and down, and quietly waited for their chance. Because they could afford to wait. Could the Anya Kingdom afford to wait? Could the Royal Family afford to wait?

From the Northlands’ actions, the Dragon Riders had also noticed some hints. The Northlanders were preparing to rest and recuperate for a while. They couldn’t help but feel some admiration for the Northlands—releasing an anomaly, one that would surely stir up trouble.

It seemed like they were completely sealing themselves off, but in fact, they had truly opened a window. By using a figure that could attract everyone’s attention, the Northlands hid behind, silently observing and understanding, thus dealing more calmly with the problems that followed. Now, the Dragon Riders were certain that the Northlands must have a backup plan hidden. The Northlands’ permissiveness towards Bran precisely showed they were fully prepared.

They decided to learn from the Northlands, to remain unchanged to cope with all changes.

…

Bran never thought about remaining unchanged. It was just that the resources he currently had at hand wouldn’t allow him to change significantly in a short time. To get rid of Zoya’s pestering, he began carefully crafting his City Manor. As a result, the City Manor began to change rapidly over the past few days. He had again placed two Black Cat statues at the entrance, and also set up a screen wall inside the gate.

Zoya followed Bran, watching the walls he touched change rapidly. Patterns and decorations began to appear, almost instantly covering the walls. This greatly intrigued Zoya. It was the first time she had seen Bran use his abilities right in front of her. At the same time, her curiosity was piqued, and a stream of various questions kept coming.

Bran dealt with them by giving vague answers, avoiding the main points. Just as one cannot explain what sweetness is to someone who has never tasted sugar, Bran couldn’t explain the many aspects of Mana to Zoya. Moreover, the ability itself seemed to have no clear origin, and Bran had no answers for many things. However, some of Zoya’s questions still helped him expand his thinking in many directions.

For example, Zoya asked, “Why do you always have to use your hand to touch? Can’t you use your foot?” Or “Why don’t you just use Mana to grab things directly?” and so on.

Could he? Bran hadn’t tried it, nor had he thought about it. Even after his ability’s Evolution, Bran merely followed habit when dealing with such matters.

Whether it was possible or not, he could only know by trying. Bran began to seriously listen to the girl’s imaginative ideas. Though not necessarily useful, they broke the already rigid thinking patterns.

A real interaction formed between the girl and Bran. One kept asking why not? The other kept saying let me try.

The use of Mana was something that required imagination. A completely new thing had no established rules to begin with. Changing the perspective or the method might lead to many unexpected effects. Like Zoya often asked, why do you use it for this, why don’t you use it for that?

Interesting—this was Bran’s recent state of life.

…

Bran always reported only good news and not troubles when contacting his home in the Northlands, putting on a posture of complete control. And his family pretended to believe his nonsense. Bran also knew that the situation couldn’t be hidden at all. The Ancient Tree and the Fairy by his side had probably already sent information back through some method he didn’t understand.

The people assigned to him, like Zack and Mary, were not poor. Half of them were equipped with one or two Snow Falcons. Watching one fly back every few days, Bran could only let it be.

His family now had a completely supportive attitude towards him. No one gave orders from afar. The only advice was to be careful and safe. If he encountered someone he couldn’t handle, he should hurry back immediately…

Couldn’t handle? Bran didn’t feel there was anyone he couldn’t handle. If all matters could be simply resolved by force, he would actually find it easier. Like now, another group of mountain folk had been captured and brought back. Bran, taking Zoya along, was selecting their targets. He pointed at several people in front of him and asked, “Which one do you want to deal with? This fatter one, or that one whose eyes keep darting around?”

“Which one do you think is more powerful?”

“How could there be any powerful people here?”

“Then forget it. They aren’t worth me drawing my sword.”

Bran opened and closed his mouth, left speechless and choked for a long moment. After she spent so much time solemnly wiping her sword blade in front of him, was that all?

“Actually, killing someone has no relation to how strong they are. Don’t be brainwashed by those second-rate Knights.”

“What do you mean?”

“We can only kill those weaker than us. When you encounter a strong or powerful character, how likely do you think you are to survive? We constantly train to make ourselves stronger and more capable than others. That way we can kill others without getting hurt.

Constantly challenging stronger opponents is even more nonsense, a way to find death. Occasionally, once or twice, you might get lucky and defeat an opponent due to various reasons. But how many lives do you have to keep challenging? One failure and you might never get another chance.

Go on, killing the weak is not shameful.”