Chapter 408: Don’t look for me, I’m really not interested
"This..."
At that moment, everyone present was stunned.
"Don’t look at me like that," Reiger glanced at the crowd and said, "I’m not a warrior like Gejiev Storunov who holds a position within the kingdom. I’m just an adventurer. Is it not a bit strange to discuss such matters of state or even racial significance with me?"
"Indeed," Lakyus muttered, and then said, "But Lord Brilliant is powerful, and you’ve fought those monsters and dealt with them before. If we had your assistance, then we..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Reiger interrupted her.
"So the very suggestion of assistance is where the problem lies," Reiger said to Lakyus with a mock smile. "Why should I offer any assistance?"
The crowd was collectively dumbfounded.
But what Reiger said next left them speechless.
"I will take action this time because I have a bit of a history with those aberrations, and also because of a fortunate coincidence, being compelled by the situation. It’s not that I want to help the kingdom or mankind," Reiger said indifferently. "If you still don’t understand, let me put it more plainly: I don’t want to help those whom I feel are not worth helping, like the kingdom’s corrupt nobles."
"Rather, isn’t that what those nobles should be doing?"
"They tax the vassals, claiming the kingdom’s land as their own domains. Thus, when the kingdom is in trouble, with powerful enemies threatening the nation, shouldn’t they, the high-ranking officials, be the first to step forward to resist those monsters?"
Reiger’s casual words left Lakyus and the others looking at each other, speechless.
"...Aren’t you an adventurer?"
Only Iveyer, frowning, spoke up to Reiger.
"As adventurers, dealing with monsters is our specialty, isn’t it?"
Hearing this, Reiger rolled his eyes.
"You know it’s a specialty, not a duty, right?" Reiger said bluntly. "In the end, adventurers are just a group of armed individuals who work for money and have publicly declared that they won’t get involved in national conflicts. So can we not elevate adventurers to such a high and mighty status, please?"
Saying this, Reiger saw that Lakyus and even Iveyer looked like they still intended to say something, so he put up his hand to stop them.
"Enough. There’s no need for any more discussion. I’ve already done what I can to ensure those monsters don’t go on a senseless killing spree of the innocents. Securing such a promise, I’m personally satisfied."
"As for the kind of scheming that the high-ranking officials do with those monsters, I don’t care in the slightest, nor do I have any interest."
"Therefore, if you want to discuss how to deal with those aberrations and how to protect and defend the homeland, don’t look to me. I’m really not interested."
Reiger’s tone wasn’t exactly forceful, but the calmness and detachment in his words told everyone that he truly didn’t care about these matters.
"This..."
Lakyus and the others were once again frowning and feeling helpless.
After all, what Reiger had said wasn’t entirely without reason.
The nobles of the kingdom indeed made people reluctant to deal with them, much less help them in any way.
Reiger had indeed done all that he could, having saved everyone present, indirectly assisted the capital in settling the situation, and even reached an agreement with the monsters to spare most of the innocent civilians from disaster.
Next, as long as the monsters were willing to abide by the agreement, then Reiger’s contribution was already the greatest, and no one could criticize his actions.
However, losing the assistance of such a powerful warrior like Reiger was indeed a tremendous loss.
So even though they rationally accepted what Reiger had said, emotionally, Lakyus and the others still felt very helpless.
At this moment, Iveyer spoke.
"...It seems I can only seek help from that person."
The vampire girl said with a displeased face.
"Who?"
Lakyus and the others all looked at Iveyer together.
"Someone you all know," Iveyer didn’t explain clearly, but simply said, "I’ll try to contact him first. If it’s him, he should be willing to offer some assistance."
Iveyer, while saying this and seeing everyone still watching her, suddenly said.
"Don’t worry, that person’s strength is also inhumanly powerful, even one of the strongest beings in this world. If he’s willing to take action, even if those monsters attack directly, we’ll have ways to handle them."
Iveyer spoke these words of deep trust in the other person, albeit with a markedly displeased demeanor.
Reiger smirked.
Others might not know who Iveyer was referring to, but Reiger was very clear.
"This vampire must be talking about him, right?"
The figure that surfaced in Reiger’s mind was none other than the platinum Knight who had attacked him out of the blue in Ye·Lantier Northern Forest over four months ago.
Of course, its true identity wasn’t a Knight, but a dragon.
Furthermore, it was the most powerful Dragon King among the dragon species, the True Dragon King who could wield ancient magic, as spoken of by the Slane Theocracy——Chaintodulux Bai Xiang.
People usually referred to it as the "Platinum Dragon King."
It was an existence even among the True Dragon Kings that could be ranked at the very top, one of the strongest individuals among the existing Dragon Kings. It was not only the son of the Dragon Emperor but had also participated in the war between the dragon race and the Greed Kings. Therefore, it had a considerable understanding of "YGGDRASIL" and the players, and while it might not have full control over the information, it was well-informed, to say the least.
It also served as a Guardian maintaining the world’s balance, paying great attention to the development of this world and being extremely vigilant about the players who intruded into it. So, whenever a player from "YGGDRASIL" was transported into this world, it usually took action, whether gathering information about them, probing and getting in touch with them to understand the situation, or sometimes even taking the initiative to kill those evil players who intended harm to this world, rescuing the world from dire straits.
Given this, the Dragon King could be considered a great enemy of players unless one could gain its trust. Otherwise, it would mostly stand on the opposing side of the players.
Iveyer was acquainted with this Dragon King and aware of its existence and duties.
That was probably because, the Dragon King often adventured outside by remotely controlling a suit of platinum armor.
That platinum Knight was merely armor controlled by the Platinum Dragon King, appearing like a Knight, humanoid in shape, but in reality, the inside of the armor was empty, just a puppet manipulated by the Platinum Dragon King.
The Platinum Dragon King had thus joined the team of the Thirteen Heroes and went on adventures for a period using such a method two hundred years ago.
That’s why Iveyer, who had also fought alongside the Thirteen Heroes, recognized the Platinum Dragon King.
Apart from the Platinum Dragon King, Iveyer also knew another person who had joined the team of the Thirteen Heroes.
That was a human who had extended their life span through magic and other means, and had survived until the present from two hundred years ago.
"If I remember correctly, the name was Ligulit, right?"
Reiger recalled the details with his exceptional memory.
The person was one of the few Abnormals in this world, with a level around 40, an existence surpassing the Heroic Domain.
The person was also in good relations with the Platinum Dragon King and had obtained magic artifacts made with Origin Magic, which was nowadays used only by the True Dragon Kings, including the Dragon’s Secret Treasure that Reiger now wore on his hand.
Gejiev’s master had once been an adventurer, belonging to the same adventurer group as Ligulit, who had not yet retired back then. Respecting Gejiev as a disciple of an old friend, Ligulit gifted him the Origin Ring, helping Gejiev, who was halfway into the Heroic Domain, to fully step into it.
Ligulit had also joined "Brilliant," one of the only two mithril-ranked adventurer teams that existed in the past in the kingdom and was a senior to Lakyus and others. Ivey influenced by Ligulit, was persuaded to join "Brilliant."
Iveyer, who had connections with those two, seemed to be ready to seek their help.
"The Platinum Dragon King?"
Recalling the clash in Ye·Lantier Northern Forest over four months ago, Reiger muttered to himself.
"Speaking of which, that Dragon King had mentioned back then that he would investigate whether the Dragon’s Secret Treasure on me was stolen."
Looking back, the other party must have thought that Reiger had done something to Ligulit to obtain the Origin Ring, right?
"Now so much time has passed, and there’s been no word from his side, could it be that he has already confirmed that my ring’s origin is legitimate?"
Reiger thought to himself silently.
Unbeknownst to Reiger, who was deep in thought, his ring was indeed of legitimate origin, but the Platinum Dragon King had contacted Ligulit to verify this matter.
Thanks to this, Ligulit learned about Reiger and became aware of his strength and existence. On the request of the Platinum Dragon King, Ligulit tasked the members of "Brilliant" to approach Reiger, investigate him, and understand his background.
If Reiger knew about this, he might consider using the Platinum Dragon King as a test for his blade to see how strong his abilities had become after leveling up.
After concluding his thoughts, Reiger spoke again.
"Since you already have an idea, let’s leave this place," Reiger said. "This is ultimately their stronghold. They will not be at ease unless we go."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
They had long wanted to leave this place, remaining close to a horde of monsters had really tested their hearts’ endurance. If not for their concern about Reiger’s safety, Lakyus and the others would have retreated back to the royal capital long ago, let alone Brian, who without a doubt, would have fled at the first opportunity.
Now that Reiger had emerged, they naturally wanted to hurry away from there and return to the human cities.
"Let’s go."
Reiger took the lead and used [Flight] to soar up, flying toward the direction of Ye·Lantier.
The others immediately followed, leaving the vast grasslands behind.