Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 159: Unexpected Encounter
I didn't dream tonight.

When Wu Chen opened his eyes, he had entered his twenty-eighth day on the path of arcane magic. There were still sixty-two days left until his final deadline to face his destiny.

The air was fresh. It was the air of Nirn, free from any industrial pollution—Windhelm was different from King's Landing in the neighboring world of Ice and Fire. Even without the magical effects, there was no foul, fishy animal odor in the city. The mosquito that had flown past the Witcher's Chamber earlier seemed like a mere illusion; when he got out of bed, he didn't hear any animal sounds nearby.

There are no small animals, but there are people.

Beside the bed was a conspicuous bell, which Hera's attendant, Cina, had specifically reminded him of before leaving when he was led to this annex.

If you need anything, please ring this bell.

He shook it.

The sound was crisper than expected, with a captivating rhythm.

Several quick-witted maids immediately pushed open the door and came in to help Wu Chen wash his face, change his clothes, and tidy himself up. They then placed a rather lavish breakfast in front of him.

It's not much different from when I was in Carinthia.

However, Wu Chen was no longer enjoying himself. Just a few hours earlier, Hera had given him a thorough dressing-down in the library, teaching him how vast the sky was, how thick the earth was, and how insignificant humans were. As a mere elite mid-level wizard, it was best for him to keep a low profile in Nien.

but……

"Any news lately?" Wu Chen asked the maid, who was probably assigned from the palace of the kings, while enjoying his breakfast.

"Yes, I heard there was a problem with the watchtower outside the city yesterday. Quite a few soldiers were injured, including, I heard, even Lord Brunwuff."

“There was a boy named Avitus who seemed to have performed a ritual to summon the Dark Brotherhood.”

"Lord Joreford claims that the recent murders in the city were all the work of 'The Butcher.' But he and Lord Wynfis seem to have had a little conflict yesterday."

"Some claim that Lord Ulfric's meeting with the High King in Solitude was not pleasant, and perhaps something will happen soon..."

These are all pieces of information that Wu Chen already knew.

The White Walkers, the Blood of the Frozen, Ulfric—Windhelm was currently rife with undercurrents. Somewhat unexpectedly, Wunfis seemed unaware of the mastermind behind the rumors and attempts to frame him.

No, it's not that strange. The reason Wu Enfis was imprisoned in the original text was undoubtedly because he lost the power struggle, which gave him a reason to suppress him. And since he already knew the information in advance, he probably planned to directly eliminate the root of the conflict, a certain important figure in the palace of the kings.

The court wizard addressed the court official. Wu Chen shook his head.

He had absolutely no intention of getting involved in the past, as it wouldn't benefit him anyway. Unless Hera spoke up.

but……

—Avitus.

Avitus was a child who was sent to an orphanage in Riften after the death of his parents. He was abused in the orphanage, so much so that after being allowed to leave and return to Windhelm to inherit his family fortune, he immediately carried out a summoning ritual of the Dark Brotherhood in an attempt to assassinate and eliminate the orphanage director.

Of course, the personal grudges between the orphan and the headmaster are not important. The focus is on the summoning ritual of the Dark Brotherhood—according to forum discussions, the 'Night Mother' who directly issued the killing decree to the Brotherhood is likely an alias of the Daedric Prince 'Mephara'. In this era, the Brotherhood in Skyrim has deviated from the 'Night Mother's' code of killing, transforming from a Daedric Prince's subordinate into a purely mortal assassination organization.

Because the Brotherhood lost its listeners capable of receiving the oracle of the Night Mother long ago, the current Brotherhood leaders can only rely on intelligence networks to investigate who has set up dark rituals within their sphere of influence, instead of the Night Mother sensing the rituals and having a listener recount them as before. And the Night Mother… or rather, Mephara's chosen one, the only remaining listener of the Fourth Age, will embark on a path of assassination as Avitus's actions unfold.

—Oh, demon god…

Wu Chen pondered for a moment, then tapped the table in front of him. As far as he knew, of the four guild routes in the original text, only the Dark Brotherhood route was a route that 'might not have happened'. This was because only the protagonist of the Brotherhood could slaughter the entire Brotherhood Sanctuary during the initial initiation quest, thus allowing many who deserved to die, or who didn't, to continue living on this land.

Wu Chen felt it was better to destroy the Brotherhood—because the Brotherhood could very well strike without warning against a rising star like him from Winterhold. After all, they dared to assassinate even the Emperor, making them a truly lawless organization. While Wu Chen wasn't afraid of conventional assassins, he genuinely didn't want to engage in an asymmetrical assassination battle with the Last Listener.

We need to take action.

But before that—

Wu Chen finished the last bite of his breakfast, wiped his lips, and rinsed his mouth.

"Where can I buy alchemy materials?"

........................

after a while.

"Ten portions of red mountain flowers, priced at one hundred Septin. Ten portions of Jiaziwan grapes... I'm sorry, we're currently short of that ingredient. As for moon sugar... do you have permission from the Palace of Kings, sir?"

Windhelm is a large city, and naturally, there are many shops selling alchemical items. Hera hadn't mentioned that he needed to gather all the materials himself. Therefore, the Septin in his pocket would come in handy. "Wrap up the Red Mountain Flower for me first," Wu Chen said, not answering the question about the purchase permit. He knew he could buy refined moon sugar from the tiger-men. Since he didn't answer, the alchemy shopkeeper wouldn't press him further; he simply wrapped up the materials for him while presenting the Septin.

"Why are there no grapes from Jiaziwan?" he asked after paying. "I remember it being a fairly common alchemical ingredient?"

"Windhelm is closed, didn't you know, sir?" The shopkeeper glanced outside; a squad of Windhelm guards was patrolling the nearby streets. "It's said that Lord Joreford ordered the gates closed because of yesterday's attack. The convoy transporting Grapevines from the Valley of the Wisps was stopped outside, and as you know, it's an expensive but commonly used material."

South of Windhelm, in the area where Wu Chen once galloped on horseback, lies a rather vast grape-growing region called Jiazi Bay. Wu Chen had farmed this material before when playing the game.

The probability of it being out of stock is actually zero.

"Is it really gone?"

"There really aren't any more."

"What if I pay more?"

"No extra money will be provided."

"What if I have a purchase license?"

"Maybe we can find some in some corner of the warehouse. Ten or twenty portions should be enough for the guests."

well.

It wasn't entirely unexpected.

Wu Chen nodded and left the alchemy shop with the Red Mountain Flower—he then went to several other alchemy shops and got the exact same results.

Red hibiscus flowers can be bought anywhere.

Grapes from Jiaziwan are in short supply everywhere.

You can't buy refined moon sugar anywhere.

When he headed towards the city gate, attempting to leave, the large crowd blocking the entrance, along with the fully armed Windhelm City guards, directly discouraged him from entering.

Going out was out of the question. And he was even less likely to choose to steal.

In Nirn, all acts of theft will be met with bad luck until the Daedric Artifact Skull Key is returned. Given his current allegiance and status, taking action would be like throwing away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.

—This is a bit troublesome.

It's not a big problem.

If all else fails, he could go to Wynfis. Or, he could wait for the guards who had traveled north with him to report their exploits to Joreford. All he would have to do was accept the reward from the Grand Steward.

Court wizard, court steward. Choose one; the question remains unresolved.

Hera's seemingly ordinary request to herself is actually quite a challenge.

But what if you don't want to choose either side...

—Then the only option is to go to someone you know.

The Standal amulet was still on Wu Chen's chest. And the Vigilant Toran had once said that if anything happened, one could go to the Vigilant headquarters to find him.

So……

Take a step forward.

I have a general idea of ​​the location in my memory, and the place I am in now happens to be a relatively quiet street corner.

'thump--'

My heart suddenly contracted violently.

A stranger draped in a black cloak flashed past Wu Chen's clothes.

Both paused, their gazes meeting. A chilling coldness suddenly rose from Wu Chen's spine. And beneath the cloak, a crimson light shimmered within his long, milky-white hair!

(End of this chapter)