Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 357 Chance Encounter
Since they didn't intend to get involved in this unexpected event, the group acted quickly.

After doing some "shopping" in the commercial street, I tried to leave the city. However, I ran into the spider hunters who were passing by to help, and a "minor conflict" ensued.

It was nothing special, just a typical case of extortion hitting a brick wall.

The road out of the city was not easy either. Some of the pursuers stopped, while others took the risk and directly attacked the "fat sheep from the ground".

"It's clear that even though their city is at war, it doesn't stop them from profiting."

"Congratulations on meeting the original dark elves." Victoria sighed. There were some things she was too embarrassed to say. This was actually a "friendly to neutral" dark elf city.

All of this actually has little to do with factions, but rather a kind of subconsciousness and self-awareness of a group, similar to how rain will wet the clothes and it's time to bring them in.

According to the Dark Elves' logic, anyone, property, or treasure that falls into the Underworld is a resource to be fought over. Surface fat sheep are so stupid as to walk into your city without any power to protect themselves; who else would you rob if not them?

They looted the property, turned people into slaves or animal feed—this has been the practice for thousands of years. Why stop now?

If they were not powerful outsiders, they would disappear without even alarming the city's nobles.

“When you went to Mosodirka, if you hadn’t had the title of ambassador, and Radiant City was quite close to Mosodirka, something similar would have happened.” Alexne flicked her newly acquired steel sword, which was covered in the blood of her kin, but her eyes were filled with joy.

Of course, if you're powerful enough to clear out the city, that's another matter; the dark elves will be quite "friendly and hospitable."

As a "Knight Mentor," Rean was originally considering the Dark Elf's advancement path, but now he doesn't need to think about it anymore. He'll just go straight for the Judgment Paladin, and who knows, he might even become the extreme Vengeance Paladin among the Judgment Paladins.

"It can't be that bad." Rean thought of his previous experience and wondered if the dark elves were really that evil.

Times have changed. There are quite a few neutral dark elves now. Will a dark elf theocratic society, where they are all gathered together, necessarily resort to cannibalism?
"As for!"

"It will definitely happen."

The two dark elf companions made the exact same judgment.

They actually knew all along that the journey here would be unpleasant, and they didn't even warn Rean that they were looking forward to him seeing firsthand what the dark elves were really like.

They hoped they wouldn't be misjudged by some of the "cowardly friendly faction" within Radiant City.

“Dark elves are inherently bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. As long as you are above them, they will be quite friendly. This is what they call neutrality. Back then, even if you were stronger than them, they would still bare their teeth and assassinate you. Now they are a little more peaceful.”

"In the Dark Elves' mindset, outsiders are like food delivered to their doorstep. If the mercenaries and scattered warriors can handle it, they will eat it first and offer some of it as tribute."

"If they can't finish eating, they'll let some mercenary organizations or minor nobles know, organize them to eat it all, and then share the leftovers with them."

"Small organizations can't handle it. Outsiders will become famous in the city, and then those noble families will send out invitations, either for gladiatorial games, for joining, or for marriage alliances. In short, they will completely devour them."

Many of the matriarchs of various families had "outsiders serving their fathers," and this was basically how they came to be.

This is a real spider's nest. Even if you are not sucked dry, you will still be skinned alive if you step inside.

".Thanks."

Rean thanked the two dark elves for their "advice," saying that nothing beats experiencing it firsthand.

The situation is a little better for the woman in the mirror, but obviously only slightly better.

The information pieced together from the attackers largely confirmed the same thing. Those outsiders from the land of magic seemed to be there to investigate something. As soon as they arrived, they asked the local mages for data on hydrology, elemental tides, and so on. Since they were so close to the Demon Realm, the local spellcasters should have records from previous years.

Unfortunately, most of the archmages in dark elf society are vassals of their respective families. Even Victoria's biological father was a mage servant of the mistress. In dark elf society, spellcasting is indeed an opportunity for male dark elves to rise to prominence, compared to the even more difficult profession of warrior (women are more inclined to become priests).

"They were stupid enough to ask the mistress for information."

The dark elves, as always, looked down on the "country bumpkins." But in reality, in the eyes of these outsiders, the dark elves were the "country bumpkins banished to the edge of the world."

Both sides are quite arrogant and even disdainful of understanding each other. So, when it comes to negotiating interests, it becomes a case of chickens and ducks talking, and the terms are impossible to negotiate.

Then, a conflict naturally broke out, and in the end, strength prevailed.

Looking at the meteor shower over the city, Rean guessed that unless a god intervened, it was probably a case of a powerful dragon suppressing a local snake.

The mages may not be numerous, but their guerrilla tactics are probably the most outrageous. Mages of this level generally have spatial abilities, and who can withstand their frequent attacks?

"It's hard to say whether this is a show of force or not."

These people traveled a long way and immediately caused a ruckus in the city; they must have had a specific goal in mind.

"Are they asking for hydrological and elemental tide data about the Demon Realm? We'll most likely encounter them again."

Rean only hoped that their goals wouldn't conflict with his group's.

"What is their attitude towards other countries? Would they proactively attack or even plunder?"

Although he had already clashed with the Dark Elf city, Rean did not think that this could be used as a factor in determining his stance. There were good people who fought against "evil," as well as other, darker forms of evil.

"Arrogant, looking down on ordinary nobles, and somewhat disdainful of other mages as well, but if you achieve results, it's a different story."

The Mage Kingdom is not actually a country. They have no intention of expanding their territory and authority, but they are used to collecting magical materials and information from all over the world. At least 10% of the materials in Radiant City are collected there, and people will travel thousands of miles to get them.

But broadly speaking, they are still members of the "pan-human camp." Or rather, they believe that they represent the progress of civilization and race, while other areas are just ignorant people and country bumpkins.

"The good news is we won't meet and fight; at least we'll talk a bit. The bad news is we'll probably be treated like uncivilized apes."

Rean shrugged. He was actually quite indifferent, but he was quite interested in what they called "modern magical disciplines".

Originally, he felt that if there were only nine major disciplines (or eight major disciplines in another category), there would be no need to specialize in "minor disciplines" at the second ring. Perhaps the mysteries of spellcasters far exceeded what he had previously encountered.

"The Federation isn't just about mages. We also have sorcerers, divine magic users, echo magic users, Infernal Contract holders, and more. We have specialized academic disciplines for all of them. Rather than being called the Land of Mages, we aspire to be known as the Land of Knowledge and Truth."

The person hadn't arrived yet, but their voice came first.

The figure that suddenly appeared slowly descended, and judging from the epaulets, it was a great mage from a foreign land.

It seems that they had their eyes on this outsider's group before they even encountered the demon realm.

"Hello, I'm glad you're interested in our country. May I have a chat, Lord Dragon Sorcerer?" His form of address surprised Rean.

(End of this chapter)