Nobody told me this wasn't a game.

Gold was somewhat embarrassed: "I didn't have any contact with General Song Zhen when I took the astrolabe."

Bellamy scoffed, "Don't say 'take' anymore, Gold. Everyone knows you stole it. Song Zhen didn't value the astrolabe enough."

Grandfather said, “Perhaps you can investigate this in detail. Gold, if you can find the people or organizations that distribute the astrolabes, we may be able to obtain information about the gods—as the true god who has ruled the world for over a thousand years, even if she is dead, she will leave behind an unimaginably rich legacy.”

Gold bowed his head: "I'll take care of it right away."

Grandfather nodded slightly and watched him leave.

Then he turned to Bellamy and asked, "Did your 'best friend' invite you?"

Bellamy smiled. "Yes, Grandfather. Just now, Agnes, the Lady of Spices, once again formally invited me to serve the Hersey family. I think she must be very interested in the recipe I have."

Grandfather said expressionlessly, “Go, Bellamy. You must give the Hess family a little shock and completely shatter their conspiracy—the water god could not be obtained by the gods a thousand years ago, and now you can’t expect to obtain it from our Bichon clan!”

"Yes."

Bellamy nodded and left immediately.

Grandfather was the only one left in the large study. Before he could even enjoy his time alone, another person suddenly entered the room.

Without wasting any words, the man's first words were: "Grandfather, the members of the reading group have replied regarding the origin of the astrolabe."

"Oh?"

Grandfather quickly looked up and asked, "What did they say?"

The visitor hesitated for a moment: "They said the astrolabe was brought by the president of the reading club—the Saintess of Time. As for its origin, the Saintess of Time didn't mention a word, but only explained in detail the function of the astrolabe and the benefits of the Sea of ​​Reflection. However, they have persuaded the Saintess of Time to meet with you once, so you can ask her in person."

Grandfather hurriedly said, "I'll arrange the itinerary immediately. Where is the Holy Maiden of Time now?"

"On its way to 96511".

"……what?"

The visitor repeated, "It's on its way. It will arrive as early as tomorrow, or as late as the day after tomorrow."

Grandfather was taken aback, then hurriedly said, "Give the order to arrange a grand welcoming ceremony and a lavish banquet."

"Yes."

The messenger accepted the order and turned to leave.

……

……

The sea is reflected in the water, on a deserted open space at the dock.

A group of several people slowly walked over; it was Sakura's group, Blue Headband's group, and Aloe's group.

As the initiator, Sakura Karen spoke up without hesitation: "Everyone, do you understand the value of the Sea of ​​Reflections?"

Aloe remained calm, while the man in the blue headscarf lowered his voice and said, "There are dungeons at sea! All the rare items can be obtained in this area. Which adventurer doesn't know how valuable it is?"

Sakura Karen raised her hand and said, "I have great respect for Mr. Leonard and the Hercy clan. However... Mr. Leonard is not honest with us. Instead of choosing to build a stable portal to connect the real world and the Sea of ​​Reflection, he used his own power to open a passage and used his own power to maintain our existence. Why is that?"

She looked around, but no one responded.

Then, Sakura Karen continued, "Because he's unwilling to share with us. Now, as long as he cuts off the power attached to us, we will be immediately affected, expelled from the Sea of ​​Reflection, and returned to reality. This is ridiculous; why should he monopolize the legacy left by the gods?"

Still no one spoke.

The man in the blue bandana coughed and said, "To be fair, Mr. Leonard is indeed not presentable. He should be more dignified."

Aloe remained calm, subtly stirring the flames: "What can we do? Without Leonard's guidance, we can't enter the Sea of ​​Reflections; once he removes the power that sustains our existence, we'll immediately fall back into the real world... For now, we can only follow his arrangements and try to gain his trust!"

"Ugh!"

With a sigh, he added, "It's foreseeable that whoever can establish themselves in the Sea of ​​Reflections will become a powerful force in reality. The situation is unclear now, so we can only listen to Leonard's arrangements."

Sakura looked at them with a pitiful expression, and curled her red lips into a smile.

She pulled open her clothes, revealing a tiny dragon scale beneath her collarbone: "If you are willing, I can recommend you... to become allies of the dragon."

This is? !

Sensing something, everyone turned to look at the person in the long robe behind Sakura Karen.

The man removed his hood, revealing densely packed dragon scales that stretched from his neck to his chin: "Your intuition is very sharp. I am indeed a member of the Dragon Community. Leonard made a mistake. He thought the experts he gathered would serve him, but did he consider that what he can give, dragons can give as well! And even more!"

"Friends, now is the best time to attack the Hesei clan. We have already convinced more than 70% of the adventurers that Leonard is only willing to give five 'permanent residency rights,' but our condition is that all those who participate in the siege can freely enter and leave the Sea of ​​Reflection! Dragons are not like demons, and our promise will definitely stand. I think you understand that."

Chapter 363 The Dragon of Dreams

A premeditated attack.

Looking at Sakura and the dragon, Aloe understood a lot in an instant. The Hesei clan did indeed possess enormous power; they could even preemptively establish their own influence in the Sea of ​​Reflection.

But their opponents are dragons from Community 2, and they are no ordinary creatures.

Aloe believes that Hesei's actions were largely anticipated by the Dragon Queen and her advisors. This "Sakura-kun" in front of them must have been recruited and bribed by the dragons beforehand, which is why they were able to launch a counterattack so quickly.

In fact--

And it is.

Long Strategist believes that although the Herse family is a large conglomerate spanning several communities, it has never actually controlled any of them. The only adventurers they have under their command are members of the family, which cannot be compared to ordinary high-ranking generals.

Although they briefly became the rulers of Community 1 by taking advantage of General Tianwang's influence.

But that was only nominal rule, and it was too short-lived to transform nominal rule into actual rule.

When the situation in the Sea of ​​Reflections became tense and they needed more manpower, they had to recruit heroes and use benefits to motivate them to serve them.

This "tense situation" occurred when they discovered that the Dragon Community was also in the Reflection Sea.

So, which experts will the Hesei clan invite to enter the Sea of ​​Reflection?

This is actually quite easy to guess; just look at which families the Hessé family has had close ties with in recent years, and you can get a glimpse of it.

Once these people were found, the rest became very simple.

The Hesei clan is indeed quite prestigious, but the Dragon Community's reputation is only higher, not lower. The conditions that the Hesei can offer, the Dragon Princess can also offer.

Leonard's "allies" whom he wins over with benefits will only turn against him when faced with greater interests.

The scene right now is the best proof—

Seventy percent of the adventurers Leonard recruited have already secretly pledged allegiance to him.

Looking at the pitiful Sakura and then at the confident dragon-man, the blue-headed woman spoke almost without hesitation: "Leonard is just a businessman, nothing special. He asked us to assist him, but only offered five permanent residency permits, and made us compete for them... To be honest, I'm not satisfied. If the Dragon Queen truly allows me free access to the Reflection Sea, I'm willing to serve!"

Without saying a word, the dragonman took out a piece of armor that gleamed coldly.

These are dragon scales.

He handed the dragon scale to the man in the blue turban and said, "It's a pity the god is dead, otherwise I could sign a divine contract with you. Mr. Blue Turban, this is a true dragon scale with instructions from the Dragon Queen on it. I'm giving it to you!"

The value of a true dragon's scale is not low; it can be used to create powerful magical items.

Information still remains on this piece of land given by the dragon people:

The possessor of this item may freely enter and exit the Sea of ​​Reflection.

With this text in hand, the man in the blue turban no longer hesitated and immediately nodded: "I will follow your instructions."

The dragon man smiled and nodded, looking at Aloe Vera: "And you, ma'am?"

"..."

Aloe vera, after a moment's thought.

To be honest, neither the Dragon Princess nor Leonard offered enough incentives to entice Aloe and the others. After all, the Heavenly King General granted access to the Sea of ​​Reflection with his eyes closed—what kind of perk was that?

only……

"Is the Dragon Community the one that causes adventurers' ranks to drop?"

No.

Not really. In terms of pure strength, the Dragon Community, as number 2, is actually the strongest force in the entire Ascended World. Even if they had such technology, they wouldn't use it at this time.

Rather...

“If we analyze it solely from the perspective of ‘benefit,’ General Tianwang is the most likely implementer. After all, the forces under his command now… need to be strengthened.”

It might be better to agree here.

The Hercynians are indeed a major threat, and having intelligence on the impending conflict would be beneficial to General Tianwang.

Thinking of this, Aloe immediately said, "I'm willing to contribute my meager strength... but I don't know what we should do?"

"What you need to do is very simple, it's just fighting. The important thing is that you need to finish off your opponents within three to five minutes, otherwise they will 'wake up'."

The dragon man first distributed the dragon scales to everyone, then took out a small glass bottle, opened the cap, and let everyone present smell it.

The glass bottle contained a dark green liquid with a fragrant yet pungent odor.

The smell of aloe vera makes me feel like I've swallowed wasabi; it makes my head spin.

The dragon-man carefully put away the glass bottle and said with a smile, "It has already begun... Congratulations on finally boarding the bus to a bright future."

In the distance, on the sea, a thick fog stretched out in a line, rolling in!

Just three breaths later, a thick fog swept across the island, shrouding the Hessian Walls.

The aloe vera instinctively became defensive, but nothing happened.

Meanwhile, several people lay silently on the dock, their faces showing no pain, but rather a hint of satisfaction.

Golden light flowed from their seven orifices, rising upwards and forming a hazy golden glow above their heads, about the size of three footballs.

The dragon-man, expressionless, said, "The Dragon Queen is the 'Dream Dragon,' possessing the power to put people to sleep and manipulate beautiful dreams. She can weave 'dreams' and 'reality' together, making the two closely intertwined. Now, as long as you touch the orb of light above the head of the sleeping person, you can enter the dream."

"Once you enter the dream, don't hesitate, just take action! If you kill them in the dream, they will die in reality as well."

Fan Kou was extremely surprised upon hearing this.

What kind of ability is this? I've never heard of it before!

The dragon-man didn't explain further: "Time is limited. Everyone on the island now is a master. Her Highness the Princess cannot guarantee the time she can control them. Act now! Anyone lying on the ground dreaming can be killed. Her Highness the Princess watches over every dream; she will not miss any of your merits!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately walked towards the interior of the fortress.

Sakura, Blue Headband, and the others did not hesitate. They either attacked the dock workers on the spot or followed the Dragon Man to find more valuable targets.