Mr. Dragon Knight, the dragon girls are chasing you!

Luo Ye stood in front of the barrier, unwilling to give up, and pushed it again.

The dark purple light membrane remained completely still, instead rippling outwards in circles along his palm, unharmed.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and then turned to the black dragon guard behind him who was leaning against a stone pillar watching the commotion.

Salta was comfortably sprawled on the Blackstone Guardian platform, limbs outstretched, tail dangling over the edge, his amber vertical pupils half-closed, giving off a smug "I'll just watch you struggle" expression.

Seeing that Luo Ye had finally given up on struggling with the barrier, he slowly moved, lightly leaping down from the rock platform. His dragon hooves landed silently, and he strolled over to the barrier.

"Still touching it?" Salta tapped the dark purple membrane with the tip of her claw, producing a crisp, resonant sound, accompanied by a magical echo.

"His Majesty personally placed the restriction; there's no way you could push it open with your bare hands."

"...I'll give it a try."

"You've tried more than ten times, still not giving up?" Salta tilted his head, his scarred face drawing closer, his amber vertical pupils filled with smug amusement.

"Do you know what Her Majesty said to us before she went into seclusion? She summoned all the guards and went over the rules one by one—I thought she was making a mountain out of a molehill at the time."

"Do you know what her exact words were to all the guards before she left?"

He paused, cleared his throat, changed his tone, and imitated Eluvia's arrogant and fierce manner:

"If he dares to step out of the barrier, when I emerge from seclusion, I'll roast both the guards and him."

Luo Ye's lips twitched: "...That really sounds like something Eluvia would say."

"Do I look like someone who makes things up?" Salta shrugged, the movement so large that the scales on his shoulder blades rattled.

"I don't want to be put on the spot by Her Majesty the Queen. So—you'd better stay in your nest."

Luo Ye remained silent for a few seconds, examining the dark purple barrier in front of him that was shimmering with a faint light.

Salta had already turned and walked back, the tip of his tail wagging leisurely behind him, clearly not worried at all about what other tricks he might pull.

"Salta," Luo Ye suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" The black dragon turned around.

"I didn't intend to run away. I just wanted to go out and level up—no, I mean, to hunt roaming monsters in the back mountains, hone my combat skills, and improve my fighting experience."

"I only stay in the back mountains, is that alright?"

Salta blinked his amber-colored vertical pupils: "You want to go to the back mountain?"

Luo Ye shrugged, pretending to give up: "Anyway, I can't escape. Rather than getting moldy in the nest, I might as well go to the back mountain to hunt some magical beasts and practice."

Salta stared at him for a few seconds, letting out a low, ambiguous laugh, as if assessing whether the deal was worthwhile:

"The entire area behind the mountain is within the territory of Eternal Night. As long as you don't try to breach the outer barrier, I can open the gate for you. However—"

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze slowly sweeping over Luo Ye's physique, his tone undisguisedly appraising: "Are you sure you can handle going in alone? Those magical beasts have been waiting for this for ages. They've all gone wild since His Majesty went into seclusion, popping out in groups of three or five. With your puny build..."

Luo Ye raised an eyebrow and immediately retorted, "What's wrong with being small? I personally saved your Dragon King on the battlefield of the Rift Valley."

Salta was taken aback by his words, her amber vertical pupils narrowing slightly as if she wanted to find a way to refute him, but then she gave up after thinking about it.

He flicked his tail, turned and walked towards the mountain pass behind him, his dragon hooves thumping on the stone slabs.

"Alright, since you're so confident—" he said as he walked, his voice carrying a hint of anticipation, "I'll take you to open the door."

The mountain pass was hidden behind an inconspicuous rock wall. If Salta hadn't been leading the way, Luo Ye would never have noticed that there was a path hidden there.

Salta raised its front paw and gently pressed the tip of its paw into an inconspicuous indentation in the stone wall. Dark purple magic patterns spread along the indentation, and then the entire stone wall silently slid open to both sides, revealing the bright sunlight outside.

The heat wave from the forest, mixed with the dryness of the vegetation, hit us in the face.

Salta stepped aside to make way, his amber vertical pupils sweeping over the outline of the rolling mountains before turning back to Luo Ye: "Here, it's open. Remember, the entire back mountain area is within the territory's great barrier, so don't try to escape."

"I won't run away." Luo Ye flexed his wrists, his tone calm.

"If I run away now, will I have any good days left once Elvaya comes out of seclusion?"

Salta let out a low laugh: "You seem to know yourself quite well."

"Nonsense." Luo Ye stepped across the pass, his boots landing on the gravel outside. The sunlight shone down on him, making him squint.

After he took a few steps, Salta's voice came from behind, carrying a rare hint of seriousness: "Be very careful. If Her Majesty finds out that I let you out and you got eaten by a monster, she'll pluck all my scales off when she gets back."

Luo Ye waved at him without turning her head: "Don't worry, I won't die."

Without stopping, he walked straight into the dense forest deep in the valley, which was scorching hot under the blazing sun.

Salta leaned against the pass, watching the human's figure disappear into the interplay of light and shadow in the forest. He slowly swept his tail on the ground twice and muttered to himself, "...He seems pretty tough. Oh well, I'd better remind the monster lords in the back mountains to be careful."

......

The secluded valley behind the Eternal Night Dragon's Nest is the area with the highest density of magical beasts and the most frequent battles within the Black Dragon's territory.

At noon, the scorching sun high in the sky was much hotter than in the previous days, its rays harsh and blinding, pouring down on the entire valley without any shade.

In the distance, the low, violent roars of magical beasts echoed continuously from the forest, interspersed with the dull thuds of giant trees breaking and rocks crumbling. Judging from the sounds alone, at least level 30 or higher medium-sized magical beasts were fighting for territory and engaging in a bloody battle.

The activity level of the magical beasts in the forest today is far more ferocious and active than Luo Ye has ever seen before.

Luo Ye followed the stream downstream for a while and found a suitable hiding place behind a natural rock platform hidden by giant trees. He lowered his body and lay on the rough rock surface, holding his breath and focusing his attention on the iron-backed rhinoceros drinking water in the shallow mudflats ahead.

This rhinoceros was large and robust, much larger than the wild boar leader he had previously hunted. Its single horn in the center of its forehead was sharp and thick, and it looked extremely powerful in a collision.

A light blue system identification panel instantly popped up and locked onto the target: [LV28 Elite Ironback Rhinoceros, Earth Attribute Specialist, Max Armor and Resistance, Weaknesses: Lower Belly Soft Scales, Lower Jaw Carapace Seam]

It is two levels lower than the Shadow Panther that was killed before, but it is naturally equipped with heavy armor and has extremely high physical damage reduction. It is a high-level elite monster that is extremely difficult to kill quickly, but the experience points gained from killing it are very high.

The dragon power within Luo Ye's body slowly awakened in his meridians, and a dark golden light spread along the patterns on the spear shaft to the spear tip.