Silver Dragons are spawning in this dungeon!

"I'm not afraid."

"Coming right away!"

Inside the dragon's nest, Novi rose from the silver branches woven into the nest.

Their nest was already built, and it was very comfortable to lie on; the silver branches were soft yet strong.

It is also adorned with star-like gold accents, making it look very beautiful overall, like a work of art.

It smells wonderful, with a fragrance reminiscent of osmanthus, but not overpowering.

After setting up their little nest, Shiloh prepared to take Novi to train.

But Novi looked unwilling and lay sprawled in her nest, not wanting to move.

Hilo had no choice but to use reverse psychology on her, saying he would give Novi one of his arms.

Hearing what Shiro said, Novi got up and followed Shiro to the arena.

This time, Elder Yue wasn't leading the way, so there wasn't a private battleground like before.

In addition, you have to pay gold coins, although it's only one coin per player, one coin per player, which is used to activate the field's protective shield.

However, watching the match also costs two gold coins: one for the arena and one for the winner of the fight.

The arena is the public property of the Silver Dragon Clan, so some of the gold in the Silver Dragon Treasury comes from such places. Of course, this is only a small part; the majority comes from the taxes collected by various cities.

The administrator is a robust silver dragon, still a long way from being legendary.

Hilo handed two gold coins to the middle-aged silver dragon.

"Hiro and Novi, it's nice to meet you. My name is Syl."

Syl smiled and handed them a silver cube.

"This is the key to activate the protective shield. Remember to activate it! Have fun!"

Hilo took the silver cube, which was marked with 99.

It must be the venue number, so Hilo and Novi looked at the sign and searched for Arena 99.

As soon as Hilo and Novi left the arena's hall, Syl pulled out three communication stones.

Three communication stones are activated simultaneously: Latest intelligence, battle against alien silver dragons, come quickly!

The news spread rapidly, from one dragon to three, and from three to… many sleeping dragons came running over.

As soon as Hilo and Novi stepped into the arena, they saw that there were already more than ten giant dragons in the stands.

These dragons arrived even faster than them, since it was their first time here and they needed to find a place, while these dragons knew the place like the back of their hand.

Hilo and Novi didn't interfere, after all, it wasn't anything shameful.

Hilo's own talent wouldn't be noticed as long as he didn't devour magical items in front of other dragons, while Novi's talent, as long as one isn't blind, would be known to be related to those eyes from the stars.

Hilo and Novi stood on either side, assuming a fighting stance, their bodies slightly leaning forward.

……

Looking out the window, Gruber saw that the supply station was quite small, and they could only check one vehicle at a time. It would be a long time before it was their turn.

When Thorin heard the young man say he was scared, he tapped the steering wheel with his pipe and plucked out the bits of tobacco.

"Okay, okay, just don't be afraid later."

Sorin had run this supply line many times and was very familiar with the performance of this type of steam locomotive.

He sensed something was wrong during the bumpy ride and when they passed through muddy areas.

It's too light. This vehicle is carrying too little cargo. The tire tracks are too shallow, and the same goes for the vehicles in front of it.

He had only witnessed this situation once before, and that was when one of the guards who had worked with him for a long time died.

Their convoy was bait; the Empire wouldn't send an empty car to the front lines, so this was the only possibility.

"Why would I be afraid!"

Although the sweat on Gruber's hands betrayed him, he still didn't realize what old Thorin truly meant.

"Remember to ignore the car and just run, get as far away from it as possible."

Old Thorin put the empty pipe in his mouth and said with a solemn expression.

Supply depots are the best places for ambushes. After leaving this last supply depot, you'll head straight for Blackrock Fortress without stopping along the way.

Given the mobility of these vehicles in the wilderness, it would be difficult for the people of the Casa Empire to catch up with them as they scattered and fled, leaving at most a dozen or so vehicles behind.

At this point, all vehicles are turned off and awaiting inspection. Starting them will take a considerable amount of time, so this is roughly the time.

"what?"

Gruber was completely bewildered and made a surprised sound, having no idea what old Thorin was talking about.

Thorin didn't explain. He took the new tobacco from the pocket of his work jacket, then took a bottle of whiskey from the toolbox under the cockpit seat and poured some on the tobacco.

He then stuffed the whiskey-soaked tobacco into the pipe, ignoring Gruber's confusion, lit the tobacco with a flint, and took a deep drag.

He didn't want to explain, fearing that this hothead would run out and tell the other dwarves that if the caravan ran around recklessly and disrupted the empire's plans, none of them would be able to escape, and everyone's head and body would be separated.

When Gruber saw that old Thorin didn't continue speaking, he assumed that Thorin was getting senile and was starting to talk nonsense after only a little bit of drinking while driving.

He turned his head to look out the window. The sky was gloomy, and black scavenging creatures flew across the sky, heading towards Blackrock Fortress.

In the corner of his vision, something green flashed by, and Gruber thought he was seeing things.

Upon closer inspection, there really was a thing that looked like a tin can man, rapidly approaching from the side and rear of the convoy. To the dwarf's height, that thing looked like a small mountain.

The full-body armor was dark green and decorated with many flame patterns.

He abruptly turned his head to look at old Sorin in the cockpit.

"Bang!"

The only response he received was the sound of the car door slamming shut; old Thorin had already escaped from the car.

This steam locomotive is great in every way, except that it starts up too slowly. It takes time for the water to heat up and requires preheating.

Remembering what old Thorin had said, he hurriedly opened the car door and chased after the direction old Thorin had fled.

Gruber finally realized that they had been ambushed, and the attackers were none other than the humans from the Casa Empire!

Although I don't know how old Thorin found out in advance, it's definitely the right thing to do to escape with him now.

The humanoid figure clad in heavy armor was almost inhuman, standing nearly three meters tall and running incredibly fast. Just moments ago it had looked like a tiny grain of rice, but now it was less than two kilometers away from the convoy.

And there was more than one. Although Gruber didn't have time to count them, he saw more than a dozen just from the corner of his eye.

He had seen that thing in textbooks; it was one of the strongest war machines of the Casa Empire, the strongest of all organized units.

Rune-Modified Warrior!

This is achieved by branding an ancient rune—rune—that was unearthed from ancient ruins.

The warrior's basic physique and physical endurance are enhanced by runes, and then they undergo nineteen biochemical modification rituals before finally donning rune-encased heavy armor.