I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

Together, the armor and the shield make up a rare treasure.

“The ancient technology of Pittram.”

The man did not respond, but exhaled a thunderous breath.

Bai Zhou squinted and nodded in satisfaction.

"As long as the person you found isn't useless."

"Let's go, boss. I've already inquired."

Jaden picked up his gear, an unassuming box that might contain his bodily necessities.

“There’s a convoy nearby. I know their leader. I can borrow a car from them to leave here.”

"Is that so?"

No further questions were asked during the day.

In this chaotic world of mercenaries, many things require careful consideration.

For example, why would someone go to borrow a car and find a high vantage point before entering the building and be fully armed?

"Watch closely, boss, this is my fiery purity!"

Jaden picked up the box, snapped it open, and a strange set of armor covered his upper body and arms.

"call--"

The taciturn Rams picked up a shield as tall as daylight and aimed it at Jetton.

Complex patterns appeared on the shield; those were his Originium Arts.

The armor in Zetton's hands was glowing red, and the high temperature distorted the air around him.

"A fireball of one trillion degrees Celsius is enough to melt everything!"

A ray of "light" shot out from the armor on his palm, and the ear-piercing explosion could be heard in the air during the day.

The beam of "light" struck Rams's heavy shield, then refracted and shot into the mercenary group's camp.

The towering heatwave and raging fire covered everything within a hundred meters.

"Phew, boss, how is it? Not bad, right?"

Jaden removed the arm armor damaged by the high temperature and proudly showed it off to Bai Zhou. This technology was a treasure he had spent decades developing.

"Its power is quite good."

In the daylight, he looked at the camp, now completely charred. This level of power was comparable to some of the ancient Originium Arts of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Indeed, one cannot be narrow-minded and think that the Great Yan Dynasty is invincible.

But where is the car?

"..."

Upon hearing this, Jetton silently looked into the camp.

Forget about the car, there wasn't even a single living sandworm inside; they were all charred in the explosion.

"Haha, at least we won't have to worry about running out of charcoal when we set up camp in the future."

The boasting was successful, but not entirely.

"Let's go see if there are any surviving cars."

He walked to the edge of the highlands during the day, spread his arms, and leaped down.

"Me? Boss!"

Jaden ran to the edge of the high ground and looked down, then swore again.

"It can even fly! That's amazing!"

By studying the body structure of the birds he hunted, Tian Sha learned how to construct wings that could carry people into flight.

By the time they reached Jetton, daylight had already covered half the distance.

On the way back to the fourth

"Fortunately, there is one surviving car here."

Jaden patted a steam tractor that had been in service for who knows how long, weathered and covered in scratches and dents, feeling fortunate.

This lucky little guy was far away and escaped the tragic fate of being turned into charcoal.

"This thing..."

Bai Zhou glanced at the small car with only two seats, one in the front and one in the back, and then at the two-meter-tall, burly man, Rams.

"No problem, boss."

Jaden hooked his arm around Rams's waist-thick arm and gave Daylight a thumbs-up.

"Just drag this big guy around on the board."

"Ah."

Although there were some concerns about whether the beat-up car could carry three people, there were no other mercenary camps nearby, and finding a new car on short notice wouldn't be easy.

"I hope we can hold out until we reach the next town."

During the day, Bai Zhou sat in the back seat, watching Jaden struggle to start the engine, and heard the sour sound of heavy objects pressing against the wooden board. He silently lowered his head and started playing rock-paper-scissors with Tian Sha.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

I had a lot of fun playing the mercenary role-playing game in Kazdel during the day.

The Great Yan Dynasty is currently experiencing various chaotic events caused by the death of the previous emperor and the ascension of the new emperor.

The sudden death of the true dragon has stirred up many forces that have been operating in the shadows of this country.

But these insects in the darkness can't cause much trouble; two months is enough for the Crimson Dragon to crush and annihilate them.

What's more worrying, and even worse, is the chaos that has begun to erupt among those extraordinary beings since the departure of the true dragon.

"..."

The painter, dressed in blue robes and holding an umbrella, slowly stepped into the city.

After a month and a half, she finally crossed most of the Great Yan and returned to the capital from the southeast corner.

“Ah Xi…”

She didn't believe the dragon had truly left.

She hoped that once she reached the palace, she would see a living, breathing dragon.

She hoped it was all a scam, a scam to lure her in.

"Eleven, without the order of the true dragon, we should not have gathered here."

In order to find the answer, the artist sought out an older brother.

"He's not dead, I know."

After seeing the other person's expression, the artist knew the answer in his heart.

Through years of getting to know each other, we can guess what each of us is thinking with just a glance or a change in expression.

Upon hearing his sister's words, the elder brother simply smiled.

What did he go to do?

Ah Xi is not in the capital.

"It cannot be spoken of, nor should it be spoken of."

"We can't tell... can't even we know? We're brothers and sisters."

The artist's brow furrowed even more.

“But he is the monarch I serve, eleven.”

The elder brother raised his head and looked up at the sky.

The sun shines brightly there, illuminating the entire world.

“Even if he is no longer a true dragon, I will keep this secret for him out of both reason and duty. Besides, this is only temporary.”

"Temporary?"

Xi looked towards the imperial city behind him, where a new true dragon sat.

Ah Xi, will you come back?

Yes, temporarily.

The older brother looked at his younger sister and seemed to have thought of something.

"but……"

"but?"

"Why are the stars born? And why are they eternally fixed in the heavens? These are the answers you should seek."

Looking at her brother, who had started to solve riddles, Xi wanted nothing more than to give him a good beating.

But no, she can't beat him.

"Please speak like a normal person. Have you been an official for so long that you've forgotten how to use slang?"

"I've already told you the secret."

The elder brother checked the time and prepared to leave.

They cannot spend too much time together in private, especially in the capital, under the very nose of the Emperor.

"..."

Stars...

The painter looked up at the bright sun.

Stars...eternity...