[Vol. 7] Chapter 78: The Little Dragon Girl’s Big Adventure!
After Lilya won the throne and expanded her once-young and inexperienced Shadow Guards into the now formidable warrior, the organization changed significantly.
Gone were the days when the young queen struggled to gather enough elite bodyguards, when she had to scrape together resources just to arm a few hundred personal guards, and when she couldn’t even recruit a single legendary-tier warrior, relying instead on favors from close allies like [Scarlet Flame] Flora.
Even now, as the ruler of the Human United Kingdom, one of the top five nations on the continent, legendary-tier powerhouses were still incredibly rare. They weren’t something that could simply be recruited or trained at will, let alone trusted enough to become the core of the Shadow Guards and serve as the queen’s personal Shadow Guard.
The girl before Violet didn’t seem much older than twenty. Since she came from the Human United Kingdom, she likely didn’t have some strange, powerful bloodline. Violet had never seen her back when Lilya was still a princess, meaning she must have been trained and nurtured over the past few years, one of the queen’s most trusted personal aides.
To reach legendary rank at such a young age, purely as a human, was an astonishing achievement. In fact, this [Shadow] might even surpass the Three Legends of the Fortress of Valor in sheer talent. The fact that Lilya not only found but managed to recruit her was truly impressive.
Lost in thought, the priestess glanced at the blue-gray-haired girl who had remained kneeling with her head bowed, motionless, since their conversation began. Her tight-fitting Shadow Guard uniform, designed for agility and stealth, clung to her very well-developed figure, perhaps a bit too well. While slightly distracting, it also reinforced the impression of a highly skilled and reliable warrior.
Since Lilya had gone through all this trouble to send such a valuable helper, Violet decided she might as well make full use of her strength.
"[Shadow]... Right? You came at just the right time."
Violet looked at the kneeling woman, then asked, "How many Shadow Guards are currently stationed in Layla City? If I ask for your help in investigating some things here, will it disrupt your organization’s operations?"
Without lifting her head, the Shadow Guard answered concisely, "Layla City is one of the highest-priority targets for our intelligence network. The branch has been established for two years and three months. Currently, there are 27 core members in the city, with an additional 1,009 peripheral and sleeper agents. Outside of the core, none of them are connected to each other or have significant knowledge of the organization. They can be severed at any time without compromising operations. Please rest assured, Lady Violet."
Violet raised an eyebrow. "So Lilya started infiltrating this place that early, huh… That woman… Always meddling in other countries' affairs, she won't learn until she faces the consequences later… Well, whatever."
After a brief pause, she pulled out a pen and paper, quickly jotting down a few names before handing the list to [Shadow].
"Look into these people, especially any unusual activity from them recently, social interactions, strange movements, that sort of thing. Also, I want any traces or clues related to the [Church of Truth]. But be discreet. No unnecessary alerts. Can you handle it?"
Shadow glanced at the neat handwriting on the page, then gave a small nod, her expression unchanged. "Understood. Any other instructions?"
"No, that’s all… Oh, right, I might be out of town for a while. You—"
"Please do not worry, Lady Violet. As long as you do not deliberately evade me, I can be by your side whenever necessary."
With that reassuring promise, [Shadow]’s form seemed to melt into the darkness, dissolving completely into the surrounding shadows until she was gone.
Violet hummed in amusement. "Hiding and moving through shadows, huh? That’s both convenient and fitting for her title. Hehe, with such a reliable assistant around, I can afford to take it easy and just sit back while I wait for results."
She stretched lazily and muttered to herself, "At this rate, it feels like there’s hardly anything left for me to do anymore~"
The black-haired girl shook her head with a smile and walked out of the alley, talking to herself.
Only after she left did the shadows of the night slowly stir, swallowing everything behind her, as if no one had ever been there.
………………………………
Xiao Guang had confirmed one thing.
This interesting group of "ants" was probably even larger than she had imagined.
This was the little dragon girl's first time experiencing the entire process of how 'poachers' smuggled and sold young creatures.
Before this, everything she knew about this kind of trade had only come from books and Violet’s travel stories. While those stories were fascinating, experiencing it firsthand was a completely different feeling.
For the past three days, she had stayed hidden inside the cart shed, careful not to alert the 'ants'. Even so, she had used some small tricks to observe the changing scenery outside and listen to all kinds of voices.
She wasn't the only one being trafficked in this convoy. Those large wine barrels that seemed to be filled with alcohol? More than half were actually empty.
Instead of wine, they contained unconscious young creatures, just like her, from all sorts of species.
Xiao Guang had already checked them one by one, carefully prying open the lids in secret.
Only creatures small enough could be hidden inside these barrels, which were barely a meter tall. The people outside must have forced them to drink some kind of potion. One that kept them asleep for a long time, suppressing their bodily functions to the absolute minimum. No need for food or water, no waste produced, just like hibernation. It made transportation extremely convenient.
According to what she had learned from books and from Violet, a smuggling convoy like this should have been caught at the gates of Layla City. The guards should have discovered the stolen young creatures.
But strangely enough, they passed through without a single inspection.
It seemed like there were accomplices among the city guards as well.
This might have something to do with the "appointed time" that the so-called bishop had mentioned.
Because they were in a hurry, those strange robed figures didn't have time to inspect or deal with Xiao Guang, their "unexpected catch," until after they left the city. Once outside, they attempted to put her into "hibernation" just like the others. This time, by injecting the drug directly into her body.
At that moment, Xiao Guang almost gave in to her instincts and crushed those lowly ants for daring to offend a superior being. But she remembered her master's teachings and managed to suppress the violent urge.
After thinking it over calmly, she decided to play along and see what kind of place this so-called "headquarters" really was.
She didn't know much about the magic drug they were using, but judging from what she'd seen so far, her body had an extremely high resistance to abnormal conditions. It should be enough to counteract the effects to some degree, preventing her from completely losing consciousness.
Compared to her master, Xiao Guang was still very weak, having only been born recently. But compared to most lower beings, she was overwhelmingly powerful. So far, she had never sensed any real danger from anyone, aside from her master.
And that was exactly why she dared to take this "adventure" in the first place.
But that didn’t mean she would be reckless or arrogant.
She deliberately lowered her dragon-scale defense, allowing the pathetically weak needle to pierce her skin. Staying alert, she carefully observed the drug’s effects inside her body, ready to react at any moment. If something felt off, she would burn everyone outside to ashes immediately to ensure her safety.
But… how should she put it?
Maybe because she was still young and naturally needed a lot of sleep to aid her growth, the drug did briefly trigger her body’s instincts, making her feel a little drowsy.
But before the drowsiness could take hold, another force within her, something she didn’t fully understand, wiped it out completely.
It was like poison being evaporated by a dragon's breath.
By the time Xiao Guang realized what had happened, there wasn’t even a trace of it left.