IMC Chapter 67

“Don’t worry. How could such a grand empire not have any ducks? They might even be magical beast ducks!” Although Shu Bao didn’t understand why the snake teammate was so obsessed with ducks, he reassured them.

Fu Qing didn’t see any problem with it, considering that roasted duck is indeed delicious, and it’s quite normal for a snake to have such an interest in ducks.

Upon learning that the empire was mobilizing all its personnel and resources, Shu Bao and his companions found themselves with some free time. To give the empire enough time to gather their resources, the three of them decided not to rush around. Instead of risking getting lost, they thought it would be better to wait until the empire had finished gathering everything before heading over directly.

Of course, considering that the enemy’s numbers were multiplying, the trio also discussed their strategy. The plan was to continue their usual tactic of raiding all their resources. Additionally, they needed to increase their own manpower—or rather, beast power.

The bracelet’s space contained so many tamed magical beasts. Over the past few days, they had also consumed quite a bit of prey caught by the dragonlings. It was time to take them out for a spin.

Moreover, Shu Bao had not been idle either. Although he didn’t know how other beast tamers in this world were taming magical beasts, he had managed to collect quite a few magical beasts through intimidation, bribery, or even beatings, thanks to the two dragonlings he had. All these beasts were stored in the bracelet’s space.

After days of looting, what was once a spacious bracelet space had become somewhat crowded, making Shu Bao feel that it was time to search for the next life-space artifact.

Since Shu Bao acquired the jade bracelet, Lan Qing often liked to enter the bracelet to interact with the other magical beasts. Although most of the beasts inside lacked intelligence and didn’t understand what Lan Qing was doing, after being patted a few times by Lan Qing’s tail, they became unusually docile in his presence.

After several days of observation and selection, Shu Bao picked a few managers from the large group of beasts. These chosen beasts were not only powerful but also understood simple commands, making them ideal for controlling other magical beasts.

So, while the empire was busy consolidating resources and manpower, Shu Bao and his group were occupied with training the magical beasts. To avoid disturbing others in the Land of Gold Sources, they specifically chose a desolate abandoned mining area. Even so, the large-scale magical beast gathering attracted some attention. However, whenever someone came to investigate, Shu Bao had already recalled the beasts into the bracelet.

Not only that but with the bracelet, the dragonlings could hide in the bracelet’s space when it was inconvenient for them to appear. Although the three dragonlings found the space too crowded and uncomfortable with a bunch of uneatable snacks, they were all well-behaved.

Thus, amid the turbulent situation in the Land of Gold Sources, countless people were trying to find the rumored Dragon Rider who had raided the empire’s resource points. After all, not only did they have a large amount of resources, but they also had three magical dragons. However, despite days of searching, no one could find them.

The empire’s pursuit of Fu Qing continued uninterrupted over the past few days. The reason for targeting Fu Qing specifically was that the mouse and snake were simply too difficult to locate.

The three companions spent their days leisurely training, visiting various taverns, sampling unique chaotic world cuisines, and investigating the peculiar creatures of the Land of Gold Sources. Their days were fulfilling and joyful.

If it weren’t for the frequent news about the empire’s actions heard in the taverns, the three might have forgotten about the situation altogether. One day, while strolling through a copper bamboo forest, they finally heard that the empire had completed its mobilization. Instantly, they abandoned their bamboo shoots and set off to collect their resources.

Sticking to their usual low-profile approach, they released the dragonlings in a deserted area and then quickly flew toward the empire’s largest resource point on their dragons.

From a great distance, the empire’s personnel had already begun to fortify the area, and various magical beasts were flying in the sky, so the three were quickly spotted.

The empire’s commander received the news and immediately set out to confront them. He was a rare practitioner of both martial and magical skills and held the highest authority in the Land of Gold Sources. Standing on a gray eagle, he gazed toward Fu Qing in the sky.

“If you return the stolen resources and willingly join the empire, I can personally write you a letter of recommendation,” the commander said after observing for a moment.

His words caused an uproar among the empire’s side. Facing a thief who had raided their resources, the empire not only refrained from pursuing but even actively sought to recruit them, which was astonishing. However, the situation became even more surprising when the man on the magical dragon coldly replied, “Sorry, but my standards for recommenders are quite high. You don’t meet the criteria for looks.”

The empire’s people: “…”

The commander: “…”

“Well, there’s no room for negotiation then. Although handling three dragons might be troublesome, don’t underestimate the empire!” The commander, embarrassed by the rejection, let his tone turn cold.

Fu Qing remained unmoved, but Lan Qing spoke up beside him, “I don’t have any requirements for looks~”

The commander glanced faintly at Lan Qing, showing no interest in the two pets reportedly carried by the masked man. He thought the comment was an attempt to mock him.

Lan Qing blinked his large eyes and, after waiting for a while with no response, felt a bit disappointed. After all, the snake was quite curious about the empire. If he joined the empire, he might learn where they kept ducks.

As time passed, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. What seemed like mere seconds of silence felt as though it had lasted for hours.

When the commander coldly issued the attack orders, the stifling silence was abruptly shattered, replaced by the sounds of battle cries and the release of magic.

In an instant, the dark night sky erupted with a multitude of colorful magical arrays, dazzling like blooming fireworks.

Fu Qing and his companions maneuvered the dragonlings to dodge the attacks, while the cubs used their dragon breath to push back the first wave of advancing swordsmen. Despite Fu Qing’s attempts to break through the empire’s defenses using Lai Fu, he was unsuccessful. The defenses included not only numerous mages, swordsmen, and magical beasts, but also many magical weapons stationed on the resource point’s walls, prepared for any incoming threats.

Magical cannons, magical crossbows, and magical towers were all set up in advance, and a magical shield enveloped the resource point to prevent the magical dragons from invading.

The empire had evidently pulled out all the stops to defend against Fu Qing and the three magical dragons. Coupled with the commander’s skillful leadership and the empire’s well-coordinated efforts, the magical dragons were unable to get close.

However, the empire was also unable to inflict any substantial damage on the dragons. The three dragons were extremely fast and flew high in the sky, making many of the ground-based attacks ineffective.

“Commander, the beast traps are ready, and the dragon nets are ready to be deployed,” someone hurriedly reported as the battle reached a stalemate.

“Excellent, bring me the dragon nets. I will capture them myself!” The commander was waiting for this moment. His goal was not only to deal with Fu Qing, who had plundered the empire’s resources but also to capture the three magical dragons!

Taking the dragon nets handed to him by his subordinate, the commander mounted the gray eagle and took it to the sky. As he ascended, the others increased their attack frequency to provide cover. Once the commander was airborne, they began to advance, despite the dangerous nature of approaching the magical dragons. Driven by the enormous temptation, wave after wave of people pressed forward.

The gray eagle, though smaller than the dragons, was by no means inferior in speed, clearly a top-tier flying beast, which was why it was the commander’s mount.

Using its speed and size advantage, the commander managed to close in on Fu Qing under the cover of numerous personnel. The next moment, he produced a long bow seemingly out of nowhere and fired three arrows at Fu Qing from close range.

Fu Qing nimbly dodged the arrows, but soon realized that the three arrows were coming back towards him!

At the same time, the commander had switched to a strange-looking weapon resembling a musket. He aimed it at Lai Fu’s direction and fired. A blue orb of light shot out rapidly, and Lai Fu folded its wings and plummeted swiftly to avoid it.

The next moment, where the blue orb had struck directly above Lai Fu, suddenly lit up. Looking up, a huge blue, net-like spherical object appeared. The sphere was so large it could envelop Lai Fu, and its shape made its function quite clear.

Undeterred by the miss, the commander quickly readied for a second attack. Lai Fu, using its speed, tried to dodge, but after several attempts, most of the sky was filled with blue orbs. The space available for Lai Fu to maneuver was rapidly diminishing.

While attacking, the commander didn’t forget to engage in psychological warfare, “Even though you have three magical dragons, they are still just hatchlings. Today, you will realize that plundering the empire’s resource points was the second worst mistake of your life. The first mistake was rejecting your only chance to survive. You have a few minutes left to regret because in a few minutes, you will stop breathing…”

“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Ugly people die from talking too much’?” Fu Qing had intended to catch the three troublesome arrows but found that they were covered in a strange, obviously poisonous substance.

The commander sneered coldly, switched back to his long bow, and fired another three arrows. This time, Fu Qing was somewhat flustered. The arrows moved fast. Even if they were deflected, they would soon readjust and continue their attack.

Just as one of the arrows found a gap in Fu Qing’s defense and was about to hit its target, a green streak suddenly appeared in the commander’s view. Upon closer inspection, it was the inconspicuous little green snake, which was now holding an arrow in its mouth!

The commander was momentarily stunned but quickly dismissed it, thinking the snake would soon succumb to the poison. He pulled out the dragon net and continued his assault.

However, there was a series of crisp, metallic sounds as six arrows were snatched out of the air by the green snake. The snake even licked the arrows with its tongue and wagged its tail cheerfully, saying, “It’s sweet! Delicious!”

Commander: ???

As he was bewildered, the masked man and the dragon did not run away but hovered in mid-air as if waiting for him. The commander felt something was off but instinctively took out the dragon net to prepare for another attack. However, the masked man pointed behind him and said, “You’d better take a look behind you before deciding whether to attack.”

Along with his words, a drop of dragon saliva fell. The commander turned his head stiffly and saw the massive silver-white magical dragon behind him.

“This can’t be!” The commander couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had been so reckless in his attack because he had entrusted his back to other forces. With such a large reserve force, the other two dragons shouldn’t have been able to attack from behind!

The commander’s gaze instinctively shifted to the back of the dragon, but all he saw was a sea of dark, monstrous figures. The commander’s mind went blank as he struggled to comprehend the scene before him.

It wasn’t just the commander who was unable to understand the situation. The mages who were tasked with restraining the other two dragons were equally baffled. They had been cooperating well, as a snake and a mouse were much easier to deal with than a single person. However, as the commander gradually moved away from the battlefield, the mouse suddenly shouted, “Children! Show yourselves!”

In the next moment, monsters began appearing out of thin air—flying in the sky and running on the ground. The massive swarm of beasts swiftly broke through their defenses, and the magical weapons on the city walls became ineffective under the siege of the enormous monster horde.

When they finally managed to regain their composure amidst the chaos, each person was surrounded by at least three or four monsters! The green snake had returned the commander’s magical arrows, and their commander was now being carried in the mouth of a dragon.

The Empire’s forces: “???” What on earth was happening?

Meanwhile, those who were originally just watching the spectacle from within the protective shield were left in an awkward position. They were now uncertain about what to do next.

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