The chaotic battlefield finally quieted down, and the 'elemental density' in the surroundings returned to normal. Akasha drank a bottle of potion and brought back the seriously injured soldiers from the brink of death. Because of the timely rescue, the infantrymen who had just lined up and charged at Lucius all survived.
And because of the death of the Frost Dragon Wissam, the huge amount of experience that was evenly distributed caused everyone to collectively rise by five levels!
These soldiers were the scouts that had followed Rody and Sodelor to fight at the border. When they entered the forest, their average level was Level 12. Now, however, their average level had risen to Level 17. Their various attributes had increased significantly, almost to the point of doubling.
Sodelor's advanced 'ghost knight' had risen to level 5, and his base level had risen to level 15; Natha's base level had risen to level 14; Akasha's advanced level had risen to level 10, making her the highest-leveled person in the team.
And because of the 'Dragon Slayer's Mark', everyone in this team had received a permanent buff of + 30% to all attributes, + 100 to all resistances, and immunity to most mental spells. Their combat strength could be said to have been 'reborn'.
But although the harvest was bountiful, after the battle, everyone didn't feel excited, only relieved.
"To be able to survive … really wasn't easy."
Sodelor sat on a collapsed stone pillar, exhausted, and looked up at Roddy. "To be able to encounter a dragon and a mage of that level, I'll have something to brag about for the rest of my life."
He seemed to be in good spirits, but Roddy understood the hidden worry in his words. In the battle with Lucius, the team's strategy had not worked at all. If Merlinsera had not used 'Dragon Power', everyone would have been wiped out.
"That mage who escaped is not simple. He's one of the top mages on the entire continent. It's normal that we can't beat him now." Rody sat down next to Sodelor and whispered, "However, this does not mean that we will not be able to defeat him in this lifetime. Five years later, you alone will be able to kill him. Do you believe me?"
"I don't believe you." After Sodelor said this, he sighed and said, "But you even slayed a dragon, so what else can't I believe?"
His gaze turned to the Ice Dragon's corpse, his eyes filled with deep respect and awe. "This is a true giant dragon …"
Although Roddy's claim of "slaying the dragon" was largely exaggerated, he couldn't deny the fact that he had completed the "final blow". Sodelor's words reminded Roddy of what he had just done. He turned his head and found that the soldiers had all run over to look at the dragon corpse. Even Natha was standing not far away, staring at the dragon in a daze.
Roddy was indeed a little excited and proud. After all, he had accomplished something that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to think about. But his complacency was quickly suppressed. After all, he was still too weak. If the Holy Assembly sent a wizard at the level of Lucius, the current Elsen City would not be able to stop him!
"What I said just now was not a joke. Within five years, it won't be difficult for us to slay a dragon with our own abilities."
Roddy thought about the future development route. He picked up an arrow and drew two areas on the ground. "But this requires us to adjust the direction of our resources …"
"Direction? Isn't the current strategy good? "Sodelor asked, somewhat puzzled.
"At present, we are still using the common method used by the nobles … Although this method seems stable and doesn't have much risk, in fact, its speed of development can't keep up with the speed of the enemy's invasion."
Roddy paused for a moment and then asked, "How much do you think Ersa Village will help our development?"
"Very much. It can even be said that the current Paer territory and Elsen City are basically supported by the income of Ersa Village."
Sodelor's brain was very quick, and he immediately understood what Roddy meant. "You want to build more 'Ersa Villages'?"
Roddy nodded. "It's just a small, inconspicuous area, but because of its location and some special reasons, it has the same income as a large territory. The conditions for the formation of such places are too harsh, but in fact, there are many in the kingdom."
"Sounds like a gold mine."
"Yes. If we want to get more resources as soon as possible when we can't get more territory, we need to work in such places. "
"But the specialties of Ersa Village require a lot of manpower to transfer and sell them. We can do that in Eiferta, but what about other places?"
Sodelor frowned, feeling that it was not feasible.
"What's the richest group on this continent?"
Roddy suddenly changed the question.
"The royal family? The nobles? Who else is there? "
"The Pharmacist Association, the Elementalist Association, the Enchanter Association … Even the royal family has to spend a lot of money to support these 'spellcasters'."
"Herbs, enchanted ores, rare monsters, ancient recipes, and so on. They are far more valuable than wine and food, and it's easier to accumulate wealth quickly."
Sodelor knew more about the nobles, but he didn't have a deep understanding of 'mages'. However, he knew that Roddy was not one to brag, so he didn't refute and nodded. "We'll talk about it when we get back safely."
"Set up camp. An hour later, bring a squad and I to search the cave."
"No problem."
Sodelor got up to make arrangements, while Roddy came to the corpse of the Frost Dragon and looked at it. In his mind, he counted the parts that could be used. The dragon skin could be made into leather armor, and the dragon bones could be made into various tools, including shields, lances, and even dragon tooth daggers. Roddy couldn't confirm the specific uses of the dragon's blood and meat, but he was sure that they were all priceless treasures.
Even without Merlinsera fulfilling his wish, this harvest was still amazing. However, after everything calmed down, the lingering depression in his heart made him feel a little depressed again …
An hour later, Roddy entered the protected cave with the crystals that Merlinsera had given him. To his surprise, there were more than 700 crystals full of energy, which meant that the 'mission' of collecting crystals had been completed.
The engineering team arrived in the evening, and Roddy had everyone set up camp in preparation for the return journey the next day.
After nightfall, Roddy asked about Natha's abdomen injury, and after confirming that she was fine, he returned to his tent to rest. But until now, Akasha still hadn't hugged his bed to sleep like she usually did.
For some reason, Roddy suddenly felt empty in his heart.
Before the battle with Lucius, Akasha's hug had left him in a trance for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he didn't seem to have any feelings of resistance. But it seemed that because of that hug, Akasha was so shy that she didn't dare to speak to him until now …
In this regard, Roddy didn't know what to say.
In his opinion, although Akasha's level was the highest, she was completely different from Sally … She had never thought about being 'independent' and would only silently endure many things. Only when she couldn't bear it anymore would she ask for help from others.
Would she not dare to come over alone because she was afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep the whole night?
With these thoughts in mind, Roddy became increasingly worried. But after hesitating for a long time, he was afraid that he was thinking too much. Until midnight, he finally couldn't feel at ease. He got up and went to Akasha's tent. Looking at the shadow reflected by the light from the ring, he was somewhat glad for his decision and said, "I'll sleep outside. You should rest early."
The light in the tent flickered, but there was no response. Roddy didn't think much and walked to the campfire to tidy up the bed. Before he sat down, he heard Akasha walk out of the tent and come behind him …
"I … was afraid that you wouldn't be able to sleep, so I'll just sleep here." Roddy didn't look back. "You've worked hard in today's battle. The team will leave soon. In the future, we — uh …"
Before Roddy could finish speaking, he found himself hugged by Akasha from behind again.
He turned his head, and his breath was filled with Akasha's faint body fragrance. Her hot cheeks were pressed against his back, and their posture was exactly the same as when they were in front of the Fortress.
There was a strange feeling in his heart again. Roddy blinked his eyes and didn't move much. He just continued to say what he didn't finish just now, "In the future, we … won't come to such a place again."
"En."
Akasha's answer was full of satisfaction. She took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm sorry, I was … but I really couldn't control myself …"
"I-I know it's not appropriate, but I … couldn't help it."
Roddy didn't struggle or push her hand away, but asked softly, "Why?"
"I'm stupid, I'm cowardly, I'm a heathen … But you took me in and treated me so well … You're too good to me. Since I was born, no one has ever treated me like this …"
"I know this will make you worried, but … I thought that you already know what I think, so, so I want to say …"
Akasha's hands slightly tightened, trying hard to stop her voice from trembling —
"I like you."
I like you.
It was just a simple sentence, but it touched Roddy's heart — because Akasha didn't put herself on the same level as him at all. She kept apologizing and hesitating. There was no desire to respond to Roddy in her words, but only self-blame and anxiety …
She was so careful, but the more careful she was, the more distressed Roddy felt.
There seemed to be countless emotions surging in his heart — Since they parted in the "Holy Temple", Roddy had suffered an unprecedented emotional trauma. He thought that he would be with Naifei until the end, but he didn't expect that when they met again, they would not be fated to be together.
And the break with Sally pushed everything that had been maintained to the abyss.
He thought that he would grasp everything, but he didn't expect to lose everything in the end.
Akasha's fingers trembled slightly. Roddy's few seconds of silence made her more nervous, but then he slowly sighed and said softly, "Thank you, Akasha."
He had a lot of words to say, but the moment he opened his mouth, he only said a word of thanks.
Akasha's confession made him suddenly understand that the past couldn't be reversed, the future couldn't be predicted, the only thing he could grasp was the "present."
Those feelings of entanglement, loss, and helplessness, after all, were just the traces left by the old days, immersed in it would only make him feel more confused and at a loss.
So he sighed softly, and finally decided to bid farewell to the burden of the old days, and calmly took the real "first step" in his relationship …
He slowly turned around, looked at the timid Akasha, stretched out his hand, and gently held her slightly cold palm.
[After thinking for a long time and changing for a long time, this chapter may be a bit abrupt, but it is something that I insisted on writing — many things go against the plan. We originally thought that we could grasp everything, but in the end, we lost everything. Roddy is changing, and this kind of change is called "growth" by people. He made a choice that he had never made, and took a step that he had never taken. For his behavior, some people agree with it, and some people don't, but this is normal. It's just like life, when looking back on the past, people often regret a certain choice, but sometimes they are glad that they have come this far. This is how people live in contradictions, and move forward alone in contradictions. Even if this is just a fantasy novel, I also want to write something that seems cruel.]
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