# Chapter 27: Look, What Have We Found?
Of course, future adventures would naturally be very interesting and worth looking forward to, but for now, Joshua still had some important matters to attend to.
After discussing certain details regarding the space-time distortion point with Israel and Nostradamus, the group left the Fairyland together and returned to the center of Morlai Palace.
During this time, some small fairies flew over to bid farewell. They came bearing the will of the four Fairy Empresses, congratulating Nostradamus and Joshua on becoming newly ascended Legendary-rank experts. The fairies were actually quite familiar with the current situation on the continent, but because the Earth Element Fairy Queen had been severely injured by the Magic Tide, and the other three also had injuries of varying degrees, they had cut off external communication during that period and hadn't had time to send envoys to the Northern Lands.
After Nostradamus advanced to Legendary-rank, there wasn't anything urgent he needed to do. However, before going to his residence to consolidate his strength, the old mage needed to reorganize the magic arrays around the Imperial Capital—because his advancement to Legendary-rank had torn through space-time as he emerged from the Void Observatory, the space-time anchoring arrays over the entire Imperial Capital had been severely damaged as a result. This was the side effect of his spectacular entrance.
As for Israel, he needed to deal with some household matters. The Emperor's household affairs were essentially government affairs. After being away from the Imperial Capital for several months, undercurrents had begun stirring again, with numerous nobles and major powers growing restless. Beyond that, a great deal of important business awaited his attention. His Majesty the Emperor likely wouldn't have time for anything else throughout the entire Spring Festival.
As for Joshua.
"Let's go, Ying, Number 3. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Hoisting Ying, who had been waiting in the great hall, onto his shoulder, Joshua took Number 3's hand beside him and controlled his strength to lift her slightly, lest she trample the carpets, floors, or anything else in Morlai Palace. "Let's go explore this festival."
"Okay, Master!" This was Ying's cheerful response.
"Too slow, Joshua." This was Number 3's complaint. "Where did you go?"
Even as she said this, she obediently held the warrior's hand.
The shopping process was somewhat uneventful. After all, no one would be foolish enough to flirt with a Legendary warrior's companions, and there was absolutely no chance of some brain-addled noble trying to provoke the Count of the North. In fact, family members of the Feltao and Suwode families, who bore grudges against Joshua, had already fully withdrawn the moment the warrior entered the Imperial Capital, leaving only a few peripheral members to gather information.
Moreover, Joshua was currently using a secret technique to conceal his presence, so ordinary people couldn't notice his existence. Of course, the price was that passersby would inexplicably feel a sense of palpitation and chill. Many muttered about whether ghosts were lurking nearby. And although most people had heard of the legendary warrior Count Radcliffe, they didn't actually know what Joshua looked like. So when Ying and Number 3 wanted to buy something and the warrior paid, the shop owners or guild cashiers would only be startled by the "suddenly appearing" warrior and his companions, without any other reaction.
On the commercial street of Empress Avenue, Joshua unexpectedly spotted Brandon and Verdani in the VIP area of the Frost Diamond Guild. Brandon seemed to be enthusiastically discussing topics about the current situation and how Empress Edna had miscalculated today, while the purple-haired countess responded with disinterested "ohs" before softly asking in return why the swordsman was paying attention to other noble ladies and Empress Edna.
This was indeed a good question—even after experiencing thousands of battles and advancing to Ultimate-rank, Brandon couldn't answer it. He could answer truthfully, saying that as the heir of the Kaos Family, he naturally needed to pay attention to the Imperial Capital's situation, but going home after saying that would definitely not end well.
Thus, not long after, when Joshua saw these two again at another luxury goods guild, he noticed that Verdani's neck now bore an exquisite necklace made of [Eran Crystal]. This precious crystal, rumored to come from deep underground, was worth ten times its weight in Adamantite due to its terrifying mana capacity. It seemed Brandon had bled heavily.
Watch your words, my friend. The warrior shook his head with some emotion, but he could tell that the blonde swordsman was also very happy.
"What are you looking at, Joshua?"
Hearing the voice, the warrior looked down to his side. Number 3 wasn't actually paying attention to Joshua's movements; she was probably just asking casually, because the Artificial Intelligence Girl's gaze was sweeping over the large display of crystal ores before her.
This was the exhibition area of the Cangyan Guild from the Wind-Eroded Sand Plains, the largest luxury goods trading company in the southeastern region of the Empire. Before Joshua and the other two was the amethyst raw ore they were exhibiting today. Amethyst was a natural mana-storing gem second only to Eran Crystal and a few other scarce ores, commonly used for inscribing runes and as foundations for large-scale magic arrays.
Come to think of it, Number 3's main body seemed to be a large piece of rune crystal?
Thinking of this, how could Joshua not understand the Artificial Intelligence Girl's thoughts? So he waved his hand: "Buy it."
And while the warrior was shopping extravagantly in the Imperial Capital.
In the Northern Lands, deep within the Great Aias Mountains.
The noonday sunlight slanted through rolling clouds, shining upon the earth that had just thawed from ice and snow. It cast a dazzling golden halo over the emerald forests within the mountains, officially announcing the arrival of spring.
The slumbering Great Aias Volcano rumbled deep within with the sound of molten lava, while along the surface's uneven ridges and gullies, vast stretches of Black Forest could be seen thriving on the fertile volcanic ash. As the remnants of the will left behind by the [Plenty Evil God] after its death, the Black Forests scattered across the continent possessed a vitality different from normal life. This vitality bred countless magical beasts—monsters that threatened the lives of people in the Northern territories, and also targets that countless adventurers came from afar to hunt, because many of these magical beasts born from volcanoes and extreme cold were very rare and of great value.
But no matter how great the value, it couldn't compare to one type of creature.
That was dragons.
Astral Dragons, Primordial Realm Dragons—no matter what kind of dragon, their very existence meant gold and glory. A single dragon-blooded wyrm yielded numerous treasures to be excavated: highly acidic venomous blood purchased at high prices by alchemists, tough yet lightweight leather sought after by rangers, not to mention claws and fangs used to grind daggers and short blades. The achievement of slaying a wyrm was enough to earn knighthood or even a barony in some countries.
If merely a wyrm held such value, then Astral Dragons and high-rank Primordial Realm Dragons, whose every bit of flesh and blood was worth its weight in gold, were beyond compare. It seemed no creature could surpass them in pure value. An Ultimate-rank Star Crown Dragon's head was needed for a certain dragon-blooded warhorse to awaken its bloodline and advance.
"Wait!" Thinking of this, the Mind Controller couldn't help but frown. He pushed his companion's shoulder beside him and asked suspiciously, "Baniel, you old man—could it be that you've mistaken the scent of Count Radcliffe's black dragon with ancient dragon blood for an actual ancient dragon? If that's the case, you really should retire and go be a mentor at the Sky-Piercing White Tower."
"Nonsense! You're not much younger than me! And how could I possibly make such a mistake? The scent mixed with other dragon blood and pure ancient dragon aura are worlds apart!"
The neatly dressed old man immediately bristled with indignation. The two were old acquaintances who didn't need to maintain the dignity and reserve of Legendary-rank experts—after knowing each other for so many years, who was afraid of whom? But he also frowned: "But you're right. Part of the strong ancient dragon aura in the Northern Lands could very well be spread by that black dragon mount on a daily basis. Its scent wouldn't be confused with a real ancient dragon, but it should still have affected our judgment. For instance, there are some key places we can't track, which is likely the misdirection it caused."
"Then let's conduct another wide-area search. This time, let's completely block out the scent of that black dragon and its master... no, let's block out the entire aura originating from Moldavia."
Saying this, Baniel and William closed their eyes simultaneously. Dense, intricate runic arrays appeared before both of them—the [Ancient Dragon-Specific Detection Array] they had spent years perfecting. In an instant, the mental energy of the two Legendary spellcasters swept through the entire Northern Lands via this array, causing all beings above Gold-rank—both human and magical beast—to feel a faint sense of unease.
After a long moment, the two Legendary experts reopened their eyes, their expressions turning strange.
And at the Northern border, the Greater Demon Raldan As, who had just infiltrated from the direction of the Western Mountains, had just crossed the Northern border line.
He had no idea.
What was waiting for him.