Chapter 5: Ancient Dragon Blood
Given Joshua's personality, there was naturally no room for cumbersome reception procedures. Since the thought of meeting these old friends had arisen in his heart, he simply went ahead and did it.
So when Faina, at the entrance of the Northern Empire exploration base, wrapped her arms around Hill's head from behind, lifting him off the ground while interrogating him about his intentions, she never expected Joshua to appear so directly and decisively before them.
"Long time no see."
Joshua walked out of the base gates with Ying and Lin. The sun of the Fairyland, manifested by the Fire Element Fairy Empress, was setting, and the twilight had become a thin golden line on the horizon. But clearly, the most eye-catching sight at this moment was not the Fairyland sunset, but the pair of stunned elf and dragon before him. The warrior glanced at their current posture and nodded in commentary: "You two still have such a good relationship."
At this moment, half of Hill's head was buried in Faina's chest, and due to the height difference, he was left dangling in midair, threatened by the Sea Dragon lady.
Hearing Joshua's words, the two who had frozen snapped back to reality. Faina stiffly released her grip on Hill, while the black-haired elf, now on the ground, calmly adjusted his clothes, then bowed to Joshua with a highly formal gesture, showing respect for a Legendary expert. At the same time, he spoke: "Lord of Moldavia, Guardian of the Northern Lands, Dragon Slayer, Blessed of the Seven Gods... please accept the greetings of Hill·Lange of the Sea Dragon Knight Order..."
"Stop."
Joshua raised his hand, using his gaze to halt Hill's recitation of titles like a menu, but he reluctantly accepted the salute. His brow furrowed as he said succinctly: "Where did all these come from? I don't remember having so many titles."
"Lord Count."
Hill, who had been stopped, straightened up and chuckled lightly, showing no embarrassment as he said easily: "Powerful people always have many titles. For example, Lord Barbarossa of the Sky-Piercing White Tower has titles like 'Element Master,' 'Land Raiser,' 'Enemy of the Fishmen,' and 'Protector of Forty-Two Nations.' These are used in official written documents. If you don't want to be called 'That Lord,' you need these titles."
In truth, Joshua simply didn't care. Not to mention his inherent title as Lord of Moldavia, he had practically become the leader of the Northern nobles ever since he broke the Black Tide years ago, helped Moldova clear the Chaos monsters from the Black Forest, and closed the Space-Time Gate. Being called Guardian of the Northern Lands was only natural. As for Dragon Slayer, there was no need to elaborate—the dragons he had killed could probably be counted by the dozen. The title Blessed of the Seven Gods was an honorific granted by the Church of the Seven Gods to those who had made great contributions, requiring the gods' approval to bestow. Given Joshua's achievements in the battle at the Holy Mountain, this title was well-deserved, especially since he had personally spoken with Xing Zheng, one of the Seven Gods.
As for other titles, there were too many scattered ones. For instance, Great Aias Pioneer, Lord of the Northern Dwarves, Dragon Tamer, and Master of Winterfell Academy came from developing the Great Aias Mountains, the dwarves' appellation, sheltering the Ultimate Blue Dragon, training the Dragon Knight Order, and founding Winterfell Academy. Regardless, Joshua had become someone whose titles could fill half a page of parchment.
"It would be better to just call me Joshua, like before."
After hearing Hill's explanation, the warrior shook his head, but he knew it was unlikely. After all, when one reached this level of power, others couldn't treat them casually. He didn't mind, but others respected his strength as a fact. Hill using this kind of talk to lighten the mood and ease the awkwardness of an unexpected visit after a long time apart showed high emotional intelligence. Thinking this, Joshua smiled: "Alright, so what's the matter that made you want to see me suddenly?"
As he spoke, he looked up at Faina standing beside Hill and greeted her: "Long time no see, Sea Dragon lady. How have you been since the battle at the Abyss of Anos?"
Faina, no longer embarrassed, responded generously to Joshua's greeting. After all, she was a Sea Sword Dragon who had lived for nearly two hundred years—she had that much composure. After the formalities were done, the conversation turned to why Hill had come to visit Joshua.
"It's like this. Soon, Faina and I will sign a contract and become... ouch."
When Hill started speaking, his face was bright and cheerful, giving a refreshing impression. But halfway through, without warning, he wrapped his arm around Faina's waist, pulling the caught-off-guard Sea Dragon lady close in an intimate gesture. Because of this, before he could finish, the flustered and furious Faina twisted the back of this elf Druid's neck hard, making Hill unable to continue.
"Alright, alright, don't say it. I understand."
Joshua felt he couldn't watch anymore either. He knew exactly what Hill was going to say—he could see the vibrations in the other's throat and vocal cords clearly—so the warrior waved his hand for the two to shut up. Additionally, he shot a glare at Ying and Lin, who were whispering nearby: "Is this what the books call showing off love?" "It's dog food." Joshua felt helpless: "What books have these two been reading lately?"
At this point, there was no need to hide anything. Soon, Hill revealed to Joshua and the others that he would marry Faina next summer.
This wasn't surprising. In fact, aside from the earliest generation of original Dragon Knights who bound themselves with contracts to fight common enemies, the relationship between most Dragon Knights and their dragons was extremely close. If they were of opposite sexes, marriage was not unusual. After all, to build tacit understanding, Dragon Knights and dragons usually ate and slept together, living their lives side by side. Not to mention other Dragon Knight Orders, just taking the Sea Dragon Knight Order as an example, there had been three similar cases in the last fifty years.
"Then let me offer my congratulations first."
Joshua glanced at Hill, with his slender build, pointed ears, and large eyes—a typical elven appearance—then at Faina, who had a tall figure and a heroic bearing. He nodded: "You two are quite a match. But since you're getting married, you must have come to me for something, right? If it's a wedding gift, I'll prepare one when the time comes."
"Lord Count, you're too kind."
Hearing Joshua's words, Hill smiled and shook his head: "We're not here for a gift. Actually, we came to ask for your help."
"Oh?"
Joshua raised an eyebrow. He had guessed this, but he didn't know what kind of help the two needed. After all, Hill was a Gold-rank Druid and a core member of the Sea Dragon Knight Order, while Faina was a Sea Sword Dragon at the Gold Peak. The two of them together could handle most problems in the Mycroft World. If they needed to ask him for help, it was probably no small matter.
"Please speak freely."
Seeing Joshua's straightforward attitude, Hill felt relieved. He organized his words and said: "Lord Count, you know that Faina and I are of different races. Although we are about to sign a Dragon Knight contract, the bond between an elf and a dragon is not as simple as that between a human and a dragon. The lifespan of an elf is long, but compared to a dragon, it's still short. Faina is a Sea Dragon, and her lifespan is far longer than mine. I don't want to leave her alone in the future, so I've been looking for a way to extend my lifespan."
"Extend lifespan?"
Joshua frowned. Extending lifespan was not an easy task. Even for a Gold-rank Druid like Hill, who was close to nature, his lifespan was only about a thousand years. For a dragon, that was just the beginning of adulthood. If Hill wanted to accompany Faina for a long time, he would need to find a way to greatly extend his life.
"Yes."
Hill nodded, his expression serious: "I've consulted many sources and finally found a method—using Ancient Dragon Blood to perform a ritual, awakening the dragon bloodline within me, allowing me to gain a dragon's physique and lifespan. But this ritual requires a large amount of Ancient Dragon Blood and related materials, which are extremely rare. So I came to ask if you have any leads, Lord Count."
"Ancient Dragon Blood..."
Joshua fell into thought. Ancient Dragon Blood was indeed a rare material. Ancient dragons were powerful beings that had lived since ancient times, and their blood contained immense power. But finding an ancient dragon willing to provide blood was no easy task. Moreover, the ritual required a large quantity, making it even more difficult.
Seeing Joshua's contemplative expression, Hill quickly added: "Of course, we won't ask for your help for nothing. Consider it repayment for your help back when we learned the transformation spell. What I'm thinking is that awakening requires quite a few materials. Last time, I almost cleaned out the entire market, so it's probably hard to find another set now... Wait."
At this point, Joshua suddenly remembered the Writhing Forest—the ancient dragon remains he had forcibly taken from the Sixth Abyss with the two Legendary mages! He looked at Hill with some amusement. The elf Druid's boyish smile was refreshing. The warrior shook his head and said: "It seems you've done a lot of preparation. You even know the whereabouts and recent actions of Baniel and William. Alright, since you've planned it out, come back to the Northern Lands with me later. I'll take you to the Writhing Forest to see if there are any suitable materials."
"Your mercy and generosity, Lord Count!"
Hearing Joshua's reply, Hill and Faina couldn't help but rejoice. They had thought this would be very troublesome, but they never expected it to be so easily resolved. Hill continued: "Actually, we're only missing materials with a strong ancient dragon aura. Other things like Ancient Dragon Blood and Ancient Dragon Bones, we've already collected."
After all, as a core member of the Sea Dragon Knight Order, Hill had accumulated quite a bit over the years. With a dragon's family assets, it was normal for him to prepare most of the materials himself.
Joshua didn't mind. After all, the Writhing Forest wasn't something he had brought back from the Abyss. Generously giving away Baniel and William's resources wasn't a big deal. Besides, he had a share of the output from that place anyway. What was the harm in giving some emergency supplies to an old comrade?
With that, the matter was essentially settled. Joshua had Ying and Lin, who were still whispering about "Will Hill be henpecked after marriage?" and "Faina doesn't seem very dominant," take the two and the now non-glowing Xiao Guang to wait in the exploration base. He himself walked toward the most desolate wasteland on the edge of the Fairyland.
After confirming that the area was sufficiently empty and there was no one around, Joshua finally spoke: "Alright, Your Holiness the Pope. Now I have time."