Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter : 101
All the surrounding vines had been blown up by Yan Yunqing, the flames burned fiercely, and the crackling sound was like the painful wails of the vines.
"Boom—"
A loud boom, clearly different from the sound of explosions, came.
Yan Yunqing looked at the still-struggling vines and walked in the direction of the sound.
On the way, he blew up two more vines that attacked him before he saw a wall with a huge hole smashed into it.
Yan Yunqing nimbly vaulted over and saw two dragons fighting a humanoid figure holding a scepter.
The one confronting Divik and Isabelle was a peculiar-looking person, with cow horns and horse hooves, holding a strange vine scepter in his hand, and the level above his head was an exaggerated Lv.167.
Since the instance name was Morgan the False God, then this should be that false god, right?
The moment Yan Yunqing saw that level, he dismissed the thought of joining the battle.
He was just a little level 40-something newbie now.
Fighting a boss 10 levels higher was one thing, but making him fight a false god over a hundred levels higher? Was he tired of living?
"Get too close and you'll get caught in the crossfire."
A slow voice came from behind.
Yan Yunqing subconsciously turned his head and met the eyes of an old man.
Yan Yunqing was stunned for a moment, vaguely recognizing the man's former appearance from his features.
He asked tentatively, "Merlin?"
Merlin nodded at him, "Long time no see, Nolan."
Yan Yunqing: "...You can recognize me even like this?"
He glanced down and confirmed that he was still in his Joker disguise. How could he be recognized at a glance?
Merlin found it strange: "Your mana fluctuation hasn't changed, only your appearance has. It's not like I wouldn't be able to recognize you."
He had long known from Isabelle that Yan Yunqing was also in the Free City, so he was not surprised by Yan Yunqing's appearance at this moment.
It was a miscalculation. I forgot that Merlin's talent for magic was extremely terrifying.
Two thousand years ago, he was already one of the most powerful mages.
Others couldn't distinguish the subtle differences in mana fluctuations, but Merlin definitely could.
Yan Yunqing didn't intend to argue either and nodded back at him, "Long time no see."
Merlin glanced at the two dragons and one false god entangled above and extended an invitation to Yan Yunqing, "Looks like they still need some time to deal with that strange thing.
Let's find a safe place to talk, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire here."
As soon as his voice fell, a fireball, spat out by Isabelle, crashed by his feet.
Merlin nimbly dodged, pulling Yan Yunqing away with him, so agile that he didn't seem like an elderly man at all.
Yan Yunqing: "Aren't you going to help?"
Merlin: "No need, Isabelle and Divik can totally defeat that false god. It looks like they're evenly matched right now, but that's just Isabelle venting."
As he spoke, he sighed faintly: "You know our purpose for coming to the Free City this time, right?"
Yan Yunqing nodded:
"Divik told me. Isabelle followed the trail of her missing clansmen all the way here. She heard there was a Chigu Sword made from the bones of a Resplendent Dragon here, so she wanted to come and see."
"That's right. In the last hundred years, many of the Dragon Tribe's kin have gone missing. Three months ago, the only cub in the Resplendent Dragon Tribe also disappeared. That's why Isabelle is so furious."
Merlin said, "You know, dragons value the cubs in their clan very much, not to mention Amos grew up under Isabelle's watch."
"That little dragon cub is quite talented. Isabelle originally planned to take him under her wing and teach him when he was a bit older, but then this happened."
Merlin skillfully dodged another stray attack and called to Yan Yunqing: "Let's go, let's talk over there."
After leaving the combat zone, Merlin cautiously set up a defensive spell nearby.
He then pulled out two chairs and a small low table from somewhere, on which was a mismatched set of tea-making tools.
Yan Yunqing didn't stand on ceremony and pulled out a chair to sit down.
Merlin held the mismatched tea-making tools, "Want some pear leaf water? I just roasted it."
He turned his head to look, and after confirming that Isabelle couldn't hear, he whispered to Yan Yunqing:
"I used Isabelle's dragon flame. I had to coax her for a long time before she agreed."
Yan Yunqing: ...Is this how you two lovebirds usually are?
"Yes."
Merlin cheerfully took out a small jar of roasted pear leaves from his pocket, used tweezers to pick up a small pinch and dropped it into the pot.
With a casual wave of his magic wand, without uttering a single spell, water elements condensed into a water bubble.
Then, with a swish, a small flame appeared under the water bubble, very unscientifically heating the water directly with fire.
If this wasn't magic, Newton's coffin lid wouldn't be able to hold him down.
...Then again, does Newton have jurisdiction over this?
While Yan Yunqing's mind wandered for a moment, Merlin had already heated the small water bubble and dropped it directly into the pot with the pear leaves.
The rapidly rising steam carried a clear, sweet fragrance, the unique scent of pear leaves.
After waiting a short while for the pear leaves in the pot to fully unfurl in the hot water, Merlin picked up the teapot and poured a cup of pear leaf tea, placing it in front of Yan Yunqing.
"Try it?"
The tea-making technique was so overly casual that Yan Yunqing couldn't bear to watch.
If the tea-tasting uncles Yan Yunqing knew saw this, they would definitely scold Merlin for wasting good tea leaves.
Yan Yunqing picked up the cup of pear leaf tea and took a sip.
The scalding hot water, having passed through Merlin's hands, had transformed into a drinkable temperature the moment it was poured.
As the tea entered his mouth, his teeth were filled with a clear fragrance, and upon savoring it, there was a sweet aftertaste.
"Boom—"
A wall not far from Yan Yunqing was blasted down. The Morgan the False God was smashed hard into the ground, letting out a painful wail.
Above him, two giant dragons were circling, eyeing him covetously, ready to launch the next attack at any moment.
And not far from them, Yan Yunqing and Merlin sat facing each other, leisurely holding cups of tea, looking like a picture of peaceful times
These two scenes looked completely like they couldn't be happening in the same space at the same time.
Yan Yunqing watched the cow-horned, goat-hoofed person who was already at a disadvantage and still being beaten relentlessly, and couldn't help but click his tongue, "Isabelle is still as ferocious as ever."
Merlin spoke faintly: "Divik is no better. Didn't you see Divik get in a few good swipes too?"
Yan Yunqing: .
Alright, alright, I know you two are a couple. I just said one thing, was it necessary to use Divik to shut me up?
"But it's understandable." Merlin drank his tea slowly, "Little Amos's swordsmanship was taught by Divik. When he heard that Little Amos was missing, Divik was no less anxious than Isabelle."
"Speaking of which," Merlin seemed to have thought of something, "Little Amos also has black hair and red eyes, which is quite rare among the Resplendent Dragon Tribe."
Yan Yunqing: ...
"Be careful Divik doesn't sue you for slander."
The insinuation in his words was so obvious that Yan Yunqing didn't even bother to guess what Merlin was trying to say.
He would just count it as him enjoying the show and stirring up trouble.
Merlin shrugged, "I didn't say anything."
Yan Yunqing huffed, "I also didn't say why Divik would sue you for slander."
Merlin shook his head, "You clearly know everything, yet you always insist on pretending to be ignorant. I truly feel sorry for those who admire you."
Yan Yunqing: "...Okay, let's change the topic."
Yan Yunqing was at a loss for words, "And what do you mean I know everything? I don't know anything, don't you wrong me!"
"You know in your heart whether you know or not." Merlin cooperatively changed the subject, "So where did you run off to for the past thousand-plus years?"
"In the first few years after you disappeared, your retainers nearly turned the entire Ailman Continent upside down, but still couldn't find you."
Merlin was very curious, "The High Priest also tried to find your tracks. With the High Priest's ability, it shouldn't be possible to not find even a single clue, but she really couldn't find anything. Where did you hide?"
Yan Yunqing fell silent. Was he supposed to say that he hid in another world?
With such a thick world barrier between them, how could they possibly have found him?
"I didn't hide anywhere... I just... tsk." Yan Yunqing sincerely suggested, "Why don't we change the topic again?"
Now it was Merlin's turn to be speechless: "Is it that hard to say? Or does it involve the rules? Forget it... since you don't want to say, I won't ask.
But you should be mentally prepared, those retainers of yours are crazy. They'll definitely go nuts when they find out you're back."
Merlin stroked his chin and changed his tune, "Oh, that's not right. Not many of those retainers are still alive.
Silf, Siren, Grom, Torin... Oh, that one's not dead. I had a drink with him a few years ago.
But now that the human forces are growing larger, it's not easy for the Goblins either, and his health has been getting worse in recent years."
"Of the capable generals I remember from your side, the only ones still alive are Divik, Theodore, and, well, I guess Isabelle counts as one."
Speaking of this, Merlin couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "In the blink of an eye, two thousand years have passed.
Old friends have left one after another. Sometimes, you really can't help but lament the heartlessness of time."
"To be honest, before today, I never thought I would see you again, Nolan."
Yan Yunqing raised his teacup, pretending to drink to hide the expression on his face. He lowered his eyes, quietly watching the pear leaves floating up and down in the cup.
Listening to Merlin's words, Yan Yunqing's feelings were also very complicated.
To him, he had only quit the game for a little over half a year, but for these old friends, retainers, and subjects in the other world, the Demon King had disappeared for nearly two thousand years.
A once brilliant and youthful friend was now old and dying;
Most of the retainers who once followed him were gone, and the ones still alive could be counted on one hand;
The descendants of the Demon King's former subjects could only hole up in this treacherous Free City, living as 'vagrants' without a place to belong.
It couldn't be said that Yan Yunqing caused all of this. After all, he was just playing a game.
After discovering the retainers' strange feelings and with the college entrance exams in real life approaching, he chose to quit the game.
But it was also because he quit the game, because the Demon King disappeared, that the cruelty of time and the world had ground away and crushed all the beauty of the past.
"But," Merlin raised his teacup and toasted Yan Yunqing from afar, just as they had raised their beer mugs in the tavern many years ago, "I still want to say one thing to you."
"Welcome back, Nolan."
"Our Eternal Lord... the Eternal King."
"Although it seems a little late."