The Correct Quest Flow

The old man looked desolate, a clear despondency in his cloudy eyes. However, he was showing this expression to the wrong person.

Hilia seemed to think of something after hearing the story. Her eyes dimmed slightly, and she fell into a daze. Meanwhile, Xia De felt as though he was about to explode!

If there really were gods in this world, he would definitely tie up the Goddess of Luck and give her a good thrashing!

Ever since he heard Lop mention last night that an evil dragon had cast a barrier over the entire mountain range, he had realized that the boss behind the scenes this time might be somewhat formidable.

But he hadn't been too worried back then. After all, he could also cover an entire mountain range with a barrier if he pushed himself a little, so the boss could only be slightly stronger than him at most.

But now, the village chief was saying that the sealed dragon was right beneath their feet!

He had expanded his Perception Domain the very moment he entered the village, and he had done so more than once during his subsequent investigation. Yet, despite scanning back and forth, he hadn't detected any dragon underground.

There were only two possibilities. Either the dragon was already dead and the village chief was lying to them, or the space where the dragon resided was far beyond the limits of his perception, which meant it had to be at least several hundred li away.

And if the dragon's pressure could still deter magical beasts from such a distance, it meant the dragon was vastly stronger than him.

Xia De's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. Cold sweat broke out all over his body, and he felt as if the entire world was brimming with malice toward him.

Abandoned at birth, his village suffering a disaster out of nowhere when he was five, encountering a boss with ten million Combat Power on his very first day as an adventurer that almost made him wet his pants—and now, barely a month later, he was running into another creature that was likely stronger than him.

On their way here, he had already asked Hilia about the power levels of this world. Tier Four and Tier Five were the norm, Tier Six and Tier Seven were already considered high-end powerhouses, and Tier Eight and Tier Nine were legendary figures—like the legendary Hero and Demon King, the ancestors of the elves, the empire's generals, or the Hero King of the neighboring kingdom.

Some people might never encounter a high-tier being in their entire lives, yet he had actually run into two of them in just one short month!

Xia De's eyes flickered as he secretly plotted his escape.

Based on his repeated perception scans and the backing of the legends, Xia De ruled out the possibility of magical beasts or extraordinaries being behind this incident. He was certain that everything happening now revolved around the village's legend.

However, there were still a few things he didn't quite understand.

For instance, why did the village chief hide this secret? Why was he so certain that the Holy Sword didn't exist? And how exactly were those deceased villagers killed?

Seeing the two of them fall silent, the old village chief bent down to pick up his cane from the ground. He shook it to dust off the dirt, then let out a dejected sigh.

“Sigh, I do not know if this information is of any use to you, my lords. But please believe me, I posted this quest solely to prevent more people in the village from dying. As the chief, it is my responsibility to protect them and this village.”

Seemingly moved by the old chief's bond with his village, Xia De pursed his lips. With a tight frown and a heavy expression, he looked at the old man and said, “Chief, I can tell you clearly that this incident wasn't caused by some magical beast. It is absolutely related to the secret you've been keeping!”

To his surprise, the village chief didn't seem shocked at all upon hearing this. Instead, he let out a sigh of relief, his face wearing an expression that said as expected.

He slowly raised his cane. The sunlight filtered past it and into his eyes, gradually blurring his vision. The old man's composure crumbled, and his voice carried a hint of hysteria.

“I knew it, I knew it!

“O legendary adventurer, why must you treat us so cruelly?! A mere seal has trapped us here for generations, forcing us to endure the backlash day and night! I want to take the younger generations and leave, but if we do, this land will plunge into darkness once more, and countless others will lose their lives because of us. I cannot leave! I cannot bear such a responsibility!

“O legendary adventurer! You once told our ancestors that the sword in your hand would help us, but why has it never answered my prayers? How many nights have I prayed, begging that if the deaths of the villagers are related to the legend, it would help us? But why has it never responded?!

“O legendary adventurer! You handed it to our ancestors to be passed down through the line of village chiefs. Now that we are utterly helpless, tell me, what use do I have for this sword?!”

In the next second, he flung his arm with force, throwing the cane heavily to the ground, where it landed with a crisp clatter.

A sword!

Xia De's attention was captured by the old man's words, his gaze locking onto the cane.

His perception magic could only sense the general state of things. He couldn't discern specific details about unique individual objects. For example, within a thirty-li radius of himself, he could perceive everything visible to the naked eye, but he couldn't clearly make out their finer details.

If he wanted those details, he had to focus his attention on the specific object he wished to observe.

Appraisal magic, State On!

【Item: Village Chief's Cane (One of the keys to a certain sealed space. Judging by the strength of the space magic, there are two keys in total)

Combat Power: 0 (A pure key with no Combat Power buffs whatsoever. Perhaps you can use it to become a core memory of some child's childhood)

Skill: Space Magic. Can transfer specific targets to a specific space】

A key quest item dropped!

Looking at the information displayed on the high-tech blue panel, Xia De was certain that a key item had dropped. It was practically spelling out that this cane could be used to teleport to the space where the dragon was sealed.

If this were an RPG, he would have already figured out the plot of this quest.

The protagonist accepts a quest and arrives at the destination. While finding nothing, they encounter a kid hunting for treasure who is being chased by monsters. The protagonist kindly saves the kid, boosting the kid's favorability, who then voluntarily reveals the village's legend.

Next, because his grandson was saved, the village chief's favorability toward the protagonist increases, prompting him to voluntarily explain the hidden background and hand over the key item. Then, the protagonist has to find the other key. Along the way, they continuously increase their Combat Power and locate the legendary sword. Finally, with both keys in hand, the protagonist teleports into the sealed space to battle the evil dragon, ultimately slaying it and liberating the village from its thousand-year destiny!

A happy ending for everyone!

Are you kidding me?!

Xia De gritted his teeth, his expression twisting as he fiercely scooped up the cane the chief had thrown onto the ground.

Just as he was about to say something, four figures in black cloaks swaggered into view right beside them, instantly drawing the attention of both Xia De and Hilia.

The leading cloaked man in black extended his trembling hands toward Xia De, his bizarre, shrill voice laced with uncontrollable excitement.

“Is that...”

But just as he uttered those first words, the sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh echoed through the clearing. Countless dense spikes erupted from the ground, skewering their bodies as bright red blood trickled down the spikes, forming a small pool.

Before they could even shriek in agony, several green arrows tore through the air in the next instant, precisely piercing their limbs. The arrows lodged themselves right where their limbs met their bodies; even the slightest movement would bring excruciating pain.

Fortunately, they couldn't move right now.

But unfortunately, they could feel the power within their bodies rapidly draining, and their flesh seemed to be gradually shriveling up.

One of the men in black tilted his head, his eyes wide with agony as he looked at Xia De, who was holding the cane with a cold expression, and Hilia, who was still holding her drawing stance under her cloak, a sharp arrow notched on her bowstring once more.