The girl with the average appearance looked straight at Gu Qing Shan, gazing straight into his eyes instead of any other parts of his body.
She casually stated: “I am Maria, a royal princess of the Roland empire. I have something to discuss with you, but you should obviously wash off that stench of blood and change into a suitable outfit before we talk”
“I also believe that to be the best” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Maria clasped her hand and turned to leave.
The six maids quickly provided him a new suit to change into, then swiftly left.
The door closed again.
“The princess? Why is she looking for you?” the duck plushie asked doubtfully.
“Who knows” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Crow drew her rapier and lightly tapped herself, then tapped Gu Qing Shan.
A curt burst of flame appeared all around their bodies.
The smell of dirt and blood completely disappeared from their bodies.
“Burning away the dirt and grime? What intricate and profound control over fire”
Gu Qing Shan commented in interest.
Even the dried blood stuck in his hair had been burnt completely away, but not a single strand of his hair got burnt or even got warped by the heat.
Crow replied a bit boastfully: “I merely felt that it wasn’t necessary to use water to wash oneself”
She then looked at the duck plushie and said: “But you probably will need to be washed with water—— then dried in the sun”
The two of them split up and changed into their new clothes.
“I’m done” Gu Qing Shan raised his voice.
Bam!
The door was opened.
The six maids entered, some of them brought Crow to another room, while the others led Gu Qing Shan up a flight of stairs until they reached a sky garden.
Princess Maria was sitting on a long park bench on top of the grass with a book in her hand.
“Your Highness, he is here” the maid reported.
The princess waved her hand, signaling for Gu Qing Shan to sit down across the table from her.
“I won’t waste time with pleasantries. Count Rhode, I have something I’d like to discuss with you” she said.
Everyone else had been dismissed, so only Gu Qing Shan and she were present in the sky garden.
Seeing her stern and serious attitude, Gu Qing Shan also became serious and replied:
“Please explain, your Highness”
“Do you think the wraiths are powerful?” Maria asked.
“If they cannot escape from this world and could no longer use the Life Talismans and Hex techniques that they were used to before taking over other people’s bodies, their failure would only be a matter of time” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“But the war is currently in a stalemate, is it not?” Maria said.
“That’s right… that certain is strange, could it be that we are holding back to retain our strength?” Gu Qing Shan pondered.
Maria continued to look straight at him and said: “A few days ago, mutated creature incidents have been popping up all over the world. Rhode, you were the first to discover and report it”
“That’s right, in my village, two wraiths were turned into monsters” Gu Qing Shan replied
He suddenly realized what she meant and opened his eyes wide: “Could it be…”
“Indeed, the plague had actually descended upon this world and was constantly being fought off by the top Combatants” Maria confirmed.
Gu Qing Shan released his inner sight and quickly scanned through the entirety of Holy Crown city.
It was completely peaceful.
“Are you wondering why you can’t discover any mutated creature?” Maria asked.
“I am, what exactly is going on?” Gu Qing Shan doubtfully asked in return.
Gazing at him with a probing look, Maria slowly explained: “You are only 15 years old, so the adults have decided to protect you and not allow you to enter the Chasm to fight”
“The Chasm?”
“Indeed, the top Combatants had jointly created a layered world separated from this one called the Chasm. Any infected individuals who become mutated, as well as entire cities that are destroyed by the plague, would be instantly teleported to that layered world due to their ill-fit nature against this world”
Maria continued: “The true war is being fought within that Chasm world”
Gu Qing Shan understood the implications and continued: “So that was the reason. The Combatants had to split up their forces on two fronts, giving the wraiths leeway to temporarily maintain a stalemate”
His heart slowly sank.
I was wondering why things had been so calm for the past few days despite the initial signs of the Plague Apocalypse’s appearance.
So the situation had actually gotten this bad.
“Count Rhode, I have a proposition for you” Maria said.
“What is it?”
“I’ll be frank, I have seen that your true form is that of a dragon”
Gu Qing Shan was a bit surprised and stared straight at her.
She stared back at Gu Qing Shan.
“…That is true” Gu Qing Shan admitted.
Maria displayed a triumphant smile and continued: “Count Rhode, since you and I both have yet to reach adulthood, the adults are keeping us outside of the true battle; but if you and I were to use our true strength, we would definitely be qualified to participate in this war”
Gu Qing Shan faintly understood.
——-if this princess could help him join the war, Gu Qing Shan was more than willing to accept her offer.
He nodded for her to continue.
Sure enough, Maria made the offer: “Count Rhode, let us cooperate”
“How does your Highness wish for us to cooperate?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
Maria replied: “To enter the Chasm, one must first reach 18 years old, followed by a requirement of personal strength. Both you and I should be more than strong enough, only our age is a bit short, so I’ve come up with a compromise”
“And that would be?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“A summoner and their summoned entity’s age and strength can be accounted for together” Maria replied.
“In which case, both of our age combined will be enough” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“Are you willing to accept?” Maria asked.
“I’m not against it, but how should we do this exactly?”
“It’s quite simple, you will sign a covenant with me, agreeing to be my summoned mount”
Gu Qing Shan paused.
“You… want to ride me?” he asked.
“Indeed, although you’re still a hatchling, you have certainly eliminated the Magic Scale Dragon, which makes you qualified for this position” Maria replied.
Gu Qing Shan stayed silent a bit, then suggested: “Can’t it be a combative summoned entity contract instead? I’ll be your summoned companion”
Maria frowned: “Are you saying you want to be my pet?”
“…I was referring to a combative summoned companion” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“They’re called Combat Summons, but pets nonetheless” Maria affirmed.
“My way of fighting is different from a pet” Gu Qing Shan affirmed.
The two of them locked eyes.
Finally, Maria said: “That’s true, we should certainly get to know one another’s strength properly. This would aid our cooperation better for when we enter the Chasm to fight against the plague monsters”
“I agree” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“Then, should we conduct a short sparring session?”
“We can”
“Count, you may go first”
“You’re a lady, please go ahead and act first” Gu Qing Shan replied.
If we really fought, should I continue to use bow and arrows? Or martial arts? Or swordsmanship?
Gu Qing Shan silently thought.
Since my dragon identity has been exposed, there shouldn’t be any issues with a dragon knowing other combative techniques outside of archery.
This girl appears to be very strong; I should probably use my swords.
Gu Qing Shan put both his hands on the table without moving.
Maria smiled and replied: “Count Rhode; If I act first, you won’t even get a chance to act”
“Please” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Maria raised her hand and lightly swung.
Pah!
Maria suddenly slapped herself.
Both of them froze.
