Chapter 188 - The Troublesome Imp

"You can change back now,""Can you remove the weapon from my body? Transforming with it hurts a lot,"

"No," Gaven flatly refused. It was an important means of controlling her; once removed, she could just flap her wings and fly away, which would be a big problem.

Shanoba knew it was a tall order and resignedly began the transformation again while enduring the pain.

This time she completely transformed into a female form, not retaining the black dragon wings. Lying there naked, she exuded an indescribable delicacy. As she turned to gaze at Gaven with her alluring eyes, there was an unspeakable charm that made her appear pitifully endearing.

Gaven was completely unmoved. He took out a roll of dragon scale rope from the Howard Convenient Bag and wrapped Shanoba snugly with several loops above and below.

"Are you even a man? Can’t you give me some clothes?" Shanoba said with indignation.

"Wondering if I’m a man, do you want to verify that or what?" Gaven looked Shanoba up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, "You run around naked and then you’re afraid of others looking?"

"Who is running around naked? It’s the transformation that caused this," Shanoba retorted angrily.

"Transformations? I’ve seen plenty. Druids can perform bestial transformations without ending up naked after the transformation,"

"My transformation is different from the Druids’. I can’t merge clothes into my body, at least not ordinary clothes," she explained.

"So, you’re saying you haven’t even managed to blend in a set of magical armor. That’s really pathetic, wasting such a powerful ability," Gaven’s words were laced with a mix of disdain and sympathy.

"Who says I haven’t? It just got destroyed the last time I fought with a War Mage..."

"Fought with a War Mage? Are you still a fugitive wanted by Komeer?"

"Sort of!" Shanoba humphed in a muffled voice, deciding not to banter with Gaven anymore. This guy was cunning and could effortlessly fish out information from her.

Although Gaven was sarcastic, he still took out a set of change of clothes from the Howard Convenient Bag for her to put on.

His action was not because he wasn’t man enough but because he was too much of a man.

He had to maintain a good image in front of Aivensa; it was all look and no touch, which was not only unsatisfying but would also make him the one to end up looking foolish.

"Here, here, here," Aivensa called out as she hovered in the air.

Gaven’s personal guard, Stelina, arrived a bit late, her beautiful face unable to hide her astonishment, "Is the fight over? Was she the wyvern just now?"

Gaven nodded affirmatively.

Stelina looked at Gaven seriously and said, "I feel like you don’t need me as your personal guard."

Gaven’s combat prowess was a real enigma.

He wasn’t high on Professional Level and was but a Psychic Sorcerer, yet he joined the roundup of the Legendary Beetle Carrier Bug and played a critical role. Although he had the advantage of special weaponry, his actual combat ability was indeed acknowledged.

Privately, however, Stelina had once sparred with him in a friendly match, and eight times out of ten, Gaven was trounced by her, lost and confused. The only two times he didn’t, was when he successfully used his psychic ability.

Now encountered with the situation of facing a wyvern, even she felt it would be quite a headache.

In the few minutes she was behind, Gaven and his team had already subdued the opponent and captured her.

"Just luck, pure luck," Gaven certainly knew what Stelina was implying, "You know the characteristics of the Psychic Bullets. They indeed have certain advantages in aerial combat, but under normal circumstances, we still rely on you."

Every man knows his own situation best.

Even psychic powers were not omnipotent, especially when facing high-level Combat Profession Practitioners.

Psychic Bullets did not always succeed, particularly when he sparred with Stelina; he would usually deplete all his Psychic Power Points before even one took effect.

Just now, when he assaulted the wyvern, it was the same. He used five Psychic Bullets, with only the last one taking effect.

But unlike most magic, Psychic Ability did not have visible casting motions or light and sound effects. If it failed, outsiders wouldn’t notice.

It gave the false impression that all of Gaven’s Psychic Bullets were successful.

"What do we do with her?" Stelina pointed at the captive on the ground and asked.

"Let’s take her back and decide then," Gaven didn’t explain much.

Luckily, they were only a few kilometers away from Eagle Cliff, so taking her back wasn’t difficult.

Once at Eagle Cliff and seeing the situation there, Shanoba knew her defeat was justified.

She had previously planned to rally the Gnolls of Eagle Cliff under her banner and use them to help her take over the Blackwell Tribe. Little did she expect that this place was actually their true lair, with Blackwell being just the tip of the iceberg visible above the water.

Heh, not only was she unaware of this information, but even the all-knowing Dark Intelligence Net probably didn’t know either.

The middle-aged woman would certainly suffer a major setback if she continued to interfere.

Shanoba delighted in others’ misfortune while resigning herself to her own fate, her heart filled with schadenfreude.

Even though they had captured the rebellious wyvern, Gaven was still not completely assured about the situation in Blackwell Town. After locking her up, he took the Young Red Copper Dragon and made a quick trip there.

Only after confirming that Blackwell Town had experienced just a bit of disturbance, and the wyvern hadn’t launched a real attack, did he relax.

Gaven patted the Chief of the Blackwell Town Guard, Cangya, while heaping praise, "You did very well this time. I am awarding the Cangya Defense Team a first-rate merit. A total of one hundred merit points will be given to you; ten for you, and the remaining ninety points are for you to distribute based on merit!"

The merit system of the Dragon Oak Territory had been established and progressively perfected.

This system included routine and contribution rewards.

Routine rewards are given for fulfilling one’s daily work. As long as one completes their basic duties, no matter how ordinary, they would receive corresponding reward points.

This reward is to reflect the value of daily work, as long as one does their job diligently, even if it’s in an inconspicuous position, over the years, they are still entitled to exchange for Dragon Blood Potion and go to the sacred land to strengthen their bloodline. It just takes longer, at least about two years of persistent work.

For all Gnolls, this isn’t a problem.

Their thinking is very simple, without contribution reward points, they would work just the same, and now with them, it’s still the same work, just with a bonus.

Contribution rewards, as the name implies, are for those who make outstanding contributions to the Dragon Oak Territory. They will receive additional contribution points, and this isn’t limited to combat.

In everyday life and work, those who also make remarkable contributions can earn them, such as research and invention, self-sacrifice, and so on.

Dragon Blood Potion is just the basic, preliminary composition.

According to Gaven’s concept, more options like resurrection of the dead and complete revival will be rolled out in succession.

As long as you have enough contribution points, even if you are unfortunate enough to die, the territory is responsible for resurrecting you.

Only if it’s tempting enough will this system of honors and rewards create a strong enough incentive effect.

For now, the allure of the Dragon Blood Potion is more than enough.

To quickly obtain the qualifications to exchange for Dragon Blood Potion, the Gnolls of Dragon Oak Territory, from top to bottom, are all bursting with zeal.

What Gaven had just rewarded was the first batch of contribution points for the Dragon Oak Territory.

Cangya said with a mix of excitement and shame, "My reaction earlier was a bit over the top, exposing all of Blackwell’s cards."

Gaven couldn’t help but laugh, "These ballistae don’t count as our trump cards, they’re just our defense installations. It’s fine to expose them; there are benefits to it too. At least they have a significant deterrent effect. Those without the capability won’t dare easily target our territory anymore."

After a brief pause, Gaven put on a serious expression, "In hunting, even when chasing a rabbit, one must give it their all. Should we encounter a similar situation in the future, we should handle it in the same way, even if it means revealing more of our cards, to ensure the safety of our people."

"Lord, your consideration is thorough," Cangya said in a taught manner, "I’ve collected some information about that Wyvern from the human merchants, I don’t know if it will be of use to you."

"Oh? Is that Wyvern well-known?" Gaven showed a look of interest.

Cangya nodded, "Very well-known, that’s not a true Wyvern but a Dragonborn with dragon lineage, who used to lurk around and rob near the High Road, mainly in the western part of Rocklands. Made too much noise and caught the attention of Komeer’s War Mages, went into hiding for over half a year, and for some reason, has suddenly reappeared and come to Blackwell."

"Good, I understand, this information is very useful to me." With this information confirmed, the events previously related by Shanoba became much more credible, and the possibility that she was connected with the Santarin Association from the start decreased considerably.

If she were a senior member of the Santarin Association, she wouldn’t have been scared off so easily by Komeer’s War Mages.

In his past life, he never heard of such a person while he was in the Santarin Association.

Her ability to transform into a Wyvern is very unique; it’s not a professional ability but an innate special ability. She hasn’t opened her professional level yet and is fighting entirely based on her talent.

For such talented races, the difficulty of opening professional levels far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Speaking plainly, they require more experience points to level up. If ordinary people need 1,000 points, they need 5,000 or even 10,000 points.

Especially Transcendent and Legendary races require a greater amount of magic elements. For a Giant Dragon to open a professional template, it needs as many magic elements as a human Legendary career needs to level up once.

Such characters, once they join the Santarin Association, are bound to be the focus of cultivation and would not be anonymous.

If it can be confirmed that she is not from the Santarin Association, then there is a good opportunity to exploit here.

After all, Blackwell Town only managed to drive away the Wyvern, and the Santarin Association is not yet aware that she has been captured by us.

The premise is, she needs to cooperate.

Having confirmed that Blackwell Town was safe, Gaven hurried back to Eagle Cliff. To exploit this situation, he had to race against time, as dragging it on for too long would raise suspicions from the instigators at the Santarin Association.

After returning to Eagle Cliff, Gaven did not question Shanoba again but instead headed straight for Spring Bud Fortress.

Though he was a Psychic Sorcerer, Gaven was not proficient in magic that manipulates the mind. This task was better suited for Lord Virginia.

"Why have you come again?" Maqi, the personal maid of Lord Virginia, frowned, her youthful face unable to hide her disgust.

She had a very poor impression of Gaven; every time he appeared, Lord Virginia’s mood would become gloomy.

Last time was even worse; to assist him, Lord Virginia had used the primal force of Spring Bud Forest, and afterward, she fell into a coma and slept for eight days, having only woken up the day before yesterday.

Now that he shows up again, it must be that he has another favor to ask of the Lord.

It is easier to meet the King of Hell than to deal with troublesome minions.

Gaven found the truth of this saying firsthand here, having been turned away four or five times already.

Back then, Lord Virginia had not awakened, and Gaven did not take it personally.

But now, he knew that Lord Virginia had awakened, he did not need to be told; the moment he teleported into Fairy Wilderness and stepped into Spring Bud Forest, he could feel it. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt

Gaven kept a smile on his face and said, "I have urgent business with the Lord."

"The Lord has yet to awake," Maqi countered with a pinched face and hands on her hips, her voice laced with irritation.

Gaven maintained his smile, but his expression clearly said he thought he was being taken for a fool.

He was by now a regular in the Fairy Wilderness, and his understanding of this place was no longer as limited as it had been at the beginning.

Compared to the Material Plane, some aspects of the Fairy Wilderness are more aligned with the Mental Plane, at least in terms of how spirit and will are far more effective here than on the Material Plane.

Powerful beings can corrupt and twist the Fairy Wilderness through mental contamination; the Evil Eye Curse of the Foul Giants is a case in point, an ability far more formidable here in the Fairy Wilderness than on the Material Plane.

Conversely, the Fairy Wilderness can also influence the creatures living within it.