Chapter 422 - Zalanda’s Promise

"This isn’t my gift to you; it’s what you’ve achieved through your own efforts. If your performance on the battlefield didn’t match, even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to give you this reward," Zalanda said with a smile."Big sister, I think I’ve found another point where we can collaborate," Gaven replied.

When he had first seen the description of Elite Grace, Gaven anticipated that this ability would be extremely formidable.

Now, it appeared downright monstrous.

After a large-scale war, it would be possible to train several Transcendent Elites.

That was simply getting stronger as you fought.

Lady Strategy’s promotion to Divine Enthronement was definitely not a simple matter of connections; it was due to genuine capability, clearly seizing the key points of the Felen war.

This was not only Gaven’s realization but also Zalanda’s, who nodded without hesitation, "As long as you have enough talent, you can send them all to me."

"It’s not just about sending them your way. When necessary, big sister, you’ll have to come to my side personally," Gaven indicated, naturally referring to the matters of war command.

"As long as I have the time," Zalanda did not dare to promise 100%; after all, her identity dictated that she prioritized Thacel and could only help out here if convenient.

"Of course," Gaven nodded knowingly, "If it’s just a minor skirmish like today, I wouldn’t dream of troubling you, big sister."

"You call this a minor skirmish?" Zalanda gave him a sideways look, "A Giant Dragon was mobilized. If this is minor, then what counts as a major event? It seems you’ve agitated quite a few interests here; they were prepared to uproot you completely. They just didn’t anticipate your Dragon Slayer strength."

"Every rise of a new power is built on the bones of the old," Gaven said with a cold laugh, "Today is not the end, but merely a beginning."

"Only by turning them into fertilizer can new flowers bloom more vibrantly and colorfully," Zalanda empathized.

After a moment of hesitation, Zalanda couldn’t help but ask, "Miss Luna, as an assistant, was able to advance four Professional Levels. As the lead, why haven’t you seen any change in your Professional Level? And why is your Professional Level so low?"

Gaven sighed and said, "See for yourself."

He then presented a series of data to Zalanda.

Black Milestone of Destiny: Dragon Slayer.

Dragon Slayer: You have, by your own strength, killed the Young Red Dragon, the scourge of the East Road, altering the fates of countless people.

You now have a modest reputation in the Valley and along the East Road Trade Route; residents of Deep Forest Valley, Bow Valley, Taser Valley, and Battle Valley feel slightly more favorable towards you.

Dragon Slayer (Special Ability) — Your hands are drenched in the blood of a Giant Dragon, granting you an advantage over the imposing aura of dragons. Your allies near you receive a certain amount of enhancement, and all your attacks cause an additional 1d6 damage to Giant Dragons, with the maximum value against Red Dragons.

Colored Dragons harbor ill will towards you and will use relatively foul methods against you.

"Hiss!" Zalanda couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

To others, ’Dragon Slayer’ was merely a nickname.

To Gaven, Dragon Slayer had become a Special Ability with special effects against Giant Dragons.

It even directly affected how those residents treated him, much like her own Charisma Transcendent reward, which was an imposition of Law.

Zalanda speculated, "Are you saying that the Magic Power that should be yours has all been condensed into this? Are your other Special Abilities also acquired this way?"

Gaven nodded and said, "Exactly. Ever since the Prophecy Dream at Nort Castle, whenever I do something with significant influence, this is what happens. Otherwise, where do you think my Dragon Slayer power came from? With just these few Professional Levels, they’re not even enough to fill the gaps between a dragon’s teeth."

"I see," Zalanda’s absorptive capacity had grown substantially; after all, she was no longer just the captain of a small castle’s guard but one of the Chosen of a Demigoddess. The level of knowledge she had access to was far beyond her previous scope. She pondered aloud, "Perhaps there is a force working here that transcends the Professional Level system. That is to say, you have two leveling systems, one being the conventional Professional system, and the other bestowing Special Abilities like this. Trying to measure your strength with just one of the systems is likely to backfire."

Upon hearing this, Gaven realized that this was indeed his situation.

He had not seriously considered this before.

If he had followed a normal leveling pace, the deeds he had done and the impact he had made over the past half-year would have sufficed to advance him beyond Transcendent rank with ease.

This special dual-profession system had slowed his leveling speed.

Yet in terms of abilities, it was more diversified than just a single career system.

Even those Transcendent Archmages couldn’t accomplish many things to the extent he could.

Of course, there were costs involved.

Some things that Transcendent Archmages could accomplish were also out of his reach, such as opening portals.

At the same time, it was an excellent strategy for playing weak to catch one’s opponents off guard.

Let’s not even mention a Transcendent Archmage; if he were even just a Transcendent Warrior, the Young Red Dragon would have taken him more seriously from the start.

It wouldn’t have been injured so easily and deprived of the chance to escape.

But in that case, the shock caused wouldn’t have been as great as it now was.

Now, who would believe upon hearing that someone who hadn’t even reached Transcendent Rank had killed a Young Red Dragon? They’d spit on him and curse him as a liar.

Either the act of slaying the dragon was a lie, or the Dragon Slayer’s Professional Level was a lie.

Gaven smiled and said, "No matter what, this is a good thing, not bad. We’ve arrived; Shanoba, come out."

Boom!

The surface of Yewen Pond broke again as the Bipedal Dragon soared into the sky.

"Let me introduce you. This is Ms. Zalanda, the Chosen of the Goddess of Strategy, and the City Lord of Darama City in Tesserl; and this lady is Shanoba, a Dragonborn who has the ability to transform into a Bipedal Dragon," Gaven introduced them to each other, "For the next while, Shanoba, you will serve as Ms. Zalanda’s steed and bodyguard. Big sister, you ride her from here on!"

"Dragonkin who transformed into a bipedal flying dragon?" Zalanda couldn’t help but take another look at the bipedal dragon, indeed noticing something extraordinary, especially the wisdom that seemed to radiate from its eyes.

So it was a Dragonkin! No wonder!

The Half-Moon Colt also appeared to have an epiphany and suggested, "Why not let Lord Thacel ride Ms. Shanoba, and allow Ms. Zalanda to continue riding me? After all, I am equipped with a saddle, which makes for an easier ride."

The recent Elite Grace, which increased her professional level by two, had significantly raised the Half-Moon Colt’s favor towards Zalanda, reducing its initial resistance.

"That works." Since Luna had proactively suggested it, Gaven naturally found no reason to decline.

The mount exchange was simply to accommodate Luna’s emotions.

By contrast, his treatment of Shanoba was utterly different, likely due to their initial encounter.

Zalanda showed an embarrassed expression and said, "That wouldn’t be appropriate. I’ve already received so many gifts from you today, far too many. Besides, such a matter requires asking Ms. Shanoba for her personal consent."

Today, Zalanda had experienced what it was like to receive gifts until her hands were full, and not one of them ordinary.

The military training records and divine nature openings had upgraded the Book of Strategy from a near-divine artifact to the Divine Artifact of the War Path. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt

This gave her hope to escape her predicament.

The Ghost Cloak, in turn, strengthened her combat capabilities, elevating her self-defense to the next level.

The Nicole Spinning Machine would forge a new era for Darama’s economic construction.

And now there was an offer of an air mount, a Sage Being no less.

"I obey my master’s arrangements," Shanoba replied with utmost respect.

Her fear of Gaven was deep-seated.

It had not diminished with their prolonged separation and was reinforced just ten minutes earlier— in her presence, he had forcibly slaughtered a young Red Dragon much stronger than her.

Compared to him, her own advancement by one professional level and stealing the secret Heartbreaker Fist technique from Sister Stephanie of the Heartbroken paled in significance.

Gaven then playfully winked at Zalanda and said, "Big sis, you’ve already given back the best and most precious gift. If you still feel indebted, then work hard to encourage more immigrants to come over."

Zalanda ignored Gaven’s playful demeanor and after seriously considering for a few seconds, replied, "Alright, I guarantee that within one month, I’ll secure at least ten thousand immigrants for you."

Of course, she knew what Gaven meant by the most precious gift—it was none other than herself.

But she didn’t consider it a gift.

That was an expression of deep feelings, and without enough affection, Gaven wouldn’t even dream of touching a hair on her head.

"Ten thousand immigrants?!" Gaven couldn’t help but swallow, "Big sis, won’t you continue to check out the situation in Battle Valley?"

It was not too few but rather too many.

His expectation was that managing to bring back three thousand Tesser immigrants would be a great success—if there were five thousand, it would be a blessing from Tymora.

Unexpectedly, Zalanda’s opening offer was twice his highest expectation.

"I am looking, aren’t I? Isn’t this lake a part of your territory? Just this alone could easily sustain several tens of thousands of people," Zalanda pointed at the Yewen Pond below them.

They had been flying for a while, yet the number of boats they’d seen on the water was pitifully small.

Even the ones they did see were hurried merchant ships, not fishing boats.

Such a situation would be unthinkable in Tesserl.

Even in Darama, where boats were comparatively rare, the Is River was teeming with fishing boats of all sizes, with fishers crowding along the riverbanks.

The only reason for such a situation was the sparse population Gaven mentioned, so much so that they couldn’t fully exploit such a natural resource.

And yet, Gaven and his people had shown enough military might to protect the new lieges.

With enough manpower, everything else aside,

the eighteen longships they had just seized from the mercenaries could be put to use, and the daily catch would be impressive.

Not to mention, with so many Treants at Gaven’s disposal, salvaging shipwrecks would be a breeze.

What he was currently lacking was merely population.

Gaven nodded unconsciously, "Big sis is insightful, hitting the nail on the head."

"These are just the first batch. If you can accommodate them well, I can help motivate even more immigrants to come. Don’t forget, among many territories, there are Tesser people living miserably who yearn for a new life."

"Right," Gaven’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Poaching from the hands of other Tesser warlords would be far more interesting than from Zalanda’s—an especially enticing prospect now that her fame had spread and her endorsement would surely attract many responders.

Having realized this, Gaven confidently said, "Big sis, you just wait and see. My place is always open for your inspection."

"Since you can withstand the test, in a few days, I will arrange for some influential Tesserl citizens with intentions to come over for a personal visit. It’s more convincing to have them champion the cause," Zalanda began to actively plot for the immigration cause.

"Even if you didn’t mention it, I was planning to do just that," Gaven agreed, nodding, "Besides, as we previously discussed the Enlightened Trees, jointly setting up a spinning factory, and sending envoys to the Mir Forest are all progressing simultaneously. If I do more beneficial things for Darama, they’ll have a better impression of me, which will facilitate the immigration."

"I think so too," Zalanda naturally wouldn’t object as these were to her benefit.