The first words exchanged upon reuniting with a long-lost friend were—
"Do you want to make the Kingdom of Lucania fly?"
As a normal person, the subconscious response should be:
"Are you alright?"
Apparently, Veronika said the same thing.
"Hilulele, are you alright?"
Veronika couldn't quite understand Hilulele anymore.
It wasn't her rapidly advancing strength, which was already approaching the limits of the Aetheram continent.
That was normal; Hilulele was a rare genius throughout history, and it would be strange if her strength didn't improve.
What truly puzzled Veronika was that Hilulele seemed to have changed entirely.
More confident, more proud, more self-assured... For a moment, Veronika couldn't quite tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Hilulele didn't answer Veronika's question but instead took the initiative to ask a question.
"Veronika, you should know that our Elven Kingdom already has a new Dungeon, right?"
Veronika's expression subtly changed, and she became serious.
"Yes, Queen Hilulele, but I did not pry into the secrets of the Elven Kingdom; I merely made a reasonable deduction based on the many changes within the Elven Kingdom."
"Don't be so formal, Veronika."
Hilulele giggled and hopped off the throne.
"I'm not speaking to you as the Elven Queen; this is just a casual chat between friends."
"The fact that the Elven Kingdom has a new Dungeon isn't common knowledge across the entire continent, but the high-ranking officials of various nations have certainly confirmed it. It's no big deal."
"Honestly, after all this time, Veronika, you're still so rigid and uninteresting."
Veronika smiled wryly and shook her head.
As a contemporary Lion Fang Knight, her words and actions rarely represented herself.
She had to set an example for the already somewhat lax Knight Order with the utmost knightly spirit.
Veronika was not Hilulele; she didn't have the support of pillars like the successive Elven Queens above her, nor the protection of powerful individuals like Lop below her.
Her talent was also not as good as Hilulele's.
Therefore, Veronika never had the right to be as willful as Hilulele.
Every step she took had to be with extreme caution and immense effort.
Fortunately, Veronika had never complained.
From the first day she became a Lion Fang Knight and bore the name of Lucania, she was prepared to dedicate everything to the Kingdom of Lucania... Watching Veronika constantly uphold her knightly spirit, Hilulele felt a pang of discomfort.
Perhaps the only time Veronika truly lived for herself was the twenty-odd years before she became a Lion Fang Knight.
Hilulele's expression and tone also softened.
"Veronika, let's have a meal together."
"Alright."
There was no need to say anything else; if Hilulele was willing to tell her, she would eventually bring it up.
"Also... will you stay with me in the palace these next few days?"
"That does not conform to the knightly spirit..."
Veronika resolutely declined.
Even if she came as a friend, she was, after all, the Grand Commander of the Lion Fang Knights, and staying in the Elven Kingdom's palace was truly inappropriate.
"We're friends, so it's perfectly fine to stay over occasionally."
"But..."
"If you want the Kingdom of Lucania to become better, as strong and confident as the Elven Kingdom, then stay with me."
Hilulele turned her head and looked deeply at Veronika.
"Some things, right now, I... even the Elven Kingdom, don't have the final say."
Veronika's pupils constricted.
Perhaps everyone had guessed wrong!
This new Dungeon in the Elven Kingdom seemed even more mysterious than anyone on the continent had imagined.
"I will tell you some things as soon as possible these next few days, and after a while, I will take you to meet someone."
Hilulele smiled and took Veronika's hand. Though she didn't even reach Veronika's shoulder, she exuded an older sister's aura.
"If he can accept you all, the Kingdom of Lucania will become truly great under your hands!"
Provided that... it remains under the Elven Kingdom.
—
The Elven Court in the morning was as quiet as it was at night.
The Elf Race's small population was one thing; as children of nature, Elves themselves preferred tranquility.
When Tashiniya and her group were bustling a few days ago, it was quite lively, but now that they were well-behaved, the Elven Court had returned to its former state.
Su Lin strolled leisurely out of the Elven Court.
Many Elders secretly accompanied him for protection.
Although it was hard to say who was protecting whom given Su Lin's strength, the gesture still had to be made.
He had specifically come to "accidentally meet" Tashiniya and her group.
According to intelligence, Tashiniya and her group had recently been busy clearing out monsters in the forest outside the Elven Court.
They claimed it was to contribute to the protection of the Elven Court, but the main reason was actually to earn some gold coins to spend at the Adventurer's Shop.
Tashiniya and her group had now reached a point where they couldn't live without the resources from the MC Dungeon.
Especially Deconis; if she didn't drink a few healing potions every day to gain experience for her masochistic physique, she wouldn't even have the strength to cast spells.
Deconis had truly developed a potion addiction.
Speaking of which, this was Su Lin's first time exploring beyond the Elven Court, searching for native monsters of the Aetheram continent.
Although the MC Dungeon's portal was also outside the Elven Court, with the countless elite Elves stationed around the portal, not a single monster's fur could be seen.
Su Lin's understanding of the Aetheram continent's monsters was currently limited to Aelita's occasional Popular Science and Doragon's monster army from before.
This trip out was quite eye-opening, especially the further away from the Elven Court, the more diverse and stronger the monsters became.
The most common Slimes would jump out of various pools to ambush them every now and then.
After that were various man-eating plants, Mandragoras, Dryads, and other monsters.
Occasionally, neutral monsters like Plant Sheep, Walking Mushrooms, and Mimics could also be seen.
There were even inorganic Chest Monsters... Su Lin found it quite enlightening; the monsters of the Aetheram continent were more diverse than those in the MC Dungeon.
Looking at it this way, only Hippogryphs and such, ice and fire legend was quite monotonous.
As he walked deeper into the forest, the dense woods gradually thinned, and some traces of battle remained on the ground.
Until he pushed aside a clump of bushes, Su Lin saw a lake like a sapphire.
Like a pure sapphire surrounded by the forest, it serenely reflected the sky.
The scenery of the Verdan Eternal Forest was unparalleled in the world.
But that wasn't the issue.
At the edge of that huge lake, Su Lin saw a quiet young girl with short black hair and black-rimmed glasses.
Hmm... her clothes were also black.
Aside from her delicate features, her attire from head to toe was exactly like that of an ordinary NPC, unremarkable and inconspicuous.
The girl was squatting by the lake, seemingly muttering something to herself.
Su Lin was a little curious.
"Hello..."
"Ah!"
It was Su Lin's first time seeing such a change in expression; in an instant, she looked like a startled hamster, her hair almost standing on end.
Her foot slipped, and she fell straight into the lake.
The tranquility was broken, but at the same time, danger quietly descended.
Ripples rapidly spread from the center of the lake towards the direction of the fallen girl, as Su Lin's magical vision could discern.
It was a high-level Blade Fish.
It opened its large, serrated mouth, ready to bite the girl.
Su Lin slowly raised his hand, and surging magic gradually gathered in the air, forming an ice crystal spear.
Although he didn't think a girl who could walk here alone wouldn't be able to handle this Blade Fish, it seemed... this person couldn't swim.
At this moment, she was only flailing, completely unaware of the Blade Fish's approach.
Su Lin planned to shout a cool slogan to save her, but someone was even faster than him.
"The Elven Kingdom's most loyal Archangel War God—Lord Tashiniya is here! O distressed one, please offer praise to the holy Archangel! I shall surely be with you!"
"Idiot Angel! The person is about to drown, and you're still saying such useless things!"
"You don't understand, Weini! This is what we Angels are taught in our Manifestation professional course! Shouting your name loudly when saving someone can deepen the memory of the saved life, thereby deepening faith! These are all key points!"
"The person is about to die, and you're still recruiting followers! Go, Lulu!"
"Silver Fang Flash!"
As the lake exploded as if a nuclear bomb had gone off, the Blade Fish and the black-haired girl were both blasted into the sky.
The quiet forest became lively.
Gazing at the red-haired demon loli who was flustered and blaming herself for using too much strength again, Su Lin's mouth curved upwards.
He finally found them.