From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 666 The Dragon Slayer

A series of magnificent fortresses were built along the east bank of the West Seren River. Some of them were simply watchtowers that served as sentry posts, while others were fortresses that guarded important transportation nodes.

With the help of Ivy's magic, the Crusader warriors set up a series of outposts and supply depots along the road from Cannaburi to the City of Favor to protect the passing convoys.

All of this took Ivy only one day.

The dispatching strategy used is very simple: every time a transport caravan departing from Kanaburi arrives at a construction point, it will send people to set up camp and build temporary defensive facilities. The closer to the city of Favor, the fewer members the transport caravan will have, and the faster it will travel.

Upon arriving at the City of Favor, Ivy transformed into a golden dragon and set off, using magic to construct a sturdy stone fortress at the base site selected by the transport team.

Therefore, within just one day, the Crusader's supply line, which started in Cannaburi and ended in the City of Favor, was secured.

Every soldier who witnessed Ivy's magical construction of the city was filled with shock and admiration, overwhelmed by the power of the great dragon.

Upon arriving in Cannabri, Ivy accepted the reward that Queen Godfrey had brought from the capital, Nerozian, and immediately used teleportation magic to return to the City of Favor.

Juanze City is becoming more and more popular. People other than the Crusaders are starting to appear on the cleaner streets, and those who frequent the taverns and shops are no longer just speculators who come here to try their luck.

Building a city is never an easy task, not to mention that the Crusader Army has very few logistics experts and is rife with religious conflicts, so most of the big and small matters fall on Ivy's shoulders.

Fortunately, as the name of Illinicadesna's daughter spread throughout Grallion, more and more people who were not of the Iomede faith poured into Montevi, bringing unexpected pressure to this religious country.

The letter left by Godfrey in Cannaburi indicates that the archbishop's opposition to the pluralistic religious system in the Royal Council is weakening, and it seems that he will soon relent and agree to relinquish the religious dominance of Cannaburi.

Thinking of this, Ivy smiled silently.

According to his understanding, religious deliberation is never used to solve problems. After all, small matters are discussed in large meetings, big matters in small meetings, and truly important matters are not discussed in meetings.

As the Crusader's full military advisor, Ivy's power was never limited to military matters. Whether it was religious affairs or matters of people's livelihood and urban construction, he could use the excuse of "affecting the Crusader's combat effectiveness" to intervene and then, as the highest authority in the city of Jubilee, express his opinions.

However, he never abused this power, only expressing his opinions on the most important matters.

If a multi-religious consensus system cannot truly solve the problem, then why does Ivy favor it so much?

Of course, it's because it can resolve conflicts.

Once this conference takes place, there will undoubtedly be a whole host of titles, all of which will be on par with the bishops of the state church of Montevi, namely the Church of Iomede, in the city of Favor.

In order to retain their titles, the leaders of these different churches had to actively collude with each other to quell any potential or existing conflicts, rather than bringing them one by one to Ivy's desk.

After all, as the de facto dictator, Ivy had the power to appoint or dismiss any church leader in the religious council within the city of Jueze.

With a sense of relief at the prospect of soon being free from the mundane affairs of religion, Ivy Mai climbed the steps back to her office, where the entrance to the Room of Requirement was located. It was time to drift off into a peaceful and comfortable sleep.

Perhaps you could consider taking a nap on the jewelry paid for by Gopher?

This thought, so characteristic of golden dragons, only lingered in Ivy's mind for a moment before he dismissed it. Golden dragons feed on various precious minerals, including gemstones and precious metals as broadly defined. If Ivy were to take a few bites of them in his dream, it would undoubtedly cause a reduction in his wealth.

He is now a divine being who does not need food and water to survive. Eating is merely a pleasure for him. Therefore, he prefers dishes that are imbued with the chef's emotions and skills to gold and silver treasures that are stained with human sweat and used as currency and general equivalent.

He was a person who had transcended base desires, a dragon who had also transcended base desires, and a spellcaster with lofty aspirations.

However, before this spellcaster, who had shed his vulgar interests, could return to his comfortable magic hut, he heard a sound coming from his office.

“Sir, you cannot smoke here.” It was the voice of Kuntoli Kant, the little elephant. Although he was a good warrior who had been baptized by blood and fire, the scholarly air in his voice had not disappeared.

"Your boss has been leaving me hanging here for half the afternoon, and now he's even taking away this last bit of entertainment from me?" The voice that answered the little elephant's question was deep and solemn, and Ivy was certain she had never heard it before.

“It was indeed a mistake on our part, but didn’t you also refuse to return to the tavern to wait for the next summons and choose to enjoy the desserts and tea we offer here?” The little elephant’s response remained very proper. “Since you have chosen to stay on the Crusader’s territory, you’d better follow our rules.”

"You're not an ordinary student, nor an ordinary clerk, right?"

When Ivy entered the office, he saw a well-equipped dwarf. His weapons were neatly stored and hung on the weapon rack on the wall, but he was still wearing his rugged and sturdy leather armor. As he spoke, he stuffed his pipe, already filled with tobacco, into his robes. It seemed that Little Elephant had convinced him to give up his plan to smoke in Ivy's office.

“I’ve been quite free until the next order comes in, so I’m not unhappy about enjoying such luxurious refreshments for free. My only regret is not being able to relax with a few more puffs…” The black-haired, black-bearded dwarf turned around, squinted at Ivy, and then jumped off the cushioned chair. “You must be the owner here, right? Professional assassin Grebo is happy to serve you.” “Lord Doom,” the little elephant nodded to Ivy as well.

“A professional assassin? I thought you were a bounty hunter. Please forgive me, ruling a city in ruins is indeed not easy.” Ivy returned to her seat and gestured for the dwarf who called himself Grebo to sit down. “Little Kun, I heard everything outside. Your response was very appropriate. Did anything important happen while I was away?”

"It's nothing important, it's just..." Little Elephant was interrupted by Ivy before he could finish speaking.

“Since there’s nothing urgent, you can save your ‘just’ for tomorrow.” Ivy looked at Greiber. “Alright, now we can talk about something else.”

"As far as I know, you were present when Kanaburi fell and even assassinated a demon?" Ivy asked. This information was provided to him by Ilinica, who said that the two of them had met in Istode Tower.

“Yes, I had another contract to handle at the time. My employer asked me to assassinate an overly complacent nightmare in Ischod Tower named Kiras. I guess that counts as participating in the defense of Kanaburi... but my employer had no interest in the actual outcome of the battle. Come to think of it, the information this client provided was far too accurate, suspiciously accurate. They seemed to know that the demons were about to attack Kanaburi, and that my target would be there.” The black-haired dwarf assassin’s description was indeed suspicious.

However, considering that demons can also turn against each other, not to mention that the demons that emerged from the World's Sorrow belong to two different demon lords—one being the Locust King Descari's forces, and the other being the minions of the Labyrinth Lord Baphomet.

While it may sound absurd that a demon hires mortals to eliminate other demons, it doesn't seem like a big deal considering that demons are capable of anything.

However, Ivy certainly wouldn't overlook this detail, but asking an assassin who hadn't even reached a contract with her about his previous employer now was indeed a bit disregard for the other party's professional ethics. It wouldn't be too late to do this once the assassin was fully under Ivy's command.

"Internal strife between demons and cultists is not uncommon, and you might just happen to run into it," Ivy commented casually. "Commander Tirabard should already have told you that I called you here to discuss the topic of dragon hunting."

The dwarf's eyes lit up, but he still deliberately feigned nonchalance as he said, "Is it that adult female dragon? The one that keeps harassing civilians and caravans, carrying people away? I've heard of her; that's quite a formidable target. I can take the job, but it has to be done immediately because my old client is about to give me a new job, and I have to leave as soon as I get the order. Of course, you should know that dragon hunting isn't cheap. Two thousand five hundred gold coins, advance payment."

"It's a female dragon? All I knew was that it was a red dragon." Ivy raised her eyebrows with some interest. "Price is not a problem, but I have some special requirements. If your skills are impressive enough, I can even arrange a bonus for you."

A small bag was tossed to the dwarf by Ivy, who caught it suspiciously and weighed it in his hand. He knew very well that two thousand five hundred gold coins couldn't be contained in a small bag.

He untied the bag's drawstring, poured the contents into his palm, and five sparkling, brilliantly colored diamonds immediately rolled out—exactly five in total.

“Oh, I really have encountered a generous dragon.” Grebo picked up a diamond and waved it in the direction of the wall lamp. “These portable valuables are highly valued in the North. If you find a good buyer, you can even get more than three thousand gold coins.”

"Tell me, what are your special requests?" Grebe put the small bag of diamonds away again.

“I need you to lead a team to track down that mother dragon, find her lair, and if there are dragon eggs inside, make sure they are all intact.” Ivy then took out a small glass ball. “You just need to break this glass ball in her lair, and I will take care of her.”

Regardless of their type, dragons always hide their lairs carefully and lay down heavy guards.

Red dragons typically enslave small creatures like kobolds to serve them, but the lands around the World's Lament are clearly unsuitable for any non-Abyssal species, making it highly likely that this red dragon is solitary. Solitary dragons usually conceal their lairs carefully and hunt from a great distance.

Therefore, finding her would be quite a difficult task, and Ivy certainly didn't have the time or energy to do it.

On the contrary, the woman who was nominally the commander of the Crusaders and hung the Heroic Spear on the city wall was quite idle, so this could be used to send her out for a stroll and not cause trouble in the city.

"Not only is there a reward, but also qualified helpers? This contract seems surprisingly simple," Greiber asked. "Can I meet my dragon-hunting teammates first? Of course, this isn't to question their abilities, just to be on the safe side. Besides, as far as I know, all the sighting reports about the red dragon seem to point to the same possibility: the female dragon that's been around here is a solitary creature and probably doesn't have the dragon eggs you're looking for."

“The World's Lament has never been a suitable place to live, but that red dragon still came here. Although the possibility is small, we can't rule out the possibility that she brought a nest of eggs.” Ivy nodded in understanding. He had always been interested in breeding magical creatures. If he could get a few evil dragon eggs to raise and play with, that would be quite interesting. “As for your teammates, you've already met them. They are the Knight Commander of the Crusader and her group of adventurer teammates with special powers.”

“I’m very impressed with our Commander Illinika. Very well, I have no further questions.” Grebo nodded decisively, preparing to pack his things and take his leave. “I assure you, boss, this deal was absolutely worth every penny.”

Seeing Ivy nod, Greiber picked up the equipment hanging on the weapon rack, said goodbye, and left.

Ivy looked at the little elephant beside her: "Have you memorized everything?"

"Dragon Hunting Funds: 3,000 gold coins, allocated from the Crusader's special funds. Note: There may be an additional bonus later to incentivize members who participate in this dangerous mission." Little Elephant picked up the whiteboard in front of him and read fluently.

“Very good.” Ivy nodded in approval. “Make preparations, Kun. We’re going back to Streihaven in a few days. You can give a brief report on what you’ve learned during this time to the two deans of Hengjian Academy, and you can also make a copy of your notes to keep at the academy.”

"Ah!" the little elephant exclaimed, seemingly having almost forgotten about the academy and his unsubmitted evaluation. "My manuscript? It hasn't even been polished yet..."

“Therefore, it is the primary source of information on the Holy War.” Ivy ignored the little elephant’s embarrassment, turned around and opened the door of the Room of Requirement. “I’m even planning to help you apply for a research group. Don’t worry, you still have a few evenings to receive it.”

(End of this chapter)