The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

Everything was in place, so she didn't go in immediately but waited for her teammates.

"Master, can I wait outside?"

The four rushed over, but hesitated at the entrance of the cave, their faces contorted in anger, indicating that they absolutely did not want to go in.

"There might be treasure inside, and if you guys don't come, I'll keep it all for myself."

"I have no opinion!"

As a beast-human with keen senses and a well-developed sense of smell, Nei Ke really didn't want to go in. As she spoke, she gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. The stench that filled her nostrils made her hold onto the tree trunk and gag. It took her a long time to get used to it.

The others were in slightly better condition, but it took them 30 minutes before they could move around in the stench. They could only take a breath once every few minutes after entering the cave, and their physical condition was noticeably weak.

If a monster were to attack at this time, they would be completely unable to react, even though there was no real danger in the cave.

Maginus took the lead and went deeper into the cave, following her sense of life as she turned left and right. After about ten minutes, she found the place she was looking for.

As you move forward, the already enormous cave expands even further inside. There are unnatural chisel marks on the walls, and an underground river flows alongside, its surface covered with green algae for some reason.

This is caused by excessive nutrients, but it usually only occurs in stagnant water or slow-flowing water.

"There's no road ahead? Are you sure you haven't come to the wrong place?"

Nei Ke pinched her nose and breathed through her mouth, making a strange sound. Her dark vision revealed a black wall in front of her.

"No, what we're looking for is right in front of us, Kshia, use Fluorescence to illuminate the surroundings."

"……it is good."

Dizzy, Kercia began casting a spell. Enveloped in a foul stench like a cloud of stench, she made mistakes several times in a row. It was only on the fifth attempt that she successfully released the Fluorescent Spell, and a ball of light rose from her hand, illuminating the surroundings.

The moment the sphere of light rose, everyone except Maginus took a step back, their faces pale as they stared ahead.

In the dark cave, even those with dark vision couldn't see very far. It wasn't until then that they realized that what was blocking their way wasn't a wall at all, but a huge black corpse!

Kshia swallowed hard and began to move around, its metallic black scales reflecting the light, making the dark cave slightly brighter and allowing dark vision to see further.

This is the corpse of a black dragon, which is about thirty meters long. Even in death, it inspires awe.

It had many wounds on its body, seemingly caused by sharp weapons and magic. As for the time of death...

When did it die?

Kersia looked at Maginus, her eyes flashing with excitement as a mage, and so did everyone else.

This is a dragon! Many people never get to see one in their entire lives, and it's a black dragon, not a white dragon that's more like a wild beast. Judging from its size, this dead black dragon was still in its prime.

"About a hundred years ago."

Sensing the life force emanating from the corpse, Maginus made a precise judgment and suddenly wondered what would happen to his body after he died.

Hmm... I suppose the corpse will remain immortal for a long time, just like this black dragon, before it rots away.

In fact, the black dragon's body had already begun to decompose. A black dragon that died of natural causes should have gone somewhere else, so the black dragon in front of us must have died here from an accidental and severe injury.

“Let’s look around for any treasure it hasn’t eaten,” Maginus said, signaling everyone to spread out. “Be careful, there might be traps or something. Even if you find treasure, don’t touch it.”

The group split up. Kercia, who had no close-combat abilities, stayed with Brian. Maginus came to the dragon corpse, looked at the maggots crawling in and out of its rotting flesh, and casually absorbed their life force to clean them up.

The magic surrounding it has faded considerably over time, which is why maggots, moss, and fungi can grow on it, and why the bear goblin can eat its flesh.

Reaching into the perforated dragon flesh, Maginus extracted some blood, analyzing its composition. His life sense enveloped the dragon's body, examining its organs and bones.

Doing these things is naturally meaningful. Maginus wants to try to create a fake dragon using her life force in the future, or to make her body more powerful in battle.

After a while, the four people who had scattered to explore the cave returned, their faces showing disappointment.

"What a poor Black Dragon! It has nothing at all."

Neko said unhappily, while Kshia looked thoughtfully at the dragon's belly:

"It is said that even if a dragon dies unexpectedly, it will return to its dragon nest and eat all its treasures before it dies, and there is a certain probability that it will recover from its injuries. Maybe the treasure is in its belly, but we don't know if it has been digested."

From ordinary metals to magical items, there's nothing dragons can't digest, except for legendary items or artifacts, of course.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get our bellies out!"

Brian seemed more enthusiastic than anyone else. As a knight, he naturally longed for dragons and their treasures, having heard countless stories about dragons and treasures when he was a child.

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"Ahem," Ajak, who lived in the countryside, recalled some unpleasant experience and raised a finger to remind him, "So, after a dragon dies, does the food it ate ferment?"

"That depends on whether it ate meat before it died. So my suggestion is that you go back the way you came, and I will handle the body."

Maginus said calmly, "It already smells terrible. If the residue in the dragon's stomach ferments and expands and then explodes, the stench could really kill people."

Chapter 383 Cutting Open the Dragon's Belly

Thinking of the possible scene, the four of them twitched at the corners of their mouths and fled the cave in a panic, waiting outside for Maginus's good news.

After waiting a few minutes, the girl looked at the black dragon's abdomen, grabbed the giant sword with both hands, and stabbed it fiercely into the dragon's abdomen. Even though it had been dead for hundreds of years, the black dragon's scales still maintained a certain degree of protection, and she could feel a strong resistance when she stabbed with all her might.

Fortunately, the greatsword had already pierced through. Maginus slashed the greatsword forcefully, leaving a huge wound on the black dragon's abdomen. However, the sword still only cut into flesh and blood, without reaching the cavity or organs.

Carefully cutting into the abdomen, she didn't want to get her face covered in the fermenting contents of the dragon's stomach. When Maginus cut through the flesh and saw the organs inside the cavity, the first thing she noticed was the expanding dragon's stomach.

The reason it hadn't exploded before was because the black dragon's flesh and blood were holding back its growth. Now that the flesh and blood have been released, the dragon's stomach is filled with gas, and cracks and a taut feeling have appeared on its surface.

It's about to explode!

Maginus immediately retreated from the dragon's stomach, raised her hand and released her life force to create a solid-liquid protective barrier. At this moment, the stomach burst open with a deafening roar, and a stench strong enough to kill a person spread throughout the entire cave.

Maginos, who had shielded her sense of smell and taste, even covered her body with fake armor to ensure that she would not be contaminated by the stench before returning to the side that had been cut open.

Bones of various creatures, the powerful stomach acid of dragons that had lost its function, and a large number of corroded metal products...

The stomach burst out with a lot of things, mostly metal objects, many of which emitted a magical glow. It seems that before it died, it really did devour all its treasures, trying to escape its near-death state and survive.

"Even adult dragons fear death, just like humans."

With a slight sigh, Maginus casually swept the items on the ground, picked up a few relatively intact magical items, most of which were no longer useful. Those that had survived were probably very powerful before, but now only the effects of low-level magical equipment remained.

It's fine to give it to your own team members, but if you want to expand your adventure team into an adventure group, you should also set up a reward and punishment mechanism.

While putting away her items, Maginus also collected the useless equipment, including a large amount of rare metals that Benia might be interested in.

After packing the foul-smelling substances into special bags, Maginus left the cave entrance and found the four people waiting outside, telling them to return to the village first.

"You guys go back first, I'll stay a little longer."

"Master, is it difficult to cut the black dragon's hide?"

"No, I want to study the physiological structure of the black dragon, which will take some time."

Ajak, who had just joined the team, was a little confused. After all, Maginus's fighting style didn't seem like that of a scholar, so why would he want to study the physical structure of dragons?

Could it be because she has a grudge against dragons and wants to become a dragon slayer?

The bard's imagination ran wild. He didn't intend to ask any more questions, but instead planned to investigate the backgrounds of his teammates on their future journey.

They turned back, and Maginus re-entered the cave to gaze at the black dragon's body. He raised his hand and placed it on the dragon's body, his life force flowing into the corpse as he observed the black dragon's flesh, which still retained a trace of vitality even after hundreds of years.

Black dragons can digest magical items, turning their magic and even metal into their own nutrients. They can even survive by eating dirt, indicating that they can perform energy conversion with low loss.

In other words, they can convert magic and other forms of energy into life force. Maginus wants to simulate a similar ability to achieve a greater degree of endurance.

Imagine facing a small number of enemies, seemingly with her life force depleted and unable to be replenished, but she can actually draw magic from the air and convert it into life force.

If she could truly learn similar techniques, she wouldn't even need to absorb life force; she could convert all kinds of energy carried by golems, undead creatures, and so on.

It is no longer about absorbing life force, but about absorbing activity energy.

It's difficult, really, because she's still a human being, no matter what.

Three days later, Maginus, having figured out the general situation, emerged from the cave with a bag containing a considerable amount of dragon scales, dragon meat, dragon bones, as well as important blood vessels and the dragon heart.

This is destined to be a long process of exploration. Maginus can be said to be creating her own new professional skills, although this profession is probably unique to her.

The magic of sorcerers can give her some inspiration, as can the magic of psychics, but the difference in underlying energy and the essential difference in the means of energy utilization means that she is destined to have to slowly pave her own way forward.

"Then, as agreed, Mr. Ajax, no, Ajax, welcome to the Firefly Adventurers."

Back in the village, Maginus shook hands with the bard, and Ajac, relieved that the village crisis was over, stroked his beard and smiled:

"I should also thank you. I was originally thinking about what to do after the village problem was resolved."

"Let's not delay, let's set off. Our destination is the capital. Have we already spoken to everyone we know in the village?"

“Ah, don’t worry,” the bard, who had already spoken with Kxia, nodded and coughed. “Well, if I’m going to the capital of the Kingdom of Music, I might need to disguise myself.”

"No problem. In principle, I shouldn't invade your privacy, but if you have enemies, we can skip it and even help you take revenge. Consider it a benefit for joining the group."

Seeing that he seemed to have something difficult to say, Maginus reminded him, and Ajac quickly waved his hand, showing a troubled expression along with a hint of smugness:

"Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that I left behind some complicated emotional debts over there."

...So, is it really true that this is the stereotype of bards?

Ajax, who is known for his flirtatious ways and ability to move among noblewomen, is not exactly handsome. How did he manage to accumulate so many romantic entanglements?

The others standing nearby were speechless, especially Brian, who looked slightly envious but also suspicious.

"Hey, what kind of looks are you giving me? I've just been busy in Jiulingba Village lately and haven't had time to tidy up. Once I'm all done, you'll see what I really look like."

Ajax, who called himself "Uncle," reiterated this point. Maginus waved for everyone to get in the car first, and Brian took the opportunity to get in first, grinning at the bard:

"Uncle Ajax, I'm leaving the carriage to you, a local."

Great! He can finally stop driving the carriage!

Brian was pleased, but Neco was more concerned about Ajax's age: "So Uncle Ajax, how old are you exactly?"

"Twenty-eight, you can't tell, can you?"

Watching everyone playfully bickering, Maginus lowered her head slightly, feeling more relaxed.

Chapter 384 The Muse

The village was relatively close to the capital of the Kingdom of Music. About four or five days later, the carriage arrived in the capital. Ajak, a bard from the kingdom who had studied at the capital's academy, raised his hand and tapped the carriage wall:

"Welcome, everyone, to Muse, the city with the most musical atmosphere on the continent of Knoil~".

Already arrived?

She could stick her head out of the car window, and the music, sometimes soft and sometimes loud, made her nod to the rhythm, her tail wagging inside the car.

Pulling her head back, Neke said with a hint of surprise, "I don't know why, but I feel that the music here in the capital sounds much better than outside."

"Ha, of course. This place has the most musicians and performers on the mainland. If we want to live here peacefully, our musical literacy must be at a certain level."

Ajac excitedly introduced himself, his tone filled with pride: "I'm someone who earned my tuition through my music to complete my college courses."

It sounded like a difficult task, but Maginus and the others had no idea it was real. Kercia said bluntly, "Uncle Ajac, we don't understand even if you tell us. After all, we're not bards."

"Sigh, it's like casting pearls before swine. Let me take you to the inn first, and I'll tell you my story later."

Ajax shook his head, drove the carriage to his familiar inn, and looked at the unchanged sign with a look of reminiscence before telling the others to get out of the carriage.

What Maginus saw was a neat and clean, unassuming tavern with few people inside. Most of the patrons were dressed neatly, indicating that the tavern's customers were of good character.

Ajax, familiar with the place, greeted the doorman and asked him to take the horse to the stable to feed it. Upon entering the tavern, he greeted the old man at the bar.

"Old Enzo! Long time no see!"

"you……."

The gray-haired old man raised his eyebrows and stared at the disguised Ajak. After staring at him for a long time, he finally recognized him and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"You dare to come back, kid? I have to say, it's not easy to be recognized when you're disguised. So why did you come here? Aren't you afraid those noblewomen and ladies will arrest you?"

"Ha, I joined an adventure group. This is my boss and the members. I just brought them here to check on Muse's situation."

The shopkeeper looked behind him and saw a group of young people no more than twenty years old, which made old Enzo narrow his eyes, focusing his attention on Maginus.

As always, the capital city is a place where hidden talents abound.

Maginus discovered that the shopkeeper was a mid-level professional, and he had some guesses about her strength.

"We need three rooms: one single room and two double rooms. That's the most expensive one."

Without any preamble, Maginus made her request, and old Enzo immediately smiled sincerely: "Alright, please come in, guest. If you need anything, please feel free to call our staff."

"Hey, we've known each other for ages, can't you give our adventure team a discount?"

Ajax shrugged, hinting to the shopkeeper for a discount, and old Enzo waved his hand repeatedly.

"Do I know you that well? Even your captain hasn't said anything, so get out of here."