Chapter 998: Chapter 57: The Deterrence of Sheng Xie_4
Rick had long been stunned, the majestic and imposing figure of Sheng Xie deeply imprinted in the mind of everyone present; his radiant body seemed so divine in the eyes of all. Captain Siri shouted, "Elder, that’s enough, you can call back the dragon now." The dragon might emanating from Sheng Xie continuously assaulted the surrounding magic barriers, providing ample proof of Ah Dai’s strength. He now fully understood why Ah Dai had become an elder of the guild.
Sheng Xie hummed lowly, shook its large head, clearly not wanting to return to the Dragon’s Blood so soon. It was only then that Ah Dai realized there were so many people around and communicated through spiritual power to Sheng Xie, "Xiao Qie, be good, there are too many people here, you should go back first. Okay?"
"Brother, not good, you just promised to let me eat something delicious, you can’t go back on your word," Sheng Xie retorted.
Ah Dai did not want to force Sheng Xie since it was already seen by these people. He floated down from Sheng Xie’s back and commanded, "Then you stay put here, do not wander around, brother will go find food for you." The moment Sheng Xie heard it didn’t have to return to Dragon’s Blood immediately, it was thrilled, nodding its big head eagerly and sprawled on the ground, enjoying the warmth of the sun, closing its eyes, looking completely content.
With no other choice, Ah Dai shook his head helplessly and walked toward Captain Siri. But when he approached the barrier, he encountered an invisible screen, "Captain Siri, could you dismantle the barrier first?"
Siri hesitated to look toward Sheng Xie, saying, "But, but your dragon hasn’t been called back yet!"
Ah Dai smiled, "Don’t worry, it was summoned by my magic and will obey my commands, and its temperament is very mild, it definitely won’t attack others easily."
It was then that Siri felt at ease, instructing his magicians to open the barrier, welcoming Ah Dai out. When Rick saw Ah Dai emerge from the barrier, he immediately snapped back to reality, hurried over excitedly, and exclaimed, "Elder, your magic is truly amazing, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a dragon from the legends! It’s so beautiful, it would be so majestic to become a Dragon Knight! Elder, are you selling your dragon? I am willing to exchange all my assets for it."
Hearing the inquiry about purchasing Sheng Xie, Ah Dai’s expression immediately darkened, "Not for sale, it’s my friend, not a commodity. Besides, it was summoned by magic and will disappear after a while." Turning to Captain Siri, Ah Dai asked, "Captain Siri, this dragon is a bit hungry, what do you think about finding something for it to eat?"
Siri was startled. Although he was unclear about the principles of summoning magic, he had never heard of summoned creatures needing to eat. He quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, Legion Chief Rick, what do you think..." Although Rick had been rebuffed by Ah Dai, he was not angry. As he grew fonder of the silver giant dragon, he said, "No problem, I’ll go find some delicious food for it right away." With that, he turned and ran off excitedly. By this time, the news of Ah Dai summoning the dragon had almost spread throughout the entire camp, and in a short period, the soldiers who came to watch had completely surrounded the barrier. This was quite troublesome for the magicians, whose magic level was not very high, and maintaining this barrier was very difficult. Seeing that Ah Dai had no intention of recalling the dragon, for the safety of the camp, Siri naturally could not let them dismantle the barrier and could only support it with difficulty.
Xiphil, of course, received the news, and upon hearing that Ah Dai had summoned a dragon, immediately berated the counselor who had criticized Ah Dai earlier, and himself led his officers to the outside of the barrier. "Ah! Elder, I am sorry, I was very angry when I heard that Legion Chief Rick mistook you for a spy and insisted on testing you. This wasn’t the intention of our command. Rest assured, I will definitely punish him," said Xiphil, adeptly sidestepping blame with a few casual words and pushing all the responsibility onto Rick.
Rick was just coming back with a large platter of food when he heard Xiphil’s words, felt his anger rise but soon realized Xiphil’s intentions and quickly came forward apologetically, saying, "Yes, yes, it’s all my fault, Elder, please don’t take it to heart. I was just thinking about the safety of the Empire of Huasheng, the situation is tense, we have to be cautious! It was abrupt of you guys to come, and I accept my punishment."
Xiphil looked at Rick satisfied, glad that his old friend understood his intentions. Pushing the blame onto Rick alone was much better than having this powerful Mage Guild elder misunderstand the entire Tiger Army of Light. Faking anger he declared, "Legion Chief Rick, you’ve gone too far today, the Elder is our most distinguished guest, how could you mistake him for someone else? I hereby announce, in the name of the acting Group Army Commander, starting now, you will have your salary suspended for half a year."
Rick hastily accepted this light punishment with respect and approached Ah Dai with the food, "Elder, shall we give this food to the dragon you’ve summoned now?"
Ah Dai looked at Rick holding the large tray with a mixture of amusement and empathy; the tray was filled with various poultry and fish, he had no idea where Rick had found it all but nodded and said, "Give the food to me. I’ll take it to him."
Rick said sheepishly, "Elder, may I come with you? You said it follows your commands, right? I just want to get a closer look at the dragon."
