ALL NOVEL Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Guardian of the Black River
It was a big turtle, or should I say, a dragon turtle?
Since it was hiding in the water, Miss Vilyric couldn’t see it clearly, but judging by its many draconic features, its bloodline concentration must be quite high. That last attack was a burst of high-speed water jetting out of its mouth.
Now, lurking at the bottom of the river and attacking the ship’s hull, was likely one of its minions or something of that sort.
There were all sorts of them—huge fish, snakes, turtles that were a bit smaller than the big one outside, and some that looked like dragon-less, webbed-lizard hybrids, all possessing various draconic traits and diverse attacking methods. Miss Vilyric didn’t even bother to count them.
The strength of these river magical beasts varied greatly, with around a thousand of them. The weakest was probably at level 10, which was around the Human Copper rank; the stronger ones… well, there were a few that reached levels where even flowers would have a hard time dealing with them.
The lead dragon turtle felt like it had at least lv45-50 strength, a bit higher than the flowers, making it one of the strongest creatures Miss Vilyric had encountered so far.
Hmm… It resembled that guy from the other night at Wanku Fortress who was hiding in the sky and got discovered by Miss Vilyric, prompting her to give him a flashbang.
If it were on land, with two pieces of magical equipment, the flowers would have a chance at defeating this guy. But in the river, well…
No wonder they say the Black River is hard to cross; there’s such a big boss here. If it weren’t for me providing Noah’s Ark and being on the ship, relying solely on Liliya and her subordinates would spell doom for the entire army.
Still, that saying holds: no matter how strong a warrior is, fighting local creatures in their habitat can be tough, unless they can fly or the strength gap is drastic.
“Miss Vilyric, down there…”
Princess looked relieved as the golden barrier blocked all the water droplets, although she seemed a bit worried about the unusual activities beneath the ship.
Despite commanding thousands of elite troops and having shadow guards as her trump card, it wasn’t sustainable in the middle of the Black River, so she had no choice but to turn to her magical teacher and guardian beside her.
“It’s okay, just some little bugs. Let them tap away slowly; even if they break their teeth, they won’t damage the ship. But this big one in front… does need to be dealt with.”
As they spoke, the giant dragon turtle, sensing its attacks were useless, finally couldn’t hold back and slowly began to surface from below the river.
It was a creature over a hundred meters long; just the part of its body protruding from the water was enough for it to look the people like Miss Vilyric on the deck right in the eye.
It had spiral horns on its head, limbs longer and stronger than a regular turtle, and its skin was covered in a thick layer of deep black scales.
If it weren’t for that wide shell rising like an island in the river atop its back, it would look just like a wingless giant dragon.
“What a strong draconic feature… This might even rival the beast kin’s half-dragons; is it… a direct descendant?”
Suddenly, a gasp of surprise came from behind, as Hua was astonished. For this usually taciturn woman to show such a strong emotional reaction, it seemed the old turtle’s background was probably even more significant than Miss Vilyric expected.
Above the river, an ancient voice like thunder rumbled, reminiscent of echoes of the past, heavy with the passage of time.
“I am the great lord of the Black River, son of the demon dragon Nasatlik, guardian of the Black River, Nasarion. Humans, why do you invade our territory?”
Can it speak?
Liliya stared in shock at the massive dragon turtle on the river’s surface, then turned back to see Miss Vilyric’s inert expression and had no choice but to step forward, facing that presence filled with pressure, and spoke boldly.
“I am the Fifth Princess of the United Kingdom, Liliya Meikailande. These are my subordinates. Honorable guardian of the Black River, we mean no—”
“How dare you!!”
The previously thunderous ancient voice suddenly amplified several times, sounding like a shocking thunderclap that echoed across the river.
Even with the protective curtains, the rolling sound waves made Liliya dizzy, and she almost fell to the ground, fortunately supported by Hua behind her.
“Lowly human, I did not speak with you. Bring forth the real strong one behind you to speak with the son of the demon dragon, guardian of the Black River, Nasarion!”
“Ah?”
Liliya froze for a moment, and her gaze instinctively turned to the helpless Miss Vilyric beside her, unsure of whether to continue the conversation.
“Ha…”
This old turtle had been staring at her since it emerged with that dead fish gaze; did it think others couldn’t notice? Also, was it really necessary to add such a long prefix every time it introduced itself? Who could remember all that!
While she grumbled internally, it was clear this fellow was determined to communicate only with her. Although it felt tedious, Miss Vilyric suddenly developed a sliver of interest in this self-proclaimed guardian turtle, so she didn’t just go for a direct hit as initially planned.
“You want to talk to me, right? What is it?”
“Oh! Such an aura, indeed… May I ask how you prefer to be addressed?”
Once it saw the black-haired girl stepping out from behind Liliya, for some reason, the elderly turtle called Nasarion suddenly became respectful, even changing to a tone that could be considered “soft-spoken” for it.
“…I am Vilyric. Let’s say I’m a traveler from afar, here out of curiosity. For now, I’ve been hired by Liliya to serve as her guard. So, do you want trouble?”
“No, no! Absolutely not! It’s just that someone of your standing would accept a mere mortal’s… I’m sorry, that was presumptuous. I mean no judgement on your actions; I’m just a bit shocked…”
It felt as though the old turtle’s authoritative voice suddenly turned a little submissive? And from the tone, it seemed that…
“You… do you know me?” Miss Vilyric furrowed her brows.
If that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t explain why its attitude did a complete 180.
After all, Miss Vilyric had merely used a level 6 defensive skill, and if that was enough to scare the old turtle, then its title of “son of something” and “guardian of something” was not very impressive.
But how was that even possible? Miss Vilyric had traveled from the game world to this one, and it hadn’t been a month since arriving; it couldn’t possibly be her memory…
“No, I have never met you before.”
“?”
Miss Vilyric suddenly found herself lost for words.
“Wait, you look so familiar; what’s going on?”
Nasarion’s voice paused for a moment, and its enormous dragon eyes scanned the people on deck, seemingly assessing something.
“There are some matters I wish to discuss only with you. May I enter your… cough, cough, independent space? That shouldn’t be a difficulty for you.”
The words sounded like a request, but Vilyric could sense that it was also a sort of test from the old turtle.
In other words, if she didn’t have the ability to bring it into her space, there wouldn’t be any further discussion from Nasarion.
Could Miss Vilyric do it? Of course.
But… how did this old fellow know she had such capabilities? And that overly familiar and humble tone made this all feel quite serious.
Initially, she thought it would just be a simple river crossing, fighting maybe a few pesky little monsters, but old turtle Nasarion’s emergence turned the situation in an unexpected direction.
“Okay.”
After pondering for a moment, Miss Vilyric agreed to the old turtle’s request. After all, it wasn’t a secret tactic that couldn’t be seen, and entering her home turf would make her less worried about any schemes from this guy.
“I’ll be right back.”
She turned to remind the Princess and didn’t wait for their reply before murmuring softly.
“Open the door.”