Chapter 502: The Royal City
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
They got an accurate map from Elson, and agreed to a meeting with Marshal Ophra in the wilderness outside the capital of Holletta. Hao Ren decided to use a stealthy teleportation mode to avoid as many knights as possible at the blockade near Dragonspine Ridge. After all, they had descended from the sky and appeared in Dragonspine Ridge, which was now a military restricted area.
But when everyone ended up hanging from a tree, Hao Ren began to realize that he needed to be more cautious when using the stealthy mode. The MDT's operating manual said, "Use only if you do not know the exact coordinates of the destination, but find it necessary to go there quickly." This mode helped users avoid physical barriers to prevent them from being sent into a wall or tree, but it did not prevent them from being sent up into the air, and hung on a tree.
Hao Ren murmured as he dangled from the tree, "I think we may as well have had Elson arrange a carriage. We're not in a hurry anyway..."
Also dangling beside him, Lily excitedly said, "This is fun!"
"Wait until the next time you're sent into a puddle," Vivian's voice was heard behind them, followed by the flapping of wings. The vampire had transformed into a bat and gotten down from the tree. "Stop dangling up there. Come down and see where we are now. I've suddenly lost my trust in the stealthy teleportation."
They shook themselves hard. As the branches squeaked and snapped, they dropped like flies—literally. When Nangong Sanba got to his feet, he bragged, "I'm telling you, I've been trained for this since I was young. My sister's tail can swing higher than this tree. Luckily, it was just a tree we were hanging from this time. Just be careful—"
Hao Ren turned to look at him. "...be careful of your sister."
Nangong Sanba eyeballed him. "I was talking nicely to you. Why did you have to say that?"
Nangong Wuyue bounced up from behind and knocked Nangong Sanba on the head. "Oh, so you've been holding a grudge against me all this while for throwing you around with my tail!"
Hao Ren looked at the half-baked demon hunter, who was hugging his head and bending over on the ground. "I told you so. Be careful of your sister," Hao Ren said.
Lily climbed up a large rock nearby and discovered that they were surrounded by a desolate wilderness. The tree they were hanging on earlier was one of several tall plants within a radiusof several kilometers—what luck! On the east, the silhouette of a city could be seen. It had to be the Royal City, where Ophra was waiting for them.
"The Royal City of Holletta... I heard that it's very prosperous, but I've never had a chance to visit," said Hao Ren as he looked at the silhouette of the city at the end of the horizon. There were a lot of attractions on this planet, but every time he came, if he was not fighting with a rock monsters or trees, he would be bothered by a bunch of scary, creepy and ancient stories. He would not have many chances to visit the famous places. "Isn't Ophra supposed to be waiting nearby? Elson's message should have been delivered... Are we early?"
Before Hao Ren's voice trailed off, a crisp voice was heard behind him. "Actually, I've been waiting here for a while. I just saw a bunch of people falling from the tree. I couldn't imagine those people were actually the heroes who came to save the world."
Hao Ren turned around and saw Ophra standing there. The valiant and beautiful marshal was still wearing the same outfit, except her standard steel body armor had been switched to soft body armor. She smiled and looked at the foreigners in front of her. She looked surprised as well as amazed. "I didn't expect you to appear in such a bizarre way every time. I'm surprised to see you again so soon."
Hao Ren rubbed his nose and said, "It's not like I hang on trees every time..."
"Follow me. I've prepared a carriage. It's quite a distance from here to the Royal City." said Ophra, raising her hand and pointing into the distance. Hao Ren saw a simple but large carriage by the roadside, enough to carry all of them.
Everyone rode in the carriage as they made their way to the Royal City. Becky was like a kid in a candy store, tossing and turning on the seat. Ophra looked at her and was puzzled. "What's wrong with her?" she asked Hao Ren.
Hao Ren shrugged and replied. "She's too excited to be in the same car with her idol."
Becky leered at Ophra, looking like she was about to pounce on her. "Ophra! I'm your brain-dead fan!"
Ophra was shocked. "Brain damage?! Did you hurt your head while you were exploring the other world? I have doctors here..."
Hao Ren almost choked. He patted Becky on the shoulder and said, "That's why I said you needed a few days to readapt to your home town. Look at you, what habits have you learned on Earth? Put your feet down, this isn't a sofa!"
Ophra curiously looked at Nangong Sanba, who was sitting in the corner of the carriage, looking at the scenery outside. "Is this a member of your team as well?"
"He's Nangong Sanba, a rookie in the team." Hao Ren just treated Nangong Sanba as a new teammate. After all, it seemed that he would like to join his sister in the same department. "He's still not familiar with this world. Hope you don't mind if he says something wrong."
Ophra looked even more curiously at them, which caused goosebumps all over Hao Ren's skin. "What's the problem?"
"No... I'm just wondering how you guys live your lives. Foreigners who travel through time and space at will must be shouldering special missions. I'm sure you've seen a lot of things. I can't imagine that kind of life... but I was a little envious of this mercenary and the four masters. It must have been an incredible adventure. Will the four masters not come back any time soon?"
"They will come back later." Hao Ren smiled. "We've found a stable connection that can send the four masters back to this world for good. In fact, the main purpose of our visit here is to send Becky back home."
Ophra nodded thoughtfully before she bluntly said, "However, before that, I hope you can meet with the pope and the king, not just to present yourselves, but as guests. As you know what's happening in this world, only you have the ability to solve it. The king and the pope have learned about the happenings in Dragonspine Ridge. They've been waiting for you for a long time."
Hao Ren gladly agreed. "Of course, I've been wanting to find someone who was in charge here to tell me the situation. I was thinking of looking for you, but since I now have the opportunity to meet your king and pope, it's all the better."
Something suddenly crossed Becky's mind. She stood up and said, "Wait a minute! His Majesty? Then, conferment and rewards can be directly performed too, right? His Majesty would personally do it, right?"
Ophra was perplexed. "What conferment? What reward?"
Becky's eyes were all dollar signs. "The bounty! The bounty of the Orb of the Holy Synod! The manor, title! And box of gold and silver jewelry! That's what I came for when I first started from the steppe!"
Ophra was even more confused. Engrossed in the topic of her people's life and death, money matters were the last thing on her mind. Hao Ren could not help but shrug helplessly. "Don't be surprised. That's just who she is. Just give her the bounty. The girl is too obsessed."
Ophra expression said it all. She was dumbfounded !
Ophra's reaction was not a surprise. Unlike Becky, not many world-saving heroes from the past till present would ask for a reward. Especially those super-humans who could travel through space and time, Ophra had naturally thought that they were unfettered by materialism. If superman were to send the Pentagon a bill for saving the United State of America, those people would have the same reaction.
At this moment, the carriage had finally entered the first entrance of the capital of Holletta. The carriage of the Marshal was not subject to the usual checks and passed through without a fuss. Ophra took the opportunity to remind Hao Ren. "The truth about the Dragonspine Ridge event is a secret. People know only the narrative of the church. So I hope you would keep your identity to yourself. Reward will be given to those who deserves it. However, I'm afraid the royalty would not publish the true story behind the reward. I hope you understand."
Hao Ren was careless and waved his hand. "Oh, it's okay. We don't live here anyway. Just give all to Becky."
Becky was like a dog with two tails.
"There's another reason you need to hide your identity," said Ophra, with a slightly embarrassment on her face. She lifted the window curtain of the carriage and pointed to the outside. "In official propaganda..."
Hao Ren turned and looked out of the window. He froze.
Ophra was heard saying, "...you all have died a heroic mercenaries...but rest assured that your gravestones and hero statues are all in the front row."
Hao Ren: "....."