Hilveld turned around to open the blinds, leaving only a slim silhouette. With a 'whoosh', the sunlight seemed to be sliced into thin pieces, casting long narrow rays onto Fang Hong. It was noon outside, and through the window, a tall maple tree swayed gently in the courtyard, moved by the breeze from the lake, its leaves a refreshing green.

The small room's location within the Holy Sanctuary of the Commercial Goddess was unknown, but it felt tranquil and reassuring, as if detached from the world's hustle and bustle. Hilveld turned to him at this moment and asked, "Thirsty?"

Fang Hong felt parched and nodded. Hilveld brought him a cup of water, contained in a transparent glass pitcher that slightly dazzled under the sunlight. He instinctively reached out, but Hilveld stopped him and poured a cup to his lips.

Their gazes met, and Hilveld smiled softly.

That smile, reflecting the afternoon sun, silently etched itself into Fang Hong's heart. The sweet water soaked through his cracked lips, reaching deep into his soul.

She watched intently until he slowly drank all the water, then began to narrate how the battle ended: "Lord Captain fell unconscious shortly after, and Elfendo's barrier resumed operation. To put an end to the troubles, Alchemists used half of the magic power stored within the Spire to slay Koras."

Of course, the story's end wasn't nearly that simple.

Koras's death drove the Thornfish People into berserk, launching a full retaliation against Fanric. The combat not only didn't end but expanded. The City Defense Force and Adventurers set up a defense line in the Lower City Area, holding ground day and night.

However, the Fishmen's retaliation gradually spread across the entire southern shore of Long Lake, with urgent warnings coming from every direction. At the time, Long Lake resembled a pot of boiling water, its boiling zone radiating outward from Fanric in all directions.

Only then did Fang Hong ask about everyone's situation, which was his greatest concern.

Hilveld replied: "All are well, because Koras invaded the city first thing. Mr. Reed and Miss Atira's side remained unharmed, while Mr. Greyrock was barely affected."

"Additionally, both Luo Yu and Gita crossed the tenth-level threshold, Xiangzi and Parker also completed third-tier certification with the local Adventurers' Guild."

"What?" Fang Hong was bewildered. It was one thing for Xiangzi and Parker, but Luo Yu and Gita had only been level eight or nine before reaching Fanric, how did they so quickly level up?

"I heard that defeating Nikopolas and slaying Koras resulted in the city's Holy Choosers averaging one to two level-ups," Hilveld explained. "This combat greatly benefitted the Natives, many of whom showed signs of breakthrough in their realms after the battle, or progressed further in their original domains."

She thought for a moment: "Even for myself, these past few days have seen significant improvement. Insights from some book knowledge, initially unclear, suddenly seemed as enlightening as if a jar was overturned."

Fang Hong had known that Combat Experience also impacted the Natives, but to what extent did this amount of experience have to be?

He instinctively glanced at his system log, flipping up two pages, all filled with checks from the Dragon Knight System about his physical status. Terms like physical functions unable to bear the burden, excessively fatigued, unconscious state appeared repeatedly over many pages.

Then he found a combat record, with a long string of sudden numbers that almost dazzled his eyes. Six-digit experience was enough for him to leap directly from level nineteen to level twenty. That was the experience given by defeating Nikopolas, from which he alone claimed more than twenty percent of the Contribution Value.

Fang Hong subconsciously opened his mouth, flipping further, but didn't find any record related to killing Koras. Probably because it happened during his unconscious phase, having nothing to do with him.

And as per Hilveld's account, these past two days, Fanric had entirely entered a state of War. Adventurers, City Defense Force, and aquatic species from Long Lake were fighting fiercely, with many people leveling up by more than one level in the combat.

He had perfectly missed out.

Looking again at the experience line, Fang Hong was momentarily unsure whether he gained or lost.

Moving forward, a line of prompts jumped out at him——

Since the Fenris incident, the Third Calamity Star's world task line had changed here yet again. But this time, unlike the previous instance, no new entries appeared; instead, new tasks emerged under the Dragon's Witch entry, namely:

Broken Horn——

Dragon's Golden Eyes.

Bloodline.

Final Battle.

Sever the Past.

Fang Hong felt slightly surprised.

The 'Broken Horn' was described as the event that happened at Traveler's Rest, marked as event completed. 'Dragon's Golden Eyes,' on the other hand, appeared after the Dolifen incident, marked as ongoing task with an eighty percent completion rate.

'Bloodline' emerged after the messenger event at Golande, marked in-progress, with only fifty percent completion. However, Fang Hong recalled initially only ten percent completion, which only started shifting after the Masongke Creek expedition, further progressing to fifty percent around the Hall of Thousand Doors, then stagnating until now.

The description of this task line had always been vague, but Fang Hong could roughly speculate that it related to what he had seen and heard during the Aimumu Fortress expedition. The Dragon Worshippers and Holy Sword Moa there seemed to tie Blood Thistle Woods to the Dark Giant Dragon issue.

'Final Battle' task line was generated after the Ashes Woods expedition, to be precise, resulting after he collided with Shadow of Nicopolis. Its status was likewise ongoing, yet with a completion rate as high as ninety percent.

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