"Mr. Solon, the teacher said you fought a dragon before. So, how can you defeat a dragon?"

"First, you have to withstand the dragon's breath and the dragon's claws. Second, you have to be able to break through the dragon scale's defense. Both conditions are difficult. Sir Isaac's notes say that dragon scales have almost perfect defense runes, and dragon language magic is almost divine, its power even far exceeding various spells that are a major tier higher. So usually speaking, even an eighth-tier professional would have a hard time defeating a seventh-tier dragon."

"Oh."

"And the one I encountered was just a Vengeful Dragon, the difference with a true dragon is still very big. According to the naga intelligence, that lightning blue dragon has a very pure bloodline. Without accurate combat power references, acting rashly is not a good idea."

"..."

Solon and Chitose strolled leisurely along the forest path, while the little follower Lolota's mouth was also chattering non-stop.

Becoming a dragon-slaying hero is a common ideal of adventurers in various myths and legends.

Dragons represent the strongest creatures in the world, and only the most powerful warriors can defeat them.

Lolota, this little swordswoman, also has a dream of hunting dragons.

Just now, they teleported to this forest.

The other members of the Dawn Troupe stayed on the Eternal Night, familiarizing themselves with the nearby sea area, preparing to welcome a possible dragon hunting battle.

Solon, on the other hand, went ashore with Chitose, bringing the guide Tatu, planning to inquire about information.

Lolota, unable to stay idle, also came along.

The four of them hadn't walked for long when they saw a city built against the mountain.

The architectural style was very special, with high white walls surrounding the entire city. The buildings in the city were very dense, but not tall, with red-painted roofs, like mushroom houses.

Only on the top of the mountain was there a castle with a sapphire blue spire.

Unlike the two great empires of Luying and Mafa, this city had no steam chimneys to be seen.

The sky was a clear blue, with fluffy white clouds.

In the city, there was only wisps of cooking smoke, and the smoky atmosphere of a blacksmith shop.

Tatu pointed to the city and introduced, "This is Atlante City. There are many dragon riders in the city, and they are not very friendly to us nagas."

As she spoke, she looked at Solon, as if wanting to remind him: bringing herself into the city might cause trouble.

From meeting last night until now, Tatu realized that she still didn't know Solon's combat strength. Although she knew that being able to pass through the Eternal Night Sea must be very powerful. But in the eyes of the nagas, the dragon riders of this Atlante City were also very powerful.

Before Solon could speak, Lolota grabbed Tatu's arm and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Mr. Solon and my teacher are both super powerful."

Tatu listened without saying anything.

She couldn't accurately understand the concept of "super powerful."

Solon didn't explain much, and smiled.

Although he didn't underestimate the original inhabitants of the Dragon Kingdom, his current strength really didn't easily encounter opponents.

He was more curious about a word he had just heard and asked, "Dragon Riders?"

Tatu said, "Yes. A kind of sub-dragon beast with thin dragon blood, there are many in this sea area. The Dragon Kingdom has a tradition of taming dragons, and knights are honored to be able to tame powerful sub-dragons. The royal family of the 'Silver Dragon Kingdom,' one of the three great kingdoms where we are now, has a very strong sacred silver dragon protecting it."

Solon listened and thought, becoming even more curious: "So, the humans and dragons here have a good relationship?"

"Not really. On the contrary, the relationship is very bad."

Tatu shook her head and said, "That silver dragon stayed in the royal capital because of an excellent dragon knight in the royal family of the Silver Dragon Kingdom a thousand years ago. After the dragon knight died, the sacred silver dragon continued to protect this kingdom for a thousand years. Without it, this human kingdom might have been destroyed long ago."

Dragons have a long lifespan, living for thousands or even tens of thousands of years is normal.

Solon listened thoughtfully.

Chitose on the side also waited with interest for the following.

Tatu continued, "Legend has it that in the ancient Dragon Kingdom era, dragons and humans did indeed get along very well. At that time, there were many powerful dragon knights, and many legends of dragons and humans were passed down. But from some point on, humans became less powerful, and this situation changed. It should be after the plane collapsed and the laws were incomplete, as Mr. Solon said, that there were fewer and fewer top powerhouses among humans, and fewer and fewer knights who could tame dragons. But dragons are arrogant races, they no longer want to be ridden by low-level creatures. They even feel that no creature can surpass the great dragon race... Later, there were dragons of the evil alignment."

Solon asked, "Evil alignment?"

Tatu explained again, "Yes, this is the saying in the human kingdoms. Like the red, blue, green, black, and white five-colored dragons, they are almost all hostile to humans, taking humans as food, enslaving humans. But like silver dragons, gold dragons, gem dragons, and the like, they remain neutral. They are also rarely seen in the outer sea, they usually live in the depths of the dangerous waters to the west. Only a very few, like that guardian silver dragon, are destined to be with humans, and they will be close to humans."

"I see."

Solon and the others immediately understood.

Tatu added, "So, that lightning blue dragon 'Kazka' is also an evil dragon in the eyes of humans. It's just that the blue dragon flies very fast, and its name comes from its lightning-fast flight. Moreover, no one can dodge the lightning dragon breath. The human kingdoms can't do anything about it, so they can only let it exist."

Hearing this, Solon had a deeper understanding of the dragon race.

He thought of the *Dragon Knight Dragon Taming Secret Method* in his hand, one of the translated contents was very real: "If you want to become a dragon knight, you must have combat power comparable to that of a dragon."

......

The four of them walked and walked, and had already arrived at the foot of the city.

Outside the city there was a drawbridge, which was the only road leading into the city. Dozens of silver-armored guards at the entrance were checking the people entering the city one by one.

Solon also saw two wyverns sleeping at the city gate.

They were similar in appearance to dragons, but much smaller, and their scales were not as obvious.

But any monster that is stained with a bit of dragon blood is a strong one among its peers. Usually this kind of fleshy winged lizard is a third-tier black iron, but with a bit of dragon blood, it may be a silver or gold-level monster.

This can be seen from the monsters that passed by.

Solon found that almost all the people who entered the city wearing adventurer leather armor had their own monster mounts, [Dragon Scale Warhorses], [Titan Gorillas], [Dragon Horn Rhinoceros]... These monsters almost all avoided the two wyverns when they saw them.

The original inhabitants of the Dragon Kingdom not only tame dragons, but also raise various monsters.

This was quite novel to Solon and the other three outsiders.

Tatu looked at the city gate guards and frowned, "Huh, that's strange, they never used to check."

Solon looked at the notice posted at the city gate and said, "It seems like they are wanted for someone."

No one cared.

After all, this kind of situation exists everywhere.

Solon didn't plan to walk the drawbridge and cause trouble. He pinched a warlock seal, and a space channel appeared in front of him. He took Chitose and the others and teleported directly into the city.

The residents of the city were dressed very primitively and plainly, all in linen cloth and leather armor.

The best dressed were the dragon riders, but they were also very simple.

In contrast, the attire of Solon and the other outsiders was too exquisite.

Solon didn't have any stock of this kind of rough clothing, so the few people could only walk in the city wearing linen cloaks.

Probably because this city was close to a dangerous area, there were quite a few adventurers in the city.

The buildings in the city were very compact, except for the main road leading to the castle where carriages could pass, the other streets were very narrow.

The city walls, houses, streets... were all made of stones.

Because there was no well-planned urban sewer system, there was always a stench in the residential areas.

They originally thought that Luying's rural territories were backward enough, but after seeing here, it was simply in a primitive state.

There was no industry here.

There were also some small vendors on the street, selling very simple goods, just food, fruits, some monster meat...

Solon and the others walked and watched.

Lolota looked at the pedestrians and exclaimed in a low voice, "These people are so strong!"

They had previously thought that only the soldiers at the city gate and those adventurers looked strong.

But after entering the city, they realized that the ordinary residents were also very strong.

A fat woman who looked like an ordinary farmer could easily load hundreds of pounds of goods onto a cart; a blacksmith with bulging muscles pressed down a dragon scale horse weighing several tons with his bare hands and forcibly gave it horseshoes; even the thin slaves who built the city walls could carry hundreds of pounds of stone bars and walk like the wind...

People were generally tall and muscular.

One side of the water and soil raises one side of people, Solon felt that this was probably directly related to the gigantism of creatures in this sea area. Dr. Banks might be more interested in this phenomenon.

After a few people turned around, Tatu asked, "Mr. Solon, where are we going now?"

Solon thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to an adventurers' tavern first."

There are many adventurers in the city, so there must be places for entertainment and relaxation.

It is also easy to find out information in those places.

He was thinking of first asking about the "petrification curse potion" and the blue dragon's information.

However, while walking, a pair of seemingly simple middle-aged couples passed by them pulling a cart full of apples.

Originally, this was nothing too normal.

Solon turned his head slightly, because there was actually a person hidden in this cart.

Because he paid attention, he took another look.

The cart walked toward the city gate. But suddenly, a team of guards riding dragon scale horses quickly chased after them. The guards dismounted and overturned the cart, throwing out a golden-haired girl with terrified eyes.

The middle-aged couple, seeing that things were exposed, knelt on the ground and begged bitterly.

"No, please, my lord, don't take Sophia away!"

"Oh, selfish and ignorant guys, you still want to escape? Do you know how many deaths your behavior will bring to the great city lord!"

"No, please. Sophia is only sixteen years old..."

"If you don't give a satisfactory sacrifice, it will bring disaster to our Atlante City! Get out of the way!"

"..."

The guards ignored the couple, threw down a bag of coins, and forcibly took the girl away.

Solon and the others frowned.

Lolota was even more indignant, her hand already on the hilt of her sword, as if she would chop someone at the slightest disagreement.

Tatu even complained, "Humans are so cruel to their own kind."

No matter how you look at it, this is a scene of nobles forcibly snatching girls.

But the previous conversation made Solon and Chitose thoughtful.

Waiting for those guards to leave, the onlookers dared to discuss one after another.

"Hey, it's a pity for that girl from the Clayton family. That evil dragon has awakened, and only by sacrificing girls and treasures will that evil dragon not vent its anger on our city."

"The evil dragon on Thunder Island? Hasn't it been dormant for more than ten years, why did it suddenly wake up?"

"Don't you know? Yesterday, something happened in the south, and the rumbling sound was like thunder. Didn't you see that there are many adventurers in the city today? Some people speculate that some ruins and treasures may have been born, and those guys flocked to them. In the next few days, there will be more and more people..."

"..."

Since it wasn't their own family members who were being captured, these residents didn't seem to feel anything was wrong except for a few discussions.

This is a more ancient manor system than Luying, where the lord owns everything of the serfs.

Tatu translated the conversation of these people.

Solon and the others only knew that it was going to be sent to be sacrificed to the blue dragon.

Solon murmured, "In this way, things were caused by us."

Yesterday's shelling alarmed the blue dragon, which led to the sacrifice.

It seems that the people of Atlante City have done this more than once.

If you can't beat it, you sacrifice tribute, this rule applies to both humans and monsters.

Chitose on the side had a sharp light flickering in her eyes, and her hand was casually placed on the hilt of her sword, naturally unafraid of a battle.

But since it was a sacrifice, they wouldn't die for the time being. Solon thought for a while and didn't rush to make a decision, and said, "Let's go, let's go take a look at the situation first."

A few people walked towards the tavern where adventurers gathered again.

......

Not long after, they arrived at the adventurers' tavern.

This could be considered the most lively place in the city.

Even though it was broad daylight, the tavern was full of people, and the noise was deafening.

Atlante City is not big, the adventurers' tavern is the adventurers' union. Mercenary groups will also post adventure bounties here, recruiting teammates.

Solon and the four of them found a lively tavern and walked straight in.

Although Tatu knows the common language of the Dragon Kingdom, it was her first time in a human tavern, and she was a little at a loss.

Solon was familiar with the road, although he couldn't understand, but he was a qualified drinker.

He pointed to the drinks on the next table and directly threw out two silver coins.

With extra tips, the bartender naturally smiled and brought the wine.

The four of them sat down in a corner seat.

The wine was on the table, Solon took a sip, and found the taste was surprisingly good.

This wine, translated, is called "Dragon Ale", and it is a specialty here.

He and Chitose weren't bad at drinking, so they gulped down a big glass.

Lolota and Tatu took small sips.

They drank and chatted.

Tatu listened attentively, and also translated some important information from the mouths of the drinkers.

The most talked about by the drinkers was naturally the "strange noise" yesterday, because that side is a dangerous sea area, and few dare to go.

Mostly guesses.

Solon also watched his surroundings at all times. But what made him very strange was that on the tavern's bounty list, the top was a material bounty task.

It was a bounty from the royal family, looking for [Tears of Death] and [Dragon Breath Fruit] for a heavy reward.

Before he could curiously inquire, the adventurers were obviously more interested in the material task that the royal family promised to use "any condition" as a reward.

"Hey! Old brother Tut, why is the royal family hanging a reward for two kinds of materials?"

"Oh, I heard that Her Majesty the Queen was released by a vicious witch with a petrification curse, and urgently needs materials to configure an antidote to save her life."

"Ah... a witch? What witch can harm the Queen?"

"Yes. It is that famous Helen."

"Helen? The 'Parnia's First Beauty' that His Majesty the King snatched back from the Kingdom of Parnia? Isn't she deeply loved by His Majesty the King, how did she become a witch?"

"Isn't it? The prophets of the temple have long predicted that it is a witch who will bring disaster to the kingdom. Her beauty caused the two countries to start a war, and also caused Her Majesty the Queen to suffer the pain of the curse. The royal family is preparing to burn her to death, but I didn't expect that the witch seemed not afraid of fire, not only did she not die from the fire, but she escaped. Now her whereabouts are unknown."

"Oh! No wonder the wanted order at the city gate made me wonder why I was wanted for a beautiful woman, it turned out to be that one..."

"..."

Speaking of beautiful women, the adventurers immediately became interested.

Tatu translated what those people said.

Solon listened, not interested in any witches, he just didn't expect that such a coincidence, this material seems to be the recipe for the "petrification antidote?"

But not surprisingly.

The original plan was to go to Atlante City to take a look, and if it didn't work, go directly to the royal capital.

In a feudal society, the royal family owns everything.

If there is a real antidote recipe for petrification, it is naturally in the hands of the power holders.

Tatu was also very excited, she had just arrived and got the information she wanted.

But she then frowned, and said with embarrassment, "If it is these two materials, it will be very troublesome."

Even the royal family is looking for it, so it is naturally a rare material.

Solon listened to the questions and casually asked, "What kind of materials are these two?"

Alchemists know all kinds of materials.

But because of cultural differences, sometimes the names are different.

The material warehouse in the small void world is piled up like a mountain, he feels that he may have it.

Tatu thought for a while and said, "[Tears of Death] is the tears of a lord-level undead. But that kind of undead monster usually does not cry. Once they cry, it is the purest energy essence in the world... This is a very, very rare material."

"Tears of the Undead?"

Solon heard this description, and recalled it slightly for a moment.

Then he coincidentally discovered that he seemed to really have it!

He once obtained a material [Alice's Tears] in the cursed space of [White Abbey] in the Dawn Ruins, wasn't it the tears of a lord-level undead?

However, before seeing the detailed recipe, he also determined whether the material characteristics were the same.

Without saying much, Solon asked again, "What about [Dragon Breath Fruit]?"

Tatu said again, "It is a kind of fruit that only exists in dragon nests. That kind of fruit grows in the place where the dragon sleeps, and it takes at least a hundred years to mature. It is said that the purer the dragon blood, the better the efficacy of the dragon breath fruit."

"Oh."

Solon listened, and some thoughts flashed through his mind instantly.

To be able to solve the petrification curse at the level of the Gorgon, the materials must not be ordinary, and it is natural to be these two things.

Indeed hard to find.

No wonder the royal family hung a reward.

While talking, those drinkers talked about [Dragon Breath Fruit] again.

"Hey, what do you say, this time the royal family has hung an unlimited reward, will that 'Dragon Hunter' come to Atlante?"

"Who knows. Anyway, I heard that the royal family's Dragon Knight regiment will come over. After all, the evil dragon on Thunder Sea Island is a pure-blooded blue dragon, and in its nest, 80% of the time, there is a high-quality [Dragon Breath Fruit]."

"Hehe, even if there is, it is possible to get it! Even riding a wyvern can't escape the blue dragon's pursuit. It is as fast as lightning, and even if it goes out to sea, it can instantly return to its nest. No one can get it..."

"If 'Dragon Hunter' Bartolo Figaro comes, he may have the ability to kill this evil dragon. It's a pity that that guy's whereabouts are uncertain, and he never does things according to his heart, no matter what the price is, he can't be invited..."

"..."

Tatu translated these dialogues again.

Destroying villages, being injured by the Knights... The adventurers talked about some of the dragon's past.

Solon also roughly judged the rank of the blue dragon in his heart. It is estimated that it is most likely a seventh-tier dragon, and its combat power is at the peak of an eighth-tier professional, a quasi-ninth tier?

Because it is of the lightning attribute, it is even more difficult.

In this way, there is a lot to be done.

What others cannot do, he can!

Solon thought again, if that evil dragon leaves the cave, can't he just go for a stroll?

Then wouldn't that [Dragon Breath Fruit] be readily available?

Moreover, he can even lure the blue dragon to Rainbow Island and let those mage regiments seriously injure it?

With the previous dragon hunting experience in the [Dwarf King's Vengeance] cursed space, Solon felt that this plan was completely feasible.

However, the dragons in reality are clever and cunning, so this matter still needs to be carefully considered.

Solon thought of this, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind again.
Chapter 1 The Mechanical Alchemist