Though there’s no concrete evidence, Violet had an intuition that the recent outbreak of magical creatures in the Fallen Dragon Valley was somehow connected to what had caused the spread of the 【Dragon’s Blood Disease】 within Flame Dragon City.

 

The temporal coincidence was one aspect, but more importantly, both of them fundamentally involved creatures undergoing a “dragonification,” which was quite thought-provoking.

 

Violet had found it strange from the beginning, even when she first saw the trees with red streaks outside the city, it was clear that Flame Dragon City was within the range of the dragon blood.

 

However, the people inside the city seemed completely unaffected.

 

It wasn’t just the people, the animals living in Flame Dragon City and its surroundings also didn’t show any obvious abnormalities. Otherwise, the sudden problem with the wealthy merchant’s dog that she had seen earlier wouldn’t have caused such a significant reaction.

 

So, the conclusion is quite clear: the “Blood of the Red Dragon” indeed affects the land around Flame Dragon City, but this influence isn’t strong enough to cause direct mutations in people or creatures.

 

And the magical creatures in the Fallen Dragon Valley and the 【Dragon’s Blood Disease】 patients in the city have something in common, something that links them to an unknown element within the Fallen Dragon Valley.

 

One side loses, leading to the outbreak of magical creatures.

 

The other side gains, resulting in the Dragon Blood disease.

 

Yes, it seems like that.

 

Let’s delve deeper.

 

“Master, there’s a living being approaching us.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Violet snapped out of her contemplation and used her skill to sense the presence briefly.

 

“This time, it’s a human? An adventurer…”

 

The warning from Miss Eleanor still echoed in her mind. Violet could tell that the other person wasn’t joking. As the receptionist girl of the Adventurer’s Guild, she undoubtedly knew the adventurer community quite well.

 

So, Violet wasn’t eager to make contact with those people at a time like this, not out of fear but because treachery was something that would never make anyone feel comfortable, even if they posed no threat to her.

 

But sometimes, things don’t go as planned.

 

Miss Priestess tried to avoid the other party, but the situation didn’t unfold as she had expected.

 

“Master, they’re very close now. Two groups, one in the front and one in the back… Is this a chase and escape?”

 

“Tsk…”

 

Violet clicked her tongue slightly displeased. While she tried to avoid trouble as much as possible, it seemed to be coming her way. There was no need to hide, it’s not like she was genuinely afraid of anything.

 

Boom! Boom! Boom!

 

Large sections of trees fell in the distance, creating a cloud of dust as if a gigantic plow was rapidly advancing, running wild, and destroying everything in its path.

 

“They’re here!”

 

The two parties in pursuit finally appeared at the end of Violet’s sight.

 

There were a few figures, along with a strange-looking giant beast.

 

The fleeing individuals in the front wore armor, robes, and carried various weapons, looking quite disheveled.

 

They moved at a fast pace, and being able to enter the Fallen Dragon Valley’s interior, they were likely competent adventurers.

 

As for the giant beast, Violet couldn’t quite make sense of it.

 

The creature didn’t run on all fours. Instead, it rolled its entire body into a ball, exposing earthy-yellow scales mixed with blood-red on the outside, and it was rolling toward them like that!

 

It looked like a giant boulder rolling on flat ground.

 

“What in the world is this…”

 

Miss Priestess was full of question marks.

 

Violet could guarantee that she had never seen anything like this in any monster guidebook. Even if there were creatures with similar habits, they would never have a size like this.

 

This thing was at least as tall as a five or six-story building. While the true form of Xiao Guang or the ancient dragon turtle Nasserian might be larger than it, placed in a forest with its intimidating and terrifying scales, it still carried a significant presence.

 

“Hey! You two up ahead, why are you just standing there? Hurry up and run!!”

 

Unlike Lester’s adventure team, the leader of this group seemed to be a middle-aged mage who appeared to be in poor physical condition. He was being carried by another burly man on his back, so he immediately noticed Violet and Xiao Guang in front and had time to shout.

 

Seeing the other side running towards them without hesitation, Miss Priestess had several black lines pop up on her forehead and sighed.

 

“Always causing trouble… Xiao Guang, go and make that big guy stop. Be gentle, don’t hurt it right away.”

 

“Yes, Master!”

 

Little Dragon Maid’s body slightly bent as her extreme agility and strength allowed her to transform into a blur on flat ground. She appeared in the middle of the group of adventurers and the giant creature, facing the massive rolling beast, extending her slender and delicate palm forward.

 

A gentle push.

 

Thunk!

 

With a sound like a heavy object hitting an indestructible wall, the large, rolling, red-yellow “big rock” came to an abrupt halt, just like slamming on the brakes. It instantly froze in front of the girl, who was only about 1.6 meters tall, motionless.

 

The transition from extreme motion to extreme stillness happened in an instant, giving it a surreal sense of reversal.

 

“Don’t just stand there! What are you looking at? That thing is about to roll over! Quickly come with us… Huh? Why did the sound stop?”

 

At the same time Xiao Guang acted, the adventurers happened to reach Violet’s side. The leading mage tried to reach out and pull Violet, but the Priestess effortlessly dodged him.

 

Perhaps due to the agility of this girl who looked like a priest, the middle-aged mage hesitated for a moment and then realized what was happening behind him, freeing himself from the panicked escape.

 

“Master, it’s done.”

 

After kindly applying an emergency brake to the monster, Little Dragon Maid reappeared by Violet’s side as if she had teleported, reporting with a calm expression.

 

In front of outsiders, she always had a no-nonsense demeanor.

 

“Well done,” Violet said as she gently patted her pet’s somewhat disheveled golden hair due to the high-speed movement. She then turned her displeased gaze toward the adventurers who seemed to be dumbfounded.

 

“So, you all should explain now. We have no grudges, no quarrels, so why were you deliberately running toward us with that thing?”

 

There were four of them in total: the middle-aged mage leader, the burly man with a large shield on his back, the young masked assassin, and the young golden-haired girl who appeared to be a Holy Knight, as her armor bore a winged cross. While they didn’t seem to have a dedicated healer, Holy Knights could to some extent use healing abilities, and with the apparent pure defense approach of the burly man, their team composition seemed quite reasonable.

 

Upon hearing Violet’s cold and probing question, the burly shield-bearer and the kinght girl both had bewildered expressions. They seemed not to fully grasp her meaning. The masked young assassin, on the other hand, instinctively glanced at the mage and avoided making eye contact with the sharp gaze of the black-haired girl.

 

Only the middle-aged mage who had initially greeted them hesitated for a moment before putting on a friendly smile.

 

“Young lady, what are you talking about? Why would we deliberately run toward you? Look, the forest is dense with trees, the path is difficult to navigate, and this area happens to be more open. We were being chased and didn’t think too much about it, right?”

 

“Um, yes, yes, yes! It was an accident, a complete accident!”

 

The young assassin quickly caught on and nodded with a forced smile. The other two, who seemed less sharp, hadn’t quite realized what was happening yet, but it was evident that their input wasn’t required on this topic.

 

The middle-aged mage, with neatly combed short hair that had become somewhat disheveled during the chase, defended himself.

 

“Young lady, you see, if we had any ill intentions, why would we have warned the two of you to run together before? It was an unfortunate mistake. How about you give us a break on this matter? I’m Francis, the captain of this temporary adventure team. May I ask for your names?”

 

Well, they were in quite a mess after being chased, but he sure knew how to talk. In just a few sentences, he managed to completely deflect the blame and even started building rapport.

 

He even offered to “give us a break.” What if we don’t want to give you a break?