Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 96 Dragon

"This...this is...?"

Lying before him was a creature he had never imagined.

It had a round head, and its signature black eye circles were clearly visible even when it was closed. Although its black and white fur was stained with blood, its unique color scheme... Kruze had seen it countless times in the fragments of his memories from his previous life!

panda?!
How can it be? !
How could a creature, hailed as a "national treasure," exist in this world, in the Hornaci Mountains, a place that only existed in his distant past life memories?

A tremendous sense of absurdity and intense doubt overwhelmed him instantly.

The unusual migration of the cave lions, the eerie mist shrouding the mountains, the mysterious force that forces all creatures into slumber, the only conscious being, the only memory of the abnormal self after the mist dissipates, and now this suddenly appearing, severely injured panda cub...

At this moment, all these clues and fragments seemed to point to an unbelievable answer.

Kruze crouched down and carefully extended his hand, which was not holding a knife, to gently touch the panda cub's neck.

A faint, but undeniably present pulse could be felt at my fingertips.

It is still alive, but its injuries are extremely severe, and it is unconscious.

He looked at the dying panda cub with a complex expression in his eyes.

The Elf King's monocle sat quietly on his right eye, and it seemed to be slightly warm at the moment, as if it had formed a subtle resonance with the otherworldly creature before him.

What happened tonight is far more profound and mysterious than a rebel riot or the capture of three cave lion cubs.

The appearance of this panda may unveil a deeper, lesser-known side of this world.

Just as Kruse was squatting on the ground, looking at the "panda" in front of him that was so different from the surroundings, his mind filled with a sense of absurdity and countless questions, a clear and cold notification sound rang out from the depths of his mind without warning:
[Ding! Guardian Quest Initiated: You've encountered an injured shapeshifting dragon. Bring it back to camp and take good care of it; it will give you an unexpected reward.]

"What?!" Kruze blurted out, using an exclamation from his past life.

The shock on his face was several times more intense than when he recognized the panda earlier. His gaze was fixed on the weak panda, and his heart was in turmoil.

"This is a dragon? And... what kind of dragon is a shapeshifting dragon? How come I've never heard of it in any books or even legends?" He muttered to himself, his brows furrowed.

In this world, dragons are ancient beings that occupy the top of the food chain, are powerful and mysterious, and are usually associated with images such as being huge, ferocious, covered in scales, and having wings that blot out the sky.

But the black and white, round, seemingly harmless little thing in front of him, which was now in a pitiful state, could not be associated with the "dragon" he knew.

"Transformation... could it mean changing form?" He caught this key word and had a vague guess in his mind, but the guess itself seemed even more bizarre.

Despite his many doubts, the existence of the "system" was his greatest secret and reliance.

Since the mission has been triggered and it is clearly a "guard mission" rather than a combat or exploration mission, then at least according to the system's judgment, the "shapeshifter" in front of me should not pose an immediate danger.

"After all, the system wouldn't just issue a mission for the host to die, would it?" Kruze reassured himself and quickly made a decision.

Without hesitation, he carefully picked up the unconscious "panda" from the ground. Its body was limp and its temperature was low; the blood at its wounds had already congealed, but its life force was extremely weak.

After bringing it back to his barracks, Kruse quickly found the first-aid supplies he carried with him.

Fortunately, the hemostatic powder he had previously made using purple yam juice and its powder was extremely effective and came in handy at this moment.

He gently and quickly cleaned the blood off "Panda's" body, carefully sprinkling hemostatic powder on the wounds of varying depths.

The little guy seemed to feel pain even while he was unconscious; his body twitched slightly, and he let out a barely audible whimper.

Looking at the creature whose "panda" features became even more pronounced under the light, and recalling the quest title "Shapeshifter" in his mind, Kruze couldn't help but mutter to himself again as he bandaged the wound:

"Panda? Dragon? And a dragon that can change shape? This world... is truly insane."

He felt like his worldview was being repeatedly rubbed into the ground.

Cave lions, eerie mists, forced slumber, and now a shapeshifting dragon appearing in panda form... The unexpected events he encountered on this expedition were more bizarre than anything he had experienced in the past decade or so combined.

After bandaging it up, Kruse placed the still unconscious little guy in a corner covered with soft fur, and sat down beside him, looking at it with a complicated expression.

The Elf King still wore his monocle on his right eye, and he tried to observe the "shapeshifting dragon" through the lens, hoping to see something unusual.

Through the lens, he could see an extremely faint energy flowing slowly within the "panda's" body, like a candle flickering in the wind. The nature of that energy was completely different from any magical beast or even the fighting spirit of human knights he had ever seen; it was more ancient, obscure, and carried an indescribable sense of depth.

Perhaps this is the essence of the "dragon's" energy?

However, because it was so badly injured, this essence has become unclear.

"An unexpected reward..." Kruze savored the mission prompt. "What could it be? I just hope you don't die here."

Tonight, I am destined to have no sleep.

What he needs to protect is not only the sleeping camp and his younger brother, but also this "national treasure dragon" of unknown origin, with a bizarre appearance, and related to the system mission.

Meanwhile, the main battlefield was dozens of miles away.

Baron Hiddink was suddenly jolted awake from a strange daze and found that the sky was already shrouded in night and the surroundings were pitch black.

His fighting instincts kicked in, and he instantly swung his knight's sword. The blade sliced ​​through the air, clashing violently with the weapon that attacked from the darkness, sending sparks flying. Clearly, during the time he and the others had inexplicably lost consciousness, someone had awakened with the same thought as him, and even wanted to take the opportunity to kill him.

"All troops, listen to my command! Maintain formation and retreat!" Baron Hiddink roared, both shocked and furious, his voice echoing in the silent night. "Rebels! If you've got the guts, we'll fight to the death tomorrow!"

On the other side, rebel leader Darnes issued a similar order at almost the same time.

Their tactical objective in this ambush has been achieved, demonstrating the formidable strength of the rebels and making these noble allies think twice before launching their next attack. This has bought valuable time for their main force to withdraw.

(End of this chapter)