Ancient Dragon in Arknights

Whether they served this purpose is unknown, but the entrance clearly stated that each access to surveillance footage cost two Victoria silver coins.

"So... what you mean by relaxation is billiards?"

"This activity originated in Gaul; I played it when I was a child."

"So it represents your childhood?"

"Yes."

*Snap*—With a crisp sound of clinking, Leto had finished his break, and the once neatly arranged billiard balls were now scattered all over the table.

"It's your turn next."

Nesario had some knowledge of how to play billiards, but he hadn't actually played much – he could only rely on his intuition.

"Nesario, what are your views on relations between countries?"

Okay, here it comes! The long-planned rhetoric is about to begin.

"There are no eternal enemies or friends, only interests."

"Oh? Is that what all Colombians think?"

Leto seemed surprised, as this statement was quite contrary to the political discipline in the military.

"No, that's my personal opinion. Of course... Colombians should be about the same."

"Can you tell me why?"

Netsario finished his shot—because it was his first attempt, he didn't control his strength well and used too little force, so the ball stopped after two collisions.

“You should understand this better than I do. Gaul—to me it’s just history in books, but it was your homeland, wasn’t it? But now… you are Major Leto of Victoria.”

"Do you think I've yielded to Victoria's interests?"

Leto's tone was calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever, but Nesario was certain he was angry.

'Oh...'

He couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "They've already changed their appearance and are covered in Victoria medals, so what kind of loyalty are they talking about?"

"No...that's what I think. If it were me, I would make the same choice. After all...the dead Gauls can't produce bread for lunch."

"It seems that patriotic education is indeed an essential part, and Colombia is clearly not doing a good job in this regard."

It seems that both sides have defined the person in front of them – Nesario believes that Leto is just a lucky refugee who somehow managed to thrive in Victoria after the fall of Gaul.

Leto, on the other hand, realized that his student Nesario had no patriotism whatsoever—whether it was Colombia or Vitória, it was all the same to him.

This aligns with the military's objective—to keep Nesario in Victoria, and it seems the reason he hasn't chosen this path is probably due to insufficient benefits.

According to Leto's understanding, the military's offer was even more than he, a major, could ever hope to receive—yet this still couldn't satisfy Nesario.

Greed—that's what Leto thought.

“Colombia itself doesn’t love this country—it’s like these billiard balls. In a stable environment, conglomerates, corporations, research labs, the military—everyone colludes with each other, greedily sucking the wealth from the wilderness.”

"But once it suffers a severe impact, it can fall apart in an instant."

The first round is over, and Nesario has lost. Clearly, he is not yet as good as the expert in front of him.

Nesario arranged the billiard balls neatly on the frame, then broke the shot—his so-called "Columbia" shattered instantly upon impact with the cue ball.

Colombia was originally a federation that broke away from Victoria's control. To achieve this goal, the Colombians probably don't even know how many dirty tricks they used in the so-called war of independence.

Of course—the war was just in its starting point, aimed at freeing people from oppression and enslavement.

But Colombia is now controlled by ambitious people, and justice is nowhere to be found. How could Nezario possibly love it?

Chapter 140 Time Flies

The second academic year began just like that. The first meeting between Nesario and Leto was not exactly a pleasant one, but it didn't turn into a falling out either.

The two sides only had a serious ideological conflict; Nesario believed that Leto was a spineless coward who betrayed his homeland and turned to serve his former enemy, but in reality, Leto would visit several elderly people in the nursing home whenever he had free time, and was also secretly trying to win over the culture of Gaul.

Leto, however, believed that Neltharion would abandon any glory and passion for profit, and that what he pursued was nothing more than the most superficial things; but in reality, Neltharion was only doing this for self-preservation, and when the day came that he truly took off, all of Terra would tremble in his shadow.

Thus, aside from a few general courses and electives, Nesario spent most of his time learning the duties of a sergeant alongside Leto; he even took Nesario to the army to experience it firsthand.

Leto was only nominally employed at the Royal Guard Academy at the moment; in reality, he was a member of the city's garrison and held considerable prestige within the garrison, with many soldiers respecting this special officer.

In his free time, Nesario spends it with his former teammates—but he and Rita occasionally avoid crowds and go out privately; however, this process has remained platonic to this day.

They went to memorial halls, clothing stores, and food streets together; neither of them crossed any lines, acting completely like friends; but if they were friends, why did they avoid other people?

Chen seems to have changed a bit this semester; she's reduced her practice time and increased her visits to various libraries. She's probably looking for something, but since she hasn't said anything, others haven't inquired too much.

Fiona was supposed to be the most relaxed of them all, but she seems to have entered a second growth spurt, and her appetite has suddenly increased a lot. Now, in order to make sure she can eat her fill, she has started doing part-time jobs.

She worked as a race queen at a racetrack in Lentinium—Nezario was once invited by her to watch a race and was even given a good seat that could only be obtained by insiders.

He initially thought it was a perk from a good friend, but after the match, when many men lined up to visit Fiona, Nesario realized what his role truly was.

This was indeed expected. Fiona looks just as exhilarating in her uniform as a race car, so it's normal for her to receive such attention.

So, Nesario naturally took Fiona's hand and slowly left the stage amidst dozens of jealous and envious gazes.

Nesario's social circle was quite simple. Aside from the three girls, he also knew the mysterious spy, Losilie; the Duchess Aldebaran, whose family had fallen on hard times; the fallen princess Vina, who was waiting for her chance to rise up; and three magical Palicoes.

Lori now occasionally goes out with Nesario, and compared to Rita's impeccable behavior, her interactions with Nesario are much more ambiguous. This includes occasional risqué jokes, exceptionally attractive outfits, and exquisite makeup.

Unfortunately, Nesario didn't go any further—Rita and Losili were both good girls, but he wasn't a good man.

Even if they manage to win one of the two now, they can only enjoy the joy for a short two years. Two years later, they will graduate. At that time, Nesario does not want to be held back, nor does he want the two girls' youth to exist in the shadow of abandonment.

As for Aldebaran... she occasionally came to react to the actions of the Grand Dukes and to observe Vina's movements; apart from that, she didn't have much interaction with Neltharion, as is the case for a lion's follower and a red dragon.

Vina brought many surprises to Nesario – the Glasgow Gang started making money. With the downfall of the Fang Gang and the silence of the Ghostfire Gang, the Glasgow Gang finally began to monopolize the resources of the surrounding neighborhood.

Many members of the Glasgow gang have embarked on their own entrepreneurial journeys, and the surrounding food streets and entertainment venues are almost entirely dominated by the Glasgow gang.

As the initial benefactor, Nesario also had a share. He had been spending money ever since he entered the Royal Guard Academy, and of course, he reaped considerable rewards during the process of eliminating the Fang Gang.

Occasionally, he would even travel to the New World while sleeping at night—to participate in the research team's missions, savor the chef's cuisine, and fight alongside Azure Star. This was an exciting life unlike anything he had experienced in Terra.

However, what is hard to accept is that the power of the two ancient dragons is too great, and many small dragons hunted by Neltharion are unable to provide him with any means of growth.

In the future, only Elder Dragon-level prey will likely be able to help him advance further.

Life goes on like this, full of ups and downs, and before you know it, more than half a semester has passed.

Nesario made great progress in his studies and gradually enriched his understanding of the power of his two ancient dragons.

Finally—the appointed day arrived.

One night, after experiencing a familiar feeling of weightlessness, Neltharion suddenly appeared on a new continent. This time, it was still the Elder's Recess.

"What's going on... This shouldn't be happening today."

Nesario had figured out the pattern; he usually had one chance to enter the New World once a week. But now—he had entered the New World ahead of schedule. Did this mean something unexpected had happened?

"Nesario meow".

The Palico appeared near Neltharion, but the other two Palicoes did not appear. This could mean either they didn't come along or they went to the Survey Corps base.

"Let's launch an investigation first..."

Neltharion began exploring the Elder's Recess, a place he was already very familiar with—over the past few months, he had taken on countless missions there, his goal naturally being to defeat the Teostra and his wife.

Unfortunately, those two ancient dragons went into hiding after their battle with Nergigante, probably to recuperate from their injuries.

As for Nergigante... it didn't die, but Neltharion has also found no trace of it since.

"Wait... this smells like the Azure Star."

Nesario smelled a familiar scent in the air, which made things much easier.

"The spirit of the hunter burns fiercely!"

The human and cat sprang into action, and as Neltharion rampaged through the area, the other creatures of the Elder's Recess began to flee. The aura of the Nergigante had left a deep impression on them; it was a threat to their lives!

"This is..."

Following the scent, Nesario arrived in front of a cave—a place he had never noticed before, and he hadn't expected there to be a cave here.

"My cat companion, do you know where it leads?"

“I always go hunting with you. If you don’t know, how would I know?”

"Azure Star is inside. Since she's already gone in, it means the investigation team has already explored the area. Let's go help."

"Oh!"

Chapter 141 The Land of Convergence

As they ventured deeper into the cave, Neltharion and his companion Meowth were increasingly further from the ground; the cave was actually downward-facing.

Even deep underground, there were still many dragon crystals scattered around. The purity of these crystals far exceeded that of the weathered crystals on the surface. If he weren't in a hurry, Neltharion would really like to try eating a few bites and see the effect.

Ding-dong... Ding-dong...

The sound of water droplets falling into the pool from above was so clearly audible underground; the cave even connected to an underground river.

"What are Azure Star and the others doing here...?"

As the surrounding chaotic aura diminished, other scents could be detected besides those of Azure Star—the receptionist, the Grand Master, the Dragonkin Research Team, the Palico...

With so few people, they're probably on an investigation mission, but what kind of mission requires going underground?

Nesario didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked. Could there be some terrible monsters in the underground world?

*Thud...* Finally, Neltharion emerged from the incredibly narrow cave. At the end of the cave was a spacious platform, where some adventure supplies were laid out... Judging from the quantity, it was indeed only enough for one reconnaissance mission. This was understandable, even though the survey team's logistics personnel could build camps in most parts of the world.

However, the extremely narrow cave was simply not suitable for transporting supplies in.

"Oh! Nesario!"

On the platform, beside the pile of supplies, the receptionist sat waiting for further news. She was pleasantly surprised to see her unexpected comrade arrive.

Because Nesario is not a native hunter, he has not registered with the Hunter's Guild and therefore has no partner to team up with; Azure Star is very close to him, so the receptionist took care of his quest registration as well.

"Where are Azure Star and the others?"

"We've already set off. Ahead lies the ley line corridor, the convergence point of all energy. The truth is right before our eyes!"