Fude City.

City Lord Lewis was leading his subordinates in taking inventory of the assets—and heads—of the apprehended nobles and wealthy merchants. With every gold coin and every beautiful maidservant tallied, he would pound his chest and stomp his feet, roaring at the fellow bureaucrats beside him:

"They’re all a bunch of parasites!"

"Set aside all assets that don’t match their salaries or have a questionable origin and send them to the City Government! I will burn the midnight oil tonight to see exactly who will be heading to the guillotine tomorrow!"

"Secretary-General Eddie, while you’re at it, draft a ’Request for Investigation into Religious Corruption’ tonight. I suspect Fude City isn’t just contaminated by the Immortal Church; we probably have plenty of old acquaintances from other churches as well."

A collective groan rose from below.

After more than a dozen accountants conducted an audit, they were horrified to discover that a substantial sum vanished from Fude City’s annual budget. An investigation revealed that many villages and towns under Fude City’s jurisdiction had their land ceded to various churches for all sorts of reasons.

What was even more infuriating was that when Lewis proposed reclaiming these lands, the government officials under him were unanimously opposed.

Their reasoning was that churches had already been built on most of the lands taken by the various churches. Recklessly demolishing them would not only anger the gods but also the believers. Even the Non-believers in the Guard Team wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.

Sunny, the former deputy commander and current Guard Commander, sneered. This was the genius of those nobles and merchants.

As the land donors, they had a say in all church matters. And since titles and estates were generally passed down to the eldest son, the other children were usually arranged to become bishops or abbots.

On one hand, this was a good path for them, and they might even move their church’s god with their piety and receive a blessing.

On the other hand, it expanded the family’s religious network and, as a bonus, allowed them to maintain control over the donated land.

When it came to this sort of thing, you had to admit, every last one of those old foxes was as cunning as they come.

Lewis was incandescent with rage. He had worked so hard, vigorously promoting the Mechanical School and organizing a nationally renowned Hunting Competition to boost Fude City’s tourism, all while swallowing his pride and kowtowing to that Mr. Stephen.

’And this is how you motherfuckers decide to screw me over, is that it?’

Lewis suddenly felt he shouldn’t have let the Demon Hunter leave so early. Considering the man’s brilliant—and apparently unnoticed by him—track record of dismantling the local criminal element first in Mundra and then in Fude City, tearing down a church and roughing up a bishop would probably be a trivial matter for him.

Just this morning, hadn’t he violently attacked a "Viscount" officially appointed by the Gillian Council?

And all because the man had said, "What right does a barbaric Feinan like L have to meddle with a noble Gillian Viscount like myself?"

As L proceeded to beat him, the Gillian Viscount had yelled, "Are you insane?!"

"I’m a Feinan."

"You’re just a Demon Hunter!"

"I’m a Feinan."

"They’re right about you Feinan people—you’re all barbarians!"

"I’m a Feinan."

...

The assembled officials of Fude City, great and small, bowed their heads to receive their reprimand and summary from the Lord City Master.

It could be summarized by the following key points:

"Money!"

"Money!"

"Money!"

With the summary concluded, just as the Lord City Master was about to board his carriage to leave, a guard burst in without being announced, gasping for breath, and shouted:

"Guards outside Fude City have spotted an Azure Fire Dragon! And there were strange explosions!"

’An Azure Fire Dragon? Strange explosions?’

One of those alone was enough to put the entire city on high alert; the two together inevitably sent imaginations running wild.

’Could the Azure Fire Dragon be about to attack Fude City?’

It wouldn’t be without historical precedent.

Especially since, to aid the development of the Mechanical School, Fude City had been filled with tall smelting furnaces and utility poles, all of which glittered like gold.

And as everyone knew, Dragons loved shiny things.

"Ready the horses! Ready the horses! Guard Commander Sunny, gather the Guard Team to maintain public order! Secretary Xiala, mobilize the army! Send someone to the Alchemists in Dongcheng District to find me someone who understands Dragons..."

Having issued his orders, City Lord Lewis vaulted onto his horse and galloped madly toward the city gate.

Fortunately, he was also a Bronze Tier Contract Knight. Even though he was old and hadn’t seen combat in years, the equestrian skills he had honed in Amel had not grown rusty.

He knew in his heart that he had to hurry. If a Giant Dragon intended to attack a city, one had to guard against not only the Dragon itself, but also the Demons and Beasts that would be drawn together outside Fude City by its roar and terrifying presence.

All Prole People knew that the first being to master the Emperor’s Law was the Dragon God of the Dragon Race. Due to their long lifespans, the entire bloodline of the Dragon Race had become steeped in the aura of the Emperor’s Law, granting them a natural power of intimidation and command over other creatures.

By the time Lewis reached the city gate, Captain Victor was already waiting at the city’s edge with the members of his Knight Order.

"It’s confirmed to be an Azure Fire Dragon. There are strong fluctuations of Spiritual Power. We suspect someone is fighting it," Victor said.

"Why is the Azure Fire Dragon still here?" the City Lord asked as the army finished assembling behind him.

The last time, Yalilan had said the Azure Fire Dragon helped annihilate the Undead of the Immortal Church. That instance could have been dismissed as it simply passing through.

But Dragons generally don’t linger in one place for long. If the Azure Fire Dragon was still in the vicinity of Fude City, it could only mean one of two things: it was either planning to build a nest nearby, or it had its eye on the metal and gold within the city.

"Gawain and Tristan are missing," said Thunderbolt. He hadn’t left Fude City yet, as he was planning to travel back with the Knight Order.

With the body of his son, Tole.

"Tristan said he was going off to gain experience, and ever since his loss to L, Gawain has been training hard in the forest outside Fude City."