It was Mier's voice.
But there was no one behind him, and the echoing "Dalabongba" in his ears seemed to be growing more and more ethereal.
Heh...
Dalabongba remembered.
Everyone was dead...
An entire village had fallen to a sudden attack by monsters. Uncle Sam who had adopted him was dead, the old bearded village chief was dead, and Mier who had always clung to him was even torn apart and devoured by a pack of dire wolves.
Dalabongba hated himself for not being in the village at that time.
He also hated those knights who collected taxes every month.
Didn't they promise to protect the village?
Why did they suddenly withdraw?
He picked up the dire wolf's corpse and sat down dejectedly on a large rock nearby.
"All monsters deserve to die!"
Dalabongba muttered, his hatred for monsters reaching its peak.
Life had to go on. Only by becoming stronger would he have the chance to slay more monsters, but as a second-tier warrior, he was still too weak.
After resting for a while.
Dalabongba carried the dire wolf's corpse and came to the marketplace alone, where once the little Mier would have followed by his side.
Dalabongba wasn't much of a talker, but Mier was a lively and cheerful girl.
She would shout loudly: "Dire wolf meat, fresh dire wolf meat!" helping him sell his goods.
She would also haggle with buyers with a shrewd expression: "Look at the quality, the completeness of the fur, can you find another one like this in the entire market? Stop trying to bargain down the price! Take it or leave it~"
But now everything was gone.
Dalabongba clenched his fist and tried to shout like Mier used to do.
But his voice was incredibly coarse, nowhere near as crisp and penetrating as Mier's had been.
"Dire wolf meat... fresh... dire wolf meat..."
"Clop! Clop! Clop!"
Heavy hoofbeats sounded as two knights came galloping up, only stopping at the entrance to the marketplace. They took out two parchment scrolls from their chest plates and posted them on the notice board, one on the left and one on the right.
The left one was a portrait, the right one contained text.
Dalabongba couldn't read, but he could clearly hear the discussions of the people around him.
"Hey, what's this about so early in the morning? Does Aulist have another wanted criminal?"
"Are you blind? Would such a beautiful girl be a wanted criminal?"
"This is the King calling for heroes to slay a dragon and rescue the princess. That portrait is of the princess."
"I heard that whoever rescues the princess can not only marry her but will also receive a generous reward from the King and be granted the title of prince."
"Tsk tsk... that's quite an offer~ If I weren't just a farmer, I'd go slay a dragon too. Look at that princess, how lovely she is."
...
Dragon slaying? Princess?
Dalabongba wasn't actually interested in princesses or becoming a prince. What interested him was the King's reward.
As the ruler of a kingdom, surely he wouldn't be stingy with a few gold lions?
Dalabongba needed money.
The only reason he still stayed nearby was to save enough money to properly bury the bodies of the villagers and at least make decent graves for them.
With this in mind, Dalabongba carried the dire wolf's corpse to the notice board.
What caught his eye was the portrait of a young, beautiful girl.
Dalabongba had never seen a princess before, but he felt that no matter where a princess came from, her beauty could only go so far, and he couldn't find a single flaw in this one.
"About the same age as Mier..."
"So she's the one who was kidnapped by the evil dragon? Damn it!"
Anger welled up in Dalabongba's heart.
Monsters, monsters again!
How many more lives would these violent monsters take before they were satisfied?
In his mind flashed the familiar and dear faces from his village, finally settling on Mier's flower-like smile.
Dalabongba made his decision. He would slay the dragon!
Not for the position of prince.
Only to rescue this girl who was about the same age as Mier, only to get a little money to build a beautiful grave for the villagers, for Mier.
At that moment.
Dalabongba gripped his rusty, broken iron sword tightly.
...
To select the strongest dragon-slaying hero.
King Aulist held a competition in the palace.
All applicants would participate in one-on-one duels, ultimately selecting the three strongest heroes from among them.
Now these three heroes were waiting in the palace.
They were "Sword Hero" Dalabongba who excelled in using the longsword.
"Magic Hero" Freya who excelled in using magic.
And "Healing Hero" Keyar who excelled in healing.
Warrior, mage, priest—they formed a perfect system, and King Aulist was very satisfied with this.
Indeed, it was the Queen's idea. If not for this duel, he wouldn't have known that so many talented individuals were hidden in his small Kingdom of Aulist.
Take Dalabongba for example.
Although he was only a second-tier warrior, his physical attributes were extremely impressive, and his reaction speed was terrifyingly fast. Even third-tier warriors couldn't keep up with his speed.
This was the difference that natural talent made.
"Heroes! You are the strongest in my Kingdom of Aulist, and now you bear the great mission of slaying the evil dragon and rescuing the princess."
"To make your journey smoother, as the King of Aulist, I have prepared the best equipment for you!"
King Aulist clapped his hands, and his knights immediately pulled out a small cart from around the corner of the palace.
On this small cart were various pieces of fine-grade equipment.
King Aulist had not lied.
Fine-grade equipment.
The best equipment in the entire Kingdom of Aulist.
There was nothing stronger than these.
Dalabongba's eyes lit up when he saw the fine-grade equipment on the small cart.
As a warrior, equipment was almost essential.
Compared to mages and priests who could cast spells without wands, warriors without weapons and armor would have their combat effectiveness greatly reduced.
Now.
King Aulist had solved this urgent problem.
Because Dalabongba's rusty sword had completely bent during the duels.
Soon, Dalabongba was the first to select his armor and weapon, and expressed his gratitude to the generous King Aulist.
However, Healing Hero Keyar and Magic Hero Freya did not move.
"Thank you for your reward, but I already have a master-grade wand. Your equipment is good, but it may not be suitable for me to use."
The speaker was "Magic Hero" Freya.
Her exquisite features were hidden in the shadow of her wizard hat, and she wore a gorgeous wizard robe with pink shoulder-length hair that reached her waist.
Although her tone was very calm, everyone present could hear the arrogance and disdain in her words.
But as a third-tier mage.
She did indeed have the capital to be proud.
"Uh... I don't need them either. I have my own ancestral equipment, and these armors are too cumbersome."
Healing Hero Keyar didn't show any pride; he scratched his head and spoke honestly.
However, his gaze occasionally fell on Freya beside him, his eyes hiding complex and strange emotions that were beginning to stir.
"Since that's the case, you may depart."
King Aulist had suffered too many blows lately, and "Magic Hero" Freya's disdain could no longer stir any emotion in his heart.
"I must warn you, dragons are incredibly powerful. Even if it's only third-tier, it's far beyond comparison with ordinary monsters. I hope you will be cautious and not rush recklessly for glory."
"Finally, I wish you a safe journey."
...
As the conversation in the palace ended.
Melodious bell sounds rang out.
Three figures walked out of the palace.
Each carrying their own different thoughts and purposes, they faced the sunlight and embarked on their dragon-slaying journey. """
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