Zither Emperor

As An Ya spoke, the dragon cavalry moved closer to them. They had evidently discovered the Iron Brambles Mercenary Company’s presence as well, their speed gradually slowing to a halt. At this closer proximity, Yin Zhu could see that a man around 30 years of age sat atop the head of the Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon. Beside his leg hung a seven meter long, heavy dragonspear. Suspended from his waist was a simple, double-edged longsword. His silver armor shone in the sunlight, flickering and shining. The man wore no helmet, his long golden hair elegantly cascading down his back. He was tall with an upright posture. While he had an ordinary appearance, on his left cheek was a scar, five inches long extending from the corner of his eye to his chin, which gave him a fierce aura. On the left side of the silver chestplate was a palm-sized, silver six-pointed star engraved on top of a design of violets which bore his family’s insignia.

Facing the Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon’s oppressive atmosphere, Ge En trembled from his seat atop his roaring, green ridgeback earth dragon.

“Praise Blue Dias. Hello, esteemed Dragon Cavalry Commander. I am honored to meet you here.” Ge En hastily jumped down from his green ridgeback earth dragon’s back. He pressed his right hand to the left side of his chest in deference to the Dragon Cavalry Commander atop the Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon, as etiquette required.

The Dragon Cavalry Commander merely glanced at him and coldly replied, “Praise Blue Dias. What are your origins?” Behind his back, the dragon cavalry already uniformly stopped without even the slightest noisy sound, demonstrating the quality of these troops.

Ge En, not desiring to anger his cold counterpart even the slightest, quickly answered, “E Rank Iron Brambles Mercenary Company; we are just executing an escort mission.”

The Dragon Cavalry Commander lifted his hand and pointed, “My partner is hungry. Yield five gnus to serve as rations. Here are 20 gold coins as your compensation.” As he spoke, he unceremoniously flung out a purse. At this moment, he was only 20 paces away from Ge En, but the purse had already arrived in front of Ge En who automatically tried to receive it. The purse arrived with great force, causing him to stagger a step and nearly fall to the ground.

“Uncle, be careful.” Yin Zhu emerged from the back and steadied Ge En’s body; he did not want Ge En to lose face here.

The Dragon Cavalry Commander threw the purse without even sparing Ge En a glance. He lightly slapped the Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon’s thick back in a doting manner, making it clear that the dragon was the partner that he mentioned earlier.

Anger flashed through Ge En’s eyes, but he truly did not dare to offend the Dragon Cavalry Commander before him; however, the gnus were just enough for his company to use. If he relinquished 5 of them, his mercenary company would have nowhere to place the heavy baggage.

“Why do you need so many? Why must we give you our gnus for your earth dragon to eat?” Ge En was horrified to discover that Ye Yin Zhu had appeared before him unknowingly, his clear beautiful voice somewhat full of anger.

The Dragon Cavalry Commander wrinkled his brow, lifting his eyes to look at Yin Zhu who was also staring back at him. Although the Dragon Cavalry Commander looked down at him condescendingly, Yin Zhu’s vision did not cower even the slightest amount, his crystal-clear black eyes expressing his stubbornness.

“Mage?” The Dragon Cavalry Commander’s voice eased somewhat. A mage was equivalent to a noble even if the emblem on Ye Yin Zhu’s chest indicated he was only Red Rank.

Ye Yin Zhu nodded and said, “Our gnus are not for sale, we are still in need of them.”

Ge En quickly reacted at this moment, rushed over, and hurriedly pulled Yin Zhu behind him. He was very familiar with the dragon cavalry’s arrogance and strength and feared the worst for Yin Zhu. “Excuse me, Great Dragon Cavalry Commander, we truly do not have a surplus of gnus you see.”

A cold light flashed through the Dragon Cavalry Commander’s eyes. He was already beginning to feel impatient. “If you can block my spear, you may leave. If not, leave behind the gnus.”

“Why are you such a tyrant.” Yin Zhu raised his head and glowered at the Dragon Cavalry Commander.

The Dragon Cavalry Commander indifferently said one word, “Strength.” He was right; on this continent, strength decided everything.

“Oh! It’s a great honor! Viscount Ao Si Ding, long time no see. How about you let me block the dragonspear instead?” An Ya graceful voice echoed from behind Yin Zhu and Ge En. Hearing this voice, the Dragon Cavalry Commander Ao Si Ding’s whole body immediately trembled. At first, he didn’t look clearly at Yin Zhu’s party, but his vision immediately changed once he examined them.

A light sound emerged from his mouth, and then Ao Si Ding’s body, in a flash, jumped down from the Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon’s back. “Praise Blue Dias. Miss An Ya, as it turns out this is your procession.” While he spoke, he pressed his right hand to the silver star on the left side of his chest, a chivalrous action of a higher standard than Ge En’s.

“Praise Blue Dias.” An Ya lifted her right hand, allowing Ao Si Ding to kiss it to finish the rite.

The Iron Brambles mercenaries were taken aback by the Dragon Cavalry Commander’s abrupt change in mannerism. They didn’t expect the Dragon Cavalry Commander to have this kind of attitude and respect when he faced their employer.

“Miss An Ya, what are you doing here?”

An Ya unenthusiastically replied, “I came to Wavast to purchase goods and have employed the Iron Brambles Mercenary Company to escort me back. I didn’t expect to meet Viscount here. Aren’t you always located in Milan City?”

Ao Si Ding glanced at An Ya, an infatuated light flashing through his eyes, “I am escorting these military goods to Wavast. You are also aware that Wavast kingdom is our Milan Empire’s trade partner. The mission is already complete, so I intended to return to Milan City. You are also returning, why not let us escort you back? An E rank mercenary company is not worthy of your station.”

An Ya groaned and replied, “Forget about it. If your Dragon Cavalry leaves me alone, I would be satisfied. How could I dare inconvenience you.”

Ao Si Ding forced a smile and said, “It was my mistake, I really didn’t know that Miss was here. Miss, no matter how sharp my dragonspear is, it will never ever be pointed at you!”

An Ya serenely responded, “As this is the case, I request Viscount to continue on his way. In all likelihood, you still must return to Milan City to debrief.”

“Miss, do you really not need our escort?”

An Ya glanced at him and asked, “Do you think I need it?”

Ao Si Ding mockingly laughed at himself. “As this is the case, this Ao Si Ding will take his leave and wait for your return to Milan City where I will once again visit to apologize humbly.” He took a step backwards as he spoke. He then leapt and rose several meters high to land on the Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon’s back. Before he left he intentionally glanced at Ye Yin Zhu. From the look in his eyes, Yin Zhu could see a trace of enmity.

The dragon cavalry’s speed quickened strangely, and in a blink of an eye they already disappeared from sight. It was just that this time Ao Si Ding and his dragon cavalry’s advancing pace was very light-footed and didn’t cause an excessive dust cloud to rise.

As he looked at the disappearing dragon calvary’s back, Ge En walked up to An Ya’s side and nervously said, “Miss An Ya, I’m sorry……”

An Ya slightly laughed, the ice-cold expression on her face already disappearing, “There is nothing to be sorry about. Even if an A rank mercenary company were to face the dragon cavalry, they would not have been as unyielding as you. After all, they are humanity’s ultimate armed forces. We should set off, Boss Ge En.” Finished speaking, she did not wait for Ge En’s response and returned to the her carriage without noticing the reverence in the mercenaries’ eyes.

“Uncle, don’t be in a daze. We should leave,” Ye Yin Zhu said, patting Ge En’s shoulder.

“Ah!” Ge En finally reacted. In his heart, he thought to himself, ‘It seems that our employer’s identity is not ordinary. Nevertheless, I should not ask about it too much. One should not inquire on matters that one should not know in order to avoid unnecessary trouble. The person whom even the Dragon Cavalry Commander is respectful towards isn’t someone I could dare to offend. I should immediately complete this mission.’

“Yin Zhu, I am truly grateful for what you did just now.”