The battle with the Nine-Headed Dragon was over.
Everyone cheered excitedly.
Only Paul remained stunned; he had already prepared himself for death.
But at the last second, I still made it.
Crack! The tree-shaped crystal in front of the throne began to crack.
Less than 20 seconds later, the crystal completely shattered, and Zenith fell out of the broken crystal.
Paul rushed to Zenith's side and caught her in his arms just as she was about to hit the ground.
Zenith was still unconscious and couldn't communicate yet.
My companions and I all looked expectantly at Zenith in Paul's arms. Paul looked up and said:
"Zenith is still breathing. We succeeded!"
Then came another round of cheers.
From behind Rudy, I gave him a slap and pushed him in front of Paul.
Rudy was a bit embarrassed; he probably knew how dangerous his momentary distraction had been.
"Father, I'm sorry I zoned out just now."
"No, my duty is to protect you and your mother. And in the end, I was saved by Dorin. We all need to thank him!"
Both of them looked at me.
Rudy spoke first, "Big Brother Dorin, you saved us again. Without you, we would have probably been wiped out in this labyrinth today. Thank you very much."
My other companions also looked at me with grateful eyes. Although they didn't speak, they probably meant the same thing!
"It's nothing. The main reason I worked so hard to improve myself was to be able to step forward in situations like this and prevent tragedies. Being useful this time is worth my 20 years of effort. Haha, since Zenith has been rescued, let's quickly divide the treasures here. Hehe, I'll choose first, does everyone agree?"
My attitude made everyone laugh.
A harmonious team atmosphere is indeed better.
Rudy scratched his head and said:
"Big Brother Dorin, my share and my father's share are both yours. Thank you for saving our lives."
"Haha, do you think I'm short on money? I've also gained a lot from this trip. Don't worry! I haven't lost out."
Then came the joyful division of spoils.
Sure enough, we found another huge nest and a teleportation array behind the palace.
This must have been how the other dragon arrived at this palace earlier.
In the nest, there was also a dragon egg, 1 meter in diameter and 1.5 meters high, lying there—an unexpected find.
I chose this dragon egg as my spoils of war. Of course, no one else had any objections. It seems I'll be upgraded to a Dragon Knight in a few years.
Also, the body of the Nine-Headed Dragon I killed alone belongs to me.
However, it couldn't be taken all at once. Keith planned to organize Adventurers to retrieve the monster's body.
With my powerful combat strength present, the Adventurers retrieving the body wouldn't dare to cause trouble.
After dividing the spoils, we chose to return to Rapan City.
After all, Zenith was still unconscious, and we didn't know how long it would take for her to recover.
When Elinalise saw Zenith's state, I clearly felt her worry.
I knew she had also been rescued from a crystal in a labyrinth before. So I went up and held her hand, saying:
"Don't worry, even if Zenith gets the same curse as you, Paul won't abandon her."
We returned to Rapan City with our spoils. Then came the celebrations and banquets.
After a dangerous labyrinth exploration, everyone needed to fully release the emotions they had suppressed for so long.
Although Zenith was still in a coma, Paul was the most unrestrained in his release. After only a few drinks, he burst into tears on the spot.
Since Lilia was taking care of Zenith, it was his beloved son Rudy who went to comfort Paul.
Rudy and Paul sat together, envisioning their beautiful future life.
They drank cup after cup of strong liquor, chatting very congenially.
In fact, Paul's family was quite fortunate in the Displacement Incident. Even in the previous life, only Paul died while rescuing Rudy.
The rest of the family all successfully survived.
In contrast, Eris's family, except for Eris herself, all perished due to the Displacement Incident. That was the most tragic situation.
Eight years have passed since the Displacement Incident. Most of the residents of Fittoa Territory who could return should have returned by now.
Those still on the missing list probably won't ever return. The true full family return like Paul's must be a very rare case!
Speaking of which, eight years have passed. What has become of the children's refugee camp I built for the children of Fittoa Territory?
The children should have grown up by now. I wonder if they know there was once a big brother who saved their lives.
Forget it! I did it for my own peace of mind. I don't need their gratitude.
It's also been eight years since I last saw Isolte. When I return to Sharia, I'll inquire about her current situation!
If she went to the Holy Land of the Sword, would she have already met Eris? If they knew about each other's relationship with me, would they fight?
Thinking about this, I'm a bit afraid to face them both again. Ugh! My head hurts.
A few more days passed, and Keith and Talhand brought out some of the spoils of war that we couldn't take at the time, as well as the Nine-Headed Dragon's corpse, from the labyrinth.
It was truly spectacular. The entire Rapan City was in an uproar; an Adventurer party had actually slain two Nine-Headed Dragons. Everyone in the city came to marvel at our spoils.
I paid someone to help process the Nine-Headed Dragon's corpse. Its scales, bones, dragon sinews, claws, eyes, and other parts that could be used for magic tools were all removed and preserved in special containers.
The dragon meat, on the other hand, was donated, and a huge dragon meat barbecue was held in Rapan City.
Several prominent families in Rapan City, to curry favor with me, sent their chefs to collectively prepare this batch of dragon meat.
It was made into various dishes, but according to my request, more of the dragon meat was made into barbecue.
The entire populace of Rapan was thrilled, all coming out to enjoy the feast.
The fine wine was sponsored by the prominent families.
Hundreds of barrels of fine wine plunged the people of Rapan City into a frenzy of revelry.
Helen's merchant caravan also arrived. I introduced them to Paul's group and informed everyone that this caravan would accompany us back to Sharia.
After greeting and getting to know each other, everyone enthusiastically ate and drank.
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