CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 248: THE UNEXPECTED

「New Continent, Port of Wallens.」

"SSS? What? You want to deal with a Spirit Suckers’ psychic pool? Are you insane, or am I?"

Rune Lord Bergin was sparring with three hatchlings, a small wine pot in hand. When he heard David’s purpose, he gasped so sharply that he involuntarily yanked out a tuft of the beard he had painstakingly protected from the hatchlings’ bizarre attacks.

Even though he had lived for most of his life in the Eight Peaks Mountain on the Old Continent, how could they, as Dwarves, not have heard of the infamous name of Spirit Suckers?

It could even be said that their name was thunderously well-known.

Because the legend of the Gray Dwarves was almost born from the psychic enslavement of the Spirit Suckers:

After generations of suffering, abuse, enslavement, and torture, not only did their bodies undergo mutations, but they also became one of the harsher and crueler varieties among the Dwarves.

People said that the Dwarves of Eight Peaks Mountain were vengeful and their minds incredibly twisted, but that was because they hadn’t seen the Gray Dwarves, right? Those were beings truly physically distorted by the psychic powers of the Spirit Suckers.

The Dwarves of Eight Peaks Mountain were secretly terrified at the mere sight of them.

These warriors of theirs were simply the natural prey of the Spirit Suckers, unless they too could awaken psychic resistance similar to their Gray Dwarf kin.

Then David casually tossed him a pack of Spiritual Resistance Ornaments. "Here, put these on. See if they’re enough. If not, I’ll get you another dozen."

"So many?" Bergin was a bit dazed by David’s ostentatious display. Having been poor all his life in the remote backwaters of Skanis, he had never witnessed magic ornaments being ’distributed wholesale’ like this. But he soon noticed something off.

"TSK, these are all mid to low-tier goods. With these, if we encounter a legendary Spirit Sucker Governor, wouldn’t we get blown up by a mere glance?"

David naturally rolled his eyes at him.

"Why else do you think I got you so many? Psychic power users are scarce as it is; who would bother making Spiritual Protection Ornaments for no reason? These were all we could scrape together from the entire black market of Central Earth.

"Besides, we’re facing a Governor. Unless we can get corresponding mythical items or Divine Artifacts for psychic protection, there’s no way to be 100% safe from the psychic spells of a Spirit Sucker Governor."

This... Bergin couldn’t help feeling that this ’mission’ felt like something out of a ’paranormal bardic memoir’—once the props were used up, there was an immediate risk of ’insanity and loss of control’, and even legends weren’t immune.

Just then, he heard David’s timely offer, "The reconstruction of Port of Wallens could use more hands. I think hiring a group of female Dwarves is a good choice."

"Deal."

For the betterment of his people’s lives, Bergin didn’t hesitate to accept the tempting offer.

"When do we set off? Just the three of us?"

"Plus two Red Dragons, both legendary. One is currently in the Gloomy Region giving the Drow Elves a hard time. And the other one... UM, let me see... with his ’Stellar Parade’ speed, if he receives that ’personal summons’ of mine, he should be arriving soon, right?"

Just one Spellcaster? And a ’Magical Net Prohibited Contact’ personally decreed by the Magic Goddess? Suddenly, Bergin felt somewhat skeptical.

And three Red Dragons! They could easily be driven mad by a Spirit Sucker’s frenzy.

However, considering David the Red Dragon’s usual chaotic way of thinking, the line between madness and calmness didn’t seem to be that wide.

He always managed to do completely unexpected things.

Like this seemingly impossible ’Spirit Sucker Brain Heist’ itself.

Probably all Spirit Suckers across the planes combined wouldn’t believe their ’brains’ could one day be coveted by other beings.

But his candid words managed to simultaneously irk two dragons.

"Am I not a Spellcaster?" David challenged.

"Or are you belittling an Arcanist?" his son, Attilicia, added, both retorting sharply.

Attilicia, however, after his initial dissatisfaction, found himself somewhat smug about the new title ’Magical Net Prohibited Contact’.

Poor fellow. Since he left Dragon Island to travel the Continent in his youth, he hadn’t managed to acquire many decent or respectable titles. They were either cliché, like ’Silver Hand’, or something like ’Wandering Virgin of Divine Silver’—a name so awful it made him want to smite its creator on the spot with holy light.

In contrast, ’Magical Net Prohibited Contact’ had style!

And it was personally decreed by the Magic Goddess! What prestige!

It was at this moment that an extremely intense energy disturbance suddenly appeared over the entirety of Port of Wallens, causing David, Bergin, and everyone else in the port to look up in alarm.

First, a dazzling array of stars appeared in the void, encircled by silver fog. This was followed by flames so real they seemed to materialize directly, and then a white sea of clouds poured into the material plane.

"Look out!" The formidable and overwhelming presence immediately threw the people of Port of Wallens into instinctual panic. Even Rune Lord Bergin involuntarily stepped in front of David, ready to fulfill his duty to protect his ’generous’ Dragon employer.

For some reason, this oppressive aura, which even he felt pressure from, seemed... somewhat familiar?

Then they saw a sharply-featured Red Dragon’s head emerge. It almost immediately displayed a ferocious grin, its gaze locked on David’s head.

"YO! David Uthos, my dear great-nephew! So eager to invite me, were you? Ready to receive my love? Or do you think these two losers can protect you, huh?"