CHAPTER 447: CHAPTER 266: HANDS UP_2

"Alright, we agree."

"Ah?" The two Metal Dragons, engrossed in frantic Magic Communication, looked up in astonishment to see the Chosen of the Moon Goddess turning her head and slightly tilting her pointed chin to her deputy.

Then, four large chests, each requiring several Elves to move, were brought over and opened on the spot.

When the chests brimming with beautifully crafted Elven gold and silver coins, mixed with various gemstones, were dumped out, Fulatimir could barely tear his eyes away.

At least two thousand pounds of Gold!

The wealth of an adult Dragon might only amount to this.

The money from this double-cross is so easy to earn!

However, Sebriz, standing beside him, felt a chill run from his feet to the back of his head as he looked at the dazzling treasure. Yet, he still had to feign admiration and Greed as he said, "Your Generosity is enough to amaze the world."

Aria also revealed a radiant smile for the first time. "Then let’s prepare for the transaction."

"We will go fetch the goods now. Please wait a moment," Sebriz promptly agreed.

As he said this, he dragged Fulatimir, who seemed rooted to the spot, and turned to walk toward the valley.

"Wait!" The voice of the Elven Chosen rang out from behind them.

The hearts of the two Metal Dragons sank as they saw the Star Singer smiling coyly at them. "You haven’t taken the payment with you."

"That’s... too heavy. We’ll bring it when we come back. One hand delivers the money, the other the goods. We trust in Your Highness’s reputation," Sebriz said with an awkward laugh.

"No worries. I’ll have my people help you carry it. After all, we have to count the goods in person, right?"

"That too... Ha ha, ha ha ha." At this moment, Sebriz was beginning to regret it!

Damn it, I just wanted to snatch the Elven money, but these Elves are probably scheming to get both the dragons and the goods!

"What should we do? She seems to have her eyes on us," even Fulatimir, who always had an eye for money, was seeing things clearly now.

She truly is a ruthless character!

"We’ll have to adapt as the situation evolves. Later, you just detonate the Mystlock, and we’ll use the confusion to escape in different directions."

"But... what about the money for the goods?" Fulatimir was somewhat reluctant.

"Forget it! With this Elf’s nature, if she hasn’t tampered with the Gold Coins just like that Dragon Mother, I might as well change my surname to Luna Bow!"

"It is just too vile! To completely ignore even the basic rules of black market trade!"

But Sebriz looked at his companion as if he were an idiot, thinking to himself that the first rule of the black market was the law of the jungle! Only when strengths were equal would they bother with rules!

In such deals, risk always matched the reward.

"Remember! Do not harbor any hope of good fortune, nor a moment of hesitation!"

Hesitation meant defeat.

And perhaps capture, followed by a life reduced to an Elf’s relentless blood-letting pump and manure machine!

"Right!"

「A quarter of an hour later.」

They arrived at the valley filled with their ill-gotten gains, under the watchful eyes of Aria and her accompanying Elves.

"Please," Aria gestured with a smile.

The two Metal Dragons, turning around, exchanged a glance, their gaze hardening. Sebriz was already prepared to revert to his true form, and Fulatimir clenched his fist fiercely.

But the gesture was futile.

There was no rampaging Mystlock, no explosion of dust, no flames engulfing all the merchandise.

There was nothing, simply waves of long, eerie silence.

The two suddenly dumbstruck Metal Dragons, their eyes wide as saucers, slowly turned their heads. They saw an Elf Spellcaster emerge from the shadows, bow to Aria, and present a dim Magic Gemstone, saying, "Your Highness, as you wished, the Mystlock has been completely dispelled."

Aria, holding the Magic Gemstone, looked calmly at the two stunned and crestfallen Metal Dragons and said, "Sorry, but your so-called ’Dragon Nest guardians’ are nothing special. When it comes to Magic Enigma Locks, we High Elves are the original creators."

Watching the Metal Dragons fall silent, Aria, the victor who had foiled their plan, revealed a proud smile and asked, "You two Metal Dragons stole and tried to resell our High Elf front-line supplies. Come with us to Dewensen."

Sebriz and Fulatimir exchanged a resigned glance. Faced with an existence who completely overpowered them in technique, strength, and sheer presence, they obediently reverted to their original forms and raised their claws, wings, and tails in submission.

Since every part of a Dragon’s body is a weapon, only such a posture of surrender could reassure the Elves enough to approach and bind their mouths, claws, and wings with vines, confident in their secure transport.

They could only hope to find a way to escape during transport.

But just as the two Metal Dragons had assumed their posture of surrender and all the keenly alert Elves had focused their attention on them, hundreds of flashes of magic suddenly burst forth from the stacked cargo wagons.

"To arms!" The Elves paled, quickly surrounding their likewise frozen Star Singer Aria to protect her.

Yet Aria looked deeply at the two Metal Dragons, who were still ’dumbfounded’ at that moment, and said, "Trying to outsmart me? Not a bad performance; you even managed to deceive me."

Sebriz, unwittingly taking the blame, was also utterly bewildered.

And then, he began to smell a familiar scent that made his scalp tingle.

「The next moment.」

Accompanied by the groaning of wood and the swish of tarpaulins being flung aside, a young Red Dragon emerged at the head of a throng of drake beasts of all colors. They squeezed out from the ’warehouse pipes’ like a swarm of marmots, quickly overrunning most of the valley.

Not only that, the half-Drow Alianna, with her squad of Drow Shadow Dancers who had already lain in ambush, sealed off the canyon’s opening.

This turn of events left Aria somewhat startled. "David Uthos?"

She had initially thought the approaching party was a group of Metal Dragons from Dragon Island conducting a sting operation.

But seeing who it was, she suddenly felt amused.

There was an even bigger ’fish’ swimming straight into her net.

Today was truly Aria’s lucky day.

"Hmm? It’s our Star Singer Aria, Your Highness. Indeed, we must be fated to meet," said David, half-emerging from a completely wrecked cargo wagon, also finding some amusement.

He never expected to encounter this particular Elf Princess under such circumstances. She was the one who had set an ambush near the Ultra-Long-Distance Teleportation Array in Skanis, nearly turning him and his dragons into porcupines.

And now my own dragons have her surrounded.

Indeed, sometimes fortune turns, and the roles of hunter and hunted can change so unexpectedly.

Both sides felt they had made a huge score.

No further pleasantries were exchanged.

"Fight!" David and Aria almost simultaneously issued this chilling command.

And with the word spoken, Aria, the Star Singer Chosen of the Moon Goddess, planted her ornate and flashy Magic Wand into the ground.

Accompanied by the appearance of an ethereal moon halo by her side, a pillar of pure white light shot straight into the heavens.

In that instant, it was as if thousands of stars blinked at once.

*[Meteor Shower Fall]*

But the Star Singer had just begun casting her ultimate spell. Upon realizing that the Princess before him had truly dared to come alone, David quickly changed his mind, raising his paw and pointing towards Aria:

*[Wind of Absolute Silence]*

In an instant, the wind ceased, sound stilled, and the magnificent *[Meteor Shower Fall]* also came to an abrupt halt.

All that remained was Aria, frozen in place like a figurine, in disbelief.

In contrast, David, who had used this ’divine finger-poke,’ collapsed to the ground as if his soul had left his body.

The scene resembled that from Warcraft 3, where the White Tiger had just launched Meteor Shower only to be stopped mid-cast by Archimonde’s Death Coil with an "ARGH!"

But then a formidable female Ogre burst through the ranks of Elf guards, unchallenged, and with one swing of her club, sent the legendary being, who was about to ’thaw,’ flying.

All the Elves heard was a crisp CRACK! Although they weren’t sure if it was an illusion, they felt the back of their Princess’s head seemed to dent inward slightly...

Looking at Aria, whose life or death was uncertain, and at the plethora of Dragons, drake beasts, and dragon-kin sprawling across the hills, all the High Elves simultaneously gave up resisting.

They raised their hands.