The Ryan army had retreated, fleeing in quite a fluster.
When Anbaixiu dropped a Meteor Swarm on them, they had still maintained their formation, their morale barely shaken. But once the Silvermoon Knight coughed blood and fainted, panic swept through the ranks from top to bottom, turning their withdrawal into a headlong scramble.
Had Anbaixiu been the commander, he would have undoubtedly ordered a pursuit; letting Ryan off without teaching them a bitter lesson would be an utter waste.
Yet after the Ryan soldiers pulled back, Hoffman merely let out a long sigh of relief, showing not the slightest inclination to give chase.
In fact, Hoffman had not appeared on the front line during the entire battle. Only after confirming the Ryan army was gone did he begin directing the cleanup of the battlefield.
Dishing out a pittance in condolence money, Hoffman busied himself collecting what the Ryan troops had left behind.
This was perhaps the only Ryan rout since the two nations went to war, leaving behind not just a handful of corpses, but a vast amount of damaged equipment that seemed like useless scrap.
Yet every piece of it was solid, undeniable military merit.
How could this be scrap? It was Hoffman's glorious future. He had already figured it out: using this grand victory as a pretext, he would be able to...
Hoffman could already see a bright road ahead; perhaps he would never need to visit the front lines in person again.
His thoughts were written all over his face. The moment Anbaixiu noticed, he said decisively, "Lord Hoffman, you wouldn't want anyone to know that the credit for this victory belongs to a passing dragon knight like me, would you?"
The two conferred in a secret room for a long time as chest after chest of gold was hauled inside.
A few hours later, Anbaixiu departed in high spirits, while Hoffman wore an expression of agonizing heartache.
To ensure Anbaixiu wouldn't contest the credit, Hoffman handed over his entire net worth along with all of Sweetdew City's reserve gold.
With everything settled, Anbaixiu had already felt his powers of divination return when the Ryan troops retreated. This meant the trial bestowed by the Goddess of Fate was complete; Anbaixiu had successfully guided the world's fate along its original trajectory.
Exploiting a loophole in fate to save Harvey required fulfilling an absurd historical event on fate's behalf.
Just like the Battle of Sweetdew City—if Anbaixiu hadn't intervened, this rabble from the Dwarf Kingdom could never have held the city. Sweetdew City was the most critical defensive line behind the Death Line; once lost, the Dwarf Kingdom would never have been able to hold off Ryan with the Death Line, nor preserve half of its territory.
Anbaixiu had also wondered: had he failed, would the Silvermoon Knight have simply coughed up blood and collapsed anyway, bringing about the predetermined history regardless?
The Goddess of Fate would never answer that question, so Anbaixiu couldn't be bothered to ponder how many coincidences or destinies were involved. Regardless, this arduous journey back in time was finally at an end.
Before departing Sweetdew City, Anbaixiu went to check on Harvey.
The lad still hadn't escaped the clutches of the orcs, yet he wasn't scheming to run away. Instead, he had rounded up a huge stack of parchment and notebooks, writing frantically with dark circles under his eyes.
Anbaixiu recalled what Harvey had said before: if he were to die the next day, he wouldn't struggle; his only wish would be to record his life. It seemed the lad had accepted his fate and wanted to leave as much of a mark on the world as possible before he died.
"Heh, I wonder how he'd feel if he knew he was going to work for me for the rest of his life."
Anbaixiu made no move to rescue Harvey from his plight, because when they met again in the future, Harvey had already resolved these troubles on his own. There was no need to worry about him being locked up by orcs forever.
It was time to go back.
Anbaixiu flew deep into the desert and summoned Naomi in a desolate, uninhabited area.
Though her wings had been cut while transformed into a time dragon, a druid's Wild Shape was wondrous like that. Even if skinned or decapitated as a dragon, Naomi would emerge unharmed once the transformation was dismissed—it merely cost her some natural energy.
Naomi had long since reverted to human form and was ready to transform into a time dragon once more.
Catherine, however, felt a twinge of reluctance. After travelling to the past, she hadn't gotten to experience much of anything—she had either been stuffed into Anbaixiu's private dimension or used as his shield. This journey through time hadn't left a single fond memory.
"Once we return this time, you should head back to the Silvermoon High Court," Anbaixiu told Catherine.
Catherine asked suspiciously, "Why are you trying to drive me away? Don't want to give me the fifty thousand gold coins?"
Anbaixiu retorted at once, "Am I that kind of person?"
Catherine said nothing, merely staring at Anbaixiu with wide eyes. She had grown wiser: never argue with Anbaixiu over self-evident truths, giving him no opening to quibble.
Anbaixiu felt a little awkward under her stare. He really had contemplated swindling the girl into forgetting the fifty thousand gold coins, but that wasn't the main reason for letting her leave. "You've been traveling with me for so long; it's time you took some time to digest everything. Adventuring only gives you experiences; whether they turn into wisdom depends on having time to reflect and synthesize. Plenty of adventurers spend their whole lives scraping by at the bottom, never progressing in skill or wisdom, not because they're stupid, but because they never reflect on what they've learned, tumbling into the same pitfalls over and over."
These words came from the bottom of Anbaixiu's heart—or whatever passed for one in a skeleton—and were genuinely sincere.
Having stuck with him for so long, Catherine's growth was obvious. The old Catherine had been utterly naive, but now she was a passable adventurer. This was a pivotal moment; if she kept trailing after him, she would remain stuck in perpetual "learning" mode, never finding the time to ponder what she had actually learned.
After hearing Anbaixiu's explanation, Catherine didn't relax in the slightest. Instead, she asked suspiciously, "That doesn't sound like you at all. Would you ever do something that offers no benefit?"
"You misunderstand me so deeply," Anbaixiu sighed. Then he added, "When you return to the Silvermoon High Court, mention to that Elven King that I have Arthur Ryan's heroic spirit in my hands."
Catherine blurted out at once, "Don't even dream of making the elves pay for that spirit! Not a chance!"
How much was Arthur Ryan's heroic spirit worth?
That was truly hard to estimate, but Catherine knew Anbaixiu would dare to quote an outrageous sum that selling off the entire Silvermoon High Court couldn't cover.
Anbaixiu chuckled. "You're not the Elven Queen anymore. Whether the elves buy it or not isn't your call."
Catherine flashed a grin even brighter than his and countered, "If I go back to the Silvermoon High Court and say no buying it, do you think they'd disagree?"
When she had stayed sheltered in the Silvermoon High Court, Catherine had lacked any clear concept of her own charm. Though warned since childhood never to show her face lightly in public because her beauty would invite catastrophe, she had only heard the claim without ever truly experiencing it.
Only after venturing out with Anbaixiu did Catherine understand just how terrifying her charms were. If she actively brought her allure to bear, absolutely no elf would ever oppose her.
Her words caught Anbaixiu off guard. After a moment, he said, "You really have gotten sharper. Looks like I undercharged on tuition."
The girl had learned to leverage her advantages and zero in on what mattered. She'd only been out in the world for a few days, yet she had progressed this much.
"Don't worry, though. I'm not looking to fleec—er, do business with the elves. Your Silvermoon High Court probably couldn't scrape up that much coin right now anyway. If I'm selling Arthur Ryan's heroic spirit, I'm selling it to Ryan. Guess how much they'd pay?" Anbaixiu said smugly.
"If you're selling it to Ryan, what do you need the elves for?" Catherine asked curiously.
Anbaixiu explained, "You don't get it, do you? This item is an antique, but whether it's genuine isn't for a lich like me to declare. If I say Arthur Ryan is in my hands, wouldn't the Ryan people immediately destroy me under the guise of profaning their founding emperor? But if Arthur Ryan's former companion, the former Elven King of the elves, steps forward to verify that this is indeed Arthur Ryan's heroic spirit, that's a whole different story. Wouldn't you agree?"
That was how traditional scams always worked: bring an item out to sell and nobody would give you the time of day, but plant a shill beside you to praise it to the heavens, and suckers would take the bait.
What was more, Anbaixiu didn't even need any exaggerations; all he needed was to spread the truth.
As for whether Ryan might try to seize it by force... Heh, not to be arrogant, but once the Silvermoon Knight was dead, it would be impossible for Ryan to quietly take Anbaixiu out.
As a divination wizard, if Anbaixiu set his mind on fleeing, only a god stepping in could stop him.
If the Ryan folks dared to use force, Anbaixiu would dare to hand that hourglass over to the dragons. He was certain the dragons wouldn't pay any less than Ryan.
If he didn't fleece them for tens of billions this time, he'd be doing a disservice to the name Arthur Ryan.
Catherine hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll pass along the message for you, but I can't guarantee anything."
Had it been before, Catherine would never have agreed to this request. What did Anbaixiu fleecing Ryan have to do with the elves? As an ally of Ryan, she should have stopped him.
Yet after witnessing Ryan's overbearing arrogance, she had developed different thoughts about this ally.
Ryan was growing increasingly extreme and bellicose. Where they once targeted only evil beings like undead and fiends, they had gradually turned dwarves and orcs into so-called "heathen races." If this continued, the day would come when elves received the exact same treatment as the undead.
Anbaixiu wanted to use Arthur Ryan's heroic spirit to make some money, and the elves would merely be helping to speak the truth. There shouldn't be any problem with that. She could discuss it with the higher-ups of the elven race upon her return and see what everyone thought.
"Good, then it's time to go back. Catherine, once you're back at the Silvermoon High Court, pass along one more message for me."
"To the Silvermoon High Court?"
"To the Elven Gods." Anbaixiu shifted into an utterly serious tone. "I know a great war involving the gods is approaching soon. But as for the exact form it will take, I hope the Elven Gods can grant me a hint. In exchange, I promise not to stand against the elven race in this coming war."
Chapter 228