DKIE CH17.1: Holy City

By the time Luka set out, some dragons were already on their way.

When they were too lazy to fly, they would directly ride on flying ships made of special flame crystals.

All the flying creatures in the sky stayed a hundred zhang away from them.

“Cheep cheep cheep cheep…”

A group of demonic beasts resembling seagulls started cursing.

Which madman was driving this kind of flying ship on the road? If they accidentally bumped into it, they’d have to pay a fortune in compensation!

Inside the flying ship, the dragons, having taken human form, concealed their oppressive auras.

Berlanie, with a book in hand, looked over the gift he had received for writing the inscription again and again, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

“If only I had such a well-behaved dragon cub.”

He had completely classified the little monster as a dragon and was even looking for evidence in the text.

If anyone were to say the little monster wasn’t a dragon, Berlanie would spit out a mouthful of frost to make them reincarnate with a different brain.

Just as Rio was about to tell him to stop dreaming, the flying ship suddenly became unstable, and several strong, swift air currents appeared in the air.

Berlanie put away his book and saw the source of the storm at a glance. “It’s Alice.”

A few sparks flew in the sky. Another dragon had arrived. She transformed into a red-haired woman and stood at the tip of the flying ship.

“Berlanie, Rio?” Her eyebrows were wine-red. “What are you two doing here?”

A shut-in dragon who only knew how to hibernate and a picky dragon who spent all his time buried in books were actually traveling together. Alice smelled something fishy.

Berlanie said faintly, “Just taking a trip to the Holy City.”

The Lord of Boulder City had hinted that the Holy City was organizing some event related to the cub, which was why they had decided to check it out.

Alice was secretly annoyed. “If I had known you were going to the Holy City, I wouldn’t have come.”

The Myriad Dynasties Assembly had sent an invitation, and this year, the invitation was personally written by the Saint. They had to give him some face. A bunch of old dragons on Dragon Island had pulled rank, and in the end, she was the one kicked out to attend the event.

Alice noticed Rio was holding a book.

It was normal for Berlanie to read books, but Rio was no cultured dragon.

Just as she was about to ask, a magnificent city appeared below.

Patrol soldiers worked vigilantly on the high walls outside the Holy City. Inside, the great magicians were bustling about. Only the statue of the Saint stood tall in the center of the city, forever to be looked up to.

An envoy was already waiting outside the outer city to receive them.

When he discovered that three dragons had arrived at once, the receiving envoy was instantly overwhelmed with flattery.

The Dragon Clan is giving so much face this year?

The city was bustling with excitement. Many races that had arrived early were showing off their new inventions.

The city patrol guards had all been replaced with seventh-tier magicians, clearly on guard against something.

Rio wasn’t interested until he saw various selection events, and his wandering gaze finally settled.

The receiving envoy hurriedly said, “This way to the inner city.”

The two figures paid him no mind, their footsteps stopping one after another under a huge promotional poster.

The entire area nearby was filled with promotions for various events, and the sound of discussion was endless.

“Why did they add a bestselling book selection this year?”

And what the hell is that last book?

—A heartfelt masterpiece by a youth said to be more beautiful than the Elf King, captivating all four races.

“Haven’t you heard about the bathhouse peeping incident that caused such a stir a while ago?” a passerby who had just bet on the Alchemist Grand Prix said, staring at the bottom of the rankings. “Just sensationalism. I followed the trend and bought a copy. It was terribly written.”

Another victim stood nearby and said indignantly, “I’ll only be fooled this one time.”

Next to the bestselling book selection was the poll for the year’s most popular protagonist.

The voting rules were simple. Designated bookstores in each area had a teleportation array. It cost one gold coin to use it once, and the bookstore charged an additional five percent handling fee.

If you wanted to vote for someone, you just had to write it down and put it into the teleportation array. Someone would collect and count them daily.

On the few votes cast, besides the name of the little monster, there were also accompanying curses.

“I spent a gold coin for no other reason than this. I was disgusted for a week after reading it. I hope more people see it so we can all be disgusted together.”

The Beloved Three-and-a-half Year Old literature had its own buzz. No one noticed the unusually silent Rio and Berlanie in the crowd.

Those with great power could infinitely weaken their own presence.

Rio quietly looked at the poster.

The promotional poster was piled with magical elements, making the drawn image more vivid. The little monster was perched on the edge of an eggshell, blowing bubbles in anticipation. The bubbles had “pick me” written in them, but what greeted it was a barrage of merciless slander.

It lay there expectantly, as if it knew nothing, revealing its usual innocent, smiling face.

So pitiful.

The more slanderous comments there were, the more Rio’s heart ached.

It’s already trying so hard to adapt to this world.

Completely unaware that he was being turned into a stan by a pity-baiting campaign, Rio looked at the yawning staff member. “Where do I vote?”

“You can vote on-site. Each time you need to pay…”

“I’ll vote a hundred million first.”

With that light and airy sentence, the surroundings instantly fell silent.

Sack after sack of gold coins began to be thrown out of a storage ring without warning.

Seeing the sacks of gold coins about to pile up into a small mountain, the staff member finally came to his senses.

“S-sorry, according to the selection rules, a single reader can only vote a maximum of five times.”

It was a minor ranking that no one cared about, so the rules weren’t strictly enforced.

But to throw out a hundred million in public, he couldn’t pretend to be blind even if he wanted to!

Hearing the rule restrictions, Rio frowned and asked again, “What does the author get after the character wins an award?”

The staff member was at a loss for words. What could they get?
Honor.

Rio: “I’ll vote a hundred million for the author too.”

“…Sorry, that’s not included in the event either.”

The air on the scene grew even more silent. Someone seemed to have guessed Rio’s identity, and their expression changed from disbelief to a bit of fear.

Rio’s long, narrow brows furrowed tightly. He was extremely annoyed by the fact that he couldn’t spend his money.

Berlanie, who had been silent all this time, suddenly fixed his gaze on one spot.

Not far away, a newsstand was promoting an autobiography of a magician.

In comparison, the little corner dedicated to the cub’s voting event seemed exceptionally shabby.

Berlanie whispered a few words. Rio noticed too, his eyes growing deeper and deeper.

Alice, growing impatient, also went up to the ranking list. “What on earth are you two up to? Huh… what’s this? It’s quite cute.”

The receiving envoy: “Your Excellencies…”

Rio raised his hand and said in a deep voice, “Where are the best bards in the Holy City?”

————

Thousands of kilometers away from the Holy City, a luxurious caravan pulled by dozens of demonic beasts was on the move.

Inside the carriage, Luka raised a question. “The selection event is being held in the Holy City. How do readers from other places participate?”

Cullen’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he briefly explained the rules.

Luka listened thoughtfully.

It was a mechanism similar to SMS voting, but this one clearly had many loopholes. However, considering the small number of participants in a niche event, it didn’t really matter.

Cullen continued, “The Holy City has specially increased the promotional efforts this time. You should thank the City Lord.”

Luka was puzzled.

“The publishing industry is in a slump, and no one cares. The City Lord personally wrote to his acquaintances among the high-level officials of the Holy City, and this year, they specifically organized an event to support niche fields.”

Luka was enlightened. There was such a good thing?

The City Lord, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, spoke up. “Controversy brings fame. Perhaps by the time we arrive, you’ll already be famous.”

Luka cared more about whether this fame could be converted into faith.

The journey still required some time, and he spent most of it writing.

Luka deliberately took out his quill, wanting to test the City Lord’s reaction. If the other party showed even a hint of suspicion, he would have to find a way to end the trip to the Holy City first.

Fortunately, the City Lord paid more attention to the manuscript than to the quill.

Luka completely relaxed. If he could deceive the City Lord’s eyes and ears, he could deceive most of the elite magicians in the Holy City.

“Tweet tweet~” A bird that had flown over at some point kept pecking at the edge of the window.

The City Lord had the demonic beasts stop. A few seconds later, the door was pushed open by a pair of hands, and a young girl in a gorgeous dress squeezed in.

The City Lord helplessly called out Lilian’s name.

“Thank you, Uncle City Lord,” Lilian said with a cheerful smile, holding her pet. “I’ve been chasing you all this way. I’m exhausted.”

The newcomer was the president of Stone Magazine.

Luka: “Are you also going to the Holy City?”

Lilian nodded repeatedly. “For a first-hand report, and to have some fun in the inner city along the way.”

Despite having half-succubus blood, judging from her familiarity with the City Lord, Lilian’s family background was quite solid.

As soon as she arrived, she dropped a bombshell. “It is said that the Demon King himself will attend the Myriad Dynasties Assembly this time.”

Luka’s hand, holding the pen, froze.

Fortunately, the City Lord and Cullen were also immersed in surprise, so he didn’t seem out of place.

The City Lord’s expression became serious. “Are you sure?”

The Demon Clan also sent a delegation to the Myriad Dynasties Assembly every year. In previous years, it was always the crown prince who led the team. It had been at least twenty years since the Demon King last attended personally.

Lilian nodded. “Ninety percent certain. It’s first-hand news from my informant in the Demon Realm.”

She stroked her pet bird and, as if by magic, two tickets appeared in her hand.

“Luka, I also got two inner-city opera tickets. We can go and see it together then.”

Thanks to Luka, the magazine’s sales had been booming recently.

Looking at the opera tickets, Luka’s thoughts couldn’t help but wander. In the current era, opera was mainstream, and movies hadn’t appeared yet. It wasn’t that the technology couldn’t keep up, but that no one had thought of developing in that direction.

He couldn’t help but feel a little tempted. Compared to reading, the ability of movies to open up the market and attract fans was clearly stronger.

To make a movie, one first needed to use a Memory Stone, and it had to be a very large one that had been specially polished by an expert. It was worth a fortune. The ones in his own pocket could only be considered pocket change.

The number of dragons was small. It was unrealistic to rely on them alone to boost book sales.

Looks like I have to write a huge hit.

A hit so big that even a random person on the street would want to buy it.

“What are you muttering about?” Lilian asked, looking at him.

Luka smiled, his fingers instinctively stroking the quill. “Nothing much, just a little surprised about the Demon King’s arrival.”

His slender fingertips brushed over the feathers. The quill’s “hairs” stood on end, not knowing what mischief this kid was plotting now.

Traveling day and night, as they approached their destination, the speed of the demonic beasts increased.

The sun was just rising this day, its light shining on Luka’s hair, which had a strange dark red tint in the black.

The demonic beasts suddenly let out two uneasy cries. The air still held the lingering scent of the Demon Clan, suggesting that their procession had passed by not long ago.

The City Lord waved his sleeve, and the scent completely disappeared. The demonic beasts calmed down again.

Luka lifted the window curtain and looked at the magnificent city below, thinking to himself: I was a bit too conservative before.

He had only seen the trouble that came with the identity of the Demon King’s son, but he had forgotten that this identity could be fully utilized.

Everyone got out of the carriage one after another.

The Law Enforcement Team, which other races feared, stood guard on both sides, each dressed in white armor, with a greatsword at their waist, looking majestic.

After seeing the totem mark on the beast carriage, the captain immediately walked over, bowed respectfully to the Lord of Boulder City, and his gaze paused for a moment on the masked youth in the group.

The City Lord: “A young friend I specially invited.”

The captain didn’t inquire further. “Please follow me.”

Since entering the city, the quill had been as quiet as if it were dead.

It watched quietly all the way.