Duke Aiden hurried forward, bowed politely, and then said in a loud voice: "Good day, Mr. Hermit.

Thank you for your help to the family, and welcome to the Castle of Silver. It is our honor to have you here. "

"Good day, Mr. Hermit."

The chief wizard Kaushik and the three knight commanders behind him also saluted respectfully and greeted him in unison.

After chatting along the way, Heloise didn't seem so reserved. She just smiled and said, "Hello again, Mr. Hermit."

“You must be the Duke of Aiden that Miss Heloise mentioned.

The hermit simply nodded in greeting. He looked around at everyone in the hall and finally looked at Duke Aiden.

The Silver people in the hall did not know that in the hermit, or Cassius's deep light green eyes, they were like naked, without any secrets - that was the crushing of the essence of life.

As a red dragon with ancestral bloodline, even as an incarnation, Cassius possesses a life essence far more powerful than theirs.

[Duke of Plantagenet - Aiden (Professional Level: Battle Master 12)]

[Silver Blade-Simon (Professional Level: Champion Warrior 20)]

[Master of Mysticism - Kaushik (Professional Level: Mage - School of Conjuration 19)]

[Leader of the Mithril Hand - Feodor Pate (Professional Level: Rune Warrior 16)]

"Tsk tsk, it's worthy of being the Feiansuo continent where gods and demons fight each other. Even a noble who controls some cities can have such strength."

Browsing the information appearing on the panel, Cassius couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

A sub-legendary warrior, a near-legendary archmage, and several powerful warriors who were also at the extraordinary level.

The power that the Silver family displayed to him was so great.

If such a configuration were placed in the North, it would be more than enough to rule a principality, and could even defeat the most powerful Principality of Bosk among the northern countries.

However, on the continent of Fianso, in Victoria Harbor, the largest and most prosperous city on the west coast, they cannot even fully control the city and can only compete with the other three major families.

Thinking of this, Cassius said in a relaxed tone: "Oh, you are worthy of being one of the rulers of Victoria Harbor, Duke Aiden. It seems that your family is indeed quite powerful."

At this moment, sweat broke out on Kaushik's forehead. The many spells he had set up in the Silver Castle were useless in front of this hermit.

Moreover, he had a strange feeling - the being in front of him had already seen through him, and everything about him could not be hidden from him.

Simon also subconsciously held the silver sword at his waist to ensure the Duke's safety, but his arms were shaking slightly.

Just now, he felt an unprecedented powerful aura overflowing, which even made him feel instinctively fearful.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Hermit is the benefactor of our Silver family."

Duke Aiden noticed that the atmosphere was a little strange and quickly apologized with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Hermit, you protected our Silver's caravan and rescued my daughter. I really don't know how to thank you.

This is just a small thank you gift to show our Silver family's sincerity, please accept it."

He called several of his servants and instructed them to bring over the boxes that had been prepared long ago.

But they were too heavy, and the servants had to struggle to move them in front of the hermit and open them skillfully.

Suddenly, golden light filled the ground.

I saw that the boxes were filled with gold coins, there were tens of thousands of them, and there were exquisite gold jewelry everywhere, as well as pearls that were as shiny as sand.

Apparently, the Duke of Aiden had a detailed understanding of the preferences of bronze dragons, knowing that they, like all dragons, were greedy for gold and regarded pearls as a tasty snack.

Even the people in the hall couldn't help but breathe fast when they saw so much treasure.

——But it is obviously impolite to covet other people's wealth, so they quickly controlled their emotions and focused their expectant eyes on the hermit.

The "hermit" gentleman's eyes sparkled, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he nodded repeatedly, obviously quite satisfied with the gift.

The light green pupils reflected the glittering brilliance of gold - apparently, even a metal dragon could not completely control the greed that came from the dragon's instinct.

However, this is not the end, it can even be considered just an appetizer.

Duke Aiden continued, “Mr. Hermit, this is only part of our thank you gift.

The arms brought back by the caravan can be measured in gold coins, but for me personally, my daughter, Heloise, is priceless.

I really don’t know how to express my gratitude, I can only present our many collections of Victoria Harbour, I hope you like them.”

"Crack, snap."

Duke Aiden clapped his hands, and the door of the hall slowly opened. Maids dressed in luxurious clothes lined up in an orderly queue and walked in slowly.

They were holding transparent glass boxes filled with all kinds of precious collections, many of which were sparkling with brilliant magical light.

Red coral from the seabed, ships in glass bottles, crowns of Naga nobles, and huge pearls shining with colorful brilliance.
These are almost all precious collections from the ocean carefully prepared by Duke Aiden.

As far as he knew, in addition to gold and pearls, the bronze dragon, known as the "Dragon of the Coast", also liked other treasures from the ocean, and the Silver family, which had been entrenched in Victoria Harbor for many years, obviously had quite a lot in stock.

More than a dozen collections were presented and displayed in front of the hermit, and Duke Aiden was secretly observing the other party's reaction.

The "hermit" was seen admiring the carefully prepared collections, his light green eyes revealing an unconcealable love.

Duke Aiden knew that his goal had been achieved - the Silver family had successfully gained the favor of this ancient bronze dragon.

The hermit sighed and said, “It seems that Victoria Harbor is indeed the most prosperous port city now. Your Silver family is really financially strong.

In this case, I cannot refuse your kindness, so I will accept these gifts of thanks. If you need any help, please let Miss Heloise toss the coin."

Duke Aiden winked, and Heloise hurried forward and asked softly, "Mr. Hermit, I have something else I want to ask you.
Do you know who the cultists who attacked us that day, those guys who claimed to be followers of the 'God of Domination', are?
The Hermit sneered, "Oh, they are just a bunch of bugs who don't know their own capabilities. They don't even know their minds are being controlled. How ridiculous. But according to common parlance, they should be called puppets of the Mind Flayer."

"Mind Flayer?"

Hearing this name, Kaushik, who was standing next to him, suddenly changed his expression and turned pale.

He had systematically studied the knowledge of the multiverse with Trafarano and understood how evil and dangerous the mind flayers were.

Kaushik called up some of the memories in his library-like mind and recalled them carefully.

The mind flayer, also known as the mind flayer, means "mind flayer" or "mind slave" in the Undercommon language, and is sometimes called ghaik (brain-eating bastard) by the Githyanki.

This is a brutal monster that is feared by many intelligent creatures in the multiverse because of its powerful psychic powers.

Mind flayers extract and consume the brains of living victims, thereby devouring their personalities.

These aberrations often reside in twisted lairs deep within the Underdark, seeking to rule over all other life forms, controlling their minds and making them obedient slaves.

Kaushik couldn't help but mutter to himself, "How could the Mind Flayer appear in the aboveworld?"

The hermit looked at him and said meaningfully, "Young wizard, the history of these bugs is much longer than you know, and their greed is far beyond your imagination.

Four hundred years ago, I destroyed a Mind Flayer Nautilus and learned of their grand blueprints."

Hearing this confusing information, Duke Aiden frowned, his expression becoming more serious: "Mr. Hermit, are these mind flayers targeting Victoria Harbor?"

The hermit said calmly: "You can say that, but it's much more than that, and this is one of the reasons why I came to Victoria Harbour."

Duke Aiden said: "Mr. Hermit, our Silver family will provide you with everything we can. We only hope that you can cooperate with us to wipe out these monsters."

The hermit replied, “Of course, but you need to find me a place to stay first.

Haha, I originally wanted to go back to my room in Tal Harbor, but I didn’t expect that place to sink directly to the bottom of the sea.”

Duke Aiden said hurriedly: "Of course, Mr. Hermit, we will build a mansion for you in the best location in the upper city, so that you can enjoy the most beautiful sea view of Victoria Harbor."

The hermit shook his head and refused: "No need, the upper city is full of monks and nobles, it's a bit boring, and I can't get in touch with all kinds of people."

"What do you mean?"

Looking out the window, watching the ships coming and going at the port, the corners of the hermit's mouth curled up slightly:

“Well, I need your Silver family to build a tall tower for me in the most chaotic and mixed area of ​​the lower city.

The name is Coast Tower."

Duke Aiden quickly agreed: "Yes, Mr. Hermit, ten days, give us ten days, and we will build a tower for you in the lower city."

But at this moment, he was laughing secretly in his heart, obviously mourning for the underground chaotic forces entrenched in the lower city.

An ancient bronze dragon with a strong sense of justice appeared in the chaotic downtown area, which was definitely enough to cause trouble for those thieves and cultists.

But Duke Aiden was wary of the ancient and evil mind flayers - what on earth did they want to do? They actually wanted to kidnap his only daughter?

Unexpectedly, the hermit spoke again, interrupting his thoughts.

"By the way, Duke Aiden, don't forget to transport all these treasures to the tower."

After saying this, the hermit created a space crack and disappeared in the hall, leaving Duke Aiden standing there, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

It is still a dragon after all.

Victoria Harbour was still bustling with merchant ships coming and going in an endless stream.

However, there was a rumor circulating in the city that Duke Aiden's only daughter, Heloise, was ambushed by cultists, and the Duke was furious.

Simon Amorim, the famous Silver's Blade and the Duke's confidant, personally led a team of hundreds of elite mercenaries to the most chaotic Wilson district in Victoria Harbor.

Just when the various forces in the Wilson neighborhood were worried and thought they were going to conduct a large-scale sweep, these mercenaries began construction in the neighborhood, which made them quite puzzled.

A few days later, a beautiful blue tower stood in the Wilson neighborhood, with a sign that read "Coast Tower" hanging on it, which was out of tune with the low, mottled buildings in the downtown area.

The Mithril Hand mercenaries escorted a large amount of gold treasures and put them all into the tower, which also aroused the greed of the surrounding thieves and gangs.

And after all this was done, the Mithril Hand mercenaries all withdrew, leaving only a group of helpless servants and a man in a gray robe in the tower.

Although this was most likely the treasure of the Duke of Aiden, facing the seemingly poorly guarded tower and the dazzling treasure, the surrounding desperadoes still coveted it.

Some gangs and cults even colluded with each other, and even brought in a group of undead, wanting to invade the tower together and divide up the rich treasures inside.

But after a night of particularly bad weather with thunder and lightning, the fishermen complained about the capriciousness of the "Sea Queen", while the door of the Coast Tower was piled with ashes, and the servants were working hard to clean it up.

People in Wilson's neighborhood were surprised to find that the sects and gangs that planned to invade the tower had all mysteriously disappeared and never appeared again.

Then, another piece of gossip gradually spread: the owner of the Coast Tower, the man who called himself "Hermit" was an extremely powerful wizard.

Some even swore that there was a terrifying dragon living in the tower, but most people scoffed at this.

As the largest port in Silvermoon Bay, Victoria Harbor is extremely inclusive, and people there are no longer surprised by foreign races such as orcs, dwarves, elves, and even Naga.

Soon, the residents of Wilson Street gradually got used to the existence of the Coast Tower, using it as a pawnshop for receiving ocean treasures and as a place to purchase intelligence.

The ones who are most enthusiastic about this tower are the undead. They often enter the tower in groups and take on tasks from the mysterious hermit.

In the eyes of those players who use Victoria Harbour as their birthplace, the "Hermit" in the Coast Tower has obviously become the most mysterious and important NPC.

Standing on the top floor of the Coast Tower, gazing out the window at the sea crowded with ships, Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly:
“According to the original trajectory, the Dominant God Cult kidnapped Heloise to threaten Duke Aiden and gradually took control of the armed forces of Victoria Harbor.

Now that I have rescued the Silver family's caravan, I want to see what tricks they can come up with." (End of this chapter)