[You have received a question from the Supreme of Frost, Lanesha.]
The blue box in front of him expanded in an instant, informing him of the details of the quest.
Strangely enough, it wasn't written in English, the tongue of humans but rather something else.
It still didn't pose a challenge to Alan, considering that he didn't even need to bother translating it, his powers as a dragon were enough.
The strange figures and carvings, albeit feeling familiar and yet distant at the same time, disregarding that notion, he read the details.
[Quest, Accomplish Lanesha's task.]
[Failure will result in Lanesha's -----]
Confused, Alan let out a murmur, he studied the blue display greatly, but what irked him was not the vagueness of it... But rather the composition.
'Why is it different?'
He was no stranger to quests from the system, he had received his own share of them, some given by his dragons, and some from the system.
But because of that, he remembered the pattern. The system always used a specific pattern when sending quests.
The first would be the name, always, and then the difficulty rank, then the lengthy description, or perhaps a short one depending on the quest, then the rewards would be listed, conditions to pass it... Then what would happen if one were to fail.
Never had he seen a quest composed . Sure, he could disregard the vagueness or lack of a proper description, but the other things irked him.
He threw a quick glance at Lanesha, who seemed to looking deep into the darkness, somewhere he couldn't see. Then, he looked at the quest.
'Even Lanesha can't mess with the system this much without serious repercussions.'
That thought, and fact, combined with her leisure humming and Alan failing to sense anything at all relieved him of some of his worries.
Although he was a bit disturbed by it, he let it go.
Perhaps Lanesha truly had messed with it, or perhaps the system got tired or was busy...?
Throwing those thoughts out of his mind, he accepted the quest.
Lanesha took a long and heavy breath, which caused Alan to raise his eyes and look at her back for a moment.
She noticed his gaze, but pretended not too and said.
"It's rude to keep a being of my stature waiting for long, you know."
He could do nothing but utter an apology, for reasons unknown.
Immediately after he did, Lanesha patted his head once again and ruffled his already wild
She stopped, and took a step forward, raising the lantern up above her head, her already towering physique made it a unique sight.
She called out, as the blue light from the lantern surged forth and illuminated the darkness, vanquishing it.
And then he saw what he could not before, tilting his head, he asked.
Perhaps he should call it a city, instead.
Indeed, in the middle of this gargantuan and strange forest in this peculiar world... Was a city made of what appeared to be marble and gold.
The walls towered at a height of 500 metres, and could easily be mistaken for a hill of some sort, or a small mountain at the very least. They were rigid and strong, and even Alan didn't think he could break through them without the help of the chaotic spear technique. They seemed to be manifestations of their architects arrogance and confidence, literally being asked to be taken down.
A vast moat was dug outside the walls, filled with what appeared to be... Milk?
Alan sniffed the air, and threw that notion away. The liquid inside felt and seemed to be milk,
but without a doubt, it was surely something more harrowing.
There were people on top of the mighty walls, almost every where.
"No... They aren't people... All right."
Lanesha chuckled, as Alan examined the soldiers on top closely.
Each wore a cuirass of gold and a helmet of marble. The cuirass had a strange emblem of a star, with many irregular points or tips. They also wore pauldrons that depicted lions with Ruby eyes, ready to devour their foes.
The marble helmet was akin to the ones used by Spartan warriors. Ironically, they held spears in their hands and a sword beside their waist, ready to unsheathe it to deal with any foe.
But that was not it, that was not the most peculiar thing about the people standing on those was... It was the fact that they had flawless, white wings, and a white hue surrounding them.
It was the first thing that came to mind, but unfortunately it didn't stay for long, Beastmen had other defining traits....
He muttered, and Lanesha confirmed his suspicions with a nonchalant attitude.
She stood still for a moment, silently admiring the city walls, and the militia that protected it.
Meanwhile, Alan used dragon eyes to see the strength of the guards, most of them were B- rank, with a few being A rank.
He sensed an S-rank presence within as well.
"What do you think of them, Alan?"
She asked all of a sudden, and all Alan could reply with was:
"They... are weaker than expected."
For the race that was the natural enemy of the demons, he expected more...
Of course, he didn't just think that was all they had, it had to be a miniscule amount of their
true military might. But they exuded a different presence.
He couldn't quite define it, demons forced him to be on guard, but the celestials were different. They felt different... Or would it be right to say he felt different about them?
It was a subtle feeling, one he didn't know of, but definitely felt it slowly growing stronger and stronger. Something that was entirely different from what he felt confronting demons.
"What do I have to do?"
But no matter what he did, he couldn't chase it away nor learn of its identity. So he simply
decided to ask what he was supposed to do.
"So... What is your task?"
She didn't make him wait long, this time.
"Slaughter them all."