Just as David was lost in thought, he heard a deep voice,
"Can I go back now? I feel like if I stay any longer, I might die..."
David turned in surprise and saw Lizrite, in her Frost Giant form, wilting on the shady side of the hill, panting with her tongue out from the heat.
"Same here. My Frost Breath is almost depleted," the White Dragon Mofei chimed in, only daring to speak after Lizrite, who was clearly in charge, had spoken. It occasionally licked its limbs to cool down.
These two dignified cold-attribute creatures were, much to their surprise, reduced to suffering from the heat like dogs in Ferren's largest desert.
Lizrite was especially miserable. As a living Red Dragon, she was experiencing what heat felt like for the first time in her draconic life.
She even began to suspect she might have been cursed by the Dragon God Tiamat.
Yet, after much thought, she couldn't fathom how she could have possibly offended Her Majesty the Dragon Queen.
"Then you two might as well stay home and guard the city from now on."
David smacked his lips and swished his tail, then said to the group of Bedouin Barbarians, who dared not get up, "Continue digging." He was so stingy he didn't even bother to leave a single person to oversee them.
"Yes!"
The Bedouin Barbarian who appeared to be the tribe's leader mustered his courage, pleading for them to be allowed to return to their tribe.
He feared that if they failed to fulfill their promise, the red-robed Mage would vent his anger on their kinsfolk.
If they were allowed to send someone back to their tribe, he promised, he would bring his entire tribe to pledge allegiance.
"Red-robed Mage?"
This piqued David's interest. He exchanged a silent glance with his father, Attilicia.
The father and son, already in tacit agreement, were both sizing up the other party.
They were just lamenting how little they knew about Ferren and the local region. These Bedouin Barbarians weren't very cultured either; they were largely ignorant about most things.
David allowed the Bedouin Barbarians to decide for themselves, which immediately earned him their endless gratitude.
They thought they had met a 'good master.' And why wouldn't they? No one had harmed them or stolen their possessions. They were only asked to continue their old trade, yet now they had backing and perhaps even the hope of sending their children to study in that 'Holy City.'
Little did they know that David currently had his eyes set on nothing but the Mithril Energy Core.
It couldn't be helped; that thing was just too crucial.
As long as he could find a relatively intact Mithril Energy Core, he could have the old Devil Dalonas and the Neisser scholars in the city attempt to reverse-engineer it. Then, within decades, he could ascend this black technology tree, completing his 'Starlink Project,' his 'Orbital Astronomical Telescope' launch plan, and even his 'Lunar Probe' mission in Ferren.
Only if these contraptions failed to reveal the truth about The Slaying King Star would he consider a direct landing when The Slaying King Star 'descended.'
In other words, whether he could reproduce the Mithril Energy Core technology was directly linked to the marking task given to him by Dragon Queen Toriel for his journey to this world.
Since the most crucial parts of these Sky City remnants had already been looted, they must now be in the hands of some major powers in Ferren.
If they couldn't find them, they couldn't just go and rob them...
No! This is called 'reclaiming what is rightfully ours,' alright!
"Master, do you need me to keep an eye on them?" the Barbarian Rosinde, now a 'Beastman,' volunteered eagerly.
David, however, smiled and declined,
"No, don't beat the grass and startle the snake. We are the masters of Neisser's last existing Sky City.
"He will definitely come knocking on our door himself."