“Still need to get stronger.” Rowland secretly vowed to change his current frail appearance as soon as possible.

Of course, before doing anything, he had to fill his stomach. Rowland sat on the stone railing at the dock, untied the cloth, and began to enjoy the delicious pastries given to him by the kind Countess.

So fragrant. Rowland devoured the tasty pastries, and memories of the Countess Vivian, hidden deep in his heart, gradually surfaced.

She was a dignified and serene woman, looking only about twenty years old, with perfectly exquisite features—so flawless that even the pickiest person in the world couldn’t find a single fault. She usually liked to wear a delicate green gauze dress, her slightly fluffy, wavy, dark green hair casually draped over her shoulders, and when she spoke, it was always in a soft voice, as melodious as a spring in the forest.

Back in the game, the first time Rowland saw this NPC, he was captivated. No matter how meager the rewards for her quests, he always completed them at the first opportunity.

In fact, he wasn’t the only player to do so—a large number of people felt the same. There was even a super fan group online called the “Green Dragon Legion,” with over six million members. In recent years, the Green Dragon Legion had consistently ranked in the top ten of virtual communities!

In the game, Vendome was the starting city, equivalent to the beginner’s village, exactly like Rowland’s current situation. There, he had completed questlines related to her, but because so much time had passed, many quest details were now blurry—even when he tried to recall them, he couldn’t remember much, except for the final battle to defend the city.

That was nine years ago. On that day, the sky was dark, overcast with clouds, lightning flashing constantly, and endless orcs surged out from the depths of the Muddy Wetlands, charging toward Vendome like a steel flood.

The assault was simply too sudden. Humans were very unfamiliar with the orcs, this violent race from another world. Under the orcs’ wild onslaught, Vendome’s outermost city wall lasted only two hours!

The Primo family initially intended to defend their city of honor, but their glory lasted only half an hour. As soon as they saw the gray-skinned orcs flooding into Vendome’s inner city like a tide, they immediately announced a retreat.

Rowland’s mission was to hold back the orcs with the city’s elite warriors, buying time for Lord Primo’s retreat.

The orcs were simply too ferocious. Every orc was a battle-hardened warrior, all with above-average physical prowess, many of them elite, and all at least level 18.

By comparison, Vendome’s human warriors had enjoyed peace for far too long. Their levels were only 15. Although there were some elites and some above average, most were just ordinary people, not even on the same level as the orcs.

As soon as the two sides clashed, the human coalition fell like wheat before the scythe, wave after wave, the scene too tragic to bear.

At the final moment of retreat, Lord Primo was blocked at the dock and couldn’t board the ship. Vivian had no choice but to reveal her true form as a giant dragon, clearing a path to the dock.

“Go, hurry, I’ll hold them off!” She turned to face the pursuing orc army.

The Primo family was retreating, and according to the quest, Rowland was supposed to go with them. But for some reason, he ignored the risk of quest failure and stayed behind, choosing to face the orcs together with Vivian.

“You shouldn’t have stayed, mortal.” The green dragon said, then used a whirlwind spell to blow him onto a sea ship that had already set sail.

He didn’t die, and the quest was a success.

Rowland remembered the situation clearly. At the time, there were at least a hundred players doing this retreat quest with him. Everyone stood on the ship, watching the emerald dragon left behind at the dock, fighting desperately. Many beat their chests in anguish, some even wept bitterly.

But Rowland’s reaction was the most direct and practical. As soon as he was blown onto the ship, he immediately jumped into the sea without hesitation and swam back.

He was the first to do so, so he was the first to reach the dock.

When he got ashore, the dragon wasn’t dead yet, but was already covered in wounds. The ground was littered with mangled flesh and limbs—some orc, some dragon.

Even a legendary dragon at level 90 couldn’t stop the orcs’ advance. In fact, that’s just how this world was: even so-called gods, if they faced an army head-on without retreating or maneuvering, could kill many soldiers, but would inevitably die on the spot in the end.

There was no such thing as absolute invincibility in this world.

Before dying, Vivian glanced at Rowland, a clear look of confusion in her golden, slit-pupiled eyes.

“Why did you come back, mortal?” That was the green dragon’s last sentence, before an orc thrust his spear into her heart.

Rowland could clearly recall how he felt at that moment. All he could think was: kill that orc!

Without hesitation, he charged, crashing headlong into the orc army, slamming his shield hard into that orc’s face.

At that time, he wasn’t a legendary powerhouse, nor any kind of son of god. He was just a level 15, ordinary-quality, low-level warrior. He used every ounce of his strength, but still couldn’t kill that level 18 elite orc.