Chapter 71

After repeatedly confirming that there was no one following him, Brom took out the map given by Jörd and headed towards the city of the Varden in the Beor Mountains. The journey could only be described with four words: high hopes, low results.

The map, full of personal flair, was scribbled without coordinates or scale, leaving Chuci utterly confused. However, Brom needed only a glance, as if guided by a game navigation arrow, and after a few twists and turns, he arrived at a waterfall with turbulent waters.

"Finally, we've reached the Varden," Brom sighed with great emotion. The last time he had been here was a hundred years ago.

Chuci: ""

Without any identity verification or security questions, Brom felt around the rocks at the edge of the waterfall. With a few clicks, he activated a mechanism, and a hidden door disguised as a rock wall opened with a loud rumble.

"Swish, swish, swish" the welcoming ceremony of the Varden greeted them with three sharp arrows made from animal teeth.

Brom and Eragon dodged the arrows with their exceptional skills and sharp reflexes. Chuci, however, remained motionless. No matter how sharp the arrows were, they couldn't pierce the alchemical array on his clothes, and they fell powerless after hitting the outer layer of his coat.

"Who are you?" A row of dark-skinned, brown-eyed Varden people, armed with long spears and bows, blocked the secret passage. In this narrow space, no one could sneak in unnoticed.

"The messenger who brings victory to Alagaësia, let us cheer for the dawn, free warriors," Brom, the former Dragon Rider, spoke with a formal and serious tone, looking like a noble idealist.

Since you like to act so high and mighty, why don't you be a pair of underwear in your next life, Chuci thought sarcastically, not bothering with pleasantries and getting straight to the point: "We have brought a Dragon Rider, and we want to speak with the leader of the Varden."

The city of the Varden was located in a basin surrounded by the Beor Mountains. After walking through countless tunnels and through the mountain's belly, the view suddenly opened up. Towering buildings built into the mountains, camps, and farmlands spread across the basin, and a mighty river flowed from the end of the basin, irrigating this land of freedom before settling into a lake that covered one-fifth of the area.

Crowds of people bustled about, their faces beaming with smiles.

"This is the Varden, the last free land of Alagaësia," a man with a commanding presence stood beside Chuci, pointing around the basin and recounting the Varden's history—tough beginnings, long periods of rest, and the unwavering wait, as well as their current readiness to fight for Alagaësia.

"I am Ajihad, the leader of the Varden. Who is the Dragon Rider?" Ajihad, a Varden himself, looked middle-aged, with a muscular build and a giant sword on his back, symbolizing his strength. He looked at Chuci and Eragon, sizing them up, and asked.

"My name is Eragon," Eragon, with his more obvious outsider appearance, seemed to satisfy Ajihad more.

"If you are a Rider, call your dragon down," Ajihad said, frowning slightly. This young man seemed too young.

"If it attacks us, you'll be the first to die," a rough and bold voice threatened Chuci and the others.

Chuci looked around but couldn't find the source of the voice.

"Look down, you impudent boy," the speaker shouted angrily. Chuci tilted his head down thirty-five degrees and finally saw the speaker—a bearded old man, a stout dwarf with a hammer as thick as his waist, glaring at Chuci.

"Hey, old man, you're still alive?" Brom, who had been silent since entering the Varden, had been looking at the Varden's flora and fauna with a sad and scrutinizing gaze. When the dwarf appeared, he showed a look of joy at a long-lost friend: "Rorger, it's me."

Dwarves can live for two hundred years. The last time they met, Rorger was still young, but now he was almost as old as Brom. However, while Brom was alone, Rorger had become the leader of the dwarves.

"It's you, Brom. The Dragon Rider you brought, where did you get the dragon egg?" Rorger exclaimed with joy, patting Brom's knee hard.

Eragon communicated with Saphira telepathically, and soon Saphira flew down from the sky, landing on a spacious platform, folding her wings, and raising her long, elegant neck.

"Wow!" Everyone looked at Saphira with admiration and anticipation. After so many years, a second Dragon Rider had finally appeared.

"Can we discuss the cooperation now?" Chuci blocked Ajihad's view of Saphira.

"How do you want to talk?" Realizing that the other two weren't going to speak, Ajihad understood that Chuci was the one in charge and began to take him seriously.

"Overthrowing Galbatorix doesn't interest me, or rather, I don't have a strong inclination. But I need to know one thing: what are your plans after overthrowing Galbatorix? How will you rebuild the government? What will the tax rate be? How will you protect the people? How will you set the laws?"

It's easy to conquer a kingdom but hard to rule it. If Ajihad was just a rogue leader, Chuci would have to consider his next steps, as his mission was to bring peace to Alagaësia. Overthrowing Galbatorix was part of the original plot, but Chuci didn't want to stay in this world to implement a three-year plan or a five-year plan.

If it really came to that, Chuci wouldn't mind turning to the dark side and helping Galbatorix deal with the Varden. This way, Alagaësia would still achieve peace, and his mission would be completed.

"My father was a great leader. He has already reached an agreement with the elves and the dwarves. When a new Dragon Rider appears, the elves will teach him all the great magic, and the dwarves will forge him an impenetrable dragon armor and an invincible sword. He will become the new king of the humans, and there will be no more conflict on this land," said Ajihad's daughter, Nasuada, a curvaceous and beautiful black pearl.

New king. Chuci glanced at Eragon and shook his head. This farm boy might become a Dragon Rider with some training, but he lacked the breadth of vision to be a king.

"Can you provide more details about the government structure you plan to establish? I want to understand it better." Chuci wouldn't believe the Varden based on a few words. Once he joined them, there would be no turning back.

Unfortunately, before Chuci could get a clear answer, he was interrupted.

"Leader, we've caught a spy. He says he has important information for you."

A young black man, bound tightly, was brought before them. His defiant and handsome face was slightly pale, and the ropes that could bind a lion proved his bravery.

"Mortak, it's you." Ajihad's face turned grim. The captured man was the second male lead in the original story, the son of the traitor Morzan, a noble young man. Unfortunately, due to Chuci's interference, he had been chasing them relentlessly but never caught up until he reached the Beor Mountains.

"Kill him."

"I have a message. The army of Dras-Leona has occupied the mountain pass," Mortak managed to serve some purpose.

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