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Join the ServerThe Clown had indeed been unable to tamper with the teleportation array in the City of Light.
The Holy Light Church, which proclaimed itself a servant of the God of Light, was actually a falsehood. While the human race was an innate species, in the age of the gods, only divine creations, giants, and dragons—perfect beings—could truly serve the deities.
However, their audacious claims were not entirely unfounded. Although the God of Light had indeed returned completely to the source, making it impossible for any of his attached powers to remain, his subordinate gods had not received the ‘luxurious purge package’ that befell the dark-aligned gods, giants, and dragons.
Consequently, several valuable artifacts had survived and fallen into the hands of the Holy Light Church. This was the very reason the Holy Light Church had not rapidly declined, even after enduring the devastating blows from the dragon, elf, and dwarf races.
As for why these precious artifacts weren’t used to confront the crisis back then, it was simply because the dragon and elf races possessed far more such treasures than the Holy Light Church.
Nevertheless, while direct interference with the Holy Light Church’s headquarters was impossible, the Clown had gleaned enough information from propaganda reports and over a month of multi-faceted surveillance and eavesdropping. The teleportation paths of Theresia and her companions were now within his grasp.
Although every teleportation node was undoubtedly heavily guarded, the intensity of this protection varied from city to city.
Leveraging the talents of the Anti-Bone Alliance, the Clown had successfully and stealthily modified the teleportation points in the border regions of the Holy Alliance.
Theresia and the giants would be delivered directly to their doorstep!
Heh heh heh heh.
****
Within the spatial channel of the teleportation array, after two successful jumps, their small team was about to split up. It was time for goodbyes.
Theresia, Theodore, Larkin, and Lola were headed for the Imperial Capital.
Meanwhile, Alicia had used her own persuasive methods to convince Aesop to accompany her back to her homeland to initiate reforms.
Though parting was difficult, the moment for farewells had ultimately arrived.
Theodore looked at the two of them and said, “Well then, it’s time to say goodbye, Aesop, Alicia. I deeply apologize for implicating you in such a grave crime.”
Alicia, ever graceful and charming, bowed slightly to Theodore before responding, “Mr. Theodore, speaking like that is too formal. If it weren’t for you, I would never have met Aesop.”
Aesop nodded in agreement. “There’s no need for apologies. Not only was our initial relationship a normal employer-employee one, but now we’ve faced life and death together.
“Moreover, we’ve gained so many benefits from the Holy Light Church. Frankly, I feel a little indebted. Once I’ve dealt with the ‘Delicious Wilderness of the Barbarians,’ I’ll return to the City of Mazes.
“If you ever need a chef then, you can still find me.”
Theresia nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. She had thoroughly experienced the absolute deliciousness of Aesop’s cooking. Even though she wasn’t Catherine, enjoying good food had little to do with being a glutton.
Alicia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she chimed in, echoing Aesop, “Indeed, as long as everyone stays safe and sound, we’ll surely meet again.”
Seeing the look in Alicia’s eyes, Theodore understood immediately. If he wanted to taste Aesop’s cooking in the future, he would likely have to travel to the barbarian lands.
He only hoped that by then, Aesop wouldn’t have transformed into a domestic househusband, with a horde of little ones crawling around his feet.
Apart from Theodore, the others were merely acquaintances, so there was no deep sadness, only a fervent anticipation of the chaos they were about to unleash upon the Empire.
Larkin, in particular, was practically floating with joy at the prospect of returning to his beloved Empire. His expression was utterly relaxed.
Upon hearing everyone’s farewells, he merely waved a hand and said, “Look at all of you, getting sappy before we’ve even parted ways. What if something unexpected happens and we all end up on another adventure together? Wouldn’t that be awkward? Hahaha.”
Everyone recognized Larkin’s jest and initially paid it no mind.
That was, until the teleportation channel suddenly experienced an abnormal tremor.
Everyone’s eyes simultaneously darted to Larkin.
Lola asked incredulously, “Are you going to betray us too?”
Larkin, completely bewildered, replied, “Not me, it’s really not me. Why would I?”
Theodore spoke up. “I believe Larkin is trustworthy. We must trust the companions with whom we’ve faced life and death.”
“Theodore!”
Larkin was moved to tears, but Theodore immediately followed up, “He’s quite afraid of death. He’s currently empty-handed, without any magic scrolls, and yet he’s brazenly staying here. It definitely isn’t him.”
Everyone suddenly understood, nodding and apologizing to Larkin.
Although he received apologies, why did these apologies feel more like humiliation?
“Lola, have you figured out what’s happening?”
Theresia looked at Lola. Everyone else in their group was magically illiterate; Lola was the only mage and alchemist.
Lola produced a crystal orb that seemed to contain billions of stars. This was the Astral Spatial Orb she had ‘borrowed’ from Samuel, capable of mapping corresponding real-world locations from subspace. It was an excellent tool for studying spatial magic.
As magic power was infused, projections of myriad stars emanated from the crystal orb, enveloping everyone standing on the teleportation array.
Theresia’s eyes widened, fixated. The dragon’s innate greed stirred, and her hand, seemingly beyond her brain’s control, instinctively reached for the Astral Spatial Orb. However, her hand only brushed Theodore’s.
Theresia’s face instantly flushed crimson as she met Theodore’s speechless gaze. She stammered, “That, well, it wasn’t me, it was this hand acting on its own accord.”
“Oh, so your hand has an external brain, does it?”
Theodore gently stroked his black dragon girlfriend’s head, then looked thoughtfully at the Astral Spatial Orb. “You really like this, don’t you?”
While Theresia’s personality and dragon genes certainly played a role, she usually managed to control her impulses. This truly indicated how much she adored the item.
“I’ll pick an important secret of primordial nature and give it to you someday,” Theodore said, a sly grin on his face.
Theresia’s eyes widened. “Really! Oh, and my birthday is a very important day, you know!”
Theodore looked at Theresia with a network of black lines on his forehead. If he remembered correctly, dragons didn’t celebrate their birthdays every year.
Indeed, one could never underestimate Theresia’s tendency to take an inch and demand a mile.
“When that important moment is, that will be for me to decide.”
“Hmph.”
Lola: “…彡(－_－)彡”
This was utterly ridiculous. Here she was, busy with serious matters, and a dragon was coveting her magical artifact, even showing off their affection.
If they were so in love, why didn’t they just get married?
Lola composed herself. After observing the starry sky, she frowned and said, “Someone is changing the teleportation array’s destination. I’ll try to adjust it back.”
With that, Lola began to shift the positions of the stars. Though Theresia didn’t understand what she was doing, the sight of her manipulating the constellations made her hands itch with desire.
If not for the emergency, she would have surely raised her hand and volunteered to take over.
Lola, however, felt no joy. Cold sweat streamed down her forehead like rain. “It’s no use. I can only make us exit the teleportation array prematurely. I’ll try my best to place us at a high altitude. Get ready.
“Ten, nine…”
Everyone initially thought it was a ten-second countdown, but as Lola uttered ‘eight,’ Theresia and the others suddenly found themselves thousands of meters in the air, shoulder to shoulder with the clouds.
Theresia was stunned.
She turned to Lola and asked, “Isn’t your countdown extremely inaccurate?”
Lola awkwardly put away the crystal orb. “You never know which comes first, accidents or success, do you?”
Then, they began their freefall.
However, after plunging through a thick cloud layer, a black dragon burst forth, soaring toward the ground.
Lola and the others were seated on its claws, gazing down at the land below.
Theodore immediately pulled out his communication orb, attempting to contact the Church.
However, the communication orb remained completely unresponsive.
“It seems this area isn’t recorded in the magic network accessible by communication orbs,” Lola, the technical elf, immediately pinpointed the problem.
Just as long-distance communication in Theresia’s world required a medium for network transmission, so too did the communication orb. It could only function normally within the coverage of a communication magic network.
This barren land evidently lacked the magic fluctuations emitted by such a network. Alternatively, the magic communication network here might not be open to their network, much like how Dragon Island’s network and the mainland’s network operated on different frequencies.
Therefore, direct contact with Dragon Island required a specialized Dragon Island communication crystal ball.
‘Does anyone have a world map?’
‘Which way should we fly?’
Theresia gazed at the endless, monotonous wilderness. Without a specific direction, flying aimlessly could lead them straight into an enemy stronghold, which would be quite a joke.
Her companions exchanged glances.
‘Who carries a world map when they go out?’
‘With communication crystals and teleportation arrays these days, they weren’t traveling adventurers.’
‘Moreover, the unfamiliar scenery offered no landmarks whatsoever; even with a world map, they wouldn’t know where they were.’
The silent agreement of her teammates drew a sigh from Theresia. As expected, it was up to her.
Super Sense of Smell!
Theresia closed her eyes, focusing her attention on her nose. A dragon’s physical senses were incredibly acute, and their sense of smell was particularly developed.
However, under normal circumstances, this extraordinary sense of smell was kept suppressed. Otherwise, the overwhelming and chaotic array of scents would distract the dragon, affecting their control over their massive bodies.
What surprised Theresia was the extreme scarcity of life in this wilderness. Logically, there should have been numerous small animals, but there was nothing at all. It was as if the entire land had died.
Finally, after flying for some time, Theresia detected human presence. Though not many, only about a hundred people, they were concentrated in one area.
Clearly, it was likely a village or a small town. However, a solitary town of only a few hundred people appearing in the middle of an endless wilderness felt very much like the beginning of a horror story.
‘Hmm, should I use a Black Dragon Roar Wave to scout ahead?’
‘If this town isn’t haunted, I’ll eat Theodore’s notes.’
“Brothers, I’ve found a small town. There should be a few hundred people there, but I think there’s something wrong with it. What are your thoughts?”
Theodore replied, “Saint Dragon, I believe it’s a trap.”
Lola pulled out a magical device she had developed. “They don’t seem like good people. Do you need me to blow it sky-high?”
Aesop asked thoughtfully, “In such a desolate place, what kind of culinary culture do you think they would have developed?”
Larkin declared, “I’m certain these are uncivilized ruffians from a backwater.”
Only Alicia, herself from a barbarian background, smiled as she looked at everyone and asked, “Perhaps we should try to communicate with them first? Maybe they have difficulties or unique customs?
“It’s wrong to judge people based on stereotypes.”
Although Alicia was smiling, no one felt any warmth from her words. Heaven knew, they absolutely had not intended to imply anything about barbarians, even if everything they had just said seemed to perfectly fit barbarians without changing a single word.
“I think Alicia has a point, after all…”
Theodore paused before continuing, “Do any of you have a better way to determine our location? And even if there is a problem, it’s better than us flailing around like headless flies, isn’t it?”
“However, we definitely need to make some preparations beforehand.”
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Moon Reflected In The Water! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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