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Chapter 21: Searching for the Source of Disaster (Bonus Update)

Early the next morning, someone specifically sent breakfast for Miss Vilyric and the others.

After getting themselves sorted, everyone gathered in the Adventurer Guild’s hall.

That big hole had already been patched up overnight. Although the previous day’s disaster had caused many injuries, thankfully, with Edwina’s help, no one ended up dead.

The troublemakers, led by Awen, faced demotion and were held responsible for compensating all the victims. It was said they had encountered a Magical Beast attack unexpectedly during their mission, which was quite unfortunate for them.

Epunya wasn’t wearing that ring that alters appearances; after all, Martial Madman had disappeared over thirty years ago, and not many recognized him around.

This guy, clad in battle gear, looked lively and well, and even though he didn’t carry any weapons or luggage, as someone who had fought through the Wasteland, getting his hands on a purple-quality space storage artifact should not be a challenge for him.

Without alarming too many, only the President’s adopted little sister, Cat Daughter Mier, who knew his true identity, came crying to bid farewell. Regarding their impending expedition to hunt down Phantom Cloud, Epunya only informed this closest family member.

Then, the six of them exited through a side door and left the city of Yaniluo.

With the addition of a tall half-Beastman, traveling by flight became a bit cumbersome, and Vilyric was reluctant to let Little Dragon Daughter transform to carry them, so initially, they planned to rent a carriage.

But who would have thought that upon hearing this, Epunya would adamantly refuse, leading the girls to a dense forest on the outskirts of the city. With a few sharp whistle signals, he summoned a massive Earth Dragon nearly ten meters long and over three meters tall!

Earth Dragons are a subspecies of the mythical Giant Dragon, possessing some dragon blood. The kind that Vilyric often saw pulling carriages, strictly speaking, also counts as Earth Dragons, but their bloodline concentration is too low to meet even the passing standard.

A genuine Earth Dragon is at least a 4th-tier Magical Beast, equivalent to the human Earth-level, with dragon bloodline concentration needing to be over 20%, but usually not exceeding 50%, or it can be called a Flying Dragon or Pseudodragon.

That said, there are still powerful individuals among Earth Dragons.

According to records from the United Kingdom, there was once a 6th-tier Earth Dragon King, comparable to a Transcendent Level Expert.

Though there are far more Earth Dragons than pureblood dragons, they aren’t something you can just stumble upon on the street. Except for a few that can be tamed, they generally inhabit various Magical Beast habitats or large forests.

Not to mention, this particular Earth Dragon had reached the pinnacle of 4th-tier, at the level of the sky.

The President mentioned that this companion was one he accidentally tamed while wandering the Wasteland as a Martial Madman and had contributed greatly to him venturing everywhere, forming a deep bond. The reason he narrowly escaped from Phantom Cloud back then was largely due to this Earth Dragon’s help.

After settling in Yaniluo, Epunya naturally couldn’t bring such a massive creature into the city, so he let it live in a nearby forest, visiting it regularly.

Vilyric had seen a few tamed Earth Dragons in the United Kingdom, but none as powerful as this one, which seemed on the verge of breaking into the 5th tier and becoming an Earth Dragon Lord.

Surely, even the mount of a legendary master wouldn’t be a common creature.

Epunya initially thought that this unruly old friend would require some solid negotiation before it would let these strangers ride, but unexpectedly, things went incredibly smoothly.

As soon as he conveyed his intent, the Earth Dragon immediately knelt down, obediently allowing the girls to climb onto its broad back, seeming almost to be performing a act of servitude.

Though this was quite unbelievable and left Epunya stunned for a while, he ultimately kept silent; after all, if even a less-than-legendary Earth Dragon could be dealt with, what would these folks rely on to tackle the Southern Disaster?

So, once everyone was aboard the dragon’s back, they set off towards their destination, Bolt Kingdom.

The Bolt Kingdom was a small country located even further south of Kwei Kingdom, bordering it. While their total land area was similar, it was not a vassal state of the United Kingdom and was close to the central region of the extreme Southern Wasteland.

This was the most chaotic place, marked by disorder and frequent unrest.

This country, it was said, was one of the areas where the Southern Disaster appeared most often, effectively suffering greatly.

The Earth Dragon moved with impressive speed and phenomenal stamina. Under full speed, that evening, Vilyric and her group reached the northern border of Bolt Kingdom.

Bolt Kingdom was quite poor, even poorer than Kwei Kingdom. Its population, military power, and strong individuals were vastly inferior to neighboring countries and factions, yet this weak nation, situated near the central area of the Wasteland, had somehow survived for over two hundred years.

The reason was somewhat amusing.

It wasn’t that they had any trump cards; rather, each time the Southern Disaster appeared, no matter where it would head next, its initial point of departure was invariably Bolt Kingdom.

Whichever force occupied this region had to take over Bolt Kingdom and endure the annual rampage of the Southern Disaster, so those predatory forces avoided this impoverished yet fertile land, having no intentions of attacking at all.

Guess you could say they turned misfortune into fortune.

Not choosing to enter the local city, the group picked a reasonably level spot in the wild to camp. Epunya, as their guide and the only male, naturally went hunting a few wild rabbits and mountain chickens nearby, setting up a bonfire to slowly roast them.

Meanwhile, Vilyric and the others sat nearby, discussing their subsequent plans as they waited.

“Epunya, do you think we have any clues to find the Southern Disaster directly?”

While rotating a skewer of meat in his hand, the tall half-Beastman silently nodded.

“Firstly, this year’s situation is a bit abnormal. According to past patterns, the Southern Disaster should appear in the southern region of Bolt Kingdom after spring begins and everything regenerates, and from there move randomly around, but it’s still just late winter now.”

He looked up at the surroundings, noting the still barren trees. Although Vilyric and the rest, including Epunya, were all at least legendary experts, standard environmental temperatures had minimal impact on them; however, the differences between spring, summer, autumn, and winter go beyond just climate.

More importantly, it revolves around the cyclical flow of magical power.

Many powerful Magical Beasts possess characteristics similar to hibernation, not due to cold but to reduce their magical power consumption due to environmental factors, which involves complex principles.

One can assume the Southern Disaster has a similar situation.

“Typically, the Southern Disaster only wreaks havoc for three months each spring, then gradually disappears, leaving no trace of where it goes, only to reappear come the next spring.”

Epunya continued explaining.

“This year’s oddity is the first occurrence I’ve known of in decades; something about it, or something related to it, has likely changed, but the reason isn’t crucial. What really matters is…”

“We might be able to take this opportunity to uncover the true source of the Southern Disaster, which is its origin.”

As he spoke, the President set up the metal skewer, took out a map from his space storage artifact, and spread it on a nearby rock.

It was a large map encompassing the entire Wasteland territory, with numerous long lines drawn in red.

Curious glances turned toward him as Epunya pointed at the northern part of the map, where a narrow country stretched from north to south, slicing through one-third of the map’s length like a cucumber.

He moved his finger to the end of the “cucumber.”

“Here, at the border between Kwei Kingdom and Bolt Kingdom, is also where we currently are.”

 

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