Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After resting at the small hill for four hours and regaining a large portion of his stamina and energy, Yang Ling rode on his Unicorn toward the next perilous land.
According to the memories of the Beastman priest Augustus, he had reached the level of a beginner-level Divine Temple Priest and had the ability to set up a Beast Soul Altar. However, he needed a large amount of rare materials before he could start work, and Yang Ling had to return to the Wissen Castle as soon as possible to find a way to solve that problem. He planned to either send someone to search around the territory, or publish a mission in the Hunter Association and purchase them with money.
He had to quickly finish the mission the Dark Association gave him before he could return to Wissen Town!
According to their agreement, the Dark Association would supply a hundred experienced Alchemists, while he had to explore the various perilous lands and sketch out the terrain within ten days. Now that the other party had given him the Alchemists and ten days had long past, Yang Ling was embarrassed to drag the matter on any longer no matter how busy he might be.
Furthermore, even though the Dark Association was being suppressed by the Church and had their faction cornered to the northwest region of the Tailun Continent, they were still a force to be reckoned with. They were still highly influential, and establishing a good connection with them would definitely bring about great benefits to the development of his territory. Completing the mission as soon as possible would undoubtedly create a strong foundation for the next step of their cooperation.
Travelling on his speedy Unicorn, Yang Ling soon arrived at the Orkney Crypt which had the same level of notoriety as the Black Forest. Unfortunately, just like the situation in the forest, someone had already explored the area. Even though much of the obstacles in the crypt had already been cleared away by the person that was here, saving Yang Ling a fair bit of trouble, he also lost the opportunity to find any treasures.
Every perilous land had its fair share of danger, but those that managed to explore the area first would at the very least obtain unexpected gains, even if they did not find the relic of the giant dragon. Other than charting a map for the Dark Association, Yang Ling did not mind snagging a few rare items along the way.
According to Augustus’s memories, the jade monument found deep within the Black Forest harbored a monstrous amount of Magical Energy. There were many mysterious images carved on the surface of the monument and it released waves of a strange ripple of energy. It seemed to be an incantation left behind since ancient times, or a fabled ancient magical spell. Unfortunately, it had been snatched away by a Red-robed Cardinal of the Church.
After exploring the Orkney Crypt for a little while, Yang Ling quickly set off toward the next perilous land, hoping that he could explore the area before the rest of the people. Unfortunately, he soon realized that he was still one step too late.
The areas indicated by the Dark Association had all been explored by some other faction not long ago. Sometimes, Yang Ling would see a field of Beastman corpses; At others, he would see the army of the Church, nearly exterminated; There were even times where he saw the corpses of black robed men, all of them having died unjustly… It looks like there were more and more people who were determined to find the relic of the giant dragon, making the situation more and more complex!
Even though Yang Ling did not manage to find any unique treasures at the perilous lands, he did pick up a few Magical Beasts that were on the verge of dying or dead along the way. Perhaps it was due to the lack of time or the heavy casualties, but there was almost no one who stayed behind to clean up the scene of the battles. That did benefit him, an adventurer who had arrived late at the scene.
Yang Ling’s Space Ring had been stuffed full of the corpses of Magical Beasts after having explored the various perilous lands. There were level four Silver-winged Pegusi, level five Violent Earth Bears and even level seven Lightning Birds… He would immediately be able to obtain several mid to high-level Magical Beast Essence Crystals after he returned to the Wissen Castle and handed the corpses to Goode for further processing.
After searching the various perilous lands and sketching the terrain displayed by the Heart of the Ocean onto a piece of vellum, Yang Ling quickly started to head back on his Unicorn. In order to save time and not make an extra trip, he decided to head directly to the temporary outpost of the Dark Association within the forest first.
Yang Ling could not be fully aware of the Dark Association’s intentions, and he had to have a certain level of vigilance!
Even though he had a friendly relationship with the Dark Association at the moment, he did not wish to reveal too many of his abilities and treasures in front of Elder Klive. Even though he had already gained a preliminary understanding on the technique used for operating the Heart of the Ocean, he knew that the Heart of the Ocean still harbored several secrets. It was definitely not a simple globe!
Recklessly exposing the Heart of the Ocean that he obtained from the killer Flowing Venom might unintentionally land him into trouble that would cost him his life. Yang Ling was confident that he could take on a sage level fighter after successfully taming a group of Twin-legged Flying Dragons and did not feel threatened by any individual fighter; However, that did not mean that he could boast this wherever he went and invite unnecessary trouble.
“All of the locations have been forcefully barged in by someone else, and you did not find any traces of the relic of the giant dragon?”
After seeing the map Yang Ling had sketched and knowing that someone else had gotten to the perilous lands before him, even Elder Klive felt his heart shudder, speaking as he stared at Yang Ling, much less Maryse who was standing by the side.
Even though he knew that many factions had also set their sights on the perilous lands within the Terras Forest, he did not expect that someone would charge into these lands that soon.
“That’s right, someone had explored every location before me!” Yang Ling shook his head and let out a bitter smile as he looked at Elder Klive to the opposite side of him, then continued, “I did not find the relic of the giant dragon, but did come across a large amount of corpses, corpses from various factions. Amongst them were the corpses of several of the Church’s elite warriors and Spellcasters!”
In an attempt to be more persuasive, Yang Ling spoke as he took out the gear of the Church that he had collected. There were the armor of knights that were covered in blood, untouched baskets of arrows, as well as high-grade magical staffs that had been broken into two…
The truth cannot be refuted!
No one doubted what Yang Ling had said when they saw the mountain of blood covered equipment from the Church.
“Hmph, it looks like there are quite a few people who could not wait any longer!” Elder Klive took out a piece of vellum from under his robes after letting out a cold grunt, “Yang Ling, these are a few pieces of intelligence that came from Montson. It’s best you start your preparations as soon as possible after returning to Wissen Castle!”
Elder Klive did not mutter any incantations or use any Battle Energy. The thin piece of vellum instantly appeared before Yang Ling after he gently moved his hand. It only left behind a faint ripple in the air. Elder Klive definitely lived up to his reputation as a space element sage level Spellcaster. Yang Ling was shocked at how adept he was in his space element magic.
Intelligence from Montson?
In his confusion, Yang Ling quickly read the contents of the piece of vellum in his hands. He became more and more alarmed as he read on, his expression getting grave.
There were not many words on the piece of vellum, but it recorded a piece of alarming news. The Troop Headquarters situation in Montson had secretly conducted a meeting with all of its managing elders, engaging in a discussion on the possible impacts the Magical Beast Territory’s Hunter Association had on them.
Even though there were some disagreements, the Troop Association had passed a plan targeted at the Hunter Association under the strong insistence of an elder, which would attempt to smother the newly set up Hunter Association.
“Yang Ling, it’s best that you do not leave the Wissen Castle in this period of time. If you encounter any danger, all you have to do is smash this magical orb and I would arrive as soon as possible.”
Seeing Yang Ling’s expression get more and more grave, Elder Klive deliberated for a moment before handing Yang Ling a dull crystal ball. He then continued, “As a precaution, it’s best that you immediately contact your family and get them to send a few of your top-notch fighters over to help!”
Through their powerful web of intelligence, the Dark Association had quickly obtained news that the Troop Association was going to deal with the Hunter Association. Even though they could not find out about the specific plan of the Troop Association, everyone knew that the Hunter Association that Yang Ling had just set up would not stand a chance against the powerful might of the Troop Association!
The Hunter Association could be set up again if it was to be dissolved, but it was definitely not good news for the Dark Association if Yang Ling was to meet with any misfortune!
Compared to the survival of the Hunter Association, Elder Klive was more worried about Yang Ling’s personal safety. If Yang Ling was to meet with misfortune, then the plan of the Dark Association forming an alliance with the family of Ancient Spellcasters backing him would be greatly impacted. As an elder of the Dark Association, he would definitely not stand by and allow the Troop Association to disrupt his plans.
In the eyes of an average person, the Troop Association only had a relatively longer history and was not a formidable force that could shake the continent. But Elder Klive knew better. As an elder of the Dark Association, he naturally knew how powerful the factions behind the Troop Association were!
Yang Ling’s abilities might be powerful amongst the younger generation and was improving at great speeds, but he would not be able to deal with the attacks from the factions behind the Troop Association even if he trained for several more decades. Perhaps, only the quick arrival of the top-notch Summoners from his family would be able to save him!
However, no one was clear of the specific plan of the Troop Association, and no one knew when they would take action. If the top-notch experts from Yang Ling’s family were not able to arrive in time, then Yang Ling would be in an extremely unfavorable position!
For the long-term interests of the Dark Association, Elder Klive knew that he might have to personally take action if the situation called for it. Of course, it would be best if the powerful fighters from Yang Ling’s family could arrive in time. That way, he wouldn’t have to take action and fall out with the factions behind the Troop Association.
Furthermore, he had another reason for getting Yang Ling to quickly bring over the experts from his family, and that was to measure the true ability of Yang Ling’s family. If Yang Ling’s family had powerful abilities, then they could naturally engage in further cooperation; If Yang Ling’s family was not powerful enough, then he would have to reconsider his collaboration with them.
The top-notch fighters from my family?
Yang Ling’s expression did not change when he saw Elder Klive looking expectantly at him, but moaned secretly in his heart. He had been lying all this while, causing many people to misunderstand him as having a family of Ancient Summoners backing him. Where was there such a powerful family of Ancient Summoners?
His heart sank deeper as he clutched on the thin piece of vellum. Even though he had long considered that the Troop Association would never allow the Hunter Association to grow stronger, he had not expected the Troop Association to take action this quickly!
