“To prevent the mutant creatures from spreading along the river, they went so far as to cut off the flow of the entire river?”
Irene flapped her massive black dragon wings, the resulting hurricane dispersing the nearby clouds. Hovering high at the edge of the God-Forsaken Land, she sighed with admiration,
“What a grand undertaking.”
As far as the eye could see, the Ersencielo River—which had once separated the God-Forsaken Land from the Eastern Continent, and which she and Daviel had carefully gained altitude to avoid aquatic magical beast ambushes when they first left the Great Gana Forest—was now completely dried up.
On the riverbank on the side of the Great Gana Forest, the land looked as if it had been plowed. Trees were either uprooted or snapped in half.
Large patches of the once-lush ground had also been torn up.
On the cracked, tortoise-shell-like riverbed, white bones were scattered here and there. These bones were in ruins, covered in dense bite marks.
Some of the larger skeletons had spines over ten meters long.
Judging by the fractured parts, even the marrow had been sucked out.
Not a single shred of flesh or blood was left behind.
The owners of these bones were mostly aquatic magical beasts that had once lived in the Ersencielo River—fierce predators and the “guardians” that had prevented the beastkin and half-beastkin from leaving the God-Forsaken Land. Now, they had met such a miserable end.
Whether it was retribution or simply their destined fate, it was hard to say.
“We have the king of the Dwarven Empire to thank for this.”
Christine, who was clutched in Irene's claw, spoke as he struggled to pull his arms out from the gap between his body and the dragon claw, gently rubbing his temples to soothe his head, which throbbed slightly from the howling wind during the flight.
His moist eyes looked past the dry riverbed, gazing toward the east.
From this height, one could see the San Pedro Mountains towering into the clouds. To the south of the mountains was the still-lush Great Gana Forest, and to the north was the Dwarven Empire, which had already built a high gray wall.
“If the Dwarven King hadn't acted quickly back then, immediately leading his people to dump vast amounts of ore into the Ersencielo River to build a temporary dam before the mutant creatures could pour out, slowing down their spread...”
“I'm afraid that before the river could even be cut off, the mutant creatures would have already swum down the river and into the sea.”
“If that had really happened... I'm afraid the entire Eastern Continent, no, the entire plane, would have been swept away by the calamity of mutation.”
Christine's tone was somewhat low. “It's hard to imagine how many intelligent creatures would have survived this catastrophe.”
“Miss Charlotte, I don't think that is what we should be thinking about right now.” Arthas, who was clutched in the left claw, suddenly spoke up and asked Irene,
“Mother, are we going to charge straight in?”
Unlike the sentimental Christine, the soul fire flickering beneath Arthas's helmet had been staring intently at a massive, collapsed vertical pit on the riverbed.
That was formed by the collapse of the cross-river bridge excavated by the dwarves.
It was the entrance to the Underdark, and the Pandora's box that had unleashed the calamity of mutation.
Every now and then, one or two monsters with obvious signs of mutation would try to rush out of the pit. However, the moment they exposed half their bodies, they would let out a miserable shriek under the sunlight and quickly retreat back into the dark, damp cavern.
Leaving only a pair of crimson eyes staring longingly at the outside world, eager to rush out and tear apart and devour fresh flesh.
“No, you can't. That would be too dangerous, and too foolish.”
Before Irene could speak, Christine was the first to object. Regarding this undead who claimed to be his “grandson,” he had learned about him from Daviel and didn't harbor much dislike.
Of course, he didn't have any affection for him either.
He simply spoke objectively, “Back then, the Subjugation Army, formed by the powerhouses of the Eastern Kingdoms, spent a long time slowly clearing out the mutant creatures gathered at the entrance before they could venture deep into the Underdark.”
“That was a Subjugation Army led by a Legendary expert. Arthas, I believe you are a smart lich. You should be able to imagine what would happen to the three of us if we charged straight in.”
Without waiting for Arthas's reply, Christine continued, “Besides, do you think the three of us alone can take down the Mutant Matriarch?”
“With so many mutant creatures, the strength of the Matriarch they birthed is definitely not weak. At the very least, it's not something we can contend with on our own.”
“Then what do you think we should do now?” Irene withdrew her gaze, raising her right claw and opening it to restore Christine's freedom.
Having escaped the restraint, Christine didn't answer immediately. He first slowly stretched his body, working out his sore limbs, and tidied his messy clothes and hair.
“Phew...” After letting out a long breath and feeling like he had come back to life, Christine craned his neck to meet Irene's massive dragon eyes. Facing such a crisis, he shed his previous awkwardness around his daughter and said with a serious face:
“I think we should head to the Dwarven Empire first.”
Seeing his daughter tilt her head slightly, signaling him to continue, Christine went on, “Actually, on my way from the Eastern Kingdoms to the God-Forsaken Land, I passed through the Dwarven Empire.”
“There, I met Herbert Alexander, the king of the Dwarven Empire. Once, after some drinks, he told me that the Subjugation Army heading to the Underdark had constructed a massive teleportation array within the Dwarven Empire.”
“Once they locate the mutant creatures' matriarch, reinforcements can use that teleportation array to head to the Underdark and rendezvous with them to jointly slay the Mother of Mutation and Flesh.”
“I think...” Christine paused, then continued, “Going to the Underdark through the teleportation array should be much safer and faster than charging straight in.”
“Hmm... That is indeed encouraging and pleasing news for a dragon.” Giving a tacit approval to Christine's suggestion, Irene looked toward the opposite side of the riverbed, at the towering gray wall built on the side of the San Pedro Mountains.
At this distance, she could only vaguely make out a few tiny black dots moving on the city wall.
In the next instant, her dragon wings flapped violently. Like an arrow shot from a bow, she tore through the air once more, triggering a series of sonic booms as she dove toward the Dwarven Empire.
“Ah!!!”
Caught guard, Christine stumbled and collapsed onto her claw. Terrified by the immense speed, his face lost its color, and his long silver hair whipped wildly backward in the wind...
“Next time you accelerate... can you... let me know in advance?! I... I need to prepare!!! Ahhh!!!”
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