Chapter 300 – The Outside World Really is Too Dangerous

The Featherfolk general’s aged face flushed slightly.

To be honest, he truly didn’t know much.

The number of times he, Yu Rongyue, had stepped beyond the borders of the Winged-People Kingdom could be counted on one hand—to be precise, only twice. Both times, he had returned within a day or two.

His understanding of the outside world wasn’t completely nonexistent, but it was close to nothing.

This was somewhat embarrassing for their Featherfolk reputation.

No, this wouldn’t do. The human expert’s look that seemed to say “You’re all too ignorant” made Yu Rongyue feel even more unable to maintain his composure.

“I’m just one of the younger generals in our Winged-People Kingdom. If you want to know about the monster factions around here, asking Old Ban is definitely the right move.”

Dolai had originally wanted to meet the highest authority of the Winged-People Kingdom, the Featherfolk Queen, but it seemed Her Majesty had no intention of receiving it. It could only follow the Featherfolk general to find the elderly Featherfolk General, Yu Ban.

He was indeed very old.

His hair was sparse, with graying temples.

A pair of battered, ash-white wings hung behind him as if broken. He held a wine jug, taking occasional sips, his entire being radiating an aura of decadence.

Yu Ban heard the commotion and glanced up at Dolai. “An outsider?” He seemed surprised, but that was the extent of his reaction.

“You want to know about this region and information related to monster factions?”

The elderly Featherfolk shook his head. “Young human, I don’t know how you managed to get here, but I must tell you—the waters of this world run deep, far more complicated than they appear on the surface.”

He seemed to be speaking to Dolai, but also to Yu Rongyue and other younger Featherfolk elites.

“In the Serpent King Marsh to the east, there lies a massive Snakefolk Tribe, with powerful Snakemen as numerous as clouds…”

Dolai nodded in agreement.

It was already aware of this information, corresponding to the large Snakefolk tribe located southwest of Tianyuan Territory.

Yu Rongyue also knew this. “I once glimpsed this tribe from afar—it’s indeed very powerful. But our Winged-People Kingdom is no weakling either. Even without Her Majesty taking action, we wouldn’t fear this Snakefolk Tribe, right?”

He had always harbored ambitions to expand outward, but both the Queen and several other Featherfolk elders strongly opposed exploring the outside world.

In the elders’ view, their Winged-People Kingdom was entirely self-sufficient, and the outside environment paled in comparison to the scenic beauty of their Featherfolk Valley. Why take risks to develop wastelands beyond?

Yet, the younger Featherfolk elites yearned to fly beyond the valley and see the skies outside.

“Hmph!”

The elder Yu Ban cast a glance at the most impulsive ones. “The Snakefolk Tribe is merely one of many monster tribes we must contend with.”

“Not to mention distant threats, just two hundred kilometers east of the Snakefolk Tribe lies another powerful faction—the Goblin Grand Tribe…”

As the elder spoke, another young Featherfolk couldn’t help interrupting:”Master Ban, I recall that monster tribes often war with each other, especially when they’re of different races. Shouldn’t they be fighting to the death in such cases? We could seize the opportunity to strike and eliminate both major monster threats at once.”

As he spoke, he gestured animatedly.

The old man said calmly, “You’ve learned some knowledge, but only half of it. Those who understand only half often die faster than those who know nothing—at least the latter maintain reverence for the unknown.”

After taking two gulps of turbid wine, he continued, “The Snakemen and Goblin monster tribes would normally engage in conflict, but if they’re backed by more powerful and terrifying monster forces—if they’re merely subordinates, pawns stationed outside—then naturally they won’t fight each other.”

Conversely, the absence of conflict between the two major tribes indicated that…

“How is this possible!” exclaimed a young Winged-Person, their face pale.

“Why wouldn’t it be possible?” Old Yu Ban replied. “The monster force behind the Snakemen and Goblins is a Snakeman faction. This Snakeman faction is one of the true overlords of this region.”

“Hundreds of kilometers to the north, a Jackalwere faction that rules over the Gnoll Tribe and Kobold Tribe is another overlord in this area.”

“To the west, deep in the Red Leaf Forest, there are no monster tribes, but legend says it’s the territory of the ‘Blood Tree King.’ Even the overlord Snakemen and Jackalwere dare not set foot in that Red Leaf Forest.”

“See how treacherous the outside world is? And this is just a small corner visible to our Winged-People Kingdom. The outside world has long been dominated by monsters, with living beings barely surviving. Very few civilizations like ours, who can still maintain a stable territory and live peacefully, remain. You should be content.”

Even with visitors from outside, the old Winged-Person maintained their pessimistic outlook.

After all, in the past, their Winged-People Kingdom wasn’t the only surviving civilization. But as time passed, one force after another saw their civilization extinguished.

Some were destroyed;

Some were corrupted, becoming no different from monsters;

Some fled to other places, inevitably disappearing into the river of history.

Only their Winged-People Kingdom, by sealing their gates and developing in isolation, had managed to survive until now.

In the old Winged-Person’s view, they shouldn’t have even allowed this outsider into their kingdom. What if it led the Monster Overlords to discover their location?

If not for the Queen’s orders, they wouldn’t have given this outsider any attention, let alone shared this information.

Tianyuan Territory.

Mu Yuan received real-time information shared by General Dolai and began pondering.

“Just as expected.”

“These major tribes are backed by even more powerful monster forces—the Jackalwere Overlord and Snakeman Overlord. These two overlord forces must have Legendary Realm experts among them, though it’s unclear how many Legends they possess.”

From this perspective, the Winged-People Kingdom, which appeared relatively small, must also have Legendary Realm experts.

This made perfect sense.

When people said the Winged-People Kingdom was small, they meant relative to other ‘kingdom’-level forces. Compared to Tianyuan Territory, the Winged-People Kingdom was quite substantial, with row upon row of buildings where Third-Order and Fourth-Order Experts were not uncommon.According to Dolai’s perception, even the weakest among the first dozen or so Winged-People they encountered, stationed by the Vitality Spring, had reached the Third Order.

Along the way, Dolai had encountered more than a handful of Fourth Order Winged-People.

Yet clearly, even the not-weak Winged-People Kingdom couldn’t confront the Monster Overlord head-on, surviving only by secluding themselves.

The depths of the Wilderness were, indeed, far too dangerous.

“So, do you understand how perilous the outside world is? I’m not incapable of understanding your thoughts, but they’re far too naive!” said the elderly Winged-Person.

The young Winged-People warriors lowered their heads. Not all were convinced, but before this old General, they swallowed their words, unable to formulate a rebuttal.

The silence was abruptly broken.

Several young Winged-People descended from the sky, led by a youth with magnificent white wings and a diamond-shaped mark shimmering between his brows.

He coldly interjected, “But if our Winged-People Kingdom doesn’t venture out, we’ll only grow weaker, doomed to perish like other surviving civilizations. Only by stepping out can we seek a chance at survival!”

He stood opposed to the elderly Winged-People, sparking a fierce argument.

Such disputes between the two seemed to be a common occurrence.

“This is ‘Yu Baisheng.’ Baisheng is the strongest among our Winged-People Kingdom’s younger generation. And not just the younger generation—few among the older generation of commanders can match him now.

“Many say Baisheng could become the second strongest in our kingdom, second only to Her Majesty the Queen, before he turns fifty,” introduced Yu Rongyue.

It was clear he was a straightforward Winged-Person. From this single statement, Mu Yuan deduced that the Winged-People Kingdom had exactly one Legendary-tier figure.

Dolai didn’t overthink it; it merely reflected that it was still a baby less than a year old.

What did fifty years even mean?

Terrifying!

“Not only that, Baisheng is also the leading figure of our Advancement Faction.”

The Advancement Faction advocated for the Winged-People to leave their kingdom and explore the outside world.

It appeared there were two factions within the Winged-People Kingdom: the ‘Isolation Faction,’ led by the Queen and the older generation, and the ‘Advancement Faction,’ primarily composed of young warriors.

General Yu Rongyue was also a core member of the Advancement Faction.

However, he was more conservative—a moderate within the faction. Yu Baisheng, on the other hand, was a radical, looking as if he was about to come to blows with the old General.

Dolai felt like munching on some melon seeds while watching.

Unexpectedly, Yu Baisheng, the radical faction leader, suddenly turned and fixed a sharp gaze on it. “If a human powerhouse can survive in the outside world, then as long as I can defeat her, it proves our Winged-People powerhouses also have the strength to explore beyond!”

“Human, I challenge you.”

Before Dolai could even crack a melon seed, the drama had landed right in its lap.

Its eyes widened.

Yu Rongyue stepped in front of it. “This is an honored guest of our Winged-People Kingdom.”

Yu Baisheng produced a treasure glowing with a faint blue aura. “Fight me with your full strength. Win or lose, this treasure is yours.”

It was an Excellent-grade Material.

Even as just a material, it was incredibly valuable.

So, why hadn’t he just said that from the start?

“Okay then~”

Dolai wiped nonexistent drool and replied solemnly.

…

Half an hour later, at the Training Ground east of the Winged-People Kingdom.Countless winged people spread their wings and hovered in the air, eagerly looking forward to the spectacle.

“Step back, step back, don’t cross the marked line.”

“This is a battle at the Fourth Order Commander level.”

In the vast arena, Yu Baisheng, one of the top-ranked powerhouses in the entire Winged-People Kingdom, stood on the left side.

Dolai stood on the right.

The Slime mount retreated outside the arena, pulling out two small flags from its belly and waving them left and right.

“I have to go all out to earn the treasure reward…”

It thought seriously.

But there were many levels of “all out.”

The highest level of full power was ‘Limitless Devour · Extreme Form,’ where a single super-sized Fireball could affect an area of ten thousand meters. This definitely couldn’t be used casually.

The next level down was ‘Limitless Devour · Normal Form.’

The level below that was ‘Normal State · Domain.’

And the level below that was ‘Normal State · Full Firepower.’ This is the one.

Yu Baisheng slowly rose into the air, holding a Treasure Bow.

The bow glowed with an extreme blue radiance, appearing even more formidable than the Whispering Bow that Seventeen used.

He drew the bowstring, and the arrow shot out like a stream of light.

Fast! Extremely fast!

It pierced through the air, creating faint ripples in front of it.

Dolai clasped its hands together without chanting, “Gravity Dustless Zone.”

This was a technique it naturally learned after its last evolution and the upgrade of its gravity talent.

An invisible barrier expanded outward from Dolai, with a radius of 10.8 meters. The incredibly sharp arrows froze at the boundary before exploding with loud bangs.

However, Yu Baisheng quickly drew his bowstring again, firing a rapid succession of light-stream arrows that struck Dolai’s Dustless barrier, causing visible ripples to form.

“They’re both so powerful.”

“But our Lord Baisheng is still superior.”

Around the young winged powerhouse, wind and clouds surged, and his arrow intent, having reached Perfection, seemed to take half a step further.

Faintly, a pair of massive white wing shadows appeared behind him.

Half-step Imagery level!

Old General Ban showed a pleased expression. “It seems Baisheng has the potential to take that step. It’s just that this child is too impatient. This time, after he defeats this outsider human…”

However, above the Blue-haired Girl, a strange scene of lightning flashes, thunder rolls, and crimson clouds filling the sky also faintly appeared.

She was also a half-step Imagery level powerhouse.

“I’m going all out now.”

As soon as the words fell, a vivid Thunder Dragon materialized out of thin air, claws bared as it swept across the sky.

It arrived faster than expected; even this ultimate killing move seemed to require no chanting or Charge.

How was this possible?

Yu Baisheng shot several arrows capable of piercing heaven and earth.

The arrows tore through space, like pillars of light that could shred everything.

The light pillars collided with the Thunder Dragon.

A hum resonated between heaven and earth as an energy storm erupted. Winds rose and clouds scudded, the terrifying energy tide obscuring the sky.

While the winged people panicked and retreated further away, wondering who would win this clash, several Thunder Dragons, no less imposing than the first, emerged from the tide and smoke.

They surrounded the young winged man, their eyes glowing like headlights.

Yu Baisheng faced these pairs of eyes directly, his entire being enveloped in destruction, a bone-chilling cold surging up his spine to the crown of his head.His wings drooped as he weakly glided down from mid-air to the ground, still standing there in a daze. For a long moment, he couldn’t snap out of it, his mind filled entirely with those pairs of eyes brimming with destruction and immense terror.

After a long while,

The thunder dragon in the sky slowly dissipated.

The energy tide also vanished without a trace, as if sucked away by something.

Behind the dispersing dust, the blue-haired girl remained standing in place, untouched by a single speck.

The oppressive aura around her had completely faded, and she now appeared harmless and unassuming.

Yet no one would think so.

Especially Yu Baisheng, who had faced this prison-like Divine Might head-on.

He had lost.

Utterly and completely.

“The elders were right—the outside world is still far too dangerous.”

(End of Chapter)