Chapter 379 – Tianyuan Territory Doesn't Lack Capable Employees

Night fell.

Minister Qin and his team, having rested and replenished supplies in Tianyuan City for nearly half a day, prepared to set off again on the Wind King’s Wings.

This time, their goal was to investigate the situation.

They needed to confirm whether there truly existed a passage leading directly to the heart of Dragon’s Slumber Valley. Currently, everything was merely his speculation.

“What? You said Tianyuan wants to join this mission too? Is he out of his mind?”

Flying Flame exclaimed in surprise during the assembly.

Shen Linglong scratched her head, “What’s so strange about that? The battle in Tianyuan City is over. With Minister Qin’s Wind King’s Wings on this trip, the round journey won’t take much time anyway.”

Like her, since the battle in Tianyuan City had concluded, with nothing pressing to do and no monsters left to fight, she had naturally joined Minister Qin’s squad.

If she could come, there was no reason Tianyuan couldn’t.

It seemed perfectly logical to her.

Flying Flame thought: How is this logical? Tianyuan City is still under threat from the Monster Overlord! Is he just abandoning his home base?

In the distance, a tall, slender young man strode over briskly.

He wore a set of silver-white light armor, held a sky-blue staff in his hand, yet carried a large, turtle-shell-like shield on his back.

This was Mu Yuan’s outfit – his survival kit.

Truthfully, neither the staff, armor, nor shield were more than Excellent-grade equipment. They weren’t even top-tier among Excellent-grade items.

The staff and shield were merely mediums for him to perfectly execute his skills.

And Lord Mu did possess a few survival skills of his own, albeit just a tiny bit. Besides…

“Perfect Incarnation?”

Minister Qin glanced twice and discerned the trick.

He had been wondering how to tactfully decline this young man, given that Tianyuan was merely a Fourth-Order Expert.

Their mission might proceed without incident, but if an accident occurred and they couldn’t protect Tianyuan, a mere Fourth-Order practitioner would be… far too vulnerable.

But if it was an Incarnation…

“Tianyuan, are you sure you want to come with us?” he asked once more, still disinclined to let Tianyuan risk the journey with them.

Mu Yuan affirmed:

“Of course. Matters like protecting our home, defending our territory, and eliminating threats are duties I, as the Taixuan Lord, cannot shirk.”

“Furthermore, I am more familiar with the surrounding areas. I have a better idea where the possible entrances and exits of such a passage might be located.”

Naturally, he also had compelling reasons he had to go.

Dragon’s Slumber Valley was a first-rate Overlord force, likely located right next to this Great Domain. Given that he would probably have to confront such a formidable power directly in the future, how could he rest easy?

He needed to verify the situation personally.

He could also take this opportunity to observe the situation regarding the Monster Overlord north of Jackal Fang.

Otherwise, the journey from Tianyuan City to the northern region was still exceedingly long.

Hearing this, Minister Qin didn’t refuse further.

…

A short while later, at the North Gate of Tianyuan City.

“Alright, we are preparing to depart now. The mission objective is to explore and investigate the situation regarding the Great Domain passage. Based on the mission circumstances and investigation results, the Pioneer Group will award each of you between 30,000 to 100,000 Contribution Points, plus a reward of 3 to 5 Minor Merits,” Minister Qin announced.

This was a task beneficial to the pioneering efforts and advantageous for Taixuan, so substantial rewards were naturally provided.If the investigation results aligned closely with his expectations, the Pioneer Group would issue follow-up missions. Of course, by that time, the main force would no longer consist of people like them.

Minister Qin had also promised Mu Yuan that he would apply for meritorious honors on his behalf—specifically, the honor of purifying the Filth Nexus.

Minister Qin estimated that, at the very least, they could secure one Major Merit along with a substantial amount of Contribution Points.

What did a Major Merit signify? Quantitatively, it was equivalent to one hundred Minor Merits, but in the eyes of many Pioneer Lords, even accumulating hundreds of minor honors could not compare to the weight and prestige of a single Major Merit.

A Major Merit represented a Pioneer Lord’s significant contribution in a warzone-level conflict.

For a Pioneer Lord to advance in star rank, the military achievement required for the third star was either one Major Merit or one hundred Minor Merits.

This Major Merit symbolized the great achievement of the Tianyuan Lord in halting the spread of the Land of Red Mist. Of course, this was also because the Filth Nexus had not yet been fully established; otherwise, the reward would have far exceeded a single Major Merit.

Moreover, if the investigation confirmed that the emergence of the Filth Nexus was closely linked to Dragon’s Slumber Valley, the merit would be further elevated.

However, the Pioneer Group would not offer Contribution Points in the millions. For honors and Contribution Points, Taixuan employed a highly complex calculation system.

But the amount would certainly not be small.

Mu Yuan was, of course, extremely satisfied.

This was also thanks to Old Qin personally preparing the application for him. Otherwise, if he had applied on his own, he might not have secured a Major Merit.

Since such a prominent figure was being so kind to him, he naturally had to repay the favor.

For the time being, Tianyuan Territory had little to offer in return, but in the near future, when dispatching generals, he could select a few individuals with outstanding capabilities to serve in the Pioneer Logistics Department.

This would not take long.

At most, a few months would be needed to resolve matters in this region.

By then, the Tianyuan Generals would truly step out and set foot on the world stage.

As Lord Mu, he only needed to act like a steadfast father, providing support for his generals while continuously reaping various resources. That would suffice.

The Wind King’s Wings descended from the sky, gradually landing on the open ground outside the city gates.

Gazing at this magnificent bird, which bore some resemblance to Asun but was countless times more majestic, Mu Yuan also envisioned how Asun would appear after its breakthrough into the Legendary Realm.

The Wind King’s Wings possessed extremely fast flight speed, ranking among the top tiers of its level.

However, Asun would be even faster. It was no ordinary Wind King’s Wings; it was an Epic Two-Star lifeform. Likely, before its official breakthrough into the Legendary Realm, it would evolve to Epic Three-Stars.

High in the distance, Asun soared, casting a glance at this fellow majestic bird.

Three months east of the river, three months west—do not mock the Falcon Lord for being weak.

But for the Lord to ride another bird was indeed a disgrace to it, the Falcon Lord. It would remember this humiliation.

“You also have the Wind King’s Wings! Truly worthy of the legendary Tianyuan!”

Flying Flame Lord gazed at the distant azure-grey bird and could not help but sigh in admiration.

In truth, the Wind King’s Wings was not easily distinguishable. It bore no obvious visual differences from the Azure Grey Bird or the Grand Azure Grey Bird—it was merely larger, more imposing, and more divine in appearance.

However, after being in close contact with the Wind King’s Wings these past few days, they had naturally come to recognize certain characteristics unique to the Wind King’s Wings.

The distant bird was undoubtedly the Wind King’s Wings.

It was simply too divine in appearance, its feathers shimmering with an azure glow enveloped by the wind.Its aura was naturally far inferior to the one at Minister Qin’s residence, but for some reason, Lord Flying Flame had the illusion that the bird from Tianyuan’s family appeared more majestic and noble.

He supposed it was just an illusion.

There were quite a few people boarding the bird this time.

Minister Qin, Flying Flame, Rock Crusher, two outstanding employees from the logistics department, and…

Shen Linglong alone, who had stored her troops within her mark.

Two from Tianyuan Territory.

Tianyuan Lord and his bodyguard—the strongest in Tianyuan Territory, the Legendary Realm Hero Dolai.

Formerly ranked ninth on the Dragon Gate List.

Rising lords like Wuji, Tyrant Dragon, and Youshan also had their generals (or themselves) climbing to the top of the Dragon Gate List. It seemed reasonable that Tianyuan had cultivated a Legendary Realm powerhouse slightly faster than them—just by a tiny margin.

Probably when Tianyuan Lord recruited General Dolai, she already possessed considerable tier strength.

“But…”

“Aren’t you worried about your territory, bringing this Hero along?”

Lord Flying Flame asked.

Heroes are the right-hand men of lords, crucial not only for combat power but also for the operation of the territory.

Mu Yuan replied, “It’s not a big problem. We’ve already repelled the Monster Overlord. Even if Jackal Fang wants to make a comeback, it will take at least several days to mobilize troops. By then, we’ll be back.”

“As for the territory’s operations, there’s even less to worry about. My city still has… six more Heroes stationed there. We’re not short on manpower.”

Most importantly, his territory also had many Epic-level junior generals, each quite capable.

Lord Flying Flame suddenly fell silent.

Six Heroes.

She wanted to slap herself from ten seconds ago.

As a strong woman who had struggled in the Eternal World for over a decade, admired and respected by countless people, and had already achieved great success, she didn’t even have seven Heroes at home.

Seven… damn it!

Any single Hero could hold their own and shoulder major responsibilities alone. Generally speaking, Heroes also had a higher probability of breaking through to the Legendary Realm.

There was a metaphysical saying that Heroes were blessed by the world.

Lucky bastards really ought to be killed!

After the Wind King’s Wings took off, the atmosphere became somewhat heavy. Rock Crusher, Flying Flame, and Shen Linglong didn’t speak much, just looking up at the sky and down at the ground.

Mu Yuan felt innocent.

How was he a lucky bastard? His achievements today were clearly entirely due to his own diligence and hard work.

He still had one Hero’s Token left. Who would be most suitable to give it to?

The flight speed of the Legendary Realm Wind King’s Wings was indeed extremely fast. Mu Yuan couldn’t clearly see anything around him.

In just two and a half hours.

The Wind King’s Wings arrived at the landmark of this Great Domain—the Heaven-Piercing Giant Peak—and soared all the way to the summit.

The summit was barren, but the black ground still retained brownish-red cracks embedded within it. Wisps of Crimson Mist drifted around, noticeably denser than in other places.

In the center of the summit, the wreckage of buildings lay scattered, completely devoid of any radiance.

Minister Qin stepped forward to examine it, his expression grave. “These are indeed traces of a Filth Nexus. It’s not easy for monster forces to build a Filth Nexus, and such high-spec Miracle Buildings are the most suitable breeding grounds for Filth.”

They continued their journey.

After about two more hours, the Wind King’s Wings flew out of Jackal Fang’s dominion.The Wind King’s Wings soaring high in the sky began to slow its speed, the intangible aura that had been radiating out and the surrounding gathered natural forces gradually receded.

Mu Yuan raised his hand and casually released over a dozen created Black Crows.

In the distance, he seemed to spot an elite monster army crossing the mountain ridge heading south.

However, the number of monsters in this area hadn’t increased significantly.

The battles at Wolfhead Mountain and Tianyuan City weren’t enough to cause a noticeable decline in the monster density across the entire region.

The Wind King’s Wings continued as if flying through monster-free territory.

Low-tier monsters couldn’t keep up, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Higher-tier monsters possessed some degree of intelligence and wouldn’t foolishly block the Wind King’s Wings’ flight path.

Only those in the Legendary Realm might attempt interception.

Everyone on the great bird’s back remained focused, ready for battle at any moment.

An hour passed.

Six hours passed.

Thirty-two hours passed.

The Wind King’s Wings had flown over vast mountain ranges and lands.

Along the way, Mu Yuan didn’t spot any monster tribes. After all, no matter how large a major tribe might be, compared to the vast Wilderness, it was still just a drop in the ocean, not easily found.

Otherwise, the intelligence coordinates held by Nature’s Garden and Boulder Mountain Ridge wouldn’t be so precious.

This was intelligence accumulated over generations by these two major powers.

Naturally, the elves and giants had also explored the northernmost Raging Lands blockade zone of the Great Domain.

Mu Yuan had spoken with them and had a general understanding of the situation here.

“We’re probably approaching the border,” he said.

The area of this Great Domain was naturally far smaller than domains like Twilight Plains and Ancient Highlands, like the difference between continental plates and islands.

It resembled a shattered Great Domain but connected to many regions.

However, the passages between Great Domains were much narrower.

To the south, the passage that Sophia and Shen Linglong had crossed was extremely constricted, requiring Legendary Realm power to traverse safely.

Normal inter-domain passages were much broader. The frontline fortresses couldn’t completely block them, but rather served as nails hammered in place to prevent the spread of the Crimson Mist.

“Are we almost there already?” Shen Linglong muttered, her tone carrying a faint disappointment.

Dolai shared her sentiment – this entire flight had been too boring.

Soon, the vast Raging Lands blockade zone appeared in their vision.

“Fly westward, look for a brown-red mountain peak. We’ll enter the Raging Lands from there,” Mu Yuan instructed.

The Wind King’s Wings glanced at Minister Qin before riding the winds westward. After searching for about half an hour, they entered the Raging Lands from a roughly appropriate location.

Suddenly, the Wind King’s Wings noticed a figure in the distance, dodging energy tides as it advanced.

“There’s a monster, a… a Gnoll Legend?”

“Why would there be a monster Legend here?”

“Could it be related to Jackal Fang? Didn’t they say Jackal Fang and Dragon’s Slumber Valley might have some connection?”

“Pursue!”

Mu Yuan watched without any intention of taking action.

He was just along for the ride on this trip, to mix in some achievements and observe the enemy situation.

Flying Flame, Rock Crusher, and Shen Linglong immediately took action.

Lord Flying Flame wielded a massive cannon, elemental particles gathering in the barrel as energy beams shot forth.

Lord Rock Crusher expanded his Domain, countless falling rocks from heaven and earth forming obstacles.

Before Shen Linglong could even charge forward, this Gnoll Legend had been blasted apart.

Minister Qin showed no intention of taking prisoners.”Although these legendary monsters value their lives and sometimes flee, we cannot extract any information from them through interrogation or torture unless we possess certain means to directly extract information from the enemy’s memories.”

He did have such types of troops, but they were insufficient to affect a being of the Legendary Realm.

Mu Yuan understood.

In fact, the appearance of the Gnoll Legend here made the situation quite clear.

Following the direction the Gnoll Legend had taken, the group soon found the entrance to the Great Domain.

The sky and earth were separated by only a thin line.

The passage resembled a long, dark canyon leading to the other side.

Here, the energy grew increasingly violent.

Far more violent than when passing through the Twilight Plains in the south.

In such an area, the power of the Legendary Realm to harness the forces of heaven and earth was reduced to less than one-tenth.

Due to its massive size, the Wind King’s Wings bore even greater pressure.

Flying Flame, Rock Crusher, Shen Linglong, and others frequently took action, striking in all directions to resist the tidal forces of heaven and earth.

However, since they could hardly harness the forces of heaven and earth, resisting was quite strenuous, mainly consuming a significant amount of energy.

General Dolai declared that it would take action.

It walked to the edge of the Wind King’s Wings’ spine but did not gather any lightning or fire.

It simply opened its mouth wide, wider, and wider still.

Then…

“Gulp—”

The surrounding violent energy tides, surging like giant waves, converged into its mouth as if hundreds of rivers flowed into the sea.

It let out a burp.

“What kind of Move is this?!!”

(End of Chapter)