Chapter 340 – On the Road

In the Thought of Truth branch located in the Gray Rain Country, a spark of romance had ignited between Punk’s crucial test subject, Anya, and an arrogant mage named Mijia Ka who didn’t know his own limitations. However, this matter wasn’t likely to spread in the short term, and Punk, currently far away in the Maple Leaf Kingdom, remained completely unaware.

At this moment, as the dawn’s radiance bathed the silent wilderness, Punk and Ben Lajie—still ignorant of the events unfolding back home—were riding two mana rays, “floating” at a pitifully slow pace for Master-Level powerhouses toward the royal capital of the Maple Leaf Kingdom: the City of Enchanting Maple Flowers.

Although Punk felt somewhat impatient about the speed, there was no alternative. Flying rapidly into a city wouldn’t be considered a visit but rather a provocation.

As they approached the capital, whose silhouette was now partially visible, Punk casually observed the natural scenery along the way. Unfortunately… the landscape was far from picturesque. Despite the city’s poetic name, the natural terrain Punk witnessed was utterly incongruous with it.

The royal capital of the Maple Leaf Kingdom was built beside a dormant volcano named “Sleeping Dragon.” Thousands of years ago, this super-large volcano experienced minor activity, spewing vast amounts of grayish-red volcanic ash that almost completely covered the area. After millennia of sedimentation, the land surrounding the City of Enchanting Maple Flowers had transformed into this peculiar reddish-brown soil.

However, unlike on Earth, the volcanic ash here didn’t provide abundant nutrients for plants. On the Faerûn Plane, volcanic ash often contained substantial deposits of fire elements. The explosive nature of these fire elements made them intolerable for ordinary vegetation, leaving this reddish-brown land nearly barren, appearing rugged and desolate.

Generally, such desolation was limited to the natural environment. Near a natural volcano that stood nearly two-thirds taller than Earth’s Mount Everest, the yield of various ores was inevitably rich. According to Ben Lajie’s centuries-outdated intelligence, during the Maple Leaf Kingdom’s prosperous era, this City of Enchanting Maple Flowers had earned the nickname “City of Ores.”

Of course, the title “City of Ores” meant little to Punk and Ben Lajie. What concerned Punk more was the extent of assistance the Maple Leaf Kingdom could provide in the “great undertaking” of dragon slaying.

On the other hand, Ben Lajie’s focus was considerably more eccentric:

“Is this Joni Zordas truly a Noble? Were his manners taught by a Stalker instructor? The Thought of Truth should have notified him of our arrival long ago, right? We’re almost at the city gates—has the Zordas Family’s welcome party all died off? Is this the Zordas Family’s attitude toward their own allies?”

Having been dragged by Punk to travel overnight, Ben Lajie couldn’t complain to Punk directly. Thus, the fat old man had redirected all his grievances toward Joni Zordas.

However, Punk decisively ignored Ben Lajie’s complaints.

In truth, he himself wasn’t the least bit surprised by Joni’s attitude.First, considering the “grabbing from the coffin—dead set on money” nature of the Thought of Truth, Joni might have to risk bankruptcy just to post a mission there. Though this was Joni’s own choice, no one would be happy after being “extorted” of their entire fortune.

On the other hand…

Punk recalled Ovakain’s unfathomable strength, which was far from the intel Joni provided—like “newly promoted to level 15” or “just a big lizard without class levels.” Punk didn’t believe that Joni Zordas, who had been opposing Ovakain for centuries, would be unaware of his true power. This indicated that Joni Zordas had already started lying to recruit helpers.

Strictly speaking, Joni’s deception was successful. Due to the loose mission system of the Thought of Truth, Punk and Ben Lajie fell for it. However, Joni surely knew that he could deceive temporarily but not forever—the duped allies would soon expose the fraud, inevitably creating a grudge. Considering this, it made sense for Joni to abandon any thought of forming genuine ties.

Thus, in Punk’s view, Joni’s actions so far were within expectations. Now, pretending not to know about his two “guests” in the royal city was just another sign of a guilty conscience.

Punk had ample confidence, plans, and fallbacks, and through Vedrasha’s memories, he had witnessed enough grand scenes to remain calm and composed.

But… Ben Lajie was different.

This fat old man was an “academic” mage who had spent most of his life in business. As they were about to meet the untrustworthy Joni Zordas and head into a direct confrontation with the mysterious Ovakain, he began to have second thoughts.

Many people are contradictory like this—fearless when spouting passionate rhetoric and tough talk, but likely to tremble with fear when it’s time to risk their lives.

Though Ben Lajie wasn’t terrified to the extreme, he couldn’t help pestering Punk with endless questions:

“I say, brother Cyan, do you have any solid plan? Don’t tell me we’re really charging headfirst into Ovakain’s lair! Ovakain is a spellcaster, and these old bones of mine can’t handle much rough action…”

“Relax, charging in is only the last resort. I’ll find a way to lure Ovakain out for a fight. When the time comes, you just need to toss fireballs from the back.”

Seeing Ben Lajie start to ramble incessantly, and knowing he couldn’t just hit him with a Kinetic Blast, Punk patiently explained his reasoning:

“Isn’t Joni Zordas recruiting troops on a large scale? I think his plan is pretty good—launch a massive, loss-indifferent assault on the Dragon Roar Kingdom. I believe if the Dragon Roar Kingdom’s army can’t hold out, Ovakain will surely be compelled to intervene.”

“Hey, hey, you’re not joking, are you?”

Ben Lajie’s eyes widened in surprise at Punk’s words.

“With the Maple Leaf Kingdom’s ragtag forces? No offense, but the Dragon Roar Kingdom could take on seven or eight Maple Leaf Kingdoms combined! If Ovakain weren’t afraid of pushing Joni Zordas to desperation, the Maple Leaf Kingdom would’ve been swallowed whole by the Dragon Roar Kingdom long ago”…………At this point, Ben Lajie seemed to recall something else, his gaze toward Punk now tinged with wariness:

“Don’t tell me you plan to slaughter ordinary soldiers and cause destruction. The Thought of Truth is a ‘Lawful’ aligned organization. If you act too blatantly and attract the ‘investigation team’, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Who said anything about causing trouble?”

Seeing Ben Lajie’s lack of comprehension, Punk didn’t elaborate further. He simply stared coldly at the faintly visible City of Enchanting Maple Flowers, his pale fingers gently stroking an ancient Storage Ring.

“I have no intention of forcing the Church of Tyr God of Justice to take action either… My plan is actually quite simple! To put it plainly, it’s just about helping Jiaoni acquire a ‘slightly controversial’ army. Relax and trust me. As long as we’re careful with the ‘procedures’, no one will be able to pin anything on us.”

As Punk spoke with nonchalance, a breeze swept across the gray-red ground, stirring up dust that momentarily obscured the distant city’s silhouette…

Ben Lajie wasn’t entirely satisfied with Punk’s cryptic response. However, when he looked up and met those chilling pupils hidden in the shadows of Punk’s hood, he still felt a shiver of fear and closed his mouth.

(End of Chapter)