Above The Sky
Chapter 469 - 469 439 Journey to the Imperial Capital 33

469: Chapter 439 Journey to the Imperial Capital (3/3) 469: Chapter 439 Journey to the Imperial Capital (3/3) Yes, that’s right, he had Mr.

Silver Workshop pass the message on to the Dragon Worship Cult.

Ian was not a fool.

Once he truly joined the Dragon Worship Cult, wouldn’t he see through Mr.

Silver Workshop’s background?

His writing was quite cryptic, but the old man would definitely understand and would help him pass it on to Elder Mantle and Anfa.

This way, he could also avoid some suspicion.

After finishing these preparations, Ian began to pack his bags, ready to leave Nauman City.

The longer he stayed in the city, the more time Magnetic Light and Purple Maple had to prepare, and the more comprehensive their preparations would be.

If not necessary, Ian had no intention of displaying his Second Energy Level power; hence, it was better for his enemies to be less well-prepared.

North of Nauman City lay the Golden Prairie.

If the Agate Stone Plains were renowned for their magnificent scenery and dazzling colors when viewed from above, then the Golden Prairie was essentially very simple in nature.

This place once had a considerable reserve of gold mines.

The reason the Empire developed the South Ridge was precisely because of the discovery of a large number of gold mines at the Golden Prairie, convinced that the south must possess even richer mineral reserves…

they were indeed correct, but those minerals were stored within the Bison Mountain Range, which was not as easy to extract as the Golden Prairie.

Subsequent geological explorations also proved that the Golden Prairie was not essentially land; it was a zone of cooled igneous rock formed by an ultra-massive lava eruption event, dating no more than 1,500 years ago, likely a colossal natural disaster that occurred during the Lost Age.

But the disaster had been quelled.

The scorching lava cooled and solidified rapidly, exposing large amounts of ores, and the mineral nutrients from the Great Desert of Fiery Flame Land, coupled with the rainfall from South Ridge, gradually made the area lush, forming a unique prairie ecosystem.

Here, there were huge spiral-shaped pits formed by the cooling of lava, perforated pits, and hourglass-shaped pits, as well as wide chasms, exposing the cross-sections of ore veins to the human eye.

The various geothermal spring resources and related ecology were natural nests for many magical beasts to comfortably reproduce in this complex plain.

And beyond the Golden Prairie was the landmark construction of the ‘Ground Hurricane Bridge’ at the edge of the Western Province—an extraordinary geological wonder.

In the middle of Bart Great Rift Valley, there is a persistent gale that surges from the depths of the earth to the sky.

Its force is so steady that one can ‘swim’ through it and smoothly cross the Great Rift Valley to reach the other side.

Furthermore, the Empire also built a bridge at this location, cleverly utilizing the wind force from the deep chasms during construction, which proceeded very rapidly.

Many workers floated in mid-air during the construction process, making it a great marvel of the Western Province at the time, and even now, people imitate it for festival performances.

Once the bridge was built, it was stable enough to bear weight without the need for the wind…

and by crossing it, one could step onto the official road that leads directly to the Imperial Capital.

“It should be roughly like this, they should attack me in this area,” Ian said as he folded the map.

He had already confirmed his route and roughly estimated the three possible locations where Magnetic Light and Purple Maple could attack him.

The first was a Worry Stone Mine on the way into the Golden Prairie from the Southern Territory.

This type of ore could affect one’s mood and was key to some magical beasts having the Aura of Fear and intimidation abilities; ‘Potion of Horror’ also required the refined dust of Worry Stone.

This place was quite dangerous, and on normal days, not many people would go there.

It could also disturb the operation of many alchemy devices and even Spirit Energy Jewelry, only certain professional mining personnel would be in the area.

But as an alchemist, he would definitely go to take a look and choose a batch of ores—it would be abnormal not to.

The second was a marvel in the middle of the Golden Prairie called ‘Nine Spirals Abyss.’ There were no fewer than nine giant spiral-shaped hollow structures that reached deep into the ground, irregularly distributed here, with five of them being nests of magical beasts housing an extremely rare cave magical beast ecosystem, designated by the Empire as ‘key ecological observation areas.’

Powerful magical beasts often appeared here, and although there were no Third Energy Level Great Magical Beasts, i.e.

Beast Kings, there were at least five Second-Level Magical Beasts.

It may sound as though there were fewer than those raised by the South Ridge Redwood Natives…

but these five Second-Level Magical Beasts were often seen leading their groups to sweep across territories, engaging in battles and wars, they were veteran fighters, incomparable to ordinary magical beasts.

Moreover, there would certainly be more leaders of beast packs deep in the caves; it was just that only about five were commonly seen on the surface.

If he happened to get near here and encountered danger and died, no one could say anything was amiss.

As for the third one.

“It can only be the Bart Great Rift Valley.

Because of the ceaseless Ground Hurricane, the Spirit Energy Field here is extremely chaotic, and even if I have communication devices, they would be useless.

If the timing is right, they could silently ambush and kill me,” Ian nodded slightly.

He had made preparations to cope with combat in these three areas.

For instance, ‘calming potions,’ ‘beast repellent incense,’ ‘beast attracting incense,’ ‘wind affinity potion,’ and ‘vaporizing potion’…

The young man once again entered the Alchemy Laboratory, and it wasn’t until late in the afternoon that he emerged, now carrying a row of colorful pots and test tubes.

Ian didn’t plan on changing his mount and still intended to ride the Giant Horned Camel Beast to the Imperial Capital—mainly because he had too much and too heavy luggage, which regular horses couldn’t handle.

However, if he used a carriage, it would be too flamboyant; the target would be larger, and in the event of a battle along the way, it would be more prone to collateral damage.

Dry food, tents, materials, equipment, and various alchemy matrices.

All the necessary preparations were made with the help of the Silver Bazaar Company.

Although there were still many delicacies he hadn’t tasted and many sights he hadn’t seen in Nauman City, and he had some regrets…

that was okay.

He would always come back.

And besides, there was an even wider world waiting for him to explore.

So, Ian set out.

In the year 773 of Terra, in early June, the temperature rose day by day.

Around the Golden Prairie, twisted heatwaves steamed the moisture, causing withered grass and plants to sway in the hot wind, and the vast plains showed no trace of green.

In this season, even caravans travel by night and hide during the day in the shade of trees or caves, waiting.

Otherwise, even the people of Terra would succumb to dehydration and heatstroke.

The fierce sunlight beat down as a camel beast slowly made its way across the plain.

Gusts of hot wind, like those of a sauna, swept by, but the behemoth, which should have been fatigued from the dry heat, appeared quite spirited.

This was because the knight in armor seated atop was continuously releasing blasts of cold air through the many holes in his armor, invigorating the camel beast.

On the vast prairie, not even the chirping of insects could be heard, only the clop-clop of the camel beast’s hooves on the road.

Two days had passed since his departure from Nauman City.

He had traveled through many settlements and trading towns north of Nauman City, as well as new villages built by Western Border refugees in the hills, witnessing much of the local customs and traditions.

It is often said that South Ridge is a land replete with miasma and wild beasts, rich in resources yet uncivilized, attracting only exiled refugees and almost mad pioneers.

However, the reality is different.

The people here are just as hardworking and brave, diligently building their homes.

The land is enriched by the southern winds and minerals swept in from the desert, unimaginably fertile.

Even refugees from the Western Region can barely sustain themselves by establishing villages and starting to cultivate the land.

Rivers flowing down from the Bison Mountain Range cross valleys and hills, stretching all the way to the Golden Prairie.

These rivers and streams crisscross the vast lands, forming lakes, then diverge and flow again, supporting swathes of vegetation, plains, and scattered small villages.

Most villages within the Golden Prairie rely on trade routes, with the majority being manors protected and established under the guardianship of knights.

These manors cultivate local specialities like spices or Sublimation Plants.

This is the most common strategy against the wilderness on the Terra Continent—establishing human settlements around Sublimators, then reaping the benefits of the land, and expanding these settlements into towns, which in turn become prosperous lands of bliss.

Though this process leads to the birth of new classes of nobility and so-called ‘exploiters’, Ian didn’t think this method was wrong…

At least in this era, such actions at least represented pioneering.

Still, the sight of refugees from the Western Territory toiling away in manor after manor left him with indescribable silence.

Was it oppression?

The refugees probably didn’t think so.

Earning less than the locals, they were still free citizens, officially in an employment relationship.

The manor knights were happy to accept these people, allowing them to settle and accelerate the development of their villages.

After all, these refugees were nomadic—press too hard, and what if they defected to another domain?

What exactly had happened in the Western Territory?

Ian originally thought this was due to Duke of Solin’s unbridled exploitation of his domain residents, gathering resources for the upcoming war.

But no matter how reckless Duke of Solin was, he wouldn’t oppress his own people to such an extent…

Or could it be that he, too, could no longer bear the pressure from Fiery Flame Land and, with no aid from The Empire, had no choice but to defect?

A case of…

a shattered pot falling apart?

So, was the rebellion in the fortress groups of Fiery Flame Land also for the same reason?

Ian suddenly realized that even though he had foreseen the future developments of Dao Path of the Swarm through his Foresight View and knew that Duke of Solin of the Western Territory would rebel and so would Fiery Flame Land…

when the beginning throes of this turbulent era unfolded before him, he still found it unbelievable.

When he passed the Worry Stone Mine, neither Magnetic Light nor the Purple Maple Knight made their appearance.

They probably did not expect Ian to move so quickly.

They had just come to an agreement to join forces, and before they could continue discussions, Ian had already departed from Nauman City in the afternoon.

Marquis Barton must have been aware of this because Ian felt the gaze of Barton’s secret guards multiple times along the way, only disappearing once he crossed the hills and officially entered the Golden Prairie.

And on the 9th of June when Ian was about to reach the location known as Nine Spirals Abyss.

He suddenly sensed a familiar presence not too far behind him.

—Was the attack finally about to happen?

The young man thought thus and tightly gripped the Charged Water Gun at his waist, preparing for battle.

But soon, as the presence drew nearer, he put the water gun away.

“How could it be you?”

Ian turned his head, his face marked with helplessness as he looked behind him.

“Ian!”

On the road behind him, two red-haired Mountain People were approaching on horseback.

One of them was indeed Sio—he looked the same as ever, his face alight with excitement as he ran towards him.

And the other was another old acquaintance of Ian’s.

The former mercenary leader of Harrison Port, the Mountain Person Lubeck.

“You…”

His face showed astonishment as he looked at Ian, then Sio, with disbelief in his eyes.

“You know each other?!”

Sio also turned his head and looked at Lubeck with the same surprised expression, alternating glances between Lubeck and Ian, “Huh?

You know each other?”

Truth be told, Ian wanted to ask the same thing.

So when they rode up to his side, the young man spoke with curiosity, “Long time no see, Sio…

and Uncle Lubeck.”

“You two…

know each other?”