The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 498

Chapter 498: Seventeen Kilograms of Civilization

 

Hao Ren knew that the ancient souls did not appear to him just to chinwag. As an inspector, he had the obligation to properly deal with the remnants of the extinct civilization, so he took initiative. “What can I do for you?”

“Stranger, we’re helpless. We can only ask any traveler who happens to pass by for help,” said the Tannaean collective souls. “There’s a repository of our civilization in all three shelters, where all our culture, history, technology, and knowledge are stored. Please take them away and bring them to a place where people can understand as well as read them. During our lifetime, us Tannaeans didn’t manage to explore the secrets among the stars. Now, our civilzation has become extinct, and we hope that at the very least, people will know there was once a civilization of Tannaean people, even if only a symbol was left. This is the last wish of the Tannaean people before this collective consciousness loses itself. This memory hopes it can be realized.”

“I’ve seen from my workbook that 80 % of extinct civilizations have similar desires before dying. ‘Preserving one’s own information’ is an instinct of intelligent creatures,” Hao Ren said with a sigh. “Okay, tell me the location of the repository, Alamanda’s repository.”

The phantom told him all the details of the Alamanda Repository and expressed gratitude to Hao Ren. However, just before their mental connection was lost, something that had been bothering Hao Ren for suddenly crossed his mind. He knew whom to ask now.

“I found two strange devices, two keys,” Hao Ren tried to describe the two keys he received from Igor and Ogyust. “…One is a triangular, another is round. Why do they have a ‘seven-day curse’ effect? Why can’t people get rid of them after being embroiled? Why do the keys come back in seven days? Why would the person concerned die after leaving the key for more than seven days?”

The collective souls pondered and said, “You must be talking about the ‘resonance stones’ that we used to control the equipment around us. The triangular one is the ‘vocal mark’, and the round one is called the ‘echo stone’. We don’t know how it causes death, but the nature of the inevitable return of the echo stone within seven days is actually normal…”

Hao Ren was flabbergasted. “You call that normal? What is it used for?”

“It’s an anti-theft feature.”

Hao Ren was speechless.

“Newer models of the resonance stone have an identity locking system that will activate the auto-return function if the owner is away at a certain distance for a certain period of time. Entering the device’s serial number and password will cancel this return setting. Of course, it can also be placed in a strong magnetic field, or any other energy field, but its memory will be erased. You won’t need that memory anyway, it’s usually for recording music and photos.

Again, Hao Ren was at a lost for words.

The curse that had been agonizing Ogyust for three centuries was a freaking anti-theft system! Hao Ren decided not to tell the poor old man the truth. Having an anal fissure was bad enough, he had better not further aggravate him with this inconvenient truth.

“Are there any more questions?” The soul collective was very patient, but Hao Ren did not really want to say anything for the time being. “No, thank you… I must go back and lick the wounds of my worldview.”

As the chaotic spiritual tide faded, Hao Ren returned to the real world in a daze. He heard that the MDT had found an old, readable memory device—although he felt as if he had spent hours in the memories of the Tannaeans, it had actually been seconds in the real world.

Lily had a very sharp sixth sense. She was the first to feel that something was off with Hao Ren. She twitched her ears and turned her head around. “What happened, Landlord?”

“I met the memory of the Tannaeans.” Hao Ren rubbed his forehead, and his mental fatigue quickly subsided. “A fragment of their collective memory’s still floating on this planet, but it’s invisible and intangible. Well, it’s making me dizzy.”

“You saw the memories of other creatures again?” Vivian looked at Hao Ren in surprise. “This time it was of the Tannaeans? What did they say?”

“We’re going back to Alamanda and retrieving something from the city hall.” Hao Ren nodded. “But, let’s talk about it later. What have you found?”

“A memory device. It’s 10,000 years old,” said Nangong Wuyue as she drew out a pentagon-shaped crystal plate from a device. “The brick said that it’s still readable but it’s badly damaged. We need the equipment onboard the Petrachelys to fix it.”

The MDT made a sharp whistling. “It’s the brick! Don’t you all follow what the noobie said…”

Everyone looked silently at the flying coaster. The latter responded by saying, “…What the heck have I just said?”

“Let’s go, I’ve promised to help retrieve that thing,” Hao Ren shook his head and went out. “Think of it as thanking for their gold though there is not much difference between gold and brick in this place.”

They left the ancient observatory. Vivian looked at the direction of Alamanda, the desolate city of gold, worried. “Vengeful spirit near the city might still be there. Will we be in trouble?”

“The vengeful spirit won’t be nothering us anymore,” Hao Ren shook his head. He looked into the sky in the distance. As he focused his eyes, his vision began to change. Lines and colours gradually appeared in the once empty and monotonous sky. The magnetic field, soul fragments, memories, and ripples were left behind by the vengeful spirit as it swept across the sky. It was another world that could only be seen from the perspective of the spirit. The ancient memory had brought him something—something good which was unexpected—the vision of the spirit might come in handy in future. “I’m now one of them, sort of. The vengeful spirit was able to distinguish between the enemy and friend.”

Under the guidance of ancient memories, Hao Ren led everyone back to Alamanda. He could feel that the vengeful spirit was lingering around him. Even if he did not activate his spiritual vision, he could still feel innumerable amazing energies watching him in heaven. Those Tannaeans who have lost their self-consciousness still seem to retain some instincts of intelligent beings. They blindly circled over the city, staring at the group of strangers who came into the city with their offensive instinct suppressed under some sense of identity.

There was an almost completely collapsed dome in the city center. It was the city hall of Alamanda. Hao Ren sent out several autonomous robots from the dimensional pocket to clean up the metal piles on the ground, cut open the four-layer heavy armour plates and exposed a secret chamber secured by a layer of super-strength alloy.

An one-and-a-half-metre tall metal cylinder glittering in lavender light were taken out. This was the repository.

All the achievements of the entire civilisation, all the information of the Tannaean, including all the information that they had collected so far from the stone engravings were here. Their writings, art, history, philosophy, and thoughts about the universe and themselves were all condensed here. There were countless video materials and drawings, formulas and cognitions of the world left behind by different generations of scientists, and also the last words the Tannaeans had recorded for the later generations. The entire civilisation was compressed in here.

Sixty-two centimetres and seventeen kilograms.

“This is all of it.” Hao Ren sighed and placed the cylinder carefully into a metal safe, a standard issue equipment for inspector which was used specifically to store special items such as the remnants of a civilisation.

He closed the lid of the safe and typed an annotation on it: Tannagost Civilisation, full information, yet to be coded.

“I wonder if the information left behind by the humans after the their extinction someday would be able to fill up this box.” Hao Ren said slyly.

“Oh, it depends on when the extinct occurs. If humans couldn’t develop a better storage technology, perhaps the volume of information would be very large, until it fill the entire cabin to the brim. Then you must compress it with a translation equipment.” replied the MDT. “Stop lamenting. This is the destiny of most civilisations. No matter how brilliant it is, how high their achievements had beve, how many artists, philosophers, leaders, heroes, dictators, politicians they produce…All these things are just a few bytes of information in the end. A lot of things would disappear in the end. For an inspector, whether these civilisations are destroyed by a sudden disaster or slow whithering have no difference, just like a patient who die on the bed.”

Hao Ren nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Chapter 499: Hao Ren’s Long Term Omen

 

Regardless of the tragic and terrible disaster that took place here 10,000 years ago, no matter what kind of chaotic power the planet was once shrouded in, it had now become an eternal place of serenity—at least it was the case for the life on this planet.

After resetting the entire ecosystem, the First Born seemed to have withered after completed its mission. Hao Ren did not know whether this ‘whithering’ process was a predetermined setting, he needed to find a third planet which was consumed by the First Born in order to determine it. But at least in Tannagost, the First Born had become a wreckage that spread throughout the planet. It fed the third season ecosystem with its body which was filled with nutrition and primitive energy. Its powerful soul energy whithered and vanished with the body. Hao Ren observed the sky with the spiritual vision he had just acquired and found the spiritual residual of the First Born.

The electromagnetic wave of the vengeful spirit was the only thing floating on this devastated and slowly-recovering planet. The ancient souls who had lost themselves only occasionally remembered the glory of Tannaean Civilization in their flapdoodles. The vengeful spirits would only become frantic when aliens invaded the planet, or they themselves were transmitted through the ancient spatial fissure into the real world. However, as long as no one disturbed them, they were actually incredibly calm.

“The vengeful spirit is a mixture, an error, and an electromagnetic wave that records a large amount of data. If we could build enough ‘broadcast’ towers on this planet, it’s possible to re-direct this turbulent energy,” Hao Ren led everyone out of the rubble of the city hall. He stood on a mound nearby as he looked at the distant mountains. “Then let’s solve the problem of the vengeful spirit from the root. Do you have any similar devices, MDT?”

“Looks like the basic work has been done very well lately and you start to think on your own.” The MDT rarely complimented Hao Ren directly. “There is no directly available equipment, but the R&D host computer of the Petrachelys should be able to design such energy tower. The energy tower requires only a few ultra-high-power filter coils and a suitable computing device. The spacecraft’s synthesis plant and autonomous robots could handle the production and installation jobs.”

Lily wagged her tail and said, “Then will these vengeful spirits be restored back to their original Tannaean selves?”

“No, the Tannaeans have gone extinct. We could only let those vengeful spirits turn into an harmless energy back to the world it belongs.” Hao Ren shook his head and then turned and instructed the MDT. “Go and arrange the necessary manufacturing and installation equipment. You are in charge of the onboard plant this time around.”

The MDT took a shot on Hao Ren’s shoulder. “Just like you used to command.”

Hao Ren replied, “…Not that I can be serious every time. Couldn’t you jsut let me?”

“I still can’t figure out how the spatial fissure connects to Earth.” A thought suddenly crossed Vivian’s mind. “Judging from the technological capability of the Tannaeans, they didn’t have the ability to cross the Wall of Reality.”

“That kind of dimensinal door is originally a short-distance teleporting gatewat used on the surface of the planets. It’s power output is very low,” Hao Ren nodded. “The activity of the First Born might have caused changes to the portals, but anyway, the portals are still under the control of the resonance stone. Anyway, if there’s any unexplained question, we could always attribute it to the First Born.”

Becky took a look at Hao Ren and then Vivian, making sure that they had finished their dicussion before she raised her hand slowly. “Can I say something?”

Hao Ren and Vivian spoke in unison, “Yes, please!”

“As the works of tomb-raiding and saving the world have come to an end, is it time to discuss the question of sending me home?” Becky rubbed her hands, and her eyes glowed in gold. “Oh… You guys have promised to send me home once a stable door is found! Now are we not in The Plane of Dreams? We don’t have to worry about temporary residence permit which is only valid for half a month anymore! Please quickly think of a way to send me home. There is still a large piece of menor waiting for me to claim.”

Then only Hao Ren realised the issue about Becky. He smacked his forehead and looked at the mercenary girl with a weird expression. “I really didn’t realise that I could send you back so soon. It’s so surreal.”

“Don’t covet my beauty until you’re not willing to send me back.” Becky became nervous and deadpan when she saw Hao Ren’s expression. “You promised to pay for all transportation…”

Hao Ren glared at her and said, “Am I a man who doesn’t keep his word? MDT, check how far away Holletta is from here.”

He did not make the decision to send Becky back on a whim. Instead, he realized that all the origins of The First Born—the secret of the goddess of creation must be revealed quickly, and no doubt that The Disciples of Glory of Holletta must have possessed some clues. Plus he still had to deal with the two sleeping First Borns, he must go and take this opportunity to get everything done once and for all.

“Well,” suddenly the MDT spoke. “Let’s just wait for a moment, the coordinates I set in Holetta was disturbed by the information of the Surface World. It’s not the same as the current state The Plane of Dreams is in now. I need to run some calculations to convert the two’s mapping relationships. Please wait.”

Becky was bouncing off the walls when she thought of her noble manor estate which was already at her fingertips. But anyway, after all the experience of the city of gold, she was more restrained as she only whispered to herself.

Hao Ren looked at her, from beside her. Looks like Becky would have to re-adapt for a few days more before she could actually go home. Look at her—does she even have a bit of bumpkinness in her like she used to be? The way she spoke the earth’s vocabulary—headline news, paid-for ticket, temporary residence permit—it wasn’t entirely improbable that she would be deemed as someone who was suffered from brain damage after exploring the relics, and sent to mental hospital when she returned to Holletta.

The MDT had completed the conversion, figuring out the real, relative position between Becky’s hometown and the plane of Tannagost. It flew ove Hao Ren’s head. “Are we teleporting or flying over? We could still catch some sceneries if we fly in spacecraft while finding out other planets along the way. But teleportation will save you time.”

Hao Ren gestured with his mouth telling the MDT to look at Becky who was becoming impatient. “If we go by spacecraft, I’m afraid she would wreck the whole control console.”

“Well, then teleport…”

“Wait a second,” something suddenly crossed Hao Ren’s mind as he stopped the MDT. “I need to prepare for the future.”

Hao Ren led his clueless partners to the entrance where they had come from, the spatial fissure beneath Andrea Castle. He glanced at the empty square around him and then took out a set of teleportation equipment from his dimensional pocket—the same type which he used in his own basement. He then summoned several autonomous robots to install the equipment next to the spatial fissure, and set up a simple protective layer around it with a beam barrier so that the entire spatial fissure and teleportation equipment were shrouded in it. No wild life would be able to trespass—if there were any.

“This is a simple base.” Hao Ren clapped his hands in satisfaction. He then scanned the square. “I will renovate the square and turn it into a base next time… at least transforming it into a small station. This is the key entrance to The Plane of Dreams from the real world. It should be built up nicely.”

“Are you addicted with building stuff? You’ve even said you wanted to build an ice town on the snowfield,” Vivian said. “It sounds awesome, though. Where is the teleportation equipment? Are we going home?”

‘No, it’s still a bit dangerous to use the teleportation equipment to travel directly between the real world and The Plane of Dreams. This teleportation equipment is an escape route in The Plane of Dreams,” Hao Ren said of his plan. “I’m going to place the first node in Hollerta. We can expect we will traverse frequently in The Plane of Dreams, leaving a node for each new location will make travel much easier. After all, it’s less efficient and not very comfortable to teleport using the MDT.”

Vivian seemed to have guessed Hao Ren’s long-term plan. She looked at Hao Ren curiously. “You are planning for the future?”

“I have a hunch,” Hao Ren smiled. “Just be prepared. We might need it… There may be times when we couldn’t depend on the ad hoc setups. And to be honest, it’s interesting to build houses..”

After leaving behind the teleportation equipment, Hao Ren patted the MDT and said, “Let’s go and surprise Marshal Opra.”

Chapter 500: Back to Dragonspine Ridge

 

The site of Dragonspine Ridge, the remnants of the Blood Lake, or the Great Basin of Beinz—no matter what it was called, these names indicated the tremendous changes after that earth-shattering catastrophe. Now more than two months later, the witnesses who caused these changes had returned. They were expecting to be shocked by the great changes there.

As the halo of teleportation faded, Hao Ren and the others appeared on the mountains of Dragonspine Ridge. The MDT had recorded the coordinates from when they last left the Plane of Dreams, so they were sent directly back to the same spot. Nangong Sanba felt a little dizzy after the teleportation, but soon after, he looked at the surrounding mountains curiously. “Oh, this is a good place. You explored this place the last time?”

Surprised, Hao Ren glanced at the half-baked demon hunter. “Yeah, you recovered pretty quickly, eh! Didn’t you feel a bit dizzy from the long-distance teleportation?”

Nangong Sanba smiled proudly. “I’ve been trained since young.”

Hao Ren thought Nangong Sanba meant that he had been practicing the teleportation skills of a demon hunter from an early age. But Nangong Sanba glanced at Nangong Wuyue and said, “My sister liked to swing me around with her tail when I was a child, like a fan spinning at the highest speed…”

Nangong Wuyue’s face darkened like the underside of a wok. “Brother, you must miss the ‘Big Windmill’?”

At this time, Lily suddenly shouted not too far away, “Wow! Look at that, Landlord!”

Hao Ren quickly ran over to check it out and his jaw dropped to the ground.

There was a massive pit in front of him. The entire land that used to be surrounded by Dragonspine Ridge had become a bottomless crater. The region where Beinz Blood Lake and the Gnarled Grove used to be had disappeared. They could not recognize any traces of the previous landscape from the crater. On the steep cliffs surrounding the crater, there were cracks in the rocks, which were still spewing with hot air. There were large black crystals hanging from the mountain on the west side of Dragonspine Ridge. They formed out of a kind of glass substance, which had melted, then solidified. And in the lower part of the huge crater, in the smoky haze, there was what looked like a large, overgrown piece of light-blue crystal, which seemed to be a newly-formed crystal jungle.

The entire Beinz region had become a super giant basin. The former sacred lake and the Gnarled Grove had all disappeared. It was now covered with sprawling a crystal jungle as well as volcanic glass, and dotted with steam vents and geothermal springs. There had been a geological change.

“The First Born’s activity hollowed out the rock formations in the Beinz area and the Petrachelys’ cannon blew the land into a crater,” the MDT so analysed how the landscape formed. “The crystal jungle below must be a by-product of the psionic shelling. Hitting a source directly with psionic energy could fundamentally change the structure of matter and even laws within a certain range. Those crystals don’t occur naturally in the universe. They are normal rocks that have been through a process of metamorphosis.”

“Are they psionic crystals?” Hao Ren asked, worriedly. “If they are, then they’re highly radiative.”

“Relax, unless they’re specialized radiative weapons, ordinary psionic artillery have no radiative residue. Radiation in the vicinity of the point of bombardment will fall to a safe level within a fraction of a second after the bombardment,” replied the MDT as it observed the crystal jungle below. “After all, it is a hassle to clean up the battlefield. An apostle of the Xi Ling Disciples doesn’t do things sloppily.”

“It looks like something’s moving underneath.” Lily had sharp vision. She spotted some shadows and a few man-made objects. “There are houses too?”

“Someone must be mining the crystal.” The MDT had already discovered movements earlier, but it did not think it was a big deal. “There isn’t much radiation, let them be. The locals may have found some uses for the crystals. Although this sort of thing isn’t very common, it does happen. Psionic energy can react with conventional materials, and change them into a variety of bizarre products. Depending on the laws of each world and the specific properties of the materials, occasionally it will produce some strange things. So, every time the Imperial Army finishes a war, there will be a bunch of insterstellar privateers sending in their mining ships to mine the battlefield. Sometimes, fights will break out just for the sake of securing some pits. Fortunately, since the establishment of the provisions for the past two years, the situation has become better.”

Hao Ren listened in surprise, thinking that those had to be fights between immortals. Nangong Sanba was as clueless as a dimb bulb. He was tagging along, but he had no clue what Hao Ren and his company were doing. He wanted to find someone and ask, but before he could do so, Nangong Wuyue pulled him away and said, “Brother, wait until we get home before you ask. Just tag along for now.”

“This place has completely changed… I’m not even sure if the Royal Knights are still around,” said Hao Ren, who had only realized that after the terrifying events in the Beinz region, Holletta may have undergone tremendous changes. The Church and Royal Knights may also have experienced great changes. “Where do we even find Marshal Ophra?”

Just as Becky was about to give a suggestion, footsteps were suddenly heard approaching. “Wait a second, someone’s coming.”

The MDT suddenly hid in Hao Ren’s pocket, while Lil Pea jumped inside Hao Ren’s collar. As it turned out, the figure who emerged from the mountain road was not a stranger, but an acquintance. It was the elderly werewolf who had fought alongside them for some time. It was Marhsal Ophra’s general, Elson Ebben.

The elderly werewolf was apparently not there by coincidence. He had spotted Hao Ren and his gang from afar. He smiled and said to them, “You lot really came back, the strange fellows from the alien country.”

“I didn’t know we had another nickname.” Surprised, Hao Ren was in a good mood as he met his acquaintance. He greeted the elderly werewolf with a smile. “Have you been waiting for us here?”

Apparently, Elson was waiting for them, but he was still surprised when he saw Hao Ren and the others. He looked curiously at the group, who had reappeared just as suddenly as they disappeared the other day. He was very curious about these people, who had performed a lot of incredible things, but he managed to hold back his questions as he replied Hao Ren, “Ophra instructed it. She expected your reappearance in this place. And to prevent unnecessary troubles, we specifically cleared out the area around the main peak of Dragonspine Ridge, where the Royal Knights are stationed. We have been expecting you.”

Nangong Wuyue suddenly chimed in, “Isn’t it a waste of manpower for a general to wait here?”

“The Beinz Basin is now the focus of the continent. Both the kingdom and the western tribe are drooling over this place, so it’s necessary to have a general stationed here.” Elson shrugged. “I’ve been conveniently waiting for all of you here. As you know, werewolves have very good senses. We can spot things the first instant they appear in the mountain.”

Lily happily nodded as she heard this. She was proud of her werewolf bloodline. Speaking of the girl, her identity switched seamlessly between husky and werewolf. When she needed to be fashionable, she would say that she was a werewolf. When she was hungry, she would identify herself as a husky. She had been doing it so perfectly, and conveniently.

“I’m not sure if our ‘identities’ are going to make it okay for us to be here,” Hao Ren mentioned with a smile. “Let me just be honest with you, we’re here for a mission and we have to go around a lot. But, we don’t want to get into trouble.”

Elson nodded. “Everyone’s seen what you’ve done in Dragonspine Ridge… Well, Ophra and I have witnessed it. With the guarantees of the four masters, I know you won’t have any problems. Before leaving, Ophra instructed that if you ever came back, I would have to arrange for you to go to the king’s capital to see her. She has made an arrangement. But then again… why didn’t the four masters join you?”

“They’re kind of busy catching wild rabbits.” Hao Ren shrugged. “We’re only here to show our faces, because we just helped transcend a race into another place.”

Elson could not make out what Hao Ren said, “What?”

“Ahem, that’s just some jargon in my profession. Forget about what it means,” Hao Ren quickly explained it away as he felt Vivian pinching his back. “Well, if there’s no problem… take us to the hotel first. We’ll chat as we walk.”

Chapter 501: Things That Happened After Leaving

 

Countless people had witnessed the catastrophe in the Beinz area. News of the end-of-days scene and the violent First Born had spread uncontrollably throughout the world. But the truth behind the event, ​​including how everything was turned back to normal, was only known to a small number of people. Only those few, who were present knew the complete story.

Among them were Marshal Ophra and Elson.

In the present, the Kingdom of Holletta had successfully blocked out information that was not suitable for public consumption. They carefully crafted parts, which could be disseminated, and sold by the national propaganda machine to the general public, who were eager to know facts. Admittedly this practice was for the benefit of the vast majority of people: the royals needed stability, the Church needed a faithful congregation, and everything would be business-as-usual as long as someone told the people that tomorrow was going to be just another day. Everyone just needed to know what they were supposed to know and the world would continue to be safe. The catastrophic truth would be dealt with by someone who had enough courage, such as a hero or a team of protagonists, or a twenty-five-person exploratory team… Well, pretty much someone like that.

Elson led Hao Ren and his entourage as they hustled across the rugged mountain path of Dragonspine Ridge to the nearest knight’s garrison. While walking, he told them all the intel he knew. “The incident in the Beinz Diocese was a demonic invasion. Some ancient devil had incited the infidels to invade the most sacred place in the world and contaminate the Gnarled Grove, turning the life forms into monsters. But the devout Bishop Gelton and a group of enlightened missionaries received a revelation from the goddess, and innocent people were evacuated in a timely manner. The power of the goddess then descended in person to end the evil and its ugly servants. Bishop Gelton and all those who died in the incident were declared as saints or heroes of martyrdom. They fought bravely under the goddess’ command and died. That’s what happened.”

“That’s the official version,” Vivian said. “Pretty much the same as what they did on Earth back then…”

“The people need a ‘truth’ that allows them to sleep soundly. Trust me, they’ll like this version of the story better than the real one.” The werewolf grinned hoarsely. “The king and the archbishop all know what really happened on that day. They’ve been discussing about the First Born the entire time in the Royal City. There are mountains of complaints every day in the magical messages sent from Ophra.”

“I don’t care. It’s the politician’s job to deal with it.” Hao Ren shrugged. “But, how did you explain the crater? And the crystal jungle below it? A pit several kilometers wide is definitely not a natural phenomenon.”

Elson nodded. “Of course it’s not a natural phenomenon. It’s a miracle. The goddess complimented the brave warriors who died on that day and gave her power to reward the mortals. She used her power to create a crystal jungle in a single breath. The crystals in the jungle are a whole new kind of magic ore. However, the magisters aren’t quite sure if those ores are useful. But they do know the ore contains a lot of magical properties, so the Church’s arguments are tenable. Now, the Takata School and the Academic School have sent out their best mages, and the kingdom as well as the Church have built large laboratories at the bottom of the crater to study the crystals and their uses. They’re going to find out and they better find out.”

“Looks like next time I can’t simply shoot in your planet. You’ve attributed everything to the goddess.” Hao Ren’s expression was subtle. “They really are propaganda specialists. They can come out with narratives without even thinking. How do they explain the sacred lake not being sheltered but bombarded by the goddess herself? Hmm, needless to say, I know the explanation must have something to do with miracles.”

Elson smiled in silence and pointed to the camp not far away. “This is the nearest knight’s garrison to the main peak. In order to be able to sense you and meet you in the first instance, my troops and I have been staying here. Don’t talk to the ordinary soldiers when you go in. They don’t know about you.”

“Has Ophra gone back a long time ago? What’s Holletta’s situation now? Are the Royal Knights and Church Knights guarding it here?” Lily asked next to him. Before her voice trailed off, Becky, Ophra’s brain-dead fan, who would not hesitate to change her sexual orientation if Ophra ordered so, came up.

The elderly werewolf was very cautious as he spoke, “First thing’s first, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but things are sensitive. Only Ophra can decide how much trust we can place in you. As for Ophra, upon returning to the Royal Capital, she and the surviving archbishops want to go and tell the king as well as the pope about what happened here. Two knights have been guarding Dragonspine Ridge since that day. Now it’s not only a sacred land, but also a forbidden, dangerous area. There are some wandering rock monsters that occasionally appear on the mountain roads. We have to clean them up from time to time. The pope and the king have jointly issued an order prohibiting mercenaries as well as adventurers from entering the mountains. It’s to protect the mountains’ secrets, and…”

Vivian chimed in, “…and the crystal jungle, right? I know. That may have become a strategic resource.”

Hao Ren was a little speechless when he heard this. “Isn’t it just glass residue? If you will, I can help: find me a land so I can bombard it from the sky using 4/4-beat pattern and create and eight million square kilometres of mines…”

Before Hao Ren’s voice trailed off, the MDT whispered in his mind. “Then you’re not far from under the fire squad— creating a crystal jungle with just one shot is more by accident than design. It’s not that every time you can trigger a chain reaction and not hurt the geology.”

Hao Ren complained in his mind. “Yeah, I know the rules. I was just talking nonsense. Is it really necessary to be so serious with me?”

“Then why the heck you take a PDA so seriously?”

Hao Ren was speechless.

Hao Ren felt that arguing with his tablet computer all day was the greatest sadness in life, and the saddest thing was that he could not win the argument…

Apparently the elderly werewolf Elson did not take Hao Ren’s words seriously. He just smiled and said, “It’s better not to repeat what happened that day. I am old and I won’t be able to take it.”

“That depends on how easy the two First Borns could be dealt with,” said Hao Ren. “Have the other two First Borns been found?”

“The entrance to the sanctum has already been found. The King is setting up a team to search for a way to securely open the inner door of the sanctum. However, there is not much progress at the moment,” Elson nodded. “Ask Ophra for yourself when you meet her. I really can’t disclose too much.”

Elson was obviously worried when he mentioned the ‘First Born’. Obviously, it was the kind of enemy as powerful a natural disaster which he was unwilling to face even though he had countless battle experience in the battlefield. And he also knew that even if this group of ‘aliens’ was willing to help, the price to pay would be too high: the complete destruction of Beinz Diocese was an example.

Seeing the gloomy expression on the elderly werewolf’s face, Hao Ren kept silent.

He dared not tell him that the maturing First Born was even more terrible than what he saw that day: the tentacles in Beinz Diocese had been in a long slumber and was not completely awake judging from its physical size. Before it could reveal its soul hidden in the material world, it was already exterminated. On Planet Tannagost, there was only a full-grown First Born who had devoured the entire ecosystem, occupying the entire Planet Tannagost and its spiritual power had even enveloped the entire globe. If the sleeping First Born in the crust beneath Holletta was also such a monster, aside from asking Raven 12345’s help, Hao Ren would have no other way to save the life on this planet.

Elson took them to a resting place and told the subsequent plan. “I’ll send Ophra a message via magic messaging informing her about your arrival. How are you going to meet her? By way of dimensional magic… or should I arrange a carriage for you guys? It’s better not to use the military’s teleportation. You have to keep your head low before meeting Ophra.”

When Becky heard the ‘dimensional magic’, she immediately jumped to her feet. “Please don’t! Landlord’s a rookie driver!”

Hao Ren was annoyed. “Is it necessary to nag all the times? How many times have you been teleported while on Earth?”

Becky stuck out her tongue and said, “Oh, it’s hard not to nag when I’m here in my hometown. I just want to relive the good old day feeling.”

“Do you have a high-precision map with altitude and precise scale?” Hao Ren pulled out his MDT from his pocket. “We can use the map to roughly calculate the coordinates for stealthy teleportation mode. Find a quieter place where we could approuch Ophra as we have some confidential matters to discuss.”

Chapter 502: The Royal City

 

They got an accurate map from Elson, and agreed to a meeting with Marshal Ophra in the wilderness outside the capital of Holletta. Hao Ren decided to use a stealthy teleportation mode to avoid as many knights as possible at the blockade near Dragonspine Ridge. After all, they had descended from the sky and appeared in Dragonspine Ridge, which was now a military restricted area.

But when everyone ended up hanging from a tree, Hao Ren began to realize that he needed to be more cautious when using the stealthy mode. The MDT’s operating manual said, “Use only if you do not know the exact coordinates of the destination, but find it necessary to go there quickly.” This mode helped users avoid physical barriers to prevent them from being sent into a wall or tree, but it did not prevent them from being sent up into the air, and hung on a tree.

Hao Ren murmured as he dangled from the tree, “I think we may as well have had Elson arrange a carriage. We’re not in a hurry anyway…”

Also dangling beside him, Lily excitedly said, “This is fun!”

“Wait until the next time you’re sent into a puddle,” Vivian’s voice was heard behind them, followed by the flapping of wings. The vampire had transformed into a bat and gotten down from the tree. “Stop dangling up there. Come down and see where we are now. I’ve suddenly lost my trust in the stealthy teleportation.”

They shook themselves hard. As the branches squeaked and snapped, they dropped like flies—literally. When Nangong Sanba got to his feet, he bragged, “I’m telling you, I’ve been trained for this since I was young. My sister’s tail can swing higher than this tree. Luckily, it was just a tree we were hanging from this time. Just be careful—”

Hao Ren turned to look at him. “…be careful of your sister.”

Nangong Sanba eyeballed him. “I was talking nicely to you. Why did you have to say that?”

Nangong Wuyue bounced up from behind and knocked Nangong Sanba on the head. “Oh, so you’ve been holding a grudge against me all this while for throwing you around with my tail!”

Hao Ren looked at the half-baked demon hunter, who was hugging his head and bending over on the ground. “I told you so. Be careful of your sister,” Hao Ren said.

Lily climbed up a large rock nearby and discovered that they were surrounded by a desolate wilderness. The tree they were hanging on earlier was one of several tall plants within a radiusof several kilometers—what luck! On the east, the silhouette of a city could be seen. It had to be the Royal City, where Ophra was waiting for them.

“The Royal City of Holletta… I heard that it’s very prosperous, but I’ve never had a chance to visit,” said Hao Ren as he looked at the silhouette of the city at the end of the horizon. There were a lot of attractions on this planet, but every time he came, if he was not fighting with a rock monsters or trees, he would be bothered by a bunch of scary, creepy and ancient stories. He would not have many chances to visit the famous places. “Isn’t Ophra supposed to be waiting nearby? Elson’s message should have been delivered… Are we early?”

Before Hao Ren’s voice trailed off, a crisp voice was heard behind him. “Actually, I’ve been waiting here for a while. I just saw a bunch of people falling from the tree. I couldn’t imagine those people were actually the heroes who came to save the world.”

Hao Ren turned around and saw Ophra standing there. The valiant and beautiful marshal was still wearing the same outfit, except her standard steel body armor had been switched to soft body armor. She smiled and looked at the foreigners in front of her. She looked surprised as well as amazed. “I didn’t expect you to appear in such a bizarre way every time. I’m surprised to see you again so soon.”

Hao Ren rubbed his nose and said, “It’s not like I hang on trees every time…”

“Follow me. I’ve prepared a carriage. It’s quite a distance from here to the Royal City.” said Ophra, raising her hand and pointing into the distance. Hao Ren saw a simple but large carriage by the roadside, enough to carry all of them.

Everyone rode in the carriage as they made their way to the Royal City. Becky was like a kid in a candy store, tossing and turning on the seat. Ophra looked at her and was puzzled. “What’s wrong with her?” she asked Hao Ren.

Hao Ren shrugged and replied. “She’s too excited to be in the same car with her idol.”

Becky leered at Ophra, looking like she was about to pounce on her. “Ophra! I’m your brain-dead fan!”

Ophra was shocked. “Brain damage?! Did you hurt your head while you were exploring the other world? I have doctors here…”

Hao Ren almost choked. He patted Becky on the shoulder and said, “That’s why I said you needed a few days to readapt to your home town. Look at you, what habits have you learned on Earth? Put your feet down, this isn’t a sofa!”

Ophra curiously looked at Nangong Sanba, who was sitting in the corner of the carriage, looking at the scenery outside. “Is this a member of your team as well?”

“He’s Nangong Sanba, a rookie in the team.” Hao Ren just treated Nangong Sanba as a new teammate. After all, it seemed that he would like to join his sister in the same department. “He’s still not familiar with this world. Hope you don’t mind if he says something wrong.”

Ophra looked even more curiously at them, which caused goosebumps all over Hao Ren’s skin. “What’s the problem?”

“No… I’m just wondering how you guys live your lives. Foreigners who travel through time and space at will must be shouldering special missions. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of things. I can’t imagine that kind of life… but I was a little envious of this mercenary and the four masters. It must have been an incredible adventure. Will the four masters not come back any time soon?”

“They will come back later.” Hao Ren smiled. “We’ve found a stable connection that can send the four masters back to this world for good. In fact, the main purpose of our visit here is to send Becky back home.”

Ophra nodded thoughtfully before she bluntly said, “However, before that, I hope you can meet with the pope and the king, not just to present yourselves, but as guests. As you know what’s happening in this world, only you have the ability to solve it. The king and the pope have learned about the happenings in Dragonspine Ridge. They’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Hao Ren gladly agreed. “Of course, I’ve been wanting to find someone who was in charge here to tell me the situation. I was thinking of looking for you, but since I now have the opportunity to meet your king and pope, it’s all the better.”

Something suddenly crossed Becky’s mind. She stood up and said, “Wait a minute! His Majesty? Then, conferment and rewards can be directly performed too, right? His Majesty would personally do it, right?”

Ophra was perplexed. “What conferment? What reward?”

Becky’s eyes were all dollar signs. “The bounty! The bounty of the Orb of the Holy Synod! The manor, title! And box of gold and silver jewelry! That’s what I came for when I first started from the steppe!”

Ophra was even more confused. Engrossed in the topic of her people’s life and death, money matters were the last thing on her mind. Hao Ren could not help but shrug helplessly. “Don’t be surprised. That’s just who she is. Just give her the bounty. The girl is too obsessed.”

Ophra expression said it all. She was dumbfounded !

Ophra’s reaction was not a surprise. Unlike Becky, not many world-saving heroes from the past till present would ask for a reward. Especially those super-humans who could travel through space and time, Ophra had naturally thought that they were unfettered by materialism. If superman were to send the Pentagon a bill for saving the United State of America, those people would have the same reaction.

At this moment, the carriage had finally entered the first entrance of the capital of Holletta. The carriage of the Marshal was not subject to the usual checks and passed through without a fuss. Ophra took the opportunity to remind Hao Ren. “The truth about the Dragonspine Ridge event is a secret. People know only the narrative of the church. So I hope you would keep your identity to yourself. Reward will be given to those who deserves it. However, I’m afraid the royalty would not publish the true story behind the reward. I hope you understand.”

Hao Ren was careless and waved his hand. “Oh, it’s okay. We don’t live here anyway. Just give all to Becky.”

Becky was like a dog with two tails.

“There’s another reason you need to hide your identity,” said Ophra, with a slightly embarrassment on her face. She lifted the window curtain of the carriage and pointed to the outside. “In official propaganda…”

Hao Ren turned and looked out of the window. He froze.

Ophra was heard saying, “…you all have died a heroic mercenaries…but rest assured that your gravestones and hero statues are all in the front row.”

Hao Ren: “…..”