Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 202 The Returnee

The giants' restaurant gradually became a giant's town, and the construction team was quite efficient. When the noble mages started laying the mortar, the efficiency was naturally not slow.

The most straightforward example is that fossils were used as mud and stone walls to quickly build fences and spires.

When a spellcaster or a crossbowman enters, it is enough to deter most lawbreakers.

This was merely a transitional measure before the mage tower was built.

A mage with or without preparation is one level of strength; a mage with or without a mage tower is another level of capability.

Once the mage tower is actually built, archmages can use it to perform strategic spellcasting.

With the support of relevant mage tower buildings, and with almost unlimited magic power, various strategic-level super-magic-enhanced super turrets can be used.

The range of strategic magic can cover the entire "newly built city area," which will gain a fortress-level level of defense. Even if it encounters a beast horde, the magic falling from the sky can easily destroy most of the invading creatures.

"That also means that once this underground city is built, it will become the starting point and safe zone for underground exploration."

This seems like a good thing, but some people immediately panicked.

"Senior Brother Rean, I have a request that I'm afraid I must handle as soon as possible." Dimon was a little flustered.

This newly built frontline fortress is a good thing for others, but not necessarily for him.

"You mean, the passageway? That's definitely urgent."

The passageway in the dock area also led to a certain place in the underground ruins, and even a mechanical steamship was built there.

If the spatial transfer channel here becomes stable, then the value of other channels will decrease significantly, which is naturally a cause for concern for Dimon, who has invested a considerable amount.

The industries in the dock area can't withstand any more disruption.

Rean fell silent. He never expected that a grain of sand of progress would become a mountain on his side, and that his newly invested business could go bankrupt if he wasn't careful.

That would mean setting up a lot of jobs, like logistics shops and dry goods stores, and then you tell me to change the "railway line" route? No wonder we'd lose everything.

"Don't worry. It shouldn't be the worst-case scenario. It might even be a good thing."

Rean thought for a moment, then smiled and comforted Dimon.

On the one hand, he had gone through the passage on his own and reached the other side of the underground river by steamship, but he did not go any further.

Judging from the feeling of descending the slope by boat and the texture of the soil on the other side of the shore, it should be much deeper than this side.

On the other hand, it is even more convincing.
“We didn’t encounter any cultists, did we? I’ve inquired, and we haven’t seen the Beast Cult in this shallow area. They must be deeper inside, and that passage should lead to their original area of ​​activity.”

Rean's words were very honest. He patted Dimon on the shoulder, knowing that Dimon was just being impatient and making a fuss.

"From a macro perspective, the Mirror Demon will accelerate its exploration efforts, and deeper passages will become more valuable. Didn't we previously think the danger was too high to explore? With development, our passages will become more valuable."

Dimon nodded; he hoped so too, however...
"It would be best to..."

"Yes, we'll start preparing as soon as we get back; we really can't delay. Let's make a 'find the item' marker here."

"Uh, it's a bit expensive."

“It’s worth it. I’ll ask Sallyman for help; she should have a third-ring mage on her side.”

"Item Tracking Mark" is a rather useless third-tier spell. He first developed it, and it was actually an "anti-theft magic".

It's like putting a semi-permanent mark on your personal belongings, so that if it's lost, you can activate the mark to sense and find its location.

The reason it's considered useless is that, as a semi-permanent consequence, the mark itself has very weak perceptibility.

This also means that its perceptible range is not long, possibly only three or four kilometers at most.

Weak imprints are also very likely to be affected or blocked for various reasons.

The old thieves will use a few low-level magical items placed together to interfere with your senses.

There are similar spells at higher levels, but as a permanent "change of status," they consume too much resources and are therefore even less cost-effective.

Its effectiveness in preventing theft is subtle, but underground explorers have found another use for it.

This means that if you leave marked items in a maze or underground ruin, they will provide guidance when you want to return after reaching a certain point.

"Buy a few more items, we'll use our funds. It's normal operating expense." Dimon was quite open-minded; this was official business on his side, and there was no reason for his senior to suffer a loss.

Dimon immediately understood. Rean meant to drop the items at this forward base, then enter through the dock area passage, and use the coordinates to navigate upwards. This way, they might find a connecting path and be able to determine the elevation and location of the dock area passage from one side.

If it really isn't far from here, there are new development paths for that passage.

Unexpected developments accelerated everyone's progress, and before the storm actually hits them, no one can be sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Let's go. We'll make preparations when we get back, and we'll set off within three days."

Rean made a promise; this matter really couldn't be delayed.

While the royal family is investing heavily in development, our own small business has to find a way to integrate into their trend and avoid losing our investment.

Meanwhile, Rean can relax a little.

The "Snake's Pact" still weighs on him, and if he remains underground, he actually has no other options.

Following the snake's suggested actions feels like a trap; should I just choose the worst option?
"Ah, the sunshine, it feels so good."

Even though it's only for two days, the comfortable sunshine still makes people feel genuinely comfortable.

After all, most life forms are creatures that crave sunlight.
"That's not necessarily true. Some lives die in the light, while for others, the night is their day."

The snake, which had wandered off somewhere, suddenly reappeared on Rean's shoulder.

He lay listlessly on Rean, who was surprised that he couldn't smell any alcohol.

"Where have you been gallivanting off to?"

"It's so painful! Being a teacher is so painful! Being a stupid teacher is so painful! Being a lazy, stupid teacher is hell! I want to die! Ah, I'm already dead! Why do I have to suffer like this even after I'm dead?!"

The snake rolled around on Rean's head, coiled around his neck, and almost knocked him to the ground.

Rean was starting to wonder just how amazing his new junior brothers and sisters were, given that they could turn snakes into this.

But after rolling over, the snake glanced at Rean. He sighed, wondering why this man looked like he was about to die again.

Other heroes can just lie around doing nothing, so why do I have to act as a babysitter and keep them alive when it comes to myself?

"Why don't we just let him die? After all, if we look at the cause and effect, it's Li Ensu's fault."

The snake was thinking of giving up and running away. But when he thought about the gifts he had just given out and those troublesome genius disciples, he sighed and said...

"Li En, you must try to live." For the first time, the snake felt a little sorry for Li Ensu. How could Li Ensu bear the huge blame for the past Thousand-Faced Dragon?

"I suggest you strengthen the awakening of the dragon vein, the sooner the better." In Rean's current state, he is certain to die.

The opponent they might encounter this time is quite troublesome, and even the snake itself would least like to face such trouble. After all, no one wants to encounter one of their natural enemies on a physiological level.

The cryptic words made Rean frown.

He naturally wanted to further awaken the dragon vein, but could this be done quickly?
"Awaken your dragon wings as soon as possible, or at least upgrade your dragon eyes by one level, otherwise... tsk tsk tsk... Anyway, good luck, and try to survive."

The snake's words made Rean uneasy, but when he tried to ask something else, the snake vanished without a trace.

"Damn riddle teller."

As Rean complained about the riddle of a snake, a dark shadow was flying at high speed across the mountains and the horizon.

Those were black shadows with outstretched wings, giant black beasts like clouds; they arrived very quickly.

The enormous shadow, which was large enough to block out the sunlight, was completely unnoticed by the farmland and guesthouses it passed through, as if the shadow in the sky did not exist.

Meanwhile, another convoy heading to the same destination was still ahead of them.

They were on the main road to Radiant City, with vehicles and people stretching far along the hillside.

Its sheer size, stretching as far as the eye could see, made it more like a marching legion than a convoy.

The massive caravan carried supplies and a large number of escorting knights. On one of the largest and most luxurious carriages was a white lion emblem with a crown.

In this country, only two people are allowed to use this emblem, one of whom is already in Radiant City.

"I made quite a few gold coins on this trip. Adventurers make a good profit." Rean himself was still happily counting his gains from his first adventure.

(End of this chapter)