Sixth Ring Wizard

Chapter 55 River Town

After Hellfoot arrived at the post station, Hrag and the others boarded the vehicle one after another. They needed to take Hellfoot to the Red Mountains, which is the eastern border of Moonglade.

Beyond that point lies territory outside Moonglade.

As soon as Herag got out of the car, he saw the endless red mountain range in front of him.

The rocks here are relatively soft and have a bright red color.

Many maple trees grow in the mountains, creating a fiery red world in autumn.

After arriving at the Red Mountain Inn, Hellfoot walked to a manger and ate some fresh grass, then drank a lot of water.

After it had eaten and drunk its fill, it stood still and looked at Helag and the others, its hooves pounding the ground a few times.

Bessie stroked Hellfoot's head and said, "You go back first, little one, we won't take the car."

As if understanding, Hellfoot pulled the cart back alone.

There was an ordinary carriage at the Hellfoot Inn, driven by a shrewd young man who was waiting there early as Bessie had arranged.

"Get in the car. Let's try to reach the town of Riverside tonight so we won't have to camp in the wild." After saying that, Bessie lifted the curtain and got in first.

Helag followed closely behind. The carriage was quite spacious, with soft cushions on the seats, making it very comfortable to sit in.

Bessie's long legs felt a bit cramped in the carriage, and she had to adjust her leg position from time to time to make herself more comfortable.

Emma and Bessie were good friends. After getting on the bus, they talked about all sorts of trivial things, such as which third-class wizard apprentice slept with whom at night in order to get promoted, or who had a third party involved in another person's relationship.

Neither Hrag nor Locke spoke. After getting into the car, Locke remained behind closed doors, seemingly meditating.

Heragra opened the car window curtains, secured them with hooks, and looked out at the scenery.

This was his first time venturing out of Moonlight Grove.

Outside the car were rows and rows of maple forests, and at first, there was no sign of any human activity.

After the carriage had been traveling for about two hours, we gradually saw some people logging in the forest. Occasionally, we could see some wooden houses in the woods, which were probably places where loggers and hunters from the surrounding area rested.

Another half hour passed, and the maple forest gradually receded behind, revealing a wider variety of scenery outside the car.

They were going to the Thousand Needles Stone Forest to find the Stone Giant, a journey that would take about three days. Their first stop was the town of Riverside.

Heragra pulled up the carriage curtain and began to meditate with his eyes closed. About five hours later, the carriage gradually slowed down.

"We've arrived," the coachman said respectfully, pulling back the carriage curtain to inform the wizard apprentices inside.

After getting off the bus, Helag found himself in a peaceful-looking town. It was already dark, and the town was unusually quiet with few people around.

A wide river flows through the town of Hejian, its waters gurgling gently.

"Riverside Inn"

Herag followed Bessie and the others to an inn. Two lamps hung at the entrance of the River Inn, emitting a pale yellow light.

"The rooms I prepared for you are upstairs; you're the only guests upstairs tonight," the driver, who turned out to be the innkeeper, said solicitously, leading the way.

The lobby on the first floor of the hotel is filled with tables, which are where guests eat and drink.

There were four tables of people sitting in the hall, some of whom were local residents and others were adventurers with swords.

The moment Hrag and his companions entered the inn, they attracted the attention of the others. Upon seeing the robes they wore, the others' expressions turned horrified and fearful.

They glanced at it once and then lowered their heads, not daring to look again. The entire inn became very quiet.

Herag saw a bearded man struggling to control his breathing, seemingly afraid to even breathe loudly.

"They seem very afraid of us," Herag said after going upstairs.

Bessie turned around and said, "That's normal. This place is relatively close to the wizarding community, so quite a few people know about the existence of wizards. Once we go a little further out, people in those areas will basically not know about the existence of wizards."

After a while, when the group went downstairs to have a meal, they found that the lobby on the first floor was empty.

Herag asked, "Where are they?"

The coachman bent over and smiled, "They've all left. Those who had accommodations have vacated, so as not to disturb the gentlemen's rest."

……

Two days later, Herag and his companions arrived at Thousand Needles on horseback.

The terrain here is very unique; the overall topography is a sunken valley. There are countless tall stone pillars in the valley, each hundreds of meters high.

The Thousand Needle Stone Forest has very little vegetation; it's mostly just bare yellow earth.

Even a slight breeze can stir up clouds of dust in the stone forest.

Locke walked in front and said to the others behind him, "Be careful once we go in. This is a completely neutral zone, and we could encounter people from any wizarding organization. If we run into anyone from Green Hut, we must be extra cautious."

Herag kept a close eye on Deep Blue's environmental monitoring throughout, and so far there were no unusual developments.

Locke held an hourglass in his hand. Every time he moved a certain distance in one direction, if the hourglass flipped automatically, he would adjust his direction and continue moving forward.

The Thousand Needle Stone Forest is very large, and the terrain is similar, making it easy to get lost. Stone giants usually hide deep in the stone forest, and sometimes they will bury themselves in the ground.

Locke's hourglass seemed to be able to locate the stone giant, and it kept guiding the group as they adjusted their direction throughout the stone forest.

Although Hellagur could use Deep Blue to help search for the location of the Stone Giant, this was his personal secret, and he naturally wouldn't reveal it.

In his mind, the map of the Thousand Needle Stone Forest was gradually being completed, with a red line clearly marking their path from when they entered the stone forest until now.

An hour later.

Locke suddenly stopped, and the hourglass in his hand began to spin rapidly and wildly.

"Found it, it's nearby, be careful." He put away the hourglass and closed his eyes.

Herag could sense a magical energy emanating from Locke, rapidly sweeping across the surroundings.

"It seems to be magic perception, and the range is really large." Herag estimated that Locke's magic perception range was about seventy to eighty meters.

After Locke activated his magical perception, the group slowed down their pace.

Soon, Herag noticed a huge creature lying underground behind a stone pillar about 200 meters ahead, seemingly hibernating.

"The Stone Giant." Herag didn't speak after spotting the Stone Giant, but continued to advance silently, ready to retreat at any moment.

Locke's magical perception range was still a little short of being able to detect the stone giant's location.

After a short while, Locke stopped with a serious expression, pointed to the stone pillar in front of him, and said, "It's hidden underground behind that stone pillar."

"Hrag, find a place to hide. Come back after we've dealt with things here. Be careful," Bessie instructed.

Hrag nodded: "Okay, you guys go ahead."

(End of this chapter)