Chapter 124: Earth-Shattering News

Chu Yun had already obtained the loot in the Mirror World, but he had yet to plunder the spoils in reality.

During the earlier flight when he had lured the enemy away, Chu Yun’s spatial ring had collected quite a number of scales from the Earth-Eating Beast. Aside from its scales, the creature possessed many other valuable treasures.

Unfortunately, the Earth-Eating Beast had been shattered from within by the Fire Element Lord, leaving scarcely a single undamaged part of its body. By now, Chu Yun’s mental power had already been greatly depleted. On top of that, the Poison Mist Wyvern was watching him covetously, while the Blackstone Knights and the Mage Guild might return at any moment. He therefore had to gather the spoils as quickly as possible.

For magical beasts, especially high-ranking ones, the most valuable possession was the magic core within their bodies.

Low-ranking magical beasts relied on their bloodlines to cast spells, whereas the power of high-ranking magical beasts was condensed into magic cores, allowing it to be released more easily. Unlike elemental crystals, magical-beast cores could be charged repeatedly. Their charging efficiency was higher and their energy loss lower, making them core components in many magical devices.

Chu Yun extended his perception and flew along the Earth-Eating Beast from head to tail. He soon discovered the location where the elemental concentration was abnormal.

Unlike fire-type cores, which were prone to self-detonating before a magical beast’s death, earth-aligned cores were more stable and resilient, and thus had the highest survival rate.

The Earth-Eating Beast was already dead. Its scales and hide had weakened considerably, and with its insides already damaged, harvesting the core was relatively simple.

The location of this Earth-Eating Beast’s core was somewhat unusual. It lay near the kidneys. Chu Yun used Annihilation Divine Lightning to clear away the residual earth-elemental power, then laboriously began digging with a blade.

It was fortunate that his strength and physique were far beyond those of an ordinary mage. Otherwise, he probably would not have been able to dig it out at all.

After working for some time, Chu Yun realized that this would not do. The explosion had ended, and the flames were gradually dying out in the swampy environment. Before long, other creatures would likely return. Chu Yun also did not want the Blackstone Knights or the Mage Guild to see him here.

He checked the mental power he had left. He had not had a moment to rest from morning until night, but fortunately, he possessed the ability to convert life force and was able to replenish a considerable amount of mental power instantly.

Chu Yun then began frantically unleashing Mana Bursts, blasting a bloody passage toward the core.

After firing ten Mana Bursts in succession, he finally blasted open the thick flesh.

When only a short distance remained, Chu Yun withdrew his spells and once again used his blade to cut through the tissue.

Soon, a yellow magic core appeared before him.

The core was not as large as he had imagined, but it was still considerably bigger than those of ordinary magical beasts.

An ordinary magical beast’s core was only about the size of a quail’s egg. The core of this legendary sixth-tier creature, however, was the size of a fist.

The bottom of the core gleamed with a golden radiance, while the upper portion remained a comparatively dim yellow. As long as it was continuously supplied with energy, the entire core could eventually be filled with gold.

At that moment, the parched ground began softening into a swamp, and the Earth-Eating Beast’s body started sinking.

Several venomous needles flew toward him. Chu Yun hurriedly activated his Flight Wings and dodged their assault. The attack had been launched too hastily to hit him; the culprit was the Poison Mist Wyvern.

The creature did not continue attacking Chu Yun in the sky. Instead, it accelerated the process of turning the ground into a swamp, then dragged the Earth-Eating Beast’s corpse into it.

“You dare steal my spoils? I’ll deal with you properly when I get the chance!” Chu Yun grumbled in frustration. But by then, he had already sensed the scouts of the knights approaching in earnest.

He avoided the scouts’ direction and flew some distance away along the flank before beginning to ascend. Once he reached a sufficient height, the people below could no longer see him. He increased his speed and flew toward Blackstone City.

Although this battle had ended, the true age of chaos had only just begun. He needed to return to the city as soon as possible and raise his level.

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The Fire Element Lord’s self-detonation dispersed the poisonous mist, allowing the members of the Blackstone Knights to enter once again.

However, when they reached the central area of the swamp, they found no trace of the Earth-Eating Beast. There was only the endlessly roiling poisonous mire, with bones and scales occasionally surfacing from within.

Soon, Haig and the returning Nelson also arrived at the scene on their Flight Wings.

“What—what happened here? The Earth-Eating Beast just died like that?” Nelson could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Haig was equally astonished, but he was more practical. He had already begun ordering his men to collect the bones and scales floating to the surface of the swamp. These were all valuable treasures and could be sold for quite a sum of money.

The money would be distributed as additional compensation to the families of the knights who had died. As for the buyers and the price, Haig declared that he was willing to purchase the entire batch of spoils himself.

Seeing this, Nelson also joined in and collected several pieces for later study. In fact, numerous scales that had been shot away but never recovered were scattered throughout the surrounding area. It seemed that adventurers would soon be receiving a large number of quests to collect them.

“I never expected the Poison Mist Wyvern to be so powerful that it could even kill an Earth-Eating Beast…” Haig stared at the surface of the swamp in confusion. By then, several magical beasts had already begun gathering in the area.

“It probably isn’t that simple. We should leave for now. If we incur the Poison Mist Wyvern’s displeasure, we’ll be the ones to suffer.” Nelson had sensed the warning emanating from the wyvern. If they did not leave immediately, a battle was likely to break out.

“Damn it! What exactly happened here?” Haig was utterly helpless.

For the first time, he felt so powerless. When facing the Earth-Eating Beast, he, a fourth-tier knight, had been of almost no use at all. The sensation of helplessness made him uneasy, and he could not help recalling the divine fragment he had encountered in the Blackstone Forest.

“If only I hadn’t lost that fragment. If I had absorbed it…”

Unfortunately, the world did not offer so many second chances. Once something was gone, it was gone.

“No. I have to become stronger. I’m going to search for divine fragments!” Haig made a decision. He would request leave—or simply resign—and set out to search for divine fragments.

Compared with Nelson, he was still very young. Nelson no longer had the energy to venture outside in search of treasure, but Haig was still in the prime of his life.

After Haig and the others confirmed the situation, they hurriedly withdrew from the swamp, where the poisonous mist was beginning to gather again. They also reported the situation to the city lord at the earliest opportunity.

What they received in response, however, was startling news.

“What? His Majesty is close to losing the ability to hold on?” Haig could not help crying out.

Nelson, standing beside him, was immediately alarmed. “What happened? Is the information reliable?”

Haig drew a deep breath, his expression extraordinarily complicated. He ordered the knights to continue ahead, leaving himself alone with Nelson.

“I don’t know the details either, but the message came from the city lord. It should be genuine.”

“Didn’t they say he could hold on for at least several more months? Why did something have to happen at a time like this?” Haig was deeply suspicious that there was more to the matter than met the eye.

“Fortunately—fortunately, the Earth-Eating Beast is dead. The First Prince should have returned, shouldn’t he? Otherwise, the kingdom may descend into chaos.” Nelson frowned. As one of the kingdom’s more loyal supporters of the king, he was visibly worried.

“Not necessarily. Things may become even more chaotic now. We must prepare our defenses as quickly as possible, lest a neighboring country take advantage of the situation.” Haig sighed. His plan to resign would probably have to be put on hold.

Blackstone City was one of the kingdom’s frontier cities. If war broke out with a neighboring country, Blackstone City would be the first to bear the brunt.

Nelson then used his Flight Wings to return to Blackstone City ahead of the others, while Haig ordered his men to hasten their march home.