If the Guardian, a person from one of the scattered tribes in the realm was able to become humanity's biggest pillar, who could say that none of these tribal people could become the second Guardian?
"Wermon, what are you thinking?" A woman said as she walked next to Wermon
She has short brown hair that doesn't even reach her shoulders as if she cut her hair short so that it wouldn't get in the way of her battle. Her mage robe was not too tight nor too loose which is perfect for moving around. Her emerald green eyes stared at Wermon with deep affection
"Nothing, I was just thinking about how I could convince them to join the City of Hope" Wermon answered while staring at the sea of clouds
He doesn't plan on forcing the tribes to become part of the City of Hope. Some of them surely placed importance on their homes and they would not be willing to relocate
Wermon doesn't plan on forcing the tribes but the others are different. If the tribes that he would visit refuse then the others given the same mission might come and force them
That is not something that he wishes to happen not only because he is not that kind of person but also because of his respect for the Guardian. The Guardian doesn't want to force the tribes and Wermon would adhere to that
However, Wermon has years of experience and he is not a naive kid. He is aware that not everyone is like him
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure that if you reach out to them with sincerity, they will be moved and agree" the woman replied with a gentle smile and Wermon nodded his head
"I hope you're right, Philome" Wermon muttered with a sigh although he was still visibly worried
Philome stared at Wermon and seeing that he was still down, she tried to think of a way to cheer him up. After some time, her eyes twinkled and she retrieved her magic wand
Philome pointed her wand at the sea of clouds and using simple magic, the clouds parted making the scenery below visible
The flying ship is currently traveling in the Plains of the Giants and from this high altitude, even if the giants are several to more than a dozen meters tall, they would still look like ants
"Look! Isn't the view pretty?" Philome said while pointing at the large plain below. Since it is currently winter, the plain that should have vibrant green leaves are covered with a thick layer of white snow, it really was a painting-perfect scenery
If not for the formations that the flying ship has, it might have been covered by snow too
"Umm, you're right" Wermon nodded his head before he raised his eyebrows
"Trees... we are approaching the Drakery Forest" he muttered and as if in time, an announcement rang
"Everyone, we are approaching the Drakery Forest, all mages should ready themselves!"
"Because this is the place where the Drake King lives, we cannot enter the forest using the flying ship"
"We would fly around the forest and from there, you will disembark when your codes are mentioned"
Using the help of magic, everyone on the ship could hear the announcement and all the mages started to tidy themselves. Many of which have evil smirks on their faces
They are imagining how they would become Kings today. In the City of Hope where countless Junior Mages live, people at their level don't amount to much
However, in these scattered tribes, they have more than enough power to dominate them
Humans have always wanted to be above others especially so for those that are at the bottom. These people would surely enjoy themselves today
Just like what the announcement said, the flying ship didn't enter the forest as they are afraid to provoke the Drake King
Aside from the Guardian, the people of the City of Hope also knew the Drake King. He is a fearsome existence that no one wanted to provoke whether it be the magic beasts or humans
However, while the Drake King is a terrifying existence, he is also the type of person that everyone would prefer to meet instead of strong mages or magic beasts
The reason is simple and that is the Drake King's eccentricity. He clearly has the power to be above others
No one knows what kind of existence he is whether he be a human, a demihuman, or a magic beast but he refuses to join any faction
Everyone that provoked him and causes the Drakery Forest to become noisy dies while those that didn't provoke him survived even if they met face to face
As long as you don't anger the Drake King, he would treat you no better than one would treat invisible air
As such, while everyone is afraid of him, they also know that as long as they don't provoke him, they would be able to keep their lives
"Mage A6-2987 and Mage A5-4215, Mage A4-6456 disembark. You three are to convince the tribes within a radius of 5 kilometers to join our City of Hope"
Three mages are called and since they are disciplined soldiers, they didn't need to be told twice. Many of the mages here might have nasty personalities and evil intent but that kind of personality is not allowed when receiving missions and orders
They could show their evil side to the tribal people but clearly not while in the presence of the military!
The three jumped directly on the deck of the flying ship. Because of the laws of this realm, Junior Mages cannot fly freely in the air but they all have their flying sticks
While the common flying sticks cannot fly at this altitude, all they have to do is jump and when they are low enough, they could then use their flying sticks to prevent turning into meat paste after smashing on the ground
After the three mages jumped, the ship started circling the Drakery Forest, not daring to enter it
Every five kilometers, mages would jump from the deck of the ships until finally, it was Wermon and Philome's turn
Just like the others, they jumped from the deck of the ship. Winds hit their bodies causing their clothes and hair to flutter
They are falling down at an extremely fast speed and those with weak stomachs would surely throw up and some might even faint. The temperature is also enough to freeze people to death but fortunately, everyone's attires are engraved with formations that could regulate temperature and prevent the wearer from freezing or dying from the heat. Of course, these clothes have their limitations but the weather in this place is still within its limits
Whether it be Wermon or Philome, both of them easily endured the free fall. Soon, the trees covered with snow became bigger and bigger in their vision and that is when they took out their flying sticks from their storage
——
Waterside Tribe
It has been a month since winter arrived and Rezen could be seen traveling inside the Drakery Forest despite the thick snow
He found out how much he was really lacking. In a month, he barely made a progress whether it be in his cultivation or alchemy practice
He is aware that mages at his level don't grow strong easily nor was it easy for an alchemist to create mana elixirs but Rezen is aware that those with enough talent would progress tens of times faster than him
After a month of struggle, he doesn't have much progress and Rezen decided that he cannot let the situation goes on
Although rare, there are still precious treasures of heaven and earth that could raise a mage's aptitude
Rezen wants to find those treasures and increase his natural aptitude. However, those treasures in themselves are rare, what more in this area of the Drakery Forest that has an abnormally low mana level?
The mana level of an area although not absolute still indicates the quality of resources that would grow on it
It would be hard to find the kind of treasure that Rezen wants to have. Maybe, if he were to enter the deepest parts of the forest, he might find one of those treasures but even a Junior Mage couldn't survive there
Rezen is still just a 1st cycle Junior Mage, he doesn't have the ability to freely go wherever he wants to
Every time that Rezen breaths, cold smoke would appear due to the freezing temperature
He was covered with thick beast skin but it was not enough to completely shield him from the cold. Even now, Rezen is shivering but he was determined to increase his aptitude
This level of cold is still something that he could endure
Rezen's eyes were burning with resolve but at the same time, his senses were working at their full capacity
He would avoid magic beasts as much as he could to prevent unnecessary battles
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺