After leaving Anilo City, the mission followed the planned route from north to south, traversing the entire Criv Kingdom.
Next, they would not enter the central area of the bordering Bolt Kingdom, as this country was not a vassal of the Human United Kingdom, and its centralized power was too weak, leading to a situation of chaos and various contingencies.
Felina’s plan was to take a detour through the neighboring country of the Bolt Kingdom, a nation that had stood in this area for over three hundred years and ranked among the top three in the entire Borderlands.
Although this country was not a vassal of the Human United Kingdom, there was usually much interaction between the two nations, forming a cooperative relationship. They had already agreed to the request from the Human United Kingdom.
As for the question of how to proceed on the route, Violet naturally didn’t care. After all, she couldn’t explore the entire Borderlands in a single trip. As long as she could eventually reach the Azure Sky Kingdom, it was fine.
The country that the mission would pass through was called the Norbros Iron-Blood Empire.
Although relatively powerful, it was still a small country compared to the Human United Kingdom. Its territory was approximately one-tenth the size of the Human United Kingdom, just reaching the threshold of one million square kilometers.
This Nobos Iron-Blood Empire was originally conquered by force, and its domestic governance still maintained a semi-militarized system with a prevalent martial spirit.
Although the population was only slightly over twenty million, the citizens were mostly of mixed races, known for their fierceness and martial prowess. Even many women carried swords when they went out.
Due to the high proportion of half-beastmen, this country was also known as the 【The Little Beast Kingdom in the Far South】. The former “Battle Maniac” (Epunia) was a Nobos native, showcasing his martial prowess in friendly matches, defeating many strong opponents and gaining widespread fame.
Therefore, when the mission entered the territory of the Nobos Iron-Blood Empire, the overall atmosphere immediately changed. The proportion of pure humans significantly decreased, and the encountered beings transformed into half-beastmen various mixed races, and even a small number of winged individuals.
However, despite their fierceness, the residents of the Nobos Iron-Blood Empire were not fools. It was impossible for them to perform any tricks in front of several thousand armed guards. They merely cast curious glances and watched the mission pass by.
Along the way, although Violet mostly stayed in the carriage, she overheard many passersby, including members of the mission and their guards, discussing the recent miracle of turning night into day and purifying the entire Forest of Calamity.
They were probably talking about the 【Eternal Light’s Protection】.
Even among the various 10th-tier Holy Light spells, the 【Eternal Light’s Protection】 was particularly impressive in terms of both its range and impact.
Although at the time, Violet had only spread it to cover the entire Forest of Calamity and had not fully activated it to its maximum potential, in that night, a huge light shield covering thousands of square kilometers and rising kilometers high could likely be witnessed in most of the Borderlands, even in many surrounding areas.
It was natural that such a phenomenon would cause a sensation.
However, Violet had anticipated similar situations and had already informed a few companions, mainly Mr. Epunia, the Adventurers’ Guild President of Anilo City. She advised him not to publicize the matter everywhere, especially not to expose Violet’s name.
Otherwise, given the priestess’s style of doing things, it would likely take only a few similar incidents for her name to become widely known, which would undoubtedly be troublesome.
At present, although many people were discussing the matter, exploring its origins, and even astutely linking the topic to the long-absent “Southern Calamity,” few knew who the instigator was.
This was exactly the result Violet wanted.
Although the Borderlands could be considered treacherous for ordinary people, the massive mission sent by the Human United Kingdom, escorted by three thousand strong soldiers and experts, naturally deterred common criminals and even made them actively avoid the mission.
In addition to the coordinators, led by Lilya and Felina, who had already planned the safest route, the journey was naturally worry-free all the way.
Compared to the stretch where Violet and a few others ventured deep into the Bolt Kingdom, the journey with the mission, although comfortable, was somewhat boring.
While Xiao Guang and Leila and Rene enjoyed the card games provided by the priestess, Violet herself began to feel a bit restless.
Especially since the caravan had traveled for a whole half month through the Nobos Iron-Blood Empire without encountering a single battle or even a skirmish.
Therefore, Violet decided to find something entertaining for herself... some new activity to pass the overly dull journey.
Inside the carriage, the priestess took out the sample of “Calamity” that she had extracted from the three adventurers back in Anilo City. It had been sealed in a specially crafted crystal bottle.
Ever since Violet shattered the behind-the-scenes manipulator of [Illusionary Cloud], the fragment of the Goddess of Earth Seth, hidden underground, the spirituality contained in these “Calamities” had significantly diminished. Even when sealed in a bottle, one could feel this change.
In other words, they were no longer special creatures with some intelligence but were closer to some kind of pure energy entity.
According to the other Seth in the Sky Goddess statue, the “Calamity” itself was the manifestation of the authority of the deceased Goddess of Earth, similar to creatures or symbols created by laws.
Since the master who controlled it has disappeared, Violet wondered if she could take over and even cultivate and use this power herself.
Violet is very powerful, that’s without a doubt.
However, she has never been arrogant enough to think that she is an absolutely invincible existence. [Calamity] is unique to this world, a power system unheard of in [Illusory World]. Studying it might help the priestess, who is already at a high level, to further understand and develop her abilities.
Although the manifestation of [Calamity] seems terrifying, the power itself has no inherent distinction between good and evil. The key lies only in the mentality of its manipulator, doesn’t it?
Seeing Violet take out a small bottle containing a small amount of gray mist, the dragon lady and two winged individuals, who were immersed in figuring out how to play cards, turned their curious eyes towards her.
They naturally recognize what it is.
“Master, why did you take this thing out?”
“I want to conduct a little experiment. Xiao Guang, can you accompany me outside?”
The dragon lady immediately placed a stack of cards back on the table, nodding without hesitation.
“Of course, no problem. Now?”
“Yeah, do you two want to come as well?”
After some thought, the priest decided to ask Leila and Rene.
“Alright, Lady Violet, please allow us a moment to tidy up.”
With that, the two sisters quickly tidied up the scattered pile of cards on the table, neatly stacked them, and put them into a specially designed bag. Despite having hundreds of cards, the entire process took only about a minute. It was evident that they had become quite proficient in the art of shuffling.
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Limited to card-shuffling skills.
Afterwards, they greeted Miss Edwina, who was driving the Qilin Beast outside the vehicle, and temporarily left the expedition.
Anyway, the experiment wouldn’t take long, and with the convoy’s relatively slow speed, they could easily catch up later.
Dealing with something as ominous-looking as [Calamity], it would be best to find a secluded corner for the experiment.