The Villain's Story

Chapter 671: [671] Convoy.

The convoy was proceeding smoothly, despite Elijahʼs expectations.

”Hmm.”

He hummed a soft tune, sitting on top of one of the vehicles and feeling the wind caress his face. He hadnʼt expected such a leisurely journey. He had, at the very least, guessed that there would be one monster attack.

Either humanity had gotten rid of the monsters in the vicinity of the first city Gigantium, or the monsters were being held at bay by the numerous artifacts and other measures taken by the association.

It was a wonder how they worked, but also not in his interests to figure them out. Serena was there to take care of all that. He wondered why Harrison even sent him here on a mission like this.

If it was going to be so peaceful, he wouldnʼt have come here. He hadnʼt even met the famed mammoths and yetiʼs that he was warned about. S-rank monsters that had to migrate because of the destruction of their previous habitat.

But there hadnʼt been anything, the path to the north had been clear, so Elijah just decided to enjoy the scenery. A crude road had already been built towards the location, so they just had to follow it.

He wasnʼt doing this for no reason at all, not only was he allowing his tired mind to relax, but was also actively scanning the surroundings to prevent any mishaps. There was also another reason.

Previously, whilst they were making their journey towards the designated location, he had encountered a field of flowers that were ruthlessly being harvested by Twilight officials. He thought there was meaning behind it, maybe used for medical purposes, like the creation of potions...

But he was wrong, they werenʼt harvesting those flowers to use them, they were burning them all up. He found this out the hard way when he sneaked towards them and fell flat on his face when he got near one of the containers.

The convoy had to make an entire stop to retrieve him, and he was out for a reasonably long time, too. Apparently, those flowers had a weakening effect on young dragons...

Alan and Kazikato had been dealt pretty hard by them when they visited Gigantia, and Elijah was no different. Richard, the guild leader of Twilight, apparently had plans to make those flowers extinct.

It was an embarrassing moment for him... He had gone there, doing his absolute best to remain hidden to steal, but it backfired.

ʼKarma.ʼ

He thought, gazing ahead with a melancholic stare. He was getting bored, if he was being honest. Everyone was busy with their own stuff, Henry was busy sleeping, Serena was doing her own work, whilst Gary was getting ready for his job.

It was going to be difficult when they would reach the area, he hoped something would pop up to entertain him.

But sadly, as time passed and night turned to day, nothing happened. The convoy continued the march even in the dead of the night, basking in the light of the moon and the stars up above. Which were much clearer and more beautiful than on Earth.

Nothing happened, and Elijah was on the verge of kicking his feet to alleviate some of it. Thankfully, they reached the location before he had to resort to such.

ʼOh, I can already feel it.ʼ

Based on the reports, the convoy was to establish a proper base for the association in front of a large ravine that spat out ridiculous amounts of mana, and figure out a way to mine the precious and mystical materials deep below.

Harrison was extremely interested in those materials, apparently. He had fought hard with Twilight to get the rights to that location.

”Whew!”

Jumping down from the vehicle he was sitting on, he stretched with a smile on his face, happily walking towards the front of the gates. A small base had already been established here, the convoy had brought the supplies they desperately needed as well as more personnel. The associationʼs workers opened up the gate as soon as they caught sight of him, lowering their weapons and looking relatively relieved.

”Is the situation that bad?”

Just what could be going on that they were that relieved to see them, and opened the gates without even verifying their identities? The soldiers were probably tired, from what, though, piqued his interest.

Ignoring it all, he performed his duties as the leader of the convoy and joined Serena, going towards the ravine.

A safe line had been built around the massive crack in the earth, and Serena couldnʼt get too close, lest she be blown away by the mana currents. Elijah fared better, but even he couldnʼt descend into it.

”Damn... Thatʼs a lot of mana.”

He whistled, peering deep into the blue abyss. The mana inside was so dense, no wonder nobody could safely make it inside to harvest the materials. The amount of mana was

blocking all entry.

Even if a forceful attempt was made, all that awaited was destruction, swallowed up by the dense mana.

”Itʼs off the charts.”

He heard Serenaʼs voice from behind, she was holding a tablet in one of her hands and crouched, examining the soil beneath her.

”Yeah, I can see that.”

Elijah replied, trying his best not to be swept by the currents as he got closer to the ravine. He had to use his own mana to keep most of it at bay, but he had to be careful, a single mistake would cause the mana to go berserk, or worse.

ʼBoom.ʼ

He shuddered, and asked Serena.

”So, do you have a plan?”

She didnʼt answer for a while, a grim look apparent on her delicate face.

”If Iʼm being honest, we might have to dig around it to get whatever is inside, we did bring every item we had that could help... But the chances are slim.”

Elijah silently listened, using [Dragon Eyes] to spot any unique material he could find beneath, he found a lot, but he had to stop the usage of [Dragon Eyes] before it, quite

literally, turned him blind.

He was regretting not taking the chance to sleep, nothing had happened anyway... he probably

should have slept.

”I guess you have to go down there yourself, Good Luck!”

She said, Elijah sighed and opened the [Store] of his system. Alan and Kazikato may not have

had a way to get down there due to the harsh conditions... But he did.

Albeit costly.