Upon finding Zephyr's old lair, the captain didn't need his subordinates to explain; he could already tell that this cave indeed had traces of a dragon, with the claw marks on the walls being particularly evident.
However, the size of the cave clearly wasn't large enough to accommodate an adult dragon, meaning that the young dragon here had been living alone all along?
This made him think of the battle signs they found earlier. If there really was a young dragon here without a mother dragon's care, it would be natural for someone to take action given the immense value of a dragon.
"What is this? A spell?" The captain noticed the '正' character Zephyr had once carved on the wall and asked one of his team members beside him. None of them recognized Chinese characters.
"It doesn't seem like it." The questioned member shook his head and quickly noted down the characters on the wall. Though they couldn't read it, there were knowledgeable people in the Church who might understand it, potentially providing valuable information.
After all, these unreadable characters appeared orderly and weren't random scribbles.
Continuing their search in the cave, the team left empty-handed and returned to the town. The mage squad left behind had made some progress in breaking the seal on the Mercenary Guild branch. The originally tough seal gradually faded under their efforts.
They could vaguely see inside the branch and even gathered some information through various detection methods. What they found was startling: the internal space of the branch had been forcibly expanded several times over, and all the townspeople were stuffed inside, in a state of suspended animation.
Such a discovery made the captain's expression turn grave. Whoever could do something like this... definitely wasn't ordinary. Upon confirming that the townspeople were not dead, his expression slightly eased.
While such power was formidable, the fact that the perpetrator hadn't killed anyone suggested that they weren't evil or at least didn't seek trouble. Either way, it was good news. More details would have to wait until they rescued the people here.
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Meanwhile, Zephyr dragged his dragon face forward, with Loris still sitting on his back, showing no intention of getting off. Although she wasn't heavy, her fingers occasionally brushed against Zephyr's neck, enjoying the sensation of touching a living creature.
As for other creatures?
Zephyr had seen a rabbit decay into ashes under Loris' touch and never mentioned anything related again. She was indeed dangerous, but when she wasn't emitting her "deterrence," living creatures seemed to enjoy approaching her. Even if she didn't actively reach out to them, the creatures would willingly approach and touch her, like moths to a flame. It was quite strange, but Loris offered no additional explanation.
She simply said as long as Zephyr wasn't affected, she was harmless to him...
"Where are we going next?"
"To the Illusionary Demon Forest."
"Uh, that doesn't sound like a nice place?" Zephyr suppressed his urge to criticize the name.
"Indeed, it's not a pleasant place, but it's not terrible either," Loris explained. "I have a home there."
"...From your words, you have many homes?"
"When you live long enough, you naturally find many places to stay."
The Illusionary Demon Forest wasn't named for any devils or demons but because of its unique power. Ordinary people entering this forest easily fell into hallucinations and died unknowingly. Even professionals with weak willpower found it hard to resist this power. Once trapped in an illusion, it was almost impossible to escape, whether alone or in groups.
When alone, the hallucinations were of the addictive type, whereas with others around, the illusions often drove one mad, leading to indiscriminate attacks. Over time, this place became known as the Illusionary Demon Forest.
The longer one stayed, the higher the chance of being affected by the illusions!
So could such a place really be habitable? As Zephyr flipped through books borrowed from Loris, sitting on a large rock with his tail swaying, he occasionally glanced at Loris, who held a small stick and poked his tail.
Was appearance continuously influencing mindset? Her actions didn't match someone who had lived for over a thousand years.
"You're really twelve hundred..."
"Is there a problem?"
The unfriendly tone made Zephyr pause briefly before shaking his head, "No."
"Then let's keep moving." Dropping the stick, Loris jumped back onto Zephyr's back.
Zephyr clicked his tongue. Loris definitely had faster ways to reach their destination but chose to walk. Traveling as a dragon was exhilarating, and along the way, he constantly tried to fly.
Fortunately, with increased strength and the removal of gravity constraints, he finally reached the standard for flight... after more than half a month of travel!
Young dragons couldn't fly, according to Loris' previous explanation. Dragons could easily fly not just relying on wing power but also due to a special force their wings gained after completing metamorphosis, allowing effortless flight. Young dragons lacked physical strength and fully developed bodies, making pure power-based flight impossible due to their non-hollow bones and significant weight.
Even though he could fly now, he rarely did so, mostly because Loris used magic tools to provide gravity enhancement, preventing him from flying. Another reason was that they arrived at their destination.
"Honestly, if we flew, wouldn't we have arrived ten days ago?" Standing on a mountain peak overlooking a vast forest, Zephyr remarked.
Loris glanced at him without speaking. Simple as it sounded, without the past half-month of training, Zephyr wouldn't have been able to fly.
Over the past half-month, news about the events in the town beneath the Tot Mountains spread widely. Due to the peculiarity of the situation, the story of a motherless young dragon also became well-known.