Chapter 1393: A New Discovery

The dust had yet to settle. The war raging between mortal civilizations and the wasteland legions was still fiercely contested on the front lines, and no one could predict the future with certainty. Yet, for those with keen senses, the faint outlines of what was to come were already beginning to emerge.

This world faced only two possible paths: either the mortals would be utterly defeated, leading to the collapse of all civilization and rendering any plans for the future meaningless; or humanity would triumph, and the once lifeless wastelands would be transformed into vast, unpolluted territories—stretching across nearly half a continent—ripe for development.

Without the Alliance and the firm grip of the three great empires, such a sprawling, fertile land suddenly opening up could plunge the entire Loren continent into deadly chaos. Even with the Alliance, the division of this land would spark prolonged disputes. But that was a concern for the distant future. For now, the immediate effect of purifying the wastelands was that the vast polluted zones once belonging to the “Four Border Nations” would shift from nominal territories into genuinely arable land.

The mortal nations were at war with the wasteland, but they couldn’t fight endlessly—they had to survive. The empires needed to prepare for economic recovery and social refocusing once the war ended. A sweeping “pioneering movement” was the best choice. Young Carly might not yet grasp the full significance of this, acting more on youthful impulse when she decided to head to the frontier. But her father, Viscount Perlo, saw much further ahead.

For the first time in years, her father had agreed so readily to her plan. Carly was momentarily stunned, blinking in disbelief as she studied Viscount Perlo’s expression and cautiously asked, “You really agree?”

“You’re an adult now, and you’ve finished your studies abroad. It’s time to make your mark,” Perlo said, his usual stern expression fixed on his daughter’s eyes. “I’m glad to see you choose to end your aimless days at home. But I must warn you: this isn’t as easy or romantic as many imagine. We haven’t had a true pioneering expedition in years. Bards have woven too many heroic and romantic tales around pioneers, but the reality is that pioneers face hardship and challenge first and foremost. Glory and honor come only after success.

“Carly, if you’re driven by romantic notions of frontier ranches, you still have a chance to back out. Your classmate Dana is in the same position. But once you set foot on the frontier, there’s no turning back. The Perlo family allows caution and retreat in the face of difficulty, but we never accept deserters or those who shirk responsibility.”

Her father’s grave tone startled Carly, but it didn’t shake her resolve. His words only clarified her decision. She didn’t know if she would become a legendary pioneer like Gawain Cecil, but she sensed that an era as tumultuous and grand as the one seven centuries ago was approaching.

Perhaps… in this so-called “Third Great Pioneering Wave,” she too would have a chance to leave her name behind.

…

At the front lines, a massive formation circled high in the sky. Leading them was a black dragon, her head bowed slightly. Her pale golden vertical pupils reflected the distant horizon. The cold currents whipped outside her protective barrier, her great wings slicing through the air. The magical energy sensed at her wingtips was restless and chaotic, but compared to over half a month ago, the flow of magic in the upper atmosphere was now calm and orderly.

Just as the human scholars had said, the Barrier Wall was working. The corrupted, mutated magical fields of the wasteland were gradually being cleansed and purified. This change was evident not only on the surface but in the skies as well. Even among the dragonkind, the black dragons were known for their duller magical senses, yet Coretta could clearly feel the difference as she flew.

A low growl came from a nearby companion. Coretta withdrew her gaze from the horizon and responded with a matching growl. She had spotted the ugly creatures stirring on the ground—chaotic, mindless, and disorganized. They neither sought cover nor coordinated anti-air defenses. These monsters were no longer worthy of the title “enemy.” At best, they were just filth on the land.

“This is the Talrond Expeditionary Force’s First Flying Squadron,” Coretta said, lowering her head slightly as she spoke into the magical comm device strapped to her. Compared to the legendary “Omega Communication Network” of old Talrond, this device was crude, but the glory days of dragon civilization were gone. This human-made gadget was now standard issue for every soldier in the Talrond Expeditionary Force, and Coretta had grown accustomed to it. “Visual confirmation of ground targets… numerous. Their gathering point is definitely here.”

“Received,” came the voice of Commander Jina Prince through the comm. “The Dawn of the Mortal World is executing component airdrop operations. Destroy all aberrations in the assembly area. Do not allow them to interfere with the purification devices.”

“Understood. Preparing to strike the ground,” Coretta responded in a low voice. She let out a deep roar and began descending in a spiral. Every scale on her body shimmered with an iron-gray sheen, and in that flowing radiance, she seemed to become a storm cloud descending from the heavens, wrapped in an aura of destructive majesty. Behind her, the ninety-six dragons of the flying squadron began their descent as well. The chorus of low roars and the crackling of converging magic filled the air. Coretta felt the fiery energy in her chest surge to its peak. She opened her jaws wide—and a torrent of devastating flame poured down, igniting the darkened earth in an instant with magic-infused dragonfire!

Only then did the creatures on the ground finally react, scrambling to retaliate amid the overwhelming inferno. Dark red energy beams and magical missiles streaked upward, weaving a chaotic but potent barrage. Yet to the mighty dragons, this anti-air fire was far from lethal.

Coretta climbed swiftly through the barrage, dashing forward to evade the slow-reacting missiles. Once clear, she turned sharply and began another dive, unleashing flame and accelerating upward again. The flying squadron cut through the wasteland like a razor-sharp net, waves of destructive dragonfire sweeping over the land. The aberrations’ instinctive barrages barely touched the swift, airborne predators. Even when a lucky missile or beam struck a dragon, the damage was negligible—these aerial overlords had defenses stronger than city walls.

Coretta raced through the sky, executing every tactical maneuver with precision: dive, accelerate, breathe fire, climb. The anti-air fire wove a net behind her, explosions and howling winds filling her senses. For a moment, she glimpsed a memory—racing through a massive arena, her mechanized prosthetics roaring under overload, opponents howling around her as she charged toward the champion’s ring. Salutes sounded, and the crowd’s cheers thundered like an avalanche…

Her final pass skimmed low, pouring every ounce of magic in her chest into a blazing inferno on the ground. The dying screams of aberrations and bio-synthetic beasts echoed through the flames. As she climbed away, the black dragon—once the champion of the ultimate arena—barely parted her lips in a sharp grin, her gleaming fangs shining like metal in the sunlight.

Compared to that twisted, frenzied arena, this battlefield felt far more meaningful. Joining the expeditionary force had been the right choice after all.

Coretta lingered in the sky as the dragon squadron regrouped behind her. Some wounded dragons, shielded by comrades, began returning to the Dawn of the Mortal World. Coretta led the rest on patrol, determined to ensure every disgusting monster was reduced to ash before they left.

Watching the flames flow across the earth, Coretta suddenly recalled a conversation with Melita. The human emperor Gawain Cecil had reportedly first met dragons under similar circumstances—when Melita had just purified the ruined Old Cecil lands with dragonfire. Amid the flowing flames, the human pioneer hero and the Talrond dragon observers had faced each other from afar. Unfortunately, Melita’s eyesight was poor, and she saw nothing at the time, only learning of the event later.

In a way, the bond between Talrond’s dragons and this season of civilization had begun with that burning dragonfire. Now, the flames flowed again, but the dragons had become the Talrond Expeditionary Force sent to the Loren continent, part of the mortal nations’ frontline against the calamity of civilization. Fate was truly inscrutable.

“Captain, this area has been purified,” a deep voice sounded in Coretta’s ear, pulling her from her thoughts. “Shall we return to the Dawn of the Mortal World?”

Coretta growled softly, casting one last glance over the land. After a moment, she nodded slightly. “Looks like it’s all burned clean. Let’s prepare to return… Wait, over there… I think I sense something!”

Her gaze fixed on a clearing near the center of the battlefield. The flames had just died down, the ground still glowing with dark red heat. Everything burnable seemed consumed, yet Coretta had just detected a faint magical pulse from that direction—now gone, as if deliberately concealed.

“Something’s buried underground,” Coretta said, lowering altitude. “Let’s dig it up.”

“Could it be the ‘root network’ of those dark priests?” a few dragons descended with her. One spoke while flying. “That stuff’s buried underground, sometimes you can dig it up…”

“No, I’ve found root networks before. They don’t emit detectable magical pulses. They’re fragile and shallow, buried just enough to control aberrations. After heavy bombardment, the roots are usually destroyed. But that pulse… I think it’s buried deep, and it seems to be releasing something outward…”

…

Rebecca hurried into the Dawn of the Mortal World’s central laboratory. As she entered, she saw a large “something” lying on the main platform at the room’s center.

It was a mass of lifeless biological tissue, roughly the height of a person. A tangled, grotesque clump of twisted muscles and fibers intertwined with one another, while countless fine, root-like structures sprouted from the crevices and grooves on its surface. At its base were several thick, tubular formations, clearly severed.

The thing was so bizarre and unsettling that just a glance made Rebecca vividly imagine it writhing and pulsating when it was “alive.” That immediately killed any urge she had to poke it with something. Still, as the chief engineer of the Dawn of the Mortal World and someone who had dealt extensively with the fortress’s “central brain,” she was no stranger to strange aesthetics. After quickly suppressing her nausea, she turned to the assistant researcher beside her. “This is what Coretta dug up in that ‘assembly zone’ to the east?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the assistant researcher nodded promptly. “Miss Coretta said it was buried very deep underground, and it was still ‘alive’ when they first unearthed it. But it died on its own shortly after—without any damage beforehand, almost like it received a death command and committed suicide. Only after confirming that all life signs had ceased did Coretta sever it from the root network…”

“No wonder,” Rebecca said, suddenly realizing something as she recalled seeing Coretta leaning over the deck railing, vomiting so hard her wings cramped. “She probably bit into it while digging…”

The moment she said that, half the researchers nearby nearly lost their lunch.

But Rebecca remained oblivious, instead circling the experimental platform twice with keen interest, studying the strange organism. It looked like some kind of highly specialized organ, and intelligence reports indicated it “grew” on the enemy’s root network. Yet despite the extensive destruction of those root systems by allied forces over time, nothing like this had ever been found before. It was… intriguing.

Her only regret was that she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“This isn’t really my area of expertise… If it were runes or mechanically driven, that’d be easier,” she muttered, scratching her head with a slight headache. She’d heard the frontline troops had dug up something incredible and sent it to the lab, so she’d come over excitedly—only to realize it was completely outside her field. She couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. “We’ll have to get the Druid to take a look…”

“He’s already been notified. Master Pittman should be able to give a professional assessment,” the assistant researcher said immediately. “He’s on his way from the medical ship now, so he should be here any minute…”

“I’m here, I’m here! Where is it? Let me see what you want me to identify…” Before the assistant researcher could finish, Pittman’s voice suddenly came from the lab entrance. The Empire’s chief Druid burst into the room, shouting as he ran, and the moment he laid eyes on the bizarre mass on the platform, his eyes went wide. “Good heavens… what the hell is this thing? Did you grow fur on this chunk of meat or what?”

Pittman, the Empire’s chief Druid, wasted no time getting straight to the point.

(End of chapter)