Scouting ahead

The images on the light screen continued to flow.

The carriage stopped beside a dirt road, its wheels rolling over gravel with a final, dull thud before coming to a stop.

Lairen stood up and patted the hem of her robe.

"We've arrived. The rest of us have gone ahead to scout out the Golden Land."

Edel up straight from the back of the carriage and rubbed her eyes. Her face still showed signs of fatigue from the long journey, and her hair was a little messy.

"Is everything alright?"

"The commander is Tao, First-Class Mage." Lairen stepped down from the carriage, stood by the roadside, and gazed at the dense forest before him, where the foliage was so thick that light could barely penetrate. "Although he is young, he already possesses rich combat experience and is a qualified First-Class Mage. The other members include several Second-Class Mages, whose experience is even more seasoned than Tao's."

He turned around and looked at Edel was still sitting in the car.

"They should give us useful information. Let's hear their report first."

Edel slowly stepped off the carriage, her feet sinking into the soft ground. She straightened her robe and followed.

The two entered the forest.

The light was fragmented and diluted by the layers of tree canopy, becoming dim. Underfoot was a thick layer of fallen leaves, which crunched softly with each step. The air was still, with only the faint chirping of birds in the distance.

We hadn't gone far.

A figure emerged from behind a large, ancient tree ahead.

She was a woman dressed in a light-colored mage's robe, who looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. Her face was pale, and her right hand was pressed tightly against her left shoulder. The fabric of her robe at the shoulder appeared to have been ripped open by a sharp blade, with dark red, semi-dried bloodstains soaking into the edges.

He saw Lairen and Edel, staggered, and knelt on one knee, his breathing becoming rapid.

"... Lord Lairen."

Lairen stopped. His gaze swept over the wound on her shoulder, then he looked up and gazed into the depths of the woods behind her. It was empty there, with only the trees standing silently, and no pursuers in sight.

"... We haven't reached the agreed meeting point yet. Never mind, First-Class Mage Fuliu, report the situation." Lairen spoke, her voice flat.

Fuliu raised his head, his lips moved, and his voice was dry and tight.

"Here's the situation... we encountered Macht inside the Golden Land..."

She took a breath and continued speaking, her pace unconsciously quickening.

"Everyone except Lord Tao was gone in an instant. They were all turned to gold; we didn't even have a chance to use magic..."

Lairen listened to him quietly.

Then he took two steps forward and stopped in front of Fuliu. He lowered his head slightly, looking at the other's face, which had lost all color from blood loss and fear.

"... In an instant?" Lairen repeated the word, her tone carrying a clear question, "Then why are you still alive?"

Fuliu's body trembled, and he immediately explained urgently, his voice trembling uncontrollably with the relief of surviving a disaster.

"I managed to escape, probably because I was standing at the back..."

Lairen did not respond.

He stared at Fuliu silently for a few seconds. His gaze was calm, yet it made Fuliu's fingers, which were resting on his shoulder, tighten unconsciously, until his knuckles turned white.

"... Let me put it another way," Lairen spoke again, her voice lower and slower than before, "How about you ask, why did Macht let you live?"

Fuliu's body froze completely.

She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but the words caught in her throat. A few seconds later, he finally managed to squeeze out a sound, tinged with the panic of being suspected.

"... This... If he did it on purpose, I don't know why... Anyway, I didn't betray him... Ah...!"

Her words came to an abrupt end.

Fuliu's eyes widened suddenly, his pupils contracting sharply. He lowered his head and looked at his left hand.

Starting from the fingertips, the skin on that hand was visibly fading, revealing a thick, even dark gold. That gold spread upwards along the fingers, across the back of the hand, wrist, and forearm...

Wherever it passes, the soft texture of flesh disappears, transforming into a hard, cold, and eternal metallic luster.

Lairen's pupils contracted slightly.

"Edel!" he shouted sternly, "Read her memories immediately!"

Edel moved almost the instant Lairen spoke. She strode forward and reached for Fuliu's right wrist, which was not yet fully turned to gold.

But her fingertips stopped a split second before touching the other person's skin.

Fuliu's movements froze in the gesture of raising her hand to block, her face simultaneously frozen in terror and pain. From head to toe, she had been completely transformed into a lifelike yet lifeless golden statue. The last trace of human color faded from her wide-open eyes, replaced by two dull golden spheres.

Edel's hand hovered in mid-air for a moment before slowly retracting.

"... It's too late," she whispered, her voice clear in the silent forest. "In this situation, memory reading is useless."

She turned her head and looked at Lairen.

"Lairen, this is clearly outside the barrier."

Lairen didn't answer immediately. He walked to the golden statue, reached out, and gently ran his fingertips over the "wound" on the statue's shoulder. The touch was hard and cold, perfectly replicating even the texture of the fabric fibers and the undulations of the bloodstains, only the material had been changed to indestructible metal.

He withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on the statue's frozen face.

"... I'm sorry, Fuliu," he said softly, his voice devoid of emotion, "For making you like this."

"It seems Macht released Fuliu as a warning to us... Of course I know she didn't betray us."

He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Golden Land. Although he couldn't see anything through the dense forest.

"'I can deal with you anytime I want,'" Lairen repeated slowly, as if trying to decipher the tone of a certain being. "That's probably what Macht meant."

He tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint, emotionless smile.

"We were really underestimated."

He turned away, no longer looking at the golden statue.

"I'm getting more and more excited to enter the Golden Land!"

Edel looked at his profile, remained silent for two seconds, and then sighed. The sigh carried a strong sense of "What the hell is this?"

"Hey, you dejected old man, were you actually quite warlike after all?" she muttered under her breath, then raised her voice, her tone becoming serious, "Don't get carried away. You promised you'd take me away the moment danger comes."

Lairen nodded.

"I will," he said, his tone regaining its usual composure, "And I know very well that I am no match for him."

The two left the clearing in the woods and continued onward.

The trees gradually thinned out, and a precipice appeared ahead.

They walked to the edge of the cliff.

The wind suddenly became fierce, surging up from the vast valley below, carrying a strange, cold, metallic scent that made robes flutter loudly.

Lairen stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down.

Edel walked over to him, glanced at him, and then took a soft breath.

An endless, solidified gold spread across the valley. Centered on a fortified city, buildings, streets, bridges, and even the surrounding forests were all transformed into a thick, clear gold. Under the thin sunlight, it reflected a monotonous and lifeless cold light.

A clear boundary separates this golden expanse from the surrounding normal, verdant forest, like a border casually drawn by a god in mythology.

"The barrier trapping Macht also possesses powerful visual and cognitive barrier magic," Edel, gazing at the scene. "Even if ordinary people were right in front of them, they wouldn't be able to see the Golden Land."

"The Golden Land will incite people's desire for wealth," Lairen replied, her voice slightly ethereal in the wind. "Being too conspicuous is not a good thing. The villages around here have long since moved away. Nowadays, practically no one remembers the location of the Fortress City Weise."

"Even so, occasionally some adventurers who can break through this cognitive barrier magic come here in order to obtain the gold. However, very few of them leave alive."

He bent down and picked up an apple from the grass at his feet. It was golden yellow all over, with a uniform, dark sheen.

"The Golden Land's great barrier is designed to protect against Demons, so it can't completely defend against human invaders." Lairen held the golden apple, her fingertips tracing its smooth, cold surface. "However, we have no obligation to deal with those reckless fools."

He held the apple up to the light and examined it.

"If this gold were to flood the market, it would definitely cause chaos. Fortunately, this kind of gold is different from ordinary gold."

Edel took the apple from his hand, weighed it in her hand, and tapped it with her fingers. It made a dull, solid, light sound.

"This thing... seems indestructible," she said, examining the apple. "It's very sturdy."

"That's right." Lairen nodded. "Even under high pressure or high temperature, this kind of gold won't deform. Although it's identified as gold by magic or the naked eye, it's actually completely different from normal gold; it's a different substance altogether."

He shifted his gaze from the apple to the edge of the golden expanse below the cliff.

Let's go.

The two walked down the path along the cliff edge.

The terrain gradually leveled out. They passed through the last stretch of woods and came to a relatively open slope. Below the slope, the outlines of several neat houses could be vaguely seen.

"That's Golden Land up there," he said, pointing to the ridgeline rising on the other side of the slope. "But first, I want to show you someone."

He pushed open the slightly ajar door of a wooden hut.

An old man lay in bed, covered with a thin blanket. His hair was completely white, his face was covered with deep wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy, but they lit up slightly when he saw Lairen.

"Lord Lairen..." The old man tried to sit up, but the movement was somewhat difficult.

Lairen walked to the bedside and reached out to press lightly.

"Just lie down."

He turned to Edel, who had followed him in.

"He was a servant of the Gluck Family, and worked under Lord Weise. On the day Weise turned to gold, he was away on duty in a neighboring city. He was one of the few survivors of Weise's reign."

Lairen's gaze returned to the old man's face.

"Although he didn't witness the moment Weise was turned into gold, I think we might be able to find some clues. It's just that he's old and his memory is fading."

He gestured to Edel.

"Go ahead and read his memories. I've already gotten his consent."

The old man on the bed struggled to lift a withered, age-spotted hand and reach it toward Edel. His fingers trembled slightly, and his eyes were cloudy.

"... Please let me do my part to save Weise."

Edel looked at the hand but didn't immediately take it. She spoke first, her voice steady.

"How long have you been a servant in the lord's household?"

"... about twenty years," the old man replied, his voice hoarse.

Edel turned to Lairen.

"There's too much information. Is there a way to narrow it down?"

Lairen nodded.

Sixty years ago, he witnessed the moment the lord Dominating Stone Ring of Domination upon Macht.

Edel hummed in agreement. She reached out and grasped the old man's withered hand.

The old woman's hands were cold, and her skin was loose. Edel closed her eyes.

The screen flooded in--

It was a spacious and solemn hall. Tapestries embroidered with the family crest hung on the stone walls, and a huge crystal chandelier hung from the high dome. Hundreds of people were gathered in the hall, standing against the walls, men, women, and children, dressed in respectable formal attire or neat everyday clothes. They were nobles of Weise, as well as some invited representatives of the common people. All eyes were focused on the center of the hall.

There, a Demons knelt on one knee.

It was Macht. He was dressed in a simple dark robe, his head bowed, his posture submissive.

Lord Gluck stood before him. The lord was in his prime, with a calm expression, dressed in a simple formal suit, and wearing a badge of power on his chest. In his hand he held a dusty stone ring.

The lord spoke slowly.

I command you--

"Obedience the people of Weise forever, and to their children and grandchildren."

"We must never act maliciously against the people of Weise."

"If you harbor even the slightest ill will towards the people here, you must immediately end your own life."

Macht listened quietly, his face expressionless. He raised his eyes to look at the lord, yet seemed to see nothing at all. His gaze was calm, almost empty.

Lord Gluck bent down and slipped the gray stone ring onto Macht's raised wrist. The ring automatically contracted the moment it was put on, fitting snugly against the skin, and its luster dimmed, becoming completely unremarkable.

Macht lowered his head, looked at the stone ring on his wrist, then raised his face again to look at the lord.

His expression remained unchanged throughout.

The video feed cuts out.

Edel opened her eyes and released the old man's hand. She stood there for a few seconds, a hint of surprise flashing in her pale golden eyes.

"... Lairen." She turned to her companion, her voice a little faster than usual, "The lord once ordered Macht not to harbor the slightest malice towards the people of Weise."

She repeated the word.

"Malice."

She emphasized.

"Not specific actions."

Lairen looked at her silently, her face expressionless, but something deep within her eyes seemed to sink.

The old man on the bed looked at them with some unease.

"... Is something wrong?"

Edel did not answer the old man's question. She turned to Lairen and spoke quickly.

"If the object is a person, there's no problem. But..."

She paused, her voice lowering, yet sharp enough to detect a crucial flaw.

"The other party isn't human."

After she finished speaking, she didn't linger and turned to walk outside. Her steps were much faster than when she came.

"Let's go, Lairen. To the Golden Land."

She walked to the door, stopped, and turned half of her face to the side.

"Judging from this, the previously planned operation... might have been completely meaningless."