The Mutated Verdant Festival

The Verdant Festival celebration was indeed very lively. The main events were held in the central plaza of Konola City, and every major road leading to it was packed with people. Even nobles driving their carriages and ordering their servants to loudly berate the commoners couldn't dampen the people's enthusiasm. Everyone wore green attire, and they jostled together like a pile of vegetables, which was quite amusing to behold.

Punk realized he wouldn't be able to see anything happening on the plaza from his current position. Even the magically amplified music was drowned out by the din of the crowd. Feeling good, Punk decided to head closer to the front.

Although everyone was excited, they weren't completely out of their minds. When they saw a mage who looked mysteriously powerful walking towards the plaza, people cautiously made way, giving Punk a wide berth. Because of this, Punk easily made his way to the plaza without experiencing the terrifying crush of people he'd encountered on Earth when people were rushing to buy discounted goods.

On the plaza, a large loudspeaker adorned with a magic circle was playing lively, upbeat music. Eight or nine slender, beautiful young women, dressed in rather revealing emerald green skirts, danced joyfully to the rhythm. Every time the girls leaped, their short green skirts, which barely covered half their thighs, would lift, revealing their fair legs. The men in the audience would let out howls of delight! People in the distance, though they didn't know why anyone was cheering so enthusiastically, joined in due to the herd mentality. This resulted in the grand spectacle of the entire city cheering.

Since nobles and professionals were relatively few, they were easily lost in the dense crowd of commoners, even though they had pushed their way to the front.

However, Punk, with his keen eyes as a Level 2 Ranger, spotted Kane in the crowd, "howling" along with a large group of commoners. Seeing Kane constantly whistling and gesturing at the girls on stage, Punk felt it would be too embarrassing to greet him and decided to pretend he hadn't seen him.

"But this guy has actually advanced to Journeyman Level too. It looks like he hasn't been slacking off recently!" Punk keenly noticed that Kane's strength was no weaker than his own. He increasingly felt that this guy wasn't as "indulgent in pleasure and neglectful of duty" as he appeared.

The show continued. While it wasn't as varied as Earthly dances, it possessed a unique natural grace. Even Punk, a calm mage who had experienced countless Earthly stars, had to admit that the graceful movements of the laughing girls on stage were quite beautiful. Watching their elegant and lively dance, Punk felt that the tension in his heart since arriving on the Faerun plane had eased considerably.

Sudden events are called sudden events precisely because they always happen so unexpectedly—Dawn C

Just as the entire celebration reached its climax, a person clad entirely in a deep, dark green stepped out of a suddenly appearing portal. They stood atop the high city walls. Although this figure was standing high and far away, appearing as inconspicuous as possible, no one in the entire plaza could ignore them. As the terrifying pressure descended, the air in the entire plaza seemed to freeze. All sounds, all voices, whether singing or clamoring, abruptly ceased. Only the large loudspeaker, over a meter tall, continued to play music that no one bothered to appreciate anymore. People in the distance, who hadn't felt the pressure, quickly sensed that something was wrong and gradually stopped their noise and chatter. In less than a minute, the originally noisy celebration devolved into a bizarre and quiet "Loudspeaker Solo Concert."

Punk felt the chillingly powerful pressure and looked at the green-robed powerhouse on the city wall—a Formal Mage—with confusion and apprehension. It was the first time he had experienced the overwhelming suppression from a Formal Mage's crushing Soul Level. However, Punk didn't have time to ponder the unfathomable strength of a Formal Mage. He was more confused as to why a Formal Mage would appear here and deliberately release his terrifying pressure, interrupting a joyous celebration at its peak. Punk didn't believe this was a meticulously planned surprise performance. Konola City had only one Formal Mage, the head of the Mage Guild, the old mage Mainesi, whom everyone respectfully called "Sir"! His ostentatious appearance in such a prominent location must signify that something major had happened!

"The celebration is terminated. This year's Verdant Festival celebration ends now. All city guards on leave are to cancel their holidays and report to their posts immediately!" Mainesi announced the stunning major news in an irrefutable tone, then opened another portal and stepped into it, disappearing from sight.

As the Formal Mage departed, the terrifying pressure vanished. After a moment of stunned silence, the crowd reacted. Murmurs of chatter began to emerge from the masses, and as time passed, localized noise quickly escalated into widespread commotion. The festive mood rapidly dissipated, and an atmosphere of panic quickly spread. Ordinary people might not have much knowledge, but they were certainly not fools. The order from Formal Mage Mainesi undoubtedly signaled that something bad was about to happen!

"Everyone disperse immediately. I repeat, disperse immediately, or you will be dealt with as rioters!" Soldiers quickly began to loudly disperse the commoners. Out of fear of the soldiers, people quickly left. Those who returned to their shops locked their doors, and those who went home secured their doors. Soon, under the loud shouts of the soldiers and their opportunistic extortion and blackmail, the streets, which had been boisterous and lively due to the Verdant Festival celebration, quickly fell into a silence that felt like "the wind is filling the tower before the storm." Only the grass rings, discarded in the street by the panicked people, served as proof that just a few minutes ago, this had been a scene of joyous celebration!

Punk also returned to his laboratory. However, for a Journeyman Mage, gathering information didn't necessarily require leaving home. A Journeyman Level Divination Spell—Mage Eye—could acquire a lot of external intelligence without him having to step out the door.

A nearly invisible energy eyeball, emitting very little magical fluctuation, emerged from Punk's fingertips. Punk suddenly felt he had gained a new field of vision, provided by the magical eyeball. Punk could control this magical eyeball, which could last for half an hour, to roam freely and see things as clearly as if he were looking with his own eyes. Of course, he had to be careful not to let this fragile eyeball collide with anything, as this detection magic had no defensive capabilities!

Controlling the Mage Eye, he slowly ascended into the air. The divination spell indicated that something was happening at the city gates, so the Mage Eye headed there first...

Through the perspective of the eyeball in mid-air, Punk saw that at the city gates, teams of soldiers were entering. No commoners were visible around them. On the Faerun plane, for most commoners, the army was synonymous with brutality, greed, and lawlessness—a sharp weapon used by nobles to oppress the populace, a terrifying existence they tried to avoid at all costs. However, for these soldiers entering the city, the absence of onlookers was a good thing. They were all wearing armor covered in dust and dull light. Several of the wounded had bandages stained red with blood, and they all looked dispirited. Although they tried to maintain a heroic posture, Punk could still sense an undeniable, deep weariness emanating from them!

This is a retreating army! Punk definitively concluded!

The war is about to begin. Where are the votes and collections?

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