Quarantine Zone

Lord of Ashgra and his soldiers halted at the entrance to the Quarantine Zone. Even the three Centaurs Locke had hired were uneasy.

Ahead of them lay the Quarantine Zone, surrounded by iron wire fencing.

At the entrance stood a group of patients with impaired mobility, severe bodily deformities, and distorted facial muscles—enough to frighten anyone who saw them.

The sick commoners clung to the far side of the wire fence, staring longingly at the world outside like drowning people futilely grasping at a straw.

Since they did not know whether the disease was contagious, neither Lord of Ashgra and his soldiers nor the three Centaurs dared proceed after witnessing this scene.

They feared becoming like them.

Locke stepped down from the carriage without changing expression and briefly inspected the surroundings. "There are no hidden spores or parasites in the air, and the mana fluctuations are nothing unusual. It is only that the Wood Element Particles on these commoners are abnormally active. From that perspective, some kind of Magic Plant is most likely causing this."

"It is just unclear exactly what kind."

Locke walked to the wire fence and leaned in to examine a little girl's face. The girl gazed back at Locke with innocent eyes.

Locke considered it. "It merely appears to be neural distortion. Once the source is dealt with, these people will recover quickly."

"So it truly is not contagious."

Locke impatiently told Lord of Ashgra and the others, "You can leave. My Centaurs will enter the city with you for now."

Although these sick commoners were not contagious, convincing these mortal lords of that would be far too troublesome.

Rather than waste time on that, he might as well begin the investigation immediately. These mortals would only get in the way here.

Lord of Ashgra stared