A Small Crisis on Terra Continent (33)

In truth, Ian, Teres, and the others had not reached Azure City safely and without incident.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few phantoms, as well as several ferocious beasts similar to the Razorclaw Tiger Ian had killed in Layan Territory.

But the fungi parasitizing these beasts had undergone an abnormal evolution, one whose merits and drawbacks were unknown.

They greatly enhanced the beasts' strength and short-term regenerative ability, yet damaged their combat intelligence. Beasts that had originally known how to ambush and employ various techniques in battle had turned into musclebound monsters that only knew how to charge and smash.

Though brute force could break through anything, and increasing one's output was never a bad thing, some beasts and Magic Beasts could only be strengthened so much. Without the intelligence to attack properly, they could only end up as research material for Ian and the others.

Rumble—

The sound of artillery fire came from afar.

Around another city, Lanternfish City, a multi-sided offensive and defensive battle had already begun.

As the situation developed, it was no longer only the Inspecting Knights and other Imperial forces that had entered the Avak Region. According to the intelligence Teres received afterward, the Blazing Flame Lands, prompted by the silence of the special operations headquarters on the Western Border, had dispatched their elite Royal Guards. Grand Duke Solin had even sent out his own knight order.

Beyond that, private forces belonging to groups such as the Dragon-Worshiping Cult and a certain city lord of the Seven Cities Alliance had infiltrated the area. They each had their own objectives, and the Avak Viscountcy—now completely transformed into a dead zone with no ordinary people left alive—had become their battlefield.

Not to mention the various powerful Magic Beasts and phantoms that had already been here.