Although this thing was convenient, its very convenience meant that every capable nation worked desperately to develop countermeasures against teleportation magic, in order to guard against surprise attacks by the Imperial Guards.
Leta was naturally no exception.
Since Leta also had a demigod capable of using teleportation magic, they had developed a spatial-fluctuation detection matrix that could instantly detect any teleportation spells cast within their borders.
If Hela set the coordinates for her teleportation magic somewhere inside Leta,
then the moment she stepped into Leta, she would see another portal open opposite her.
And the scowling face of Leta's Elf Demigod would appear before her. The demigod would then denounce humanity's many wicked deeds while fighting Hela until one of them was utterly dead.
So the plan Hela and Rhine chose was to teleport to the border of Leta first, then use conventional means of travel to reach the ancient dragon's lair.
Leta's border.
On a desolate, uninhabited wasteland, a pitch-black rift quietly opened.
Rhine and Hela stepped out of the Spatial Rift.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery before Rhine had changed from a splendid Imperial Palace to a dry, godforsaken wasteland.
Hela looked at Rhine with concern.
Crossing through space with a mortal body was extremely dangerous. Even with Hela protecting him with all her might, it would still put a great strain on the Prince's body.
But Rhine looked perfectly composed, his expression calm.
The pressure of traversing space didn't seem to bother him at all. It was almost as if... he was used to it.
Just as His Highness had said, it seemed he had experience with spatial teleportation.
But, hmm...
Wait?
Hela suddenly noticed that after Rhine had stepped out of the Spatial Rift, there seemed to be something in his hand.
It was a plump, gleaming worm. Its mineralized body shimmered with an enchanting light, and within it lay a boundless starry sky.
Hela began to grow nervous.
Its scientific name was Dimension Parasite.
It was the lowest-level gatherer in the interdimensional cracks. But even these harmless little creatures from their own world—
Once they entered the mortal realm, they became a terrifying nightmare!
Hela instinctively stepped back. "Your Highness! Be careful with that thing in your hand. If these little creatures react with matter from the mortal realm—"
Rhine said, "Yes, I know."
Rhine nodded.
The Prince seemed to understand Hela's warning—and yet, perhaps he didn't.
He had indeed heard her, and immediately threw the worm away.
However,
Rhine didn't put the worm back into the Spatial Rift. Instead, he raised the gemlike mineral worm high, then hurled it with all his might!
The struggling worm was free again. It strained to drag its plump body upward through the air... but after flying for a short distance, it eventually lost to gravity.
The worm traced a high arc through the air, then hit the ground—BOOM!!
At last, a blinding light flared across the distant wasteland. As the earth shook violently, a massive mushroom cloud slowly bloomed where the dimensional worm had landed!
"If these little creatures react with matter from the mortal realm—"
Hela said, "—they'll blow us so far apart that even our mothers won't recognize us..."
Hela watched the mushroom cloud rumbling up in the distance. Fortunately, it wasn't inside Leta's borders.
Then there was no problem.
Hela remained calm.
There was something Hela wasn't very proud to bring up these days...
As a child, she had actually loved bringing dimensional creatures back to the mortal realm and watching them explode just to hear the bang.
"Anyway, it didn't blow us up."
Hela shrugged. "Let's go!"
34. The Most Artistic Race in the Mortal Realm
Leta's border,
A shoddily built little mobile city lumbered across a barren ancient battlefield. It looked like a huge, grotesque pile of building blocks thrown together by a stupid kid, its belly dragging along the ground.
The ugly contraption was driven by sixteen pairs of rusty mechanical limbs and eight massive boosters lined up behind them as if they'd been installed by a madman.
It made a deafening racket as it charged heedlessly forward, looking ready to collapse at any moment, shedding broken parts all along the way.
This mobile city belonged to an orc tribe.
It also had a grand name:
The Spring Breeze and First Love.
That's right.
The moment the orc leader saw this mobile city, he gave his beloved vessel that beautiful, poetic name.
He said this indescribable lump of junk looked just like his first love!
And, according to rumors,
the leader had never been in love.
Perhaps the most unrecognized race on this land when it came to artistic talent and creativity, these wandering orcs had dug this battered behemoth out from around an ancient dragon's lair in Leta's northern frozen wastes. To get the machine running again, they modified it so extensively that the engineers who had designed it would have risen from their graves in a rage.
After that, the Spring Breeze and First Love became the orcs' trusty companion in their murder, arson, rape, and pillaging. Riding this mighty mechanical beast, the orcs rampaged through the desolate borderlands.
On the bridge, the orc technicians worked frantically at their control panels, struggling to keep the chaotic, ugly heap of junk running.
More than half the gauges were in the red, and alarms blared wildly.
Hmm. Everything was working normally!
But suddenly, a young technician sitting in the corner received an unusual transmission.
The young technician decoded the message, and his face changed at once.
"Boss!"
The young technician called out to the largest orc on the bridge. "The tribe we've been trading with was just wiped out!"
"Grr?!"
The orc leader, clad in tattered Mithril Armor, fixed him with a sharp gaze. "Who did it?"
"I don't know!!"
That was why the rookie technician was panicking. "That tribe... something impossibly powerful bombed them. They were wiped out in an instant!"
His words sent a stir through the entire bridge.
The boss's eyes, meanwhile, lit up.
It made sense.
After all, that northern orc tribe was close by!
And the powerful enemy that had destroyed an orc settlement in an instant might be right ahead of them!!
The good news, though, was that the northern frozen wastes of Leta weren't on the Spring Breeze and First Love's route. The two areas were fairly close, but as long as they changed course in time, there shouldn't be a problem!
But after the young technician explained his plan to the boss,
the boss shook his head.
"No! I'm changing course!"
The destination was the tribe that had just been destroyed!
"Huh?"
The young technician was stunned.
Of course,
this young man, who had only just started out and had grown up among scattered groups of orcs, didn't understand the far-reaching plans of a traditional orc leader.
There was a terrifying enemy in the north, powerful enough to destroy an entire orc settlement with a single strike.
But—
Wasn't that all the more reason to go?!
The orc leader's voice rang out like a great bell. "Second! Tell this rookie what I like best!"
An orc answered, "This idiot's favorite thing is tempting fate!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!!"
Amid the orc leader's wild laughter,
the Spring Breeze and First Love swung sharply around. Three of its mechanical limbs snapped, and the rocket boosters roared to life, sending the mobile city racing toward its prey like a mad dog.
3. Descendant of the Moon Goddess
The lair of the ancient dragon Obadiah lay in Leta's northern Desolate Frozen Land.
It was the most desolate and dangerous wilderness in Leta, but at the same time,
it was also the safest region strategically.
Demigods roaming the mortal realm could invade Leta from any direction and slaughter the elves.
But never from the north.
Because there was an ancient dragon's lair there.
That so-called lair wasn't some ancient ruin that merely attracted scavengers. It was a real lair, occupied by an ancient dragon.
Obadiah, a Dragon Princess candidate dwelling in the Desolate Frozen Land, would repel any intruder who dared to trespass on her territory.
Fearing the ancient dragon, demigods generally avoided invading Leta from the north.
Leta also knew that the ancient dragon had no interest in the ants living next door. So, to conserve its forces, it simply entrusted the defense of its northern border to the dangerous Desolate Frozen Land.
And this,
would later become the main reason bandits roamed the northern border and lawlessness ran rampant.
Hela summoned a mount and took Rhine with her on the journey.
They rode until nightfall, then arrived at a town. Rhine suggested they stop there to rest for a while.
Hela naturally had no objection to her employer's suggestion.
It was an ordinary border town. Few people could even remember its name.
But there was another name in this town that was famous throughout the entire northern frontier.
It was home to the most famous brothel on the border—Miss Alice's.
When they entered the town, Rhine went straight to this famous attraction on the northern frontier of Leta, without a word.
Uh...
Following behind Rhine, Hela looked a little surprised.
Could the Prince really be planning to spend money here?
That was strange.
After all, the famous Dreamland Pleasure District, renowned throughout the mortal realm, was right on Rhine's doorstep.
Why bother visiting this remote little place of questionable quality?
Or was it...
Before you continue