"Your Highness, I swear I have not uttered a single false word!"
Hearing Rosalind's questioning,
the intelligence officer responsible for the investigation broke out in a cold sweat. "The western Frontier of Nine Provinces—the Gobi Desert that used to lie right next to our border—has indeed vanished. Take Their Place is a vast primeval forest that blots out the sky.
"I have no idea where that forest came from. I only know that it is enormous, stretching along the Border Barrier for who knows how many kilometers. All of our originally planned crossing routes have been blocked."
Rosalind immediately caught the key point. "—It stretches along the National Border Barrier? Could it possibly be the original Gobi Desert?"
"That is possible."
The intelligence officer hesitated before saying, "But it is simply too unbelievable, Your Highness. It has only been a few days, yet they have cultivated an entire forest over there. That is not something that could grow in one or two days.
"When I was investigating, I also saw intelligence officers from Red Tide. They looked equally stunned, clearly having never seen that forest before. And the aura it gave off was extremely strange."
Rosalind continued, "Can you see anyone from Nine Provinces?"
"No. We can only see dense trees."
Rosalind fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "—Creating an endless primeval forest overnight... It seems our neighbors' way of receiving guests remains the same as before."
"Your Highness, do you know what is going on?"
Hearing Rosalind say that, the intelligence officer cautiously asked.
"Astera."
Rosalind answered, then rose to her feet, walked out the door, and looked toward the border.
The intelligence officer froze for a moment, then recalled the posts on the Nine Provinces Forum—the rumors that Lu Xiu, Nine Provinces' chief Architect, had manifested Astera