The sunlight bathed the golden wilds, the distant river shone like a silver thread, mirroring the dazzling brilliance of the sky above.
The area where Ian was situated was at a small basin to the south of the Golden Prairie; these kinds of basins had abundant water flow. One could occasionally see stretches of tall forests on either side of the roads and around the riverbanks, the scenery was quite uniquely beautiful.
Watching Sio and Lubeck approaching him, Ian felt, to be honest, a little amazed.
He seldom felt surprised. After all, being a prophet, if he were genuinely surprised, it would be out of shock or alarm—pleasant surprises were all too rare.
He patted the camel beast on its head, coaxing it to turn around gently, and Ian asked, "What brings you two here? Have you taken the time to chase after me? Is there something else you need to take care of?"
"Yes, but also no!"
Ian seriously doubted Sio’s surprising proficiency in horsemanship, suspecting that he could actually talk to the horses. Horses on Terra Continent were essentially a kind of sub-dragon; this fellow seemed to have a bloodline advantage over them.
The cheerful dragonkin of the Mountain People said, "We have some business to attend to in the Western Plains. Originally, our paths were different, but Anfa asked me to bring you a message."
Sio paused, his brow furrowing slightly, his expression becoming solemn as if mimicking Anfa’s demeanor at the time, "He said, ’I understand. Thank you very much for your notification, I will attempt to catch up with you in three days. If I have not missed you by then, leave the Purple Maple Knight to me.’
"That’s pretty much the gist of it. He spoke eloquently and there was a long string of thanks that followed—I can’t be bothered to repeat it all, but in short, it means he’s thankful to you."
Ian nodded slightly; he had no intention of asking what business the other party had with the Western Plains. The young man turned his head to look at Lubeck.
The two exchanged glances, both somewhat embarrassed.
"Uncle Lubeck... I remember you—I mean, you joined the Embrace Light Church, nearly considered to have converted, to become a monk, didn’t you?"
Ian asked with some confusion, "That was big news in Harrison Port, wasn’t it? I’m not mistaken, right? How come you suddenly are with..."
He glanced at Sio, who also had red hair and green eyes, and then it clicked, "The mission of your tribe?"
"That’s the question I should be asking..."
Lubeck, who had slimmed down again, watched the familiar interaction between Ian and Sio, shocked, but he also had no intention of asking.
As a former mercenary leader, he knew very well what he should know and what he should not.
"Actually, it’s mainly to deal with Fiery Flame Land."
But before Lubeck could regain his composure, Sio by his side straightforwardly exposed their mission, "Recently, people from Fiery Flame Land have shifted a lot of manpower deep into the Bison Mountain Range, seemingly planning to provoke something big that will enrage the Beast Kings under my mother’s command."
Sio spoke freely, prompting another exchange of looks between Ian and Lubeck, who then remained silent while he continued, "It is said that they intend to disrupt the ecosystem within the Bison Mountain Range, forcing those Beast Kings to launch assaults on human towns in South Ridge and the Western Territory... they are entering the Bison Mountain Range from the Western Plains."
"My mother has been too busy lately to take care of these minor issues. So she dispatched me and a few followers of the Dragon Worship Cult to find out the exact location of the special forces camp of Fiery Flame Land. Next time she passes by, she’ll just extinguish them in passing to avoid trouble."
"Wow."
Ian emitted a sound of surprise, "Fiery Flame Land being so bold? Is it that their intelligence work was incomplete, or do they have a method to deal with your mother?"
To dare strike at the territory of a Fourth Level True Dragon? It seems that this piece of news is not in the future within the Dao Path of the Swarm...
"It should be the intelligence work."
After thinking for a moment, Sio then nodded, "To my knowledge, the vast majority believe that The King of the Mountain is actually a giant Golden-Winged Thunderbird."
"Apart from a few tribes that serve my mother, other Mountain People also lack clarity on the deeper parts of the mountain."
"Ha ha."
Ian instantly understood, shaking his head with a smile, "As I thought."
Lucky for them. Presumably, this batch of Fiery Flame Land’s special forces were wiped out so swiftly that there was hardly any major reaction in Harrison Port on Dao Path of the Swarm.
Ian looked at Lubeck, who now also understood why this familiar figure had suddenly become involved with the Dragon Worship Cult.
After all, he was not an official Embrace Light monk, just a member of the Mountain People; of course, he would defend his homeland.
"I wish you a smooth journey, and until we meet again."
Being a Southern Ridge resident himself, he naturally welcomed any action against Fiery Flame Land.
After thinking it over, Ian gave Sio several special alchemical bombs and potions, "If someone detects your reconnaissance and pursues you, drink this bottle of anti-poison potion and internal breathing potion, then use these poison fog dispersal bullets afterward."
"This kind of ointment can block the transmission of scents; I usually use it to ambush Magical Beasts. Even Great Forest Wolves with their keen sense of smell can’t detect it, effectively avoiding various investigative methods."
"And this is high-performance alchemical explosive, a Glorious Bullet meant for mutual destruction. Uncle Lubeck, would you like one as well?"
The young man held up the bomb with a smile, his pitch brimming with enthusiasm, "If you don’t like the spherical ones, I also have bullet-shaped ones."
"No, I’ll pass."
Lubeck’s head shook like a rattle drum; seeing the excitement on Sio’s face as if he’d gotten a new toy, a sense of alarm immediately went off in his heart, "I’m not like the adults who can entrust their souls to their bodies... Be careful when you make an adult self-destruct, so I can stay far enough away!"
Despite his words, Lubeck was still forced to accept it.
It wasn’t that Ian insisted on giving it away, but rather that Sio wanted to take the one belonging to Lubeck to play with as well.
After receiving Ian’s gift, Sio also happily presented Ian with a black Dragon Scale Amulet.
"It can ward off quite a few negative mental states—like the impact of spirit energy and worry stones to the mind, anything at the First Energy Level can be immunized against."
With a face strikingly similar to Anfa’s, he revealed a completely confident expression that Anfa would never show, "Wait a while, and you’ll hear our big news in the Imperial Capital!"
"Then I shall await with great anticipation," Ian sincerely wished them success from the bottom of his heart.
Leaving behind such spirited words, Sio and Lubeck turned toward the Western Plains.
And Ian watched them leave, disappearing behind a range of hills.
Then, he turned his gaze to the Spirit Energy Jewelry in his hands, made of black dragon scales.