Chapter 372: Teleporting on the Way to the Imperia Kingdom!
Iville Ai saw Tang Zheng appear overhead, and the disappointment she'd felt when he hadn't shown up moments before vanished, replaced by renewed excitement.
"Your Excellency, Dragon Lord."
Iville Ai spoke with deference, giving a slight bow.
This wasn't just because of his immense power, but also because it concerned the true reason her homeland was once destroyed, and whether her people could be saved.
She needed to build as strong a relationship as possible with this crimson Dragon Lord.
"The Imperia Kingdom is extremely far from here," Iville Ai said cautiously, offering a reminder.
According to rumors, dragons, besides being arrogant, generally had short tempers and little patience, so explaining things beforehand was necessary.
After all, flying such a great distance might cause this Dragon Lord to become severely displeased.
In fact, Iville Ai had planned to use Teleport; although it would require continuous transfers, it would shorten the travel time.
"What do you intend to do, mortal?" A resonating hum came from above.
"I am capable of using Teleport Magic, which allows for long-distance travel. This will reduce the travel time."
Iville Ai paused here, briefly collecting her thoughts before continuing:
"However, to bring Your Excellency, Dragon Lord, along with me, I would need to make contact with you."
There was also another issue: the more people carried during a teleport, the more Mana consumed. This was especially true for a race with such a massive physique as dragons, which would likely increase Mana consumption considerably.
Tang Zheng's golden dragon eyes gazed downwards, guessing Iville Ai's thoughts.
Teleport was indeed the best method of travel. It could save a lot of time and also provide a degree of stealth.
*BOOM!*
Tang Zheng's massive dragon wings lightly vibrated, lowering his altitude. A powerful gust of wind swept down, rustling the treetops and lush foliage of the jungle below with a "whoosh."
A dragon claw extended. Its movements weren't fast, nor did they carry any killing intent.
Iville Ai's body tensed, resisting the urge to dodge. She watched as the sharp fingertip, wider than her own body, touched her.
The next instant, Iville Ai sensed a trace of Magic on herself.
"This is a Magic Mark. It allows me to pinpoint your location."
Tang Zheng withdrew his dragon claw, lowering his head to speak: "I also possess the ability to Teleport. You only need to teleport yourself."
Upon hearing this, Iville Ai's red pupils behind her mask widened slightly, and her throat imperceptibly constricted.
He even masters Tier 5 Magic?
During their previous battle, the attack methods this Dragon Lord displayed clearly leaned towards a Warrior. Iville Ai had assumed that even if he knew Magic, his proficiency wouldn't be high. Who would have thought he could even use Tier 5 Teleport?
If that were the case, whether in close combat or spellcasting, she was no match for him at all.
It truly lives up to its reputation as the most powerful race—the Dragon Race!
If this were any other race, it would obviously be impossible, but for a dragon, possessing powerful close-combat abilities and also mastering Magic wasn't as incredible as one might imagine.
"I understand."
Iville Ai took a deep breath to calm herself, while swiftly adjusting her previous strategy.
Currently, this crimson Dragon Lord showed no hostility. However, should an adversarial situation arise, the more she knew about this Dragon Lord, the safer her future plans would be.
"Mortal, what is your name?" Tang Zheng suddenly asked.
"Iville Ai, Your Excellency, Dragon Lord."
Iville Ai replied, grumbling inwardly.
When asking someone else's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first? Of course, this thought could only be muttered internally.
Their statuses were not equal. Iville Ai also intentionally played into this, using the dragon race's arrogant nature to position herself low from the start.
If adopting this approach could gain his favor and make him underestimate her, it would be a huge win.
"Then, Iville Ai."
Tang Zheng looked up again, a warning coming from between his teeth: "From now on, unless absolutely necessary..."
"I won't show myself, and all your actions should proceed on the premise of being as undetectable as possible to anyone."
With that, Ninjutsu: Concealment
Tang Zheng activated the ninjutsu. His massive dragon body rapidly became transparent, completely vanishing from Iville Ai's sight.
"That's amazing!"
Iville Ai watched Tang Zheng disappear, unable to detect even a trace, finally understanding how he had appeared out of nowhere.
"Is it some kind of invisibility magic?"
"'Invisibility,' a second-tier Magic, can't achieve this level. It must be a higher-tier Magic."
Iville Ai was secretly astonished. The more she interacted with him, the more she realized how powerful and terrifying the crimson Dragon Lord was.
But why do it this way?
A sense of confusion arose in Iville Ai. He possessed immense power, so why was he acting so covertly?
Or perhaps, his personality was simply cautious.
All sorts of perplexing thoughts emerged.
"Then, I'll go ahead."
Iville Ai felt she needed to observe more before drawing a conclusion. She spoke towards the direction where Tang Zheng had vanished, then began to chant:
"Teleport."
Whoosh!
The air vibrated.
Iville Ai's figure instantly disappeared.
"Is this location... the outskirts of E-Rantel?"
Tang Zheng used his Magic Mark to sense Iville Ai's location. She had already left the Tove Great Forest, and the teleportation distance wasn't too far.
This was normal.
When direct teleportation to a destination wasn't possible, using a relay method was necessary. The relay point would be a place the caster had been before.
So, the teleporter needed to choose the route closest to their destination from the locations stored in their memory.
Whoosh!
Tang Zheng smiled faintly, activating his Magic without haste.
Next, Tang Zheng and Iville Ai first left the Tove Great Forest, teleporting near E-Rantel, and then teleported into the Katz Plains.
Gray mist greeted his eyes.
The moment Tang Zheng appeared, he felt that the entire sky and ground were enveloped by a strange mist. His perception ability, in particular, was somewhat suppressed.
"The future arrival point of the Great Tomb of Nazarick."
Tang Zheng hovered in mid-air. This was the place known as the cursed land, and a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes.
There wasn't much here that interested him.
At least for now, the only thing that piqued his interest was the legendary ghost ship.
"I've already left a mark. I'll come back to look for that ghost ship when I have time," Tang Zheng thought to himself.
He reconfirmed Iville Ai's direction and teleported away again.
Compared to Tang Zheng, who could teleport easily, Iville Ai had to teleport three times before leaving the Katz Plains and entering the southeastern territory of the Bahharuth Empire.
And then—the Flying Dragon Mountain Range!
This area was located in the southern part of the Bahharuth Empire, north of the Dragon Kingdom, and east of the Katz Plains—a vast, undulating mountain range.
It was home to a powerful human tribal group called the "Flying Dragon Tribe."
Only at this moment did Tang Zheng truly gain a relatively clear understanding of the northwestern part of the continent inhabited by humans.
Whoosh—!
His massive, invisible form flew over the Flying Dragon Mountain Range, gazing down at an area far larger than the Angelicia Mountain Range.
"No wonder only the northernmost Casanas City-State Alliance and the southernmost Dragon Kingdom, within the entire human-inhabited region, are threatened by Demi-human forces."
"The Bahharuth Empire, located furthest east, isn't threatened by Demi-humans."
Tang Zheng observed the mountain range, a look of understanding on his face:
"It's entirely due to the obstruction of this mountain range. With such a topographic advantage, the Bahharuth Empire doesn't need to directly face the Demi-human threat at all."
Continuous use of Teleport Magic severely depleted Iville Ai's Mana, forcing her to stop Teleporting and rest up.
—Mid-Wind Month.
May 28th.
After a full seven days of travel, Tang Zheng couldn't determine how much distance they had covered, as Iville Ai mostly resorted to flying during the last few days.
After all, centuries had passed, and Iville Ai's memories of this area were already vague, making precise targeting with Teleport Magic impossible. They could only resort to the clumsy method of flying.
That's why, despite having the ability to Teleport, it still took them so long.
A cold wind blew.
Iville Ai's red cloak fluttered. They stood in a place where negative energy was so dense that even the ground was tainted, like the Katz Plains.
The soil was a dull gray.
There was no rotting smell in the air; instead, there was a chill that made living beings feel cold to the bone, even in broad daylight.
At a glance, the words "deathly still" perfectly described the area before them.
Iville Ai stood silently on this land, gazing into the distance, a wave of sorrow washing over her.
"I'm back, everyone."
"Father... Mother..." Iville Ai's eyes were unfocused, but ancient memories, triggered by setting foot on this land again, began to clear.
Tang Zheng's golden dragon eyes narrowed cautiously. He descended, observing, until he was above Iville Ai's head. "Is this the Imperia Kingdom, the kingdom that was destroyed?"
A deep voice suddenly echoed from mid-air.
"Yes, Your Excellency the Dragon Lord."
Hearing the voice appear out of nowhere, Iville Ai suppressed her inner grief and responded respectfully.
Finally here!
Tang Zheng's heart settled. The rough map he had mentally constructed from his observations over the past few days came to mind.
He hadn't expected the Imperia Kingdom to be so far from the human nations.
Humans occupied the northwest corner of the entire continent.
The easternmost nation was the Bahharuth Empire, followed by the vast Flying Dragon Mountain Range, which served as a defense for humans. There were gaps at both the north and south ends of this range.
Beyond that were the various Orc nations!
According to Iville Ai, there were five Orc nations in the eastern region of the Flying Dragon Mountain Range. Only by crossing this area did one reach the territory of the fallen Imperia Kingdom.
And even reaching this point!
They were still only in the western part of the continent. The five Orc nations were a completely different concept from the Orc Kingdoms among the six great nations in the center of the continent.
Tang Zheng's gaze swept over his Attribute Panel.
Experience Bar: 1838w/188w
In seven days, he had gained about 10 million Experience Points. The process, naturally, involved Tang Zheng using Tier 7 Greater Teleportation to return to human territories to acquire them.
He also took the opportunity to test the range of Greater Teleportation.
As of now, Tang Zheng could confirm that he still hadn't reached the distance limit of Greater Teleportation. He could freely travel back and forth to human settlements.
...
Skill: Rapid Mana Recovery
Cost: None (24-hour cooldown)
Description: When this skill is activated, the user cannot move or attack. It recovers 50% of Mana within half an hour.
...
In addition to the Experience Points gained, Tang Zheng's biggest harvest in the past few days was finally acquiring this special skill for rapid Mana recovery from Iville Ai.
In the YGGDRASIL system, there was no means of Mana recovery. For Magic Casters, Mana was their lifeline.
Iville Ai's skill was an ability that couldn't possibly exist in the game.
"Your Excellency the Dragon Lord, are you certain that what turns living beings into zombies comes from Origin Magic?"
Iville Ai's voice suddenly brought Tang Zheng back to reality.
Tang Zheng looked at the few scattered zombies in the distance. After a brief silence, his voice slowly emerged from the empty air. "Just a few zombies aren't enough to determine that."
"However, you should already have the answer in your heart."
"The fact that you survived, and that you possess the aura of Origin Magic, is entirely due to your Innate Ability."
At this, Tang Zheng let out a strange, low chuckle.
"Are you certain this was caused by Origin Magic, and do you intend to seek revenge on the True Dragon Lord who destroyed your kingdom? I am also a member of the Dragon race."
"I... I don't know." Iville Ai's body inexplicably tensed, and she gave an ambiguous answer.
During this time, she had consistently acted subserviently, precisely to avoid the hostility of this crimson Dragon Lord.
"Heh heh."
Tang Zheng let out an inexplicable laugh, making Iville Ai's heart grow increasingly tense: "If you want revenge, I might be able to help."
"Ah, huh?"
Iville Ai was clearly startled, instinctively letting out a surprised sound, then quickly realized and immediately quieted: "My strength is too weak; I could never be a match for Your Excellency the Dragon Lord, let alone the True Dragon Lord who wields Origin Magic."
"Don't assume that relations between dragons are always good, Iville Ai." Tang Zheng continued to speak indifferently. He knew Iville Ai wouldn't believe his words.
"This is truly a good place."
Tang Zheng quietly sensed the rich negative energy in the area, his golden pupils flickering slightly as he spoke temptingly: "Iville Ai, do you want to become stronger?"
Iville Ai remained silent. More accurately, she didn't know how to respond. She hadn't had much interaction with him lately. Even now, she couldn't truly understand the personality and thoughts of this crimson Dragon Lord.
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