Blue Moon City, in a meeting room at the Array Hall.
"Head Array Master, what should we do now? The Foam Desert has been stabilized by an artificial Earth Vein, but another wave of Magical Beasts could attack at any time." an Array Master asked while seated at a round table with ten participants.
As he spoke, he looked anxiously at the Head Array Master that was sitting at the opposite end of the table. His brows were furrowed, and his hands were clasped together as he looked downward at a large map depicting the Foam Desert.
On the map were five X marks, which represented the various Earth Veins. As the Earth Veins moved around, so did the X marks on the map. One of the X marks was fluctuating, fading in and out as if it wasn't real. This was the artificial Earth Vein the Array Master spoke of.
A pair of old male Cultivators not from the Array Hall were seated on either side of the Head Array Master. They both wore robes with the Blue Moon City crest on their left shoulders, and were the ones placed in charge of maintaining order among the civilians while they dealt with this calamity.
One of the men whispered in the Head Array Master's ear, "We have heard from the Guild Hall that there has been an increase in Cultivators applying to join the Guild. Perhaps we could make use of them to defend against these Magical Beast tides?"
"More Cultivators? If they are newbies in the Qi Refinement Realm, they won't be of any use to us."
"While some of them are, there are others in the Foundation Establishment Realm that have recently become Platinum-Ranked.
Their combat power greatly exceeds the normal standard. We don't even know where these people came from, but there are hundreds applying to Blue Moon City alone."
The Head Array Master nodded. This was a good solution to their current problem and would give the Array Hall time to replenish their stock of Guardian Statues. He looked at Array Master Fowley, who seemed to have something to say.
"Head Array Master, I believe I can also be of some use."
"Oh? This isn't like you, Fowley. What do you have in mind?"
Array Master Fowley stood up from his chair and pulled out a large disc from his Space Ring. The disc was made of pure metal and seemed to weigh around a hundred pounds, but Fowley carried it effortlessly to the corner of the room where he set it down.
The man nodded again. He turned to the Head Array Master, "Perhaps with the use of your...Space Port, and the manpower from the Guild Hall, we can issue Quests to the new Adventurers. If everything goes according to plan, we may be able to prevent another tragedy like the one at Thin Creek Village."
The Head Array Master nodded. "Speaking of Thin Creek Village, what are we going to do about the Livingwood Forest? Does anyone know the current state of that Region?"
Another Array Master spoke up at this moment, "Sir, I've been keeping an eye on the Livingwood forest for about a month now. It seems the Cultivation of the Wind Wolves has increased on average to the Nascent Soul Realm.
There are even rumors of a new Magical Beast in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, but we cannot confirm this yet. As of right now, the Magical Beasts are no longer increasing in number, but we may have to label the area as a new Forbidden Zone."
The Head Array Master looked back at the man in surprise, "It's that bad already? How does it compare to the Providence Zone?"
"I'd say it is equivalent to the outermost Ring, the First Ring of the Providence Zone."
***
"Disciple William, it seems you made it to the laboratory on time. I'm impressed." Riyald nodded in satisfaction at William's ability to navigate his home.
William nodded his head but was inwardly annoyed. Embedded in his rear end was a poisoned crossbow bolt that welcomed him the moment he entered the laboratory.
If not for this Navigation Radar, your damn maze that you call a residence would have killed me multiple times!
On the way to the laboratory, William's Radar showed dozens of traps hidden in the walls, ceiling, and floor that he had to carefully avoid. It seemed that creating traps was one of Riyald's favorite pastimes.
Thankfully, William had plenty of practice dodging poisoned crossbow bolts from the trial towers, and the last month of constant battling had turned William into a battle maniac that always had his Navigation Radar and Life Sense active.
You damn old man, I'll get you back for this!