Chapter 1734 Race [4]

Chapter 1734 Race [4]

Most of the land in Arulion's central area was flat. The places near civilization tended to have only a few mountains, rivers, and other natural formations.

However, when one moved further from society, one would find that there was more variety in the world's ecosystems than expected.

August's team passed through many a forest, jungle, and even tundra on their way to the mountain ranges of the south. The group used their dragon forms to travel. It was the first time Ophelia or Lucas saw what August was hiding. They couldn't help but be impressed with his majesty.

They were part of the crowd that didn't understand anything about what August's identity signified. They saw the Holy Dragons convene about him, but they still didn't seem to get what the big deal was. After all, August was standing here safe and sound. It was impossible for him to escape on his own, so the Holy Dragons must have let him go.

Lucas and Ophelia weren't privy to the details of August's life. They were his friends, but they were not life-and-death comrades. He didn't know how much he could trust them, so he only told them about the plans he had for the future rather than the events of the past.

Nevertheless, without knowing what questions to ask, the two naturally shut their mouths and focused on the current objective.

The lands were mostly clear. When they first left Fort Halleya, they came across many forsaken dragons and were forced to fight, but their combined strength was enough to easily defeat all of them.

As they moved further and further from society as a whole, the number of forsaken dragons they saw diminished heavily.

Those people, until recently, only had thoughts of slaughtering others. They would not be in areas without settlements.

Well, it wasn't that there were none.

The dragon kingdom had existed for a very long time. Over the course of its history, many clans had built their homes in its most distant regions as they desired a life outside of the kingdom's authority.

The journey was an educational one in that sense. Even if the encounters were brief, August and his friends were able to meet the ancient tribes in the forests similar to Valerie's people and even the ice and snow dragons who lived deep in the unexplored tundra.

Still, all of their stops were only made with the intention of checking their compasses to see if they were still moving in the right direction.

Eventually, they arrived exactly where August and Melania predicted they would.

What stood in front of them was a vast array of mountains that spanned a huge distance. They bordered the expansive seas and didn't contain any signs of life, as if this area was deemed the only place in the hidden realm unsuitable for life.

Aside from the fact that there wasn't anything but water past this point, the main clue leading everyone to believe that the treasure was here was the movement of their compasses.

The "needles," which were holographic rather than physical, were spinning chaotically. Now, perhaps on a real compass that would lead them to believe they were in a region with strange magnetism, but their devices did not use magnets to function, so that was no longer a possibility.

The effect was likely being mirrored to indicate that their compasses would not give them more clues. Since they'd arrived here, they needed to do the rest of the searching on their own.

At first glance, it looked like they were the first to arrive. Without any obvious life auras in the vicinity, it wasn't wrong for them to make such an assumption.

Surfacing and flying up a nearby cliff to make it back into the mountain range, August landed on flat land again.

Only, he was not alone.

"August Void..."

The woman who found herself face to face with him commented in surprise. August turned to her with the same expression.

"Iridia Ignis?"

He didn't sense her presence at all. More importantly, if she was here, then the other Holy Clan geniuses had to be somewhere in the vicinity as well.

'That isn't good news.'

It meant that they were outnumbered by enemies.

August lowered his stance. His eyes narrowed as he observed Iridia's posture.

They were clearly competitors and enemies.

So, why was she remaining so relaxed?

August was already prepared for a fight. If this was a move to catch him off guard, then it would not work.

However...

"Put your fists down. I'm not fighting you."

...Iridia's response was even more surprising than her presence.

It seemed she was here not for battle, but for conversation.

To August, though, it was strange.

He couldn't think of anything she could possibly want to talk to him about at a time like this.

But, he also didn't want to fight.

Slowly but surely, he brought himself out of his fighting stance and looked at her in confusion, asking her the question in his mind.

"Why?"