Volume 6 Chapter 151

Volume 6 + Chapter 151: Hope And Destruction

Xia Yi was utterly taken aback by Yuren’s declaration.

He actually intended to make the Maginot Fortress take to the skies, carrying everyone within it away from this place.

Upon further reflection, however, if the super-giant calamity beast were to awaken and begin moving. It would inevitably give rise to a beast tide far surpassing that which had once assailed the Laurel Tree Academy. No matter how formidable the Maginot Fortress’s defenses might be, they would ultimately fall.

One could say that the destruction of this place by the calamity beasts was merely a matter of time.

And yet, the notion of carrying the entire fortress away to evade the beast tide, absurd as it sounded, carried within it a glimmer of rationality.

“Couldn’t we evacuate the people here from the Maginot Fortress little by little?” Xia Yi asked.

“That won’t work. We’ve already tried,” Yuren shook his head. “The moment anyone leaves the Maginot Fortress, they draw the attention of the calamity beasts outside. If their numbers reach a certain threshold, it can even trigger a full-scale beast tide.”

“I see.”

Whenever Xia Yi had accompanied the Maginot military on external missions, they had encountered calamity beasts without exception.

The military had ways to deal with them, but if civilians were involved, they would have no choice but to await death.

The soldiers here could not possibly protect every single civilian flawlessly.

Moreover, if news of this were to leak out, it would spark a catastrophic internal collapse. In the worst-case scenario, the people might not perish at the claws of calamity beasts, but rather fall to internal strife.

She had learned of many such examples in her history lessons on dragons.

“This is our final hope.”

Gripping the railing, Yuren gazed upon the underground city that had been built with so much toil and dedication, his face filled with resolve.

“We must cross the Yadan Plain, evade the beast tide, and reach the World Tree. No matter the outcome, even if we cannot overcome the calamity beasts, I will lead every soul in the Maginot Fortress to fight until the very last moment.”

After hearing Yuren’s words, Xia Yi understood why he had become the leader of the Maginot Fortress. This man possessed remarkable courage and vision.

Yet, even as she marveled at his resolve, she also noticed something that caught her attention.

In their conversation, he had mentioned the World Tree.

So the Maginot high command was indeed aware of the World Tree’s existence.

“Where is the World Tree?” Xia Yi asked.

“The World Tree lies to the north of the Yadan Plain,” Yuren replied without concealing anything from Xia Yi. “If we can cross the Yadan Plain, we can reach its base. But the plain is swarming with too many calamity beasts, we cannot get through.”

“Why not form a special forces unit composed of flying races and have them fly over the Yadan Plain?” Xia Yi raised the question.

“We considered that, but mutated flying variants have already appeared among the calamity beasts. Even with ground-based fire support, we cannot break through the Yadan Plain. How could we possibly succeed with only a special forces unit that has minimal aerial capability?”

“Flying calamity beasts…”

Xia Yi had already seen them in Molent City.

On the Yadan Plain, there would only be more of them, and they would be far stronger than those in Molent City.

“We must make the fortress fly in order to evade the ground-based calamity beasts and the super-giant calamity beast. With fire support assured, our military would stand a chance against the flying calamity beasts, break through the aerial encirclement, and cross the Yadan Plain,” Yuren explained.

“But I still don’t understand, why must we go to the World Tree? Does the World Tree hold some miracle?”

“…On the contrary, I believe the World Tree will bring not miracles, but disaster.”

“Disaster?”

“Xia Yi, where do you think the source of all this lies?”

“Well…”

Xia Yi could not bring herself to say it.

How could she?

Was she supposed to tell Yuren that they were not truly living beings, but merely experimental data created by Eve?

“My intuition tells me that the source of everything is the World Tree, that it must be the cause of this calamity,” Yuren made a startling pronouncement. “Only by destroying the World Tree can we stop this disaster and bring an end to it all.”

“…”

Xia Yi fell silent.

In her heart, she marveled at Yuren’s keen insight, he was truly bold in his judgments.

The World Tree was indeed the root cause of the Elven Kingdom’s transformation.

“Xia Yi, have I frightened you with my madness?” Yuren laughed. “Others see things differently from me. They believe the World Tree is a tree of salvation and life, a true divine creation. That once we reach its base, we shall receive the gods’ redemption… but I, personally, do not think so.”

“Leader Yuren, your thoughts may very well be correct.”

Because the legendary beast that ceaselessly extinguishes life is also a creation of the gods.

She kept this latter sentence to herself.

“You are certainly no ordinary person. This is only our second conversation, and yet you can so readily affirm my beliefs. I might even wonder, Xia Yi, whether you truly belong to our era,” Yuren said.

“Is that really so important?”

“No. Whether it is me, or you, or anyone else who holds hope, we all share but one goal. To cross the Yadan Plain and reach the World Tree.”

“Leader Yuren, I have one final question. Why did you seek me out and entrust me with all these secrets?”

“…Come with me, Xia Yi. We are currently facing tremendous difficulty, and I hope you can be of help.”

Yuren led Xia Yi down the platform’s steps, one by one, to the lower levels.

The technical personnel working in the underground city came forward and saluted him.

“Everyone, this is Xia Yi, I have mentioned her to you before.”

Yuren introduced Xia Yi to all present.

“Though she has not been in the military for long, she has rendered many meritorious services, helped the Maginot Fortress resolve numerous problems, and most crucially, she is a one-in-a-million magical prodigy.”

“A magical prodigy?”

The technicians all widened their eyes, scrutinizing this silver dragon loli in military uniform.

A middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward and raised a doubt.

“Lord Yuren, we have seen many people with magical talent, including grand mages, and none of them could solve this! What can this young silver dragon possibly accomplish?”

Others also voiced their opinions, all finding it hard to accept.

“Indeed, Lord Yuren, we thought you were referring to an experienced and capable elder mage! We never imagined you would entrust such an important task to a little girl!”

“Lord Yuren, this concerns the very survival of our Maginot Fortress, there is no room for the slightest hint of frivolity! If anything goes wrong, every last one of us will die!”

“Please reconsider, Lord Yuren!”

None of those present had much faith in Xia Yi’s abilities.

“What’s going on?”

Xia Yi was bewildered. She could not understand what they were all talking about, what matter had made them so anxious?

“You… you don’t know anything?” the gold-rimmed glasses technician asked.

“This is Xia Yi’s first time in the underground city. I haven’t yet explained the specific difficulties we face,” Yuren clarified.

“…”

The gold-rimmed glasses technician removed his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose.

His expression seemed to say, “Lord Yuren, are you joking?” However, out of deference to Yuren, he merely sighed and put his glasses back on.

“Very well, Xia Yi, I will tell you, this is a predicament that affects the future of the Maginot Fortress, one that even grand mages could not overcome. Let me explain exactly what it is…”

[Translator’s Note: I’m sorry for the late updates. I have been busy with both Work and Korean GL Novels.]

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]