Chapter 44: Yeren City
The next day came swiftly.
The relentless heat of the midday sun beat down on the endless, shifting dunes of the Hudeii Desert, creating a shimmering mirage that stretched for miles.
Yet, cutting through the scorching white sands was a sight that would strike absolute terror into the hearts of ordinary desert travelers.
Slicing through the terrain at a staggering speed was a massive, reinforced carriage forged from dark Varanium plates and polished bone.
Hauling this heavy, imposing vehicle were four massive Striggars—Beast staged, F-class desert abominations.
These monstrous creatures possessed low-slung, chitinous bodies supported by twelve twitching, muscular segmented legs that churned the desert sand into a continuous cloud of dust.
On their flat, predatory heads, four unblinking, milky-white eyes scanned the horizon, effortlessly tracking spiritual fluctuations in the wasteland.
Inside the spacious, glass-paneled interior of the carriage, the air was blissfully cool, insulated by low-tier frost arrays embedded in the chassis.
Roy sat casually against the plush leather seating, his tailored black coat unbuttoned, his golden-crimson eyes staring thoughtfully out at the passing dunes.
Opposite him sat Alisa, her gaze locked onto a series of leather-bound ledgers and maps of the Hudeii Desert.
Her fingers flew across the pages, already cataloging potential blind spots and hidden oasis routes for her newly formed intelligence network, Mandraxx.
Sitting across from them was Alpha Eurenia.
Despite the smooth ride, the Wolf-kin’s slender frame was visibly tense.
Her breathing was shallow, and her crimson-furred ears twitched anxiously.
Her cultivation had been hovering at the absolute peak of the Martial Warrior realm for months, her internal mana channels bloated and straining against a stubborn, unyielding mana pressure.
Roy pulled his gaze away from the window and looked at his restless Crusade Captain.
A faint, knowing smile played on his lips.
"Your mind is a storm, Eurenia," Roy spoke smoothly, his level voice cutting through the rhythmic, clacking thud of the Striggars’ twelve-legged stride. "You are fighting your own mana core. Stop trying to force the breakthrough through raw willpower."
"Apostle Jarden," Eurenia murmured, her hands clenching into fists against her knees.
"The Western Forces are coming. The Tiger Lord has ascended to a Martial Lord, and Elder Croak wields absolute authority."
She clenched her fist, "I am the Crusade Captain, yet I am still trapped in the lowest of realms. If I cannot break through soon, I will be nothing but a liability when the enemy arrives."
"I told you before—under the shadow of the Feral Domain, your growth is no longer bound by the limitations of this world," Roy said.
He reached into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a sleek, crystalline vial filled with a swirling, deep-emerald liquid that seemed to pulse like a living heartbeat.
It was a high-tier evolutionary catalyst he had been keeping specifically for her, purchased from the Divine Market three months ago.
It was the Draconic Marrow-Boiling Elixir.
"Drink it," Roy commanded mildly, sliding the vial across the Varanite table. "And let the divine blessing override your doubts."
Eurenia looked at the pulsing emerald fluid, her breath catching.
Without a single word of hesitation, her lifelong loyalty overrode her caution.
She uncorked the vial and swallowed the elixir in a single, sharp gulp.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then, her eyes flew wide.
Boom!
An explosive wave of emerald-green spiritual energy erupted from her chest cavity, instantly filling the carriage cabin with a fierce, howling wind.
Inside her dantian, the system-engineered catalyst didn’t just gently guide her mana—it violently seized it.
Typically, a cultivator transitioning from a Martial Warrior to a Martial Master had to undergo a grueling, days-long process of deep meditation, seeking a rare moment of elemental enlightenment to reshape their core.
Eurenia didn’t need to seek anything.
The divine potion forcefully bypassed the enlightenment phase entirely, violently dragging her consciousness through the spiritual threshold.
[Ding!]
The shimmering status window spawned before Roy’s eyes.
[Bloodline has been purified by 1%]
[Target: Alpha Eurenia - Breakthrough Authorized]
[Bypassing Peak Enlightenment Phase....Forcing Mana Core Condensation]
[Subject has awakened her second Mana Core]
[Subject’s Evolution has begun]
[Enlightment Status: Initial Stage]
[Cultivation: Martial Master]
Her mana core violently imploded, shattering into millions of glittering silver fragments before magnetically locking back together into a pressurized, swirling liquid-vortex.
The raw density of her mana tripled in a fraction of a second.
Sharp, silver-white martial aura drifted off her skin like static electricity, her wolf ears and silver tail shimmering with a predatory, refined luster.
"Ah...!" Eurenia gasped, her chest heaving as the blinding light subsided.
She looked down at her hands, feeling the terrifying, condensed power of a Martial Master flowing effortlessly through her newly awakened mana core.
The heavy bottleneck that had plagued her for a decade was completely gone, pulverized by the absolute authority of Roy’s hidden script.
"I... I skipped it," Eurenia whispered in absolute awe, her eyes locked onto Roy with a gaze that had transcended mere respect and entered the realm of absolute, fanatical devotion. "The enlightenment... the years of meditation it would take.... it’s just gone."
"Why waste years searching for a spark when I can give you the flame?" Roy grinned loiteringly, turning back to the panoramic window.
The Striggars suddenly let out a low, four-voiced hissing screech, their forty-eight collective legs digging deep into the packed earth as the carriage began to decelerate.
Alisa who had witnessed Eurenia’s evolution into the Martial Master’s realm became envious, although she was good at hiding her envy.
Roy noticed it.
’Both ladies have great potentials in cultivation’ he thought, ’Alisa was a Peak-enlightened stage Martial Warrior, she gained her peak enlightenment after her battle with that Troll’s Martial Master and her cultivation training" he sighed.
’Now she’s a Martial Master’ he smiled.
’I’ll search through the Divine Market if there’s any means of quickening her evolution into the Martial General’s realm’
’I need them to grow stronger and at a quicker pace as well. They are currently my two most trustworthy blades at the moment’ he grinned.
"Ah" he faced Eurenia again, "Congratulations on your evolution, Eurenia...since you completed the divine task Lord Varanus gave you"
"Your comrades should be processing their first evolution into the Martial Warriors’ realm already" Roy sighed, "I’m talking about the three commanders ofcourse"
"They’re closely linked to your bloodline evolution, the more purer your bloodline becomes...."
"The stronger they grow" Roy tilts his head slightly, facing the window with a gentle smile written on his lips.
"For now, focus on your cultivation....you need to grow stronger than ever. You’re the blade Lord Varanus has carved" Roy stated.
"And I’m talking to you too, Alisa" Roy stared at Alisa, noticing Alisa’s jealousy. He winked at her causing the young Rabbit-woman’s cheeks to redden.
"We’re finally here" Roy whispered.
Through the clear glass, the endless dunes finally gave way to a massive, sprawling basin surrounded by high, crumbling sandstone fortifications.
Unlike the modern, flawless Varanium and Varanite architecture of the newly reformed Tempest City, this place was a chaotic, gritty hive of low-slung clay buildings, crowded bazaar tents, and winding, dusty alleys.
They had finally crossed the heart of the wasteland. Passing through hundreds of Beast-stage F-class abominations.
But none dared to stand in their way.
They feared the Divine Domain: Ruler of Beast.
Hanging over the massive, weathered iron gates of the settlement was a scorched, wooden emblem depicting a twin-headed serpent.
They had arrived at Yeren City—the greatest merchant stronghold of the Hudeii Desert.