Chapter 91

Gao Deng had little interest in the grand event known as the Autumn Hunt, which was essentially a matchmaking and entertainment activity. Even Xie Ona focused her attention on the charming and graceful noble daughters, seemingly trying to find a wife for her brother, while Gao Deng was considering other matters.

Since they were going to the Danze Ruins, it was necessary to make preparations in advance.

As a seasoned player, Gao Deng naturally knew that before entering a dungeon, one should look up strategies. In the past few days, besides immersing himself in the alchemy lab to create a large number of scrolls and magic potions to meet the needs of the adventure, Gao Deng also made thorough preparations in terms of intelligence.

He first inquired about the information on the Danze Ruins from his sister, who was an adventurer, and from Shelley. Then he made several trips to the Adventurer's Guild, obtaining more useful information from veteran adventurers, for which he spent a considerable amount of gold.

The Danze Ruins were originally a city, Danze City, of the Sun Elf Empire during the Third Era. In ancient Elvish, "Danze" means "emerald green surrounded by mountains."

The Sun Elf Empire was a colossal entity that once ruled over more than seventy percent of the continent. However, with the rise of the human-led Netherduran Magic Empire, conflicts between the old hegemon and the new challenger were inevitable.

The Magic Empire achieved continuous victories in the prolonged war. The Great Mages of Netherduran, with their floating cities at the core and various flying warships as support, controlled and monitored vast airspace, providing support to ground forces. The Sun Elf Empire, with its outdated tactics, suffered one defeat after another, and its territory rapidly shrank.

In the Cold Mist Mountains, a decisive battle for the control of the entire northern region took place in Danze City.

In this great battle, both sides suffered heavy losses. The Sun Elf Empire, using newly developed combined attack spells, managed to bring down five flying warships of the Netherduran Magic Empire. However, the warships, upon crashing into Danze City, caused a massive explosion of their internal mana cores, destroying the entire city.

Although the Magic Empire's flying warship fleet suffered heavy losses, the Sun Elf Empire lost Danze City, a strategic stronghold in the entire northern region.

In the end, realizing that the defeat was inevitable, the Sun Elf Empire's leadership issued the Great Retreat order, and almost all the Sun Elves on the continent crossed the sea to return to their origin—the Eternal Island. From then on, the Sun Elves completely disappeared from the continent.

It wasn't until the Netherduran Magic Empire reached its peak and began to decline, leading to its eventual downfall and the beginning of the Fourth Era, that the Sun Elves reappeared on the continent.

Danze City, once a key defensive stronghold of the Sun Elves, was stockpiled with countless supplies, wealth, and military equipment. Although the city was long destroyed, and the ruins had been altered by the ravages of time, the treasures buried in the ruins still awaited discovery, waiting to see the light of day again.

Moreover, the five crashed flying warships of the Magic Empire contained countless valuable items that could tempt friends to betray and brothers to turn against each other.

Since the Fourth Era, the Danze Ruins have been a hotspot for adventurers, travelers, mercenaries, and outlaws. However, due to the explosion of the mana cores on the flying warships, the Danze Ruins became a death zone filled with chaotic and violent magical energy, making it difficult to approach. The adventurers gave this magical energy a fitting name: Fierce Fog.

However, the Fierce Fog surrounding the ruins does not always completely isolate the treasures within from the adventurers. The Fierce Fog periodically weakens, and whenever this happens, greedy adventurers and treasure hunters swarm into the Danze Ruins.

Since 936 of the Fourth Era, which was last year, the Fierce Fog around the Danze Ruins entered a weakening cycle. From that time, adventurers from all over the continent, even from the southern desert nations, began to flood into the northern region and the city of Bluewater.

Thanks to the Danze Ruins, Gao Deng and Duro's magic shop business has been booming, earning them a considerable amount of gold from adventurers...

The Northern Road, extending from Bluewater City to Highrock City and Anduin's Great Wall, was initially built to quickly reinforce the Great Wall's defenses and transport supplies. Therefore, the road was built to very high standards. Wide enough for ten horses to walk side by side, the road had a solid foundation of three layers, with a dense layer of pebbles on top, making it smooth and comfortable for both people and vehicles.

The increasingly large noble hunting party moved along the road, while the original travelers, merchants, and adventurers heading to the Cold Mist Mountains had to yield the road and move to the sides.

The commoners bowed respectfully to the nobles, while the adventurers were much bolder. Many of them crossed their arms, commenting on the women in the hunting party, and occasionally whistling.

Most noble women did not find this rude praise offensive but rather found it novel, even giggling and competing to see who received the most compliments.

However, there were exceptions like Xie Ona and Faria, who remained indifferent, their faces cold. If the men got too rowdy, they would glare fiercely, scaring them into silence.

The hunting party passed through a shallow grassy hill area and then turned east, where the view immediately opened up.

The weather was excellent today. Gao Deng cupped his hands over his eyes and looked into the distance. The pale golden sunlight filtered through his fingers, casting a light amber hue on the majestic Cold Mist Mountains in the distance.

The snow-capped mountain range, stretching year-round, separated the northern plains from the barren tundra to the north. These peaks, over five thousand meters high, served as a natural barrier protecting the empire's northern border.

Below the snow line, the color of the mountains changed abruptly from a cold, pure white to a sparse yellow-green, gradually turning into a deep emerald green.

However, in the bleak autumn wind, much of the green had faded. The leaves of the eucalyptus and fir trees had turned yellow, while the maples were a striking red. Only the evergreen pines remained unaffected by the seasons, still as lush as ever. The vibrant colors were a visual feast, and the beauty of nature stirred the heart, even Gao Deng, who was focused on the adventure, felt his mood lighten.

Before dinner, the hunting party arrived at the small town of Kebri at the foot of the Cold Mist Mountains. This was the gateway to the Cold Mist Mountains. Gao Deng and his companions would rest here for a night and then officially enter the mountains the next day, eventually stopping at a valley called "Eternal Spring Valley" in the middle of the mountains.

Eternal Spring Valley, surrounded by mountains, was protected from the cold winter air, hence its name. There was a freshwater lake in the valley, a crucial water source for the wild beasts in the mountains. In previous years, this valley was the campsite for the hunting party. The nobles would go hunting during the day and cook the game, drink, and party by the lake at night, enjoying themselves immensely.

Gao Deng's plan was to continue north after reaching Eternal Spring Valley, heading deep into the Danze Ruins in the central region of the Cold Mist Mountains.

The hunt was not a military campaign but a gathering for nobles to entertain and socialize. With so many delicate ladies and pampered gentlemen, the party's pace would not be fast.

After leaving Kebri, the hunting party slowly advanced through the mountains. Occasionally, more nobles joined the party, and some who wanted to reach Eternal Spring Valley early left ahead.

Two days later, in the afternoon.

"Ugh~ I can't take it anymore. I should have used a flying spell to get here." Lord Dorn Lannister stretched lazily, looking bored.

Knowing that he would be enjoying game meat in Eternal Spring Valley tonight, he completely relaxed.

"No one stopped you. But after using a flying spell and exhausting your spell slots, you'd better pray no beasts encounter you. Hmm, a helpless mage must taste delicious," Gao Deng said with a smile.

"That's not the point," Dorn leaned in close to Gao Deng's ear and chuckled, "This morning, I changed all my spell slots to Polymorph, Bull's Strength, and Bear's Endurance..."

"Those beautiful ladies and misses have been riding horses for days. I bet they can't even close their legs now. Isn't this a great opportunity?" Dorn said with a double meaning.

Gao Deng shook his head disapprovingly, "What about your beloved Miss Julian?"

"She got to Eternal Spring Valley ahead of us. I'll take care of her tonight. But you know, with so many spells and your Ring of Heroism, how could I be satisfied with just the cute Julian?" Dorn nudged Gao Deng with his elbow, "How about it, want to join me? Your half-elf girl isn't here, so you must be lonely."

Gao Deng laughed and shook his head.

"Oh." Dorn slapped his forehead, "I forgot, you have a cute sister with you. So, unfortunately, you won't get to enjoy the greatest pleasure of the Autumn Hunt."

Gao Deng shrugged, saying nothing.

As they walked and chatted, Lady Theresa Bishop's brooch suddenly emitted a buzzing sound. Her face changed, and she said, "The scouts to the right front are in battle. They must have encountered a powerful beast."

"A powerful beast?" The daughter of the Rod Lord's eyes lit up at Theresa's words. Without hesitation, she lightly patted her giant bear's head and called out, "Flame Claw, let's go!"

Faria led the charge, heading towards the incident site. Dorn smiled maliciously and said to his friend, "Gao Deng, aren't you going to follow? If Faria gets into trouble, how will you explain it to Uncle Robert?"

Before the hunting party set out, Theresa had told Gao Deng that the Rod Lord had a message for him, asking him to take care of his precious daughter.

Naturally, he had to complete the task given by his boss. Gao Deng had no choice but to follow.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" Seeing Gao Deng leave the party, Xie Ona spurred her horse and rode alongside her brother.