Chapter 98

But the developments that followed left Locke completely baffled.

Tang En merely glanced casually and asked, "Are there any alchemical herbs or magical materials in the supplies?"

"No herbs, but there are some magic cores..."

"Give me the magic cores, and you can keep the rest."

Locke was stunned, "My Lord, there is a set of mithril armor here!"

"I know, but it’s useless to me. If you like it, you can keep it."

Tang En took the magic cores and was about to leave.

"Really don’t want it?"

"No."

"Then I won’t be polite!"

Locke immediately relaxed and put on Kuripa’s mithril armor. Although the armor wasn’t tailored for him, it provided much better defense, so he didn’t care much about the fit.

"By the way, I don’t know why you came here, my Lord. If you need help, we can act together."

"No need. I’m going to the Shimmering Lake to get some elemental water. Have you investigated there?"

"The Shimmering Lake?"

Locke suddenly realized, "Oh, right, there are indeed water elements there... We passed by a few days ago, but because of the water elements, we didn’t investigate thoroughly. We left after not finding any traces of the necromancer."

"Good enough if there are water elements."

Tang En nodded, "You continue tracking the necromancer. We’re heading to the Shimmering Lake."

"My Lord, do you really not need assistance?"

"Do I look like I need it?"

Locke was speechless.

"May you have a smooth journey."

Tang En and Elia waved at them and then disappeared into the forest.

"Captain, the Lord of Ellington is really a good person!"

Another member chimed in, "Yes, I think we can develop in Ellington in the future."

"Yes..."

Locke agreed deeply and then said, "Stay alert! We’ve already investigated the west, now let’s check the east. That guy must be nearby, always watch for traces of necromantic creatures!"

"Got it!"

On the other side, Tang En and Elia didn’t walk far into the forest before they took to the air again.

"Elia, were you scared just now?"

Elia shook her head, "Not at all, with Big Brother here, Elia isn’t scared at all."

Tang En thought about it; in Prandar, children are accustomed to violence and death from a young age. Although they still feel fear, their resilience is much stronger compared to people on Earth.

Soon, Tang En noticed a dazzling reflection in the distance.

They had arrived at the Shimmering Lake.

As the name suggests, the water in the Shimmering Lake is crystal clear, and the lake bed is rich in certain minerals, resulting in a large number of colorful crystals. When the light of Runbika, the sun of Prandar, shines on the lake, it reflects a spectacular array of colors, even more beautiful and dreamlike than places like the Five-Color Pools on Earth.

Moreover, the Shimmering Lake is said to have been formed from a single tear of the Earth Goddess Nisclair. With this enchanting backstory, many couples in the game used to come here to take photos and videos as mementos. Tang En had a deep impression of this place.

"Such beautiful light!"

Tang En smiled and landed near the Shimmering Lake with Elia, preparing to walk over.

The transition from the dark forest to the sudden appearance of the Shimmering Lake’s light through the gaps in the trees was a breathtaking and indescribable shock, surely making Elia very happy.

"Wow! Such cute little creatures!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as they landed, Elia was drawn to some small animals in the nearby grass.

Tang En glanced over and said, "Be careful, they’re not as cute as they look."

The creatures in the nearby grass were low-level magical beasts called Radia, or Radia Beasts. The Radia Hills and Radia Forest were named after these magical beasts. They breed in large numbers in this area and are dominant here.

Radia are generally between level one and three, reaching their peak at level three when they mature. They look very much like rabbits on Earth but are even cuter and fluffier.

However, they are skilled at using their cute appearance to lure prey. Once the prey falls for it and enters their attack range, they transform instantly, their bodies swelling tenfold, turning from fluffy, cute little rabbits into terrifying, fanged hunters.

This is a magical world, after all, where it’s normal for rabbits to go berserk and become unstoppable.

According to Prandar’s history, the Radia’s ancestors were harmless, gentle, and popular as cherished pet magical beasts. However, after the First Chaos Invasion War, perhaps due to the influence of the magical tides, the fur balls gradually mutated into Radia, becoming much more aggressive and no longer kept as pets.

The original form of the fur balls is now even rarer, with some reportedly still existing in the Emerald Forest near the elven territory.

However, Tang En’s warning came a bit too late. Elia’s hand was already reaching out to the Radia.

In the next moment, those fluffy, big-eyed Radia suddenly swelled up, revealing their mouths filled with sharp teeth, lunging at Elia.

"Ridiculous!"

Tang En snorted coldly, and with a flash of his sword, the Radia were sliced into pieces.

"Poor things..."

Elia was startled but couldn’t help feeling attached to the Radia, which were so cute.

"Don’t worry, if we have the chance, I’ll catch a couple of fur balls for you as pets. They’re even cuter."

As Tang En spoke, he picked up the low-quality magic cores from the ground. Although they contained little magic power, even a small amount is better than nothing. Since he had already killed them, he couldn’t let them go to waste.

However, when Tang En picked up the magic cores and examined them, he frowned.

The magic cores of the Radia were all contaminated.

Contaminated by the power of chaos.

"How is this possible..."

Tang En’s frown deepened. The contamination of magic cores indicated that the Radia had recently absorbed contaminated magic power, suggesting that a Chaos Gate might have opened nearby.

But if a Chaos Gate had really appeared, the vegetation, magical beasts, magic, and even the elements in the area would be contaminated...

Thinking of this, Tang En’s heart tightened, and he pulled Elia toward the Shimmering Lake.

"Damn it!"

When Tang En saw the situation on the Shimmering Lake up close, he couldn’t help but curse in anger.

Many water elements on the lake had been contaminated by the power of chaos, turning into frenzied chaotic creatures.

At that moment, the Shimmering Lake seemed to have turned into a chessboard, with blue and black water elements as the pieces, fighting each other.

Clearly, the pure water elements were no match for the chaotic power. Their purification ability couldn’t keep up with the erosion speed of the chaotic power. Many water elements, once hit by the contaminated water elements, quickly turned black and turned against their former companions.

The lake was in chaos, with water arrows flying everywhere. Occasionally, some water arrows would graze past Tang En, piercing through the large rocks by the lake.

Chaos Gates are probably the most common manifestation of chaos power intrusion in Prandar. The Radia Forest is a relatively peaceful area with almost no records of Chaos Gates opening. Tang En felt his luck had run out.

Upon closer inspection, about a hundred meters away, a Chaos Gate emitting a faint light stood quietly by the shore. The eerie light radiated over the surrounding trees and lake, making the nearby water elements more dangerous than those farther away. Their bodies, black as ink, occasionally emitted blackish-purple lightning.

The trees withered, the lake turned black, and a strange aura spread in all directions.

"...Too small, unfortunately, the sacrifices are not enough..."

A voice carried by the wind made Tang En freeze.

At the Chaos Gate... there was someone!?

Seeing the extremely dangerous Chaos Gate so close, Tang En couldn’t help but curse.

In Prandar, any orderly being knows how dangerous a Chaos Gate is, but this person in a black cloak was actually trying to control it!?

Was he not afraid of dying?

At this moment, the person near the Chaos Gate also noticed Tang En and Elia, "Since you’re here... don’t leave... just in time, the life force is insufficient..."

His figure was elusive, and by the time he finished speaking, he was already in front of Tang En.

"Dark Serpent? Or the Chaos Cult?"

Before Tang En’s穿越, in the game, only these two crazy organizations pursued the power of chaos. However, compared to the Chaos Cult, which directly worshipped chaos, the Dark Serpent was more normal, as they hated chaos but always tried to master its power, essentially a group of lunatics.

The person paused, seemingly surprised, and turned to look at Tang En, his hoarse voice filled with astonishment, "You actually know about the Dark Serpent? You surprise me..."

After saying that, the person sized up Tang En, "But to remain sane so close to a Chaos Gate... it seems you do have some secrets..."

Tang En raised an eyebrow and sneered, "I’ve dealt with Chaos Gates more times than you can imagine. A small one like this isn’t enough to make me nervous."

The mysterious person was silent for a moment, then his hoarse voice laughed coldly, "Ha... ha... a presumptuous fool... since that’s the case, let you become part of the Chaos Gate... Dark Swamp!"

The mysterious person had already completed his spell, and a dark aura enveloped the ground under Tang En and Elia. The sticky force of the Dark Swamp would firmly suck their feet to the ground, greatly hindering their movement.

And what followed was the real killing move.

"Shadow Ray!"

A grayish ray shot from the mysterious person’s fingertips toward Tang En!

===

PS: 353 votes... looks like I’ll have to add another update this afternoon... everyone, let’s go!

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end