As the dragon climbed and skimmed through the clouds at a thrilling angle, Gawain didn't even feel the slightest jolt or strong wind in the sky.

It would undoubtedly be an extremely rare travel experience, and he would not miss any of the details he had observed during the journey, and he noticed that Melita's entire body seemed to be shrouded in a near-transparent shield during the flight—he wouldn't even have noticed the existence of this shield if it weren't for the disturbances caused by external air currents and clouds—the strong winds and temperature changes at high altitude failed to penetrate this shield, and it acted somewhat like a combination of a breeze shield and an air elemental blessing, but the effect was clearly far superior to the latter two.

After questioning, he confirmed that this layer of protection was not only to make the "passengers" of the journey more comfortable, but also a necessary aid to Melita's flight.

"I don't know if Maggie had a similar 'talisman talent' when she flew," Gawain's mind diverged slightly after crossing the clouds and entering a bright sky, "The dragon's flight altitude and speed seem to be far superior to that of the dragonborn, even if the dragonborn is equipped with steel wings......"

"Don't think about these brain-burning things at this time, aren't you tired," Amber stood next to her, muttering casually, and then showed a hint of excitement, "Hey, it's like a dream!" I can ride on the back of a dragon once in my life...... How many bards don't dare to brag like this in their stories! That's the treatment that only heroes have when they're about to finale......"

"You can blow this in the tavern for half a year after you go back, right?" Gawain glanced at the half-elf who had begun to get carried away a little helplessly, "Be careful, falling from here is not a matter of several consecutive shadow steps." ”

Amber didn't know how to restrain at all and got carried away: "Half a year is enough, I can blow until Requiem Day in three years......"

"Don't worry, it won't fall," a deep female voice came from the front, and Melita turned her head slightly to the "passengers" on her back, "I've already protected the edges of my back." ”

Gawain looked at Melita's neck and saw the beautiful scales covered in it and the bumps behind the side of the blue dragon's head—they looked majestic and glittered in the sun.

"It seems that we are indeed treated much better than Modir Wild six hundred years ago," he said with a smile, "and he was hung by you on his paws all the way across the ice ocean." ”

"It's a pity I don't remember," Melita was clearly in the mood for small talk during the boring mission, "but it's also normal, you are honored guests invited by the gods, and the adventurer six hundred years ago was an uninvited guest who broke into the territory of the dragons, which is not a small difference." ”

As she spoke, the Blue Dragon lady paused again and shook her head with a little regret: "But...... If I have another chance and meet the same adventurer again, I really want to have a good chat with him, we may be friends, and I am also willing to carry him to those interesting places, and we can even go on adventures together...... Ten years, or a hundred years, humans don't live long, and it's a very short contract for dragons, but I think it should be wonderful.

"After all, judging from that travelogue, the adventurer seemed to be a very interesting guy back then."

Gawain didn't speak for a moment, but cast his gaze into the distance, and he saw the clouds undulating and drifting under the dragon's wings, like a series of mountains, with gaps and wide gaps between the clouds, and as Melita passed through them, he saw the distant earth below, and the coastline that was already faintly visible in the distance.

Human cities are dotted among the mountains and lakes, glittering in the sun like jewels.

It's truly a beautiful world that deserves to be explored by an adventurer for the rest of his life.

"yes, that's a very interesting fellow, and I admire him," he broke the silence with emotion, and then became a little curious, "You just said that you would sign a contract with Mordier for a hundred years and go on adventures with him—did you mean it?" Would the Dragons really do such a thing? Like in the story of the bard? ”

“…… It's not that easy, and dragons need a strict application and permit process to leave Talrond for a long time," Melita said, "but it does happen, but it's rare." Many of the Bard's stories are not entirely made up, after all...... Bards are dragons' favorite profession when they travel the human world, and we're very good at dramatizing facts into stories. ”

"Bard...... Some bards like to make things up the most," Gawain pouted subconsciously, and a "Mr. Bard C" somehow popped up in his mind, and then he quickly shook his head, throwing out some anachronistic associations out of his mind.

Then he glanced back at the large devices that had been placed on Melita's back - they were still functioning well, even though they were high in the air, they were still within the range of the Static Realm of Mana, and the specially crafted Magic Web Terminals and non-directional crystal arrays were still able to clearly receive signals from the high-powered hubs on the surface, and the recording devices in these devices should have properly recorded Melita's ascent and changes in signal strength and interference during flight.

Frankly, these things were even less valuable to Gawain than he was during his trip to Talrond - these valuable data were not something that could be obtained under ordinary circumstances, especially after leaving the land and entering the skies above the sea, and the parameters that these devices could collect were beyond the reach of the current level of imperial technology.

So Gawain cherished this opportunity, after all...... Although he and Melita are very familiar, he can't ask a giant dragon to carry tons of experimental equipment all day long to collect data for humans, and in this regard, he has always attached importance to "interests".

"Shall we stop and rest?" Amber on the side asked casually.

"Actually, I could fly all the way to Talrond without stopping—but the journey wasn't so rushed," Melita replied, "and we'll rest a few times near the coastline and on a few islands in the northern seas, and you can come down and get moving—after all, you are flightless creatures, and such a long flight can be a great burden for those who come into contact with it for the first time." ”

While listening to Melita's answer, Gawain couldn't help but think of some thoughts about long-term aerial vehicles, long-distance air routes, and so on. He subconsciously deduced what other directions the Empire's anti-gravity vehicles were currently being used, and thought about the possibility of establishing a long-distance airway to the Silver Empire from the edge of the wasteland, and his thoughts spread wildly for a while before he gradually stopped.

Then he noticed Veronica, who was sitting a short distance away to rest.

The "Holy Princess" had barely spoken since she took off from Melita—and though she had always been quiet and tranquil, she had been somewhat silent by now.

She sat there quietly, her hands folded on her knees, as if in a daze, staring unfocusedly ahead, and the platinum scepter that never left her was not by her side at the moment - Gawain knew that Veronica had given the scepter to Wright for safekeeping before leaving, and there was no doubt about it, but Veronica's silence along the way still made him a little concerned.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Gawain walked over and asked casually, "I don't think you talked much along the way." ”

I don't know if it's an illusion, he felt that Veronica seemed to be slow to react for half a beat before raising her head, and responded to himself in an indifferent tone: "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine." ”

Gawain subconsciously frowned - Veronica at this moment really didn't feel right, he thought about it carefully and vaguely figured out what was wrong: compared to usual, Veronica at this moment is even less agile. Although Gawain always thinks that this holy princess is not perfect like a human and delicate like a puppet, but it is just a vague feeling, but now...... He really felt a certain mechanical rigidity and rigidity in the other party, and in that stiffness even the emotional ups and downs of human beings were gone.

He frowned and looked the other party up and down again: "Are you really okay?" ”

Veronica raised her head, her crystal-beautiful but inorganic eyes stared at Gawain seriously for a long time, and then she nodded suddenly: "Ah, it seems that I overlooked some details...... Please rest assured, everything is normal in my condition, and there are no problems with my physical functions and thinking skills. You should be able to feel something unusual, though...... Don't worry, it's normal.

"Far from the Loren continent, I'll be somewhat weakened."

Somewhat nerfed away from the Loren continent?

Gawain immediately noticed the information in Veronica's words, his expression became slightly serious, and doubts had already surfaced in his eyes, but before he could ask, Veronica had already shown a smile and said lightly: "It's just the price of surviving so far." ”

“…… I see," Gawain stared at the other for a few more seconds before softening his expression and nodding slightly, "If you don't want to go into details, I won't ask, but one day I still hope you can satisfy my curiosity." As for now...... You can make sure that this 'cost' does not affect our mission. ”

Veronica met Gawain's gaze, still with a smile on her face, as if the smile had temporarily solidified, she nodded, and said with the same calm and serene attitude as ever, "Of course, I already calculated it before I left. ”

……

Filthy clouds swirled and undulated, like some disgusting, semi-gelatinous mire covering the sky and oppressing the earth, and the whole world seemed oppressive in the low-hanging clouds—and even more oppressive than the sky was the dead, heavily corrupted and polluted earth.

In the heart of the former empire, which has been impregnated with demonic energy and turned into a wasteland, the black and cemented earth is endless, and the folds and radial cracks formed by the ancient shock wave spread outward at the center point, looking down from the air, like a hideous giant eye covered in blood, and in the center of this giant eye is a huge explosion crater that has sunken into a crater, and a cone-shaped structure formed by a molten crystal pillar at the bottom of the explosion crater.

Seven centuries later, the Deep Blue Well was still in operation, and there was an incredible surge of energy in the remnants of the reactor tower, and a huge pillar of blue light rose into the sky, straight into the clouds, where the pillar of light met the clouds, and lightning continued to flow.

Around the crater of the Deep Blue Well, there are many things that didn't exist in the first place—small fortresses made of some kind of black polymer, small watchtowers that seem to be a mixture of plants and stones, and strange and wriggling woods, and a figure moving between the woods and the fortress and watchtower.

The figures were patrol squads, all dressed in the uniforms of ancient Gondor Magisters, both men and women, with perfectly proportioned bodies and delicate appearances, patrolling the perimeter of the Empire's capital—just as they had done seven hundred years ago.

However, as if they did not see the new fortress and watchtower structures around the crater, they bypassed the obstacles blocking the road, and naturally changed the patrol route that had already been planned.

Even...... They looked like they were patrolling the area to protect the forts.

In the area of the black fortress complex at the edge of the crater, a large number of plant vines and gray material that seemed to be a mixture of hyphae covered the ground and surrounding buildings, and with a rattling sound, a plant at the front of the fortress suddenly wriggled and retreated to both sides, and several twisted creatures with dry skin and abundant growth branches that seemed to be a mixture of humans and trees emerged from the underground tunnel.

The leader of the twisted creatures moved his roots and strode to the edge of the crater, an old face emerging from his withered, crumpled bark, and the pale yellow eyes on the bottom of the crater—the glowing "mound of crystals" and the blue light that erupted from the crystals reflected in the eyes, which made the latter shine with greed and yearning.

"Deep Blue Well...... We are just one step away from it......"

The leader of the treants muttered to himself, and he shook his branches, and a stream of vines at the border of the fortress group immediately received the command, raised high and extended into the impact crater - but the front end of those vines had just crossed the boundary line, and the "Pillar Mound" at the bottom of the pit reacted instantly, accompanied by a few bright flashes of light, and the vines that crossed the border were directly burned into a gaseous state by the scorching plasma beam.

"Damn!! This damn grave, this damn coffin, and these damn grave keepers! It's been 700 years, can't this damn everything die honestly?! ”

The leader of the tree people, the current "Grand Imam of the Society for the Death of All Things", suddenly scolded.