Chapter 141: Mutations in the Ruins

Dozens of Horn Eagle Beasts were summoned to transport the elves, as otherwise it would take an unbearably long time to reach the ruins through the vast swamp. Their slow pace might cause those in the ruins to wait anxiously.
The elves had practically no luggage—having fled in haste with their entire tribe destroyed by forbidden magic, they carried little, so this wouldn’t affect their speed.
Ferdinand’s mother and others were still in the ruins. Without their airship, it would be difficult for them to escape the swamp, and there was also a teleportation array waiting to be claimed. Thus, Donald had a valid reason to return to the ruins.
As for the danger of flying, Donald had already thought of a solution.
Horn Eagle Beasts were the best aerial combatants among magical beasts. Even an undead Frost Dragon could be defeated by sacrificing three of them. Due to their exceptional aerial capabilities, designers had stripped them of their ground combat abilities to maintain game balance.
The Horn Eagle Beasts created by the Book of Truth retained these advantages while being more in line with real-world conditions. On average, two of Donald’s Horn Eagle Beasts could overcome a rank difference and hold off an adult bipedal dragon, while three could ensure a decisive victory.
So even if they encountered any flying magical beasts, these thirty Horn Eagle Beasts would ensure the safety of the elves—especially since the three mages were no amateurs.
They hadn’t made such a grand effort before to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, but with a group of elves to drag along, it was necessary.
After Donald and the others were accidentally teleported away, Edwina and the others searched the ruins for several hours before almost completely plundering all the buildings.
It was unfortunate that their storage equipment was very limited, allowing them to take only the most valuable items; most of the rest had to be abandoned temporarily. Edwina now longed for Donald’s seemingly endless storage capacity, hoping her son would be safe with them, especially since Messel, a high-ranking Silver mage, was among them.
However, what worried the people in the ruins was that they had encountered multiple attacks from magical beasts while searching the buildings. Though they were all low-level beasts below rank three and appeared only on the periphery of the ruins, it had been eerily quiet inside when they first entered—completely devoid of any signs of life.

So these magical beasts must have come from the outer swamps. Yet even powerful sub-dragon beasts like level seven chimera dared not enter the mist surrounding the ruins, let alone these lower-level beasts from the swamps! Therefore, everyone noticed the disappearance of the mist around the ruins, and it’s very likely that their actions inside the ruins caused the mist to vanish, freeing the external magical beasts from restraint and allowing them to enter and exit the ruins at will. If Donald knew their thoughts at this moment, he would surely realize that Edwina and the others were right—without the suppression of the magical locks and the evil god’s aura, the creatures in the swamps wouldn’t give up such a large territory. Moreover, in the city of mages, with magic and alchemy devices everywhere, the magical energy they emit attracts countless magical beasts to gather here. These beasts below level three are just the beginning! Soon, magical beasts above level four began appearing in the ruins. Beasts deep in the swamps aren’t easily found. At first, Edwina, Horton, and the others were excited to kill a few rarely seen beasts and obtain some rare materials. What pleased the two silver mages the most was the blood of a multi-headed serpent lizard, the main ingredient for making advanced regeneration potions that can heal simple limb injuries. If it were the blood of a multi-headed serpent lizard with five or more heads, its effects would be extremely powerful, even allowing recovery from complete limb loss. Unfortunately, this multi-headed serpent lizard was just an ordinary three-headed variety, so its value was much lower. Although each head had bronze-level strength, it was killed quickly under the attack of the two silver mages and several silver swordsmen, barely able to spit out any venom before its heads were cut off and it bled to death. This kind of beast hunting lasted about an hour until they encountered a group of water swamp spiders. They were forced to retreat to the side hall where the teleportation array was located, waiting for Donald and the others to return while avoiding the magical beasts lurking in the ruins. Water swamp spiders resemble a combination of spiders and beetles, about seven inches long, with greenish-blue bodies and long, sharp mandibles. These beasts are only black iron level in strength, but due to their size, even an ordinary person with a wooden stick can kill several of them. However, what’s terrifying about them is that they are social insects and are known as the three major killers of the swamps alongside vampire mosquitoes and swamp leeches. Even the most powerful group in the swamp, the two-legged dragons, keep their distance from these three kinds of pests.

Among the three major swamp killers, the Water Swamp Spiders possess the greatest individual strength. They can attack massive magical beasts, tearing apart their skin with their sharp chelicerae and sharing in the blood that flows into the water. Fortunately, if it weren’t for their natural predators, the entire swamp area would likely have become a hunting ground for them.

Surprisingly, the natural predators of the Water Swamp Spiders are not powerful magical beasts but rather small amphibious humanoids like the Swamp Fishermen. Despite the spiders’ ferocity and danger, these humanoid races that live in the swamps often hunt them, considering roasted spiders to be a delicacy. When faced with an attack from a large group of Water Swamp Spiders, these Fishermen have their own ways to deal with it. Usually, they dive into the mud to hide, a tactic that is very effective. Although Water Swamp Spiders live in swamps and have unique physiological structures that allow them to move across water surfaces as if on solid ground, interestingly, they are complete land ducks. If they fail to escape from the mud or underwater in time, they suffocate within a minute.

When encountering groups of these relatively weak magical insects, Edwina and the others, who were not familiar with swamp creatures, thought they were just ordinary swamp organisms. Sorg, who was well-accustomed to the swamp, couldn’t stop them in time, and dozens of them were killed effortlessly.

But when a terrifyingly large swarm of Water Swamp Spiders gathered in this area, Edwina immediately sensed trouble. “We must retreat! The danger posed by these Water Swamp Spiders is no less than that of a swarm of Winged Dragons. There are tens of thousands of them—there’s no way to kill them all!” Hearing Sorg’s words, Edwina said right away, “Let’s return to the temple. It’s the strongest structure in the ruins, and we can wait there for news from Donald and the others!”

So, the group fought their way back to the side chapel of the temple where the teleportation array was located, joining the two swordsmen who had stayed behind earlier. After waiting in the side chapel for half an hour, the silver mage Horden grew impatient and said, “It seems that more and more magical beasts are gathering at the ruins. It’s likely they’ve already formed a herd. Even if Lord Baron returns with his men, it will be difficult for them to break in. There’s no point in waiting here!”

The silver archer from the Thorne family agreed, “Indeed. If this continues, even we won’t be able to leave the ruins. If we don’t break through now while the beast herd isn’t yet too large, our only option will be to use the teleportation array here to escape, otherwise we’ll be trapped and die here!” Everyone understood what these two were saying. Aside from the Ansel family, whose expressions remained unchanged, even Sorg, the beheaded man, couldn’t help but have other thoughts.

Edwina frowned and said to Hordon and the others, “I have confidence in Donald. As long as the distance he’s teleported to isn’t too far, he should be able to return quickly. Moreover, Maelser, the greatest mage in the North County, is extremely mysterious and powerful. Unless they’re in an utterly hopeless situation, I’m sure they’ll be safe!”

Hordon found Edwina’s confidence in Donald and the others somewhat unbelievable. Maelser, a silver-ranked powerhouse, was one thing, but that baron was just a newly promoted bronze mage. No matter how many advantages he had, how could he be so highly regarded by the head of the Ansel family?

While a silence reigned in the side hall, the silver swordsman guarding the entrance suddenly shouted, “Madam, there’s a flying magical beast circling above us outside the temple—no, it’s not a magical beast…” Edwina hurried to the door and looked outside, a joyful smile appearing on her face.

“It’s an alchemical puppet. I’ve seen Donald summon one before. It must be him ordering the puppet to send news!” With that, she pushed open the door and stepped outside.

By now, the outskirts of the ruins were almost completely occupied by magical beasts, but since the temple was deep in the center of the ruins, no beasts could be seen yet.

The stone golem flying in the sky saw Edwina and immediately flapped its wings to land, then spat out a letter from its mouth. Edwina quickly stepped forward to take the letter, opened it, and immediately smiled, “As expected, the greatest genius mage of the kingdom. Donald, you haven’t disappointed me!”

Then she turned and returned to the temple. As for the stone golem, after completing its task, it folded its wings and transformed into a black-gray statue, standing in front of the temple. This was Donald’s second command for it.

Returning to the side hall, Edwina immediately said, “Donald said they were transported to the other side of the swamp and it would take about half a day to return. Several hours have passed since they were taken away, and half a day is almost up—they should be nearing the outskirts of the ruins by now!” Hordon wasn’t sure what to think of this, but he still had doubts: “Even if they manage to return, the herd is growing larger and larger. How are we supposed to break through the ruins and get back to solid ground?”
“There will be a way once they return. Besides, many hands make light work. With one more powerful Silver-tier warrior, I think our chances of escaping successfully increase, don’t you think?”
Hordon understood this logic as well. Moreover, their Thorn family was the weakest among them here. Even though he had previously favored leaving early without waiting for Donald and the others, relying on just them to break through alone didn’t guarantee they could bring their own people out of the ruins safely. So he had nothing more to say and decided it was safer to stay together with the others.