126: Melissa's spying

Melissa held her hands before her chest, softly chanting two lines of an incantation, then spread her hands as dozens of Glow Birds flew out.

"Aunt Melissa, is there really something going on with the dragons?"

Melissa looked solemnly toward the Black Mountain Range to the north.

"The terrain of the Black Mountain Range is complex; only the core area is suitable for large tribes to thrive, and that is precisely the area controlled by the dragons."

"The depths of the Black Mountain Range are occupied by three large forces. The Secluded Valley and our Verdant Holy Land do not concern ourselves with worldly affairs, so only Dragon Peak has remained active outside."

"If there really is movement in the depths of the Black Mountain Range, it can only be those dragons. They have gathered the vast majority of magical beasts and Alien Tribes in the Black Mountain Range under their command."

"If they are driven south by the dragons, we will be in real trouble."

After hearing Melissa's words, Alistair's eyes flickered as he thought about something.

Ariya looked at the distant mountain range with some fear; she had grown up listening to stories of evil dragons, and in the mouths of her elders, dragons were creatures that ate little fairies without even spitting out the bones.

"Ariya doesn't want to be eaten!"

"Waaaah!"

Melissa gave Ariya a light knock on the head.

"What are you afraid of, coward!"

"With your Big Sister Melissa covering you, are you still afraid those dragons will eat you?"

"Let's see what the Glow Birds have seen."

Melissa drew a circle in front of her with both hands, and as magic surged, an image was projected.

"This is the perspective of the Glow Birds. They are very fast, so we will soon see if there is any movement in the forest."

The image projected by Melissa's magic moved rapidly from a bird's-eye view. Ariya and Alistair saw countless trees moving quickly across the screen.

The Glow Birds flew over peak after peak, heading toward the depths of the mountain range.

Melissa also had dozens of other images seen by the Glow Birds in her mind, and she was picking out useful information from these viewpoints.

After a moment, Ariya felt a bit bored looking at the repetitive peaks and forests and let out a yawn.

"Sister Melissa, could you have sensed it wrong? Is there no abnormality at all?"

"It's nothing but trees after trees."

On the other side, Alistair's eyes were wandering, unsure of what he was thinking.

Melissa ignored Ariya's grumbling. The Glow Birds she had released had been flying for a while and were gradually approaching the depths of the Black Mountain Range.

The images sent back by the Glow Birds also began to change.

"There's movement!"

Melissa sensed that the image from one Glow Bird was slightly off and immediately pulled up its perspective.

A dragon over a hundred meters long swept across the sky, its massive body soaring through the air while carrying a powerful dragon might.

Most terrifyingly, there were five equally fearsome behemoths behind that dragon, followed by a dense, dark cloud.

Then, the dark shadows rapidly enlarged until they occupied the Glow Bird's entire field of vision, their overwhelming figures filling the whole sky.

Ariya and Alistair stared blankly at the Glow Bird's image.

Melissa was just about to adjust the perspective to observe the leading dragon.

But in the next second, she lost contact with the Glow Bird.

"The Glow Bird was struck down?"

Ariya and Alistair only snapped out of it after the visual image shattered.

"Sister Melissa, that's so scary. Was that a dragon?"

Ariya trembled with fear; just a single glance at the dragon's silhouette had sent a wave of terror over her.

"Yes, I didn't expect a dragon to take action personally. Judging by its size, its strength is very formidable, and there are quite a few of them—six dragons in total."

"And those flying magical beasts... there are simply too many of them!"

In the final moment before the Glow Bird was destroyed, Melissa had seen a dense mass of flying magical beasts, many of which were powerful Dragon-blooded Magical Beasts like Wyverns.

Melissa fully mobilized the perspectives of the other Glow Birds. Images were sent back one after another, and the other birds also began to see the advancing Dragonkin army.

One by one, the Glow Birds were struck down and lost contact while observing.

It wasn't until the last Glow Bird was destroyed that Melissa ended her magic scrying.

"Alistair, gather your subordinates quickly. We are leaving this place right now."

"The army the dragons have mobilized this time is extremely massive. I estimate they have deployed all the magical beasts and Dragonkin Slaves under their control."

"Furthermore, I sensed the auras of dozens of Gold Rank experts. An army of this scale must have a Legendary Expert hidden within it."

"This is not something we can handle. Leave immediately—go now!"

"Otherwise, we won't be able to leave at all!"

Melissa urged Alistair with great urgency.

"I understand, Aunt Melissa!"

Alistair also realized the urgency of the situation and immediately called for Butler Bart, ordering him to gather everyone in the territory, take their food, and migrate south immediately.

"Master, what has happened?"

"The dragons from the depths of the Black Mountain Range are heading south. Go carry out the order immediately. Once the subjects are gathered, head south; perhaps they will still have a chance at survival."

"What? Dragons heading south?"

Bart was so shocked he was speechless. It wasn't until Alistair urged him again that he hurriedly ran out to execute the order.

Besides Bart, Alistair also called Wilson and the others, telling them to pack their belongings immediately and leave the territory to head south.

The news of the dragon attack caught Wilson and the others off guard, making them doubt whether Alistair's information was reliable.

"Lord, is the news credible?"

"Dragons haven't shown their faces for over two hundred years. Are they really heading south?"

"You can stay and wait for two days to see if the news is true. At the dragons' marching speed, their vanguard could arrive here in a day."

Alistair had no time to explain anything to them.

"We'll go pack right now!"

Wilson turned and went back to his quarters to start packing his belongings. He was Alistair's guardian knight; he would simply do whatever his lord wanted to do, and the truth of the news didn't matter much to him.

If it were true, the situation would indeed be extremely critical, and there was no need for Wilson to take that risk.

Most of the others had similar thoughts. The entire Bright Moon Territory was set in motion, and because it was so abrupt, the scene was once in a state of utter chaos.

By the time Alistair had everything packed, many of the other residents of Bright Moon Territory had only just received the news and started moving.

Looking at the messy territory and then turning to see the towering Bright Moon Castle nearby, Alistair felt somewhat reluctant to leave the castle he had just settled into; he liked the life here very much.

He just hadn't expected this peaceful life to end so soon.

While Alistair was packing up the territory and preparing to flee, a few black dots appeared on the distant horizon, which then rapidly enlarged.

Several massive flying magical beasts flew toward Bright Moon Territory at high speed.

The towering Bright Moon Castle provided a clear direction for these beasts. With a forceful beat of their massive wings, the beasts' speed instantly increased further.

"The Cult Leader was indeed right; there really is a big fish here!"