128: War is coming

Red River Territory: a massive new city appeared on the eastern bank of the Red River.

Tall, thick walls surrounded the entire Red River New City.

The entire wall shimmered with a red light under the sun, its structure so seamless it looked like a single piece.

In fact, the wall was indeed a single entity, as the entire structure had been reinforced by magic, becoming a solid stone wall.

Half a month ago, Ren had enlisted Kapdo's help to build the new walls of the Red River Territory; with Kapdo's assistance, progress was extremely rapid.

Eventually, there was no longer any need for brick kilns to fire red bricks; they simply transported ready-made red sand and used the Mud to Stone spell to shape it directly into a unified wall.

Other workers only needed to build defensive structures and auxiliary facilities on top after Kapdo and Ren had completed the wall.

Later, when Ren found Dora, he had the Spirit of Nature use her innate spell, Nature Purification, on Cecilia and Kapdo.

Although Dora's casting did not completely eradicate the evil gods curse on Kapdo and Cecilia, it greatly weakened its influence.

Before long, Kapdo recovered his Gold Peak strength, and his magical power surged. The wall Ren had originally estimated would take months to build was completed in less than half a month under Kapdo's full effort.

Not only did he finish the construction, but at Ren's request, Kapdo also used magic to reinforce and strengthen the entire wall.

Looking at the wall—taller, thicker, and more magnificent than he had envisioned—Ren could only marvel that a top-tier mage's creativity was truly beyond imagination.

"Master Kapdo, it's lucky you're here; otherwise, finishing this new city would have taken until late spring or early summer next year."

Ren was very satisfied with Red River City; the construction of this new city had basically followed the blueprint in his mind.

Red River City bordered the Red River to the west, encompassed the entire Red River Fortress and some land further east to the east, and had a small expansion to the north.

To the south, it extended to several newly built pig and chicken farms; the large-scale livestock farms were incorporated into the new city, though the thousands of acres of pasture were too vast and remained outside.

"I never thought I'd end up building city walls one day. Luckily, I was quite diligent as a Mage Apprentice and learned introductory spells like Mud to Stone well enough!"

Kapdo stroked his gray beard, also lamenting the unpredictability of life. Who would have thought that a Potion Master like him would do such menial work in the eyes of an ordinary mage!

Kapdo was about to say more when he suddenly turned his head to look north.

Ren turned to look as well, puzzled, and felt a familiar aura approaching the Red River Territory from the north.

"Is it him?"

"Why would he come here?"

Kapdo had been quite nervous when he felt a powerful creature, no weaker than himself, rapidly approaching from the north, but seeing that Ren seemed to know this mysterious expert, he couldn't help but feel curious.

"Master Kapdo, I'll go see what's happening."

"Alright!"

Ren mounted Reck and headed north.

A moment later, Ren saw Anatolis galloping toward him with a Wolf Pack.

"Senior Anatolis, what are you doing?"

Anatolis first glanced at Red River City behind Ren, then focused his gaze on Ren himself.

"Kid, you've actually broken through to the Gold Rank so quickly. Truly impressive!"

"And this great city... you're even stronger than big brother Derrick. Not only are you talented, but you also know how to govern a territory. If big brother Derrick knew he had a descendant like you, he would surely be gratified."

Ren's image in Anatolis's mind rose another notch.

"Anyway, kid, I'm here to give you some very bad news. There's unusual movement from the dragons deep within the Black Mountain Range. The forces under the dragons are moving south on a large scale; they're likely about to move against your human race."

Ren was shocked by the news Anatolis brought.

"Dragon movement, moving against the Kingdom?"

"Anatolis, is what you're saying true?"

"Didn't you say the dragons fear His Majesty the Golden King and wouldn't easily provoke the Kingdom? Why would they suddenly act?"

"Is it the Dragon Worship Cult? Or are there dragons involved?"

Anatolis couldn't understand why the dragons had suddenly gone mad either; he had been pondering this question the whole way.

"I saw with my own eyes that dragons are involved, led by a Legendary dragon. However, they led a large army toward the southeast, likely toward the Stag Territory."

"Coming your way are likely demonic beasts and various tribal forces controlled by the Dragon Worship Cult. There are many strong individuals among them; I can sense the auras of over a dozen Gold Rank experts."

"A group of this scale must have a Legendary commander, very likely the Leader of the Dragon Worship Cult."

"My offspring also saw another even more powerful group heading southwest, likely toward the Cold Wind Territory."

Ren was even more shocked by what Anatolis said; this was no longer an ordinary war, but a total war.

"Three groups heading toward three archducal territories... do the dragons want to start a total war and declare war on the entire Kingdom?"

"Perhaps. In any case, the scale of this war will definitely not be small. I couldn't stay at Magic Wolf Peak anymore, so I came south to find you, kid!"

"Pack your things and come with me now. Go south. As long as you head south and hold out until your Golden King acts, these dragons will naturally retreat!"

Anatolis's suggestion made Ren hesitate. He had worked hard in the Red River Territory for months and finally managed to build up some assets; he couldn't immediately decide to just give it all up.

Just as Ren was thinking, intense combat fluctuations suddenly came from the direction of the Bright Moon Territory to the north.

Even from a great distance, Ren and Anatolis could clearly feel the aura of these combat fluctuations.

"Senior, have those Dragon Worship Cultists reached the Red River Valley so quickly?"

Anatolis was also surprised.

"That shouldn't be possible. Based on my speed, those Dragon Worship Cultists should take at least a day or two to get here, maybe even longer if they're slow."

"Looking at this aura, there are at least three Gold Peak experts fighting. Since when did the Red River Valley have such powerful people?"

"Is it the Guardian of that Archduke's son?"

Ren immediately thought of Alistair through the combat fluctuations.

Kapdo in Red River City also felt the combat fluctuations from the north and rushed over.

As soon as he left the city, he saw the giant wolf Anatolis and Ren standing beside him.

"Kid Ren, who is this?"

Anatolis looked at Kapdo with a hint of wariness in his eyes; Kapdo's appearance gave Anatolis a sense of crisis.

"This is Master Kapdo, the Chief Archmage of our Red River Territory."

"Master Kapdo, this is the Black Nightmare Magic Wolf Anatolis, the battle brother of the Derrick Family founder, Wild Wolf Knight Derrick."

Kapdo showed an expression of realization and looked at Anatolis curiously.

Anatolis stared at Ren meaningfully; he hadn't expected Ren to be hiding such a powerful mage in his territory.

Ren had no time to think about other things; his mind was entirely on the news Anatolis brought and the sudden battle to the north.

"The battle to the north—should we go take a look?"