Chapter 358: Just Looking

Chapter 358: Just Looking

First, he would create a strong Lockdown Zone to completely seal the area, preventing any anomalies belonging to this region from leaking out. As for whether the Wind Dragonflies would try to force a breakthrough?

Regarding that, Achille, who was in charge of part of the operation, said they could charge ahead if they wanted. He would be unhappy if they did not. The most troublesome scenario would be if the Wind Dragonflies stayed holed up like turtles in Windwhisper Valley. Their natural home-field advantage, plus the Witch’s Power weakening living beings, would make it nearly impossible for his people to fight effectively if they went in.

If the Wind Dragonflies were willing to leave the canyon and charge out, there would be many opportunities to deal with them one by one.

These past few days, Achille had tried many ways to lure the Wind Dragonflies out of the canyon, but none worked well. So far, they had eliminated less than ten. If the daily result was just that, they could try a few more times. If the numbers went down over time, it would greatly weaken their combined strength later. It would not be a waste of time.

However, this was the total result over many days. If they kept grinding away like this, it would take at least a few months to achieve enough. By then, it would be too late. They had to think of another way.

As for the many Adventurers and Mercenaries showing up near the area recently, as long as they did not interfere with the Sanctuary Church’s tasks, the Sanctuary Church would not force them to leave. Achille understood human curiosity too well. Forcing people away would only make more people curious. It was better to openly let them see the danger this canyon posed.

As the big Boss, the Sanctuary Church would step up and take charge in such times. But other factions should not think they could just stand by and do nothing. The Sanctuary Church would not let itself be the fish. Those who wanted to sit back and fish would end up getting kicked off the platform by the Sanctuary Church from behind. Forget fishing; they would all go swimming together.

For minor matters, they could squabble among themselves, but when something major happened, did they think they could just ignore it? Wishful thinking! The Sanctuary Church had many ways to drag them into it.

But today, Achille received an extra piece of news. Oss had returned to Windwhisper Valley and was expected to arrive around noon… Well, with vehicles as transportation, what used to take days could now be shortened several times over. It was easy and convenient. It was a great invention…

When Alchemists analyzed vehicle materials, they even discovered the presence of Inferior Enchanted Material. This certainly caught many people’s attention. Enchanted Materials were costly, even the low-grade ones. But Inferior Enchanted Material was much cheaper, and its performance was not worse than low-grade Enchanted Material. The only difference was in growth potential.

Surely no one would be foolish enough to try cultivating low-grade Enchanted Material, so growth potential was not an issue at all. No one would consider that. They were considering this material’s impact on the market… But the price of these vehicles was set perfectly. If someone bought a vehicle just to dismantle it for the material, it would be a total loss. Producing the same vehicle using Enchanted Material would mean losing money completely on price. Thankfully, what let many merchant guilds dealing mainly in Enchanted Material breathe a sigh of relief was that Tianwang seemed intent on keeping exclusive rights to this Inferior Enchanted Material, using it only for vehicle production, without meddling in other markets.

That was a good thing. At least by doing so, they could accept it. Just stick to your vehicle trade honestly. They could tolerate that much. After all, Tianwang was a rising Online Store Boss; they had to give some face. Of course, if Tianwang set its sights on the Enchanted Material market and wanted a piece of the pie… Who did they think they were? The Creator?

If they did not hand over the Alchemy formula for this Inferior Enchanted Material, they should not expect to operate smoothly!

This was something of an unspoken agreement among the merchant guilds. As long as Tianwang was not foolish enough to cross the line, everyone would turn a blind eye. If they chose to cross that line… Well!

As for others eyeing the Inferior Enchanted Material? Enchanted Materials were mainly used to make Magic Equipment or Magic Arms and such. Buying a vehicle just to dismantle it for Inferior Enchanted Material was truly not as cost-effective as buying a batch of proper Enchanted Material. If there really were such fools with more money than sense, the major merchant guilds would have nothing to say. It would be others being foolish with their wealth, not something Tianwang caused. No big deal… Such wasteful people would not last long.

When encountering such people, they would just join forces to find a way to take a big bite out of them.

“Oss…” Achille shook his head, deciding not to think about him for now. His strength had grown quickly recently, but it was just quick. Here in Windwhisper Valley, it would not have any significant impact on the situation. They could find out his purpose for coming later. The most important task right now was to establish the Containment Barrier first. By then, even though the Adventurers and Mercenaries gathering here would find it inconvenient to come and go, it would not be too troublesome.

The Containment Barrier was mainly to prevent the dark clouds in the sky from spreading.

“This kind of Legend event, and you want me to leave? No way!”

In the vehicle, Oss felt a headache coming on. That was Lina’s reaction when he discussed it with her afterward. He should have known. Given her personality, how could she easily miss out on such a thing? Of course, she would rush to be part of it without stopping. He somewhat regretted telling her about it directly.

It would have been better to use some other excuse to brush her off and send her home. Instead, now she had pushed the vehicle’s speed to the red zone, racing toward Windwhisper Valley. Oss even noticed the strange look in the eyes of the driver in the church convoy behind them… How could he see that clearly?

These eyes were of high quality. Even without activating them, his vision was far better than before.

“Sigh…” Oss let out a melancholy sigh. He was not too conflicted, though. Lina’s temperament was a bit… well. Upon careful thought, she had never caused any serious trouble so far. At most, it was trivial matters, like in the wilderness when she somehow attracted one or several ferocious beasts, either by using some method or by coincidence.

Those situations required Oss and the others to exert considerable effort to resolve. In short, they were always thrilling but ultimately safe. By now, they were almost used to it. Oss had also benefited a lot from it, defeating many powerful beasts, steadily improving his strength.

He hoped their usual good luck would hold this time. Oss shook his head, deciding not to worry about what came next. After all, this return to Windwhisper Valley was just to check how serious the situation was. If things looked bad, they would not push their luck; leaving immediately was the priority. As for Lina disagreeing?

He would just force her to leave.

When they were still a few hours away from Windwhisper Valley, Gale and the others, who had been feeling drowsy from the ride, saw the distant scenery, and their sleepiness vanished completely. “Whoa, this looks just like the Forbidden Curse Magic described in novels…”

Gale stared dumbfounded at the massive funnel clouds covering the distant sky. Huge amounts of clouds were being drawn in and stained black. The funnel clouds, now filled with dark clouds, sent a chill down one’s spine even from afar. The closer they got, the greater the invisible pressure, especially near Windwhisper Valley.

Along the way, more people appeared. Many were heading toward Windwhisper Valley, while many others were leaving in panic in the opposite direction. Some turned back midway, unable to bear the invisible pressure.

“The Witch’s strength… is this terrifying? Even without her physical presence, what she left behind can cause such an effect.” Wood said sincerely. The mighty power before their eyes was something they could never have imagined in their entire lives. In their impression, being able to split a ten-meter boulder with one sword strike was already incredible, something they would need to strive for a long, long time to achieve. And now, they were witnessing a cataclysmic, awe-inspiring scene.

“Uh… If I’m not mistaken, those funnel clouds are probably created by the Wind Dragonflies working together. It shouldn’t have much to do with that Witch.” Lina, who was driving, heard Wood’s exclamation and spoke without turning her head.

“Ahem!” Wood coughed lightly in embarrassment. What could he say? Seeing the funnel clouds and dark clouds, and knowing this place was connected to the Witch, he naturally jumped to the conclusion and linked the strange phenomenon to the Witch, overlooking the most important cause. This was somewhat embarrassing for Wood, who fancied himself an old hand among Adventurers.

“Lina, don’t you feel a bit uneasy looking at that thing?” Hearing Lina’s rather relaxed tone, Gale couldn’t help but ask. He himself was feeling uneasy. The closer they got, the stronger the feeling. It was like his body was sending an instinctive message to his brain—high-energy warning ahead, turn back immediately!

“It’s alright. This kind of once-in-decades event, I’m just too excited. Why would I feel uneasy?” Lina glanced back at Gale, perplexed. “I’m actually glad I’m young enough to experience this. If it were a few years later, I probably wouldn’t even be able to travel far.”

“Let’s not talk about that. We’re just going to check the situation this time. If there’s any danger, we avoid getting involved.” Hearing Lina’s topic getting heavier, Oss interrupted her, focusing on the main issue. “The disaster there is so big, it’s beyond anything we can handle. Don’t let a moment’s curiosity drag you into danger, okay?”

“Huh? … That sounds like such a pity. Okay, okay. Just looking is fine too…”