Green Monster Epic

Chapter 732 Crystal Gate

Deep in the Tagan Desert, the scorching sun shone, yet a patch of white mist drifted between the undulating, ochre-colored hills.

Several native snake-men poked their heads out from the flat sand, curiously observing the slowly drifting mist on the dunes, their eyes flashing with eagerness.

Although the temperature difference between day and night in the desert was extreme, due to the lack of moisture, dense fog was rare; at most, faint white wisps of vapor would appear in shaded areas before sunrise.

Of course, with the changing climate of the Green Plains, it was not uncommon to see mist-covered landscapes near the desert and Gobi fringes close to the plains. However, such a sight deep in the desert was truly rare. At least, these few native snake-men had never seen it before, so they couldn't help but emerge from the sand, watching with curiosity.

“Hiss ~ ~ Zzz ~ ~”

One of the snake-men's vertical pupils suddenly contracted, noticing a strange sign. He quickly flicked his forked tongue and began to converse in their race's unique snake language.

Alerted by his companion, the other three snake-men also shifted their gaze, observing the area behind the mist. On the originally flat and smooth sand, as the mist, covering an area of more than two miles, drifted by, chaotic imprints appeared on the ground, as if many creatures had passed through.

With this discovery, the hunting snake-men became restless. They plunged into the sand, like fish in the sea, skillfully concealing themselves beneath the dunes, slowly approaching the mist.

The mist seemed to drift slowly, but in reality, it was as fast as a galloping horse. The snake-men's swimming speed in the sand was clearly not enough to keep up. Seeing the distance between them growing, they simply climbed out of the sand, using their nimble tails to slither swiftly across the loose sand.

Their forked tongues, tasting the air, sensed an unusual odor, far more sensitive than noses, allowing the snake-men to roughly determine the number of creatures hidden in the mist, approximately a hundred or so.

The snake-men exchanged glances and reacted with extreme tacit understanding. One of them turned and burrowed back into the sand, returning towards their previous hiding place.

Whoosh!!!

A powerful arrow whistled through the mist, heading straight for a slightly raised, rapidly moving trace on the sand's surface. As the arrow plunged into the loose sand, the undulating movement within the sand stopped.

The snake-men, who were frantically chasing the mist, were first stunned, then felt a strong sense of crisis, immediately turning and fleeing in all directions.

Whoosh!! Whoosh, whoosh!!!

Several more strong arrows flew out. Three snake-men fell in response, only one, stronger than the others, leaped agilely, wielding his spear to create a flurry of afterimages behind him, blocking the arrow aimed at his vital back and deflecting it aside.

Huff!!

The snake-man had just breathed a sigh of relief, his movements quickening, but he didn't expect a sharp ground spike to suddenly rise from the earth, piercing directly through his long tail, which was pressed against the sand, and then emerging from his back. A spray of foul-smelling blood, along with a mess of internal organs, gushed from the bloody hole, flowing onto the scorching sand.

The snake-man revealed a nostalgic look, gazing far towards his homeland, life gradually draining from his body, until a sharp sword slashed across his neck, and a round snake head fell to the ground. At this moment, an elf warrior, clad in exquisite grass-green gilded leather armor, revealed his handsome, solemn appearance.

Sha~ Sha~

Leather boots landed on the sand, making a soft sound. Behind the three struggling, not-quite-dead snake-men not far away, another flash of cold light appeared, followed by three elf rogues wearing hoods, revealing their pointed ears, each drawing their weapons, which had ended the snake-men's lives, gracefully flicking off the remaining blood from the sharp blades.

Having done all this, the elf warriors ignored the spoils on the ground and went straight ahead, chasing after the drifting mist. Soon, their figures were enveloped by the mist, disappearing back into the endless ochre sea of sand.

It was unknown how long the mist drifted, until the fine yellow sand on the ground gradually contained smooth pebbles of varying sizes, as well as angular, fragmented weathered rocks. The seemingly aimless mist finally stopped, taking root in this area where the Gobi desert met the sea of sand.

As time passed, the mist seemed to gradually dissipate. When the milky-white mist finally disappeared completely, the creatures hidden within were revealed. It turned out to be an elf squad of a hundred, their attire indicating various combat professions. Their training was extremely disciplined, and their weapons and equipment were excellent, clearly not ordinary adventurers.

Most conspicuous were more than a dozen elf mages wearing white robes, squatting on the ground, piecing together blocks of crystal-clear square bricks.

The surrounding elves scattered, guarding the dozen or so elf mages in the center: elf rogues and scouts wearing leather and chainmail ran far outwards, their figures disappearing into the air as they ran, beginning their perimeter security tasks; shield warriors, strongmen, and berserkers held their respective weapons, forming a circle, their pupils facing outwards, gazing into the distance; in the sky above, druids' animal companions soared high, overlooking the movements within dozens of miles…

Click!!

The last crystal brick was placed in its rightful place. Suddenly, without wind, the sand on the ground stirred, a swirling gust of fine sand wrapping around the crystalline creation before them. After a dozen minutes, the turbid, intense gale calmed down, and streams of natural energy slowly contracted, merging into the archway-shaped structure in front of them, constructed of pure white crystal and colorful gemstones.

“Teacher, we have completed the assembly task. Now, we only need to insert the gemstones and activate the magic, and the Crystal Gate can be activated!”

A male elf mage with short, grayish-white hair slowly stood up and walked to a male elf not far away, wearing a flowing, light-green robe, his golden hair as radiant as light, and bowed to report.

The elf turned his head, revealing a handsome face comparable to a beautiful woman, yet possessing an intellectual aura. He glanced at the Crystal Gate, nearly five meters wide and tall, exuding a mysterious aura, and nodded indifferently.

“Then, according to the previous agreement, wait until six o'clock in the evening, and activate the Crystal Gate on time!!”

His eyes flashed with a spark of electricity, and the golden-haired elf, with an inherent, invisible aura, spoke in a cold, stern tone.

“Expand the warning range by ten miles. The prerequisite for the success of the next action is to ensure absolute secrecy!”

“Understood!!”

As Archmage Galos Bentley's recently recruited student, High Mage Clint greatly cherished this rare student opportunity, especially this time, accompanying his teacher on an external mission. It was an excellent chance for him to demonstrate his talent and abilities in front of his teacher. The dozens of other classmates who remained at the Magic Academy in the kingdom didn't even have the ability to participate.

Fortunately, in addition to studying magical knowledge and truth, he also minored in a professional course on war machinery and alchemical tool construction and restoration, which allowed him to be selected by his teacher to participate in this operation.

However, while constructing the Crystal Gate, Clint couldn't help but wonder what kind of being could make his teacher use such an important strategic resource like the Crystal Gate. Furthermore, his teacher was heading south while being so cautious and secretive, completely lacking the demeanor of a demigod.

One must know that magical devices like the Crystal Gate consume an exorbitant amount of energy each time they are activated, equivalent to the value of a high-level legendary weapon. Its effect is to open a long-distance portal within the same plane, allowing elite troops to launch surprise attacks.

Even during the battle with the Dwarven Kingdom a century ago, strategic war machines like the Crystal Gate were only used in a few key decisive battles, and they achieved remarkable results.

Now, for some goal in the Savage Lands, his teacher, a demigod mage, would actually use such a device. As Clint, a mage who habitually liked to get to the bottom of things, his heart was naturally filled with curiosity.

Garros looked up at the crimson sun, still a considerable distance from the western horizon. His cool face showed a slight displeasure, but since this natural law was unchangeable, he could only endure it for the time being, waiting for the scheduled time to arrive.

With a wave of his hand, several translucent eyes of magic suddenly appeared above his head. Immediately, under the control of the demigod mage's powerful mental strength, they quickly flew towards the southern direction.

… … … …

Torrent Bay, the Green Field Tribe's most important grain production base. Over one-third of the grain produced by the entire tribe comes from the vast lands surrounding Torrent Bay.

Due to the needs of production and planting, a Druid research team is permanently stationed in Torrent Bay Town. On the one hand, they help local farmers solve crop disaster problems and drive away uncontrolled wild herbivores. On the other hand, they can conduct on-site research to improve better grain varieties and cultivate new types of crops.

Benefiting from the presence of these Druid scholars, the Green Field Tribe's grain and commercial crop yields have been steadily increasing, breaking the previous year's production scale every year, providing the tribe with more stable food and economic crops.

Also, because of the aggregation effect of Druid scholars, this place has become a practical learning and practice area for Druid students from the Green Lake Town Magic Academy. Currently, there are 300-400 Druids of various ranks studying and researching here all year round.

The newly adult male Earth Goblin, Bill Warren, is a mid-level level 11 Raptor Druid. As a genius-type goblin who is highly valued by his family, he is only two levels away from a high-level Druid, which means a bright future for an Earth Goblin who is only sixteen years old.

Not only does the Warren family place high hopes on him, but even the Green Field Tribe itself values him very much. A genius-type goblin who is close to the high level at the age of sixteen has a chance to break through the legendary level in the future. This has become a certainty, and it only depends on whether he can finally embark on the road to legend.

Even if he ultimately fails to break through and find his own path, his extremely rare animal affinity talent as a Druid will have a very good effect on the tribe in daily life and in battle.

Perhaps because of his talent, Bill doesn't like staying in the bustling town. He prefers to go out of the seemingly prosperous town, which actually has few animals, and bypass the artificially excavated planting areas outside the town to mingle in the more remote wilderness natural environment.

The natural vegetation outside the wilderness, adjacent to the Gobi Desert, is sparse. In the eyes of outsiders, it is desolate and lifeless, but in Bill's eyes, who has the talent of animal affinity, countless vibrant small animals are hidden in every corner.

In the seemingly flat sandy soil, a six-eyed sand spider is hiding, patiently waiting for prey to pass by it. Any friction vibration from the surface of the quicksand will be captured and its size and threat will be judged, and then it will choose whether to attack or hide.

Under a fist-sized gravel wrapped by a few sparse Haloxylon ammodendron plants, a scorpion is raising its tail, its eyes locked on a jewel beetle that has not yet settled on a grass leaf. A pair of black pincers are stretched to the maximum, ready to attack, just waiting for this unlucky prey to enter its attack range… …

When Bill came to this not unfamiliar place, several birds had already flown to his side and landed directly on Bill's shoulder without fear, chirping in his ear.

“… … What did you say? A group of fierce birds came here and are chasing your partners?”

Birds actually know how to complain. Ordinary people don’t understand their calls or what they want to express, but this is not a problem for Bill, who has the talent of animal affinity.

When he sensed the information they wanted to tell him from the simple consciousness of the birds, he immediately became a little curious.

“How big are these big birds?”

Bill's consciousness wrapped the content he wanted to know and sent it to the minds of these little birds. The little birds, understanding Bill's question, chirped again, and one clever one simply flew into the air, constantly flying back and forth above Bill's head, drawing a bird-like trajectory.

“Oh? Such big birds are rare in the desert? What kind are they?”

Bill gently stroked the fluffy feathers on the head of a little bird on his shoulder with one hand, while thinking with interest.

From these little partners, Bill roughly knew the approximate size of the big birds chasing them. They were birds much larger than Bill, who was an Earth Goblin, which was extremely rare in the desert where large creatures were scarce. Even in the Green Field Plain, birds of similar size were difficult to see.

Coincidentally, Bill had already mastered the ability to transform into a vulture, and now he was looking for the next bird as a transformation blueprint. Perhaps he could go and see the specific situation of these big birds to see if it was worth choosing them as his next target.

Thinking of this, Bill felt a little excited, but he didn't forget the teachings he had learned because of this. First, he cast a hazy spell on himself, and summoned a miniature treant from the sparse bushes as his guard.

When Bill's body transformed to match the current desert environment, making it extremely difficult to be discovered, he closed his eyes slightly, held his hands in front of him, and his mental power quickly spread with his body as the center.

Soon, in a small bush tens of meters away, a hummingbird, no bigger than one of Bill's fingers and with green feathers all over its body, landed securely in Bill's palm. It was the smallest but extremely flexible Liyu hummingbird in the desert. After the hummingbird landed in Bill's palm, it did not forget to tilt its head and tidy up the messy feathers on its body, obviously full of trust and peace of mind in the Earth Goblin who summoned it.

After a simple communication and exchange of mental power with the hummingbird, and with a drop of honey wine as a reward, the Liyu hummingbird agreed to Bill's request to briefly control its body and go to the depths of the Gobi Desert to investigate.

Soon, Bill took control of the hummingbird's tiny body, flapped its wings and flew up. After reviewing the flying skills in the sky, it made a sharp turn and sped towards the desert in the north.