"Your Highness, the situation over the past few days has indeed been very unusual."
Needless to say, the situation was unusual; what followed was the heart of the matter.
Ligeia lowered her head in thought for a moment.
"I have been observing the changes in the skysoar dragons every day, and there are several suspicious points that have caught my attention."
"Tell me, what are they?"
As everyone listened intently, Ligeia shared the conclusions of her observations.
"First, as time passes, some of the less rational skysoar dragons have begun to be affected. Their desire to breed has become intense. Yesterday, a young skysoar dragon even challenged Mr. Momo."
Challenged Mr. Momo?
Competing for leadership?
How could such a thing happen among skysoar dragons?
"Second, the frequency of infighting within the skysoar dragon population has increased significantly. It went from once a day a while ago to more than ten times a day now."
"Fighting? Aren't they a pack?"
Nara, standing nearby, asked in confusion.
A smile played at the corners of Ligeia's mouth.
"Lady Nara, do not forget that they are individuals as well as a pack. Look at humans, elves, and beastmen. Is there any intelligent race on this continent that truly doesn't fight?"
Nara nodded with a grave expression and fell silent.
"Third, recently, the sleeping posture of all the skysoar dragons has become strange."
"Sleeping... posture?"
"Yes. The main issue is that over the past few days, they have all been sleeping with their heads pointed toward the northwest."
Hearing this, Luo Li keenly sensed that something was wrong.
"You mean they are all facing northwest?"
Luo Li narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the elven lady's face.
Ligeia nodded, her expression also turning solemn.
"Yes, Your Highness. I haven't reached a conclusion on this yet, but I suspect the cause of the dragon calamity lies in the northwest."
"Did you ask Mr. Momo why this is happening?"
Ligeia shook her head.
"I did, but Mr. Momo couldn't explain it either. He said that whenever they sleep at night, it feels as if something is calling to them. Then, their sleeping positions unconsciously turn toward the northwest."
Northwest.
Extending northwest from Brilliant City...
The path would cross the border of the Holy See, then the Holy Mountains, and then the Snow Country.
And after that?
"Bring me a map."
A map was quickly brought over. Luo Li looked at this continental map drawn a thousand years ago.
Her brow was tightly knit.
"Ligeia, look. Which direction are the skysoar dragons pointing toward?"
Ligeia stepped forward and examined it carefully, her finger tracing northwest from the location of Brilliant City.
The regions the path crossed included the Holy See, the Holy Mountains, the Snow Country, the Beastmen Empire, the Blazing Mountains, the Gnome Kingdom, the Western Forest, the Night Elven Kingdom, the Tree Elven Kingdom, the Gnome Kingdom again, the Giant Kingdom, and the Snowman Kingdom before finally reaching the coastline.
The area of this continent was truly massive.
This diagonal line spanned the entire continent.
However, there were too many countries on this line, and the area was too large.
Even for a skysoar dragon, it would take months to fly the length of this line.
"It's too far."
Lola's brow furrowed as she looked up at Ligeia.
"Lady Ligeia, can you narrow down the range? There are too many countries along this line; it's impossible to pinpoint the location."
Ligeia let out a long sigh.
"There's no way. We don't even know what we're looking for, let alone how to lock onto a specific location."
Luo Li stood before the map, staring intently at the continental atlas.
The human nations today seemed large, but they were actually just a portion of the southeastern corner.
They were still far from the center of the continent.
The nations crossed by this horizontal line weren't even all the countries on the continent.
There were other elven nations to the northeast.
And other countries in the far north.
There were also elven nations in the south.
The elven nations were not a unified entity; instead, various tribes were scattered across the northwest, southwest, and northeast of the continent.
The Night Elven Kingdom and the Tree Elven Kingdom in the northwest were like two related tribes living next door to each other.
The Forest Elven Kingdom in the southwest, located behind the Dwarven Kingdom, was the true center of all elven nations.
It couldn't be helped; the elven race loved living in forests above all else.
Elves almost never appeared in places without forests.
This also restricted their living range.
Furthermore, it was difficult for them to form a unified nation.
Other elven nations were likely branches of the Forest Elven Kingdom.
The Elven Queen who had come to support the expedition against the demon island last time was a forest elf.
Ligeia and Camilla also came from this Forest Elven Kingdom.
The other two were simply too far from the human nations, so there was rarely any communication.
For example, the Night Elven Kingdom and the Tree Elven Kingdom that this line crossed.
They were located in the largest forest in the western part of the continent, the Western Forest, home to two elven species.
Because of the Blazing Mountains, the sea breeze from the west was blocked, causing it to fall in this region.
This created a tropical rainforest environment.
The coldest region on the entire continent should be near the Holy Mountains.
Thinking of this, Luo Li shook her head.
Those places were too far from her; they had nothing to do with the current problem.
Luo Li nodded.
After a moment of hesitation, she looked up at the green-haired elf.
"Ligeia, and Lancelot, I have a mission for you. Each of you will send a hundred members of the Dragon Knight Corps to Stargaze City and Final City in the northeast. Observe the direction the skysoar dragons face when they sleep, draw lines on a map, and report back."
A conclusion could be reached in about two days.
Counting the round trip, it would take five or six days at most.
Before Lancelot could even understand, Lola was the first to react.
"Your Highness plans to have these two units draw the lines, and then find the location where they intersect?"
Luo Li nodded.
Final City was in the northeast region.
Stargaze City was in the central region of the Kingdom of the Moon.
The distance between the two regions was roughly fifteen or sixteen hundred kilometers.
With such a long distance, drawing a line from each on the map would create an intersection.
That intersection would be the exact location they were facing.
Although they didn't know what they were looking for yet, doing this would at least give them a precise target.
In her view, this location shouldn't be far; it was likely near the Holy Mountains and the Snow Country.
After all, the cause of the dragon calamity originated from the eastern side of the continent, with the Beastmen Empire and the Kingdom of the Moon bearing the brunt of it.
If it were near the west, the dragon calamity should have come from the west.
"Go. Do what needs to be done and bring me news as soon as possible."
After the orders were given, everyone nodded in agreement and turned to leave.
Luo Li watched as everyone left the hall.
Only then did she slump onto the sacred bed in exhaustion.
"Luo Li, are you alright?"
"Your Highness, are you tired?"
Momoka and Nara asked in unison.
The silver-haired girl rubbed her forehead and waved her hand.
"It's nothing. I just stood up too fast, and with the high consumption, I'm feeling a bit dizzy."
From November 7th to today, November 18th.
So many things had happened in just eleven days.
Anyone would be exhausted.
As the Saintess, she didn't have a single day off.
First the vanguard camp, then the earthquake, then Momoka's arrival, then the dragons, then Zuka's escape, and now the dragon calamity was changing again.
She couldn't for the life of her remember what difficulty she had chosen.
When she played this game, she was supposed to be in it for the adult content.
She thought she had chosen the easy difficulty, so why did it feel like a hell start for her?
Oh, right... at the time, she was playing on the side of the demon race.
Wait!
Back then, he was on the demon race's side and chose very easy.
Didn't that mean, conversely, that the continent's side was at the Fourth Calamity level of difficulty?
Oh, come on!!
The moment the perspective switched, the difficulty doubled!
I'm flipping the table and quitting!!
Luo Li looked up and saw the worry in the eyes of the two girls.
Her mouth twitched.
She couldn't just quit...
Below her were tens of thousands of citizens waiting to be fed.
Beside her were so many like-minded companions and friends.
As the center of power, if she walked away, wouldn't she be throwing all these people into a pit?
Seeing their worried gazes, she waved them off.
"I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired. I'll be okay after a short rest."
Her mana had been drained from 151 to less than 20 points.
If this were just a numbers game, it wouldn't matter even if it were completely depleted.
But this wasn't a game; it was the real world.
After consuming so much, fatigue was inevitable.
"Momoka, go back and rest first. Nara can help me back in a bit."
Momoka's brow furrowed slightly.
"Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Looking at the girl who, despite her obvious exhaustion, still managed to comfort her with a smile as warm as a spring breeze...
Momoka couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration.
Unlike the Kingdom of the Sun, the Kingdom of the Moon was in a state of rebuilding. As a ruler, she had to lead this nation full of holes back to prosperity.
It was too difficult.
"Then, please rest well. Lady Nara, I'll leave Luo Li to you."
Momoka was very polite to Nara. After being here for a few days, she more or less understood Nara's position.
She was essentially no different from a personal nun sent by the Holy See.
In fact, her power was much higher.
After all, a personal nun usually held no official title, but Nara was a legitimate government official.
"Please rest assured, Lady Momoka. I will take good care of Her Highness."
"Mm. Then, Luo Li, I'll head back first."
"Go on. Get some sleep; your mission is no lighter than mine."
Since she wanted to rule by law, the law had to come first. Momoka's responsibility was significant.
Naturally, it wouldn't be easy.
But compared to Luo Li, it was still a bit simpler.
At least it wasn't as heart-wrenching.
Nodding to Nara, Momoka turned and led Izumi back to the rear palace.
Luo Li was in no hurry to leave.
She sat on the sacred bed in the main hall, supporting her forehead.
As her mind relaxed, fatigue and drowsiness gradually washed over her.
And she was a bit hungry.
"Nara, go see if anyone is still on duty in the kitchen. Have them prepare something simple; I'm a bit hungry."
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll go right away."
Looking at the weary silver-haired girl, Nara felt a pang of sympathy. She turned and jogged all the way to the kitchen.
Fortunately, there were still a few people on duty.
Without much effort, they brewed a bowl of silver ear soup.
Carrying the soup, Nara hurried back.
Her Highness was so exhausted; she had to get her to eat and then go to sleep.
Otherwise, Her Highness's body really wouldn't be able to handle this much strain.
With that thought, she quickened her pace.
When she reached the hall, she pushed the door open and was about to speak.
But she suddenly closed her mouth.
On the sacred bed, the silver-haired girl was supporting her forehead with one hand, her elbow resting on the small low table.
Her silver hair cascaded behind her like a galaxy.
Her eyes were closed, and a slow, rhythmic breath came from her small nose.
She had clearly fallen asleep.
"Lady Nara, should we... wake Her Highness?"
A young nun nearby asked in a whisper.
Nara shook her head.
She handed the soup to the young nun.
"You eat this. Have the kitchen make another fresh, hot portion and keep it ready at all times."
"Yes."
The young nun complied, took the soup, and withdrew.
Nara waved her hand, signaling the other young nuns to stay back and not disturb Her Highness's peaceful slumber.
Then she picked up a quilt from the sacred bed and draped it over the silver-haired girl.
She stood by the side, occasionally glancing at Luo Li. Seeing that she was still sound asleep, she didn't disturb her.
Instead, she looked up at the massive statue.
"Oh God, I beg of you, please bless the Kingdom of the Moon with peace and prosperity."
The night passed in a flash.
Early the next morning, the entire Kingdom of the Moon was practically boiling with excitement.
The massive seven-headed serpent had been dragged outside the East Gate.
Countless people ran out to see it.
It took children over ten minutes just to run a full circle around the seven-headed serpent.
Such a gargantuan creature drew many nobles to come and watch.
For a time, the East Gate was a cacophony of voices, bustling with activity.
Some street vendors even seized the business opportunity, setting up grills on the spot.
Beef sellers and flatbread sellers made the place incredibly lively.
Currently, in addition to Nar's knightly order of a thousand men, twenty thousand infantrymen were laboring to dismantle the giant seven-headed serpent.
Its body diameter exceeded two hundred meters, and its total length was over a thousand meters.
Its massive size had left a deep trench in the ground during transport.
Some soldiers were using soil to fill the trench, while others were using saws to cut the carcass.
It was currently winter.
As long as such a massive creature was butchered quickly enough, it wouldn't rot.
By lowering the internal temperature, the meat could be preserved by the cold.
Just then, several soldiers seemed to discover something.
"My lord, look! Such a large magic crystal!"
Nar quickly walked over to investigate.
It was a magic crystal roughly one meter in diameter.
Unlike magic stones found in mines, magic crystals were gems produced by magic beasts.
These types of crystals were usually of even higher quality than magic stones.
Unfortunately, these crystals were essentially non-renewable resources and were exceptionally precious.
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