Herag glanced at the Communication Pearl in his hand, then put it away in his Space Ring and said, "Understood."

He was ready to set off, to go out and investigate the situation.

Kane reminded him, "Be extra careful outside, the natives of this plane view us as mortal enemies now."

Herag nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder."

After leaving Base 27, the familiar mountain range still stretched before his eyes.

Herag had carried out many patrol missions here with Reese and David, and was thoroughly familiar with the terrain.

With just a single glance around, he noticed that although the terrain hadn't changed much, and the trees were mostly the same,

there were still many differences, particularly the numerous signs of past battles all around.

Many places bore the obvious marks of magical bombardment, and from these traces, Herag could imagine the battles that had once raged here.

Most crucially, these traces were very close to Base 27, indicating that someone had once attacked this place.

The ones who could attack here were mostly the Elf Race and some powerful Casters.

Judging from these traces, those who reached this place must have possessed great strength.

Herag remembered that when he left, the mountains were teeming with Demons.

To reach here, one had to first wipe out countless Demons.

Aside from the large number of Demons, there were also Wizards in the base; it was not easy to think about reaching here.

However, from the result that most of the Noen Kingdom had been occupied, it was clear that the attacking Elf Race and Casters had failed.

And quite possibly, suffered a disastrous defeat, leading to the subsequent overwhelming push by the Wizards, who directly captured half of the Noen Kingdom.

The remaining half wasn't because it couldn't be captured, but simply because there was no desire to capture it.

Herag pondered and felt that it was likely related to the events in Miracle Valley.

Parker and his people directly stole from the Elf Race's homeland, coupled with the collapse on the frontline, putting the Elf Race and Casters in a dire situation.

As he advanced in the direction of his memories, Herag continued to observe the surroundings.

In the surrounding mountains, there were scattered Shadow Altars, fewer in number than when Herag had left.

Herag even saw some destroyed Shadow Altars with no intention of repairing them.

Few Demons roamed the mountains, and they were rarely seen.

Before Herag left, the area was filled with countless Demons, and the Wizards were tirelessly summoning Demons day and night.

Now it seemed, the Shadow Altars were no longer important, at least not in this place.

Herag felt that stopping the expansion meant no longer needing Demons to conquer and pillage, nor to deplete enemy strength.

Moreover, near Base 27, Demons were no longer needed for patrol and defense; the whole area was under the control of the Expedition Team, with few attacks coming to this area.

Still, patrol personnel could be seen along the way, and Herag underwent several identity checks before finally exiting the mountain range.

After emerging from the mountains, Herag proceeded in the direction of Oberstein.

The image of the border city appeared in his mind, as Asuna's home was in the city.

Upon arriving outside the former Oberstein, Herag saw nothing but ruins.

Standing atop the ruins, Herag could no longer discern the original appearance of Oberstein.

Oberstein had been razed to the ground, with no intact structures remaining.

Guided by his memory, Herag arrived at what was once Asuna's home.

But now there was only scorched earth and bits of charcoal, and as Herag rummaged through the ruins, he found only a fragment of a floral skirt.

Herag watched as a butterfly flew from afar and landed on the charred wood.

He turned and walked northeast, towards Miracle Valley.

A two-headed wolf emerged from a heap of ruins, sniffed around after glancing at Herag, then turned away.

Herag pulled out a map, which Kane had given him before he left.

Aside from current Expedition Team investigations, it also marked the territory under the Expedition Team's control.

The Noen Kingdom was split by a northwest-southeast line.

Below the line was under the Expedition Team's control, while above the line remained the Noen Kingdom's territory.

Several key locations were highlighted along the line—all places where the Noen Kingdom's army was stationed.

These were typically important cities with excellent geographical locations.

Herag glanced at the map and roughly planned his route.

His plan was to first reach a small, inconspicuous city near the line, then travel slowly by carriage through several cities before gradually approaching Miracle Valley.

Herag wanted to visit Miracle Valley primarily to check the current situation and see if any valuable clues could be found.

Even though the World Tree there had been completely moved, Herag still wanted to take a look.

After all, having the bloodline of the Elf Royal Family, he might find something the Expedition Team hadn't noticed.

Herag looked around and saw no one after using Shenlan's environment detection; then the surge of Magic Power in his body coalesced some Fire Elemental Particles around him.

He planned to use Elemental Flight to travel within the Expedition Team's controlled area, which would be much faster and prevent detection from the Elf Race and Casters of the Elf Plane.

Herag sped through the sky, while the scene below flew by quickly.

As he ascended higher, the landscape below ceased to retreat swiftly and instead presented more clearly.

Herag discovered a scattering of castles below on the ground.

These castles were obviously newly built, showing signs of Wizards and Demons coming and going.

Observing from the sky, Herag could see the orderly distribution of these castles, each controlling its surrounding area.

The speed of Fire Element Flight was fast, making travel very efficient, and it took Herag only three days to reach the boundary of the Expedition Team's control zone.

Upon arriving in this area, Herag landed on the ground, retrieved a bottle of Thousand-Change Potion to change his appearance, and donned a common robe from the Elf Plane.

After careful disguise, Herag continued forward.

Herag's destination was a place called Cloud City, which was a bit distant from the border and had no direct confrontation with the Expedition Team forces.

Thus, the strength deployed by the Noen Kingdom there was relatively weak, with no strong presence guarding the area.

This was the reason Herag chose that place.

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