At the foot of the snow-covered mountains, lush green grass stretched out, and a few deer were drinking from a crystal-clear lake.
In a single moment, their heads suddenly dropped into the water, their bodies remaining upright as if unaware of what had happened. .Only after a brief pause did they collapse onto the ground.
Sarra retrieved her dagger and efficiently tied up the deer, carrying them back to camp.
This was something she had done many times over the past few days—not just her, but the entire group.
With the sheer number of people in the Coven, and the journey seemingly dragging on endlessly, their food supplies had started to run low.
It had already been days, and they still hadn’t left the snowy mountains.
What food they had brought initially was now running short.
As a result, the high-tier spell beasts inhabiting the snowy mountains had become their primary source of sustenance, hunted by members of the Coven and prepared by Sif back at camp.
When Sarra returned with her catch, she saw Ryze, carrying several rabbits in his hands.
“We’re close to leaving the snowy mountains,” Ryze said, his tone laced with excitement. “I just saw green plains in the distance.”
After days of crossing frozen tundras and treacherous mountain passes, Ryze had grown sick of the endless white expanse. The sight of grass and water brought a rare smile to his face, a genuine expression of joy.
…
“Master,” Ryze said quietly as he approached Daniel, having handed the rabbits to Sif. “I’ve noticed something strange about our route.”
“You think we’ve been taking a detour?” Daniel asked, his expression calm.
“Yes,” Ryze replied. His instincts as an oracle, with their acute sensitivity to direction and time, told him that something was amiss.
By his calculations, the group should have left the snowy mountain range days ago.
In fact, they should have already arrived near Riverside City.
Yet here they were, only now catching glimpses of grasslands.
“You’re right,” Daniel admitted. “I deliberately took a longer route. I wanted to clear out some of the spell beasts in the mountains and, at the same time, observe Nina’s subordinates.”
Daniel had intentionally avoided the most direct path, choosing instead to loop through areas that needed to be purged of dangerous beasts.
“I see… Understood.”
Ryze hesitated briefly before asking, “Master, about the Tree of Origin…”
“No rush. There’s still some preparation to be done.”
“I understand,” Ryze said, though his voice betrayed a hint of unease.
While he trusted Daniel’s judgment, he couldn’t shake his concern.
His teacher had warned him that those plotting against the world were wasting no time in their efforts to corrupt it.
Was it really wise for them to proceed at this leisurely pace?
Still, since his teacher had entrusted everything to Daniel, Ryze chose to believe that Daniel had his reasons.
…
After Ryze left, Daniel turned his focus inward to his spatial storage.
Within it, thousands of Trees of Origin stood tall and vibrant, their surroundings filled with countless colorless forges producing nutrient-rich mana droplets.
At the same time, new forges were continuously being crafted.
A quick mental scan revealed that their total number had reached a staggering 90,000.
Over the years, Daniel had discovered a limitation to the growth of the Trees of Origin.
Initially, he believed their development could be endlessly accelerated as long as there were enough forges to supply them.
But his experiments revealed otherwise.
Each Tree of Origin could only absorb nutrients from up to ten forges at a time.
Any additional supply would simply be wasted.
This realization meant that Daniel had to continue crafting more forges, ensuring that all the tree saplings received adequate nourishment.
Once every tree reached its growth limit, his plan could finally commence.
At that point, with the Trees of Origin fully grown and deployed, they would purify everything in their path, wiping out all corruption.
…
As Daniel pondered, Nina approached him.
“Headmaster, this doesn’t seem like the route to Riverside City,” she said.
After hearing that they had left the snowfields and seeing the green plains for herself, Nina realized they weren’t on the familiar path leading back to the city.
“You’re right. I intentionally chose a different route,” Daniel explained. “We’ve already cleared out the spell beasts along the other path, so I thought we’d take a new one this time.”
“I see,” Nina replied, nodding. “I thought we’d be back soon…”
Her tone carried a trace of impatience. She was eager to return to the academy and show everyone the powerful organization she had built.
…
After the group finished their meal, they set out once more.
But not long after, Daniel ordered Snow Eagle to halt, and he began guiding the ship to land.
“Headmaster, what’s going on? Why are we stopping?” Nina asked, puzzled.
“There’s a group of people on the ground heading in the same direction as us. I want to take a look,” Daniel replied.
“Oh, I see,” Nina said, nodding in understanding.
Daniel’s curiosity stemmed from a desire to learn more about the state of the academy and Riverside City during his six-year absence.
Observing and speaking with travelers could provide valuable insight.
…
On the ground below, two distinct groups of people were walking in the same direction.
Despite sharing a destination, the two groups maintained a clear distance from one another.
One group was led by Kaylyn, the leader of a small organization from a northeastern border nation.
Kaylyn had made an extraordinary decision: to abandon their homeland and lead her people toward a fabled sanctuary near Riverside City.
She believed this move would secure a better future for her organization.
Her boldness stemmed from a promise made to her long ago—if she could reach the area near Riverside City, her people would find safety and support.
The other group, however, was also familiar to Kaylyn. Their leader, Siso, was someone she had dealt with in the past.
Both groups came from the same nation but represented different factions.
While they had occasionally interacted, Kaylyn had never liked Siso, finding him deceitful and hypocritical.
When Kaylyn began her migration, she was frustrated to find Siso leading his group in her wake.
Though they hadn’t crossed paths much during the journey, the two groups inevitably encountered each other at this point.
“Kaylyn? What a coincidence to meet you here!” Siso said with a feigned smile, his tone overly friendly.
Kaylyn recognized the insincerity immediately.
As always, his words were steeped in false warmth.
“If you have nothing important to say, let’s part ways here. I need to keep moving,” Kaylyn replied coldly, clearly uninterested in conversation.
“Kaylyn, with that attitude of yours, you’ll run into trouble in the sanctuary. Let me warn you—there are plenty of powerful people there, and one wrong step could cost you your life. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
“That’s none of your business,” Kaylyn said dismissively.
She glanced briefly at Siso and the group behind him before urging her people to pick up the pace, eager to leave him far behind.