Chapter 357 Initial Probe (5300, First Update)

As the center of the Northern Lands, the city of Maya is bustling and noisy during the day, with over three million people living, working, and playing there. Whether it's ordinary tourists who come to admire the scenery of the Northern Kingdom, or wealthy people who come for the local famous casinos, they can find their own fun here. People walk leisurely on the streets, buying snacks and desserts from street vendors, chatting and joking with family and friends. Maya City's grand bathhouses are famous throughout the country, and well-known scholars often come to bathe and lecture.

But once night falls, everything is different.

People with dangerous auras replace tourists and appear on the streets at night. Most of them are loners, and only a few people in mage robes travel in groups of three or five. These guys, who look unfriendly and unapproachable, are clearly carrying various prohibited weapons, but both patrolling guards and passers-by pretend not to see them, and keep them at a respectful distance.

Not only in the city, but also in the satellite cities and surrounding towns of Maya City, their figures often appear, and huge magical vibrations and fighting sounds often occur in the wilderness. Fighting at the slightest disagreement is the standard label for this type of dangerous person.

Although most people will go outside the city to fight, giving the local Maya family some face, every month there will be a few fierce people who fight in the street, tearing down half a street.

And all of this is thanks to the legend of the Dragon Balls.

Legend has it that the Dragon Balls can communicate with the Progenitor Dragon and fulfill all wishes. Even if not used as a wishing material, the Dragon Balls themselves are an extremely powerful magic item. After using the Dragon Balls to summon powerful dragon and serpent creatures, the holder of the Dragon Balls can obtain part of the dragon and serpent's power. If the wish is successfully granted, then this power can be permanently retained in the bloodline, benefiting their family for generations.

With such great power, how could anyone not be tempted? Therefore, since a mysterious person holding a Dragon Ball appeared on the northern border twelve years ago, unruly transcendents from all over the world have gradually gathered here, including mercenaries, bounty hunters, well-known archmages, and famous scholars of the empire. Some of them have wishes that must be fulfilled by making a wish, or a party that can only be saved by the Dragon Balls, but some are simply for curiosity, or other purposes.

Thus, when night falls, it is the stage for transcendents. The various forces that have not obtained the Dragon Balls use all means to try to find the whereabouts of the Dragon Balls.

And for various reasons, the lucky ones who already hold the Dragon Balls also walk at night, searching for their own kind, that is, their targets and enemies.

In the suburbs of Maya City, a small town near a forest, the fully armed wandering mage Evelyn hides her figure in the flying snow. The ice magic 'Snow Concealment Technique' is rare, but in a specific environment it is far more reliable than invisibility and etherealization.

And this female mage with messy long hair and thick glasses is one of the Dragon Ball holders.

Although it sounds a bit unbelievable, Evelyn has never had any wishes that need to be fulfilled by wishing to the Progenitor Dragon. As a dropout from the Imperial Mage Academy, her greatest wish in this life might be to step on the feet of the instructor who only cared about practical combat, in order to avenge the shame of failing the practical combat course and being persuaded to withdraw from the academy... But for this kind of thing, getting involved in this Dragon Ball battle related to all kinds of dragons and demon dragons is really suicidal behavior.

But life is not always reasonable.

As a pure academy-style mage, a theorist who is always a step behind in a fight, Evelyn obtained the Dragon Ball, which was stored in a jewelry box at the time, while sorting out her grandmother's belongings in her hometown.

At that time, she hadn't figured out what exactly this bead, which looked like a magic item, was, so she tentatively activated it remotely with a semi-autonomous magic array. To be fair, who could have guessed that a seemingly ordinary magic bead was actually a Dragon Ball? There are at least hundreds of thousands of magic items in the world made in the shape of beads. Who could have guessed?

In short, she summoned a terrifying demon dragon from a distant alien world, with a head full of snakes.

Contrary to the rather specific impressions in many people's minds, dragons and serpents are originally one, and in the beginning were symbols of the yin side of heaven and earth. Earth, rivers, the sun, wind and clouds... these are all the sources and power of dragons and serpents.

The essence of a dragon is developed from the original serpent, and in the Kerber Empire, which was founded with the Dragon Balls and where the Progenitor Dragon created the world, the dragons and serpents that are praised do not have specific images and specifications. There are only related elements. As long as the conditions are met, any powerful dragon and serpent can be called a Divine Dragon or Demon Dragon, and then be praised and worshiped.

A giant demon with snake hair and a snake body, with sturdy scales and a ferocious face, who called itself 'Gorgon', was a child of Gaia, the Earth Mother of another world. This giant spirit, born of the Mother Goddess and used to fight against the gods, is naturally a standard dragon and serpent creature, and it is surprisingly not a purely ferocious monster, possessing considerable wisdom.

"Evelyn, you are not good at fighting. Not to mention the gods and heroes in my world, you don't even meet the passing mark for ordinary humans."

The ethereal snake-haired giant demon's tone was disdainful, but the content was unexpectedly earnest teaching: "You are not the type who is good at improvising. Skirmishes are especially unfavorable to you. So if you want to win the final war, you either have to ambush, or fight a positional war, or prepare a magic array to hide in, and I will fight. You just need to make sure you don't die."

The summoned Divine Dragon needs a huge amount of opposite magic power to maintain its physical manifestation. This magic power is mostly paid by the Dragon Ball, but the summoner's own qualities are also very important.

Evelyn's conditions can only be considered mediocre. In order to save magic power and also to hide her figure, Gorgon spends most of its time as an ethereal body, staying beside the wandering mage.

"Um, thank you." Evelyn nodded slightly at the giant demon's suggestion, and then adjusted her glasses.

Originally, after summoning Gorgon, she wondered whether she should hand over the Dragon Ball to the imperial government. After all, who doesn't know the treacherousness of the Dragon Ball War? A trainee mage below the average level like herself would probably be killed on the spot by a single glance from another Divine Dragon.

But, precisely because she is an ordinary person, sometimes it is difficult to let go of this unexpected opportunity.

A dropout from a mage academy is essentially no different from an ordinary person, and her family situation can only be considered passable. After losing the school's subsidies and subsequent channels for advancement, she would have no chance to advance further in the transcendent path.

If it weren't for the help of the Dragon Ball, Evelyn would probably never become a formal mage in her life. At that time, she would definitely be married off by her family, and spend her life as a housewife.

Thinking of this, Evelyn felt heartbroken.

She loves magic, she loves spells, she loves all the miracles that can be created by her own hands. It is true that she is not good at fighting, but why can't she explore the mysteries of magic just because she can't fight? This is not the era of the Elf War twenty years ago. Even if she can't fight, she can still become a magic engineering, and she can still contribute to the empire. Why can't she be given a chance?

The Dragon Ball is the opportunity for the unwilling to change their fate. Now, in the third year of holding the Dragon Ball, under the power brought by Gorgon, Evelyn has gone from the initial trainee mage to the high level of elite mage. In terms of theoretical strength, she is already stronger than her former teacher. How can she let go of such an opportunity?

Even if she dies, she would rather die in this dream than live a life that has nothing to do with magic.

Now, knowing that all seven Dragon Ball holders have arrived in the Northern Lands, Evelyn plans to use her exquisite Snow Concealment Technique to scout the area where a 'summoning reaction' was reported not long ago. That should be the place where the last Dragon Ball holder summoned the Divine Dragon. If she can find some clues, then she can gain the upper hand in future battles.

As for fighting... Thinking like this, Evelyn adjusted her glasses. Although she is indeed not good at dealing with emergencies, the power obtained from Gorgon allows her attacks to be almost impossible to dodge.

That is the ability that suits her best.

However, before Evelyn arrived near the area where Su Zhou was originally summoned, several of her hairs suddenly moved without wind, bending like small snakes, pointing to the distant sky.

One could see that those were no longer strands of hair, but actually small snakes with dense scales. And now, these small snakes were nervously wriggling their bodies, posing in a fighting stance, aiming at the high sky in the distance.

"I've been discovered."

Not being good at fighting does not mean being stupid. Being slow to react does not mean that she cannot even manage to avoid attacks that she has prepared for in advance. In the next instant, Evelyn's body turned into a cloud of scattered snow dust and cold wind, dissipating into the non-stop snow of the Northern Lands.

And just a moment later, a lightning-like straight stream of light tore through the dark night sky and the flying ice and snow, pierced through the atmosphere and cold wind, and directly bombarded the area where Evelyn was located.

Boom! A loud bang rang out, and a scorching wind as hot as the sun spread in all directions. All the snowflakes and accumulated snow within a few hundred meters rapidly melted into formations, turning into clouds rising straight into the sky.

And after all the ice and snow melted, one could see that what remained in place was a long arrow made of some kind of plant branches and feathers, deeply embedded in the earth and stone that had been turned into magma.

The material of the long arrow was surprisingly tough. Even in magma of thousands of degrees, there was no sign of it being burned. But this incredibly powerful arrow did not hit its target. Evelyn had disappeared without a trace. Even the attacker in the sky who had seen through the Snow Concealment Technique before could not find any trace of her now.

"Next time, remember not to act rashly."

At this moment, in the clouds, a young mountain hunter who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old had wings growing from his ribs. He had also come to explore the area where the last Divine Dragon was summoned, hiding himself in the thick snow clouds, using only pure and powerful magic sensing to observe the world.

At this time, the hunter boy looked quite annoyed, blaming himself for hesitating for a moment because his opponent was a human female.

And beside him, a rather gentle spiritual voice entered his soul, teaching the boy: "In the Dragon Ball War, the most important thing is the collection of information. If you do not have the belief and determination to kill with one strike, do not reveal your information. If you want to achieve final victory, the best way is to hide behind the scenes, observe everyone's actions, design related tactics and plans, and then seek opportunities to hunt."

"This time, you revealed your powerful long-range attack ability. Next time, everyone will be on guard. Remember this lesson."

"I'm sorry..." Since he didn't kill the enemy, he could only leave immediately. The boy holding the bow immediately shook his wings and escaped into the distance. During the flight, he was quite frustrated: "I've practiced for so long, and I still messed up... I can easily draw my bow at magical beasts, but I don't know why, I subconsciously hesitate when facing people..."

"There's no need to say sorry, after all, this is just a game for me, but for you, it is the future and life—and if you weren't such a kind person, it would be absolutely impossible to summon me."

The gentle voice didn't care about this. He smiled easily: "But remember, even though you didn't know them before, the moment you picked up the Dragon Ball, you were destined to be mortal enemies."

For a time, both the attacked and the attacker had fled far away, leaving only a huge lava pit rapidly turning black and cooling down in the wind and snow.

And this is also the norm in the Dragon Ball War—after all, there are six competitors, each with the support of mythological dragons and serpents behind them. Even if one relies on greater hard power to kill one opponent, there are still five other powerful people who have almost analyzed themselves waiting behind.

Of course, perhaps there will be Divine Dragons or Demon Dragons who do not like to hide and will swaggeringly set up a formation, wanting to fight other competitors head-on, but this is just perhaps. No matter what historical mythology, dragons and serpents do not have this attribute.

Even Su Zhou would not.

At this time, Su Zhou also noticed the huge explosion sound coming from the other side of the wilderness, near the area where he had descended.

"Interesting, they're already fighting?"

Also possessing Dragon blood, or rather, he himself is a new type of Divine Dragon, Su Zhou can naturally sense the huge magical aura, not too similar to humans, vaguely coming from the distance. He can be sure that both the one who launched the attack and the one who was attacked just now were competitors holding Dragon Balls.

——Looks like they want to explore the magical aura I left behind when I descended? Or are they looking for clues? Fortunately, I was careful and erased everything before leaving... However, since someone has already started fighting, then I must do something too.

The Dragon Balls have a mutual sense of each other. If they have not summoned the Divine Dragon, they may not be able to sense it, but if they have already summoned the Divine Dragon, then this sense of each other will become stronger and stronger, especially when the seven Dragon Balls that have summoned the Divine Dragon gather in one place, which itself is a symbol of the opening of the 'Wishing Ritual'.

From that time on, the Dragon Ball holders can only stay in this gathered area. If they are together, they will interfere with each other and cannot determine the specific location, but if they leave, then the whereabouts of the leaver are equivalent to being made public to the other six competitors, which is basically suicide.

And as the battle intensifies and the number of competitors decreases, the sense between the Dragon Balls will also become stronger and stronger. When there are only the last two people left, basically all methods of concealing their whereabouts will fail. Although if one side is invisible, they still cannot be seen, but the other side at least knows that the other party is here.

Su Zhou is very confident in his strength, but he doesn't want to be the first bird to be shot. Since someone has already taken action, then he will go over to see the situation and see if he can also be a mantis behind the cicada.

Thinking like this, he turned his head and said to Aura, who was reciting his previous teachings in front of the bonfire: "Girl, get ready to go."

"—Our purpose is to seize the Dragon Balls, not to kill people or dragons. If anything happens, it is best to resolve it peacefully. Force is the last choice. And don't kill people casually. That's not good..."

At this time, Aura was writing new thinking logic according to Su Zhou's previous request. She earnestly repeated Su Zhou's words: "Killing people randomly is wrong. That's not good. But if they are evil people, then it is necessary to take the initiative to crusade against them."

Because Su Zhou had already issued the order to depart, Aura quickly stood up and approached the young man.

She looked less than ten years old, but was actually only three days old. She was so petite that even when she stood up, she couldn't reach Su Zhou's waist. And when she obediently took Su Zhou's outstretched hand, Aura pointed out the contradictions in Su Zhou's previous words: "Su Zhou, killing people randomly is wrong, but you can kill evil people. These two behavioral principles conflict."

"Not bad, you can point out the contradictions. A promising child."

Su Zhou was quite satisfied with this. He wasn't afraid of questions, but was afraid of no questions. He drove the Azure Shield, took Aura to take off, and went straight into the clouds from the wind and snow. And during the flight, he continued the teachings he hadn't finished before: "Evil people are different from ordinary people. Evil people are special. They will bring threats to others, so they will be crusaded against and killed—Aura, you must also remember that if you want to do evil, then you must be prepared to be crusaded against. The reverse is the same. If you don't want to be crusaded against, then don't do evil."

"Actually, this is also a kind of fear—because of the fear of being crusaded against, to the point of death, so they don't go against most people and become part of the masses."

"This is fear."

Earnestly nodding, Aura summarized Su Zhou's words: "People are united together because of fear, and become humans."

And Su Zhou nodded in satisfaction. Although things weren't that simple, it was enough for an artificial person who didn't have any common sense to understand this step.

"That's roughly it. So, I wanted to teach you what 'fear' is before—only when you understand what fear and death are can you know the meaning of good and evil and life.

And this is the foundation of humanity. As for the follow-up, Aura, you have already learned 'questioning' and 'asking' without a teacher, so the next course will start on this aspect—it's not me bragging, I'm a real expert in this area."

Su Zhou's teachings from scratch now seem to be quite effective, but soon, in mid-air, the young man, who sensed something, had a solemn expression.

"It seems that everyone has thought of the same thing—there are quite a few people around, and there seem to be several Dragon Ball holders."

Looking down at the ground, at the many spiritual power light spots representing transcendents who were approaching the explosion area, Su Zhou thought for a while, and then stretched out his hand and directly condensed a cloud around him.

"Stay here. I'll go scout for information. There may be probing fights. Don't be afraid."

And Aura naturally wouldn't be afraid. The white-haired girl just blinked her eyes and then calmly said, "But you just taught me what fear is."

"Not bad, you can use what you've learned."

Su Zhou was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Then, he didn't say much, but instead took out his World Tree spear and turned his head and accelerated forward.

And there, there was an extremely large and conspicuous, but not too much 'resentment', curse, flashing with clear light.