Chapter 448 Flying Sword

"This is beautiful!" Auric smiled, standing atop the cliff. "No, it looks more otherworldly."

He had finally reached the mountain range he had been looking forward to climbing. There were hundreds of distinct limestone towers and hills.

Just taking a breath here refreshed the whole body, except for the fact that there were simply too many beasts in the area.

"This place used to be a populated area with many rice fields scattered around. However, after the apocalypse, nature took over. Those trees grew and became a perfect cover for beasts to hide in.

"It might not be that dangerous, but there are plenty of Rank 4 and Rank 5 beasts in the area. As long as you don’t go too deep, you will be fine." Song Xue introduced the place, pointing to a few spots.

Auric just closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Song Xue thought that he was enjoying the fresh air and green scenery, not realizing that it was actually what he wanted her to think.

In the end, Auric went around the area. Even though they had to kill a few beasts along the way, the scenery was worth it.

Song Xue also participated in the fight, but she only used her pistol, showing nothing but a simple bullet with enough power to kill the beasts. She didn’t show anything useful, so it was quite disappointing to Auric.

After a long two-hour tour, Auric pointed to the right. "That place is the deeper part, and more high-ranking beasts are residing there, right?"

"Yes. According to the rumor, there are two Rank 6 beasts in that area, so we don’t provoke them lightly. It can cause an outbreak if not handled properly."

"Fair enough." Auric then pointed in the opposite direction. "And the ruins are in that direction."

"Indeed. That’s where we’ll be going next." Song Xue nodded.

Auric nodded in understanding. "Although I really want to stay here for a bit longer, I guess I just don’t have time for it. Shall we go?"

"I’ll lead the way." Song Xue agreed without hesitation.

There was an agreement where Auric had to sell the artifacts he found, so going to the ruins actually benefited the Song family more. After all, they would get an influx of artifacts because of Auric.

Of course, to keep him happy, they allowed him to keep a few artifacts for himself.

What Song Xue didn’t realize was that Auric’s real target was the place not far from the ruins.

The area itself had been developed. Just like the Alps, this area actually consisted of a few ruins located not far from each other.

There were a few buildings that had been used as a military base to maintain a human presence in this region as well as the protection of the facilities.

Song Xue explained, "This area has a total of four ruins. They are Mystical Mountain, Flooding River, Haunting Cave, and the Dead Village.

"The Mystical Mountain is basically one large hill that has turned into ruins. It has both the Plant Element and Earth Element. This is the place closest to the base, so the beasts here are relatively weak. Perfect for beginners.

"Not far from it is the Dead Village, but this place is no longer considered ruins because of what happened 58 years ago when the ruins collapsed, so it’s not worth going here.

"Instead, we should go straight ahead and find the Flooding River. It’s a quite unique place where you can fight beasts underwater. According to information, this is the place where they find the least artifacts. In other words, there are more artifacts to be discovered.

"They’re usually hidden underneath the water, so we usually go diving. If you don’t bring spare clothes, you can rent a swimsuit over there. The danger itself is not that high, but it’s annoying to fight underwater. The river is quite deep after all, seven meters on average.

"Last but not least, the Haunting Cave. There is a cave within one of those mountains, leading deep underground. The cave is so massive that it has its own ecosystem, so it’s definitely going to be an interesting experience. This is the most dangerous because of not only the lack of oxygen and space but also the fact that the beasts inside are quite powerful."

Auric frowned. "So we’re not going to the Dead Village?"

"I’m sorry, but that place has been turned into a government research facility."

"And I can’t go there?" Auric hung his head low, as though he was very disappointed.

"That’s..." Song Xue scratched the back of her head. On the one hand, it might be funded by the government, but the facility itself wasn’t top secret. There were many tourists that wanted to go there, but they usually couldn’t go inside due to special permits.

However, Auric was a special guest. There was a reason Auric actually came here the day after she made a huge blunder.

It was to utilize that guilt and make her think it was better to please him.

It looked like he succeeded in gaslighting her into letting them go inside.

"I understand." Song Xue nodded. "I’ll call my family to arrange a special permit, but I’m afraid that not everyone can go in. Personally, I believe only you can go there, but..."

"At the very least, I should go with him." Mathias narrowed his eyes.

Song Xue knew that as the official supervisor and bodyguard, Mathias would insist on going with Auric.

Auric thought for a moment before agreeing. He turned to Katarina and the others. "Sorry."

"No, no. This is your trip. We’ll be around." Katarina waved her hand.

"Oh. Should we play around?! Don’t you think we can play that?!" Stella asked.

"Play what?" Song Xue tilted her head in confusion.

"This." Stella took out a briefcase and opened it, revealing a big greatsword.

"Oh! I almost forgot about that. We’re supposed to play around in this place." Auric facepalmed.

"Ehm, what?" Song Xue was dumbfounded.

"On the way here, I did look into multiple films because I was curious about what Floyd was talking about, right? Apparently, you’re supposed to use it like this." Stella placed the sword on the ground.

She stepped on it and started channeling her energy.

As a result, the sword started lifting her into the air.

"W-What?!" Song Xue was taken aback. She had never seen equipment like this.

Stella started flying around as if she was surfing in the air. "Hahaha. This is actually quite fun."

"Don’t tell me, you’ve been practicing that all week?" Auric shook his head helplessly.

"A flying sword?" Song Xue was rather speechless. Personally, she wasn’t that interested in a flying sword. At the same time, she thought this kind of sword would be quite popular.

Stella chuckled and finally stopped in front of them again. While still floating, Stella moved her hand as if she was stroking her long beard. She imitated one line from the movie, "Young man, you are courting death."

Auric sighed. "Okay, okay. Get down."

"I mean, won’t it be fun to play around over there? We will just fly around. The environment here should be quite similar to the one in the movie." Stella grinned.

"What are you? You’re not even endorsed by Floyd. Why would you even bother promoting that item?"

"Well, you’ll get more money, Boss. You can give me some pocket change later." Stella shrugged.

"You’re not wrong about that, but you’re definitely wrong on several levels."

Song Xue took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I don’t think you can use movies like that, but where can I get one?"

"You want one?"

"No, not me. I just thought it would be good as a present." Song Xue shook her head.

Stella chuckled. "It’s not released yet, but it’s going to be soon."

Auric waved his hand. "Anyway, let’s go to the first one."

"Fine!" Stella pouted.

Their first target was the Mystical Mountain. As expected, the military had occupied the ruins and set up a camp outside so that they could guard the gate.

This way, anyone who wanted to enter would be monitored. They needed to pay as well.

As soon as they arrived, Song Xue handed over the special permit from the Song family, allowing Auric and the others to enter. As expected of the top four prominent families, the soldiers had to salute even though Song Xue herself had no military rank.

As Song Xue said, the hill was quite big, and it was filled with plant and earth elements. He tried to look at the barrier and found out that the earth element consisted of three ratings—2.0, 2.8, and 4.5. On the other hand, the plant element had five ratings.

Then, he figured out that the trees here were huge and lush. It was quite dark underneath the trees, but enough light still entered. They stopped anyone from entering once night fell, considering that there wouldn’t be any more light for them to navigate the area.

Auric, on the other hand, was more interested in something else. This time, he came to this place with a different mindset. This mountain wasn’t just a simple ruin. Instead, it was a temple to a former local god. In other words, there were actually four temples that used to stand in this area.

This would be his first time entering the ruins with that mindset.

Once he stepped in, Song Xue asked, "Okay. I think I’ve told you about this, but you don’t have to hold back if you really want to find artifacts. We’ll definitely give you a fair price."

Auric scoffed. "Rather than holding back, are you sure your two hands are enough to carry all the artifacts?"

"Eh?"