Chapter 1525: Go East

Erend soon finished preparing himself with the equipment Darius had provided. He wore a sturdy backpack containing several containers of water, preserved food, basic medical supplies, and a few tools that might be useful during the journey.

He also carried several weapons that looked like they had been repaired countless times, their surfaces covered with scratches and signs of use.

To Erend, the equipment looked rather crude. The weapons were nowhere near the quality of the equipment he was accustomed to using, and even the backpack felt like something that belonged to another era.

However, both Darius and Norma had assured him that this was among the best equipment they could provide. Resources were scarce and even basic survival equipment had to be maintained carefully because replacing it was not always possible.

Erend decided not to complain.

Once everything was secured, Erend followed Norma and Darius toward the eastern gate of the settlement.

Several guards were already preparing for the morning while a few scavengers moved through the gate with their own equipment.

They looked at Erend, then at Darius, and they decided to not put their noses on their business.

The two of them accompanied Erend until he reached the settlement’s outer wall.

"Follow the route marked here. It should be the safest path to the facility. It will take longer than the other routes but you should avoid most of the dangerous areas," Darius said while pointing toward the map Erend carried.

Erend glanced at the map before folding it and putting it away. "I got it."

"Don’t take unnecessary risks," Norma added, just for formality. "Even if you’re capable, the wasteland isn’t something you should underestimate."

Erend smiled faintly at her with a knowing look, "I’ll keep that in mind."

He then turned toward the open wasteland and began walking.

Darius and Norma stood near the gate, watching him leave.

Erend gradually became smaller in the distance as he crossed the dry ground beyond the settlement. The sound of his footsteps slowly disappeared beneath the constant movement of dust.

Darius remained silent for a while before finally speaking. "Are you sure he’ll be alright?"

"Yes," Norma answered casually.

Darius immediately turned toward her and studied her expression carefully. There was no worry in her eyes, not even the slightest hesitation to see Erend go toward a deadly mission.

"Where did you actually meet him?" Darius asked. He could not help himself anymore.

"Like I told you, I was almost killed by a Ratclaw. He and his friends came along and saved me," Norma replied, then she looked toward Erend’s distant figure. "Erend and his friends are extremely capable. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have survived as nomads for very long, would they?"

Darius remained silent for several seconds.

Finally, he nodded.

"I suppose you’re right. If he dies out there, then at least it won’t be my fault."

Norma smiled faintly.

There was something about that smile that made Darius feel as though she knew something he didn’t. But she said nothing.

She simply turned around and walked back toward the settlement.

Darius watched her leave before looking toward Erend one last time.

Then he also turned away.

—

Erend continued walking across the wasteland.

He followed the route Darius had marked on the map, keeping his pace deliberately ordinary. The settlement gradually disappeared behind him as he moved farther.

After a while, he reached the top of a low hill.

Erend stopped and turned his head and looked back toward the settlement.

His Dragon eyes activated, his senses expanded across the surrounding landscape, allowing him to detect movement far beyond what an ordinary human could perceive.

He carefully examined the settlement and the area around the eastern gate. Now nobody was watching him anymore.

Erend waited another few seconds just to be certain.

Then a faint smile appeared on his face. He adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and looked toward the distant eastern wasteland.

The next moment, his body moved with his real speed. The ordinary survivor who had been walking across the wasteland suddenly disappeared.

Erend accelerated with overwhelming speed, his body cutting through the dry air as he ran forward at a speed that no human could possibly match.

Dust exploded beneath his feet. The ground blurred beneath him. The wind roared past his ears as Erend accelerated farther and farther toward the east.

He deliberately ignored the safe route Darius had marked on the map. The path might have been safer for ordinary travelers but it was also much longer, and Erend had no reason to waste time when he could simply deal with whatever dangers stood in his way.

He soon encountered his first group of Ratclaws.

Several monstrous creatures emerged from behind a cluster of broken rocks and charged toward him.

Erend immediately recognized them as the same species as the creature he had killed while saving Norma, although some of these were considerably larger.

The biggest among them stood nearly three times the size of the Ratclaw he had encountered before, with massive limbs, thick claws, and powerful bodies covered in rough, dark flesh.

Erend barely slowed down.

He raised one hand and condensed a small amount of Fire Magic into several firebolts. The flames compressed tightly until they became little more than glowing points of destructive energy.

Then he released them. The firebolts shot forward like arrows. Each one struck a Ratclaw directly in the head, destroying it instantly. They collapsed without Erend slowing down.

He simply continued running.

The farther he traveled, the harsher the environment became. He crossed several stretches of swampland where dark, stagnant water filled enormous depressions in the ground.

Thick mist hovered above the surface with a foul smell and traces of toxic substances that would have been dangerous for ordinary humans to breathe.

Erend barely noticed.

His body could withstand far more hostile environments than this. He simply passed through the poisonous areas without slowing down, occasionally leaping across sections of contaminated water before continuing toward the east.

The landscape gradually changed again.

The barren plains gave way to increasingly strange terrain. Large patches of dead vegetation covered the ground, blackened rocks rose from the earth at irregular intervals, remnants of old structures occasionally appeared in the distance, most of them already swallowed by dust, corrosion, or time.

Erend continued forward.

Eventually, something appeared on the horizon.

He narrowed his eyes, and saw a large structure standing far ahead, rising from the wasteland like the remains of some enormous industrial facility.

Its exterior was dark and heavily weathered, several sections partially collapsed. Massive walls surrounded the structure and tall metal frameworks rose above it.

Erend slowed slightly as he approached. There was no doubt about it. This had to be the abandoned water-processing facility Darius had told him about.

Erend looked toward the enormous structure for several seconds. He adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and continued toward it.

—