Chapter 39: Looting All of Frostspine Mountains! Discovering an Ancient Sword Mausoleum!

Raistlin seemed to have heard John’s muttering and slowly turned around.

The overwhelming, world-dominating aura he had displayed moments ago had completely vanished.

The old man had returned to his usual humble, amiable self. He bowed slightly, wearing an apologetic smile.

"I hope you will forgive this old man, my Lord. I got a little carried away."

John looked at him and nodded.

Only then did Raistlin raise his hand again. With a gentle tap of his withered finger against the air, he sent out a beam of six-colored light that unfolded into a large, translucent map.

Countless colored markers densely covered its surface.

"My Lord, I have marked the locations of every resource deposit throughout Frostspine Mountains."

Raistlin spoke respectfully.

"Where would you like us to begin gathering?"

John glanced at the map and made his decision immediately, drawing a route across it.

"Start with the nearest deposits and work our way outward. Gather everything."

"Yes, my Lord!"

A spatial rift opened, and the Frost Mages and Dragon Knights emerged.

[Ding! Resource deposit fully harvested! Obtained: 3,200 gold coins, 1,200 Wood!]

[Ding! Resource deposit fully harvested! Obtained: 4,800 gold coins, 2,400 Iron Ore!]

[Ding! Resource deposit fully harvested! Obtained: 2,600 gold coins, 1,800 Wood!]

...

The notifications came so rapidly that they nearly merged into a continuous stream.

What John failed to notice was that Raistlin kept sneaking glances at Ophelia throughout the journey.

Fortunately, Ophelia was rather oblivious and didn’t notice a thing.

John focused entirely on the numbers skyrocketing across his interface, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curling upward.

In less than an hour, every resource deposit throughout Frostspine Mountains had been completely stripped bare.

"That should do it."

John gathered his thoughts and turned to Raistlin, speaking in a friendly tone.

"We should head back."

The old man nodded. After what seemed like a lengthy internal struggle, he finally spoke with great caution.

"My Lord... I have a rather unreasonable request."

Had John not already demonstrated his ability to resurrect the dead, and had Ophelia not served as a precedent, Raistlin probably wouldn’t have dared to ask.

John looked at him.

"Go ahead."

Raistlin clasped his staff in both hands and lowered his head slightly. His voice carried a hint of barely concealed anticipation.

"Would it be possible for you to resurrect one more person?"

John gestured for him to continue.

"Who?"

At the question, Raistlin’s eyes immediately lit up with hope.

"His name is Bladeborne. He was a legendary Templar warrior in ancient times. His mastery of holy blade techniques allowed him to tear through enemy formations amid tens of thousands of soldiers, and slaying enemy commanders was as easy for him as reaching into his pocket..."

Raistlin spoke rapidly, even gesturing excitedly with his hands.

"His holy radiance could tear through spatial barriers, and his charges could shatter the very earth beneath his feet..."

John: "..."

Why did this sound suspiciously like a scam?

"Do you know where he is?"

John interrupted before the old man could continue his glowing introduction. He was beginning to worry that he might change his mind.

Raistlin immediately nodded excitedly, pointing in a particular direction with his bony finger.

"Southeast! I personally watched them bury him there!"

John fell silent for two seconds.

He glanced at the 100% loyalty rating above Raistlin’s head and decided to trust him.

"Fine."

He nodded, intending to invite the old man to travel with them on Ophelia’s back.

"Lead the way. We’ll—"

Before he could finish, Raistlin had already raised his staff. Six-colored light suddenly illuminated the ground beneath his feet.

"My Lord, there’s no need to wait for me. I’ll go ahead and meet you there!"

"Wait—"

John reached out to stop him, but the old man’s figure had already begun to distort within the radiance.

The next instant, he vanished completely.

[System Notification: Your hero "Raistlin" has used the skill "Elemental Shift."]

John’s hand remained suspended in midair.

"..."

He took a deep breath before turning toward Ophelia.

"Transform. We’re chasing him."

Ophelia nodded. Violet flames erupted around her as the hundred-meter-long dragon shot into the sky.

John leaped onto her back.

With a powerful beat of her wings, the giant dragon flew south.

Along the way, notifications kept flooding John’s interface without a moment’s pause.

[Your hero "Raistlin" has slain Desert Scorpion Lv.1 (Three-Star) ×47, gaining 470 EXP!]

[Your hero "Raistlin" has slain Sandstone Colossus Lv.5 (Four-Star) ×12, gaining 1,200 EXP!]

[Your hero "Raistlin" has slain Desert Soul Devourer Lv.8 (Five-Star) ×3, gaining 700 EXP!]

[Your hero "Raistlin" has slain...]

John watched the notifications scroll past, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Not only was the old man ridiculously powerful, but he was also surprisingly proactive.

After flying for roughly an hour, the terrain below gradually changed from frozen earth to barren yellow wasteland, and then from the wasteland to endless stretches of golden sand.

John looked down.

Everywhere along their route lay the remains of monsters destroyed by elemental magic.

Severed tails from giant scorpions, shattered chunks of rock, and the charred remains of Soul Devourers littered the ground.

Numerous pieces of loot also hovered above the corpses of boss monsters.

Gold coins, materials, equipment, treasure chests...

John tapped the dragon’s back.

"Ophelia, fly lower."

The giant dragon swooped toward the tops of the dunes, skimming just above the sand.

John reached out and scooped up the loot scattered along their route, storing it in his inventory.

[Obtained: 12,400 gold coins!]

[Obtained: 4,800 Iron Ore!]

[Obtained: 3,600 Wood!]

[Obtained: Legion Equipment — Bracers (One-Star)!]

[Obtained: Legion Equipment — Armor (One-Star)!]

[Obtained: ...]

John collected the items one by one before suddenly stopping.

His gaze shifted to a small, dark golden box resting on top of a sand dune.

It was barely the size of his palm, its surface engraved with intricate patterns. At its center, a black pointer slowly rotated.

[Item Name: War Compass]

[Type: Legion Equipment]

[Quality: Four-Star]

[Effect 1: Reveals the exact coordinates of any hostile target that has previously attacked the Lord’s territory.]

[Effect 2: Opens a one-way teleportation channel, allowing the Lord’s legion to be transported to the vicinity of the target coordinates. The farther the destination, the more gold coins required.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Basic Wood ×5,000, Basic Stone ×5,000, Basic Iron Ore ×5,000, Basic Gold Coins ×5,000, War Medal ×1.]

[Description: Hatred is the finest guide. As long as you remember your enemy, this compass will lead you to them.]

John read the description, his mood improving considerably.

Now, this was an excellent piece of equipment for revenge!

With this compass, he could take his entire legion straight to his enemies’ doorstep.

John stored the War Compass in his inventory and silently gave Raistlin a thumbs-up.

The giant dragon continued flying south.

About twenty minutes later, Raistlin finally came to a stop.

[System Notification: You have entered the region — Crimson Desert.]

Riding on the dragon’s back, John surveyed the land below.

At this point, he no longer needed to consult the map to locate Raistlin.

The farther they traveled, the more corpses they encountered.

The bodies formed a clear trail, practically pointing the way forward.

Following this path of destruction to its end, they arrived at a place where the ground suddenly broke away, revealing an enormous expanse of black rock beneath the sand.

At its center stood a colossal mausoleum dedicated to ancient sword spirits.

Inside the mausoleum, thousands upon thousands of swords had been driven into the ground in layer upon layer, stretching from the foreground all the way into the distance.

There were well over ten thousand of them.