After obtaining the beast core of the Stoneback Rhino, Emperal and Calder set out for the Verth Spring.

The distance wasn’t really less; in fact, from the eastern border where they had to share a border with the Titan Beasts, and had to go all the way to the southern border.

Connecting them with the Elves!

On the way, both of them absorbed Verth Crystals in tremendous amounts, enabling Emperal to reach the peak of Stage Two Verth Seeker and Calder the peak of Stage Three Verth Seeker.

Both of them were close to a breakthrough, but if Calder had absorbed more, he could’ve indeed broken through to the Verth Wielding stage.

But Emperal didn’t dare let him; his sleeping gas was already strong enough. If he broke through, Emperal feared he might betray him.

Let alone a Snakeskin, the beasts in general were not really trustworthy. Although it would be a massive loss in the upcoming fights, Emperal was willing to take the risk and gamble.

The southern borders of Draventhar were different from the east, which had volcanic characteristics because of the Cinderstone’s influence. Similar to ashes in the air, heat vents breathed Verth-saturated steam through the forest floor, and the quality of the wilderness that existed here was completely different from the east.

The volcanic influence thinned as they moved further down; something ancient and older began replacing it.

Here, it was cool, quiet, and dangerous as the ambient Verth ran in a different area entirely.

Emperal obviously noticed this, and he had known about it beforehand; the shift was quiet and subtle.

They had been walking for almost a week now since the Stoneback Rhino. The Verth Crystals from the godown had done their work. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

It allowed them to move faster...without worrying about Verth consumption. And the journey, which should have taken at least three weeks, was reduced to one.

"We are close," Calder said, breaking the silence. His silver pupils shifted slightly as the serpent blood took in more and more of the sensory details.

"Two miles, maybe less."

"How many of them are there?"

"...Can’t tell; the Verth concentration there is messing with my senses, making the signatures hard to read."

"Hmm, good."

"...Good that we can’t read them?"

"Good that they can’t read us..."

"And your odourless gas."

"Are we going to enter there through my sleeping gas?" Calder asked worriedly; this seemed to be...a stupid plan.

"Of course not, we will just kidnap one for now and extract information."

"And appearance," Emperal spoke this inwardly. Hearing his words, Calder sighed and nodded.

They found their target half an hour later; it was a lone perimeter scout from Group A. Emperal had named them such because...well, he didn’t really know what else to call them.

It was a Verth Seeker Stage Three; he was doing his routine, checking the same trees, passing the same landmarks.

Emperal and Calder hid exactly fifty meters away from the Wolfkin scout; they dared do this because Emperal believed the concentration of Verth here could even disrupt the nose of a Wolfkin.

The scout walked around the familiar boulder, took three steps to the next section of his path, and...walked directly into the edge of Calder’s sleeping gas.

It wasn’t enough to make him drop immediately, but it was potent enough to make his eyes blurry and his mind hazy.

"Hmm?"

The scout immediately turned alert, but before he could move, a hand shot out from behind and grabbed his mouth tight. Emperal’s knee was on his spine, and a blade rested at the peripheral edge of his vision.

"Don’t attempt anything stupid; we are fast runners."

The scout...didn’t.

Calder materialized from the other side of the path with a smile and crouched in front of the pinned scout.

"Nothing personal, pal. We are just gonna ask you some questions," Calder said. "And the answers will determine how the next 15 minutes go for you."

The scout’s amber eyes moved, his ears pressed completely flat. The gas was working at a low concentration and keeping his mind just intact enough to speak. It was actually a good move; the scout would speak directly from his inner consciousness without hiding anything, much like a drunk man speaking.

"Now speak about the two groups, the Verth Crystal, and the forces of them."

The scout trembled and looked at the smiling faces of the two demons; a chill ran down his spine.

He...started talking.

...

Twenty minutes later, Emperal dusted his hands, nodding satisfactorily.

The man below had fallen unconscious, and they had everything they needed.

It was actually surprising, since one of the groups present was the Elves. Group A was from the beasts. Fifteen members, headed by their leader named Gorvenn. A dragon-bloodline descendant. As impressive as his blood was, his cultivation was far more profound and powerful than it.

Verth Shaper Stage Two- yes, he could even be called a decent powerhouse on the mainland of Draventhar.

The entry point was guarded by a Titan-blood enforcer.

On the borders, it was incredibly hard to find pure-blood species. So, the races were mixed. This had been the same for thousands of years.

It was similar in the land ruled by the phoenix and the land run by the Titan Beasts.

The second one—Group B, all Elven Verth practitioners. Their leader was named Dresh; she had acquired the wind element, parallel to the fire element possessed by Gorvenn.

Her cultivation was the same as Gorven’s; Stage Two Verth Shaper. This group had fewer members compared to Gorvenn.

And lastly, the Verth Crystal formation, it was neutral ground. Neither group entered within twenty meters of the Crystal itself by arrangement.

That was the extent of information known to the scout, which was more than enough for Emperal to plan further.

"Ah, one more thing," Emperal said. "Your appearance. Specifically your face, your build, and your Verth signature."

The scout turned toward Emperal. Confused.

Calder hurriedly took out a book from his coat and, like a professional broker, he began writing,

Physical description, cultivation signature, patrol route, some of the names of his friends, and the behavioral patterns.

Appearance, Emperal could change. But behaviors and some signature characteristics, he couldn’t mimic.

This was important since he would be staying like that for at least six days.

"Now be a good boy and sleep for an entire week."

He waved his hand to Calder, who grinned in satisfaction.