Chapter 95: The Birth of a Ground-Pulse

When leaving Missus Misu’s home, Gao De’s emotions were deeply complex.

The events of today had exceeded his expectations, but the outcome was good.

He did not fully believe Missus Misu’s words about the letter of recommendation, but he trusted them by eight or nine tenths.

Because, when combined with the information he held, Missus Misu’s claims showed not a single flaw.

And as always, if there’s a fifty percent chance, you should act.

Otherwise, you’ll miss countless opportunities.

“Alright, there’s only one thing left—to find a way to reach Shengxi En City!” Gao De resolved.

He must go to this Seris Magic Academy, no matter how difficult the journey.

Hogen City.

Lord’s Mansion.

“Has the report been submitted?” asked Viscount Xia Er, the “highest leader” of Hogen City, his brow tightly furrowed, weighed down by worry.

“It was submitted yesterday and should have reached Shengxi En City today; we’re now waiting for reinforcements to arrive from there,” replied his uniformed subordinate respectfully.

Viscount Xia Er’s brow relaxed slightly.

“It’s not too late yet,” he murmured.

Two days ago, someone finally noticed a sudden spike in magic concentration in parts of Hogen City.

No one is foolish; though blind spots might cause temporary oversight, once such an obvious signal emerged, all senior officials immediately understood:

The prolonged activity of ground-pulse creatures and wild beasts outside the city was very likely a precursor to a new ground-pulse forming.

“After all these years, no new ground-pulse has ever formed in the Baimai region—could we really be this unlucky, and have it happen right here in Hogen?” Viscount Xia Er lost his usual composure, even beginning to pray.

If a new ground-pulse formed near Hogen City, not only Hogen, but the tranquility of every human city across the entire Baimai region would be shattered.

Then, the good days would be over.

As the human city closest to the new ground-pulse, Hogen would inevitably bear the first blow.

Just thinking of it was a nightmare.

He only hoped the capital’s forces would arrive soon and quickly assess the situation.

If a new ground-pulse was indeed forming, the capital’s army could be dispatched in time to suppress it.

But once Hogen City became a “fortress” on the front line of battle, his tenure as city lord would be over.

The moment he thought of this, his slightly relaxed brow tightened again.

Hogen City, atop the city wall.

Magic crystal lamps burned brightly.

The guards on duty chatted as usual, killing time.

Not even Hogen, a small city, had guards with strict discipline—let alone Shengxi En City.

Suddenly, an inexplicable tremor shattered the guards’ ordinary night watch.

“An earthquake?!” an experienced guard reacted first.

“Can’t be—we’ve never had an earthquake since Hogen was founded,” another guard said instinctively.

But no sooner had he spoken than the ground shook more violently, as if an invisible beast churned deep beneath.

The stone walls began to sway; dust rose into the air.

The magic crystal lamps on the wall shook violently.

“What is that?!”

Something even more terrifying was unfolding.

The guards on the wall widened their eyes.

In the distance, hidden within the night-shrouded wilderness, an intensely bright light pierced the horizon from deep within the forest.

It looked as if the earth had split open, and light erupted from the fissure.

“How can there be such a bright light at night?” The guards who witnessed it stared, mouths agape, minds reeling.

“Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm! Highest-level alarm!” shouted the guard captain, his voice like thunder in a summer night, jolting the stunned guards back to reality.

His face twisted with tension.

As captain, he was a mage and also from one of Hogen’s prominent families.

He understood: the brilliant light and violent tremors were not celestial phenomena, but magical surges—the radiance of another realm after its boundary with this one had vanished.

It was a ground-pulse being born!

A disaster—a catastrophe capable of toppling Hogen City!

“Highest… highest-level alarm!” The guards on the posts stared in disbelief, yet instantly obeyed, frantically pulling the alarm, not daring to delay.

They immediately struck the magic bell hanging from the wall.

With the vibration of magical energy, the deep, resonant bell tone pierced the night sky like a death drum, awakening the sleeping city.

The bell rang continuously, as if it would never stop.

This was the highest-level alarm—it would persist for fifteen minutes.

As the alarm echoed, lights began to flicker on, one by one, throughout Hogen City.

Deep within the forest.

Two distinct realms, in a subtle rhythm, quietly overlapped at one edge.

Their boundaries, upon the slightest contact, cracked open.

This fissure was what people called a “ground-pulse.”

The essence of a ground-pulse was a strange passage connecting two worlds.

At its birth, it pulsed like the heartbeat of ancient earth, sending out waves of terrifying magical energy.

With this magical surge, the scenery around the ground-pulse began to warp.

Reality and illusion intertwined.

The magic concentration in the air rose at an unimaginable speed.

As the final roar faded, the earthquake-like trembling finally ceased.

But the end of the shaking was not the end—it was the beginning.

From the fissure poured countless strange creatures.

They shared one common name.

“Ground-pulse creatures.”

These ground-pulse creatures took many forms.

Some had avian wings yet bodies like tigers or wolves;

others wore thick shells, massive as moving mountains; still others were three-armed goblin-like monsters. After emerging from the ground-pulse, some scattered in all directions, vanishing into unknown places.

Most surged toward the night, heading unmistakably toward Hogen City.

“Dogdemons! So many dogdemons!” cried a guard atop Hogen’s wall, voice trembling.

Only minutes had passed since the highest-level alarm was sounded.

One after another, dark shadows emerged from the forest.

The shadows multiplied, multiplied, drew closer to Hogen City, until the guards could clearly see them with their naked eyes.

They were wolf-like monsters with blue spines and sharp, long claws, their eyes glinting with revolting light from the shadows.

Dogdemons—one of the most combat-capable 0-rank ground-pulse creatures.

They attack with claws and bites, and can evolve into 1-rank higher dogdemons by consuming humanoid beings.

They were an extremely troublesome type of ground-pulse creature.

Because dogdemons loved slaughter, possessed immense combat strength, and preferred ambushes—even mages, if careless, could be killed instantly upon being targeted, with no time to react.

Yet, dogdemon teeth, claws, and blood were top-tier alchemical and potion materials, making them extremely valuable ground-pulse creatures.

And now, dogdemons—who normally avoided direct combat—appeared in massive groups before everyone’s eyes.

Merely by sight, there were already two to three hundred, and their numbers kept rising without end.

The guards who witnessed this all felt their scalps go numb.

At this moment, they finally understood why their captain had ordered the highest-level alarm—the first ever activated since Hogen’s founding! For these guards—and for every person in Hogen City—this night would be the most unforgettable of their lives.

Though many, perhaps, would not survive it.

(End of Chapter)