Chapter 348: Kro Canyon

Looking up, it was a sliver of sky enclosed by two cliffs.

Even though it was already noon, only a little sunlight still filtered down; the sound of a stream flowed in the ears, and the wind brought countless roars of various beasts.

Hot springs? Cold springs? Both existed; the volcanic exit shaped by the earth veins and the exit of the Ice Plane were only a few kilometers apart, where one could witness the grand spectacle of ice and fire waters melting into each other.

Danger? Demonic beasts? They were everywhere; if one climbed a steep slope, one could see the infinite herds of beasts beneath the boundless mountain ranges.

Earth, fire, water, and wind were all present here; countless passages led underground and above ground, and too many unknown species had gathered.

The segmented mountain ranges shaped countless underground caves and dark rivers; here one could walk down into the Darklands, and there was even a snow mountain path leading to the Misty Peaks.

This was the Kro Mountain Range, one of the eternal uninhabited zones of the Great Demon Realm.

"Kornuna, there is a very high-level energy reaction over at Blue Well Cave; it is suspected that an ancient demonic beast has awakened again. Should we relocate?"

"I understand. Proceed according to the plan."

The tall Forest Giant held a "wooden" staff in one hand while looking toward the distance.

On her outstretched fingers, mana wound around at a density visible to the naked eye; only when the wild wind blew past did it begin to dissipate slightly.

This was her mastery over elemental power, but even more so a display of the "tide height"; when the mana tide gradually entered its peak, when the entire world began to be filled with mana and elemental power, that mana became even harder to dissipate.

Alchemists had more stable machines for sampling magical element concentrations, but ancient species also had their own inherited, useful methods.

"It has risen by at least another two-tenths; it has been less than a month. We cannot delay any longer, but that damn dragon."

Kornuna put her hand into the stream; while feeling the chill, she also felt the increasingly swelling elemental tide.

The Kro Mountain Range was very special; its relatively primitive and isolated mountain structure avoided human presence while also evading the erosion of climate disasters, allowing it to preserve many ancient species and primitive structures.

There were also several rifts to elemental planes here, and even entrances to other realms; while making the species even more abundant, they also made it very difficult for the weak to establish survival dwellings here.

But for the Druid Circle, which pursued natural balance and studied natural species, this was naturally a treasure trove.

Also due to its relatively open earth vein structure and elemental plane connections, many elemental beings and ancient species could continue to survive here.

But now, accompanied by the rise of the elemental tide, the rate of increase here far exceeded that of the outside world; numerous ancient species lurking and sleeping in this area were awakening, and some powerful species chasing the elemental tide had arrived here ahead of schedule.

For them, this might be an opportunity to seek treasure; for mortals, it could be a catastrophe of drowning.

"That damn dragon."

Kornuna looked up, gazing at the sky above the canyon; those floating pale blue wings appeared from time to time, just like a floating grim reaper, making one loathe them.

That Sapphire Dragon had arrived in this area ten years ago; at that time, it occupied a cave and began to sleep, and the Druid Circle and it had lived in peace.

But looking back now, it simply knew that this was a "high-element period" that arrived faster than outside, so it came here early to adapt and advance; having completed its evolution, it entered its active period about three years ago.

At that time, it took only a few days to exterminate the intelligent beings and semi-sedentary life forms around the cave.

The Sapphire Dragon was a dragon species with extremely strong territorial awareness; for intruders, it basically killed them all clean.

"As expected, it has set its sights on us, and also... the Sacred Relic."

The Druid Circle named the Verdant Garden had core members consisting of two adult Forest Giants and a giant tribe composed of Hill Giants and other subspecies, plus several dozen Druids of ordinary mortal races; in fact, in most areas, they could walk with their heads held high.

But in this place lacking light and with a chaotic elemental tide, fighting an adult Sapphire Dragon that was a master of ambush was a bit too difficult.