[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-81":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269727,4431,"Chapter 81: The Mana Tide Arrives","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-81",81,"\u003Cp>After Li En mysteriously vanished for an entire day, the world never paused its rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the contrary, the day of the investiture marked a pivotal moment—everything began at that instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Princess Daneya of the royal family made her official debut, and simultaneously, the entire Huicheng must confront the threat from below. Whether the princess obtained this intelligence from where, when combined with the activity of the Beast Cult (the Tail-Hunting Case), the credibility was high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the royal family exposed this crisis to the light, covering one’s ears while stealing a bell was no longer feasible—everyone and every organization had to face this threat head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Compared to the same period last year, the concentration of mana and elemental particles has risen by 7% to 11%, marking seven consecutive years of growth, and this year’s increase has doubled.” The spellcasters brought a subtly nuanced piece of good news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Mana Tide arrives, natural magic and elemental forces become more active, empowering spellcasters and magical creatures alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this growth rate continued over ten or twenty years, it might have quietly doubled or tripled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But higher concentrations of elemental nests also mean more dormant beings and reclusive races now have the potential to awaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, spellcasters had only been rejoicing—their spells had become noticeably stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Observatory reports a 32% increase in sightings of super beasts and dragons this year, a trend that has persisted for a decade.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alongside the surge in magical energy, all extraordinary life forms grow more active; observing their frequency of activity can indirectly gauge the magnitude of the Mana Tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially some ancient deities and elder beings from previous eras may now emerge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Communication with the elders of the Elf Emergence Faction has confirmed that the Mana Tide’s arrival is a fact.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the verification arrived, no one was truly shocked or dismissive—they seemed to have anticipated this moment all along. This ties into a classic continental joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Mana Tide is coming soon—the entire continent will be engulfed in flames!” This was a prophecy issued by the renowned giant sage Higle,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does the current situation seem to validate this prophecy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But this prophecy was issued over two hundred years ago—how can ‘soon’ be this slow?” Back then, the sage nearly ruined his reputation over this prophecy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many nations and races truly prepared for war—but the decision-makers aged and died, and the damned Mana Tide still hadn’t come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s nothing to be done—long-lived races simply lack any sense of time.” Even this prophecy became a classic joke used by short-lived races to mock the long-lived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is it coming soon? How come it hasn’t arrived in two hundred years? Was this prophecy meant for my grandson?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looking back now, the rise in elemental tides likely began at that time, accelerating ever faster. They’ve experienced multiple Mana Tides—they may have sensed the signs early.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the Mana Tide has arrived as foretold—the new era has begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too slow! The fortresses built back then are now abandoned; the armies trained then have all grown old and died.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When reality stood before them, the short-lived wept in despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For over a hundred years, anyone who mentioned the Mana Tide was treated as a fool; anyone who demanded preparation was mocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now the storm has struck, and the nations of the Beast-Touched appear utterly unprepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prophecies issued too far in advance are effectively no prophecy at all—they inevitably caused the short-lived to grow complacent, waiting endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t trust these elders too much—they may have intended this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meeting’s host, Princess Daneya, made no effort to conceal her suspicion of the other races.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more one knows, the less one believes in those big-bodied, pointy-eared beings—who once ruled the continent—how could they possibly abandon the chance to return to the world’s center?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps they are trustworthy during peacetime, reliable commercial allies and friends—but a competent Beast royal family or high noble never forgets what they did during past Mana Tides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confirming the imminent Mana Tide also means the intelligence regarding the underground “Dark Gods’” revival is likely true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While considering the long-term impact of the Mana Tide is one thing, failing to survive the immediate crisis could mean the kingdom’s end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The kingdom can no longer afford to lose Huicheng.” The kingdom’s finances are dire; among its few remaining cities, Huicheng has quietly become its pillar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This isn’t merely due to the extraordinary materials from the underground ruins—alongside their extraction, countless commercial enterprises, deep processing, magical industries, and new factories have relocated here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the party directly involved, the royal family bears full responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the royal proclamation, Daneya summoned the local churches and transnational organizations to address the underground ruins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First and foremost, exchanging intelligence on the underground ruins—but the results were deeply discouraging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s terrible—we only have records from shallow hunting.” This reflects both the range of hunting teams’ activities and the fact that safe deep routes are themselves the wealth of each exploration group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are lone Qiangzhe  and small teams who conduct deep hunts, but they leave no systematic records.” Even hunts targeting specific materials remain unstructured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why is our map of the underground world so vague? Didn’t anyone ever manage it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who managed it? Ten years ago, this was just a fourth-tier city of the kingdom.” This was the key—the exploration efforts before were left to Minjian ’s unregulated system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huicheng was a newly emerging city of the kingdom, merely an ordinary town over a decade ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It became the kingdom’s current pillar mainly because the kingdom now has so few cities left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a distant region’s “instability,” major powers usually suppress it if they can.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they appointed the current Earl of Huicheng as governor, it was, in a sense, to contain this underground ruin cluster—not to develop it further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, the kingdom didn’t lack these extraordinary materials; thus, in past planning, they never considered offensive action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their plans, the worst-case scenario was simply abandoning the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For the old kingdom, this city wasn’t worth stationing a legion, let alone sacrificing multiple legions in bloody battle.” The kingdom had declined too rapidly—their old plans had never been updated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, the kingdom cannot do without this city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The underground ruin intelligence we have is only from recent years—we mostly just block the entrance to collect taxes and admission fees, waiting for adventurers to bring back materials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more they summarized the underground intelligence, the more helpless the decision-makers felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most maps were shallow—this area was safest, and nine out of ten adventurers stopped here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once entering the depths, not only did the paths grow complex and disorienting, but danger increased sharply with stronger monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need to build logistical support for adventurers.” This was the current biggest problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The greatest obstacle to deep exploration had always been logistical support—adventurers operating on their own would never venture too deep into the ruins; it was nearly suicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, we could ask the gnomes and dark elves—they emerged from the underground ruins. I strongly suspect they have tribes down there.” Someone proposed another approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did ask them—they said there’s a passage from the underground ruins to the subterranean world, and they came through it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait, you actually believe them?” These two races were infamous throughout the multiverse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The underground ruins contained not only various demonic monsters, but also alien races, cultists, exiles, and slave traders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ironically, the “Beast Cult” and “Beast Clans,” as enemies, were rarely heard of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard there’s a pack of scorpion-lions down there—likely from the subterranean world.” Such monsters were well-known; each required a Grand Knight-level warrior to confront.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, I also heard there’s a black dragon.” Dragon sightings were still rumors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When high-ranking officials began exchanging eyewitness reports from their own organizations, the results sent chills down their spines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything troublesome on the surface existed below—and below, there were also dragons, high-tier beast packs, and cultists that didn’t even exist above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, over a decade ago, the underground ruins weren’t this extreme—the surface monsters weren’t particularly strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But over these years, as the Mana Tide revived, more areas seemed to awaken, revealing additional underground passages and monster groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need intelligence.” In this context, forcibly sending a large army down to conquer was sheer stupidity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either they’d waste time finding nothing, or vanish without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Offer bounties.” This was the most practical solution—give enough gold, and adventurers would dare enter the Abyss and Hell itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deploy the Holy Knights’ Order to establish a forward base.” The church leaders reached consensus—it was time to deploy the Holy Knights’ Order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The True God churches would not retreat lightly in the face of the Beast threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Adventurers will bring more intelligence. I’ll issue invitations to invite renowned dungeon explorers from across the continent.” The Explorers’ Association made its decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For once, none of the organizations tried to shirk responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this was their territory, their long-term livelihood—if it collapsed, the consequences would be endless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, over these years, as the quality of “materials” improved, they had all reaped the benefits of the era—looking back, the Mana Tide had likely awakened some beasts, bringing more monsters and materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d finally eaten well these past few years—going back to eating bran and wild vegetables was unthinkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the major organizations cooperate so unusually well, Daneya felt joy—but also a faint unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they owed the royal family no real respect; what truly drove them was always profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To them, the Beasts are merely a new opportunity—a resource point.” Daneya’s dragon eyes could see it—these people spoke gravely, yet their expressions betrayed hidden delight and anticipation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For them, more monsters meant more resources; expanding the underground ruins meant greater wealth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the kingdom and its citizens, this was a crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For these transnational organizations and churches, this was a joint venture to seize profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The city’s safety cannot be entrusted to them.” Who knew what they’d do once they secured their gains?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were perfectly capable of establishing their own hunting outposts underground and forcing hunters to die endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the war against the Beasts promised lasting profit, they’d never wish for it to end—and yet, the kingdom must rely on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, at this moment, Daneya remembered that insolent man who never showed her respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were him—or the inheritors of the Heroic Souls—they would fight solely for this city and its lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope the next Heroic Soul inheritance opens soon—let them act quickly. Time is running out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1756,"2026-06-19T21:45:41.002Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d5cee83fef4aa59f674d20694db3799c28adb5ed2a3ac02b362a77a8afaf119d","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-82","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-80",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]