Erend slowed his steps slightly while his sharp Dragon eyes scanned the canyon surrounding the expedition group once more. The blackened cliffs towered around them like giant walls while the corrupted crimson river below continued flowing with faint glowing currents beneath the dark sky.

Then Erend pushed himself lightly off the ground and rose into the air.

Wind swept against his body while he floated above the canyon and carefully observed the surrounding terrain from higher altitude. His senses spread out across the nearby region while Dragonborn Magic quietly pulsed beneath his skin.

For several long moments, he remained silent while examining every possible direction.

The corruption here remained thick and unstable. Strange pulsating roots still spread throughout the canyon walls and the distant roars from somewhere below the ravines had not disappeared completely.

But at least for now, nothing dangerous seemed to be approaching directly toward them.

That did not mean the area was truly safe. Not in a world that had already become like this.

But compared to the horrors they had crossed earlier during the journey, this moment was calm enough.

Erend finally descended back toward the ground before landing near the expedition group again.

"You can rest for a while," Erend said calmly. "I’ll guard the surroundings."

The exhausted expedition members immediately reacted with visible relief.

Some of the knights lowered themselves against nearby rocks while several mages sat directly on the ground without caring about the dirt anymore. The journey through the corrupted lands had drained them heavily both physically and mentally.

Erend watched them quietly.

He had protected them as best as possible throughout the expedition. But even then, the expedition members still had to fight and defend themselves repeatedly during the journey.

That was unavoidable. Erend could not simply unleash his full Dragonborn power carelessly around them. If he fought without restraint, the destruction from his own power could easily devastate the surrounding terrain or even harm the expedition members themselves.

Because of that, much of the burden still fell onto the knights and mages accompanying the expedition.

Soon afterward, the group began taking out the food and drinks they had prepared as provisions before leaving Leonora.

Nobody spoke much.

Most of them ate in silence while occasionally glancing nervously toward the canyon surroundings. Even while resting, their movements remained rushed and tense as though they expected another corrupted creature to appear at any moment.

The fear clinging to them was obvious. Erend noticed all of it clearly.

But he thought their reactions were completely natural considering the situation they were trapped in now. After everything they had already witnessed throughout the corrupted world, nobody could remain calm anymore.

Around ten minutes passed quickly.

The expedition members soon finished resting because they themselves understood they could not waste too much time here.

Then Erend turned toward the communication mage accompanying the expedition.

"Try contacting the capital," Erend ordered.

The mage immediately nodded before activating the spirit communication artifact in his hands.

Blue light emerged from the spirit and streams of Magic spread outward while attempting to establish a connection toward Leonora.

But several moments passed without response.

The spirit flickered weakly. Then static-like interference echoed from the artifact repeatedly before the light destabilized completely.

The mage frowned deep and attempted the connection again. But the exact same thing happened.

Finally, he slowly lowered the spirit and looked toward Erend with uneasy expression.

"The communication won’t connect to the capital, Dragonborn," the mage reported heavily.

Erend frowned slightly. For several moments he remained silent while thinking carefully.

Then he finally came to a conclusion.

The Magic disturbance across the surface had probably already become too thick. The corruption spreading throughout the lands was interfering with long-range spirit communication itself.

Which meant the situation outside had most likely worsened even further.

Erend’s expression hardened slightly afterward.

"We move now," he said firmly.

The expedition members immediately reacted and quickly gathered their belongings again.

Erend no longer intended to waste time resting. Whatever was happening throughout the corrupted world was escalating too fast. They needed to reach the fragment site immediately.

Without delay, the expedition group began moving once more through the corrupted canyon while the dark skies continued looming heavily above them.

—

Meanwhile, the situation surrounding Leonora remained trapped in restless tension as well.

The five colossal abominations still towered across the distant lands surrounding the kingdom. Their enormous serpentine bodies continued writhing slowly beneath the dark storm-filled skies while crimson-black corruption pulsed endlessly across their grotesque flesh.

Although the horrifying roars had mostly subsided by now, the sight of those creatures alone was enough to keep fear gripping the hearts of everyone standing atop the battlements.

Every soldier, knight, archer, and mage continued staring toward the distant horizon with tense expressions.

The creatures were simply too massive.

Even from this distance, they still looked like gigantic living towers piercing into the sky while their twisted bodies continuously shifted and moved. Sometimes parts of their enormous flesh bulged out before sinking again while countless beast heads embedded within their bodies occasionally opened their jaws silently.

The atmosphere across the walls remained suffocating.

The battlement mages had already completed the barrier formations around Leonora. Enormous defensive runes now glowed across the walls and towers while streams of Magic energy continuously flowed between the defensive pillars surrounding the city.

A faint translucent barrier covered the kingdom walls like a giant dome prepared to withstand an incoming catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the knights had also fully prepared themselves.

Heavy armored soldiers lined the battlements fronts down there with shields and weapons ready while archers remained positioned along the walls with arrows already nocked onto bowstrings. The mages continuously maintained their spells while support squads rushed supplies and healing equipment throughout the city defenses.

Nobody truly knew whether any of this preparation would actually be enough against creatures like those.

But nobody intended to surrender either.

King Garrie remained standing near the edge of the battlements while staring toward the distant abominations with furrowed brows. The cold wind swept heavily against his cloak while anxiety continuously tightened inside his chest.

Then suddenly, one of the archers positioned farther along the wall narrowed his eyes toward the distant wilderness.

At first, he thought he had imagined it. Something moved far away between the forests and rocky terrain outside the kingdom.

The archer immediately stepped forward while gripping the battlement edge tightly.

His eyes widened afterward.

"I see someone!" he suddenly shouted loudly.

The nearby soldiers and knights immediately turned toward him.

The archer quickly pointed toward the distant wilderness beyond the walls.

"One of the scouts!" he yelled again with disbelief mixed into his voice.

The atmosphere atop the battlements instantly changed.

King Garrie himself immediately stepped forward and stared toward the distant direction the archer pointed at.

Far away across the corrupted lands, a small figure was desperately running toward Leonora at full speed.

—