The Record of Unusual Creatures

The huge aerial fortress was hovering directly above the crystal pit. A miraculous facility resembling a small town, it had an inverted, cone-shaped base and two layers of solid, ring-shaped walls. There were dozens of magic towers between the two city walls, providing protection to the fortress. It looked spectacular, of course, but there were also many flaws. Hao Ren could see that the fortress idea was very simple-minded: it was simply a fortress lifted up in the air; other than the turrets, it had no escort fleet or anti-aircraft weapons. It may have been a very powerful weapon on that planet, but it was far from invincible. This monster invention of Holletta was just a rudimentary design; it still had a long way to go before it would become a mature strategic application. Nevertheless, the aerial fortress was still an inspiring invention.     

Ophra had introduced them to the construction process of the aerial fortress. The foundation of Hodeceus came from Dragonspine Ridge: After the main peak of the mountains collapsed, the remaining peaks began to teeter. The pope boldly used his divine skills to cut off the top of one of the peaks and turned it upside down before he moved it to the crystal pit for processing as the base of Hodeceus. The mine pit was closed for nearly a month. Many brilliant mages had entered the mine under the leadership of 12 masters mages. Working like masonry artisans, they rebuilt the peak. To ensure confidentiality, the entire construction process did not involve any ordinary workers. A few days prior when the one month was up, the magical fog above the crystal pit was resolved and Hodeceus rose into the air before the stunned faces of the world.     

It was also the ascension of Hodeceus that shook the highest echelons of the Cult of Origination. The elusive cultists had finally made a mistake and given away their whereabouts. The knights found that the cultists were hiding in the mountains in the west.     

Perhaps, even the pope of the Disciples of Glory and the 12 master mages who built Hodeceus could not have imagined that the first battle after the flotation of the sky fortress would actually be a holy war between the Disciples of Glory and the cult. The battlefield was just right next to the crystal pit. It was once the sacred lake, where the final assembly of Hodeceus was completed. It was also the western fortress of the Church, the edge of the werewolf tribal state's sacred land and simultaneously the lair of the cultists. If one did not experience this personally, no one would have believed that all these things had actually come together at the same place at the same time. While the Church was shocked by the hidden lair of the cult under their nose, Hao Ren also had a deep suspicion about the conspiracy of the Cult of Origination and the brain monster. In any case, hiding in such a place called for great courage, and the risk was always equal return. The greater the risk the Cult of Origination took, the bigger their conspiracy would be. So, when Hao Ren saw Hodeceus, he did not feel relieved for their increased combat strength, instead he became even more worried.     

Even though the floating fortress was hovering over their heads, the cultists did not flee, which meant that their conspiracy and back support were strong enough to offset pressure brought on by the floating fortress.     

The knights stationed on Hodeceus were in high spirits. It was hard to tell how many commanders were able to calm down and ponder these hidden dangers, but Ophra had to already be on guard. After giving them a tour of the fortress, she headed over to the floating city's command center with her team to discuss the Sacred Mountain offensive. The design of Hodeceus was very simple. There were two walls, a barrack, and an air defense mortar. The inner layer consisted of a training ground, a griffin platform, arsenal, as well as a magic reactor and the like. The command center was located on an artificial hillock in the center of the floating city, overlooking two-thirds of the fortress.     

In the command center, Hao Ren and his entourage saw the commanders there. Some of them were familiar faces: Elson, the old werewolf; Cardinal Orben, the king's chief advisor; Prince Hoffman, and several other high-ranking officers as well as church leaders they had met before. In the face of other strange faces, Hao Ren and his entourage just nodded at them—it did not matter if they were strangers to them; they just pretended to be acquainted. It was basically a pretentious occasion—pretending to know each other and pretending to be supportive.     

When the group of "outsiders" came into the command center, everyone in the meeting became as quiet as a church mouse. Ophra pointed to a burly man at the table and took the opportunity to introduce him. "This is Uruk, the leader from the werewolf tribe. He and his werewolf cavalry will lead you into Sacred Mountain."     

Hao Ren and his entourage's eyes landed on the werewolf leader. He was the most eye-catching person in the meeting. Not only was he burly and tall, but he was also wearing attire that was not reminiscent of Hollettan style. His clothes were made of rough fabric, decorated with leather ornaments and an animal-teeth necklace on his neck. This made him look like a fearless, nomadic leader. Uruk was in the form of a werewolf. The black fur on his cheeks and the wolf ears on top his head made him look ferocious as well as rough. When he saw Hao Ren, he opened his mouth to reveal a row of sharp teeth, which glittered coldly. "So, the people we've been waiting for have finally arrived—you have a way to get ordinary people into the mountains?"     

Hao Ren nodded. "I have a type of protective crystal, which allows ordinary people to resist the brain monster's mind control."     

Uruk nodded, got to his feet and walked out. "Okay, let's get started."     

Hao Ren had thought of holding a discussion with them, but the hasty werewolf shocked him. "Please wait a second—do you just want to go like this? Don't you want to discuss the plan first?"     

"We've discussed the detailed plan." Uruk pointed at the Hollettan people on the scene. "Moving as swift as the wind is the best way to solve all problems. We werewolves don't like foreigners staying in the Sacred Mountains for too long. The sooner this matter is resolved, the better."     

Uruk left the room after uttering those words, leaving Hao Ren and the others looking at each other. Lily had been holding up her hand for a long time, wanting to say hello to her fellow species. However, she did not have a chance to interpose. "How can he be so rash?"     

"That's how he is," said Ophra, rubbing her eyebrows. "Please don't be offended. The werewolves are all friendly people, Uruk too, although he is a bit special. I've met him more than once; he will be waiting outside patiently."     

Elson beckoned to Hao Ren, "Don't bother about that guy. His wife only gave him two days. Come! Let me brief you about the route in the mountains."     

Hao Ren had wanted to ask what he meant by "His wife only gave him two days", but it was not the right time to ask, obviously. He motioned his men to come up closer to look at the map. They stood in a circle at the conference table. Elson tapped the table and a map instantly appeared at the center of the table. It was like a shrunken version of the actual terrain with clouds and mountains. Lil Pea saw this and jumped out from Hao Ren's collar immediately as she thought that the water on the map was real...     

The little mermaid fell flat on the table before Hao Ren picked her up and shoved her back into his clothes hurriedly, nodding at everyone in an embarrassed manner. "Please carry on, please carry on…"     

Elson did not mind it. He waved his hand and pointed at the snow-capped peak in the middle of the map. "This is the werewolf's Sacred Mountain..."     

Naturally, Hao Ren had heard the name more than once from Ophra out of curiosity. He knew that the Sacred Mountain was a vital sacred place for the werewolf tribal state. Many years ago, the werewolves migrated from the southern part of the mainland to the west because of a plague. After crossing the mountain, the plague that infected their community miraculously disappeared. At that time, the werewolf ancestors thought that this magical mountain had sheltered their people, thus calling it Sacred Mountain. Since then, years had passed and the plague became an inconspicuous incident in the history books. The sacred nature of Sacred Mountain had become increasingly unshakable in the werewolf tribe.     

The werewolves did not allow outsiders to set foot on Sacred Mountain because they believed that Sacred Mountain shielded the werewolves from affliction for thousands of years and foreigners stepping into the mountains would destroy the "sacred barrier". This would then allow all kinds of disasters, which had been blocked by Sacred Mountain to make a comeback. In order to protect Sacred Mountain, the werewolf tribal state maintained a strong wolf cavalry unit, and this unit had never let down their guard for thousands of years. However, they did not expect there to be pagans who could elude the wolf cavalry and remain under their radar for so long.