The Record of Unusual Creatures

Since the disappearance of the Orb of the Holy Synod a year ago, the Beinz Diocese seemingly fell into a state of trouble. In just one year, a series of major events had occurred on this supernaturally distorted land—the collapse of Dragonspine Ridge, the siege of the rock monsters, the revival of the First Born, the destruction of the diocese, the death of a bishop, and finally the entire sacred lake was turned into a giant crystal mine by orbital bombardment. If any of these events that happened in the small area were to happen in other places, they would have been recorded in history. Now, the diocese, which was once listed as a sacred land, had changed beyond recognition. Almost all the civilian settlements had evacuated. Only the knights' bases and temporary monasteries remained. The population there was still about the same as a year ago. However, the composition of the population was almost 100 % soldiers and monks. Even the gutsy mercenaries of the past had now kept a distance from the place.     

Nonetheless, the troubles of the Beinz Diocese were not over yet; it was not long after the start of the mining operation and utilization of the crystal pit that the land once again became the battlefield of the Holy War between the Disciples of Glory and the Cult of Origination.     

Today, the Beinz Diocese and its west side, which did not belong to Holletta's sphere of influence, had become the battlefront for the Disciples of Glory and the cultists. This area was centered in the open pit crystal mine. On the eastern side of the pit was the remnant of Dragonespine Ridge, where the main forces of the Church Knights and Royal Knights were stationed. The high peaks on the west side of the pit consisted of werewolf tribal territory. Hidden beneath those peaks was the secret fortress that the Cult of Origination had built over the years. The werewolf tribal state was extremely angry with these infidels who stayed hidden under its nose and regarded this as an insult. Therefore, their belligerence towards the Cult of Origination was no weaker compared to the fanatical believers of the Disciples of Glory on the east side of the pit.     

In terms of strength, the cult members hidden in Sacred Mountain were overwhelmingly disadvantageous. They were surrounded and there was no aid forthcoming. The fearsome snow wolf cavalry and the two battalions of knights sealed off all roads around the western mountains. However, the cultists had not shown any signs of backing down; they were dauntless, determined to kill any intruder who entered the mountains. Such self-confidence could have been the result of some sort of mind control, or they just really believed that by dying as martyrs in a holy war, their flesh and blood would return to the goddess in glory—you could not counter fanaticism with reason.     

The group set out from the Royal City to the knights' camp in the Beinz Diocese through the portal. As the glow of the portal dimmed, Hao Ren found himself in a wide, hexagonal hall. The walls around the hall were crystal-like and radiant with magic. The ground at the center of the hall depicted a huge and complicated teleportation circle. There were three-member guards in each corner of the hall. They consisted of a high-ranking mage in a Master robe, as well as two elite knights with bright armor and magic patterns floating on their armor.     

The place was heavily guarded like an important military base.     

Lily saw a knight in the corner of the hall with a pair of ears on his head. She waved happily at him and said hello. "Hi, I'm a fellow werewolf too—of the husky variety..."     

"Stop howling. People are standing guard." Hao Ren quickly dragged Lily back. He then looked around. "This place is gorgeous... I thought the frontline of the diocese would be a messy pigpen with cowhide tents and all that…"     

Ophra laughed. "Of course there are such places, but they're in the bases on the ground. Come on, let me show you something. Although an all-powerful alien like you may not find it clever, in my opinion, it's a miracle. Allow me to show off once."     

"The ground base?" Hao Ren muttered quietly before following Ophra out of the teleportation hall.     

He was startled by what he saw when he stepped outside.     

It was a magnificent, shining fortress.     

A huge crescent square stretched out before his eyes. Elite knights and mage soldiers were lining up on the square. Tall, neatly-arranged buildings with thick walls surrounded the square in the center. Between the buildings were elegant magical minarets. The bright lights at the top of the minarets danced as they communicated with each other, suggesting that the whole complex may be an energy system: it was rare to see such a massive energy supply system in that world.     

Staring in awe at the square and the things around it, Hao Ren found that the building materials of these structures were not the same as the ones used in ordinary Hollettan buildings. The materials were obviously manmade and very high-end. They were smoother than rocks, more exquisite than bricks, with a layer of shimmering crystal shell on their smooth surface, giving off the feeling of a glaze. Hao Ren had never seen anything like it on the planet.     

The designs and arrangement of the buildings reminded them of a military installation. At first glance, they thought that they had come to a fortress. However, in this completely abandoned Beinz Diocese filled with cliffs and pits, there seemed to be no place for building such a military base.     

Stretching her neck and looking around, Lily suddenly found that the landscape was somewhat out of place: there were no mountains. In the mountainous Beinz area, mountains should have been everywhere. She asked in surprise, "Where are the mountains?"     

"Below us," said Ophra, smiling as she took them onto a circular platform next to the Crescent Square. There was railing around a hole at the center of the platform. Hao Ren looked down and was surprised to discover the crystal pit, which his orbital bombardment had created. The place he stood on was obviously flying in the air!     

"Welcome to Hodeceus—our aerial fortress. The Pope and the twelve Royal Mages have been personally involved in its design and construction, plus it took only less than a month to get it up from the ground," said Ophra, full of praise. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen... Of course, I'm talking in terms of manmade things."     

"Wow..." Lily was wide-eyed for a long moment before she exclaimed in awe, "Cool!"     

"Is it cooler compared to what you have?" Ophra laughed. "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life, but I've heard from Becky that there are things far beyond the human imagination in other worlds, more magnificent miracles, and even cities that fly between the stars. Although I haven't seen them yet, I can imagine them. Compared to those things, Hodeceus is too primitive."     

"It's still very cool!" Lily yelped. "Magic Floating City! This name sounds apt!"     

"This husky always overreacts," said Vivian, pressing Lily's head to calm her down. However, she was in awe too. "How did you accomplish this? I know about your magic technology... It looks like your air force still consists of griffins and flying wizards. The only dwarven steam-powered aircraft needs refueling every 100 km. How could you suddenly create the Floating City?     

"Thanks to the pit below." Ophra pointed at the pit beneath them. "The crystals, they're magical: with proper handling, they can maintain a certain magical effect for a long time, so we've created long-lasting floating stones—the shiny bricks that you see. The 'enamel' on the surface of those bricks are made of crystal dust. The entire floating fortress is made of floating stone. The hundreds of magical arrays on the outer walls keep the fortress in position and provide power. It requires a hundred high-level mages and thousands of magic apprentices to control. At present, we're still not very clear about the usage and battle tactics of this floating fortress, but it is already one of Holletta's symbols of power. At least, I think so."     

"With those crystals?" Hao Ren never expected the crystal mine to be so useful. "I already knew there was bound to be problems with orbital bombardment."     

Ophra looked at Hao Ren. "Is the act of leaving us with this crystal mine in violation of your organization's protocol?"     

Hao Ren thought for a moment and poked the MDT that was on his shoulder. "I remember that we haven't broken any rules, have we? Based on the situation at that time."     

The MDT knocked Hao Ren on the head. "Do you have to ask me about that? Has your employee's handbook gone to the dogs?"     

Lily's ears stood erect. "Nonsense. Mr. Landlord has never let me read his handbook!"     

Everyone was speechless.     

Hao Ren blinked and said, "...Well, I think it's not against the protocol. Although it seems to have affected your development, it was done to prevent your civilization from becoming extinct. I remember this as an exception."     

What Hao Ren did not mention was, the invention of a magic floating city by a planetary civilization may seem like a major event. However, probably no one in the Space Administration would blink an eye, much less consider it a violation of the rules…     

The magic floating city of Hodeceus occupied the sky in the Beinz area, like a monster looking down on Sacred Mountain, where the cultists were hiding. Meanwhile, what was the seemingly desperate brain monster up to?