Chapter 107: Finding the place (1/2)

”Sir, are we getting close?” One of the mercenaries asked.

”I don't know. We can be just a step away from the place I'm looking for, and we might be still weeks away.” Layn shrugged his arms in response.

It was the fourth day since they first encountered the strange, monster-producing facility. Ever since that time, the changes started appearing all around them.

At first, the monsters turned far more intense. From their aggressiveness, through their power all the way to their density, all of those statistics jumped up, forcing Layn to withdraw all his forces and move as a single unit.

But that was only the beginning.

After passing the first facility, Layn thought that it was just one of the few that sprawled all over the desert. Yet, barely a few kilometers deeper into the sands, another magically active mound of earth appeared, striking through the surface of the sand.

But what was worse, the amount and quality of magic within the second monster-producing facility (or how Layn decided on naming those strange places), was on a whole different level when compared to the first one Layn's group encountered.

”Just what is this place?!” Irea protested at some point, already tired of constantly fighting the monsters.

Surely, every monster that fell to her hand would end up boosting her cultivation by a huge bit. But there was a limit to how much energy Irea could absorb like that. In fact, it wasn't any different for Layn. As such, throwing the devastating flares around turned from occasional flick aimed at cleansing the excessive energy from one's system, into and later hourly occurrence.

So deep in the desert, Layn's mercenaries couldn't handle the monsters on their own. Especially, given how their original number of twenty mercenaries, already shrunk to barely seven people.

Yet, Layn never had a single casualty. As long as people followed his orders and accepted his leadership, he would protect them from the monsters, even though it meant reversing the role of the employer and the employee in the contract they all signed.

But when fifteen out of the initial twenty-two mercenaries just up and left, Layn didn't even bother to see them off.

Thankfully, two days after the massive act of desertion, Layn finally noticed the changes he was on the lookout for.

”Hey, Irea,” the archmage called out to his girl.

”Hey!” Not receiving any feedback, Layn sold the girl a small yet strong nudge into the side, forcing her awake.

”Huh? What?” Irea had some trouble waking up from her daze, yet she ultimately managed to succeed at it.

”Look around. Can you see something strange?” Layn asked while sweeping his arm around as if he wanted to show the beauty of the world around them to the girl.

”It's desert, some sand, some more sandstone, and sand to top it all off,” Irea replied with a tired voice, before raising her exhausted eyes at Layn's face. ”What else could there be on the desert?”

Her words were formed into a question, but her tone turned it into a sarcastic remark.

”Look again.” Tom didn't pick up the glove Irea threw at his face, opting to calmly ask her again.

”Okay, okay, I'm loo…” Irea stopped mid-word.  ”Where did this grass came from?!”

Her sudden shout instantly attracted the attention of the remaining mercenaries. In a moment, Pavrien, Antion, and five more of the men gathered around, alternating their eyes between the impossible sight and the face of their leader.

”Sir? What is the meaning of this?”

”My lord? Any clues?”

Even though the group was much smaller than before, people in it were far more active. Maybe it was due to their growing sense of pride and attachment to Layn that they somehow managed to act more open towards him, maybe it was just the sheer shock of seeing the grass in what was supposed to be an endless desert.

”I think we are slowly nearing the place,” Layn said in a calm tone while allowing only a small, mysterious smile on his face.

'The truth is, I will know we are here only when I actually find a suitable location to build!' The archmage lamented in his thoughts. 'But just how am I supposed to tell them this?'

For a moment, Layn was troubled with the situation, before finally shaking his head free of his doubts. 'It doesn't matter. Seeing the grass, it seems my earlier guess was correct,' he thought, sending yet another glance at the sparse blades of the grass.