The high-altitude gale whistled past his ears.

The mountains and rivers below receded rapidly, blurring into patches of color in his vision.

Sun flew alongside him. With every flap of the golden Dragon Wings, a deep sonic boom rippled through the air.

「An hour later.」

A winding mountain range appeared before him, running from north to south like the spine of a Giant Dragon. It sprawled across the land, marking the border between Black Stone Territory and the outside world.

Raylo, riding Baofeng, hovered above the highest peak.

He gazed into the distance.

Finally, at the very edge of his vision, on the hazy gray skyline, he saw it.

A vast, crimson cloud, like a burning sunset, was slowly moving further west.

That cloud was composed of tens of thousands of Fire Sparrows and various other Flying Magical Beasts.

And at the forefront of that fiery cloud, a figure wreathed in roaring flames, was the Blazing Phoenix.

It pressed on without looking back, its objective clear.

"ROAR!"

Sun saw the fiery cloud too. It let out an furious roar and lunged forward, about to charge recklessly ahead.

"Sun, stop!"

Raylo’s voice stopped it just in time.

"Why?"

Sun looked back, uncomprehending, its golden eyes filled with frustration and confusion.

Raylo didn’t answer.

He just quietly watched the fiery cloud recede into the distance.

After realizing it stood to gain nothing from a direct confrontation with the awakened Sun and the entirety of Black Stone Territory, the Phoenix had finally made the most rational—and correct—choice.

It had given up on revenge.

It chose to return to its lair in the western volcanoes.

Raylo slowly let out a long breath.

"We’re going back."

Raylo announced his decision.

Sun fell silent.

"Give it a chance. A Magical Beast this intelligent has a high probability of advancing to Catastrophe Level in the future. There’s no need for us to fight it to the death."

Raylo paused before finally adding,

"Besides, we don’t have the means to stop it from leaving. Fighting again now would be nothing more than a pointless slaughter."

Sun watched the fiery cloud about to vanish over the horizon, the fury in its eyes gradually giving way to a more complex emotion.

It was resentful, but it also understood that Raylo’s decision was the right one.

In the end, it let out a low roar—partly in frustration, partly as a farewell.

Raylo didn’t return immediately.

He remained there, hovering quietly above the peak on Baofeng, and watched the crimson cloud until it disappeared completely below the western horizon, leaving not a single trace behind.

The days passed one by one.

The construction of Black Stone City was in full swing.

Raylo spent several days with Ed, Evan, and the others, finalizing the various details for the subsequent construction and ensuring the planned pace of Black Stone City’s development.

Under the guidance of the Knights, Giant Beasts like Mammoths and Earth Dragons became the perfect beasts of burden.

The Hill Giants, led by Kado and Gordo, also joined in the construction efforts in Black Stone Territory.

The Hill Giants were full of motivation. Raylo’s plans for Black Stone City included a "Giant City District" exclusively for them, which would become their new home.

「One morning.」

Without disturbing anyone, Raylo soared into the sky alone on Baofeng and flew toward Amber Territory.

Baofeng flew at its maximum speed.

Its tawny figure weaved through the clouds, and in just a few hours, Amber Castle, which stood beside a massive lake, came into view.

Baofeng slowly landed in the main square of Amber Castle.

「A little over an hour later.」

The leadership of Amber Territory was summoned to the castle’s conference room.

Raylo relayed Lillian’s recent status and announced that he would be taking charge of Amber Territory until she returned from her studies.

This announcement didn’t cause much of a stir. In fact, upon learning that Lillian had successfully become the student of the Legendary Mage, Wendel the "Melting Furnace," they all gasped, their faces filled with a sense of shared honor.

Raylo inquired about the current state of Amber Territory. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that a student from the Magic Academy had successfully advanced to the rank of Official Mage just a few days prior, and he offered his praise and encouragement to the headmistress, Lady Irina.

Lady Irina credited this to the barrel of Elemental Spring Water Raylo had gifted them, which had greatly accelerated the Mage Apprentices’ speed of Meditation and practice.

Finally, after settling on a future development plan with Amber Territory’s core leadership and arranging for them to report to Black Stone Territory on the first weekend of each month, Raylo left Amber Territory.

He rode Baofeng and continued flying west.

The further west he flew, the more humid and salty the air became.

The vegetation below gradually shifted from dense forests and verdant plains to low-lying shrubs and bare rock, eroded by the sea wind.

However, when the endless, azure coastline came into view, Raylo felt no sense of relief.

For in the place that should have been one of the Continent’s most prosperous ports, he saw no forest of masts or pristine white city.

Instead, there was only a vast, shocking expanse of ruins.

Seagull Port had been wiped off the map.

Baofeng slowly descended, circling above the ruins.

Raylo’s pupils contracted slightly.

The scene before him was a hundred times more wretched than any report had described.

The beautiful port, once famous for its white megaliths, was now nothing but shattered walls and rubble.

The enormous wrecks of ships lay stranded on the once-bustling streets like the skeletons of monsters.

The port’s lighthouse had snapped in the middle, one half of the tower now jutting obliquely out of the murky seawater.

The entire city, a total wreck, looked like a sand-table model that someone had capriciously destroyed.

Raylo noticed that next to the ruins, on a patch of relatively high ground, a few crude tents and shacks had been erected.

That was the survivors’ encampment.

The wisps of cooking smoke were few, the figures of people sparse.

Raylo didn’t have Baofeng land directly in the camp; that would be far too conspicuous.

He chose to land on a secluded beach a few kilometers from the ruins.

He left Baofeng there and walked toward the ruins alone.

The closer he got, the clearer the apocalyptic scene became.

He saw survivors with numb expressions, rummaging through the rubble for anything of value.

Perhaps it was a plank of wood that hadn’t rotted from the water, or a scrap of cloth that could still offer some cover.

Their eyes were vacant and their movements sluggish, like a pack of soulless, walking dead.

The catastrophe had not only destroyed their homes, but their spirits as well.

Raylo passed through the outlying ruins and arrived at the Survivor Camp.

His arrival immediately drew the attention of a few people.

They eyed this neatly dressed stranger, so out of place in these surroundings, with a look of vigilance, wariness, and a hint of numbness.

Raylo ignored their stares and walked straight toward the center of the camp, to the largest tent—the only one made of waterproof canvas.

Two guards holding harpoons stood at the tent’s entrance. Their faces had the sallow complexion of malnutrition, but their eyes were exceptionally alert.

"Stop! Who are you?"

Raylo stopped and said calmly,

"My name is Raylo. I’d like to see the person in charge here."

One of the guards frowned. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

Just then, the tent flap was pushed aside, and a tall figure emerged.

It was a man who looked to be around thirty years old. He had a burly frame, but his face was haggard, his eyes were sunken, and his jaw was covered in dark stubble.

He wore a suit of faded Leather Armor, which was speckled with dried, dark-brown stains.

In his hand, he gripped a heavy Long Sword, its blade covered in nicks.

"I’m the one in charge here. Hank White."

His voice was hoarse as his eyes swept up and down over Raylo.

"You were looking for me? What is it?"