Damon used Blink a few times and arrived at the outskirts of Niera City. From there, he closed his eyes and tried contacting Lirae. Even though she merely consumed a drop of his blood, and it was not enough for a full blessing, she was still his follower, and he should be able to reach out to her.

Just like he expected, he was able to sense her, and so did she.

"How are you…" She stammered, unable to believe what was happening. But she recovered from the initial shock, she started bombarding the mental connection with several questions.

"Are you fine? Did they do anything to you? Did you manage to get out of there? He took me so suddenly that I couldn't do anything at all. Please forgive me, my love. I am so weak and stupid. Because of me... you must have gone through a lot. Please tell me you are fine?

"I will tell you everything when we meet again. For now, don't create any issues and just play along. Go to the elven territory. I am right behind you." Damon quickly answered her.

"What? How?" Lirae was once again shocked.

"My dear, I have been tracking you ever since you left Cerulean City."

Lirae went silent on the other end, but Damon could feel the flicker of emotions through their connection. Relief, disbelief, and a surge of something softer, warmer. She didn't ask for anything more.

Maybe she knew there wasn't time, or maybe she just trusted him that much. Either way, Damon smiled faintly to himself and opened his eyes. The bond worked. That was all he needed for now.

He turned toward the deep forest paths stretching beyond Niera City, where the sunlight broke through the trees in hazy gold fragments.

The Elven territory had always been an elusive one, even in his last life. No one knew where they lived or where their main base was. No coordinates, no cities, no confirmed sightings. Even the super guilds were unable to figure out their true settlement, but now he was so close to uncovering the whole thing.

Damon started activating Blood Gate with a destination in mind. When Lirae and Erelion had fled, they had teleported to a bunch of places before finally arriving at their current location. He did not have to take the long and hard route and follow the exact same path.

Since he already knew one of the cities close to the teleportation locations, he was going to start from there. Shockingly, Erelion was headed in a region where one would least expect the elves to be.

Damon was not sure if the guy was leading her on some elaborate route to avoid suspicion and someone following. For now, it did not matter. The cat and mouse chase had already started, and there was nothing to do except follow the trail. Everything would be revealed in due time.

The Blood Gate portal opened soon, and Damon stepped into it. The next second, Damon found himself in the desert city of Val'Sahara, a prominent city in the great western desert. Heat struck him immediately, dry and oppressive, but it was nothing with his high fire resistance.

He quickly summoned Goldy, and just like he expected, the little sprite was happy to be in the atmosphere. The heatwaves didn't bother her. In fact, she danced through them with the grace of someone returning home after a long absence. Desert mana, rich with latent fire and earth essence, swirled around her like a greeting.

Damon watched her for a moment, then smirked. "Glad you're enjoying yourself."

He once again tried sensing Lirae's location using Blood Mark. Lirae and the elf were further ahead in the great western desert, but they did not seem to be immediately moving. Maybe the guy was resting or recharging? Or perhaps he was waiting for Damon to make a move?

Damon had no problems waiting for a while. He had a lot of work to do anyway. In the downtime, he did not remain idle and headed out to the well-known hunting spots around Val'Sahara city.

The city was mostly a trading city, and some rare items were available in the city. Damon planned to do some shopping in the area, but not before he filled himself with some blood essence. After the war, he was dangerously low on blood essence, and it was time to rectify that first.

The beasts roaming the outskirts of Val'Sahara weren't nearly as intimidating as the siege commanders Damon had faced recently, but they were vicious in packs and were around level 100, which made them good enough targets.

Damon moved at full speed and nonstop, slaughtering through any and every beast that crossed his path. The western desert was full of all sorts of beasts, like the poisonous Scorpionfang Reavers, the tunneling Dune Worms, and the elusive Sand Howlers whose cries disoriented even the sharpest warriors.

But none of them were a match for Damon's current strength. With every kill, he siphoned blood essence, storing it all. His stats were steadily increasing once again, and he was gaining a lot of new skills.

Soon it was time for the system log out, and Damon decided to take advantage of the situation. He headed back to the city and entered the auction house first. After swiping everything he could find, he hit the market stalls.

In the desert areas, ores and gemstones were abundant and cheap. There were also certain types of herbs sold for cheap. He bought everything he could find. By the time he was done with the merchant stalls, his inventory was heavier than ever. He was about to head out and hunt again when suddenly he overheard two passersby talking.

"Did you hear? The oasis is back again!"

"What? Do you mean the heaven's oasis? With the enchanting fairies?"

Damon froze mid-step. Did he hear it correctly? The heaven's oasis. Seriously, that heaven's oasis? Here and now? He couldn't believe it.

***

Mass Release sponsored by sgtcwby!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.