Simultaneous Journey: Starting from Holy Terra

"Does Miaoying really not trust me?"

Ye Ming took the intelligence report and asked curiously, "Do I look like the kind of reckless person?"

"I don't know you, but the lord has seen your battle report, which includes records of you charging up to fight the Black Orc general and attempting to engage the Khorne vampire."

The dragon descendant Xiu Yanqing, who was in charge of issuing documents and intelligence to Ye Ming, said coldly, "So the lord has made it clear that if you return seriously injured, you will have no choice but to stay in your territory and manufacture weapons."

"besides."

A hint of annoyance appeared on the face beneath the mask of the dragon descendant, Shugen-kyo, as he said, "Please address me as 'Lord,' Myo-kage-sama! Please use the honorific!"

"Miaoying really said that?" Ye Ming showed a surprised expression, and the next second he turned around under Xiu Yanqing's angry slam of the table.

"Okay, tell Miaoying I'll be careful. See you later."

Ye Ming dashed out; he had never really liked these dragon descendants.

It's not because they are bad, but because they are inherently powerful and often occupy high-ranking positions, which to some extent blocks their path to advancement.

After leaving the city, Ye Ming immediately summoned everyone and returned to the temporary military camp to discuss matters.

Because Haoyue Forest is a royal garden, it is not possible to bring an army into it. Instead, Ye Ming led a small team of twenty people to set off.

Their mission was to investigate the corrosion and plague problems near Xingpo and Kunlan.

Many people have also reported seeing small shadows late at night, and some have even claimed to have seen downward staircases, but these reports have not been confirmed.

The dragon sons exchanged messages about this, but Yuanbo had no time to pay attention to them. The fire dragon and the sea dragon didn't care, and they ignored Zhaoming's speculation that he was a rat-man.

In the end, Miaoying took on the task and suggested that Yeming handle it. If he succeeded, the exile order on Yeming would be lifted, allowing him to return to Weijing and resume his official post.

It can be said that Miaoying was paving the way for Ye Ming, and at the same time, she was showing the Dragon Emperor her vision.

After confirming the mission and several key locations, Ye Ming and his team rested for a day before continuing their journey.

The army would remain outside Pearl City to prepare for support, while Ye Ming would set off with his adjutant Li Wang, Gao Cuike, Felix, and sixteen other elite soldiers.

Their first stop was Xingpo, rather than Kunlan, which is closer to Mingzhu.

Xingpo is a city located in the western part of Royal Province, close to the Dimensional Stone Desert and Central Province, separated from Central Province by a river.

This special city was built at the foot of Haotian Mountain. The Sitiancheng, or astrologers, were stationed here, and there was also a landmark building called the Qintianjian (Imperial Observatory).

The Imperial Observatory is a huge observatory built on the top of Haotian Mountain. Its scale is comparable to that of a small city, making it a wonder of the entire China.

This is a place for observing celestial phenomena, a location for observing demonic winds, and one of the base points for assisting the Five Elements Compass.

The place where the corrosion, plague, and those tiny shadows were first discovered was this important astronomical observation site!

"This is the first place where the corruption and plague occurred. It's hard to imagine that a plague could happen here under the protection of the Dragon Emperor."

"They also said they always saw short figures and heard fighting sounds at night, but when they went to check, they could only find a puddle of liquid in the same spot."

Ye Ming read the contents of the intelligence report.

To be honest, this intelligence was vague and incomplete, and it didn't even match Ye Ming's rudimentary knowledge of Warhammer Fantasy.

He was 100% certain that these were ratmen, and a legendary clan that had crossed continents!

Of course, that was his mission: to confirm the intelligence, find evidence, verify Zhaoming's conjecture, and then win Zhaoming's support!

"Let's go in and take a look."

The group dispersed and entered Xingpo.

Ye Ming found veteran soldiers who were hunters; they were all experts in reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, making them the best at finding rats in this kind of place.

They formed teams of five, disguised as merchants, travelers, and workers, and entered Xingpo in batches from multiple directions.

With Gao Cuike present, Ye Ming's presence was bound to be exposed, so he entered openly to attract attention and firepower, making it easier for others to investigate.

As soon as they entered the city, Gao Cuike, who had been drinking the whole way, suddenly looked up and sniffed, then rubbed his nose in annoyance.

"I'm not kidding, buddy, you humans are always so clean, so why does this city stink like this? I smell rats! It's like the sewers of Aldorf!"

"Hehe, stop talking... This is a royal province, there's no way this could happen..."

Felix quickly grabbed Gotrick.

After all, in a place like the Royal Province, which is both the core of the empire and its spiritual pillar, to curse this place as being like a sewer is no different from urinating directly on someone's head.

"What's there to worry about? Dwarf, just say what you have to say!"

"you--"

"Don't worry, Felix."

Ye Ming smiled. "Gao Cui is right. We came here to investigate with the answers in mind."

"Let's go, let's check out a few crime scenes first."

"Huh?" Felix was surprised by Ye Ming's statement. What did he mean by "investigating with the answers in mind"?

"You're so silly, he figured it out a long time ago. To be honest, I see a lot of magical blessings in him! This child must have been smart since he was little."

Gao Cui took a sip of his drink and then followed Ye Ming.

"So many magical blessings? How many is 'so many'?"

"One, two, three... eight."

"But there are only eight spells."

"Really? Who knows? Anyway, I'm just a butcher."

Gao Cuike glanced at Ye Ming's head with his eyes hidden beneath his thick eyebrows, then shook his head, drank his wine, and muttered as he walked away.

Perhaps there are eight basic spells, but there are also some different ones, closer to wind...

They continued their journey until they arrived at the "first" crime scene.

This is a small alley, and because it's currently the rainy season and it's close to the bustling city center of the Dragonborn, all traces of it have long since disappeared.

"Some people say they saw two 'dwarfs' here, and that they saw them fighting, and that one of them died here."

"But in reality, he was a foreign merchant who only saw the shadow and heard the voice. He didn't dare to get close. The guards who came early the next morning only saw sewage on the ground and suspected that the merchant had drunk too much the night before."

Ye Ming looked around at the environment. It was an ordinary alley with residential areas on both sides and a drainage ditch at the very end, connected to a sewer pipe.

But in this very place, Ye Ming sensed traces of the demonic wind!

It was very faint, with almost no residue, but it was there!

Moreover, this place has a strange, foul odor.

It smelled like a pile of animal feces and urine, mixed with some kind of gas and the strange stench of a corpse.

Even garbage that's been sitting around for over ten days in the sweltering summer smells better than this!

"This must be corrosion."

Ye Ming stepped forward, took out a stick, and opened the cover of the drainage ditch in front of him, revealing the traces of erosion on the other side of the cover.

As the manhole cover was opened, a visible green gas began to slowly rise.

Gotrike stepped forward, sniffed it, and nodded, saying, "Hmm, it really does smell like ratmen. This thing is too strong; Felix, you can't handle it, back off."

Felix did as he was told, stepping back and almost covering his mouth and nose, and asked, "So, does this count as a great start?"

Ye Ming shook his head and said seriously, "It can't be considered a good start."

"We're a bit late, you could say!"