The old carriage rumbled along a winding, gravel-strewn forest path.

A young man in his twenties, wearing a snug, soft-fitting cap, sat in the coachman’s seat, pulling the reins of the old nobleman’s carriage loaded with luggage.

“If we hurry, we can make it back to Baoyu Village by evening, Father. I’ll rent you a good room then. “

“No, don’t waste the money. Save it for buying boat tickets later… “

Suddenly, a black shadow plummeted from the sky.

Bang!A heavy crash exploded on the road ahead. Long Mingjie was so startled he yanked the reins.

The sorrel horse, which had been trudging with its head drooping, suddenly let out a frightened whinny, rearing up and kicking. Birds in the forest erupted into the air in a clamorous flurry, and the entire carriage fell into chaotic motion.

“Whoa—easy! ” the young man shouted.

Inside the carriage, the gray-haired gentleman who had been leaning his bandaged upper body against a pile of luggage sat up abruptly. His eyes were wide with alarm as he looked out the window. “What is it? Are the bandits back again! “

“Someone fell from the sky! “

“What? That’s impossible. “

He instinctively glanced up at the trembling sky, but there was nothing there. Wait—hadn’t he heard a thunderclap a moment ago?

The horse dragged the old noble carriage, startling forward in a frantic rush.

The figure that had crashed from the sky onto the ground was lying face-down in the swirling dust, faint traces of fading serpent-shaped energy writhing within.

No matter how hard the boy tugged at the reins, the galloping hooves couldn’t be stopped.

“Whoa… it’s over! ” Long Mingjie thought with a chill, “This old man’s corpse is going to be crushed under Qiuguang’s hooves! “

Had he just been turned back at the checkpoint, only to run into yet another stroke of bad luck?

Who would believe a dead man fell from the sky rather than being trampled to death by his own horse?

“Son, pull the cart! We can’t let this become a death case on our hands, or it’ll be too late… What!! He’s not dead!!! “

Just as the panicked Long Mingjie turned his head away, unable to watch the hooves about to stomp on the back of the person on the ground, the “corpse ” suddenly raised its arm!

“Huh? “

Father and son gasped in unison.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an is witnessing the birth of a new node in my glorious prelude.｝

-｛Distributor February. Di’an has still put in a purchase reservation.｝

The “corpse’s ” five fingers snapped open swiftly. The hoof, which was about to land on the back, lifted miraculously upward, eerily stepping right over the prone body.

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie is attempting to draft an acquisition offer for me.｝

“Great! ” But the young man’s sense of relief lasted less than a second before his face drained of color. “Ah… watch out! “

Yang Zicang had just barely lifted his head, feeling the heavy wind of the horse sweep over him, when he heard a “grumble-grumble “—a sound rushing toward his ear!

He turned to look just in time to see the massive carriage wheel hurtling straight into his face!

CRASH-BOOM!

The carriage lurched violently. Yang Zicang, who had just managed to lift his head, felt his skull ground back down into the stony, muddy earth.

-｛Distributor February Di’an marvels at my means of summoning Glimmer Radiance.｝

-｛Golden Emerald informs: Distributor February Di’an states that his experience holds no precedent for this.｝

-｛February Di’an is uncertain whether this will successfully give birth to a new Glimmer Radiance Prelude.｝

｛I, the Great Quadrilateral, have consumed 8.6Y.｝

Grumble, grumble… The carriage finally came to a halt twenty-odd meters away.

“Are you okay?! Gods, is he still alive? ” The young man—speaking in the Wutao Language—dropped the reins, leaped down from the carriage, and rushed over in panic.

He crouched beside the mysterious man, whose head was pressed deep into the mud by the steel rim of the carriage wheel.

Lambent, crimson-gold phantom flames continued to rise and fade from Yang Zicang’s body… The enhanced discipline remained utterly powerless against his mounting agony.

Long Mingjie fell backward, landing squarely on the muddy ground with a thud. “Fogfolk! “

｛Damn, that hurts.｝

Yang Zicang’s head slowly emerged.

The damage dealt by that carriage wheel strike—over half of it had already been offset by temporal force. Now, the churning agony within him was likely the effect of some bloodline power.

｛He Yishu wants to invest 1N in me.｝

The native, utterly stunned, watched a gossamer-thin thread materialize, then shrink in an instant onto the figure before him.

{Buchen, are you alright? }

｛Li Senrui wants to invest 5N in me.｝

{President… we’re heading off now. This place is terrifying, truly horrifying. That shell actually knocked you down! Good thing it was you! Be extremely careful, President. If you can’t hold on, remember to use the key to run. }

｛I’m… fine.｝

Yang Zicang silently replied to the greetings. That shell had actually contained such a ferocious bloodline effect—these natives of this world were still a massive threat to them!

As he raised his hand, a young man quickly reached out and grasped it. “Ai—ew—po—kai—sai—hai—ni—ser? “

“I… still can’t understand very well. “

“Wu—bang—pi—po—er? “

Recognizing that pronunciation, Yang Zicang nodded with difficulty.

Long Mingjie turned his head and exclaimed delightedly to the injured old man who was dizzy and trying to get off the vehicle, “Good heavens, Father! They’re really Fogfolk. If only we had met them sooner, our wooden box wouldn’t have been stolen. “

“Sigh, be careful. Not all Fogfolk are good. But… ask him what’s going on, and tell him we need his escort. That should be a safe way to take him back with us. “

Long Mingjie nodded, turned to look at Yang Zicang, opened his mouth… and froze in place.

Seeing his son in such a state, the injured old man let out a weary sigh.

“I told you to study the Mistfolk language properly, but you wouldn’t listen! ” Pressing a hand to the wound on his chest, he spoke in fluent English: “Nice to meet you. How are you? “

Yang Zicang gritted his teeth and touched his head: “I’m fine, and you? “

The old man withdrew his gaze from the man sprawled on the ground. He looked down at his own bloodstained bandages, recalling the days when a Fogfolk teacher had taught him this very language in his youth.

“I… I’m fine too. ” The man in his sixties walked over. “Sir, who came down from the sky, you’re a Fogfolk, aren’t you? We’re heading to Baoyu Village. Do you want to come along? I’d like to hire you. “

No sooner had he finished speaking than a faint hum echoed from the horizon.

“Watch out! ” Long Mingjie frantically shoved his father.

Only then did the giant blanket, wrapped around the “cannonball, ” crash down.

Thump!

The giant rug, weighing a good ton or so when unfurled, slammed into the very spot where the old man had been standing moments ago.

-｛Distributor Di’an, with her wealth of experience, judged that the glorious prelude I had nurtured had already given birth to a complete radiance.｝

-｛February. Di’an adjusted the price of this potentially-born radiance by -15%.｝

Smoke and dust spread.

The old man, still in shock, flailed his arms backward as if to steady himself, only to find that he had somehow stopped a good five or six meters away, faint lines of silver light flickering across his body.

Father and son looked up at the sky, fearing that something might fall on them again.

A horn blared from the distant rock fortress beyond two mountain ridges to the north.

— “Attention! This is the 9th Coastal Blockade Special Corps of the Ferhelhem Kingdom Army! Fogfolk, you have trespassed into a military control zone. Surrender immediately! I repeat—surrender now, or you will be treated as a hostile target and eliminated! “

“Not good, ” muttered the bandaged old man, Lord Desi. “Your landing made too much noise. Ferhelhem’s troops have noticed you (English.).. “

— ” Note! This is… “

Yang Zicang frowned. The accent was too thick; when the sentences got long, he couldn’t follow them at all.

But he responded quickly. The “First-Level Memory Enhancement ” magic pattern taught by Hua Mi was just the thing for this moment.

— ” Sumimasen! Kochira… “

On the distant hilltops, long cannons could be faintly seen turning their barrels, aiming at this area.

In his mind, Yang Zicang recalled the lines of the magic pattern.

The lines, not overly intricate, quickly came to mind, and with them, his concentration sharpened. The tone of the sentence that had just echoed became clear for a moment, just before it would have been completely forgotten.

Yang Zicang felt he could more or less repeat it, as if he had remembered it all along.

“…Sir, you weren’t shot down by them, were you? ” the old man said.

Long Mingjie came over from the roadside carrying a piece of shell casing; its surface was heavily wrinkled, and embedded in it was a cloudy, cracked rhombic crystal.

That shell!

It had fallen wrapped in a giant blanket; how had he utterly failed to notice its trail just now?