Perhaps it was precisely because of this reason that the Forgotten Land had not been trampled flat by Wizards.
Otherwise, even the barrier between worlds would not have been enough to stop their greed!
Of course, it was also possible that some particularly rare species had entered the Forgotten Land of their own accord to escape the Wizards' pursuit, though such cases were extremely rare.
Furthermore, there were not many Wizards here. Leylin had only caught sight of one from a distance, and only been able to make out their general appearance with the Chip's assistance.
It had appeared as an adult male, but with strange scales on its face — clearly it had undergone some degree of mutation.
Upon noticing Leylin's group, the other party had immediately fled at full speed, so quickly that even Robin hadn't detected them.
As time passed, Leylin and the others delved ever deeper into the Forgotten Land. The concentration of energy particles in the air plummeted like a stone, and they often went several days without seeing a single other living creature.
Whenever they did encounter another creature, it was usually either some rare species or a banished Wizard who could no longer survive on the Central Continent.
Encounters almost always meant battle.
Although Robin and the others had deliberately let many creatures pass in order to conserve their strength, some creatures attacked them regardless.
The most dangerous encounter was with a Keluowu Beast the size of a small hill, whose power had reached the absolute peak of Rank 3. It chased them relentlessly, refusing to let them go.
Forced into a corner, Robin, Kasha, and Leylin — the three main fighters — attacked together, supported by the surrounding Warlocks. They finally managed to kill the Keluowu Beast and obtained a large haul of rare materials. However, the battle had cost the life of one Horall Black Serpent Warlock, marking the first casualty in Robin's group.
Flap! Flap!
A small snow-white bird fluttered down and landed on Kasha's shoulder. It was her magical pet — one with no offensive capability. Even Leylin couldn't fathom why she had chosen to form a contract with a creature that could do nothing but scout.
"Everyone, ahead lies a massive Kobold tribe — over a thousand of them! We'll have to go around!"
After opening her eyes, Kasha delivered the news.
"Kobolds?"
Leylin immediately pulled up the relevant records on this creature through the Chip.
"Kobolds: oviparous creatures, rumored to be a subspecies of the great dragons. Adults stand approximately 3 feet tall (nearly 1 meter), with scaly skin ranging from dark rust to dull black. Their eyes are fiery red, and two small brownish horns crown their heads. They possess infrared vision. Through bloodline awakening, they can acquire wizardry and become practitioners similar to Bloodline Warlocks!"
"Dragons?!" In an instant, Leylin thought of the terrifying creatures described in his high-grade Meditation Method, Dragon King Divine Might — but no matter how he tried, he couldn't reconcile them with the Kobold images the Chip had displayed.
Of course, the dragons of ancient times had been notorious for their promiscuity and the sheer number of their subspecies. Legend had it that they could sire offspring with any race, so the existence of a Kobold variant was hardly surprising.
What truly caught Leylin's attention, however, was their bloodline!
On the Central Continent, while Rank 3 creatures were still quite rare, they were far from nonexistent. Moreover, Leylin himself had already reached the Rank 3 Warlock level, so it was worth pursuing this opportunity.
Other Warlocks did not have the Chip, nor could they extract ancient bloodlines from the blood of Rank 3 creatures.
But Leylin was different! As long as there was a sufficient source, he could extract as much ancient bloodline as he wanted.
"The bloodline of an ancient dragon?" Leylin stroked his chin. "I wonder if there are any Kobold Warlocks with Rank 3 strength among them... A large tribe with over a thousand members, that's certainly possible..."
Just then, Kasha's voice came through the communication link: "Among them, I've even detected several Rank 2 Kobold Warlocks, and the tribe hasn't split. That means there must be an even more powerful Warlock in control—there's definitely a Rank 3 presence..."
"A Rank 3 Kobold Warlock, plus a large number of Kobold warriors and low-level bloodline bearers, that's enough to pose a serious threat to us. We should detour around!"
Robin quickly made his decision. The Rank 3 Warlock who had died earlier was one of his, and now he felt a pang of distress—all that hard work nurturing his forces, gone.
Leylin opened his mouth to speak, but seeing everyone nodding in agreement, he said nothing.
Getting Robin to take on a large Kobold tribe head-on was obviously unrealistic, and kobolds were notoriously thin-blooded creatures, their connection to dragons long since faded. Even a Morningstar Wizard would find it nearly impossible to purify dragon bloodline from them. If Leylin insisted, it would practically be a confession.
They were all Bloodline Warlocks, after all, and would surely grow suspicious of his interest in collecting bloodlines.
"I'll just have to mark this place and come back later!"
Leylin silently made a notation on the Chip's map.