Chapter 551

Chapter 551

Fa Meng conjured a round, inflated balloon in the empty space before her, then brought her paws together and popped it with a sharp smack.

The balloon, filled with what looked like confetti inside, burst with a loud *pop*, scattering the colorful ribbons into the air before they quickly dispersed and vanished.

Behind Lorant, Silem and the others watched the now-invisible balloon with eager anticipation. Though many of them didn’t understand what Fa Meng was doing, that didn’t stop them from trusting and waiting for her conclusion.

Having been with Blue Star for so long, they all knew who the boss was.

Fa Meng closed her eyes to focus. The balloon had been her means of scanning the tunnel ahead, allowing her to clearly grasp its internal conditions. After confirming the surroundings, she spoke with certainty: "It’s definitely a Dimensional Hole—no mistake. This kind of presence is something ordinary dimensional spaces don’t have."

"We need to find a way to locate the Dimensional Hole’s main body. If we can’t, then we’ll just have to destroy it outright."

Upon receiving this definitive answer, Lorant became even more concerned. Staring at the anomaly before him, he began to suspect that this might be the primary reason why beasts had been appearing in the Lopulo Mountains.

But this was far from an easy problem to handle.

After having the area fully secured, Lorant realized that the issue at hand was beyond his ability to handle alone.

This wasn’t just a matter of combat strength. Even with two legendary-level pets at his disposal, he would remain powerless if they couldn’t locate the Dimensional Hole’s main body. This was a challenge of knowledge and intellect—he needed someone much more capable to assist him in this step.

At the very least, someone with greater insight was required to handle the current situation.

Archmage Jacqueline was the obvious choice.

In terms of knowledge and capability, Lorant could hardly think of anyone more suitable than her.

After tracking down Jacqueline from one of the many mage towers in the Magic Parliament—one Lorant had never visited before—the archmage, even after all this time, still frequently engaged in discussions with other mages about whether the new beast she had brought back from beyond the mountains held any special properties worth uncovering.

Relentless in her pursuit, she never missed an invitation.

Even though progress had slowed significantly after the initial period, she spared no effort in showing off her discoveries.

She was like a grandma boasting about her grandson passing the civil service exam—her standing in the gossip circles of the neighborhood was unmatched, surpassing even that of a white goose.

Because of this, when Lorant sought out Jacqueline, he ended up bringing along a whole crowd of powerful, reclusive mages who were rarely seen otherwise.

All of them were people who had been studying that corpse for what felt like the hundredth time.

"This is definitely a first for me," remarked a man with a messy mop of golden hair and an outfit that screamed 'eccentric,' watching as the elongated serpentine beast rolled into the Dimensional Hole and disappeared. He stroked his chin in amazement. "I’ve seen Dimensional Holes before, but one that only eats beasts and leaves other matter alone? That’s new."

"And the range is this big, too."

"Does it only consume live beasts? Have you tried throwing a corpse in?" someone jumped in with a question.

Standing at the front of the group, Lorant shook his head. "It’s not just live beasts. Whether dead or alive, as long as it’s a beast, it’ll be devoured. But wood? Nothing happens. We’ve also tested various other magical materials—anything without energy, like wood or ordinary plants, even living ones, it won’t touch."

"Energy-based materials? Some get swallowed, others still don’t provoke a response."

"To summarize: it ignores mineral-based materials. Beast or plant beast materials, if already processed, won’t be consumed unless they’re very recently deceased—within a day. But intact beasts and plant beasts? Throw them in, and they’re gone. No discrimination."

Blue Star had spent countless sleepless nights running tests, even assembling a dedicated team of mages to confirm the properties of this peculiar dimensional space. With no leads to follow, even though Fa Meng had confirmed it was a Dimensional Hole, the anomalies forced them to treat it as an entirely new unknown entity, exploring it step by step.

The experiments these formidable warriors proposed were the most basic investigative steps any mage would take when confronting an unfamiliar phenomenon. The mage teams, as resource-hungry groups, naturally consisted of competent individuals—none of them would overlook such fundamentals.

As questions were raised one after another, only to be met with definitive answers, the tunnel gradually fell into a puzzled silence.

Though none present were legendary mages like Jacqueline, they were all powerful figures approaching that level. After all, they moved in the same circles—the gap wasn’t huge.

Especially since most of them specialized in research. In a fight, ten of them together might not even land a hit on Jacqueline, but when it came to research, Jacqueline might actually need to ask them for advice sometimes.

Seeing them all so helpless, Jacqueline's heart sank bit by bit. She had already conducted several explorations upon arrival, using every skill at her disposal, but the scattered rocks on the ground remained just that—rocks—with no detectable anomalies whatsoever.

"Does anyone have any ideas on how to detect it?" Jacqueline hovered slightly in the air, her feet off the ground to maintain eye level with the others.

The group wore heavy expressions. The mage with wild hair spoke up, "Not for now. Give us some time, and there might be a chance we can find a solution."

"How much time?"

"Fi—three years. Three years should give us a lead." His eyes lit up as if he'd made a grand resolution, gritting his teeth. "What do you say? I’ll do it for free—not a penny!"

This was no ordinary situation, and for these research mages, the allure wasn't something mere money could replace.

Lorant twitched his lips. Three to five years? Forget that—even three to five months were too long. The reason he'd brought the *Bigmouth Book* was to expedite the detection of the Dimensional Hole. There were far too many people outside Lopulo Mountain, and Blue Star’s resources had already stretched this far only because of its substantial financial strength and by keeping everyone occupied with tasks. Any longer, and once more people became idle, the cost of supporting them would be staggering.

Jacqueline understood this too—Blue Star couldn’t afford to waste that much time. The Watcher Council wouldn’t wait, and neither would the beasts. No one could guarantee that a beast horde wouldn’t form at this mountain pass, and without fortifications, it would spell disaster for the entire continent.

Even if just one in a thousand beasts slipped through into the mainland, a single beast horde could destroy several villages or even small towns, reducing them to ruins. Countless lives would be lost, unnoticed.

But every life, however humble, deserves respect.

The Watcher Council guarded the entire continent. Though they stood aloft, their gaze was fixed upon the masses.

Seeing Lorant shake his head, the mages sighed in resignation. "If so, then there’s truly no hope."

"Given more time, we might’ve figured it out, but with so little, it's simply impossible."

Lorant sighed helplessly. He had anticipated this outcome—this was merely a last-ditch effort. If so...

Jacqueline noticed Lorant's nod to her and clenched her teeth. "Enough! No more talk—everyone, step back!"

With that, the violent sorceress began pulling out materials from her dimensional pouches in handfuls. Lorant glanced sideways and recognized them as high-grade magical materials, obtainable only from beasts of at least ninth rank. He promptly and obediently retreated backward.

Seriously, the materials a mage used for spellcasting were generally of a lower grade than the spell itself. According to the Law of Mana Conservation, casting a spell involved both channeling the mage's internal mana and utilizing special materials that transformed instantaneously. In other words, the combination of materials, the mage's personal power, and the unique incantation of the spell ultimately gave rise to incredible magic.

Though Jacqueline hadn't explicitly stated what spell she intended to cast, the materials alone made it clear to everyone present that this would be a spell of devastating power.

Lorant understood best because he and Jacqueline had agreed: if no solution could be found, they would forcibly clear the dimensional rift.

Lorant and the others swiftly retreated to the middle section of the tunnel, stopping only when Fa Meng waved her paw to signal that it was safe enough.

Once they halted, Xiao Lan took flight from Lorant's shoulder, a sapphire glow radiating from its body as it sealed the entire tunnel tightly. A massive, translucent sapphire shield gradually faded into invisibility, though everyone knew it was a powerful protective charm meant to withstand the potential aftershocks of the legendary sorceress's impending spell.

Though everyone present was formidable, most excelled in research rather than combat. Thus, aside from Jacqueline, Xiao Lan and Fa Meng were the only ones with legendary-tier combat prowess capable of matching hers.

The group huddled behind Xiao Lan's protective barrier, chatting and laughing casually, eager to see Jacqueline in action.