Roland gently stroked the trembling Qiao, carefully pushing it back into its pouch before smoothly dismounting.

Holding his breath, he walked forward slowly.

The moment he set foot on the forest’s edge, a scent that was both familiar and strange washed over him.

Roland frowned unconsciously, his fingers instinctively touching the bone on his wrist.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully sensing this strange Energy.

Although he had only drawn the Fire Element through the bone when casting Flaming Arrow, he had also sensed the presence of other Magic Elements in the process.

The gentle water, the heavy earth, the wild wind...

But this Withering Power before him, while bearing a subtle resemblance to those Elements, was completely different.

It was a bone-chilling, malicious power, carrying the suffocating stench of death.

Just standing at the edge of the forest made Roland’s chest feel tight, his breathing unconsciously quickening.

He let out a long breath and peered through the layers of withered branches and dead leaves. Black cracks radiating outward across the ground were clearly visible.

’It’s just as Qiao said...’

Roland’s brow furrowed even deeper.

’But what is this?’

Out of caution, he didn’t venture deeper. Instead, he whispered to the Red Squirrel in the pouch.

"Qiao, when did this start?"

"Umm..."

Qiao’s voice, muffled and dejected, came from the pouch.

"Probably... not long after you left, Roland..."

Roland was lost in thought, the scenes from his journey flashing through his mind.

The other forests on both sides of the road had seemed normal, but on second thought, there was something strange about them.

"Actually, those forests aren’t right either..."

As if reading Roland’s mind, Qiao’s small head popped out of the pouch again, its ears drooping listlessly.

"The fruit on the trees turned sour and bitter, completely inedible. That’s why I..."

Its voice trailed off at the end, as it was clearly remembering its embarrassing capture by the bearded Chef.

’So the strange changes in this forest are gradually spreading to the surrounding areas?’

Having reached this conclusion, Roland decisively turned and walked back to Black Wind.

The strange Withering Magic Power at the forest’s edge was already making it hard for him to breathe; he could only imagine how concentrated it would be deeper inside.

Recalling the "Crystal Devouring" phenomenon Mr. Bronson had mentioned, he decided not to risk exploring any further for the time being.

After riding back to the manor, Roland first found John at the main gate, directing the Guards on patrol.

He intentionally omitted the details about the Magic Elements, instead emphasizing the forest’s danger and urging him to be on high alert.

He then went to Bronson’s residence, explained in detail what he had seen and heard, and offered his own speculation.

After a brief moment of contemplation, the scholar began to pace back and forth in his room.

His boots made a dull sound on the floorboards. After a moment, he stopped and spoke slowly.

"Roland, this situation... it’s likely caused by an overflow of Elements from an Elemental Plane, which is eroding the Prime Material Plane..."

Thanks to his prior study of ancient texts, Roland was not unfamiliar with these terms.

He knew clearly that planes were different dimensions or domains that made up reality, each with its own unique physical Laws, ecosystems, and inhabitants.

Simply put, it was like different spaces existing within the same Space-Time.

Normally, the planes were bound by certain Rules and couldn’t connect with each other, somewhat like parallel universes.

"Then..."

Roland’s long fingers tapped lightly on the oak table before him, making a crisp sound.

"How big of an impact will this phenomenon have? And how long will it last?"

"As you’ve seen, Roland..."

Bronson replied as he turned and walked toward the old, dilapidated bookcase piled high with ancient tomes.

His fingertips traced lightly over the spines, finally stopping on a heavy volume—the very same *Gefrin’s Travelogue* Roland had read before.

The scholar carefully pulled it out, sending a small cloud of dust rising from its pages.

"Because each Element has different Attributes, the changes they cause after invading the Main Material World also vary. However, a change similar to withering is an effect that the four major Elements do not possess..."

Noticing the grave expression on Roland’s face, Bronson’s tone softened.

"But you don’t need to worry too much. This kind of phenomenon was common before the Year of the End. After a while, it would just disappear for no apparent reason..."

As he spoke, Bronson pushed the copy of *Gefrin’s Travelogue* in front of Roland.

Roland immediately activated his [Concentration] Trait, his long fingers rapidly flipping through the yellowed pages.

Just as Bronson had said, the book recorded many incidents of Elemental Planes encroaching on the Prime Material Plane, but each time, the anomaly would vanish without a trace before long.

"As for your earlier speculation that the white bone caused this phenomenon..."

Bronson slowly sat down in the wooden chair opposite Roland, rubbing the bridge of his nose as a rare look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

"On that point, I really have no idea..."

The scholar’s voice was low and slow.

"However, before the Year of the End, there was a certain theory."

He reached for the teapot on the table and poured a cup of long-cold black tea, his weary face reflected on its surface.

"It’s that the more powerful a Demon is, the more its might will affect the surrounding area where it lives, causing all sorts of unknown changes."

"But there’s no concrete evidence for this theory."

He shook his head with a wry smile.

"Even in the great libraries of the High Tower, I never read any related case studies... The records are all too vague, more like folklore than rigorous academic research."

Hearing this, Roland nodded slightly, his fingers unconsciously tracing the wood grain on the table.

After a moment of silence, he raised his sharp eyes.

"Then do you have any leads on the original owner of this bone, Mr. Bronson?"

Bronson slowly shook his head.

"There were far too many Demons that fit that description before the Year of the End,"

he sighed.

"Even now, on another continent across the sea, there are rumors of a Fire Salamander that fits the description. So I can’t make an accurate guess. But..."

"For a piece of bone from a dead creature to be able to automatically absorb Magic Elements from the air..."

His voice unconsciously lowered, tinged with a certain awe.

"This creature must have been powerful beyond our imagination when it was alive."

"I understand."

Roland’s fingertips tapped twice on the tabletop as he continued.

"In that case, Mr. Bronson, has Baron Fosling summoned you recently? After all, this is happening not far from the manor."

"I’ve already warned Captain John, but if Baron Fosling could also realize the gravity of this matter, perhaps some potential dangers could be avoided..."

"Ha..."

Bronson suddenly let out a bitter laugh, tinged with self-deprecation.

He raised a hand and pointed dejectedly at himself.

"Baron Fosling already sees me as a complete and utter fraud... but you don’t need to worry."

"If something really does go wrong, I will go and warn the Lord Baron."

"Then I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Bronson."

Roland slowly rose to his feet. He paused at the door, turning back to add a word of caution.

"But you should also watch out for your own safety. If the encroachment from the Elemental Plane doesn’t recede on its own as we expect..."

He paused.

"You can also go on ahead to Distant Harbor and wait for me."

With that, Roland turned and left the wooden cabin, heading toward the training grounds.

After informing Dalko, who was training hard, about the strange phenomenon in the forest, the young nobleman, unlike Baron Fosling, did not take it lightly.

Although he thought Roland’s story sounded more like a side effect of reading too many knightly novels.

But out of trust for his friend, he still nodded gravely.

As dusk settled, Roland stood at the manor gate, holding Black Wind’s reins.

The manor held too many good memories; he didn’t want to return from Wuxi Town to find it a ruin devastated by Magic Elements.

So, only after putting three safeguards in place did Roland mount Black Wind and once again leave the manor, charging toward Wuxi Town.

Black Wind galloped like the wind under the evening twilight, its hoofbeats exceptionally clear in the silent wilderness.

The road to Wuxi Town was longer than the one to Songmu Town, but the journey was exceptionally smooth. Even the beasts that usually roamed the area were nowhere to be seen.

As the distant lights grew clearer, Roland saw that Wuxi Town was much larger than Songmu Town. The outline of its walls stretched out under the dim sunlight, appearing almost half the size of Distant Harbor.

Just when he was about a hundred paces from the town gate, a familiar figure came into view.

The person was leaning lazily against an oak tree by the roadside, a stalk of wheat dangling from their mouth.