Chapter 396: Chapter 396 – Fertile Land

“The so-called Forbidden Lands, huh, interesting…”

Standing where he was, Kalunu pondered over the information he had obtained. At this moment, all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.

The so-called Forbidden Lands could be considered a specialty of the desert region. Due to the Great War, the environment in the Forbidden Lands was unique, and anything could exist there.

Some said that hidden in the Forbidden Lands were ruins left behind from ancient times, and among them were inheritances and powers left behind by the previous powerhouses.

Not to mention powerful magic items. They were all unearthed from these ruins.

Of course, these Forbidden Lands could also contain terrifying dangers.

Because of the unique environment of the Forbidden Lands, the beings that lived in them were often very terrifying. To ordinary beings, it was an exceedingly significant threat.

Kalunu knew that there was once an incident where a Forbidden Land exploded and directly destroyed an enormous empire.

Although this was a very extreme case, it happened long ago. However, there might be a possibility it would happen again.

It was precisely because of this that the Human Kingdoms in this world were so wary of the desert. It was also because of this reason that the environment in the desert was so harsh.

Originally, Kalunu wasn’t prepared to come into contact with the Forbidden Land. However, a new piece of news made him change his mind.

Before this, to gather as much power as possible and strengthen his own strength, Kalunu had sent people out to investigate, searching for traces of the Kobold tribes in many places.

Their mission was naturally to explore the Kobold tribes and then allow Kalunu to annex them and bring them under his control.

Kalunu had already subdued more than a dozen Kobold tribes and obtained many captives through this method in the past.

And according to the news he received this time, there seemed to be many traces of Kobolds in the Forbidden Land beside Kalunuu City.

There seemed to be more than one Kobold tribe in this Forbidden Land. According to estimates, at least tens of thousands of Kobolds were in the Forbidden Land.

Even Kalunu couldn’t help but be amazed by this number.

Although Kobolds could be bred, it would take at least a few years for a Kobold to grow from birth to adulthood. This was an indispensable period of growth, and even Kobolds couldn’t avoid it.

The population of the Kobold Kingdom currently could be considered quite large. In fact, there were close to 200,000 of them.

However, tens of thousands of them were infants, far from adulthood.

As for the Kobolds in the Forbidden Land, they were adults and ready.

In the wild, due to the lack of food, the survival rate of Kobold infants was very low. Generally, only one or two out of ten newborn Kobolds could live until adulthood.

Under such circumstances, most of the Kobolds in the wild were adults, and the number of infants was relatively small.

The situation was very different from the Kobold kingdom, where infants accounted for a large portion of the population.

When he thought of this, Kalunu’s heart moved, and he slowly decided.

…

“Is this the place?”

Following a desolated path, Kalunu continued forward. He raised his head and looked into the distance, then couldn’t help but frown.

In front of him was a desolated area. The entire land before him was red as if it had been stained with blood, and it looked bizarre.

Nothing was present on this piece of land other than a few weeds with tenacious vitality. The whole place looked abandoned, and it didn’t seem like a population was living around it.

Looking at the land before him, Kalunu secretly frowned. Then, he continued to walk forward. As he went deeper into the land in front of him, he could clearly feel something.

There seemed to be an unknown force in the area that was affecting the surrounding environment and suppressing its life. Perhaps this was the reason why this place was so desolate.

As he walked, Kalunu casually looked at the land in this area and discovered something different.

“It’s contaminated with an unknown aura…”

He felt it for a while and came to this conclusion. The land before him seemed out of the ordinary.

A strange aura intertwined with this place and deeply permeated this area, causing the nature of this land to change, which was different from typical land.

Therefore, normal plants couldn’t grow in this area, which was why the place had become so desolate.

Kalunu finally understood why no one was interested in this place. This area before him was obviously a place with no benefits. Even wild beasts with instincts would subconsciously avoid this place.

However, as they continued to go deeper, there was a new change in the situation. Behind the huge red area was a piece of white land.

Compared to the outside world, this area was more unique. The soil in each place was white and very special.

Compared to the outside world, this place was even more strange. Lush plants grew in this place and kept spreading— it was a lively scene.

“Is this the…”

Standing next to Kalunu, Dilin and Eileen instantly revealed shocked expressions when they saw the place. They seemed to have sensed something at this moment, and their faces quickly revealed a pleasant surprise.

“I’m sensing vigorous vitality!”

“This area has aura traces of the God of Nature’s divine power!”

They felt it for a while and then said.

“The God of Nature’s divine power?”

Kalunu frowned and then carefully felt it.

Dilin and Eileen were tree spirits. They were also the children and descendants of the God of Nature. They were the most sensitive to the God of Nature’s aura, so they could clearly feel it.

However, Kalunu was not too bad. After all, he was Chen Heng’s clone. There was also a remnant of divine power in his body, so he could use it to sense the situation around him.

This was one of the usages of divine power.

Soon, with Kalunu’s sensing, the situation around him was revealed.

Compared to the outside world, the situation here was unique. The aura of the outside world felt like decay and sorrow. On the other hand, this place was filled with vigorous vitality.

There was also a strange power enveloping this area, changing nature. However, the effect was just the opposite. Not only did it not suppress the growth of all living things, it actually made this area even more prosperous.

Under the influence of that mysterious power, this area would inevitably become even more prosperous. Whether it was plants or other life forms, all beings would thrive. It was a unique feeling.

After standing on the spot and feeling it carefully for a moment, Kalunu opened his eyes and looked around.

“This power does indeed have some authority similar to nature…”

He fell into deep thought as various thoughts flashed through his mind. “I just don’t know which God of Nature left it behind…”

Yes, there was more than one God of Nature. Nature includes a vast scope, and many Gods of Nature were present and in control. As long as one possessed control, one could be among the Gods of Nature.

Many Gods of Nature were present based on the World of Gods’ history. Kalaunu could even name ten of them from the tips of his fingers.

As for the Gods of Nature that had disappeared in history and had lost their names, there might have been more.

The God of Nature should have left this place behind, but as for which God of Nature it was, it was still to be determined.

Various thoughts suddenly flashed through Kalunu’s mind.

But at this point, he finally understood why there were so many Kobolds in this place.

The area in front of him was enveloped by the God of Nature’s divine power. The entire land was affected by the power of the former God of Nature, thus permanently changing its landscape.

The same piece of land, this piece of land was bound to produce the most bountiful crops. Even if something were planted randomly, it would probably obtain a bountiful return.

Even if they didn’t develop agriculture in such a rich environment, the crops they could obtain would still be extremely abundant.

Hence, it wasn’t surprising that this place could feed many Kobolds.

‘Looks like this time, I can have some surprises.’ This thought flashed through Kalunu’s mind. Then, he continued to walk forward.

Beside him, because they had sensed the aura of the God of Nature, Dilin and Eileen seemed very excited. They walked in circles all the way, looking very happy.

Kalunu didn’t care about what they were doing. He just silently led them forward.

He walked forward, directly to the core of this area. As he walked, the situation around him was revealed.

Just as they had expected, this area seemed to be very prosperous— there were Kobolds everywhere.

This area seemed to be occupied by Kobolds, and there were very few other races.

Compared to the situation outside, Kobolds occupied a large population in this area. The number of Kobolds living in this area was far more than Kalunu had estimated.

Kalunu has yet to explore the entire area, but the number of Kobolds in this area alone was probably no less than 100,000.

If he explored the entire area, the number of Kobolds wouldn’t be any less than the Kobolds in Kalunu City.

Without a doubt, this was a huge number.

Among them, Karu even saw a few Dragon Warlocks.

Dragon Warlocks were the Kobolds whose dragon blood was so thick that they awakened the magic power hidden in their blood.

Compared to Hechi and the others, the Dragon Warlocks had more awakened Dragon magic power. Hechi and the others only inherited the Dragon’s body.

Generally, Dragon Warlocks were much rarer than Dragon Warriors. But in this place, Kalunu spotted quite a few of them present.

It seemed that because of the influence of the God of Nature’s divine power, even the Dragon veins in these Kobolds’ bodies were affected, making it easier for them to awaken the bloodline magic power in their bodies.

They saw many Kobolds worshiping at an altar as they proceeded further in.

“What are those people doing?”

Walking to this area, looking at the scene before him, Kalunu stopped and looked to the side.

Beside him, besides Dilin and Eileen, there were two more figures.

The faint sunlight shone on the earth, revealing the appearance of these two figures. They were two Kobolds who looked a little thin and weak. They were wearing leather robes.

Compared to normal Kobolds, these two Kobolds looked more fragile and human-like.

Layers of faint scales covered their bodies, and some faint marks could be seen on them.

There were symbols of the dragon veins awakening in their bodies. The marks also represented the bloodline power that had been awakened in the bodies of these two Kobolds.

At this moment, they were standing next to Kalunu, not daring to move at all. At this moment, they felt Kalunu’s gaze on them, and their bodies even subconsciously shivered.

These two Kobolds were none other than the two Dragon Warlocks that Kalunu had met on the road.

At that time, these two Dragon Warlocks were leading their own tribe in a battle with the other party. Kalunu had coincidentally bumped into them.

The older Kobold Dragon Warrior was Herald, and the younger one was Mcdodo.

Herald and Mcdodo stood where they were and felt Kalunu’s gaze on them. A bitter look appeared on their faces, and then they said, “It’s a blood sacrifice…”

“We pray to the Great God to bless us with more harvest.”

“A blood sacrifice…”

Standing where they were and listening to Herald and Mcdodo’s words, Kalunu was deep in thought. ‘A blood sacrifice?’

“Of course, it’s blood sacrifice.”

Herald and Mcdodo nodded, feeling very natural about all this. “The Great God loves blood sacrifice. Only by using blood sacrifice can we show our respect and love for the Great God.”

Hearing this, Kalunu could not help but shake his head.

At this moment, he could already feel the smell of blood coming from afar.

It might not be obvious for ordinary people, but for someone like Kalunu, it was so clear that he could not ignore the smell even if he wanted to.

The Kobolds in this fertile land seemed to love blood sacrifice, and Kalunu was not surprised by this.

Blood sacrifice had existed in many places.

In fact, in the entire World of Gods, except for a few Churches that explicitly forbade blood sacrifice, most of the other Churches would have a blood sacrifice.

Even some so-called Gods would also use blood sacrifice, and they even liked it.

The Dusk Cult was one of the performers of blood sacrifice. It was just that their actions were too evil and too hateful, so they ended up being beaten up by everyone.

Otherwise, if it was just a blood sacrifice, it was common for the people of this world.

The existence of a blood sacrifice in this area was nothing strange in Kalunu’s eyes.

However, some other things caught his attention— the objects that these Kobolds worshiped.

The Kobolds were worshiping two different Gods. One was the legendary God of Fertility, and the other one was the God of Black Fog.

They worshiped the God of Fertility in exchange for rewards, while the God of Black Fog brought them immense power, making the Kobolds even more valiant in battle.

Kalunu was starstruck, but he realized what all this was about.

The two Gods corresponded to different domains. The Forbidden Land has two completely different powers and auras.

Since he felt this difference in aura and power, the God of Black Fog and the God of Fertility might really exist.

Besides, it was very likely that they were the main culprits behind the formation of this Forbidden Land.

Kalunu was excited to learn more about these Gods that the Kobolds were worshiping.

He brought along Dilin and Eileen and continued their tour to inspect the area before him. They were led by the two new associates, Herald and Mcdodo.

Based on this rough estimation, more than 200,000 Kobolds lived in this fertile land.

However, many battles often happen with this large population of Kobolds around.

They were divided into tribes and fought each other, plundering each other’s population and territory. These were the sources of the blood sacrifices.

Those defeated in the battle would become slaves and eventually be sacrificed to the altar, becoming blood sacrifices.

In Kalunu’s view, this method was a sacrifice and a way to consume the population.

The production of this fertile land was overwhelming, and this place could carry more Kobolds than the outside world.

But even so, there was always a limit.

With the breeding rate of Kobolds, if there were no suitable way to consume the excess population, this fertile land would soon be filled up.

Therefore, every time the population of each tribe multiplied to a certain extent, the war would begin.

In the war, the population that usually multiplied too much would be consumed, die in the war, or be placed on the altar and become an offering to the Gods.

This life cycle had been maintained as such for a very long time. It seemed to be very apparent and accepted by the Kobolds living here.

On the other hand, the existence of the two Gods seemed to have created problems.

According to Kalunu’s investigation, there were no Priests in this entire fertile land.

The so-called God of Fertility and the God of Black Fog had never displayed any miracles that belonged to them.

Therefore, the existence of these two Gods seemed to be somewhat doubtful..