Wilbur shook the woman's hand and said, "Yes, my name is Wilbur. Nice to meet you." The woman, with reddened eyes and a bright smile, replied, "My name is Caitlyn. Nice to meet you. I'm from the Allied States." "Ah, the Allied States is a great country." "Perhaps," she said. After this brief exchange, the two fell silent. Wilbur took out the newspaper he had bought at the airport and began reading. The travel newspaper contained information about Kosanto, including an article on its history. It said that a thousand years ago, Kosanto was a forest kingdom, with forests covering 90% of its land. Now, only 30% of its land had greenery, with the western and southern regions turned into deserts. The cities where the people of Kosanto once lived were buried under the sand, and much of the history and culture of these regions was lost. Only a few elderly residents in the desert city of Wrecknam retained some memories of their ancestors' ways of life. Most of the surviving arti
It turns out that Caitlyn's multiple trips to Kosanto were due to a special relationship she had three years ago. Three years ago, Caitlyn met her boyfriend on a flight to Kosanto. They quickly became interested in each other. They traveled together and soon confirmed their relationship. They dated for three years, but two months ago, her boyfriend broke up with her. This ended their relationship, leaving Caitlyn heartbroken and unable to move on. She decided to return to Kosanto two months later, hoping that this trip would help her find closure and move past her feelings. Caitlyn said, "Actually, my ex-boyfriend was also from Dasha, but he was settled in the Allied States, so you know…" With that, Caitlyn choked up again and shrugged helplessly. After hearing her story, Wilbur felt a sense of helplessness as well, not expecting Caitlyn to have such a past. Wilbur nodded and said, "I'm really sorry about your past relationship. I might not be able to offer much help, but I
Wilbur nodded helplessly, realizing the truth in the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". Caitlyn was right. Every place had its unique ways, and what the locals did, outsiders might not understand and should not overthink. After chatting for a while, Caitlyn said, "Actually, there's something very important I need to do this time. Wilbur, do you believe in fate?" "Fate? What do you mean?" Caitlyn explained that three years ago when she and her boyfriend first came to Wrecknam, the desert city, she had a chance encounter with a local prophetess, a woman who could predict the future. This prophetess was named Angelia. At that time, Angelia had predicted that Caitlyn and her boyfriend would have a three-year relationship, after which they would break up. Caitlyn did not believe it then, but three years later, everything happened exactly as Angelia had said. Though She was heartbroken, Caitlyn was eager to know if she could rekindle her relationship with her ex-boyfrie
"No, no need. This is my destiny!" Caitlyn, tears streaming down her face, leaped from the ten-meter-high city wall. Seeing this, Wilbur lunged forward, catching Caitlyn in mid-air. With the support of his dragon aura, they landed safely on the ground. Caitlyn struggled and pushed Wilbur away, saying, "Why did you save me? Let me die!" With that, Caitlyn ran off into the distance. Wilbur hurriedly chased after her. They had barely run a hundred meters when they saw a sandstorm quickly approaching from beyond the sand dunes. Seeing the sandstorm, Caitlyn became even more frantic, running towards it like someone possessed. Wilbur followed closely, shouting, "Caitlyn, stop!" The sandstorm advanced rapidly, and soon Caitlyn was engulfed in it, swept into the air by the violent winds. Wilbur leaped, catching Caitlyn in mid-air again, and they floated gently to the ground, shielded by Wilbur's dragon aura. The fierce winds of the sandstorm roared past them, but thanks to the dragon
However, Wrecknam seemed to be different from those other desert cities. It was not only built in the desert but also located right in the center of the Levon Desert. According to common sense, the center of a desert was the place where water was most scarce, making it an unlikely location for a city. Yet, the Levon Desert seemed to defy this logic. Otherwise, Wrecknam couldn't have been built there. Without a water source, it was impossible for people to live there, let alone build a city. With this in mind, Wilbur picked up a map of the Levon Desert and examined it carefully, but he did not find anything unusual about the desert. Then, Wilbur searched through historical records and discovered that this area was a forest a thousand years ago. Later, due to geographical changes, the river changed its course, leading to water shortages and a gradual transformation into a desert over a thousand years. This record suggested that the evolution of the Levon Desert was no different
"Trust me, young man. You'll find the answers you need, but you're going to have to pay for your actions before that." Wilbur wanted to ask more, but Angelia refused and stopped talking. An assistant told Wilbur that the prophecy already revealed the ways of fate, and Angelia refusing to say anything further meant that the heavens did not allow her to do so. Wilbur could not help but find the answer rather funny. Nonetheless, everyone else seemed to respect it enough and he had no choice but to leave. Upon returning to the hotel, Wilbur thought about Angelia's words. He had changed Caitlyn's fate, but they would never see each other again. Wilbur found the whole encounter with Caitlyn rather unbelievable. There were so many strange factors about it, especially with Caitlyn choosing to go back to the Allied States. Wilbur's master, the Aqua Dragon Orkot, once told him that every person's fate was an aura that led them forward in life. When there was a change in this force in a
Wilbur let out a long breath after looking at the information. He was now certain that there was definitely an underground river secretly hidden beneath the desert. However, that underground river had only been a tributary. Someone had laid down a formation, forcing the river to flow toward Wrecknam and turning the tributary into the mainstream. That was what had brought Wrecknam to its current flourishing state. Wrecknam was practically at its peak as a desert city now. Wilbur had visited many desert cities before, and they had only had a hundred thousand people living in them at most. On top of that, practically every desert city was built either near an oasis, or the border of the desert. There was also usually a clear path leading out of a desert city, but Wrecknam did not have that. That meant that the only way to get to Wrecknam was by plane, but flight tickets from Riol to Wrecknam were by no means cheap. Thus, Wrecknam was also called the city of gold. The standards
Wilbur looked at the man. "Would I be able to approach the well if I defeat you, then?" From their conversation just now, Wilbur could tell that this guy was rather prideful. Despite not knowing who exactly had laid down that formation in this city, Wilbur had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted. He did not want to get on anyone's bad side, but looking into the well might tell him where the dragon cauldron piece was. Thus, Wilbur chose to provoke the man in the black robes. If the man took on his challenge, he might get a chance to enter the well. "What? How dare you challenge me? What right do you have to be so arrogant? Do you even know what the consequences are for angering me?" Wilbur saw the man in the black robes grow serious all at once, and a smile appeared on Wilbur's face. He had achieved his goal. "You can do whatever you want with me if I lose. But if I win, I want to get inside that well. Do we have a deal?" "Sure! As you wish!" The man in the black robes the