When Sylas heard that so many Portals had appeared in this small region, he wasn't sure what to think. But he knew that he at least had to go and check the region out.
However, going now, considering the situation, wouldn't be smart. Going now versus going later wouldn't make a large difference. If Cassarae was truly already on the verge of dying, his current self couldn't change much of that.
She had survived three months on her own before she found him, and she had survived this long without him, she would be able to hold on now.
He had come here for one specific thing: the Arctic King Cobra, and he had yet to find it. Only after he slayed this beast and completed the prerequisite he needed to clear his Quest would he continue onward.
As for the rest, these three gave him some assurance. At the very least, this portal wouldn't be actively pursued by any one group anytime soon. At least not seriously.
After these four failed, it was unlikely that Legacy would send anyone in the short term. And it was likely that the government would be just as casual about the matter as they were.
In fact, if Sylas was correct, it was more likely that the government wouldn't send anyone. That was because compared to Legacy, their situation was much more dire.
They were in control of York City, and they had two Portals not under their control, both of which they couldn't even get to.
Sylas put the odds of them coming to near zero.
After he reached this point in his thoughts, he killed the trio before they could even understand what was happening.
It might have been cruel, but it was necessary. He didn't want them going back and reporting his existence because someone intelligent would certainly be able to deduce that he had come from the other side of the Portal. If they guessed that, then in the future, rather than two enemies, Lucius' encampment would have to face three or potentially four.
Right now, Sylas needed Lucius' situation to remain as stable as possible. That was the only way for him to continue to take advantage of this situation.
As for these few corpses, he would toss them to the beasts to devour.
Sylas quickly pulled the fourth corpse out from under the rubble and then threw all of their bodies into a pack of snow wolves. After this, he left the region.
Sylas was still going around somewhat like a headless chicken. Even as the sun began to set, he had yet to find any of the Arctic King Cobras he was looking for.
He had mostly come to this region based on a tip from that introduction he read in the Nexus, so he didn't have any precise information about them other than their general location. He even wondered if he should return to the tundra now that he knew there was nothing to worry about on this side. Maybe it would be easier to find them there.
'One step at a time…'
As Sylas rode on the back of the Dire Wolf, he checked the storage devices of the group he had killed. As expected, he mostly found some Aether Replenishment and healing Elixirs. But what intrigued him the most was what they had prepared to form their barrier.
It was a linked chain that ran several kilometers from end to end. It looked quite flimsy, so much so that Sylas felt that he could use it as a whip if he so desired. But it had two important functions.
The first was that it stopped the flow of Aether from expanding outward. That would make the Portal far harder to detect for beasts that had already left its range. Of course, that would only work on this side of the Portal, so beasts would still be attracted from the other side.
The second ability was that over time, he could use this Aether that it absorbed to form a barrier.
What was beautiful about this treasure was that because the chains were so small and unassuming, they were easy to ignore. So they could passively absorb Aether over a long period of time while still letting beasts through.
Once it reached an appropriate threshold, it could form a Dome that would keep all of the beasts sealed inside.
This saturating period would take about three days.
[Basic Barrier Chains (F+) (Treasure)]
[Surround a Portal on the non-Aether Plane side with these chains and bury them into the ground. In three days, it will form a Barrier]
[Defense: 10,000,000]
[Replenishment Rate: 2,000,000/hr]
Sylas remembered seeing the Barrier Cassarae paid for and it had double the Defense, but half the Replenishment Rate. It seemed that this barrier traded upfront strength for faster recovery. And more importantly than that, it was capable of replenishing itself with the help of the Aether being pumped from the barrier.
That left a question, though. Why set up the Barrier on this side and not in the tundra instead? It seemed that it would be more convenient the other way around. But the description clearly specified that it had to be on this side.
It made Sylas wonder why...
Sylas felt his heart tremble and he looked to the side immediately. He sensed something, an evolution opportunity for the Basilisk King.
By this point, he had traveled out of the suburban community. This direction was in the opposite way to Veridian, and away from York City as well. Though there was a suburban paradise, there was also a long stretch of ocean waters and cabins in this region. Often, in the summer months, families would travel up here to bask in nature.
As such, there wasn't much difference between this region here and the wilderness of the Aether Plane.
Sylas chose this direction because it was both away from those powers and because he felt that beasts would be most likely to settle here.
He had only planned on traveling a few more kilometers before turning back, but it seemed that he might not have to.
[Arctic King Cobra (FFF)]