"Skythunder Zone?" Shang asked with surprise. "Why is it called as such? Shouldn't it be called after a Zone Beast, or is the Zone Beast called Skythunder?"
"You don't know?" Duke Whirlwind asked with interest.
Then, he smirked. "Then, I won't take the surprise away from you. You will see why it is called the Skythunder Zone."
Shang only lifted an eyebrow, but he didn't answer.
Around two minutes later, the group arrived at the border.
The group of Mages looked at the group, but their eyes showed no emotion.
It was like the group of warriors didn't even exist.
Then, the Mages looked at the Dean.
Some of them snorted while others looked at the Dean with interest.
When the Mages saw Duke Whirlwind, they smiled politely, but their smiles didn't reach their eyes.
This short interaction had already given Shang a good look at how the Mages outside Duke Whirlwind's territory felt about warriors.
Weak warriors were beneath them and basically didn't exist to them, while warriors more powerful than them garnered ridicule.
To them, it was like some lowlife was trying to step onto their level.
They knew that the Dean was more powerful than most of them, but they still looked down on him.
Duke Whirlwind walked over to the Mage with the Focus that had three circlets and talked to him for a bit.
The Mage didn't keep his voice down, and Shang could hear what he said.
"If it were up to me, I would kill this group of trash where they stand," the powerful Mage said with a snort to Duke Whirlwind, "and you along with them, traitor."
The group felt a sting when they heard these words leave the powerful Mage's mouth.
He was talking like the warriors weren't even there.
"Quite big words for an Early High Mage, Sinero," Duke Whirlwind said with a polite smile.
Sinero only snorted again. "You've been living in peace for decades, Jerald. In comparison to you, I have to fight other High Mages and Fourth Realm beasts to keep my spot. You are so relaxed and out of practice that you don't even realize when someone more powerful than you stands before you."
"Oh?" Duke Whirlwind uttered with a smile. "Want to try?"
Sinero only sneered. "I would love to, but I'm not going to commit suicide by keeping the King's entertainment waiting. Enter!"
"What a shame," Duke Whirlwind said with a smile. "And here I have hoped that I would get to exercise my old bones again."
Obviously, Duke Whirlwind was ridiculing Sinero. After all, Duke Whirlwind wasn't old for a High Mage.
Sinero didn't answer.
Duke Whirlwind chuckled a bit and gestured for the group to continue.
The group passed by the Mages without a word.
And then, Shang finally entered the Skythunder Zone.
Shang could see green hills and meadows, and he could even see quite a few farms.
But, surprisingly, there were no beasts around. Instead, Shang could see quite a few animals.
By now, it was early noon, and the sun was shining from the sky. However, the sun wasn't oppressive or anything.
The temperature was nice.
There were some clouds, but they were not oppressive.
There was some wind, but it wasn't very strong.
For the first time, Shang felt like he was back on Earth.
The Skythunder Zone was not special.
It was just normal.
And that was exactly why it was more special than all other Zones.
'No strong heat, which means not much Fire Mana. No huge rocks and mountains, which means not much Earth Mana. A bit of wind, but not nearly as strong as in the Storm Eagle Zone. A couple of small rivers and ponds, but not an ocean. Not very cold, which means not much Ice Mana. No prickling feeling of electricity, which means not much Lightning Mana.'
'Lots of vegetation, which means weaker plants can thrive here, which wouldn't be possible in an environment filled with Metal Mana. And to top it all off, there is not overly much Light or Darkness Mana.'
'There is no powerful presence of Elemental Mana.'
'That can only mean one thing,' Shang thought.
"There is no Zone Beast," Shang said to Duke Whirlwind.
"Correct," Duke Whirlwind said with a smile. "I'm impressed that you found that out so quickly."
Shang only nodded.
To be honest, if Shang hadn't come from Earth, he might not have realized that there was no Zone Beast in this Zone. After all, literally every other Zone had a Zone Beast. Zone Beasts were as normal to the humans of this world as rain and wind.
"How come?" Shang asked.
"The other Zone Beasts are fine with their Zones," Duke Whirlwind explained. "Although, if one of them tries to exert their control onto this Zone, the others get angry. In a way, you could say that this Zone isn't worth fighting several other Zone Beasts."
"Why would the Zone Beasts attack whoever tries to annex this Zone?" Shang asked.
"Due to their Affinities," Duke Whirlwind explained. "If the Thunder Horse to the southeast tries to influence this Zone, the Ancestral Blood Bat to the west and the Ocean Serpent to the northwest would get angry. Lightning is too bright for a Zone Beast with a Darkness Affinity like the Ancestral Blood Bat, and the Ocean Serpent also isn't a fan of lightning for obvious reasons."
"If the Volcano Wyrm tried the same thing, the Ocean Serpent and the Colossal Worm would get involved."
"If the Colossal Wyrm tried something, the Thunder Horse and Volcano Wyrm would get involved."
"If the Ancestral Blood Bat tried something, the Thunder Horse and Pontiff Turtle would get involved."
"And if… you get the idea," Duke Whirlwind explained with a smile. "The Skythunder Zone is surrounded by six Zones, and there are always at least two enemies if one of them tries to get involved in this one."
In one short conversation, Shang had learned the names of four more Zones.
"Could you tell me the name of the Zones, the Affinities of the Zone Beasts, and where they are located?" Shang asked.
"Thunder Horse Zone. Southeast. Lightning," Duke Whirlwind said.
"Volcano Wyrm Zone. Southwest. Fire."
"Ancestral Blood Bat Zone. West. Darkness."
"Ocean Serpent Zone. Northwest. Water."
"Pontiff Turtle Zone. Northeast. Light."
"Colossal Worm Zone. East. Earth."
Shang nodded. "Thanks."
Duke Whirlwind also nodded, and then he remembered something.
"By the way, was this your first run-in with one of the arrogant kind of Mages?" Duke Whirlwind asked, obviously referring to his earlier conversation with Sinero.
"It was the first time I saw it this openly," Shang said. "I've gotten some sneers, but I haven't heard someone speak of warriors in such a derisive way before."
"Sorry about that," Duke Whirlwind said. "I don't like to say it, but you should get used to this kind of treatment. Even more, the treatment will only get worse the more powerful you become."
"Many people don't mind looking at a cockroach outside their house, but if that cockroach enters their house, they get angry and kill it. In their mind, the cockroach should know its place and not enter the human's domain."
"That's how many powerful Mages view warriors. As long as you are weak, it is like you know your place, but if you ever reach a comparable power to theirs, they feel like you are disrespecting them. They feel like you don't deserve your current power. After all, you are not an illustrious Mage."
Shang furrowed his brows.
In the beginning, he wasn't sure why a more powerful warrior would be even more looked down upon by a Mage than a weak warrior. After all, the powerful warrior was stronger.
But with Duke Whirlwind's explanation, Shang could see why that wasn't the case for a lot of Mages.
And now, Shang could also understand why that Mage also hated Duke Whirlwind.
Figuratively, Duke Whirlwind was working on a method to allow plenty of cockroaches to enter houses. Of course he wouldn't be liked by the occupants of said houses.
"But you don't need to worry about their opinion," Duke Whirlwind said with a smile. "King Skythunder has his entire Kingdom in his grip. If he showed even a slight sign of disapproval between Duke Mithril's and my conflict, we would be best friends the next day."
"So, even if there are plenty of Mages that hate warriors becoming more powerful, they won't dare to act without the King's approval. The only thing they can do is bark."
"By the way, you can see the castle from here already. Look to the front," Duke Whirlwind said as he gestured forward.
Shang looked to the front, and he could see a huge structure.
'That doesn't look like a castle.'
