Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 244 The Mountain and River Map and Somersault Cloud
The excessively barren brain matter caused the white dragon's intelligence to plummet to the level of a wild beast, making it even more difficult for it to discover and learn the knowledge and abilities accumulated in its bloodline. This is the root cause of the tragedy of this group of great white flying lizards.

If a white dragon possessed the intelligence of a normal human, or even innate wisdom, it might not be unable to achieve great things. For example, there would be someone like "Frostwing" or "Duke of Winter," who are all born with extraordinary intelligence.

The black dragon is not only stronger than the white dragon in all aspects, but more importantly, this black creature is not the kind of dull and stupid fool. Although the black dragon is not known for its wisdom among dragons, it is not stupid either, and is known as the synonym for cunning and despicable.

These creatures originally lived deep in the swamp and didn't often come out to roam around. Otherwise, those temple knights, who were eager to make a name for themselves and were looking for a worthy target, would have come knocking on their door to hang their dragon heads long ago.

Unfortunately, their existence did indeed have some impact on Master Zhang's next move. These black dragons, which were said to be nearly adults, were not only formidable in combat but also air force, making them difficult to deal with due to their mobility alone.

There are risks, but Master Zhang absolutely cannot accept the option of ignoring the path to heaven and instead spending a week rolling in the mud to reach Neverwinter City.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan simply sat cross-legged on the ground, took out a highly accurate map of Sword Bay, and began to carefully survey the area from Waterdeep to Neverwinter.

This map is no ordinary item. Compared to the maps used by ordinary adventurers or merchants, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they look like doodles by a primary school student.

Those maps that show the location of a city, the route of the main road, and the general trend of mountains and rivers, as long as the overall orientation is not too distorted, are good maps and can be treasured by them.

As for its accuracy, especially the scale ratio?
Well... hahaha~

Even the maps that Nancy and Bard brought out from the Flamefist headquarters, which were considered important military data, were only highly accurate in the area surrounding Baldur's Gate. Outside of that area, they were not much better than other civilian maps.

And what is this scene in front of Zhang Yuan?
Putting aside the precise geographical location, the meticulously detailed mountain and river textures, and the almost lifelike accuracy of the scale, let's just talk about one thing: this map is damn three-dimensional.

What appeared to be just a scroll of parchment with a map on it became a blurry light as the mage pointed to the side of the scroll. After flickering and ripples a few times, it became clear and solid. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the landscape of the Sword Bay region.

The original name of this map was "Aerial View of the Sword Bay Region," but Master Zhang thought it was too old-fashioned, so he changed the name to "Map of Mountains and Rivers," forcibly riding on the popularity of the innate spiritual treasure of his predecessor.

"I wish to dream of Wu and Yue, and fly across Mirror Lake in one night under the moon."

As the monk murmured poems from his past life, he drew his fingers like halberds across the scroll along the side of the Swamp of the Dead adjacent to the Sea of ​​Swords.

Slicing through the light and shadow, his fingertips finally landed on a small town in the southern part of Neverwinter.

That was High Cliff, a port town near Neverwinter. As its name suggests, it was situated on a cliff overlooking the sea and was the last stop on the way north to Neverwinter.

Its significance is comparable to that of Tianjin to Beijing or Jinzhou to Northeast China; it is a vital strategic location.

In addition, the terrain features high cliffs and steep walls around it, which will make it easier to avoid unnecessary attention when landing.

Yes, it's landing. The mage's next plan is to carry out a strategic aerial transfer, a rapid deployment of troops, commonly known as: airlift!
As we all know, air transport requires flight carrying capacity, but the current Master Zhang hasn't even learned the art of flight himself. He can only rely on the Feather Fall Technique to barely avoid dying from a fall, let alone something as advanced as carrying people in flight.

In this small territory of Faerûn, there's no way they could possibly have transport planes or helicopters—that kind of high-tech stuff. But Master Zhang's confidence wasn't unfounded; if technology isn't enough, magic will do!
Monchkin's Soaring Clouds:
Monkey King is a typical melee mage, especially skilled in alteration and defensive spells. His favorite thing to do on the battlefield is to cast a bunch of buffs and defensive spells on himself, then rush forward and smash the enemy dog's head with his staff.

It's worth noting that Monkey King's staff was made with adamantite during its forging, making it extremely hard and heavy. Furthermore, the alchemist himself was a recognized master of staff fighting.

In fact, in many battles, few enemies could withstand the fierce attacks of this melee master. What really gave Monkey King a headache was how to chase down these fleeing, cowardly enemies.

The cloud giant's innate cloud magic gave him much inspiration, and with the help of Monkey King and several other alchemists, this wondrous object came into being.

Interestingly, in the years that followed, this hot-tempered monk gradually restrained his personality, began to cultivate his character, and even tried meditation. The soaring cloud that once carried him in pursuit of the dead and raided thousands of miles away was neglected in the warehouse.

Soaring Clouds: Every day, Soaring Clouds can transform into a giant white cloud that can carry up to three cloud giants. When empty, its floating speed is comparable to a galloping horse.

The higher the load, the slower the speed, lasting up to six hours.

Mist Riding: Releases a large fog resembling clouds, similar in effect to the Fog spell. The fog range is a circular area with a radius of fifty meters, and can move around with items as the center. Can be used twice a day.

This is truly a wonderful treasure!
The two items given by the cloud giant were not the kind that would immediately enhance combat power, but their value far surpassed that of ordinary magical artifacts, suggesting they were carefully selected.

Of course, it's also possible that he took the opportunity to resell these two dusty items to repay a favor.

The spell lab solved Zhang Yuan's hard requirement for a suitable research environment, while the Sky Cloud granted him and his entire team unparalleled tactical mobility.

This is what Master Zhang relies on!
Having made up his mind, the monk didn't linger any longer, turned around and went down the mountain, heading straight back to the team's camp.

The stone shelter had vanished, and the morning smoke and embers had dissipated. His teammates had finished packing and were gathered in twos and threes around the carriage, waiting for him to arrive.

However, the orders that came with the captain left them completely puzzled.

"Get everyone off the carriages and unload all the heavy items. Blindfold all the horses."

The team members obeyed the orders, but they couldn't hide the confusion in their eyes.

All these questions vanished only after Zhang Yuan took out the Soaring Cloud and unfolded it.

What a huge, white cloud!
Thank you to Cthulhu Cutie, ^DangDang^, Eric Jin, and Lazy Dormouse for your monthly ticket support!

By the way, Dormouse, where did you get eight monthly tickets? w(Д)w
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(End of this chapter)