Although the current Jhaben cannot compare to his period when he was called the King of Asia, his danger has not diminished at all. Many spellcasters who have lived in Asshai for a long time still remember how terrifying Jhaben's dark magic was.
Just as the spellcasters of Asshai focused their attention on Lynd, they did not notice that the Ash River flowing through the city was rapidly decreasing, and the riverbed near the banks had already become exposed.
It wasn't until a Shadowbinder needed to catch a fish from the Ash River for a ritual that he discovered the unusual situation of the Ash River.
Although no one in Asshai liked the Ash River and wished it would disappear immediately, they were also well aware that the Ash River was an indispensable and important resource for them. Many potions formulated by spellcasters and rituals performed required Ash River water and fish from the river. Now, the Ash River's flow suddenly decreased significantly, showing unprecedented signs of drying up, which made the spellcasters of Asshai wonder if this was related to the Red Comet that appeared not long ago.
As for why no one speculated it was related to Lynd's previous entry into the Shadow Lands, perhaps they thought that no matter how powerful Lynd was, he couldn't cause the Ash River to dry up.
Because of the problem with the Ash River, the spellcasters of Asshai discussed forming a team to go upstream along the Ash River to see what the problem was and if it could be resolved.
And this team was naturally led by Shadowbinders who frequently entered and exited the Shadow Lands, with other spellcasters who had also entered the Shadow Lands joining in, plus over five hundred slaves and mercenaries. This large team was divided into three groups and successively entered the Shadow Lands.
When the first group entered the Shadow Lands, Lynd awoke from his sleep. He didn't know if it was because he had fully unleashed the runic power within him, or because he had dealt with Euron and resolved a pressing matter. In any case, he slept very soundly and comfortably this time.
"Are you coming with me?" Lynd really disliked a dreadful place like Asshai, so after getting enough rest, he prepared to leave and return to Summerhall. Before leaving, he asked Jhaben.
Jhaben bowed respectfully to Lynd and said, "My Lord, please go back first. I will bring some people to Summerhall in a few months."
"My Lord?" Lynd heard Jhaben's address to him, and Jhaben's gaze towards him was filled with reverence. He smiled and said, "Do you also believe in the god of magic?"
"Yes." Jhaben nodded and said, "After witnessing the destruction of Styria, how could I not believe that you are the god of magic?"
Lynd could see that Jhaben's faith was different from Quellier's. Quellier truly worshipped him as a god, while Jhaben only considered Lynd a powerful spellcaster, and the so-called god of magic was merely a title, just like he was previously called the King of Asia.
However, Lynd didn't care, because when Jhaben went to Summerhall and completed the Redemption Sanctuary's trial, he would naturally change his mind.
After Lynd expressed his hope that Jhaben would go to Summerhall as soon as possible, he turned to Quellier and said, "After this, gather as much information as possible about Ulthos. If you can, find someone to establish an outpost there. I will need it in the future."
"As my Lord commands." Quellier nodded in response.
"Are you interested in the continent of Ulthos?" Jhaben interjected, "I know an adventurer who once ventured deep into Ulthos. This adventurer is now living in seclusion on Thunder Isle. I might be able to get him to come out and help."
"Is there such a talent? Very good, very good." Lynd nodded repeatedly, then said, "But for now, there's no need for him to come out and work. Wait until the Miracle Merchant Guild establishes a branch on Thunder Isle, then invite him."
Lynd then gave Quellier a few more instructions, mostly related to the future entry of the Miracle Merchant Guild into Asshai. After giving his orders, he rode Deltos and left Asshai.
Although Lynd left Deltos, the impact he caused did not diminish with his departure; instead, it intensified, forming a great disaster.
First, after Styria was destroyed and melted, the blackstone in the underground part of Styria also seemed to enter a dormant state, no longer emitting blackstone magic power.
However, the large number of monsters in the Shadow Lands that relied on blackstone magic power clearly felt the abnormality, but their limited intelligence did not understand what was happening.
The only thing they could do was to find new blackstone magic power, and the closest blackstone to the Shadow Lands was Asshai. Although the magic power contained in Asshai's blackstone and Styria's blackstone was vastly different, for those monsters already addicted to magic, they couldn't care less.
It should be known that after losing blackstone magic power, their physical condition deteriorated day by day, and they might die before long, so new blackstone magic power was their only lifeline.
This caused the monsters in the Shadow Lands to start advancing towards Asshai. These monsters were not harmonious; when they encountered each other on the way, they would attack each other, and sometimes even their own kind would attack.
The spellcasters and mercenaries from Asshai who had previously entered the Shadow Lands to investigate the decrease in Ash River water were very unlucky, encountering the monster invasion from the Shadow Lands.
Although the Shadowbinders and other spellcasters among them were also very powerful, too many monsters surged forward, and the spellcasters could not resist at all. They were quickly overwhelmed by the monster tide. With the deaths of these Shadowbinders, the most outstanding group of Shadowbinders in Asshai were all dead, leaving only ordinary Shadowbinders and some apprentices.
Among these people was a Warlock, who, before his death, directly notified his friend in Asshai through a secret art. Only then did Asshai learn what had happened in the Shadow Lands and realized that the monsters from the Shadow Lands were advancing towards Asshai, and it was foreseeable that a war would inevitably break out in Asshai.
However, for Asshai, they had not experienced war for many years, and all of Asshai's defensive arrangements were for humans, with no defensive measures against those monsters.
Upon learning that the monsters from the Shadow Lands would attack Asshai, the merchants on the dock immediately left with their people, and the dock area was almost deserted.
The departure of the merchants also led to a significant reduction in ships, so even if the spellcasters of Asshai wanted to leave Asshai to avoid the monsters from the Shadow Lands, they did not have enough ships to carry everyone.
When everyone was in a panic, Jhaben stepped forward at this time, demanding that everyone follow his command to fight against the monsters from the Shadow Lands.
Naturally, some people questioned Jhaben's self-nomination, but when they saw Jhaben display his Specialties of dark magic, these questioning people all shut their mouths. The terror of the King of Asia was awakened once again.
Subsequently, Jhaben began to arrange defensive plans according to the different types of monsters in the Shadow Lands. All the slaves were gathered, and they were given a large amount of secret potions. These potions could make the slaves fight to the death.
Although in Jhaben's view, even if all these slaves died, they might not be able to stop the monster tide from the Shadow Lands, but at least they could delay for a period of time and kill some monsters. If necessary, these slaves could be used as bait to lure the monsters into the traps he had set up beforehand.
Under Jhaben's highly efficient command, Asshai's defensive fortifications were built in just one day, and the monsters from the Shadow Lands seemed to be cooperating with Jhaben, appearing outside Asshai City after the fortifications were built.
Now it was time to test whether Jhaben's defensive plan would work.
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