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However, every pro has its con. The cursed land of the Half-Orc Wastelands had always been a natural barrier for the Orc Alliance. If it were to return to its normal natural state, not only would human armies immediately attack, but the golden trade route, which is my source of wealth, would become a joke. Therefore, before my official campaign into the human world, I would need to hide this divine artifact's brilliance.

Fortunately, the northern ice fields have once again fallen under the curse of a forbidden spell, preventing the orc armies from breaking out of the canyon and continuously clearing the remnants of the barbarian tribes in the frozen tundra, eliminating these hidden dangers. In a few years' time, when the great canyon is passable once more, the barbarians who have regained their strength will undoubtedly contend for this land. Due to the lingering effects of the forbidden curse, only barbarians can permanently reside in the Crystal Gorge, and orcs are completely unable to live there long-term, making it impossible to establish a fortress. This situation was also the original plan of the Temple. They did not anticipate that the forbidden curse "Tears of the Firmament" would fail to kill hundreds of thousands of orc elites, and the orc invasion of the human world would remain inevitable. If the orcs successfully reclaim their former Golden Plains, their strength would undoubtedly surge, and the barbarians might not pose as significant a threat by then.

However, for me, this land of death is akin to a second golden trade route. Although the northern tundra is said to be infertile, its resources are extremely precious. Rare medicinal herbs, superior cold iron, premium ice crystals, monster hides, and crystal cores are all treasures worth tens of thousands of gold on the continent. The surrounding North Ice Sea holds countless treasures. The orcs who built Hurricane Fortress and later allied with the barbarian tribes of the Temple profited greatly from this trade. My ice-element white dragon mount "Winter Night," a native of the Arctic tundra, knows the resource distribution here well and can suppress barbarian resistance, potentially turning them into highly-priced slaves. Moreover, on the tundra, Winter Night's strength reaches its peak, and with his mid-tier level 10 capabilities, he can even challenge high-tier level 10 dragons of other elements. With him by my side, I can roam the entire tundra freely.

According to the customs of the Orc Alliance, just as when I seized Fontainebleau, if I retake the Crystal Gorge—a desolate land abandoned by the alliance—and build a castle there, it will become my territory, untakable by anyone. Once commercial activities are established here, orc tribes along the thousand-mile trade route from here to Fontainebleau will benefit, thereby elevating my status within the Orc Alliance. With Snowflake Harbor now under our control, we can also open a route to Flower Plains Golden City, ensuring that no one can suppress or exploit any of my trade routes.

With the "Mystic Pulse Aura," Siegfried's speed was astonishing. He retrieved Gaia's Tear in just half a day.

Accompanied by hundreds of bodyguards, Catherine and I set out toward the Crystal Gorge. The journey from Snowflake Harbor to the original Hurricane Fortress would typically take three days, but with my Mystic Pulse Aura accelerating the wolf knight forces, we reached our destination within a day, giving me a more direct understanding of the aura's effects.

My beloved companion beast, Icewind, had already perished, and the dragon "Winter Night" was unsuitable to accompany the wolf cavalry. So, I casually mounted a white giant wolf. Normally, a contracted Dragon Knight cannot use another mount, as it would be considered an insult to the dragon. However, my bond with Winter Night runs deeper than the Dragon Knight contract, so he had no objection to my actions. As soon as we entered the hundred-mile radius of the former Hurricane Fortress site, an intense, bone-chilling sensation enveloped everyone's heart. Even those with thick-furred mounts and ordinary wolf knights, as well as high-ranking individuals like Catherine and me who were already impervious to cold and heat, could not escape this chill. It seems that the legend about the forbidden spell's power ignoring all defenses is true, which bears a striking resemblance to the slowing effect of my "Holy Grail Aura."

I had to take out Gaia's Tear. The artifact was stored in a small box crafted with a magic array mimicking the "Gate of the Twelve Zodiac Houses," suppressing most of its power. The moment I opened the box, everyone immediately felt a sense of relief as the chilling power dissipated, leaving only the natural low temperature, which no longer affected us.

This thumb-sized divine artifact in the form of a bead was indeed extraordinary. Within a radius of a hundred meters, the residual power of the forbidden spell was instantly absorbed. When left in a specific location, its influence gradually expanded. I tested it, and within half an hour, the affected area expanded from a hundred meters to three hundred meters. Although the expansion slowed down later, it would only take a year or two to cover the entire forbidden spell-affected region.

Confident in our martial prowess, Catherine and I decided that our rear guard, more suited to serving than guarding, would not be needed for our deeper exploration into the forbidden zone. So, we ordered them to set up camp on the spot while Catherine and I proceeded together.

The original Crystal Gorge was a massive canyon stretching fifty kilometers long, with towering cliffs on both sides, perpetually covered in snow and ice, battered by gale-force winds. Hurricane Fortress, built at the most strategic point of the gorge, completely blocked passage from both sides. After years of fortification, it stood majestic and grand, like a mighty city. However, when Catherine and I arrived here swiftly, we were greeted by an unbelievable and eerie sight.

A crystal sands—that was our first impression upon seeing the scene before us. The mountains revealed a vast valley basin, with the edges disappearing into distant mountain ranges, leaving only a dark mountain silhouette. In the central part of the basin, a vast expanse of pure white, glittering fine sand covered the ground over an area many times larger than the West Lake of the previous world. The sand dunes, shaped by the mountain breezes in the gorge, transformed the entire valley into a frozen sea of white waves, with countless cold mists rising and swirling above the sand, creating a dreamlike and illusory spectacle that even the mountain breezes could not dispel.

"Truly astonishing," I couldn't help but remark. "Although I've studied the power of forbidden spells in detail, observing it in this core area gives me a deeper understanding of its immense scale. Just seven days ago, this was a canyon amidst a range of mountains. Now, it has become a boundless basin, large enough to fit the fifty largest cities of humanity. The area directly hit by the forbidden spell covered a twenty-kilometer diameter, and the impact from the explosion obliterated the surrounding mountains, creating this vast wilderness. The shattered rocks and earth, mixed with ice, turned into sand and dust, settling in the lowest central area to form this sea of crystal sand."