Chapter 38: Departure
Looking down at the large cloth sack filled with black stone coins at her feet, Veronica swallowed hard. She was a transcendent, yes, but this continent was no longer an era dominated by such beings.
Under the onslaught of armies, even transcendents struggled to protect themselves, so they dared not act recklessly. Most transcendents had loose employment relationships with the empire or some noble family.
Armies weren't omnipotent. For things like exploring secret realms, assassinations, or searching for treasures and antiques, transcendents were far more efficient.
Even so, wild transcendents still didn't have it easy. Take Veronica, for example. As a transcendent, she didn't worry about daily expenses, but purchasing mystical items cost a fortune.
At her poorest, Veronica had even stolen sections of the city wall's railing and sold them to an iron merchant—scrap metal, basically. However, those railings were forged from vortex-pattern steel, worth about one-fifth the price of silver by volume.
"All this... is mine?"
Veronica grabbed her loose belt and hitched it up. This girl's pants always seemed like they might fall off at any moment.
"That's right. It's three in the afternoon now. We set out at six tomorrow morning. Until then, you can squander this however you like within the holy city."
Su Xiao didn't look at Veronica. He was sketching a rough map. The old divine stick had already told him the approximate location of the Dead Silence City.
The entrance to Dead Silence City was in the northern part of the continent, about two days' journey from the holy city. It was a ruined city. During the Black King's reign, Dead Silence City had once tried to assimilate the continent. The first to suffer was a city called Suonan.
In just half an hour of assimilation, Suonan City was completely absorbed. The residents of Dead Silence City burst out from there, but the Black King led his Black Armor Army to repel them. After the battle, only 50,000 of the 970,000 Black Armor soldiers remained, and all showed signs of assimilation.
"Aren't you afraid I'll take the money and flee the holy city?"
Veronica stood by the window, one hand holding up her waistband, the other carrying the large cloth sack.
Su Xiao just glanced at her. Veronica tilted her head and leaped out the window.
"Stop right there!"
Shouts came from below the castle. Two minutes later, under the "escort" of over a hundred soldiers, Veronica obediently left the estate through the main gate.
"Not a bad choice. I'll prepare the rest. Kukulin, may the gods protect us."
"The gods were all killed by the Black King long ago."
"Perhaps."
The old divine stick left behind this meaningful remark, pushed open the door, and walked out of the room.
...
The next morning, six o'clock, at the city gate.
A carriage stopped before the gate. Its massive metal compartment was particularly eye-catching, bearing an emblem of a wolf's head and lion's tail, its back covered in sharp spines.
The soldiers at the gate stood in two rows. They didn't conduct their usual inspections; they just stood at attention.
The carriage slowly rolled out of the city. The driver was Amu, clumsily handling the horses. Inside the carriage, Veronica pinched her nose with one hand.
"Ah-choo!"
Bubu Wang sneezed and, helpless, stuck its head out the window.
"What's with this woman? Why does she smell like fish?"
Pinching her nose, Veronica's voice came out muffled.
"This is a mermaid. You may respectfully address her as Queen Moon."
The old divine stick's expression was calm as he supported the puppet-like Queen Moon.
"A mermaid?"
Veronica reached out to pull at the white cloth covering Queen Moon's lower body, but the old divine stick slapped her hand away. This girl was a bit too familiar.
"Young people should learn some manners."
The old divine stick smiled warmly at Veronica, his expression clearly saying: "Child, I advise you to be kind."
"Tch, so stingy. I just wanted to know how mermaids pee."
"..."
The old divine stick's smile grew even gentler.
"Just kidding~ Don't be so serious. You guys have no sense of humor. But seriously, aren't we going to Dead Silence City? No formations or star charts? Just riding a carriage there? That's the legendary City of Death and Silence. When I was little, my grandma used to scare me with Dead Silence City."
Veronica hitched up her loose belt again. This wasn't just a decoration; it was a mystical item she'd obtained by chance. Its effect was to slow the rate of life loss, but the downside was that it made her pants fall off easily—and this couldn't be prevented by physical means. Not only was it embarrassing, but it could also be dangerous, like tripping over fallen pants while running away. That would be a crying shame.
This item was called "Wildness of the Ancient Elves." Wearing it slowed the rate of aging. If someone would normally live 50 years, wearing this could extend their life to at least 80. When injured, it also slowed the loss of life force, reducing the speed of death.
But in this world, mystical items had both benefits and drawbacks. The easy-to-lose-pants issue was embarrassing, but compared to the gains, it was negligible.
After long use, Veronica had discovered the belt's quirk: the tighter her pants, the stronger the side effect. Once, she tried wearing tight pants, and the belt actually pulled her into a handstand. Even now, recalling it made her slap her face with a "smack" to dispel the awkward image.
Conversely, the looser the pants, the less likely they were to fall off. Veronica always felt she was using this item wrong—very wrong.
"A nursery rhyme? Is it like this: 'Dead Silence City, empty and bare, where do you come from, where do you go? Escape outside, dragged back in...'"
Before the old divine stick could finish the rhyme, Veronica hugged her shoulders and rubbed her arms.
"Stop it. That's a childhood trauma."
"Who told you it was a nursery rhyme..."
"!"
Veronica stared at the old divine stick in shock, her expression gradually turning serious.
"Then... that was..."
Veronica was starting to feel uneasy.
"That was a rumor. Believe me, the person who made up that rhyme definitely never went to Dead Silence City themselves. It's a place filled with death, despair, and terror."
The old divine stick's eyelids drooped, his whole face turning sinister.
"Let me tell you what Dead Silence City is really like."
"No, please! I knew that 5 million black stones weren't easy money..."
The journey turned out surprisingly lively. The old divine stick had nothing better to do than scare Veronica. Bubu Wang seemed to find the fun in it and joined in, but soon enough, the old divine stick started telling ghost stories, and Bubu Wang was cowering in a corner, trembling.
Time passed quickly, but before they reached Dead Silence City, Su Xiao received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Notification: Main Quest·Second Ring is about to reach its time limit.]
Seeing this, Su Xiao had no choice but to complete the second ring of the quest. If his guess was correct, the third ring should be the final task.
The World Core tied to Su Xiao's wrist disappeared. He simply pulled off the thin rope tied to his arm guard.
[You have obtained the Black King's Soul.]
[Main Quest Third Ring has been activated.]
[Main Quest: Night King]
Difficulty Level: Lv.46
Quest Information: Ensure the third "King" ascends to the throne.
Hint: If the Hunter chooses to ascend the throne, there is a high chance of being assimilated by Dead Silence City.
Quest Duration: Eight natural days.
Quest Reward: True Attribute Points ×3.
Quest Penalty: Forced execution.
...
[Notification: The Hunter has entered a special area. As the Hunter's rank is below Sixth Rank, you have triggered a hidden quest.]
[Hidden Quest: Silence of Birth]
Difficulty Level: Lv.53
Quest Brief: Destroy the Birth Hall.
Quest Information: The Birth Hall is located within Dead Silence City.
Quest Duration: Ten natural days.
Quest Reward: Epic Rank Optional Chest.
Quest Penalty: All Attributes -5 points.
Hint: This quest can be abandoned within 5 minutes.
...