Chapter 40: Sixth Rank Region
Blackened blood dripped down the carriage step ladder as Veronica kicked the humanoid monster off the sleeping mat.
“Not so tough, huh.”
Veronica clenched her hand, the metal wire reel attached to the back of her hand spinning rapidly. Inside were at least a hundred precision gears, with Eternal Force making these gears even more durable.
Three hair-thin threads retracted into the reel, each tipped with tiny barbed spikes. Controlling even one such thread was difficult, let alone three simultaneously.
Veronica’s abilities clearly leaned toward perception and interference types. She could not only isolate sound, vibrations, and energy within a three-hundred-meter radius but also possessed formidable perception.
That was why she chose such a unique weapon—three supernatural biological threads. When she first obtained them, Veronica had no idea what creature they came from, but that being had wrapped itself in these threads to fend off powerful enemies.
In terms of tensile strength, toughness, and cutting power, these biological threads completely outclassed supernatural spider silk, and they were resistant to corrosion, flames, and more.
Just as Veronica was about to step out of the carriage, she noticed an arrow drawn on the ground, pointing toward a large stretch of ruins in the distance.
The smile on Veronica’s face gradually turned wry. Should she run, or should she run, or…
“Roar!”
Another furious bellow rang out. Veronica scoffed lightly. She couldn’t perceive her surroundings while sleeping, and having just woken up, she was inevitably a bit lax.
Boom!
A thunderous crash sounded beside Veronica, sending dirt flying. She instinctively raised her arm to shield herself.
Focusing her gaze, she saw a humanoid monster pinned to the ground by a four-meter-long magma spear. The spear emitted a harsh, blazing glow. A minotaur covered in molten rock, with horns sprouting from its head, stood atop the monster.
Crack!
The skull shattered, and the blazing magma ignited the humanoid monster, flames roaring to life.
Seeing this, Veronica was certain—she absolutely couldn’t beat this magma-covered minotaur.
Amu, still dripping magma from his fingers, pointed toward the distant ruins.
“Yeah, I was thinking of meeting up with them too. Ha, haha.”
Under Amu’s guidance, Veronica entered the ruins. As soon as she stepped inside, she saw shattered, dried-up corpses everywhere. The breaks on these remains were clean, while others bore signs of gnawing, suggesting the humanoid monsters had been fighting among themselves.
The deeper she went into the ruins, the more dried corpses there were, until they formed a vast carpet.
Soon, Veronica heard sounds of battle ahead. She hid behind a broken wall and peeked toward the fighting.
What she saw startled her. At least several hundred dried-up monsters were charging at Su Xiao and the old holy man.
Beside the old holy man stood a few dried-up monsters, their eyes pitch black and their bodies several times larger than the others. They were clearly under the old holy man’s control.
The old holy man held a metal book in one hand, the other extended before him, with black energy threads clinging to a wall covered in inscribed arrays.
Veronica shifted her gaze. Compared to the old holy man’s situation, Su Xiao’s was far more dangerous. Hundreds of dried-up monsters surged toward him, threatening to engulf him entirely.
Clang.
A slash of blade light flashed, and for an instant, the surroundings seemed to darken. The hundreds of dried-up monsters suddenly halted, then shattered with a sliding sound.
Rumble~
The broken walls and debris around them were suddenly covered in slash marks, as if they had been cut hundreds of times.
Veronica’s mouth twitched. She had encountered one of those dried-up monsters earlier, and while it wasn’t too hard to deal with, if the number exceeded twenty, she would have to make a strategic retreat.
But just now, there had been at least three hundred around Su Xiao. In an instant, they were all reduced to scattered remains.
“Are all Empire dukes… this strong?”
Veronica hesitated for a moment before stepping out from behind the stone wall. She tapped her finger on the ground, and a wave of energy spread outward, enveloping the surrounding three hundred meters before stopping.
“How much longer?”
Su Xiao kicked aside a pile of monster remains nearby. The corpses were as brittle as dead branches.
“Soon. At most five minutes. Counting this sealed wall, we’ve opened seven. That should be enough.”
The old holy man waved his metal book, and the dried-up monsters he controlled collapsed to the ground.
“So this is Dead Silence City? Doesn’t look like much.”
Veronica walked over, glancing around and rubbing her hungry stomach.
“This is Suonan, just the entrance to Dead Silence City. Once we enter the city itself, it won’t be this easy. Cherish it.”
The old holy man pressed his hand against the stone wall before him, the arrays on it gradually activating.
“Easy…”
Veronica was speechless. She didn’t find it easy at all.
Crack, crack, crack…
The stone wall in front of the old holy man rapidly fractured, finally shattering with a boom.
Large chunks of stone fell to the ground without a sound. The next moment, the rubble rolled back, forming a four-meter-tall stone gate before the old holy man.
Above the gate was a sun motif, below it a moon, and at the center, a naked woman with her arms crossed over her chest, tears about to fall from her eyes.
“Light, darkness, dead silence…”
The old holy man took a deep breath and pressed the metal book against the stone gate.
A black rust gradually appeared on the gate. Seeing this, the old holy man quickly pulled the metal book away and stepped back rapidly.
Rumble…
The stone gate slowly opened, and flocculent gray-white objects drifted out from beneath it, resembling paper that had been burned and then doused with water.
“Sanctuary Stone, now!”
The old holy man directly tossed the Sanctuary Stone into his mouth. Su Xiao inserted his into a slot on his metal arm guard. Bubu Wang and Amu quickly pressed their Sanctuary Stones against their bodies.
Veronica imitated the old holy man, tossing her Sanctuary Stone into her mouth. However…
“Ugh~ Gulp~”
Veronica nearly spat the Sanctuary Stone out, but in her panic, she swallowed it directly.
An icy, bone-piercing wind rushed toward them. Su Xiao peered into the stone gate. Beyond it was a room with simple furnishings—some clay pots and bowls placed on wooden furniture, all covered in a gray-white pallor, the floor pitch black.
Su Xiao could feel that the wind wasn’t cold in temperature, yet it made his entire body shiver. His instinct was also issuing continuous warnings at maximum intensity.
“Choose. Enter or retreat. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
The old holy man’s face was slick with cold sweat, his fear unconcealed.
Thump, thump, thump…
Bubu Wang’s teeth chattered. Though terrified, if Su Xiao entered Dead Silence City, he would follow, even knowing it might mean death.
“I, I, I, can I get a refund?”
Veronica was trembling. Just looking at the gate to Dead Silence City, her perception kept warning her, as if needles were pricking her all over.
“Let’s go, Bubu, Amu.”
A smile gradually spread across Su Xiao’s face as he stepped toward the gate to Dead Silence City.
“This guy… doesn’t he feel fear?”
Veronica suddenly felt like crying. She shouldn’t have come. Dead Silence City was far more terrifying than the legends suggested.
Was Su Xiao fearless? Of course not. Every hair on his body was standing on end. But this was his choice—to be stronger than others, he had to pay more. There was no such thing as effortless strength, whether in body, ability, or spirit.
“W-wait, w-what’s that?”
Veronica pointed shakily into the gate. Su Xiao immediately stopped.
“That’s a wooden cabinet!”
Su Xiao let out a long breath, suppressing the urge to teach Veronica a lesson, and stepped through the gate.
[Warning: The Hunter has entered a super-high-rank area: Dead Silence City!]
[Because the Hunter’s rank is below Sixth Rank, all gains within Dead Silence City will be increased by an additional 20%.]