Chapter 34: The Land of Miracles
Beside the teleportation array, the female witch carrying the black wooden-handled longspear was still sitting there. She glanced at the fading light on the array, then looked at Bubu Wang and Baha.
"Truly... pitiful children."
The witch sighed. She was well aware that getting involved with Su Xiao and his group rarely ended well.
"What kind of talk is that? We weren't planning to harm her, just being cautious. Witch, which city did that girl teleport to?"
As Baha spoke, it was already contacting Su Xiao.
"The Land of Miracles: Aisenla."
The witch's eyes held longing, contempt, and helplessness. This showed just how special the Land of Miracles: Aisenla was. The people there... basked in the sunlight.
"The Land of Miracles?"
Su Xiao's voice came from somewhere. Unnoticed, he was leaning against the wall at the corner.
"Yeah, the Land of Miracles. Aisenla has everything people could desire. Wizards all live there. Helu... is just a dead city, struggling bitterly in reality."
The witch's expression turned somewhat cold. After all, the man she loved had died by Su Xiao's hands. But there was no helping it—that was the 'curse' of the Hughes family, her enemy.
The witch and Hughes Archid didn't have a touching love story. Both knew their positions were hostile. After one final encounter, the witch bit off Hughes Archid's pinky finger. From then on, they never saw each other again. And Nia was the daughter of the witch and Hughes Archid.
That meant Nia was also Hughes Archid's daughter. Hughes Archid was the previous generation's host. That was why Nia could accept Ancient God blood and possess certain Ancient God traits. This was also what Azathoth's consciousness wanted to see—he had chosen the witch.
Watching her loved one walk step by step toward death, the witch could do nothing.
"Bullshit Land of Miracles. Benefits from licking the White Goat's ass, right?"
Baha snorted disdainfully. It quickly figured out what was going on.
"If not living there, should we wait to die in Helu City? When this world gets better, what will the Land of Miracles: Aisenla look like then? I'm curious."
The witch let out a sinister laugh, then continued leaning against the wall.
"Kukulin, I wish you... die in Aisenla. You... bastard. Remember, it was you who killed... my..."
The witch's voice grew weaker until it faded completely. In life, she couldn't grow old together with Hughes Archid, so she chose to die by the same hand that killed him. Perhaps, after becoming a ghost, they might meet again by fate.
Crack, crack, crack...
Tree roots sprouted from the witch's back, burrowing into the stone wall behind her. Eventually, the witch's corpse merged into the stone wall.
This ability to generate tree roots didn't belong to Archid—it was the witch's own power. The mass of roots Hughes Archid had created was merely a form of longing, nothing more.
"Let's go."
Su Xiao stepped onto the teleportation array. From now on, the Wizard Association was essentially their base camp, even if the power structure of this base camp was somewhat chaotic.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, Amu, and Kaiser all stood on the teleportation array. Su Xiao examined the writing on the wall. There were dozens of city names, each with a different code. The code representing the Land of Miracles: Aisenla was a sun pattern.
Crack, crack, crack...
Su Xiao turned the stone disk on the wall. The teleportation array activated. Destination: the Land of Miracles: Aisenla.
With a boom, the surrounding world was "torn" into strips. As the strip-like world returned to normal, the scene before Su Xiao's eyes changed dramatically.
This was a rather dilapidated hall. The teleportation array was at its center.
"Hey buddy, don't just squat on the pot without shitting. We've been waiting a long time."
A loud male voice came. Su Xiao turned to look. It was a burly man holding a square shield and wearing heavy armor. The few men and women behind him could be identified by their attire as melee fighters, gun-wielding ranged fighters, a healer, and a support class.
This was a team of contractors. Their solemn expressions clearly indicated they were preparing for an expedition.
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"Don't worry. Once we reach Helu, we'll leave the city immediately and block the path of passing mad wizards at the city's edge. Even if Kukulin Bai Ye is domineering, he can't be wandering around Helu City's outskirts every day, right? Helu City is a high-risk area, full of treasure chests everywhere."
"High risk, high reward."
The team members whispered among themselves. From their words, Helu City was clearly a high-risk area.
What puzzled Su Xiao was that Helu, aside from being damp, sunless, rat-infested, and having hospitable Bone Harbor, was generally not that dangerous. It clearly didn't qualify as high-risk. This team didn't know which Paradise they belonged to, but their combat competence was average.
"Brother, move aside."
The burly man was getting impatient. But for some reason, he felt that the guy standing on the teleportation array looked familiar.
"Oh."
Su Xiao stepped off the array and walked toward the hall's exit. Bubu and the others followed closely.
As soon as he exited the hall, blinding sunlight met his eyes. Having not seen sunlight for days, Su Xiao squinted.
Fresh air filled his lungs. The Wizard Association branch behind him was dilapidated. The surrounding open ground was overgrown with weeds, clearly not frequented often.
[Hunter has arrived at the Land of Miracles: Aisenla. This is a low-risk area.]
[Warning: As this is a fully open Primordial World, this world is extremely special. Hunters must not actively harm allied contractors, hunters, or arbiters.]
[Darkness aura dispersing...]
[Dispersion complete.]
...
Faint black smoke rose from Su Xiao's clothes. A small patch of surrounding weeds withered and yellowed. Compared to Helu City, Aisenla was practically heaven.
Blue sky, white clouds, blazing sun overhead. A warm breeze passed by. Flocks of birds occasionally flew across the horizon.
Clearly, the Ancient Gods hadn't affected the environment here. Or rather, this place was special—a pure land left by the Ancient Gods.
After walking several hundred meters on foot, Su Xiao stepped onto a stone-paved road. A horse-drawn carriage passed by him. Though the driver wore linen clothes, his complexion was ruddy, and the brown horse was full of energy.
In Helu City, Su Xiao rarely saw large livestock like horses. First, people couldn't afford to keep them. Second, they were easily robbed and turned into food.
Gloomy, barbaric, bloody, survival of the fittest—that was Helu, a hospitable hellhole.
As for why Helu's commoners didn't move to the Land of Miracles: Aisenla, the reason was they couldn't afford the teleportation fee. Fifty silver coins each time was a sky-high price for Helu's commoners.
As for walking to Aisenla? Forget it. The wild beast tides near Helu City were no joke. The beast tides indeed didn't dare to surge into Helu City, but going too far outside the city would make you their food.
Or rather, without those commoners, Helu City would truly be dead, even becoming a place similar to Dead Silence City.
After walking a distance along the stone road, Su Xiao heard the bustling sounds of people.
Street vendors were hawking their wares. The burnt aroma from a bakery drifted far. There were many pedestrians on the street. Buildings of varying heights stood on both sides of the street.
"Oooow~"
Bubu Wang couldn't help but howl. He hadn't seen sunlight for days and wanted to run wild and let loose.
"Hey there, friend. Been waiting for you for days. Who comes to the Wizard World and immediately goes into Helu City? But... you're like a humanoid boss. Helu City actually suits you better."
A man wearing sunglasses, sitting by a roadside stall, spoke up. In his right hand was a local lizard meat skewer, and in his left hand, he held a can of beer.