Chapter 12: The Spark
The rolling hills at the end of the Aias Mountains stretched all the way to the heart of the northern plains. Even travelers who had reached the great canyon within the garrison range of the Ural Fortress could faintly see the slightly raised rocky mounds on the vast plain.
As all travelers walking along the main road could see, on one side of the Ural Mountains, which divided the Northern Lands from the Central Region, lay a narrow, elongated canyon that extended to the western seas. The massive rift, formed by tens of millions of years of tectonic movement between two continents, might one day become the embryo of another ocean. But for now, it was merely a channel connecting countless underground water systems. At the bottom of the canyon, the merged subterranean rivers surged violently, flowing into the distance. Above the canyon, a colossal bridge spanning hundreds of meters connected both sides.
This was the border between the Moldavia Territory and the central region of the Northern Empire—the Ural Mountains Fortress.
Historically, King Aias had sounded the horn of the first era of expansion here. Countless knights, pursuing glory, ventured deep into the barbaric snowfields, incorporating the current Frozen Plains, the Aias Mountains, and the Sea of Bewilderment at the edge of the world into the Empire's territory. Now, as the central hub connecting the Northern Lands and the Central Region, the Ural Fortress had gradually become a bustling metropolis.
Year 834 of the Falling Stars Era, April 5th, Empire Central Region Border, Ural Mountains, Ural Fortress.
Pushing through the endless flow of people, Joshua and his two weapons sat in a carriage made of steel-core wood and dragon-pattern wood, passing through the fortress's inspection checkpoint at a steady pace. Upon the coachman's prompt, the inspecting soldiers noticed the faintly visible Sword-Holding Hand emblem on the carriage and tacitly stepped back, allowing the unremarkable yet unusually sturdy carriage to enter the fortress smoothly.
Ever since he had rejected Nostradamus's proposal last time, Joshua had prepared to set out alone. However, he didn't want to just find a random teleportation array and 'poof' his way to the Imperial Capital—while teleportation magic was convenient, it was far too boring. So, after several master tailors had finished his formal attire, the warrior packed his luggage, boarded the carriage, and leisurely set off on the road to the capital.
Although this behavior was time-consuming and seemingly pointless, for Joshua, the sights and experiences along the way were a perfect opportunity to re-examine this familiar yet unfamiliar world. The coachman skillfully guided the horses, turned a corner, and steered the carriage onto the fortress's central avenue.
The journey from the main city of Moldavia to the Ural Fortress was quite pleasant and relaxing. Free from administrative affairs, the warrior could calm his mind and enjoy the early spring scenery.
Beside the Ural Fortress, an artificial river sparkled golden under the sunlight. Lush green grass stretched from the riverbank of this moat all the way to the forest at the foot of the mountains. Since the fortress housed sawmills and water mills, a tributary had been diverted from this artificial river into the city, bringing with it the fresh scent of mountain vegetation. The carriage followed this river toward the city center. Lin had already moved to sit beside the elderly coachman, humbly learning the technique of driving multiple warhorses simultaneously, while Ying gazed curiously out the window, admiring the cityscape, so different from Moldavia's main city.
Joshua also smiled as he watched the scenery outside the carriage window and the bustling, hurried passersby, feeling an extraordinary sense of relief.
Ah, people really need to relax sometimes. He had been working too hard over the past year, with one major event after another, leaving no time to catch his breath. If it weren't for this trip to the Imperial Capital, he wouldn't have been able to set aside his duties and truly rest for a few days, traveling and sightseeing.
Of course, at their current pace, they definitely wouldn't make it to the capital in a few days—whether they could even pass through the Ural Fortress's jurisdiction was questionable. But once they entered the Empire's central region, Joshua and his companions could easily use the local cities' teleportation arrays to reach the foot of the Imperial Capital's mountain, so there was no need to worry about being late.
"If you two want to go out and look around, then go ahead."
Suddenly, Joshua spoke to his two weapons, startling both Ying and Lin. Lin re-entered the carriage and exchanged glances with his sister. Ying, though she had been staying inside the carriage, also wondered why their master had suddenly had this idea.
What does master want to do?
Their confusion was written plainly on their faces.
Joshua saw their expressions—but what other thoughts could the warrior have? He simply noticed that Ying and Lin seemed curious, so he let them go out and have some fun on their own. Since this trip was meant for relaxation, there was no need to stick together all the time. He had a connection with both of them and wasn't worried about them getting lost.
As for danger, Joshua wasn't concerned at all. Both Ying and Lin possessed Silver High-rank strength. If he, their master, put in some effort, they could even advance to Gold-rank. Even if some slaver or other villain took a liking to their appearances, it would be the villains who would suffer, not them.
"Then... we're going?"
Before leaving, Lin stood by the roadside, hesitantly looking up at Joshua in the carriage. He said softly, "You're not joking, are you?"
"Of course not. Go ahead, just don't spend all the money."
Joshua shrugged and nodded to Ying, who was also standing nearby with a skeptical look. "If you want to go, go. Don't look so suspicious."
Watching the two disappear around the corner of the central avenue, Joshua nodded slightly, then unfolded the city map provided in the carriage. After a brief glance, he set his next destination—a somewhat renowned alchemist. He had some matters to ask an alchemist about.
But just as he was about to instruct the coachman to change direction and head to the southern district of the city, Joshua suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
This chill did not come from the temperature of the air, nor from some unknown enemy, but from the depths of his soul.
—A distant altar.
The eerie ritual was nearing its end. The armor placed on the obsidian altar had been shattered piece by piece under the erosion of black tentacles, leaving only countless fragments and dark brown blood scabs. The blood-drawn array on the dome, supported by eight stone pillars inscribed with countless blasphemous curse runes, flickered with an indescribable chaotic aura, spreading toward the void in some unknowable distant place.
"Chaos above all!"
With a simple, crisp incantation, the armor fragments were completely dissolved by a darkness originating from the void. The dark brown blood scabs seemed to regain vitality, transforming into fresh plasma. However, the green blood from the orc was instantly obliterated by a powerful force upon manifestation, leaving only a few traces of dark red blood wrapped in black tentacles, trembling like red beads.
"Blood sacrifice to our god!"
Beside the altar, a tall figure suddenly cut open its own forelimb, spilling its blood onto the ground's runic patterns. As the patterns flickered, the blood beads suspended above the altar were instantly evaporated by a terrifying, malevolent force. A black-red mist filled the air above the altar, then was completely absorbed by the obsidian altar. Afterward, as if it had obtained something essential, the altar began to fully activate. Already floating in midair, it slowly rose and rotated. The two massive figures that had been chanting the incantation now bowed respectfully, expressing their fear and awe at the sight before them.
The obsidian altar flickered with blood-red runes, radiating an unceasing glow. With each rotation of the altar, the dome's array and the runes on the pillars pulsed like breathing, once for each turn. The altar's rotation sped up, and the pulsing grew faster and faster, until finally, the madly spinning altar suddenly stopped, and the array ceased its rotation. But by then, the void had been torn open. A powerful, malevolent will descended silently upon this place, and after confirming certain information, it broke through the air toward a specific direction.
The speed of thought and will was faster than light, a power unbound by time. The moment the ritual was complete, the curse simultaneously descended upon Joshua, who was far away in the Ural Fortress.
In that instant, Joshua instinctively felt immense terror. His muscles, harder than steel, tensed abruptly. His heart pounded violently, surging life energy throughout his body to resist the unknown danger.
But the curse's power arrived so swiftly that any defense seemed sluggish in comparison. Just as Joshua frowned and was about to unleash his full strength, the sinister force broke through his yet-to-be-mobilized protective energy, plunging straight into the warrior's soul.
Ying and Lin, who had been walking hand in hand down the street, were happily listening to an elven bard sing an epic about King Aias. But suddenly, they stared in shock toward the distance. Their bodies trembled violently, flickering with obvious fluctuations, as if experiencing a poor connection.
"Master?!"
Before they could finish speaking, their slowly collapsing psionic bodies suddenly stabilized. As Ying and Lin looked on in confusion, an intangible, formless light of order, containing only the power of [Purification], suddenly erupted from the northern side of the city. It transformed into a pillar of light—invisible to ordinary people but glaringly obvious to professionals, its brightness even surpassing the sun. It shot straight into the sky, as if piercing an infinite point in the distance, vanishing into the void.
At the center of this pillar of light, a black-haired man pressed one hand against his chest, tightly gripping the treasure hanging there. His entire body burned with a translucent flame. This flame was utterly unlike any mundane fire; it seemed to be the origin of life, the source of existence, the most fundamental power that allowed all things to survive.
[Spark: Lv1]
(To be continued.)