Chapter 1224: 211. Revenge
The edge of the city was even darker.
There was not even a single magic stone here. Dense mist sealed off the sky, and no light could be seen anywhere.
The silent wilderness was completely empty. The soil was so barren that not even a single weed grew from it. Compared to that prosperous and beautiful city, it was like another world.
...
Until a sudden deafening crash shattered the silence.
Something trailing a dim yellow streak flew out from within the city, smashing through an unknown number of buildings along the way before finally crashing into a hill in this barren land and coming to a complete stop.
Earth and stone shattered. Dust filled the air.
A long time passed before a hand finally reached out from within, clawing at the rubble and supporting a disheveled figure as he rose from the dirt and rocks.
“Fuck, you crazy woman!”
His yellow hair had almost turned gray. Covered from head to toe in dust, Muen did not even immediately clear away the dirt that had nearly buried him alive. He directly faced the distant silhouette of the city and began cursing at the top of his lungs:
“Fucking bitch! Damn dragon! Red-haired freak whose temper blows up faster than a boiler! Fine, I’ll leave, but why did you have to use force?”
His stomach churned violently, and his head was spinning.
Although he had suffered no other serious injuries, and Hamreign had clearly held back with that attack, using a clever application of force, Muen was still extremely unhappy.
“You think anyone wants to get involved in your damned mess? If you hadn’t forcibly dragged me here, I’d still be sleeping soundly in the arms of a beautiful girl right now!”
Muen gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling with anger.
She was seriously fucking insane!
When she needed him, she ignored everything else and simply abducted him by force.
When she no longer needed him, she still ignored everything else and kicked him aside like a piece of trash at her feet.
Did she really think he was some tool she could use whenever she wanted and throw away afterward?
Yes, perhaps in her eyes, he really was a weakling.
But...
He was still a weakling with dignity!
“Fine, I’ll leave! Whoever wants to stay in this damned place can stay! Whoever wants to deal with this troublesome mess can deal with it! I’m going home to do what people actually want to do with beautiful girls!”
Muen turned around and began walking away.
Not far from him, the enormous restriction Hamreign had first erected around the entirety of New Tars was still operating perfectly. Faint golden light flowed across it, while dark-red patterns leaped along its surface.
Muen reached out and gently touched it.
The restriction that should have sealed off everything unexpectedly opened by itself, revealing an opening just large enough for one person to pass through.
“She even opened the door for me.”
Muen’s cheek twitched violently.
“How considerate. Though I wish you’d use that consideration in other places. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so damn annoying!”
Muen directly placed one foot outside the opening.
In that instant, a freezing wind swept past and churned the dense mist before him.
The vast mist was boundless and endless. It rapidly moved to envelop Muen, making it impossible to determine any direction.
Cold.
Confusion.
The unknown.
The sense of danger brought by this enormous mist-filled region instantly diluted the anger within Muen’s heart.
Yet at this moment, what surfaced in Muen’s mind was not the question of how he was supposed to cross the mist and return home.
For some reason, he once again remembered the scene from before.
Heaven and earth were vast.
The world was dark.
Only that fiery red figure stood there alone.
Gradually being swallowed by an unknown shadow.
For some inexplicable reason, it made one feel...
“How pathetic can you be? You’re still thinking about that at a time like this?”
Muen directly slapped himself, interrupting the images appearing in his mind.
“You’re just a weakling anyway. You can’t help her. Instead of thinking about this, you should think about how to deal with Celicia’s fury after the wedding failed.”
That was right.
For him, compared to all the chaotic and upsetting matters here, the situation with Celicia was what he should be more worried about.
After all, he had been abducted directly from her wedding. Given her personality, even though she knew he had been taken against his will, she definitely would not let him off so easily.
Women were creatures who always loved being unreasonable.
“I’m really leaving. There must be some way through the mist.”
The opening was close.
The outside was also close.
Muen took one more step...
“Lord Muen.”
Someone called out to him.
“Who is it? Are you done yet? I already said I’m leaving!”
Muen was forced to turn around angrily, but when he saw that figure, he was clearly stunned for a moment.
“Morton?”
“It is me.”
Someone walked out from the darkness.
“Why are you here?”
Muen frowned.
Ever since Miss Dragon had begun sealing the buildings one by one, Muen had not seen this Proxy.
At that point, they no longer needed his help, so like the other ordinary residents, he had been placed under house arrest inside his own home.
“I came to deliver something to Lord Muen.”
“Something? What?”
“This.”
Morton took a sheet of parchment from his clothes and handed it to Muen.
Muen was filled with doubt, but he still carefully accepted it and slowly unfolded the parchment.
“This is...”
When he clearly saw its contents, Muen’s pupils abruptly contracted.
It was a topographical map.
A topographical map that was clearly different from the city blueprint Muen had obtained earlier.
Yet Muen found it very familiar.
He quickly closed his eyes.
With Miss Dragon absent, he could freely activate the Black Book. He immediately summoned the soul fragments of the two Tars survivors he had previously devoured.
Images flickered within his mental space.
Most of what he extracted from the soul fragments remained insignificant scenes.
Those survivors had lived for so long that it was impossible for them not to have guarded against soul-related methods. Their specially processed souls would not leave Muen any useful information on an informational level.
But they had not been able to completely erase every image.
There was not much information concerning New Tars. This place was likely connected to their plan, so they could not possibly allow it to be exposed.
However, deeper within their memories, in timelines far earlier within their souls, certain images Muen had previously skimmed through began to appear once again before his eyes.
They were scenes from the construction of this city.
The foundations.
The land.
The houses.
Through the diligent labor of the people and under the outstanding guidance of the “heroes,” a beautiful city rose from nothing and towered above this barren land.
But...
Only now did Muen realize that the images of the city’s construction had not appeared only once.
They had appeared...
Several times.
Previously, without the assistance of the Black Book, there had been too much fragmented information mixed together, so he had failed to notice it.
“This city was actually built more than once?”
“Yes.”
Morton answered:
“New Tars is the third version of the city. The first two attempts both failed. For certain reasons, they became ruins and could only be demolished and rebuilt.”
“Then the blueprint you gave me before...”
“Please rest assured. It was not a fake. I knew you would definitely have a way to determine whether I was lying, so it truly was the construction blueprint for this city...
“But it was only the blueprint for the third version, which means the blueprint for the current New Tars.”
Morton pointed toward the parchment.
“The first two versions are shown here.”
Muen lowered his head.
He did not say anything else. He merely took out the previous blueprint and compared it with the parchment.
Most of the lines were identical. The layout of the entire city was also basically cast from the same mold.
They had all been designed according to the true Tars from eight hundred years ago.
But the very lowest section was different.
Beneath the city, in a place even deeper than the sewers, there was another extremely complicated structure.
Muen did not know what it was, but he instinctively realized that the first two demolitions and reconstructions might have been intended to conceal the existence of that structure.
“So there’s another world hidden beneath this city?”
Muen’s expression became strange.
To be honest, this blueprint Morton had concealed...
Was actually not very useful.
Even if it had been hidden this deeply, Miss Dragon would definitely discover it as her investigation continued. It was only a matter of time.
But...
Thinking about it more carefully, after they entered the city, Avik, one of the Tars survivors, had immediately appeared.
At the time, apart from provoking slaughter and eliminating Muen, he seemed to have possessed another hidden objective.
That objective was to make Miss Dragon and Muen focus their attention first on the “people” of this city.
The blueprint itself was not important.
The order of investigation was important.
After all, there were only two of them. They could only investigate one aspect at a time and could not pay attention to everything simultaneously.
As for now...
Muen raised his head and glanced toward the distant city.
Miss Dragon probably could not spare attention for anything else at the moment.
“You actually hid something like this. Or rather...
“You actually knew this existed.”
“I am the Proxy of this city and its highest administrator, after all. Naturally, I know certain things ordinary people do not.”
“I see.”
Muen looked at Morton.
“But...
“Why are you suddenly giving it to me now?”
“...”
Morton fell silent.
Muen did not urge him. He merely watched quietly.
“Because...
“I hate them.”
After a long while, perhaps realizing that he did not have much time, Morton finally spoke.
His voice was rough and unpleasant, making Muen find it strangely unfamiliar for a moment.
“I hate those people.”
“Hate?”
Muen raised an eyebrow and suddenly realized something.
“So...
“You prayed too?”
Morton silently lifted his clothing.
Beneath the loose fabric, mutated flesh coiled around pale bones like a nest of snakes.
Through the gaps between the writhing flesh, Muen could even see Morton’s heart.
Thump, thump.
The beating heart suddenly turned...
And revealed a ferocious grin toward Muen.
“In truth, I was always on their side. I never trusted you.”
“I know.”
“It seems now that I chose the wrong side.”
Morton closed his clothing.
The elderly face that had always appeared gentle and composed was now filled with resentment.
“I...
“We respected and loved them so deeply, but they only treated us as tools.
“I cannot tolerate watching this city and its people, whom I love, being destroyed by them while being unable to do anything.
“I want...
“Revenge.”
“...”
Muen’s eyelid twitched.
Revenge?
What a familiar word.
Those survivors had been shouting about those two words not long ago.
Now, they had become the targets of revenge.
How ironic.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”
But faced with those resentful and furious eyes, Muen merely sighed and shook his head.
“Why?” Morton asked.
“Because...
“It’s too late.”
Muen answered:
“If you had brought this out earlier, Miss Dragon and I would definitely have investigated it first after discovering something abnormal.
“But you only brought it out now...
“To be honest, it can no longer change the outcome.”
From the nearby city, rumbling sounds occasionally echoed.
Those golden barriers were disappearing one after another.
Miss Dragon’s cleansing work...
Was probably progressing extremely smoothly.
At the same time, she was also stepping deeper and deeper into the enemy’s trap.
As for whether that trap would actually be effective...
That was no longer something he needed to worry about.
After all, she was the most powerful dragon.
“Is that so?”
Morton lowered his head.
“It’s good that you understand. Sorry, but I no longer intend to get involved in this matter.
“No...
“I should say I don’t even possess the qualifications to get involved.”
Muen waved his hand and prepared to leave.
“Lord Muen, do you not wish to know what is beneath the city?”
Morton suddenly asked.
“Is it important?”
Muen did not look back.
“Whatever is hidden beneath this city has nothing to do with me.”
“Then do you know what the greatest revenge would be for an insignificant tool like me?”
“Not interested. I already said that I have absolutely no...”
“To make their most important plan...
“Fail completely.”
Morton said:
“That is my greatest revenge...
“And the only revenge I am capable of carrying out.”
“...”
Muen stopped walking.
His reason was telling him not to turn around, not to turn around...
But he still turned around.
“You mean...”
“I was also among the earliest group of people who participated in constructing this city. So when the foundations were first being laid, I secretly took a look.”
Morton stared seriously into Muen’s eyes.
“I believe that what lies beneath the city may be able to help Lord Muen and the others...
“Even at a time like this.”
This city was already destined for destruction.
Those who had been Polluted were also already destined to be eliminated by Miss Dragon.
At this moment, what could possibly help Muen...
Or rather, help Miss Dragon, who was gradually stepping into the enemy’s trap?
Naturally, there was only...
“The choice is yours, Lord Muen.
“No matter what you choose, I will have no objections...
“After all, this is all I can do.”
Morton smiled faintly.
He said nothing more. After giving Muen an awkward bow, he turned around and left without the slightest hesitation.
He limped as he walked. Because of his mutations, even walking had become extremely strange and difficult.
But he still moved firmly toward the city, even though he understood what awaited him there.
“Evil dragon!”
Morton, the Proxy and highest administrator of New Tars, drew his sword.
Then...
With tears streaming down his face, he roared:
“You are not allowed to harm my people!”
...
The wind swept past, erasing Morton’s roar until only a ghostlike wail remained.
Muen stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the parchment in his hands.
Behind him, the temporarily opened passage was flickering and could disappear at any moment.
For him, as long as he left this place, as long as he took one more step, he would never again have to worry about the troublesome matters here.
The Pollution would be eliminated by Miss Dragon and would cause no harm.
He would not need to feel guilty because his hands had been stained with the blood of innocent people, because he was not the one passing judgment.
The only problem was that “hunt” involving Miss Dragon...
Involving Hamreign.
But...
What was there to worry about?
She was calamity.
She was the Dragon of Death and Doom.
She was the strongest living creature beneath the sky.
How could she possibly fall here?
More importantly, she had personally said that she did not need him.
She had directly told him to get lost.
Her decisive attitude at that moment had not seemed false in the slightest.
If he still did something unnecessary now, then would that not mean...
Slap!
Muen suddenly slapped himself again.
A very hard slap.
Gritting his teeth, he muttered with bitter frustration toward himself:
“You really are...Fucking pathetic!”