Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 746

Chapter 746: 746

In the period that followed, the Black Grove of the southern wilderness became a life-devouring blackhole . It was a one-way trip regardless of how many people arrived here . The wooden stakes erected on the forest borders only grew in number, and the corpses flying on them seemed to be telling a tale of the forest’s terrors .

No one, from lone assassins to hundred-men mercenary corps, could escape this fate .

For a time, even the greediest and most bloodthirsty of criminals began to hesitate because one would need to be alive to receive the reward . Now that things had reached such a state, everyone understood that the two youngsters were fitting of the reward . Other famous characters couldn’t help but secretly weigh how much the Wolf King would be willing to offer if they were in Qianye’s shoes . The results weren’t always satisfactory—some were worth a few thousand and others, twenty . To be frank, those worth over fifty thousand wouldn’t be doing such risky businesses .

In the neutral lands, every gold coin of bounty was worth its value .

But these mercenaries and assassins were like hungry vultures . They were unwilling to give up despite being clear about the situation . They held onto the fantasy that Qianye would grow tired and make a mistake under the combined assault of the wolf pack . If they were lucky enough to encounter a heavily wounded Qianye, it would change their lives forever . This was worth gambling for .

Some shrewd people believed Qianye couldn’t have produced such accomplishments . They felt that the youngsters were only there as bait, while the true expert was waiting in the shadows .

All kinds of guesses and conjectures were made . It was just that all these mercenaries and assassins kept them a secret, unwilling to exchange information amongst themselves . Everyone was afraid of losing this vast amount of wealth to another .

The situation in the Dark Grove fell into an eerie calm as all squads deliberately maintained a fair distance from the forest . After all, those who could fight freely in the woods were rare—most of them had already entered the woods long ago and become hanging corpses .

Two weeks thus went by peacefully . Things were so calm that many realized that something was wrong . They began talking to each other and found that there hadn’t been a single battle in the recent period . Only then did they realize that Qianye might’ve left .

That was only a guess . They still didn’t dare act carelessly because they would become targets if this were a trap . As such, the cautious mercenary companies began exploring the area little by little . At this rate, their investigation would take half a day and still not cover the entire forest .

Qianye and Nighteye were already in Port City as the situation in the Black Grove fell into an impasse .

The old airship was puffing clouds of steam and emitting ear-splitting rumbles as it swayed toward the airship port . About ten meters from the ground, the unsteady descent turned into a freefall, and the airship slammed into the landing platform . The impact was no different from a crash, but the sturdy vehicle somehow remained intact even after such a landing .

The airship doors opened up and the passengers walked out of the airship one after the other . Despite experiencing this massive jolt, many of the passengers seemed fine and their expressions, unchanged . Apparently, all of them were used to riding such old airships . Some started vomiting after exiting the airship, desperate to squeeze their stomachs out .

The guards nearby glanced disdainfully at those who were throwing up . “More newbies . ”

An old veteran said meaningfully, “Newbies are good . ”

A couple of other soldiers broke into an evil laugh .

However, there were also some exceptions among the newcomers⁠—Nighteye and Qianye for instance . Their physical strength allowed them to endure the rolling of advanced high-speed airships for an entire day, not to mention this little jolt .

After walking off the airship, Nighteye glanced into the distance . “That’s Port City?”

Qianye also looked over at the surroundings and said, “This should be it . There are only grasslands and farms in the surrounding areas . ”

“This rundown city isn’t much better than that small town of ours . Well, there’s a small area over there that’s well built . ”

Qianye smiled . “Interesting, half of it is built in the vampire style and the other in human fashion . ”

“Let’s go and take a look . ”

“Leave that for when we’re free . We need to find the old man first . ”

The guards and passengers nearby were stunned upon hearing their casual conversation . Everyone looked in the same direction, but all they could see was a faint mist hanging in the air . Being able to see a couple hundred meters could already be considered great eyesight .

Port City was quite misty and would often be shrouded in it in the mornings and evenings . The mist rising from the Eastern Sea, regardless of thickness, possessed the ability to insulate perception . The stronger one’s cultivation and perception, the farther one could see through the mist . That was why the eyesight test had always existed throughout the history of the neutral lands . Numbered targets would be placed inside the mist when it arose . The further away one could see, the better one’s perception and eyesight . Many major powers would use this method to choose snipers and scouts .

However, this test was usually performed in a thin mist . Otherwise, no one could see very far, and it would be harder to differentiate the distance . The highest historical record for this test was only a thousand meters .

The airship port was covered in a thin mist at this moment . Port City was over a thousand meters away, and the city lord’s mansion and the noble district lay even further . Yet Qianye and Nighteye could both see them so clearly . Didn’t this mean that their visual acuity had set a new record in the Eastern Sea?

The two began walking toward Port City while chatting casually . Watching their receding figures, the soldiers were first shocked, and then their expressions became odd . One of the young guards spat loudly, saying, “They must’ve come here before and know what the city looked like . It’s probably an act!”

The veteran said calmly, “Their combat strength isn’t low . Why would these important characters need to act in front of small fries like us?”

“That’s hard to say . Maybe they want someone else to see their act . ” The young soldier wasn’t satisfied .

“Makes sense . ” The old veteran seemed lost in thought .

Nighteye’s surprise wasn’t unwarranted . Port City’s status was similar to Blackflow City in its later stages, virtually a nation of its own . It was located at the junction of many powers, and while nominally belonging to Zhang Buzhou, everything was decided solely by the hereditary city lord . They needed only to submit a set amount of tax each year .

Such a city with tens of thousands of citizens was actually quite run-down . A large area of the place was filled with small shacks, not even five-story buildings . Although the small town near the Black Grove had been destroyed, one could squeeze it into the shabbiest slums in Port City, and it would still fit in . Only the noble district, which occupied one-fourth of the city, was more or less presentable . Even there, the highest building was only six floors high . Be it in terms of empire or Evernight standards, this Port City was no different from a junkyard . No wonder Nighteye was so astonished .

Evernight enjoyed a long heritage that far exceeded the empire, with no lack of grand, ancient architecture . Take the vampire race for instance—even a castle built by the last-ranked among the ancient clans would be a magnificent sight to behold . Any small town in the core region of Evernight would be better developed than Port City .

Entering the city, Qianye was assaulted by a wave of liveliness . There were shops lining every road and street, with young staff everywhere welcoming customers into their stores . The stream of people was rather impressive, and the city, almost unbearably crowded . Everyone seemed to be in a great hurry, as evidenced by their body language .

Qianye had never encountered such a bustling place apart from a few of the most thriving imperial cities . He stopped a passerby and asked, “Is there any celebration going on? It’s so lively . ”

The man sized Qianye up from head to toe and said with a snort, “What celebration? It’s like this every day, so ignorant!”

Qianye wanted to ask more, but that man waved his sleeve impatiently . “Are you done yet? I’m dealing with several gold coins with every wave of the hand . How can I have the idle time to answer your questions . My time is precious, country bumpkin!”

The passerby left hurriedly, almost as though he had an important duty on his shoulders⁠—it seemed as if world peace depended on his style .

Qianye was left dumbstruck and only came to after a while . He took a look at himself . Doubtlessly, he was clad in warrior’s attire and sported a weapon belt as well as a backpack . That was the standard hunter’s outfit, a fashion that could be seen everywhere in the city . He looked about but couldn’t quite figure out what had made the other party look down on him so badly .

Perhaps that person was a hidden expert with outstanding eyesight who knew at a glance that Qianye was from a small town in the southern wilderness .

Just as he was thinking randomly, Qianye saw Nighteye giggling cheerfully .

As such, Qianye dispensed with the posturing and humbly asked her for guidance . Just what about him had given away his identity as a country bumpkin . Or was that person a divination master who knew he had grown up in a dumpster?”

Nighteye pointed at Qianye’s body while giggling radiantly .

Qianye observed his equipment once more but still couldn’t find the problem . As such, he had no choice but to ask with a thick face .

Seeing Qianye checking his attire, Nighteye bent over in laughter . “What I meant is… look at your origin power level . ”

Qianye was immediately enlightened . To avoid unnecessary troubles, Qianye had modified his appearance and used Bloodline Concealment to retract his aura . In the eyes of other people, he was only a rank-three fellow . People of such rank made up the bulk of the imperial army, and it was the minimum threshold to enter the elite corps . In the neutral lands, however, they were a dime a dozen . There was only one reason for this—the weaker ones couldn’t survive here .

After all that fuss, that passerby was also one of those people who measured heroes in terms of origin power . Moreover, he could only see through the surface .

Qianye shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry . “Oh well, let’s find a place to stay and look for the old man . ”