Chapter Ninety: Loss
Tingfeng City is nearly one-third smaller than Dongyuan City. It was also, in the past, a mountain city.
After half a day’s journey, Zhao Nan and Feina had already reached the outer perimeter of Tingfeng City’s walls. The walls were covered with countless scars, as conspicuous as glass scraped by a cat’s claws.
A single glance at those ramparts was enough to imagine the tragedy that had befallen Tingfeng City when the monsters stormed the gates. In truth, Tingfeng City was not alone; many other cities had fallen after the first monster siege. The surviving players could only endure the harshest of lives.
In the past, as city functions were opened up and the map expanded, Zhao Nan had once seen a city that had already been breached by monsters. At that time, fewer than a hundred people still remained inside that entire city.
Their equipment could almost be called the finest of the finest, yet when they encountered an exploration team, they were like helpless children, barely able to stop themselves from breaking into tears. For a whole year, they had remained the only ones left in the city.
...
...
Outside the walls, there were now far more safe zones. Zhao Nan could see small clusters of people setting up tents and living beneath the open sky. The areas closer to the city were of a lower level, and monsters there dropped food less often. However, because the monsters were weaker, they were comparatively safer. Probably in hopes of finding food faster, some were willing to pitch their tents in these safe zones outside the city.
After all, the city inside was even more dangerous than the space beyond the walls. As Zhao Nan knew, once a monster siege succeeded, the surviving monsters would immediately carve out territory for themselves within the city. Usually, when the siege ended, most of what remained inside would be high-level monsters that had originally been stationed at the edges.
The present Tingfeng City could be said to be another nest for all kinds of level-20 monsters. Of course, higher monster levels also meant a greater chance of dropping all sorts of items. The only question was whether one had enough strength to obtain what was needed from those monster hordes.
“Where are we going now?” Feina could not help frowning.
After enduring the first monster siege in Dongyuan City, players there had fallen into gloom; here, what met the eye was only wandering despair. Such a suffocating atmosphere naturally did little for one’s spirits.
“To take a look at Tingfeng City’s Soul Crystal.”
Zhao Nan studied the map of this area. Because the city had already fallen, even though they were within Tingfeng City’s range, the map showed only a simple name, without any of the city’s landmarks or notable buildings.
“Once the Soul Crystal’s health reaches zero, it won’t disappear. It will only lose its light...” Zhao Nan said, looking at Feina. “As long as we find a way to restore its radiance, the city’s original appearance will return.”
“You know how to restore the Soul Crystal?” Feina asked with delight.
Zhao Nan shook his head. “That part is troublesome... Generally speaking, the method for restoring each Soul Crystal is different. You only know what is required after you go and see it. And besides, near the Soul Crystal in a fallen city, there will inevitably be the strongest monster on the entire map guarding it.”
“The strongest?”
Zhao Nan nodded and said in a grave voice, “Yes, the strongest. A mutated king monster, even more powerful than the dungeon bosses that have already been opened.”
And beside that mutated king monster, there would certainly be many formidable mutated elite monsters as well. A single mutated elite monster was already comparable to the king monster of its original kind. Moreover, so long as the mutated king monster remained alive, those mutated elite monsters would continue to spawn endlessly.
The hope of restoring the city lay there, but so did despair.
“This is no different from driving people to extinction!” Feina said, shaking her head.
“Who knows...”
Zhao Nan sighed. Whether this was truly a matter of extermination or not, the only way for him to leave this place was to restore the Soul Crystal and carve a path out with his own hands.
Otherwise, no one knew how long he would have to endure here before the nearby city maps opened and he encountered people from other cities... If the neighboring cities had also fallen in monster sieges, then the situation would likely be even worse. Thus, the only way to break this deadlock was for him to take the initiative and restore the Soul Crystal himself.
Even with High Bright Sunshine’s support from Dongyuan City, Zhao Nan had no wish to waste his days away here. In a place like this, even if he were given a year or even two, at best he would only gain two or three levels.
After a brief discussion, the two headed toward the nearest safe zone outside the city wall. Since they were unfamiliar with the land, they needed more accurate information before they could proceed.
Within the safe zone before them stood three crude tents. Two of them were open, yet empty. At that moment, from inside the third tent not far away, a scream suddenly rang out.
Only one cry, which quickly stopped, as if severed by something, though faint sobbing could still be heard.
The two frowned and walked over. As they reached the tent, they first heard the voices inside.
“Bro, you can’t snatch the left leg from me!”
“Who’s snatching from you? Look, this big white sheep can’t even resist. We can do whatever we want with her... Otherwise, how about we have some fun?”
“Get lost. If you want fun, go have it yourself. I want to eat!”
“Haha, let’s hope you don’t get sick to your stomach!”
Then came the sound of tearing cloth, and a woman’s muffled, pitiful sobs drifted into the ears of the two outside. A trace of coldness flashed in Zhao Nan’s eyes. He drew a sharp breath and yanked the tent wide open.
Inside, two men were pinning a girl beneath them. Her clothes had already been torn in several places; one of the men was preparing to do something filthy, while the other had placed the girl’s left leg to his mouth and bitten through it, blood gushing everywhere!
The girl’s face was already streaked with tears, and when she suddenly saw someone appear, her eyes flew wide open, wide open!
The two men also noticed someone had arrived and stood up at once, looking startled.
The man with blood in his mouth licked the stains at the corner of his lips and sneered, “Friend, it’s best not to meddle... We can’t even finish eating such a big white sheep. At most, we’ll share some with you!”
“Save me...”
“Shut up!” Another burly man slapped the girl hard across the face, knocking her unconscious at once. Only then did he look back, his eyes fixed on Feina and refusing to move away. He said directly, “No. This fresh meat is too good to eat. Let this woman spend one night with me, and I might still consider it!”
“Think carefully. We’re both level 20!” the blood-mouthed man said with repeated sneers.
“Feina... sword, give it to me!”
“What are you going to do?”
The two men were clearly not stupid. Seeing Zhao Nan swiftly draw a long sword from his companion, they immediately went on guard.
A glint of cold light flashed by, followed by a spray of hot blood. The man with blood in his mouth had already been beheaded.
The other man’s eyes flew open, filled with utter disbelief... This fellow’s speed was simply too fast!
But at that instant Zhao Nan already held the sharp sword and was plainly bringing it down upon him. In the blink of an eye, the man hurriedly swung the knight’s sword in his hand, the hilt just in time to block the horizontal slash of the blade!
Ding!
A surge of tremendous force swept his body aside. After stumbling and rolling across the ground, he hurriedly scrambled up and fled toward the area outside the safe zone.
This bastard is too strong. I can only resist him if I use skills outside the safe zone!
Clinging to that thought, the man rolled and crawled his way out of the safe zone.
Zhao Nan leaped after him sword in hand. Ahead, the knight’s sword in the man’s grip suddenly blazed with light, clearly in the midst of activating a skill. Zhao Nan gave a cold laugh and pressed the staff in his other hand to the ground.
Thorned Vines times two.
Twenty vines instantly wrapped the man up completely, binding him like a rice dumpling. The thorned vines immobilized him, leaving him only able to watch as Zhao Nan walked toward him.
“Stop... stop... ah!!”
With his sword, Zhao Nan severed the vines one by one. Each time he cut through one, the man’s health dropped by a hundred points.
How much health did he have? By the time the fifteenth vine had been cut, the man was already deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down his face, his begging as humble as that of a starving stray dog.
“Stop! Stop! Please... stop!!”
“Scum. You deserve to die!”
The final strike did not cut the vine. Instead, it sheared the man’s head off in a single instant. Blood gushed like a spring from the neck of the corpse. Zhao Nan, drained of strength, lowered the blade in his hand and stood in silence for a long while.
Some time later, Feina came to stand beside him, took the sword from his hand, and said softly, “Let’s wake that girl first.”
Zhao Nan nodded silently, his mind somewhat calmer. The two walked to the girl’s side, and one look at her slightly greenish complexion told them she was in a poisoned state.
“I have some antidotes here.”
Feina fed the antidote into the girl’s mouth, followed by a healing potion. Before long, the girl finally stirred awake. The moment she did, she screamed in terror.
“All right, all right, you’re safe now. It’s okay!” Feina hurried to comfort her.
After a while, the girl’s panicked breathing finally steadied, and she sobbed, “Thank you! Thank you both!”
Zhao Nan shook his head and was just about to speak when he suddenly felt a gust of fierce wind sweep toward him from behind. Instinctively, he turned and blocked, a sharp pain erupting in his arm.
Ding! Player Zhao Nan has been attacked by Male Friend.
The one who had attacked him was a boy of seventeen or eighteen.