Creak, creak.
The horse carriage traveled on a gravel road flanked by towering trees. Those trees were much inferior to Mount Creation’s platinum or even diamond-tier trees. There were no magical fruits on the tree trunks that one might use to advance to the gold tier. They looked ordinary.
The winter had ended. There was still some ice and snow on the ground that had not completely melted, making it difficult to walk on the roads.
“It would be great if Mount Creation had paved routes to the kingdom’s various villages. At the very least, the roadways would be easier to walk on. I can even charge them a fee.”
Watson leaned against the carriage’s window, taking in the view beyond. He yawned out of boredom.
Of course, he knew that was impossible because the border was Sylvan’s domain. He could integrate the border into Mount Creation upon Sylvan’s agreement. However, it was different outside the border. The king’s domain laid beyond the border. Someone would undoubtedly report him if he dared to fuse the area without the king’s authorization. The king’s army would await his arrival.
The first city they would reach was the City of Steel, part of the king’s domain. It was approximately two days away from the border. Another moniker for that place was the City of Adventurers.
It was named that because the city was teeming with explorers. Most of the legendary adventurers in Misty Forest were from there. Other than the border, most of them were willing to go to one other place outside the City of Steel—it was a ruin named the Underground City Maze.
That ruin had lasted ever since Landhar I established the kingdom about 400 years before. Experts speculated that the ruin had existed thousands of years ago, and it could even be older. Its massive construction was the size of a city.
In addition, another legend was mentioned in the underground city. A few decades ago, the most powerful person in the kingdom, the sword saint, was still quite young. He had been there to investigate. He descended to the underground city’s lowest level and received a holy weapon. People said that the sword saint had become the most powerful person in the kingdom because of his ability to clear the dungeon. The rumor about how he would amass a large amount of wealth and reach the peak of his life after clearing the underground city’s 100th level spread like wildfire.
Of course, other than the sword saint, no one else had managed to clear the underground city’s dungeons for the past few decades. Each level had many magical beasts, and they could regenerate after a period. Many adventurers only wanted to kill those magical beasts to make some money.
“Young Master Watson, even though the winter has ended, and the Holy Dragon Kingdom is entering spring, it is still very cold outside. Please sit in the carriage so that you won’t catch a cold,” Denise said; she was one of the Demoness Bandit Gang’s original members. She wrapped a cowhide blanket over Watson’s legs.
“Watson is a platinum-tier elite. Is he afraid of changing weather?”
When she heard Denise’s comments, Nightingale, who was driving, turned around. Her eyes sparkled with envy as she saw Denise covered Watson with a blanket.
She wished she could trade places with Denise. Watson had arranged for her to stay outdoors because she was skilled, and Denise knew the kingdom better.
“Young Master Watson may not be concerned about the weather, but as maids, we must be considerate, even if it is something that our master does not require. Furthermore, Young Master Watson will not want to show off his strength. Otherwise, he would not have asked us to accompany him. It’s obviously better to choose the Blackmoon Knights to escort him,” Denise explained slowly.
Antonio, who was also in the carriage, awoke from his slumber. He rolled over and fell asleep again; a satisfied smile was on his face.
Watson nodded. “Miss Denise is right. I only have one request for this trip, and that is to keep a low profile. After all, we are going to the royal city to investigate the king. If we attract any attention, our enemies might ambush us before we reach our destination! I even disguised the Wish for the World ring on my hand and transformed the Sky-devouring Rat King as an ordinary horse.”
Nightingale was sitting on Little Gray, the Sky-devouring Rat King.
If the Sky-devouring Rat King ate something, it would divide its body indefinitely and gain food attributes. Watson had permitted it to consume the Golden Flash and Emperor Cluck’s blood at irregular intervals, and it duplicated many small dragons and phoenixes. Watson gave the duplicates to his subordinates. The Blackmoon Knights’ dragon mounts on Mount Creation were the Sky-devouring Rat King’s duplicates.
As a result, the Blackmoon Knights became an army no inferior to the Dragon Knights. Similarly, they had a large number of Phoenix eggs that they could not finish daily; the Phoenix eggs had become a consumable item, the same as regular eggs.
Watson raised his right hand to show Nightingale the rusty rings that had become gray on his fingers. “Nightingale, from now on, just treat me like a normal person, just like Denise did,” he said.
“I got it.”
Nightingale pursed her lips and switched her attention back to the road.
Watson wrapped a blanket around himself and feigned to be scared of the cold as he asked, “Miss Denise, we’ve been away from the border for half a day, and we are not far from the first city we will visit. Tell me everything I need to know about the kingdom before we get to the City of Steel.”
Denise cleared her throat. She began to explain, “The Holy Dragon Kingdom is vast and occupies the central area of the entire continent. Millions of kilometers of land are pregnant with tens of millions of people. Of course, the crops grown on those lands are not enough to eat. Every year, farmers die of hunger. A few years ago, the kingdom even had a famine, and many people died.”
Denise swallowed and cleared her throat. “The Holy Dragon Kingdom is large and occupies the core part of the entire continent,” she said. “Tens of millions of people populate millions of square kilometers of land. Of course, the crops grown on those grounds are insufficient. Every year, farmers perish as a result of starvation. A few years ago, the kingdom experienced a famine, and many people died.”
Denise’s voice was soft when she said that. She appeared to be thinking about the beautiful life on Mount Creation. Everyone had enough to eat, but there were also much too many resources to go around. They were obliged to congregate in the skies. It was far superior to the other areas in the kingdom.
“First, let me explain the kingdom’s structure. The royal family rules the realm, with the King wields the most power. The Holy See assists him!”
“So the Holy Dragon Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with divine authority?” Watson asked.
Divine authority?
Denise did not quite understand the two nouns that Watson had said, but she could roughly understand what Watson meant, so she nodded.
“Of course, Young Master Watson is right. The King does not have complete sovereignty over the Holy Dragon Kingdom. The Holy See, who believes in gods, holds at least half the power. They used to worship the Primordial Demoness and the Demon cult. Then, they start to believe in the God of Light who created the universe. The Holy See’s priests wield the power of faith. That is a separate power from magic and combat aura. It is split into two sections—blessing and curse. It is considered as one of Holy Dragon Kingdom’s mainstream training systems.”
“Mainstream? I have never heard of them at the border.” Watson rubbed his chin.
There were four power systems in that world—warriors, mages, archers, and priests. The most common ones at the border were warriors and mages. There were even fewer archers and priests. Only a town like Monte Town had a church, and it was quite modest.
Perhaps Sylvan’s hatred for the church stemmed from the terrible death of his sister as the leader of the demoness cult. Perhaps he did not want the king to discover his little secret because of the infiltration of the church. Therefore, there were few churches and even fewer priests near the border.
Watson nodded at Denise after a brief moment of thought, indicating for her to continue. The entire carriage rocked, prompting Watson to mutter, “What happened?” He took a glance out the window.
The trees outside the window had vanished, replaced by a massive basin. Many ancient weathered buildings stood in the basin, and it was impossible to tell them apart.
“Run, run!”
A group of four adventurers hurried out of a weathered structure, bloodied. A few massive lizards with bright red scales were behind them. Their mouths were spewing hot flames as they chased after the men.
