True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 342 - 321: Forward 1

Chapter 342: Chapter 321: Forward 1

Four days later, Cloud City in the Inner World

The massive white walls, towering hundreds of meters high, stood still like mountains on the vast sandy land. On one side of the wall was a bustling modern city, while on the other lay a desolate desert. It was as if they were two entirely different worlds.

Huge streams of people and vehicles extended endlessly toward the base of the city walls, their end out of sight. The dense crowd, like a multitude of ants, moved continuously toward Cloud City.

Scattered around the black stream, there were also some small stalls selling various drinks and snacks. Colorful parasols could be seen at intervals.

Within the crowd, a caravan occupied a small part of the procession towards Cloud City. More than a dozen horse-drawn carts slowly moved forward. On the last cart, a young and charming woman was lazily sitting at the edge, leaning against the carriage for a rest.

"Is this Cloud City?" a voice came from the carriage, and a hand lifted the hanging curtain.

The woman suddenly woke up and tidied her hair a bit.

"Yes, although Cloud City is only a third-tier city, it’s not something that a small place like Yellow Sand Town can compare with.

Ga!!

Suddenly, a group of dark shadows screamed overhead, flapping their wings as they flew over the crowd.

These creatures were like oversized ducks, with black feathers covering their bodies. Occasionally flapping their wings, they glided like hang gliders, with their harsh cawing continuously resonating.

Knights in black leather armor sat on the backs of these creatures, each carrying a weapon resembling a firearm on their backs.

As this group of unknown creatures passed by, a number of horses below began to whinny loudly, issuing uneasy cries, while people hurried to calm them down.

"It’s the Featherwing Army from Cloud City," a middle-aged man in front of Lin Fei’s cart said in a low voice as he kept soothing his horse.

A middle-aged woman beside him, holding a little girl, said with some worry: "They are mobilizing again, could there be danger? Little Kate is also serving in there, and it would be troublesome if a war started."

"Don’t worry about it, they just enlisted this year. They won’t become regular members of the Featherwing so soon," the middle-aged man reassured her.

"That’s not certain. A few days ago, I saw the Earth Rhino Troops in the eastern Sand Sea. I’m not sure if they were on a drill or a mock battle, but it looked like they were preparing for war," another man chimed in.

"I heard the forest to the west has already erupted in conflict. We thought we’d remain undisturbed here, but now we’re getting dragged into it too."

"They’ve started a large-scale conscription in the city, a war is definitely coming."

Lin Fei and Jin Yi exchanged a glance.

"It seems the Inner World is getting more and more chaotic. What should we do now, Lord?" Jin Yi asked quietly.

"Cloud City is a third-tier city within the Temple of the Gods’ region. If even here is going to war, not to mention other places, it’s likely a full-scale war. We just don’t know who the opponent is yet." Lin Fei said somberly, watching the Featherwing Army disappearing into the distance. "But this is also our opportunity. During times like this, all forces need a large influx of new troops. Let’s go straight to the conscription site."

The two continued to move forward with the flow of people and caravans, and after about ten minutes, they finally arrived at the entrance below the city wall.

There were no guards, just a semi-transparent energy barrier continuously rippling at the entrance. Everyone had to pass through this barrier to enter or exit.

Some stood outside, not entering, just gazing longingly as others passed in and out.

Lin Fei and Jin Yi retracted their True Force entirely, leaving only a thin layer of energy on the surface of their bodies. They followed the caravan through without any issues.

"That’s the energy partition gate that differentiates the Original Domain from the Inner Domain. Anyone not from the Inner Domain who touches it will be instantly disintegrated. Its power is extremely terrifying," Jin Yi explained in a whisper.

Lin Fei nodded, feeling the immense power hidden within the thin layer of the barrier, which was at least of C-grade strength.

As soon as they entered the city, the ground changed to neatly arranged, clean grey-white checkered stone slabs. On either side of the entrance, there were small white guard rooms with colorful city zone maps etched on their walls. Looking through the glass windows of the guard rooms, one could see guards inside drinking water.

"If you need a guide or to change cars, please come this way!!" a man shouted through a megaphone. People gathered around him, quietly asking him and those around questions.

Behind the city wall was a crossroad square where one could choose from three different streets. The crossroad square connected the entrance of the city wall with the streets, and in the center stood a tall statue of a human figure.

The endless flow of people and vehicles diverged from here into the three separate streets.

Lin Fei and Jin Yi got off the cart and stood beside the statue in the square.

Apart from the horse-drawn carriages, there were also black, white, and silver cars on the street, giving off a strange mix of eras. The city’s dwellers were neatly dressed, good looking and proper, while those who came from outside were unkempt, as if they belonged to entirely different groups.

Perhaps because Lin Fei and Jin Yi very obviously looked like outsiders, several vendors approached them to peddle city maps and accommodations in small inns. Everything seemed no different from the Outer World.

Lin Fei purchased a map and briefly scanned the area.

The surrounding noise, the honking of car horns, and the music wafting from the streets almost made Lin Fei feel as if he were not in the Inner World but back on Earth in the Outer World.

After looking over the map, he handed it to Jin Yi standing beside him. Lin Fei scanned the entire square; none of the people around, regardless of whether their clothes were good or bad, clean or not, appeared strong. There wasn’t even a person of F-grade.

All that met the eye were ordinary people.

"This place... it’s completely like the world we know on the surface..." Lin Fei murmured thoughtfully.

Jin Yi nodded and said, "Yes, the territories controlled by the major powers of the Inner World are actually not that different from the surface world. The biggest difference is that here, the strong openly live within sight of the people. Here, status is determined by strength, and any strong individual with True Force can enjoy good social welfare benefits. Notice how the average physical condition of the people here is much stronger than that of the surface world."

Only then did Lin Fei notice this detail and nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, the people here really are much stronger than those on Earth. Even an ordinary person here has at least the physical fitness of an athlete, looking at the basic qualities."

"They are descendants of the strong who entered the Inner World and some natives who support the Inner Domain. With the passage of time, their numbers have grown, and it is not surprising that cities like this have been formed," Jin Yi explained clearly, having obviously looked into the relevant information.

Another series of strange cries came from the sky. A dense flock of the Featherwing Army flew toward the outskirts of the city again, like a moving dark cloud, overwhelming the sky.

Lin Fei looked up, faintly feeling a mild killing intent emanating from those troops.

After the Featherwing Army had left, the people around, who were just like Lin Fei and Jin Yi looking upwards, dispersed as well, and they also began discussing the recent unusual activity of the Featherwing Army.

Lin Fei and Jin Yi blended into the crowd, following the streets marked on the map, heading directly toward the recruitment area.

Although there were transportations similar to buses here, neither of them had any intention of taking one. After all, walking allowed them to freely observe their surroundings.

It didn’t take long for Lin Fei to conclude that Cloud City wasn’t much different from Earth’s cities. Just like Jin Yi had described, the people here didn’t seem to feel like they were in the Inner World, still full of the hustle and bustle of office workers. The shops around were not selling any special items but managed daily necessities like ice cream parlors, mini supermarkets, and jewelry stores. Here, people also had cell phones, and there were children carrying small backpacks to and from school.

If it weren’t for the occasionally seen peculiar little pets some people were walking on the streets, Lin Fei might not have felt he was in the Inner World at all.

After walking down the street for about half an hour, a crossroads suddenly appeared in front of them. Across the intersection, on a building that soared dozens of floors high, a massive LCD screen was broadcasting the news.

A dignified and beautiful woman sat in the middle of the screen, reporting with a solemn expression.

"Recently, the conflict between the heretics and the Holy See has been increasingly severe. The twelfth Sacred Army was annihilated in the Sunset Mountains the day before yesterday. No one survived, causing the Eastern front of the Holy See to face total collapse. In response to the unfavorable battle situation, the Holy See has decided to deploy the Unicorn Legion. And they are considering whether to recall the Saint War Knight Order, one of the three top-level combat powers, to join the battle."

"The heretics have also responded with a counterattack, stating they might consider recalling the Behemoth Troops."

Lin Fei walked over to a retail kiosk on the side of the road and bought a bottle of milk drink. Looking at the manufacturer on the bottle, it turned out to be from a city in the western part of Hua Nation. It must have been transported in.

After getting a rough grasp of the situation, Lin Fei and Jin Yi proceeded directly to the recruitment spot without lingering.

After spending over an hour, a building resembling a hotel appeared in front of them. A signboard clearly had "Recruitment Reception" written in standard English letters.

The outside was deserted, with only a few people coming in and out of the open iron gate.

In the guardhouse on the right, a guard dressed in black leather armor, sporting a white insignia on one shoulder, was zealously playing with something resembling a gaming console.

Lin Fei and Jin Yi stood outside the guardhouse and gently knocked on the glass window.

"Excuse me, I would like to enlist..."

"Here!" The guard didn’t even look up at Lin Fei, just reached back and pulled out a form, sliding it through the item pass-through under the window.

"Fill out the intention to enlist form, personal data, and give it to the inspection department. It’s down the left corridor on the first floor, second room."

Lin Fei frowned slightly and picked up the form to look at it.

The form was densely filled with various categories, such as Featherwing Army, Earth Rhino Troops, Long-range Troops, and various other classifications and unit numbers. There were also blanks left for personal data: name, origin, age, strength assessment, specialties, etc.

"I’m out of forms here, you can get more in the inspection department when you go inside. Now, go ahead," the guard said, waving his hand.

Lin Fei glanced at the guard and walked inside with the form.

Entering the building that was like a hotel, a bustling and noisy sound instantly filled his ears.

A group of people in black leather armor were moving quickly through the lobby, seemingly just exiting from the left corridor on the ground floor.

Their armor covered only the key parts of their bodies: the torso, shoulders, elbows, knees, joints, and the head, giving off a vibe of a boxer.

Then, like Lin Fei and Jin Yi, there were many others holding forms standing in the hall, waiting for these soldiers to pass by.

Towards the left corridor, that is, the direction of the inspection department, some people who had filled out their forms were also standing at the entrance of the corridor, apparently just coming out from there, equally waiting for these soldiers to pass.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)