Wizard: Adventures in Two Worlds
Chapter 61 - 061 Relic

Chapter 61: 061 Relic

"City Guard?"

Carl spoke up. "Go on, tell me."

His voice carried a sense of curiosity, but the others showed no interest, clearly having a thorough understanding of what had happened in the past.

Jacqueline shrugged, her voice tinged with desolation. "There’s not much to say.

"An eruption of Yin energy from Pit No. 2 originated from an underground Forgotten City. The City Guard obviously didn’t want the news to get out, so they captured all the survivors nearby. Whispers of the Wind... no exception."

Carl furrowed his brows. "Forgotten City? What is that?"

"The Forgotten City, eh..." An elderly man with gray hair from the crowd took over, speaking slowly. "It is said that before the Crimson Moon shattered, before the Moon Goddess fell, there were many holy cities upon this world.

"Only those with devout faith and exceptional talents were qualified to enter and receive the blessings of the Divine."

His voice was somewhat peculiar, carrying a natural, recitative quality that easily immersed listeners in the legendary tales from a distant era.

"Until the Heavenly Spheres aligned...

"That was when the Divine fell, and the holy cities plunged beneath the ground, thus becoming what we now refer to as the Forgotten City."

Jacqueline spoke up. "His name is Mengde, a learned man who spent some time as a minstrel in his youth, always speaking in riddles.

"Truth be told, I don’t know what the Forgotten City is, but Hal from the City Guard seems to value it greatly."

Carl reached out and pointed forward. "So... are we now risking our lives to pave the way for the City Guard to enter the Forgotten City?"

"Correct."

A golden-haired man nodded, placing one hand over his chest and bowing slightly. "Dunlop of the Shadow Coalition. A pleasure to meet you.

"Legend has it that the Forgotten City harbors divine secrets. Squad Leader Hal probably wants to usurp the authority of the Divine."

"And it’s not just him who desires to usurp the authority of the Divine?" The aging minstrel Mengde shook his head, reaching out to touch the stone wall beside him, his gaze complex. "Since this path exists, it means that others have traversed it before. It’s just a pity that their bones have fused with the rocks.

"Those who desecrate the Divine will surely face divine retribution!"

Carl stroked his chin. "I’m not interested in the things inside the Forgotten City.

"I just want to know, how can we leave?"

The place fell silent.

Everyone looked at each other, perplexed.

"Leave?"

Jacqueline sighed. "Outside, there are at least two full Knights and dozens of heavily armed Knight Attendants, and only one way out.

"Unless you can unite the people from the other tunnels, there may be a slim chance."

There was more than one hidden path to the Forgotten City, but they didn’t connect with each other, making communication impossible.

Even if communication were established, without the leadership of a Knight, it was but the slimmest of chances.

The likelihood of failure was still high.

The people in the room bore wooden expressions, evidently resigned to their fate or having attempted resistance only to be met with despair.

AAH!

A scream came from ahead.

Jacqueline’s expression changed, and she hurriedly strode forward.

It wasn’t that she was warm-hearted; it was her turn to scout ahead, and she naturally wanted to understand the situation.

Carl looked toward Ben and Leon.

He could leave whenever he wanted, simply by finding a secluded spot and hiding in a Divine Domain Fragment.

At worst, he could come back after a few months.

「By that time.」

Whatever the City Guard intended to do should have already concluded.

But what about Ben and Leon?

Bring them into the Divine Domain Fragment? That’s impossible!

Let alone the fact that Carl had never tried to bring living creatures in, nor did he know if it was possible; even if it were, he wouldn’t do it.

The Divine Domain Fragment was his greatest secret; he would never let a second person know of it.

Ben’s face turned pale. "Uncle," he asked, "what are we going to do?"

Indeed! What were they going to do?

Every night, the group would have a period of rest.

It wasn’t due to any kindness from the City Guard; rather, the Yin energy underground was particularly dense during this period, and scouting expeditions would suffer heavy losses.

So, the City Guard let them use this time to rest and recuperate.

SWOOSH!

Carl stood up.

"Uncle." Ben, still half asleep, heard the movement and struggled to open his eyes. "Where are you going?"

Carl said, "I’m going to check out the front.

"Rest."

"Oh."

Ben nodded and closed his eyes to sleep.

Scouting was not an easy task; Ben had to be constantly on guard for danger and was already exhausted.

No one paid any attention to Carl.

They all took the opportunity to rest.

THUD.

In the pitch-black tunnel, only Carl’s footsteps could be heard.

HISS.

A strange noise came from ahead, as if something was approaching.

SNAP!

Carl snapped his fingers.

Light spell!

A brilliant light suddenly emerged, illuminating everything. The creatures of the dark, clearly unaccustomed to such intensity, scattered backward.

"Hmm..."

Carl looked thoughtful for a moment, then stepped forward.

Since they would need to continue exploring tomorrow, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to check the path ahead; perhaps he could find a hidden passage.

If possible, he didn’t intend to abandon Ben and Leon.

The underground creatures’ fear of bright light surpassed Carl’s expectations.

As he advanced, any creatures within the light’s radius frantically scattered, not daring to attack.

This indeed made his exploration easier.

CRACK!

A crisp sound stopped Carl in his tracks.

Under his foot was a segment of white bone that he had stepped on and broken; judging by the shape, it seemed to be a human tibia.

A leg bone?

He frowned slightly and continued forward.

As he delved deeper, the number of white bones increased, and there were even several complete skeletons.

This isn’t normal! With various creatures roaming the tunnels, even if there were remains of predecessors, they would have been gnawed clean. Besides, no one has come here for hundreds of years; any bones should have decayed long ago. But now... No creatures? And the bones are still here?

Carl looked ahead, his expression grave. A sense of foreboding settled in his heart.

Continue!

The source of light created by the Light spell floated above his head, illuminating the surroundings as if it were broad daylight.

At some point, the sounds of the creatures moving and climbing had disappeared from his ears.

Only more and more white bones.

There was hardly any space left to step.

Ahead, the view suddenly widened dramatically. The scene before him made Carl’s breath catch, nearly breaking the casting of his Light spell.

Before him lay a plaza as large as several stadiums.

The plaza was littered with skeletons.

Countless white bones—some running wildly, some roaring in anger, some brandishing weapons—were like a scene from a battlefield frozen in time.

It was as if a group of people had been fighting fiercely when suddenly something stripped them of their vitality, halting time and space, leaving their bones to maintain their last actions in life.

A forest of weapons!

A fury reaching the sky!

An eerie silence!

Carl’s eyes narrowed as an extreme sense of danger mixed with intense desire emanated from the Divine Domain Fragment.

And the direction...

In front of the battlefield.

The city shrouded in Yin energy!

The Forgotten City!

This was the first time Carl had sensed such an emotional fluctuation from the Divine Domain Fragment; it was monotonous yet very clear.

It radiated both fear and intense desire.

Carl’s eyes flickered, and he slowly took a step back.

He didn’t know what the Divine Domain Fragment longed for, nor did he want to know. He only knew that whatever could make it feel such danger was not something he could handle at his current level.

CRACK!

He stepped on a bone again.

The sound wasn’t loud.

But it was like an invisible ripple that quietly spread across the battlefield, turning all the bones it passed into ash.

WHOOSH.

Bone dust fluttered, covering the entire battlefield.

DING!

In the utter silence, the sound of something falling was especially striking.

Carl subconsciously looked over and saw that among the scattered bone ash, a round ring was rolling back and forth on the ground.