The sky was gloomy, dark clouds forming a vortex that slowly rotated, as if the end of the world were approaching.
Eisenla City had lost its former prosperity. Every building was black and gray, sharing the same overall tone as Heru City.
Heru was known as the City of Wizards. Ironically, the number of wizards living in Heru was nowhere near one percent of Eisenla's.
Or rather, Heru had once been as prosperous as Eisenla. The arrival of the Bronze Gate had taken everything from Heru City. The fact that living people could still reside in Heru was the result of the former Old Gods sacrificing their lives.
That had been the Dawn. The Old Gods before Laurent—the Mad Sage, the Old Man with Dragon Scales, the Elemental Empress, and others—had been the darlings of the age before the previous one. But now, people had long since forgotten them.
A large group of Eisenla's residents—in other words, Darkkeepers—sprinted down the not-so-wide street. Their skin was withered, their clothes tattered, and the outlines of their ribs were clearly visible through their chests. Although they were emaciated, they were utterly insane.
Mr. J, Xia, Guy, Caesar, Baja, and Amu were all hiding inside a stone building. This street was the unavoidable route they had to pass through.
As a raiding party, they naturally wouldn't expose themselves voluntarily. Thus, they could only avoid the Darkkeepers charging through the streets. In other words, once surrounded by this many Darkkeepers, they could forget about continuing forward.
Boom!
A thunderous sound came from the neighboring block. Slashing flashes crisscrossed the area. A pale-blue sword flash suddenly appeared, diagonally cutting through a rooftop before shooting straight into the sky and finally vanishing from everyone's sight.
Seeing that sword flash, Xia felt a little restless. She was almost