Black City Upheaval

Black City Upheaval

Black City was perilous, saturated with dense yin energy and fire toxin, not to mention Undead Creatures, ferocious beasts, and Abnormalities.

But most of the danger lay underground.

The surface was much safer.

Karl cherished his life. Ever since arriving in Black City, he had had no intention of exploring the underground mine tunnels, only lingering on the surface.

Even his dealings with Aya and the others were arranged aboveground.

Who would have thought...

"Why are there so many monsters?"

Leaping onto a rooftop, Karl frowned deeply, already feeling somewhat inclined to retreat.

Along the way, he had encountered far more monsters than before—Earth Wolves, worms, and all kinds of Undead Creatures...

The danger had increased dramatically!

A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall. He had come here for profit, not to fight monsters to the death.

"Ah!"

A scream came from ahead. Karl's gaze shifted, and he transformed into a black shadow as he sped toward it.

Martial skill—Eagle Step.

After witnessing Iron Fist Abe's methods, he had also picked up the knight martial skills he had nearly set aside.

Thanks to his perfect control over his body within the Divine Domain Fragment, his mastery of martial skills had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Vaulting over a wall, several familiar figures came into view.

It was Aya's group.

The six youths were being besieged by a pack of Stone Lizards.

These underground creatures had tough flesh, as though clad in a layer of stone armor, with astonishing defenses.

Their claws and tongues were no less formidable.

After holding out for some time, their situation had already become precarious.

"Watch out!"

Aya cried out, shoving away the companion beside her. But she herself was knocked to the ground by a Stone Lizard.

Damn!

Her heart hammered as she struggled to get up, only to see the Stone Lizard already opening its mouth, its tongue quivering faintly.

The lizard's tongue was covered in sharp spikes and shot out with terrifying speed. Once it touched someone, it would tear off a chunk of flesh at the very least.

If it struck a vital point, death on the spot was entirely possible.

Just then—

Boom!

A ball of flame exploded amid the lizards. The immense shockwave sent the Stone Lizards sprawling across the ground.

Karl appeared nearby, raising his left hand and pressing down through the air repeatedly.

Fire Seal!

Fire Seal!

Fire Seal!

He had taken a potion in advance, leaving his "magic power" abundant for a short time. Naturally, he could cast without restraint.

Fireballs the size of washbasins howled forth, slamming into the Stone Lizards and exploding violently upon impact.

Even those that missed stirred up tremendous shockwaves when they landed in the field.

A moment later.

Karl stopped moving his hands. Looking at the mangled corpses scattered across the ground, his face had gone somewhat pale.

It was not fear, but the result of consuming too much Mental Power.

"Looks like even after taking a potion, sustained casting puts a lot of strain on me. And it shortens the potion's duration."

Hibel had said that one bottle of potion could last half an hour.

But with continuous casting...

Even a few minutes would be difficult!

Still, after constructing the Spell Model, the Fire Seal's power had increased considerably. Its fireballs had once been only the size of a human head, but now they were as large as washbasins. One fierce barrage had directly wiped out the Stone Lizards.

"Uncle!"

Having escaped death, Aya ran over with a face full of wild joy.

"Good thing you stepped in when you did, Uncle. Otherwise, we would probably have been dead for sure."

"What's going on?" Karl steadied his breathing and swept his gaze across the scene.

"Why are so many monsters emerging from the surface? In a situation like this, there was no need for you to come out."

"Alas!" Aya sighed.

"The situation underground is even worse. Besides, we agreed to meet here. Wouldn't failing to come mean breaking our word?"

Karl shook his head.

At a time like this, there was no need to care about keeping one's word.

"As for the situation in the city..." Aya glanced back and said, "I heard that yin energy erupted from Pit Number Two. At least a thousand people have become half-dead, and for some reason, the underground monsters are all fleeing outside."

"The specifics are still unclear."

"Let's return to Laka Market first," Karl said.

"It should be safer there."

If even Laka Market, guarded by the City Guard, was unsafe, then nowhere in all of Black City could be considered safe.

"Mm."

Aya nodded heavily.

With Karl, this "great expert," joining them, the group made their way to Laka Market without any real danger.

The market was packed shoulder to shoulder, filled with endless clamor. Most people wore panicked expressions, their faces full of confusion about the future.

"Dana."

Aya spoke to a girl.

"Go and find out what's happening."

"Yes."

Dana was a girl with rough, coarse features.

Her limbs were sturdy and her voice booming. Though she was a woman, her strength was second only to Xiao Nan's within the group.

Karl looked at Xiao Nan amid the crowd.

"How's Xiao Nan?"

"I'm alright." Xiao Nan had been badly injured before, his face deathly pale, and he had to be supported as he walked. Hearing this, he grinned.

"Feels like I won't die just yet."

"Yin energy has entered his body." Aya looked deeply troubled.

"He needs Wisteria Grass to recover. At a time like this, I wonder if the City Guard still has any?"

"Too many people have had yin energy enter their bodies these past two days. Wisteria Grass has been consumed at an incredible rate, and the price of it on the market has been driven up to the sky."

Karl crouched down to examine Xiao Nan's injuries, his brow faintly furrowing.

There were two kinds of yin energy entering the body. One was from remaining in a place dense with yin energy for too long; the other was from being attacked by Undead Creatures.

Xiao Nan belonged to the latter category.

Something unknown had left four deep claw marks across his back, and the skin around them had already rotted away.

If he could not receive treatment in time, and the yin energy seeped into his marrow and nerves, Xiao Nan would also mutate into one of the half-dead.

Wisteria Grass was also known as Returning Yang Grass. It was the bane of yin energy, but because its growing conditions were extraordinarily harsh, its yield was limited and its price was far from cheap.

"Big Sis!"

Dana returned quickly, panting as she spoke.

"Someone said an ancient ruin appeared beneath Pit Number Two. The City Lord personally led people over there."

"And..."

"Just now, the City Guard put up a sign in the center of the market. It said something about rewards, but I can't read, so I don't know the details."

"Rewards?" Aya's face filled with puzzlement.

"I'll go take a look." Karl rose to his feet.

"You wait here."

The people in the market were restless, all crowding inward. They had probably received the news as well.

Not far ahead, a massive wooden sign as tall as a two-story building came into view. It was covered in huge characters, clear enough to be read even from a distance.

From the crowd's discussions, Karl learned the details.

To deal with the eruption of yin energy from Pit Number Two, the City Guard was calling on all the city's people to act and eliminate the source of the unrest.

That was to say, all manner of ferocious beasts and Undead Creatures.

In return, the City Guard had brought out all kinds of stockpiled supplies for exchange. The more Abnormalities one killed, the better the items one could trade for.

The wooden plaque listed the prices for exchanging items.

At the very top was leaving Black City, which required one hundred Abnormality tokens—in other words, killing one hundred Abnormalities.

And this—

was not even the most demanding requirement.

Besides leaving Black City, killing Abnormalities could also be exchanged for spell seals, Breathing Techniques, Exotic Beast Meat, Life Potions, and more...

The reason leaving Black City was listed first was probably because it drew the most attention.

Take spell seals, for instance.

Different spell seals had different exchange prices, but even the cheapest one cost more than leaving Black City.

Hmm?

Karl's heart stirred, and his gaze fell back onto the wooden plaque.

Something he had skimmed over just now seemed to be...

Life Potion!

A Life Potion that could help a Knight Squire condense a Life Seed and become an Official Knight was prominently listed there.

Thump!

Thump! Thump!

Karl's heart pounded wildly, his blood and vitality boiling within him.

He had originally had no interest in this. He had even planned to leave Black City as soon as possible, then return after this affair had passed.

But now...

He was tempted!