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墨書 Inktalez
The wizards lived in the Southern part of Silent City as they pleased. In the east lay the only dock of Silent City, where workers or messengers would deliver supplies every ten days to half a month. These messengers transported goods to seven locations on the island, allowing wizards to collect food and basic necessities when needed. Some wizards built their own homes, fished, and hunted to meet their needs, belonging to the more rational and sensible group. Over time, most of the supplies provided by ships were given to those deemed 'mad.'
Silent City rejected outsiders. If practitioners of the Magic System arrived, they would be received by messengers at the dock. After staying nearby for a few days or months, they would be introduced to an elder who would assess whether they could remain in Silent City. If allowed to stay, they had to provide a considerable amount of gold because there were only about ten messengers in Silent City. To support over forty mad individuals and more than forty sane ones, money was essential, along with hiring ordinary workers.
In Silent City, the most terrifying beings were not the residents themselves. The mad ones, while insane, still retained some rationality and sanity, making it difficult for them to become hunters. Ordinary wizards had their own sense of good and evil; unless they displayed hostility or were in a particularly foul mood, they would not intentionally attack those without magical markings. The true terror in Silent City came from a third-party faction: Otherworldly Creatures.
Silent City was vast, with around a hundred people living on the island, leading to large areas of emptiness. Some mad individuals summoned Otherworldly Creatures that did not meet their expectations; sometimes these creatures would be eliminated, while at other times they might escape or be released without concern by the mad ones. After recovering from their summoned state of weakness, these Otherworldly Creatures became formidable entities. This was also why many people lived in close quarters within Silent City. Otherworldly Creatures could kill each other; some possessed high intelligence while others were powerful, and some even managed to escape Silent City using special abilities to reach the Three Continents.
Next was the black and white of Little Swan; few had seen the city lord, making the elders the most powerful figures. They could grant passes and order attacks against intruders. Such encirclements and assaults by dozens of wizards left few survivors; once marked as an intruder by an elder, only the city lord could lift that designation. This was a rule among the elders: live your own life and do not interfere with others; otherwise, conflicts would arise between people.
This was Silent City.
Cui Ming and his companions aimed to find Sadin while avoiding encounters with the Prophet and Toad; as for the fourth elder, Sword Demon, it was best not to cross paths with him either. The three were aboard a ferry heading towards the Western Continent, preparing to rent a boat there to reach Silent City. The alliance only possessed a rough topographical map of Silent City's outskirts and aerial views captured by airships.
Miss Fortune acted as the leader and called the shots: "The North is a desert with sparse population; some Otherworldly Creatures inhabit this area. To the east is the dock—closest to the main city with convenient transportation and messenger guards. To the south lies a mix of rainforest and wooded terrain—also largely uninhabited—with unknown quantities and qualities of Otherworldly Creatures believed to exist there. Finally, to the west is a cliff rising over four hundred meters."
Cui Ming asked, " Miss Fortune, what’s your plan?"
Miss Fortune pointed at the map with her finger: "At the center is the main city built on a mountain range. There’s only one cross street in the main city. It is said that this central area is where the city lord resides and where the Four Elders convene monthly. At one end of this cross street is where the Four Elders live—it's not large and quite simple in structure; each has their own territory for studying magic. Downhill from the main city is where messengers reside, connected by roads to the dock—a transit station for supplies that are distributed from here to seven locations based on need."
"The eastern side has an advantage: there are no wizard residents there. To ensure ordinary workers' safety and that of ships, wizards are prohibited from approaching this road—making it a safe passage for intruders. However, there are quite a few messengers present who may have magical traps or surveillance set up; it's easy to get discovered but has its rationale. The southern area shares much of its territory with uninhabited land—no one wants to stay there—allowing for bold infiltration; however, we cannot ascertain anything about Otherworldly Creatures there. The western side features cliffs over four hundred meters high."
"My plan is to sail close to shore and then walk into the western area before climbing up the cliff—everything will be settled."
Cui Ming raised his hand: " Miss Fortune, each of the four elders has their own domain in different directions; how do you know that climbing up from the western cliff will lead us to Sadin instead of Toad?"
“Hey, a 25% chance is pretty high,” Miss Fortune replied.
Cui Ming nearly spat blood. “Come on, sister, you can't be serious. I know your name is Miss Fortune and your luck isn't bad, but playing like this could get someone killed. Just think about Lank, who had his base dug up by you twice. You can't say it wasn't because of the low odds that Miss Fortune managed to pull off such risky adventures. Sometimes, when facing tight defenses, a low-probability plan can succeed simply because the opponent doesn't expect such boldness. But do you really think Silent City has tight defenses?”
The wind blew through the cabin as Feng stood on the bed, slowly drawing his sword in front of the mirror. He loved this blade, but it also brought him sadness. After acquiring it, he felt no regret over losing his first love's sword. Now, he was focused on how to draw the sword in the fastest, most ruthless, most precise, and especially the most stylish way possible. As for plans and strategies? He couldn't care less. Why bother raising Cui Ming's IQ when he could just show off?
Cui Ming said sincerely, “ Miss Fortune, how about we find someone to ask first? After all, there’s no rule saying we have to attack outsiders, right?”
Miss Fortune waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not that complicated. We charge in; if things go wrong, we take them out and move on to the next one. Hey, don’t you like my plan?”
Cui Ming nodded. “Not at all.”
“Are you doubting my leadership skills?”
“No, absolutely not. I always believe that even wise people can occasionally overlook minor details.”
“Cui Ming, you’re so hypocritical.” Miss Fortune scoffed. “We have two options: advance from the south or north. Why not choose east? Because the messengers are die-hard loyalists and the chances of going unnoticed there are too slim. The south and north have their advantages; although there are Otherworldly Creatures present, any battles will be mistaken for Otherworldly Creatures fighting each other. Furthermore, among those Otherworldly Creatures are Intelligent Beings; if we can communicate with one of them, we could gather more information. This time, we’re not trying to compete in strength; the key point is information gathering.”
Cui Ming clapped his hands. “ Miss Fortune is impressive.”
“Damn it.” Miss Fortune was furious as she pointed a gun at Cui Ming. “You bastard! Don’t give me that crap; I hate people like you. Cui Ming, stop being so coy; just say what you mean and let it out! Do you think it's fun to mess with me?”
Cui Ming forced a smile. “But you rejected my previous strategy.”
“Of course I did! We don’t want to start a war with Silent City.” Miss Fortune was exasperated; Cui Ming's plan was quite useful and had very low risks. Plan one: buy an airship. Plan two: transport explosives. Plan three: crash the airship into Silent City. This would definitely draw out the Four Elders to investigate such a tremendous noise. After all, there had been three earthquakes in ten years and the destruction of the Critical Zone; the Four Elders were well aware of these events. Once they were lured away from their mountain lair, they could sneak into their four residences and locate Sardinia Territory. This plan had a high success rate and considered many factors like night raids and exploiting their fears. However, Miss Fortune didn’t want to go that far; killing a few people in Silent City would be a misunderstanding. Throwing bombs at Silent City would be an act of war. Not to mention whether or not people would get killed in the blast; there’s no escaping the charge of destroying the island's natural structure.
Facing the anger of good fortune, Cui Ming chuckled and said, "Compared to the Northern Desert, I think we should head south. We need to gather intelligence, and from a north-south perspective, the Northern region is clearly harsher, lacking both water and food. In the south, we can manage just fine; if one day doesn't work out, we can wait a month. In the Northern region, we can only act quickly. Additionally, the south is a mix of forests and rainforests, which can effectively reduce the chances of being discovered. I have to admit this point, Miss Fortune; although you are quite young..."
Miss Fortune poked Cui Ming's head with her gun. "Am I young? Am I really young?"
"The cup size is smaller," Feng said slowly as he drew his knife.
Miss Fortune fired directly at him. Feng raised a Wind Wall to block the bullet and then calmly sheathed his knife, remaining still for a few seconds.
Miss Fortune huffed, "Then it's settled; we're going south."
She rolled up the map and left for her room. Cui Ming leaned back on the bed and remarked, "This little girl is really interesting."
Feng was performing a slow-motion one-handed sheathing of his knife and said, "Using ferocity to mask her inner delicacy."
Cui Ming replied, "Before leaving the York Clan, Mi Xiaonan told me that there was a practitioner who quietly informed him during a ritual. Miss Fortune's curse includes her parents, grandparents, as well as lovers and children. The little girl deliberately uses her fierceness to scare off suitors. Watching her get angry feels somewhat bittersweet. I have to admit that Miss Fortune is quite good at tactical arrangements."
Feng asked, "Is her misfortune real?"
Cui Ming replied, "It's unclear. At that time, the fortune teller told Miss Fortune that if her parents stayed with her for too long, they would be favored by misfortune. When she was one year old, her grandfather passed away; at two years old, her grandmother died. At fourteen, after mastering the Six Elements, Miss Fortune went into hiding and worked at her father's construction site. Three months later, her father fell to his death."
"So Miss Fortune believes that the rumors of her being cursed are true." (To be continued.)
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