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墨書 Inktalez
Cui Ming might be the first outsider to enter Silent City in decades, a place even its residents have never accessed. Silent City sits atop a mountain, featuring two three-hundred-meter-long concrete streets arranged in a swastika shape. Four elders reside at each end, while a five-meter stone bridge connects the central road to a peak where a pagoda-like structure stands. This is the residence of the city lord. Only Sadin can enter this place, visiting every three to ten days to bring essential supplies. As for who or what lies within, only Sadin knows.
Due to three earthquakes, the stone bridge has collapsed, and the concrete roads show signs of crumbling and cracking. With no visible inhabitants and rampant wild grass, the overall scene appears desolate, resembling an abandoned town.
Sadin's home is quite spacious, with the main building being a single-story wooden house that has ten rooms. To the left of the house lies an oasis, while to the right is a ten-square-meter spring that flows down the cliff. The main area consists of an open space in front of the house. Surrounding this open area are Magic Pillars, each supporting a floating Magic Stone. The ground beneath them is inscribed with various strange characters that continuously emit light.
Cui Ming's knowledge of magic is alarmingly sparse; looking at this magic circle leaves him bewildered. Sadin does not explain but gestures for Cui Ming to sit in a spot surrounded by green bamboo. A young woman assigned to serve Sadin brings tea. Cui Ming expresses his gratitude and watches her leave before asking, "Sadin, many believe that the most valuable aspect of Silent City is its ability to produce Wildlings through magic."
"That's right; many people have such thoughts, especially the Dawn Empire. The Dawn Empire has been searching everywhere for ways to enhance military capabilities. The most direct method is undoubtedly through practitioners known as Super Soldiers." Sadin glances at the busy messenger. "However, few know that messengers cannot be produced in bulk." Sadin certainly would not reveal how messengers are made to Cui Ming; in fact, Sadin himself does not fully understand it. This secret technique was developed by the founders of Silent City and its second city lord three hundred years ago. Sadin only knows that there are several conditions to become a messenger: they must be female and around fifteen years old for optimal results. To ensure their loyalty, all messengers are selected by Sadin himself. He chooses girls from Civil War countries, typically under ten years old since many fifteen-year-old girls from those nations are often treated as strategic resources. The messengers then oversee and educate these young girls until they reach fifteen years of age. At that point, Sadin will ask for their opinions; if they wish to become messengers and serve Silent City for fifteen years, they can then be sent to the city lord. So far, Sadin has selected twenty-one girls, achieving a 100% success rate in their becoming messengers.
There have been instances where messengers betrayed their duties or were bribed by the Dawn Empire; unfortunately, these messengers knew little about their situation—they only understood that they were required to sit in a room and then fall unconscious without pain or discomfort. Upon waking up, they would possess certain Force abilities and would be taught the basics of Six Elements by Sadin. The strength of these messengers is generally mediocre; some even struggle to comprehend their own powers. Those who defected or were bribed naturally met their demise.
After serving for ten to fifteen years, they can return to the Three Continents with substantial wealth to start new lives, with one stipulation: they must not disclose Silent City's secrets. As they leave, their Force gradually fades away; typically within one or two years, they become like ordinary women again and no longer remain under the elders' control.
Cui Ming remarks, "I didn't expect you would let me into Silent City."
Sadin replies, "There are no secrets inside Silent City; it's just larger houses and bigger magic circles. There's no rule against meeting friends here—it's just that we worry about guests gathering and disturbing us, which is why we prohibit them from entering Silent City itself. To put it plainly, we are merely individuals practicing Forbidden Techniques that the Alliance does not permit; we established Silent City solely for self-preservation."
Cui Ming responds, "Blood Magic and Dark Magic are banned by the Alliance for good reason; their dangers are objectively real."
"Indeed," Sadin concedes. "Under normal circumstances, practicing Dark Magic is one of the most foolish actions one can take if one lacks exceptional talent. If one cannot quickly grasp Void Power, their mind will be affected. But mastering Void Power is no simple task; there is only one prophet in existence."
"En?"
Sadin explained, "My Void Power is a gift from the Lord of the City. It's quite complex, but to put it simply, I haven't practiced Dark Magic. With the Lord's help, I comprehended Void Power from Force. Speaking of which, the truly formidable one is Blood Magic, which combined with Force is incredibly powerful."
"I agree." This was something that couldn't be disagreed upon. Vlad, this magician, possessed a vitality that surpassed even those who specialized in enhancement.
"However, those who practice Blood Magic must know moderation. It's like smoking; as time goes on, the addiction grows stronger. Once a certain threshold is crossed, a Blood Magic practitioner cannot convert such a large amount of foreign blood. Gradually, it accumulates until ultimately they are destroyed by their own power. It's unfortunate; in the early days, Silent City was a paradise for practitioners of the Magic System. Everyone was clear-headed and exchanged ideas while improving the library and literature of Silent City. Sadly, the alliance made a mistake and shifted their discrimination against the Magic System. Due to regional reasons, many magicians no longer come to Silent City."
Cui Ming found it strange that Sadin was talking so much. The truth was that over the years, Sadin had lacked face-to-face communication. He had a good impression of Cui Ming, which led him to speak more. Of course, there was something else that Cui Ming didn't know: Silent City was on the verge of collapse due to the lack of a suitable heir for the Lord of the City. The Lord had allowed magicians to run amok on the island of Silent City. Within five years, Silent City would inevitably meet the same fate as the Critical Zone, swallowed by the sea. There would be no more Silent City.
As the two chatted and drank tea, the sun quickly set. Three messengers arrived with food; they spoke little, set up the dining table, lit candles, and then quietly left. Half an hour later, Toad arrived alone, still as ugly as ever with a large head and a habit of sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, drooling downwards.
Sadin stood up and walked toward the dining table. " Toad, you finally made it. Please take a seat."
Without any introductions since both were familiar with each other, Toad and Cui Ming sat down at the table. Toad asked, "Old Sadin, why did you invite me to dinner today?"
"I have something to ask you." Sadin was quite pleased with Cui Ming's performance; there was some wariness but also trust in himself, indicating that Cui Ming had not deceived him. He shared his suspicions about the Murderer, concluding with, "I suspect this Murderer is from your planet and may even be one of your kin."
"That's impossible; it can't be one of my kin. On our planet, most of it is ocean with very little land. Even if there is land, it's mostly desert. There’s only one major river. This river has become a gathering place for all living beings. We are called the River Tribe, rulers of this river, but reproduction is difficult—typically a couple has only one to three children in their lifetime. Thus our population has gradually dwindled. Because of our weakening tribe, outsiders began to invade and seize our river. We were defeated and could only migrate to deeper waters downstream, transforming from amphibians into aquatic creatures."
The outsiders referred to by Toad were a desert tribe known as predators; the Toad Clan called them the Burrowing Beasts. These Burrowing Beasts had a unique ability in desertified areas where they thrived. As desertification spread across their planet's landmasses, pressure from the Burrowing Beasts on the Toad Clan increased until they were forced to retreat into the river.
Toad placed some bread on the table. "The greatest strength of the Burrowing Beasts lies in setting traps; they bury traps in certain locations and then burrow into the sand to wait quietly. Once a target steps onto a trap, they are instantly ensnared while the beasts can reach them in an instant."
Sadin asked, "Toad, you knew that the Murderer might be the Burrowing Beasts, didn't you?"
Toad grinned widely, "Yes, I knew all along, but I didn't want to say anything because I had no way to deal with the Burrowing Beasts. Otherwise, how could our clan have suffered so badly?"
The Burrowing Beasts were also referred to as Diggers in the Toad Clan. They could burrow into layers of sand and even rock. This was an instinctive skill; strictly speaking, it was about opening a door rather than just digging in. They could open a door to enter the ground, and once someone stepped on a trap, a door would open at that spot. They could instantly emerge, leap up, and use their large pincers to grab the target while injecting venom to incapacitate them immediately. Then they would bite down hard and pull; since one leg was restrained, they would drag the rest of the body away, escaping through the trap door back to their original ambush point.
To defeat the Burrowing Beasts, there was only one way: find their ambush points. The Burrowing Beasts had a significant flaw; after hunting and attacking, they had to return to their ambush point within a certain time frame. Otherwise, they couldn't open the passage to escape. Without their burrowing ability, they had almost no chance against the Toad Clan. This was why they left behind a leg; they didn't have time to wait for the binding time to end.
Toad continued, "Using this tactic, the Burrowing Beasts once devoured forty of my clan members in one night. These forty were our elite warriors who intended to launch an expedition against the Burrowing Beasts. Unfortunately, our camp was set up in a location riddled with traps laid by them. Because of these forty deaths, our young men dwindled sharply, and over a hundred years later, we could no longer contend with the Burrowing Beasts. When I was summoned to the Eternal Sphere, only ten of us remained in our clan. By the way, the population in the Eternal Sphere is counted in hundreds of millions; it shocked me at that time."
Sadin asked, "How did they set up those traps?"
"You should say they set up doors—doors through which they could enter and exit. There are many ways to set up these doors. The first and most direct method is simply to go to a location, burrow into the ground, set up a door, and then burrow out again. The second method is a surprise attack; from a kilometer away, they can burrow underground and open a door every three hundred meters until they reach directly beneath their target's feet and leap up for an attack. This method can also be used for preemptive setups. The last method involves tokens; the Burrowing Beasts knew that my Toad Clan was searching for rare minerals, so they deliberately let us find tokens that had been tampered with—essentially opening a door within themselves. Once activated, the Burrowing Beasts could appear right in front of us." (To be continued.)
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