Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 30: Abandoned City (1)
Towering ancient walls stood on an elevated platform at a distance. Their smooth surface was covered with cracks, moss, and vast stretches of sand.
There was a massive opening in the walls from which water gushed out like water coming out of a broken dam and falling into the river below.
With greater force, the water fell into the river, the current grew stronger and larger.
This wasn’t all. Beyond the towering walls, there were buildings in the distance: some large and some small. But most of them were either damaged or covered with moss and sand.
There was also debris but the rubble was buried beneath layers of windblown sand. Its edges had been smoothed by centuries of abrasive grit, leaving only worn outlines of what had once stood.
However, this wasn’t what got his attention... in the distance — a massive castle stood on a very elevated platform. The castle was so high that it was very visible from where they were standing.
Ayala stared at the massive city and asked.
"Is that a city in the desert?"
Riven nodded his head slightly and said.
"It looks like it."
Ayala thought for a moment and then asked.
"Does that mean this desert is inhabited by people?"
Riven didn’t respond immediately instead he kept staring at the towering walls and the massive castle in the distance. Their surface was severely damaged with no attempts at repairs that he could see.
It looked more like an abandoned city. If it was inhabited by people then it wouldn’t be so damaged. Someone would have repaired them.
He stared at Ayala and replied.
"Maybe this city is abandoned."
"How do you know mister?"
Riven pointed towards the castle and the walls.
"If it was inhabited then it wouldn’t be so damaged."
Ayala didn’t respond immediately. She thought for a moment and then she asked.
"So what should we do now?"
Riven didn’t respond immediately. He fell into deep thought considering every possible course of action. They could head towards the Abandoned City and possibly set up a camp there.
If they did then they probably would never have to worry about water or food ever again considering that from the looks of it... it looked like the abandoned city was the source of the water of the river.
The only problem was that he had no idea what kind of danger was lurking inside that city. For all he knew... terrifying monsters could have made their nest inside the abandoned city for the same reasons he was considering settling there.
And who could confirm that all the natives of the city were dead? Maybe a few natives were still living there but they had lost the ability to maintain the massive city because of some kind of disaster.
If yes, the chances of them being hostile to outsiders were very high. Even if no natives remained, there was still danger from the monster that had made their nest there.
Maybe they should avoid getting near an abandoned city in the first place.
But the city offered food, water, and safe shelters from the sandstorm. He didn’t want to pass on that...
Riven walked towards the river slowly as he thought about what to do. He took out empty bottles from his inventory and then he started to fill them with water.
As he did... Ayala’s voice resounded through his ears.
"Deciding our next course of action is much more important than refilling our water bottles."
Riven didn’t respond. He stored the full bottle in his inventory and kept filling in one bottle after another. Afterwards, he turned around and said,
"We are going to set up a camp inside that abandoned city. Get on the devil slayer’s back."
Ayala blinked a couple of times and asked.
"Are you sure? What if we encounter danger? Both of our mana reserves are dangerously low, you know."
Riven didn’t say a word — she was right that their mana reserves were dangerously low. But he was far from being defenceless...
His gaze lingered on the devil slayer. He had a powerful subject beside him and his army of subjects which was rapidly getting closer and closer to them.
He could sense that they were a lot closer than before. If they were able to maintain their current speed then his army could arrive in a day or two.
His army was also growing larger as they approached them. Hence also making his level grow along with his army of Subjects His gaze lingered on the level and a smile crept onto his face.
(Level: 10
Mana Reserves: 67/320)
While escaping from the devils of the desert, the system had whispered into his ears several times informing him that he had gained a subject but he didn’t have the time to check his levels.
Now that he had time... he checked his level and it had increased by 4 boosting his confidence of surviving whatever danger lurked inside the abandoned city.
Riven stared at Ayala and replied.
"This is the best way to boost our chances of survival according to me."
Ayala didn’t say a word , instead, she walked towards the devil slayer slowly and got on its back. Riven whispered a command into the devil slayer’s ears.
"Run around the elevated platform. I need to find the entrance."
He hadn’t spotted any entrance to the abandoned city yet so he must find it if he wants to enter.
The devil slayer obeyed. With a powerful roar, the devil slayer started to run around the elevated platform in an effort to find the entrance of the abandoned city.
His eyes darted around as he looked for the entrance of the abandoned city... A minute passed by but they made no progress whatsoever.
As the devil slayer ran around the towering walls of the abandoned city... he saw something that made his eyes narrow. A massive eagle
It was the same eagle that had saved them from the army of elves. There was a woman on its back.
He knew the person on its back. It was Eleanor...
She was also heading towards the abandoned city.
He thought to himself.
"I guess... we will meet again very soon but this time as enemies."
