609: One hundred twenty-eight.
Arlen Kingdom 609: One hundred twenty-eight.
Arlen Kingdom The Peters brothers lived in the civilian district of Tafeng City.
Here too, they built wooden houses and streetlights.
The Long House became the most popular building after the fog emerged from the deep sea—detached houses not only couldn’t accommodate many people, but it was also difficult to flee to a neighbor’s place when the light inside unexpectedly went out.
Finding their residence, Anna discovered an ancient book hidden under the bed in the wooden box in an unoccupied house.
She flipped through a few pages to make sure it couldn’t harm Lu Li.
“It’s severely damaged,” Anna handed it to Lu Li.
The ancient book appeared to have been gnawed by animals, with clear tear marks at the breaks.
Only a few pages had escaped destruction, and even among those, many contained only partial information.
The only completely presented content was the evil ritual used by Jonah Peters.
The ritual could strip the vitality from other lives to replenish a designated entity, but at a staggeringly expensive cost—it was evident from Jonah Peters merely wanting Mary to recover her health but having to sacrifice over a dozen people.
Anna pushed Lu Li out of Tafeng City in his wheelchair, who quietly flipped through the damaged pages that only contained fragments.
From the few words and phrases, Lu Li judged that this ancient book mostly recorded such evil and barbaric rituals.
Lu Li handed the book to Anna for her to destroy.
“Won’t you keep it?” Anna asked.
“I remember it, and it’s better destroyed,” Lu Li replied.
A gentle breeze blew, and the severely damaged ancient book turned into fragments, scattered on the damp cobblestones, as Lu Li and Anna gradually moved away.
Minutes later, a carriage bearing the Levis Family crest sped past, crushing the soaked fragments.
This carriage had just left from Jonah Peters’ house and, after asking passersby, it directly pursued Lu Li.
However, by the time the carriage reached the city walls, the Levis family had not spotted the figure sitting in the wheelchair.
“He might still be in Tafeng City.”
Viscount Rivis spoke gravely, asking the guard standing stiff beside him, “Did you see the man in the wheelchair leaving the city?”
“He just left not long ago…” the guard answered after a moment of recollection.
“We should still be able to catch up with him.
“No need, father,” a gentle voice came from inside the carriage.
“He seems not to want to meet with us, and it will be difficult to find him once we leave the city.”
“We must ask clearly,” the Viscount frowned and said.
He didn’t believe that the man’s mysterious actions were merely aimed at saving a few inconsequential civilians, regardless whether that man was an Exorcist or “He” as referred to by the priests.
“It’s not as if we got nothing out of it, at least we already know his name, don’t we?” Mary answered softly.
Viscount Rivis loved his daughter, so when Mary got involved, even he found it hard to keep his composure.
But as Mary said, that man named Lu Li didn’t want to reveal the truth or make contact with them.
He could only reluctantly remember the name, and returned to the Viscount’s estate by carriage.
The breeze raised by the moving carriage lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, and a faint murmur dispersed with the wind.
“Perhaps we will meet again, and next time, I hope you’ll be willing to talk…”
“I thought you would meet with Mary.”
High above the ground, several hundred meters up, Anna said.
The pulse of the earth extended in all directions, and on the tiny roads below, one could see humans migrating.
Mary had countless questions.
Despite Lu Li having plenty of time, he did not plan to waste it on meaningless conversation.
Especially since he couldn’t change Mary’s current condition.
Anna stopped discussing this topic and instead asked, “How much farther is it to Arlen Royal City?”
“Less than two hundred miles.”
“We can get there by morning,” Anna said.
“We’ve arrived too early.”
The United Organization of Exorcists’ meeting was scheduled to start the day after next, and Anna could reach Arlen Kingdom on the eastern side of the Main Affinity Continent from the Elm Forest at the end of Ailen Peninsula in less than a morning.
If it hadn’t been for stops in several cities along the way, they would have been even faster.
“Having enough preparation time allows us to deal with some troubles comfortably.” Lu Li was accustomed to planning everything ahead, like stocking up on resources and figuring out refuges.
Even though plans often change— at least they don’t stop his thoughts.
Coherent thinking helped maintain his state of mind.
After some time traveling, they were very close to Arlen Royal City.
That majestic, ancient city that had stood for millennia could appear on the horizon at any moment.
On the ground, small towns and villages that depended on Arlen Royal City started to become common, scattered around what should have been vast farmlands, yet these towns and villages had long been uninhabited and deserted.
Being close to the city was perhaps a fortunate thing.
Soon, a city surrounded by ancient walls appeared on the horizon.
It was hard to compare with Belfast or Himfast, the vastness of Arlen Royal City was stunning and even fostered the belief that it could contend with the bizarre and was the sturdiest rock in the shallow seas.
“No wonder people think hiding in the city can avoid the bizarre, instead of seeing the city as a bigger can of meat…”
Anna muttered, suddenly hearing Lu Li whisper beside her ear.
“Maybe no bizarre is needed…”
“What do you mean?” Anna asked, puzzled.
“Arlen Royal City has a population of about two million.
Residents of villages and towns go to the city.
City dwellers go to bigger cities.
Arlen Royal City is the core of the entire kingdom, and the number of people seeking refuge there won’t be few.
Doubling the population of Arlen Royal City wouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Arlen Royal City might easily accommodate all those seeking refuge, but it would struggle to meet the doubled demand for food and resources, especially during the plant disaster, so…”
Lu Li’s gaze fell on the earth, the spider-web-like delicate roads around Arlen Royal City.
“The supplies in the royal city won’t last long.”
Trouble comes not only from the outside.
Anna looked toward the distant, ancient, vast city again, but this time without any emotion other than pity.
When they were only a dozen miles from Arlen Royal City, Anna landed in what used to be farmlands turned into wilderness, returned to the road, and merged with the flow of traffic and people.
Just as Pastor Morris had said, people were all cramming into Arlen Royal City, and you could hardly see anyone leaving in the opposite direction on the road.
Perhaps because of Lu Li’s appearance, perhaps because of the investigator’s badge on Lu Li’s chest, more than one coach was willing to give Lu Li a lift.
Lu Li declined their assistance, pushed by Anna, he followed the crowd into Arlen Royal City.
The gray sky loomed over the city.
There was an investigator station here, and Lu Li planned to inquire about the council details there.
But before that, he and Anna rented a room on the street not far from the city gate.
Entering the room, the window was open, the curtains fluttering.
Arlen Royal City lacked the constant humidity of Ailen Peninsula.
Contrarily, the floor, windowsill, and tabletop were all covered in a layer of dust.
Inland cities, unlike Ailen Peninsula, don’t have sea breezes to blow away the dust.
After setting down their luggage, Lu Li and Anna headed to the investigator station.