Chapter 73: Chapter 72 City of the Fallen
Rescuing these Sanctuary Warriors wasn’t difficult; after finding the keys on the Cultists, Fina and Fang Zheng quickly opened the Chaos Shackles binding the Sanctuary Warriors. Free from their shackles, these warriors seemed much better off.
“Thank you both for your assistance.”
The leading Sanctuary Warrior bowed respectfully to Fang Zheng, having already been informed of his identity. To Fang Zheng’s surprise, the warriors had somehow heard of his “heroic deeds.” Apparently, Knight Conan hadn’t spared any details at the base about the events in Shadow Canyon, prompting a respectful attitude from the warriors toward him.
Of course, this was a good thing for Fang Zheng; at least he didn’t have to go to great lengths to gain their trust.
“No need for formalities. In fact, the reason I pursued you was not only to rescue you but mainly to find out what these Cultists are up to. Do you have any leads?”
At Fang Zheng’s question, the Sanctuary Warrior named John looked visibly troubled.
“I’m very sorry, Lord Fang Zheng, we don’t know the true intentions of these Cultists. They’ve been tight-lipped all along the way, and we’ve been unable to uncover any clues. All we know is that the Cultists intended to take us to the Dark Marsh…….”
Upon hearing this, Fina suddenly cried out, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the Sanctuary Warrior.
“Yes, they said they would take us to the Dark Marsh…….”
“What’s the matter? Is there a problem?”
Seeing Fina’s pallor, Fang Zheng furrowed his brows and asked. At his question, Fina blinked and then shook her head.
“No, Mr. Fang Zheng, perhaps I’m overthinking it…….”
“In any case, go ahead and speak. Regardless, it’s still a clue. I doubt these Cultists are taking their captives to the Dark Marsh for a vacation.”
“Well……. if I remember correctly,”
Hearing Fang Zheng speak, Fina hesitated before finally muttering through clenched teeth.
“That is……. if my memory serves, deep within the Dark Marsh……. lies the ruins of that forgotten kingdom……. Samer…….”
At this, Fang Zheng had yet to respond, but Sanctuary Warrior John’s complexion drastically changed.
“Are you suggesting that these Cultists intend to take us to that cursed City of the Fallen?!”
So that’s the place……
Fang Zheng finally understood what Fina was referring to.
It was mentioned before that a long time ago, this continent was rife with wars, and because a certain nation ultimately sacrificed its entire population to open the gates to Hell under threat, the continent underwent a dark period lasting over one hundred and fifty years. Afterward, the nations of the continent signed the Violet Pact to end the hostilities.
And the originstator of it all was Samer.
According to the historical records Fang Zheng saw in the Sanctuary, Samer was once a very prosperous small nation. However, as the flames of war spread, their country, due to its wealth and superior geographic location, came under threat from a nation called Kadra nearby, which was one of the very powerful countries on the continent at the time. Coveting Samer’s position and wealth, Kadra dispatched a large army to invade Samer, aiming to completely annex it.
But the people of Samer were tough, strong-willed, and full of fighting spirit. Despite the vast disparity in strength between the two sides, they still fought fearlessly to the death. Even so, Kadra ultimately destroyed the entire country and surrounded its capital, Radiant City. The Emperor of Kadra sent an ultimatum to the people of Samer, demanding they surrender and open the gates within three days, otherwise, he threatened to massacre the Royal Capital.
Under immense pressure, the people of Samer eventually agreed to the demands of the Emperor of Kadra, and on the third day, they would surrender and open the city gates.
But on the third day, Radiant City’s gates remained shut, and the infuriated Emperor of Kadra personally led his army to break down the city gates. What they saw next was a horrifying sight.
The city was strewn with corpses everywhere.
The bodies of men, women, children, and even infants all formed a giant and evil magic circle. Just as the Emperor of Kadra entered the city, the magic circle activated.
It tore apart the very fabric of space, and using the entire city along with the souls of all the people of Samer who died unjustly as a sacrifice, it summoned one of the most powerful Demon Kings from Hell—Gletus. Drake. Ba.
The dark legion annihilated the entire army of Kadra in an instant. They then began to spread out, and the rulers of Samer made a pact with the Demon King with the souls of all their people, asking it to exterminate all countries that had invaded Samer or turned a blind eye to their plight during wartime. Ba was more than happy to fulfill this agreement, his devil legion laid waste to Kadra and the surrounding nations, then began a frenzied invasion into every corner of the continent.
For the next one hundred and fifty years, the entire continent was engulfed in darkness, death, blood, and chaos. The Twilight Legion of the Order Frontier mobilized in full force, while darkness and devils rampaged in the flames of death and evil. Countless nations were destroyed, vanishing amidst the flames.
Eventually, under the leadership of the Kingdom of the Holy Church and the Magitech Nation, the remaining forces of the continent united to mount a desperate counterattack. A group of warriors blessed with Divine Favor formed a suicide squad which, following the cliché of a Hollywood blockbuster, disguised themselves as the evil Fallen, infiltrated the dark magitech nest that Radiant City had become. There, they burned their own souls to summon the power of the True God, completely sealing the spatial passage and banishing the Demon God Babu from the Main World. The devil legion, without any reinforcements, was powerless and ultimately annihilated by the coalition forces.
This Dark War lasted one hundred and fifty years, with countless lives lost in the fight against the darkness. More importantly, it was an invasion of Chaos into the Order World. Remember, before that campaign, Chaos was far from this continent. Now, why would the Order Fortress be built not far from the edge of the Dark Marsh?
Because what once belonged to the vast territories of Kadra has now become a playground for the minions of Chaos!
And all this stemmed from just one major nation’s attempt to annex a smaller one.
It was only after that when everyone finally understood to never push a country to the brink of desperation because if you do… who knows if they might choose to drag others down with them.
“But wasn’t that place completely sealed? I remember the records also mentioned that the Goddess of Order personally applied the seal.”
“That’s what I thought too, but I still have some worries… Sorry, maybe I’m thinking too much…”
Seeing Fina’s hesitant expression, Fang Zheng wasn’t without understanding for her concerns. It was like a police officer going on a mission to catch a criminal. If you bring back a murderer, and it turns out they’re involved with guns and drugs, it’s still considered normal and understandable. But if you catch a criminal who turns out to be planning to detonate a nuclear bomb to destroy the world, you’d also question your life for a moment.
That script is just not realistic.
“In any case, as long as we catch these cultists and interrogate them, we’ll know what they’re up to.”
Fang Zheng waved his hand, about to say something more when suddenly, at this moment, the voice of Nymph rang in his ears.
“Master! I’ve detected the energy fluctuations of that mage; he’s already returned to the camp!”
Upon hearing Nymph’s reply, Fang Zheng’s eyes lit up.
“It looks like we’ll soon find out what’s going on.”