Badge in Azure

Chapter 1177: Return to the Abyss (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“The god resolutely protected his Divine Kingdom. The citizens in his Divine Kingdom were filled with unparalleled worship for him. The god very quickly advanced from a low level god to a high level god, and his Divine Kingdom expanded. He rode the sun chariot everyday through the skies of his Divine Kingdom, watching over the land that he was protecting...”

Jason’s voice remained discernible amongst the thundering sounds. Sika and Nailisi were listening earnestly. Saleen was able to identify a sense of coldness in his words.

“Later on, did he give up on his Divine Kingdom?”

“No, he left behind six sons. The six sons were pseudogods from birth. His Divine Kingdom continued to expand. Sooner or later, he would advance to the king of gods and become a level 18 god. Within the Crystal Wall system there were very few people who were capable of destroying his country. It was just that he loved his sons too much.”

Jason gazed at the city below, and with a tone of voice colder than the present rainfall, he said, “the sun god’s youngest son had the weakest godly power, but was also the most lively and smartest of his sons. If the descendents of gods wish to grow, they need to spend tens of thousands of years. The youngest child had always wanted to ride on his father’s sun chariot to inspect the Divine Kingdom. The sun god rejected his son’s request, as inspecting the Divine Kingdom was a responsibility, not a game. The sun chariot was not something that a pseudogod would be able to ride.”

“This son caused trouble, didn’t he.”

“Indeed. One day, the sun god’s youngest son secretly stole the sun chariot from the temple. He rode the chariot across the skies of the Divine Kingdom. The sun chariot was a high level god’s item. Its high temperature scorched the sun god’s son. He lost control of the flame dragon serpents that pulled the chariot. The sun chariot fell onto the ground and the entire Divine Kingdom was incinerated, just like the scene below.”

“Then what about the sun god? Why didn’t he retrieve the chariot?”

“His son was still in the sun chariot. The sun god wanted to rescue his son and used all of his godly power to protect him. The flames of the sun chariot had spread outside of the Divine Kingdom and burnt through the two closest planes.”

Saleen listened to the story his teacher had recounted. He heard Jason say, “the sun god loved his citizens, and also loved his son. The living creatures who had believed in him did not know why the sun gods had descended his flames of wrath onto them and destroyed the Divine Kingdom. In reality, it was simply just a disaster that was brought upon them by a juvenile god.”

“Since these people are Grand Duke Pompeii’s citizens, they cannot be said to be innocent from Grand Duke Pompeii’s destruction.”

“I understand, Teacher.” Saleen secretly was determined. He definitely needed to protect Metatrin City well. There were so many people following him. If he died, their fates ] would perhaps be similar to Pompeii City.

“Mm. Even so, I still do not endorse the Elemental Hand’s actions. Alchemy City’s current level of power remains to be one of the foremost powers of this continent. Even if they directly oppose the Holy See, they would not be placed in a disadvantageous position. For them to use this method to deal with you by sacrificing an entire city, they are really lacking in morals.”

It was rare to Jason to use the term “moral.” Seeing Saleen’s questioning gaze, he added, “Saleen, mages are not required to adhere to the laws of any kingdom, but that does not mean the mages have no bottom line. Your actions in the past were carried out under the identity of a king, so I won’t comment on them, but you must never be obsessed with massacre.”

Saleen felt as if his entire body had been doused in cold water. His teacher’s words were to warn him of all of his actions.

“You don’t need to be so nervous, I am saying that you should not wilfully admit to causing the situation here. If Alchemy City wants to frame you, then you should reveal the images that you have recorded using crystals today.”

“What if they don’t do such a thing?”

“Since the Elemental Hand has already started to do such a thing, they will not stop. It will happen as long as you wait patiently.”

Saleen and his teacher chatted idly on the soul beast’s back. In the central area of Pompeii City, a chasm 300 kilometers long appeared, dividing Pompeii City into two parts. The Magical Element Tower was still parked on the east side of Pompeii City. Saleen did not retrieve it, because he wanted to see how powerful an attack the Magical Element Tower was able to withstand.

Red-hot flames were everywhere. Pompeii City burned amidst a large downpour. The rain got heavier and heavier, but it was unable to extinguish the disaster caused by the elements. The first time that the lava erupted, it had also sent out poisonous dust and gas. The dust pollutants and gases had been brought back to the ground by the heavy rain and burnt by the flames. They permeated the wreckage of the entire city.

The Magical Element Tower was outside the range of the explosion. When the flames spread, the Magical Element Tower steadfastly stood its ground. Temperatures that could be used for the refinement neared the surface of the Magical Element Tower and kept burning. However, the temperature of the level 18 elementite had not been increased, so the mages in the magical tower could not be bothered to pay attention to such circumstances.

Pompeii City trembled a few more times. Even more lava was shot out. However, it only shot up about 10 meters and flowed along the chasm towards two directions.

Saleen looked upon the tragic sight while simultaneously using crystals to record the process. What his teacher said was correct. It had not been done by him, so there was no need for him to admit to it. As for how to deal with Alchemy City, Saleen had not thought it through yet. He said to Jason, “Teacher, I wish to contact Grand Duke Iron Blood. He seems to be very interested in conquering the continent. However, he is Alchemy City’s enemy and will not join forces with Alchemy City.”

“That is fine. For things like this, you should decide for yourself. It is fine as long as you are clear on what are the things that you want. Don’t deviate from your direction in life.”

“It looks like there are any more survivors?” Nailisi had been observing. Saleen had not shared his sense with her, so she was unable to see the edges of the city.

“There are. Sika, there are a few mages over there who are not dead.” Saleen pointed towards the east side of the city. Behind the Magical Element Tower, there were a few of Pompeii City’s mages. They had hidden below the Magical Element Tower and had not been killed by the first wave of elemental assault. They also had one less side to defend against the burning of the flames and had been able to hold out.

Sika allowed the soul beast to fly above the Magical Element Tower. Saleen said to the people below, “Let them enter.”

The mages in the Magical Element Tower heeded his words and opened a door, allowing the six mages of Pompeii City to enter the Magical Element Tower. The six did not bother with the fact that they and Saleen were on opposing sides. They swiftly entered through the gate, so exhausted that they sat directly on the ground.

The soul beast flew up once more, flying through the clouds. Saleen observed the split-open Pompeii City. A majority of the buildings in the city had been destroyed, and the remaining ones were twisted or melted. Saleen calculated ceaselessly, and finally said to Jason, “Teacher, the lava here seems to be unable to change the pressure from underground?”

“Mm, the Elemental Hand is unable to control everything. This was not a place where such a disaster should have happened. Look...”

Jason pointed at the chasm. “The pressure below has disappeared, and the lava river has also seeped into the terrain. This eruption could only happen once.”

Saleen immediately understood. “I can rebuild Pompeii City!”

Pompeii City had been destroyed by the flames of war a few times, but it had been rebuilt every time. The geographical position was relatively important. The mountains were not too precipitous and led to the Southwest aristocracy’s territory. To the east of Pompeii City, only the Grand Canal was linked to Qin. The canal made the movement of goods back and forth extremely convenient. It was ten times faster than land transport. To the south of Pompeii City, there was only a large river that headed towards Alchemy City.

The land was bountiful and the river currents were stable and never overflowed. The seasons were clear, and winter was not too cold. Pompeii City was established at the entrance to a fault in a mountainous range. Both in front and behind were relatively more precipitous roads. Pompeii City was still a key area in connecting east to west, otherwise people would have to take the waterway instead.

On the waterway, there were chains placed horizontally to block it off. Saleen could modify it to become more difficult to pass at any time.

If such a good place could be rebuilt, it would completely belong to Saleen. Grand Duke Pompeii had not been killed by Saleen. Even Kang Bai had not been killed by him; he had merely broken his four limbs and frozen him.

“Mm, originally your powers were scattered, which is disadvantageous for defense. However, for your future battles, they will have nothing to do with ordinary people. Even professionals level 7 or below can only become ordinary troops,” Jason said to Saleen.

“Let’s go. If we want to rebuild, we will need a lot of materials. Let’s go to the Imperial City of the Abyss.”

“Mm. As for the mages that you rescued, how about you bring them back to Metatrin City. I will bring them under my control. If you save some more people in the city, bring them all along. In the future, when Alchemy City tries to frame you, they are all witnesses.”

“Master, I will go.” As Nailisi said this, she left Isabella on the soul beast’s back and flew down by herself to search the city. The current temperature in Pompeii City had finally dropped. It was just a bit hotter than the demon plane. Nailisi was unafraid of the fact that the environment here was poisonous.

The six mages who had been rescued were on the first floor of the Magical Element Tower, feeling uneasy. They did not know what their ending would be, and did not know why Saleen, the enemy, would want to save them.

Jason returned to the 17th floor of the magical tower. Saleen walked down alone and arrived at the first floor of the magical tower. It looked like a vast courtyard with metal flowers and herbs. The mages’ levels were not high. They could not tell that the plants had been derived from Sky City’s core.

Saleen looked at the six Pompeii mages. “Are you the Grand Duke’s Followers?”

“No, but the Grand Duke provided for us for 20 years.” The leading mage had attained level 7 and had not just been promoted. It looked like they were about to become a level 8 sorcerer. Saleen glanced at him. The mage’s foundations could be considered solid, and they could be counted as a useful person.

“The Grand Duke was not killed by me, and the city was not destroyed by me. If you want to take revenge, I’m afraid that will not be possible. Alchemy City has thoroughly destroyed Pompeii City. Look.” As Saleen spoke, he directly released the images that the crystals had recorded, allowing the mages to see.

“Your Majesty Saleen, do you plan on taking us in?” the leading mage asked tentatively.

“Mm, go to Metatrin. I can only guarantee your safety. However, if you want to take revenge for the Grand Duke, it will be impossible. I have my own plans and need to take things one step at a time.”

The mages glanced at each other.

Saleen said, “You can discuss it for a moment. I will not allow you to go anywhere else. If you go to Metatrin City, you can choose which group you want to join. I need a large number of mages.”