Part 6 The Light-Exporter Chapter 61 Imagine No More
As the carriage moved slowly down the road, Audrey’s eyes unconsciously went back to the window.
Many pedestrians stood on the side of the road, staring at the horses pulling the carriage, as if there was a green light in their eyes, and the lucky ones who managed to collect the food covered up as they ran across the street to their homes.
Teams of police officers in black and white checkered uniforms patrolled the streets, revolvers in their belts and short sticks in their hands, deterring one wannabe risk taker after another.
”Recently, we are afraid to go out on the street alone ……,” Annie, the personal maid next to Audrey, muttered in a small voice.
Audrey nodded gently without responding.
After a while, the carriage came to Pacefield Street and stopped at the edge of the square in front of St. Samuel’s Church.
The flocks of white doves there were nowhere to be found, and it was empty.
”The Ruane Charitable Scholarship Fund, and later the Ruane Poverty Relief Fund and the Ruane Medical Charitable Fund, had moved from 22 Pacefield Street to a few small rooms inside the church. The building that housed them collapsed during an air raid some time ago.
For the staff of the three foundations, it was a thrilling memory, and if they had not left 22 Pacefield Street early for different reasons, they would have been among the victims.
Stepping out of the carriage and through the gate, Audrey saw a young girl with dark hair and brown pupils and a thin face welcome her.
Without waiting for the other woman to speak, she volunteered:
”Melissa, is there any food left to distribute?”
Melissa shook her head with a sullen expression:
”Even those disabled soldiers we relieved can’t receive the full amount of food anymore ……”
Audrey’s turquoise eyes dimmed for a moment, not showing her own helplessness and weakness, and nodded slightly:
”I will think of a way.”
……
”From Silver City ……
”From beyond the Cursed Lands ……”
Germaine Sparrow’s words echoed in the ears of Adar, Xin, and Ruth and the other members of the Moon City Hunting Squad, causing them to drift off into a dream, unable to return to their senses for a long time.
Just as Adar was gradually regaining his senses and deliberating on what to say, Sin, who was born without a nose, had excitedly let out a series of questions:
”Where is Silver City? What’s it like? How far is it from here?
”How many normal people are left outside the Cursed Lands?”
Klein swept her a glance and answered in an emotionless voice:
”Silver City is on the other side of this cursed earth, and they have discovered a plant that can be eaten normally called Blackface Grass, which has allowed them to maintain the stability of their community and to effectively explore the depths of the darkness and seek a way out.
”They have also recently found mushrooms that feed on the flesh and blood of monsters, producing a variety of fruits that are free of toxins and madness.
”Silver City has further rid itself of madness, and by the time the new generation grows up, it won’t be so easy to lose control, even in its old age. ……”
These words were heard with frustration by Adar and Sin, as if their own persistence no longer had any meaning.
The life in Silver City described by Germaine Sparrow was the best scene they could imagine, and others simply had it.
”…… they have deformed people in their newborns?” Sin asked in a dreamy tone.
Klein shook his head:
”Hardly.”
”Do their parents go off into the depths of darkness on their own as their physical state declines, nay, ages?” Adar subconsciously followed up.
Klein, who wore a black trench coat, bowler hat, and carried a horse lamp, replied:
”No.
”Because they carry the curse of kinslaying, a life that fails to end at the hands of a bloodline relative will mutate into a terrifying evil spirit or monster.”
The members of the Moon City Hunting Squad finally found a bit of reality, and their hearts were like a slowly warming lake, gradually bubbling up one after another.
These bubbles were fragile, hollow, bursting at the slightest poke, and there was practically nothing inside, but something called hope and light flickered.
With both eyes nearly squeezed together Ruth couldn’t help but repeat the question that followed Sin’s:
”How many normal people are left outside the cursed land?”
Klein looked at them with a slightly complicated gaze and said:
”Basically normal people, who don’t have to constantly worry about monsters attacking, don’t have to be afraid of being in the dark, don’t have to become crazy in old age, don’t have to carry all sorts of curses, wake up every day and see the sunlight, have enough normal food every day, and have a red moon rising every night ……”
However, all of this is now suffering from destruction …… Klein silently added in his heart.
This time, Adar, Sin, and Ruth and the others were somewhat bewildered, for Germaine Sparrow described a picture they seemed to be able to visualize, and then they seemed to be unable to visualize it, in the same way that, when they read what little remained of the ancient texts, they could grasp a certain spirit, but found it difficult to truly comprehend certain elements.
What was the sun and what was the red moon, they had no concept at all.
However, having normal food every day, not having to carry all sorts of curses, not having to always worry about monster attacks, not having to be afraid of being in the darkness, and not having to go crazy in their old age was the goodness they longed for day and night.
There was such a place in this world? Was this the Kingdom of Heaven recorded in ancient texts? Was this land really cursed? The members of the Moon City Hunting Squad once again fell silent.
Among them, some opened their mouths but didn’t know what to ask, and some wanted to take Germaine Sparrow back to Moon City to inform the High Priestess and all of them of this news, but they were afraid of drawing away the danger.
In this process, they never gave up their guard, gave up their vigilance.
For this attitude of theirs, Klein didn’t feel surprised at all, but instead thought that this was how the civilization of the Godforsaken Land that could continue until now should behave.
Carrying his horse’s lamp, he took a step to the left, trying to bypass these humans who were either surrounded by animal skins or wearing clothes made of strange materials, and continued eastward.
No matter what their stories were, and whether or not they were worthy of a little help, he intended to wait a while to investigate and listen, because his spiritual intuition told him that his destination was not far away, and that the fabled “Western Continent” was just two or three hours away.
As soon as Klein took a step, Adar and the others immediately bent their backs, ready to defend and attack, but they couldn’t wait for Germaine Sparrow to approach, and watched as he traveled more than ten meters to the left, and then folded and moved forward.
Seeing this young man wearing strange black clothes, wearing a strange black hat and carrying a strange transparent lantern walking away, the dim light getting smaller and smaller, the expression of Adar, who had a lot of sarcoma on his face, changed a few times, and shouted in a loud voice:
”What on earth are you?”
Without turning around, Klein carried the horse lamp that gave off a dim glow, walking deeper into the darkness as he spoke normally:
”A missionary.
”One who spreads the light of our Lord.”
Adar and Sin and the others looked at each other, confusion revealed in their expressions.
They hesitated for a while, and then, just as the dim firelight was almost at a point, all of them instinctively took a step and followed Krynn.
They didn’t dare to approach, and didn’t want to disengage, so they carried the food they had hunted from earlier, and seemed to monitor and guard and follow in silent steps, while Klein walked not too fast and not too slow, keeping a rough pace, not bothering to wait or try to shake it off.
In this way, both sides walked extremely quietly under the sparse lightning, and at some point, Ruth and another member of the hunting squad broke away from the group, took the animal skin lantern and the harvested food, turned around, and disappeared noiselessly into the darkness where they could not see the edge.
Time passed by, and Klein finally stopped.
With the help of the lightning that crossed the sky, he saw a gray fog solidified a few hundred meters away.
This mist connected to the earth and spread all the way to the high sky, as if it had no top.
At the same time, the fog stretched out to the sides, roiling endlessly.
Klein watched intently for a long time, even with the darkness separating them, and kept slowly tilting his head upward, only retracting his eyes after the second lightning bolt subsided.
Behind or in the middle of this fog, is the disappeared “Western Continent”? Klein thought with a heavy heart, and his breathing slowed down a bit.
He carried the horse lamp and continued to walk forward, until the yellowish light was able to illuminate the solidified fog.
Without any other attempts, Kline’s soothsayer intuition told him that the gray mist was an invisible barrier that could not be passed by conventional means.
He thought for a moment, stretched out his right hand, and grabbed at the darkness diagonally in front of him, one after another.
After four or five consecutive strokes, Klein dragged out a black cane inlaid with various gems from the air.
This was the “Staff of the Stars”, a horrible seal coded as “0-62” that Klein had exchanged for the “Box of the Old Days”!
Of course, Klein had only summoned a historical image of the “Staff of Stars”.
In this way, even if there were unwanted images in his mind, and the corresponding effect was about to be triggered, he would be able to abort the danger in time by removing the maintenance of the historical pore image.
For an “ancient scholar”, this is the best way to use a “0” level seal on a daily basis, but the time limit is limited to three minutes, and the effect is somewhat different from the original version. -There is no way to avoid the negative effects of holding the “Star Staff” with a secret puppet, because the puppet needs to be manipulated, and with manipulation there is a high probability that the image will be transmitted.
Of course, Klein would not do this if he were to prepare for a battle, as it would take up one of his three precious summoning slots. Furthermore, although the Staff of the Stars belongs to him, it is only forcibly belonging to him, and is in a sealed state, and the level 0 seal itself is quite a big difference. The seal itself is quite high, Klein can’t summon it successfully in one go, it often needs to be summoned three to six times, and in the heat of battle, it needs enough chances, it’s not that easy.
Because of this, he would “hypnotize” himself in advance and use the “Staff of Stars” in a special state when he was ready to “perform”, leaving the chance of summoning the image of the historical pore to the messenger. Miss, Mr. Azk, Ms. Arianna, Will Ansettin and other familiar angels.
Holding the black cane inlaid with various jewels, Klein’s mind naturally conjured up a scene in which an illusory door slowly opened.
The jewels on the cane then flashed with a shimmering light, and a gate that was not real enough was quickly outlined on the surface of the grayish mist.
The door opened silently, and the gray fog remained behind it.
”Open the door” doesn’t work …… Klein wasn’t really surprised by the result, but it was still a bit disappointing.
He thought about it, ready to change the method.
However, just as he was thinking, the “Star Staff” with the image presented, the self-activation.