Chapter 85: Flight to the City of Spires

The twin violet moons hung high above the mountains, casting an eerie glow across the winding road.

Four wooden carriages thundered through the darkness, their wheels bouncing violently over jagged stones. Dust billowed behind them, twisting into pale clouds beneath the moonlight as the horses galloped at full speed.

"Faster! Keep moving!" Garris shouted, pulling hard on the reins. "Don’t you dare slow down! Not until we leave these mountains behind!"

The driver of the second carriage glanced nervously toward the dark forest.

"Sir Garris, the horses are already exhausted!"

"Then make them run a little longer!"

Garris looked over his shoulder.

Far behind them, the mountain pass had disappeared into darkness. Yet he could still remember the battlefield—the shattered weapons, the fallen cultivators, and the enormous man who had defeated them all without breaking a sweat.

A shiver ran down his spine.

If something comes after us tonight, I sincerely hope it chooses another target.

"Keep moving!" he shouted again.

The caravan surged forward.

Branches scraped against the wooden carriages as they raced along the narrow mountain road. Somewhere in the distance, a beast let out a low, rumbling growl.

The horses immediately grew restless.

One of the guards tightened his grip on his spear.

"Did you hear that?"

"Don’t look back!" another guard snapped. "Just ride!"

Nobody needed to be told twice.

Inside the rear carriage, however, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Arthur sat in the same corner, his massive body motionless despite the constant jolting of the carriage. The wooden frame creaked beneath his weight, but he seemed completely unaffected.

His crimson eyes remained half-open.

To the outside world, he appeared to be resting.

In reality, Shadow One was processing the data collected during the previous battle.

[Combat Analysis: Complete.]

[Target Group: Red-Sash Bandits.]

[Observed Attributes: Physical Strength, Reaction Speed, Combat Instincts, Energy Manipulation.]

[Preliminary Assessment: Insufficient Data for a Comprehensive World Power Ranking.]

The information from the battle was organized and stored within his internal database.

Shadow One mentally reviewed the movements of the defeated cultivators, their attack patterns, and the differences between their physical abilities and their apparent energy-based techniques.

Their strength had been enough to terrify ordinary villagers.

Yet from Shadow One’s perspective, they represented little more than a preliminary benchmark.

Their combat capabilities are considerably lower than the level I ultimately expect to encounter in Velmora.

He wasn’t disappointed.

On the contrary, the battle had provided exactly what he needed: an initial understanding of the world’s combat environment.

However, one encounter was hardly enough to draw reliable conclusions about an entire civilization.

There were too many unknown variables.

The true limits of cultivation. The existence of powerful factions. The methods used to acquire resources. The relationship between physical strength and spiritual energy.

And, most importantly, the existence of individuals capable of threatening him.

Shadow One directed his attention toward the darkness beyond the carriage window.

Survival is only the first stage.

To operate effectively in this world, I need information.

He would need to understand the local power structure, identify influential organizations, and determine how cultivators advanced beyond their current limits.

For that purpose, a secluded village would eventually become useless.

A large city, however, offered something far more valuable.

Access.

Trade. Information. Connections.

And opportunities.

[Primary Objective Updated: Gather Intelligence on Velmora.]

Shadow One’s crimson eyes flickered faintly in the darkness.

Let’s see what this world has to offer.

Outside, the surviving guards had begun whispering again.

"I’m telling you, that man must be a hidden master."

"Then why doesn’t he reveal his cultivation?"

"Perhaps his faction forbids him from doing so."

"His faction?" another guard scoffed quietly. "What if he’s an independent body cultivator?"

The first guard shook his head.

"You saw what happened to those bandits. He shattered their weapons with his bare hands!"

"And that makes him a body cultivator?"

"What else could he be?"

"Something far more dangerous, perhaps."

Their voices dropped even lower.

Every few moments, one of them glanced toward the rear carriage before quickly looking away.

They had spent years traveling through dangerous regions, encountering cultivators of different strengths and temperaments. They had heard stories about mysterious masters who concealed their identities, powerful elders who wandered the world disguised as ordinary travelers, and reclusive experts whose names alone could frighten entire sects.

But none of those stories had prepared them for Arthur.

He had displayed no impressive aura.

He hadn’t summoned a weapon or performed an elaborate technique.

He had simply walked into a group of armed cultivators and destroyed them.

One of the younger guards swallowed nervously.

"What if he heard us?"

The others immediately fell silent.

Then a voice came from beside them.

"Enough."

Garris turned his head, his expression stern.

"Whatever his secret is, we’re alive because of him. That alone is reason enough to show him respect."

Nobody argued.

Garris faced forward again.

He had his own questions about Arthur, more than anyone else in the caravan. But he had also witnessed the battle from beginning to end.

He knew better than to confuse curiosity with a right to demand answers.

"Keep your eyes on the road," he ordered. "We’ve got enough problems without creating another one ourselves."

The guards exchanged uneasy glances before returning their attention to the journey.

The whispers finally stopped.

Inside the carriage, Arthur remained silent.

Whether he had heard them or not, nobody could tell.

The night dragged on.

The four carriages continued through the mountain pass, their lanterns swinging wildly with every turn. The violet moons slowly crossed the heavens, and the biting cold gradually settled over the surrounding valleys.

Occasionally, strange cries echoed from the depths of the forest.

Sometimes, the guards spotted glowing eyes between the trees.

Once, something enormous moved across a distant ridge, its silhouette briefly visible against the moonlit sky.

Nobody suggested investigating.

Garris simply ordered the caravan to move faster.

Eventually, however, the darkness began to loosen its grip on the mountains.

A thin golden line appeared along the eastern horizon.

The first rays of sunlight spilled over the distant peaks, illuminating the mist that filled the valleys. The violet glow of the moons faded as the sky gradually transformed from deep purple to pale blue.

The exhausted horses continued forward.

The guards straightened in their saddles, desperate for a glimpse of their destination.

Then the driver at the front suddenly pulled on the reins.

"Sir Garris!"

His voice carried a mixture of disbelief and excitement.

"Look ahead!"

Garris raised his head.

For a moment, he forgot to breathe.

Beyond the final stretch of the mountain road, an enormous silhouette dominated the horizon.

A city.

No—something far greater than the small settlements he had passed during his travels.

Massive stone walls stretched across the landscape, their upper edges lined with watchtowers and defensive platforms. Behind them rose countless buildings, their towering structures reaching toward the heavens.

And above everything else stood enormous spires.

Some were slender and elegant, while others resembled colossal stone pillars carved by ancient hands. Their pointed peaks disappeared into the morning haze, catching the golden sunlight like the crowns of giants.

Huge banners fluttered above the walls.

Thousands of travelers moved along the outer roads, and merchant caravans stretched into the distance like an endless procession.

Garris released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"The City of Spires..."

His voice carried genuine relief.

They had finally arrived.

Inside the rear carriage, Arthur slowly raised his head.

His crimson eyes focused on the distant metropolis.

For the first time since leaving the battlefield, his attention sharpened noticeably.

So this is the City of Spires.

The city was vastly different from the isolated village that had provided him with temporary shelter.

The village had been quiet, limited in resources, and relatively easy to understand.

This place was another matter entirely.

Even from a distance, Shadow One could observe the concentration of people, the scale of the architecture, and the extensive network of roads leading toward the city gates.

More importantly, the sheer number of travelers suggested that this place served as a major center of commerce and transportation.

A promising location for intelligence gathering.

As the caravan descended the final slope, the city’s sounds gradually reached them.

Merchants shouted from roadside stalls.

Travelers argued over prices.

Carriage drivers called out warnings as their vehicles passed one another.

Cultivators in distinctive robes walked alongside ordinary people, their weapons and accessories reflecting different backgrounds and affiliations.

Some wore simple traveling clothes.

Others carried ornate swords, jade pendants, or elaborate staffs that shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight.

The streets beyond the gates appeared to contain people from countless different regions.

Then Shadow One noticed something moving above the city.

His gaze shifted upward.

Several enormous vessels drifted silently between the clouds.

Their hulls resembled a combination of ancient ships and floating fortresses. Elaborate carvings covered their surfaces, while glowing formations pulsed along their undersides.

One vessel passed in front of the morning sun, casting a vast shadow over a section of the outer road.

Travelers looked up as its silhouette glided across the sky.

A child pointed excitedly.

"Mother! Look! An Immortal Skiff!"

His mother immediately pulled him closer to the roadside.

"Don’t point at other people’s vessels, you little fool!"

The child continued staring upward, his eyes sparkling with wonder.

Arthur watched the enormous vessel without moving.

Flight through some form of formation-based technology.

He observed the glowing patterns embedded in the hull, noting how their light changed as the vessel adjusted its altitude.

He couldn’t yet determine the exact mechanism.

Nevertheless, the discovery added another important variable to his understanding of Velmora.

The local civilization had developed methods of transportation that went far beyond ordinary engineering.

Whether those methods depended entirely on spiritual energy or involved additional principles remained unknown.

[New Observation Recorded: Formation-Based Aerial Transportation.]

Shadow One returned his gaze to the city.

Interesting.

The more he observed, the more he realized how little he knew about this world.

And that was precisely why he needed to enter it.

The caravan gradually joined the growing line of travelers approaching the main entrance.

The City of Spires stood behind enormous gates reinforced with thick iron plating. Elevated platforms overlooked the road, while heavily armed guards watched the approaching crowd.

Banners bearing unfamiliar symbols fluttered above the entrance.

At regular intervals, guards directed travelers into separate lanes for inspection.

"Merchant caravans to the left!"

"Individual travelers to the right!"

"Keep your documents ready! Anyone carrying restricted goods will be searched!"

Garris immediately slowed the convoy.

"Stay together," he instructed the drivers. "Don’t move until the guards tell you to."

The carriages rolled toward the checkpoint.

A heavily armored guard stepped forward and raised one hand.

"Stop!"

The horses slowed, and the wheels gradually came to a halt.

The guard inspected the first carriage before questioning its driver about the cargo and destination.

Others opened boxes and bags, and checked documents belonging to the trade party.

As they reached the third carriage, one of the guards took notice of the bandaged people.

He asked Garris what had happened to the others in his party.

"We were ambushed by the Red-Sash Bandits in the mountains," said Garris simply.

"We lost some of our men and cargo, but we managed to escape."

At this, the guard turned a serious look on his face.

"The Red-Sash Bandits?"

He exchanged a surprised glance with one of his colleagues.

"You’re lucky to be alive," said the other guard.

Garris gave a tired smile.

"Fortunate doesn’t begin to describe it."

The man nodded and continued to the last carriage.

Arthur was waiting inside.

As the guard looked upon the giant’s form that stuck out from the doors of the carriage, he had to steady himself.

First he looked up at the man’s face.

Then he looked up again.

For a moment he just stood there, stunned.

Even among cultivators, Arthur’s muscular build would be impossible to miss.

His powerful upper body made the carriage look small.

The guard’s hand tightened around the haft of his spear.

"Who is that?"

"He is with us," said Garris.

The other guard looked back at Arthur.

He narrowed his eyes at the giant, who was looking at him with a passive stare.

The guard could find nothing wrong with his appearance, save for his unnerving look, and he was reluctant to pry further.

Still, he had his duty to perform.

"Where did you recruit him?"

"He joined our group during the journey," Garris replied. "He’s a member of our caravan."

It was not a very satisfying response.

The guard frowned then turned back to the lengthening line of travelers waiting to pass through the gates.

Clearly he did not want to waste time on one particularly large passenger.

"Keep him with your people," The guard said at last. "And remind them to obey the laws of the city."

"Of course," Garris said immediately.

The guard stepped aside and gestured at the waiting travelers.

"Inspection is complete. Let them through!"

The great gates opened.

The caravan pressed forward.

As the wheels of the conveyance passed over the threshold of the city Arthur’s crimson eyes took in the transition from the quiet mountain road to the broad streets of the great city beyond.

The City of Spires had opened its gates to them.

The change was startling.

The isolated road they’d traveled on had vanished into the distance behind them, replaced by a broad thoroughfare stretching out before them. Along both sides great buildings loomed, their upper stories decorated with balconies, hanging laundry, brightly dyed banners, and lanterns.

Vendors had already set up shop along the street.

A fruit seller was displaying strange produce under a striped awning while a blacksmith knocked sparks from an intricate bit of glowing metal in his forge.

Several cultivators walked by clutching bundles of cloth wrapped weapons while a group of robed scholars perused a display of jade tablets.

Strange odors filled the air as Arthur took in the busy street from his vantage point in the rear of the caravan.

He noted the clothing of the passersby, the insignias on building facades, the weapons of the various cultivators present, and even the general flow of pedestrian traffic.

It was all useful information.

The village had provided shelter.

The mountains had provided combat data.

But the City of Spires would provide something far more valuable.

Information.

And somewhere within these great walls was the information Shadow One required in order to understand the world he now found himself in.

[Primary Objective: Intelligence Gathering.]

[Next Stage: Infiltration of Velmora’s Urban Power Structure.]

Arthur leaned back against the wall of the caravan.

His crimson eyes watched the flow of traffic as the conveyance pulled deeper into the city.

Around him the guards of the caravan still shook from the horror of the previous night.

They knew nothing of the mysterious passenger in their midst.

What he sought, what he was capable of, and what his arrival heralded for their world they had yet to understand.

For now Arthur was just another traveler in the back of a wooden carriage.

But Shadow One was already preparing his next move.

And the City of Spires was only the beginning.