Chapter 86: Journey to the Holy City

The off-road vehicle raced across the wasteland.

Finn sat in the passenger seat, occasionally taking out a Relic Marrow Bullet and sipping its contents as he used the Source-Devouring Technique to absorb the energy within.

Fine, cool strands of energy flowed into his meridians, circulated through his dantian, and were refined into Profound Energy.

Finn found these days quite pleasant. With a sweet and thoughtful maid by his side, time stretched leisurely ahead of him, allowing him to cultivate at his own pace and enjoy life.

When Olivia saw Finn sipping from a bullet, she glanced sideways at him. She hesitated for a long while before finally saying, “Master, I have a few sniper rounds here. They’ve got more kick. Would you like a taste?”

Finn stared at her in silence.

Ordinary bullets contained gunpowder, which could technically be considered a form of chemical energy. Unfortunately, that energy was released too violently, erupting all at once before he had any chance to capture it.

Finn had only reached the beginner stage of the Source-Devouring Technique. For now, he could absorb only energy that was released gradually and continuously.

Put simply, he could absorb electricity produced by a nuclear power plant, but he couldn’t directly swallow a nuclear warhead while it was exploding.

However, Finn had heard that once the Source-Devouring Technique reached an advanced stage, devouring the sun would be entirely possible. Even black holes could be dug out and eaten one spoonful at a time.

Earth’s nuclear power technology was hopelessly primitive. In essence, it still amounted to boiling water to generate electricity. Its efficiency was poor, and far too much energy went to waste.

Dissatisfied with this, Finn had once constructed a miniature nuclear power plant in his own home. He successfully directed plasma into a magnetohydrodynamic generator, greatly increasing the plant’s energy efficiency.

Those were good days.

Finn stayed home every day, sitting beside the electrodes of a Tesla coil while high-voltage currents crackled around him. He absorbed electricity like a madman, converted it into Profound Energy, and cultivated tirelessly.

Had his homemade nuclear power plant not eventually suffered a leak and attracted officials from the local Bureau of Magical Accidents and Disasters, Finn could have continued cultivating until the nuclear fuel was exhausted.

...

Finn glanced at the three-dimensional map projected by his phone.

“Our next destination is Gasabi Refuge City. Let’s treat it to two nuclear rockets.”

Olivia silently drove the off-road vehicle to the outskirts of Gasabi Refuge City.

It was a peaceful city built among urban ruins. Radiant Path followers in red robes came and went, while battered vehicles moved along the roads.

Finn jumped out, intending to find some high ground and launch two nuclear rockets at the city.

“Master.” Olivia suddenly called out to him.

“What is it?” Finn noticed her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and a trace of reluctance showed in her bright blue eyes.

“Could we spare this city?” Olivia asked softly. “The Radiant Path deliberately caused nuclear explosions that killed countless innocent people. If we do the same thing, how are we any different from them?”

She lowered her gaze and continued cautiously, “Besides, we’ve already destroyed two Refuge Cities. Isn’t that enough punishment for the Radiant Path?”

“Hmm...” Finn realized that his maid was surprisingly kindhearted.

Fine. He had no quarrel with this Refuge City anyway.

“All right. I won’t nuke it off the map. I’ll just set off a firework to prove we were here,” Finn agreed cheerfully.

Finn liked kind people. During his travels across the Endless Worlds, he had encountered far too many foolish, self-serving people.

They told themselves they had failed not because they lacked intelligence or ability, but because they were simply too kind. If they cast kindness aside, became villains, and schemed against everyone around them, surely success would follow.

But blinded by petty gains and held back by their own incompetence, they only ended up hurting others and themselves, until everyone kept their distance.

Finn shouldered a nuclear rocket launcher, pulled the trigger, and sent a miniature nuclear rocket streaking into the sky.

The nuclear fireball erupted in a flash so brilliant that it eclipsed the sun.

The roar of the explosion reverberated across the land and sky, rumbling on and on. Blazing light radiated in every direction, piercing the thick cloud cover and bathing it in shades of gold and orange.

“Beautiful.”

Finn tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle and sighed softly.

Olivia leaned over the steering wheel and secretly watched her master through the window. For no reason she could explain, a sense of security settled over her.

The off-road vehicle turned around and headed north, toward the Holy City.

...

After ten days on the road, they finally reached the Radiant Path’s central city—the Holy City nestled among the northern mountains.

Before the Cataclysm, this place had been an obscure little town. Its rugged terrain and towering mountains had shielded it from much of the nuclear radiation, allowing most of its infrastructure to survive.

After decades of careful development by the Radiant Path, the city had grown increasingly prosperous and become the organization’s central base.

An eight-lane divided highway ran out from the city gates, its broad, well-maintained asphalt a rare sight in the wasteland.

A road this wide should not have been congested, yet today it was choked with the Radiant Path’s Holy Army of Deliverance. Convoy after convoy thundered out of the city and into the distance.

Beyond the gates, the force split into two columns: one headed north toward the Alderon Sea, while the other marched south to defend the Radiant Path’s territories after the nuclear attacks.

Once the Holy Army of Deliverance was gone, Finn and Olivia drove their dust-covered off-road vehicle into the Holy City.

Finn sat in the passenger seat, adjusting the high-energy detector with a troubled expression.

They had already circled the city three times, but the detector still showed no reaction. If the World Nucleus were truly inside this city, the device should have been sounding an alarm like mad.

Finn stared out the window as worry stirred within him.

Perhaps the World Nucleus he had searched for all this time wasn’t here after all.

“What should we do now, Master?” Olivia asked quietly as she stopped the vehicle.

“According to our earlier intelligence, one high-ranking priest remains in the Holy City. His name is Fergus Gould.”

Finn pondered for a moment. “We’ll have to capture him and torture him until he reveals where the World Nucleus is.”

Finn was a man of action—if he planned to slaughter an entire family at noon, he never waited until evening.

The two left the vehicle, grabbed a Radiant Path follower, and dragged him into a restroom. After forcing an entire bottle of veritaserum down his throat, they learned that Fergus Gould was inside the administrative center.

The Radiant Path had grown far too careless. They had never imagined that Finn would drive straight into their undefended interior.

Down south, Finn’s infamy as a Tier 5 Vanguard had spread far and wide. Every Radiant Path follower had a copy of his portrait and was ready to fight the “demon” at any moment.

But here in the north, no one even recognized him.

A gigantic red banner hung from the towering administrative center:

“IN FIFTEEN DAYS, THE SUPREME HOLY RADIANCE SHALL DESCEND! WE SHALL BATHE IN THE HOLY RADIANCE AND LIVE FOREVER!”