Chapter 922 The City Of Exile [Part 1]
“I can already see it,” Lux muttered as he looked in the distance.
Although it was still dark, due to his Dark Vision, he was able to see the outline of the island that slowly grew bigger as they closed the distance.
The pillar of light that shot toward the heavens, which served as the beacon that guided them to the Pantheon of Exile, was shining brilliantly as if greeting those who had journeyed the Purple Sea to reach its location.
“It has been a while since I’ve been here,” Lilian commented. “I wonder what kind of changes have taken place since I left.”
According to what Lilian told them, she was born in the Pantheon of Exile. The Half-Elf didn’t ask her any questions, sensing that the Wicked Queen Slime might want to keep her experiences on the island private.
Eiko guided the Bone Ship towards the beach until it couldn’t move any further. A few minutes later, once everyone disembarked from the ship, Lux un-summoned Octavius due to Lilian’s advice.
They then traversed the island until they saw a pair of giant statues standing in front of a gate.
One of the statues held a sword, and the other held a spear. They looked very imposing, but the Half-Elf knew that they were just ordinary statues without sentience in them.
Lilian led the way, and the others trailed behind her. When they reached the door, the Wicked Queen Slime glanced at Lux and gestured to the young man to open the gate himself.
The Half-Elf smiled and pressed both of his hands against the gate and gave it a push.
At first, nothing happened, but as he exerted more effort to open the gate, the groaning sound of metal was heard before the two gates slowly opened.
When the gate was partially opened, a ray of sunlight hit the Half-Elf as if welcoming him to the place where he wished to be.
Only when the gate was open enough to allow three people to walk side by side did Lux stop completely.
He then took a step forward, and the rest followed.
The moment all of them got inside, the gates closed slowly behind them, leaving them no path to turn back.
Lux had a surprised expression on his face as he looked in front of him.
He was expecting that the Pantheon of Exile would be a gloomy and terrible place, and yet, what he was seeing in front of him made his assumptions vanish into thin air.
“Surprised?” Lilian asked with an amused expression on her face.
“Very,” Lux replied. “Is this really the Pantheon of Exile?”
Lilian nodded. “Yes. This is the outskirts of the Pantheon of Exile. I believe that the one you are looking for is within the Inner Sanctum.”
As the sun rose up and illuminated the world, the City of Exile was bathed in light. A city that was no different from the cities that he had seen in the Surface World.
“Remember, what you see in this city is not what it seems,” Lilian stated. “Don’t let your guard down.”
A few minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the city.
To Lux’s surprise, he didn’t see anyone guarding the entrance. However, after Lilian pointed out that only exiles were sent to the city, the Half-Elf understood that having a guard stationed there was pointless.
The moment that they entered the city gates, those who were awake noticed their arrival.
They immediately assessed the newcomers, and some of them even whistled after seeing Lilian’s mature beauty.
Suddenly, a man descended from the sky and gave a graceful bow to Lux and his comrades.
“Welcome to the Pantheon of Exile,” a middle-aged Catkin said with a smile. “Well then, pray tell. What is your reason for coming here? What kind of crime did you commit for the King of Agartha to personally send you to our humble abode?”
Suddenly, loud laughter erupted in the surroundings as men and women clapped their hands because they found the Catkin’s performance quite entertaining.
To his part, the Catkin bowed his head to his fellow exiles before shifting his attention back to their guests, whom he believed were exiled people, just like them.
“I didn’t commit any crime,” Lux replied. “I’m just here to buy some soy sauce.”
“S-Soy what?” the Catkin blinked his eyes in confusion. “What is this Soy Sauce you are talking about?”
Lilian, Gerhart, and Cethus glanced at Lux with curiosity because they also didn’t know what this soy sauce was.
“Nothing special,” Lux answered. “Simply put, I’m just here to sightsee.”
“You came here to sightsee?” the Catkin looked at Lux in disbelief. “Sightseeing like tourists? Here?”
A moment of silence descended which was broken by another thunderous roar half a minute later.
“Hahaha! This new guy is funny!”
“Sightseeing! Hahaha! Good one!”
“Well, at least it’s much better than the last one. The guy that was sent here ten years ago said that he was just looking for a place to poop!”
“Hahaha! I remember that guy. Unfortunately, he offended someone and kicked the bucket.”
Lux smiled before making a gesture for his comrades to follow him.
The Catkin moved aside with a smile because he knew that there was no place that the Half-Elf and his cohorts could go within the God-Forsaken Island.
New arrivals were always popular with the locals according to Lilian, so they ignored the curious stares in their direction.
They planned to stay in the city for a day to get a proper rest before journeying to the Inner Sanctum, which was located on the north side of the Island.
As they walked the streets of the city, Lilian explained that there was a vast Wild Land that separated the City of Exile from the Inner sanctum.
The Wild Land was home to many powerful monsters that ranged from Rank 1 Monsters up to the Calamity Rank.
It was where Lilian was born and also the place where she had lived for many years until she reached her current Rank.
“By the way, what kind of currency do they use here?” Lux asked. “Do they use gold?”
He wanted to have a proper rest in a comfortable bed if possible and wash away the exhaustion he felt during the journey.
“Yes, they use Gold Coins, as well as Special Tokens as currency,” Lilian replied.
“Good.” Lux nodded. “Do you have any good recommendations for an inn to stay at?”
Just as Lilian was about to answer Lux’s questions, she noticed over a dozen men walking in their direction with smirks on their faces.
A single glance was enough to tell that they were ruffians, and it was also easy to guess why they were approaching their group.
The mature beauty sighed before shaking her head.
‘Fools,’ Lilian thought as she looked at the Baby Slime who was perched on top of the Half-Elf’s head.
Eiko was already holding two Blast Bombs in her hands, a devilish smile on her face as she looked at the ruffians.
Due to her Mind Reader ability, she and her Papa already knew what the thugs were planning to do.
The locals, who were observing the newcomers, all smiled because they knew that something interesting was going to happen.
For people like them who had been cast out from the lands of Agartha, this kind of entertainment served as their favorite pastime.
“Since they are so kind as to give us a warm welcome, we should give them a proper greeting as well.” Lux sneered. “Shower them with gifts, Eiko.”
The Baby Slime’s wicked smile widened, and she threw the two Blast Bombs, which immediately increased their size once in mid-air.
“Boom Boom Bakugan!”
Lux, Gerhart, Cethus, and Lilian all flew backward because they knew what was going to happen next.
Before the thugs even had the chance to run, a powerful explosion made the entire city tremble, waking up those who were still asleep and unaware that trouble had come knocking on their door.