In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, at night when the frequency of lightning was very low.
A few humanoid creatures cautiously approached a meatball with six legs and more than ten eyes.
They were wrapped in animal skins or clothes with materials that couldn't be identified. With the help of a few lanterns, they passed through the endless darkness with heavy expressions.
On their faces, there were about ten to twenty tumors. Some of their eyes were nearly squeezed together, while others didn't have a nose, with only a black hole in that place.
After a series of intense battles, they managed to successfully finish off the monster and split into two groups. One group guarded the surroundings. and another group reaped the spoils of war.
During this process, the man with many meat tumors on his face dissected the monster's corpse. When he was searching for edible parts, he suddenly stopped.
"A'dal, what's the matter?" the woman without a nose asked curiously.
The man named A'dal slowly retracted his right hand and revealed an item he had found from the monster.
It was a stone-carved amulet covered with marks of corrosion.
"This is..." The man, whose eyes were nearly squeezed together, seemed to understand the reason and hesitated to finish his sentence.
A'dal surveyed the area and said, "Xin, Rus, this was given to my father when I was young.
"On the day I became an adult, he felt that he could no longer control himself. He chose to leave the city and enter the depths of the darkness..."
When Xin and Rus heard that, they fell silent for a moment. They could understand A'dal's feelings.
This was a common occurrence in Moon City.
As there was no safe edible food, they could only pick the mutated plant fruits and collect the flesh of monsters to maintain their survival.
This resulted in the accumulation of toxins and madness in the body. After a decline in their physical conditions, they would either die quickly or gradually lose control.
In order to not cause any damage to the surroundings and city, those who were part of the latter would often arrange everything after sensing that their conditions weren't right. With a torch and a small amount of food, they would leave the defensive perimeter and wander into the eternal darkness alone, never to return.
The residents of Moon City could imagine what would happen to them. They would either be killed by monsters or become monsters. There was no other possibility.
After seven to eight seconds of silence, the woman without a nose hesitantly said, "Perhaps, this is the monster that killed your father."
"It has a belt made of animal skin wrapped around it..." A'dal's voice gradually lowered. He picked up the dagger made of bone and forcefully inserted it, cutting out a relatively normal piece of flesh.
Amidst the silence, the members of the hunting team completed their harvest skillfully until Rus, whose eyes were nearly squeezed together, suddenly said in a deep voice, "There are more and more deformities amongst the newborn..."
The price of accumulating toxins and madness for generations wasn't as simple as reducing their average life expectancy. The people who still had normal physical conditions were gradually experiencing some mutations, just like A'dal who had many tumors on his face.
Similarly, the toxins and madness could also be passed down to their descendants, causing mutations to appear. Rus and Xin from the hunting team were examples.
Their lives would be even shorter, making it easier for them to lose control and mutate.
The more abnormalities there were, the more obvious the implications were. The hunting teams present knew very well that it might not take more than two to three generations before the residents of Moon City would lose control before they fully grew up or have children.
When that happened, even if there was no external attack, Moon City would quickly be destroyed, leaving behind only stone buildings and murals to prove their existence.
"I hope the High Priest and the others can find a new direction..." A'dal stood up with a lantern in hand as he answered weakly.
In the past two to three thousand years, it wasn't as if Moon City hadn't found a way to escape their current predicament. They had sent out teams of exploration teams that headed deep into the darkness. Some returned after suffering serious setbacks, with nothing to show for their efforts. Some disappeared into the boundless darkness, and nothing was heard from them ever again.
In addition, at a distance away, to the east of Moon City, was a grayish-white fog that blotted out the sky and land.
They were like invisible barriers that not only blocked one's vision, but also prevented any living beings from passing through.
The residents of Moon City once believed that this was a place of hope. They believed that the area covered by the grayish-white fog was a normal country. They believed that the other side of the gray fog was a land that wasn't cursed.
They attempted to enter the grayish-white fog again and again, but all their attempts failed.
They had dug a long passageway, hoping to pass through the invisible barrier by going underground. However, the region deep underground was also covered in grayish-white fog.
They tried ways to obtain the ability of flight before attempting to cross the barrier at high altitudes, but they didn't manage to see the top of the grayish-white fog before they were struck by lightning.
They mobilized the powers of all the demigods and Sealed Artifacts, attacking the target again and again. Over the past two to three thousand years, the cumulative attacks they performed failed to disperse the invisible barrier at all...
Upon hearing Captain A'dal's words, the members of the hunting team felt hopeless and sad. It was as though they were sliding down the edge of the abyss, but were unable to save themselves.
The deformed ones were people who found it difficult to control their emotions. At that moment, they more or less felt like they were suppressing something in their hearts, eager to unleash it.
In Moon City, a deformed person wasn't allowed to become a Beyonder or join the hunting teams two to three hundred years ago. They could only do harvesting work. However, as their manpower dwindled, the High Priest and the rest of the higher-ups relaxed the restrictions.
"Let's go. This bit of food isn't enough." A'dal looked around, carrying lanterns as he walked deeper into the darkness.
They didn't take the risk of extinguishing the fire, causing monsters to surge out in the darkness, as they might not be able to deal with them.
In such a quiet and suffocating environment, the members of the Moon City's hunting team couldn't help but have the feeling that they were enveloped in an endless darkness.
It was as though it was impossible to find hope regarding the present situation of Moon City, and the amount of time the lanterns in their hands could burn was decreasing.
When the last trace of light dissipated, they would be silently devoured by the darkness.
As they walked, a faint yellow light suddenly appeared in A'dal's eyes.
It was a glow that didn't belong to the hunting team!
This bit of light immediately shone into the eyes of all the members of the hunting team, filling their pupils.
A'dal, Xin, Rus, and company couldn't help but widen their eyes as they felt a deep sense of shock.
During their lifetime, there had never been any fires that came from external sources in the history of Moon City after the Cataclysm!
Indeed, many monsters possessed the powers of fire or the Sun domain, but before attacking, they were all hidden in the darkness without revealing any hint of light.
And now, a fiery glow appeared deep in the darkness!
A'dal, Xin, and Rus trembled slightly as they thought for a long time but couldn't think of an answer.
They quickly recalled the hunting arrangements and confirmed that it was impossible for residents of Moon City to be nearby.
Since the fiery glow didn't belong to Moon City, where did it come from?
The entire hunting team slowed down. They were shocked, surprised, curious, fearful, worried, and terrified.
They had also discovered some destroyed cities and knew that any abnormalities in the darkness could be fatal.
"...Be alert!" A'dal finally snapped out of his daze and gave the order.
The hunting team immediately took up a battle formation, waiting for the faint yellow light to approach.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Every second was slow. Finally, after the fiery glow grew bigger, a figure appeared.
A figure... There's only one person... The members of the Moon City hunting team held their breaths.
It seemed like, maybe, perhaps, they might have a chance of seeing an outsider!
Two to three thousand years had passed, and finally, someone else had stepped foot on this land.
They were not the only ones left in this abandoned world.
As for who could travel through endless darkness and reach this place, A'dal and company lacked experience, so they had no way of guessing.
As the fiery glow became bigger and more obvious, the hunting team members gradually saw the figure.
It was a slim young man. He had black hair and brown eyes, and his expression was cold. He was neither a deformed person nor had he any abnormal changes.
He wore a strange hat and strange clothes. He held a lantern made of special materials as he walked over from the darkness.
The light of his lantern was even brighter than the combined light of the hunting team. It made the surrounding darkness fade rapidly.
It didn't take long before the light shone on the bodies of the likes of A'dal, Xin, and Rus.
The figure stopped and looked at the Moon City hunting team. He asked in a low voice, "Where are you from?"
He spoke Jotun... His eyes are clear, and he can communicate... A'dal opened his mouth, stopping his subconscious urge to reply.
He asked in return, "Who are you?"
The figure with the glass lantern replied calmly, "Gehrman Sparrow."
After half a year of traveling and overcoming one difficult obstacle after another, Klein's spiritual intuition finally told him that he was finally reaching his destination.
And he had also encountered the first batch of living people in his trip across the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
"Where did you come from?" A'dal kept his guard up and pressed.
Klein swept his gaze across their faces and said without a change in tone, "I came from the City of Silver.
"And also from a land beyond the cursed lands."
Upon hearing this answer, all the members of the hunting team were in a daze. They suspected whether they were expecting too much, causing them to hallucinate.
...
In the autumn of 1351, Backlund, in the midst of the war.
Ever since Feynapotter declared war on Loen, the war that had been going on for some time had finally lost its balance. Loen and its allies—Lenburg, Masin, and Segar—had lost a large amount of territory, leaving only the last few lines of defense that they defended with great difficulty. They were on the brink of being overrun.
When she saw the long line of people at the food distribution center through the carriage window, Audrey slowly retracted her gaze and said to her personal maidservant, Annie, "Turn towards Saint Samuel Cathedral..."
