The dragon-eagles had eaten their fill, drank enough, and taken a short nap. Each of them was full of energy and couldn't wait to set off.
—They also wanted to complete this journey as quickly as possible and return to their homeland.
After leaving Iron Cage Town, the pace of the journey quickened. Over the next few days, they only landed occasionally, and only because the dragon-eagles needed to drink.
Su Cheng was very sure that her control over her battle aura had improved.
However, the riding experience was still not very comfortable. The skin on her fingers and thighs would still get chafed, and her muscles would still ache.
She started trying to sleep on the dragon-eagle's back. At first, she would always be jolted awake, her hands would involuntarily let go, and she would even slide off the seat.
Fortunately, her reflexes were faster now, and she could quickly climb back up.
After going back and forth like this many times, she gradually learned to sit steadily. She could sleep for over ten minutes without changing her posture, her hands firmly gripping the saddle pommel, though she felt a bit tired upon waking.
This feeling was actually like she had consumed her battle aura.
So, Su Cheng tried cultivating on the magical beast's back, regathering her aura using the method she had learned at the beginning.
The consumption of energy in this situation was equivalent to a certain intensity of physical exercise, so training like this was quite efficient. After a few days, she could feel an improvement in her constitution.
The amount of time she could sleep was also getting longer.
The next rest stop was nestled among the mountains in the southwest of the empire.
The town's light beige buildings were built along the mountain, rising tier by tier. The blue-grey slate roads wound like snakes, and in the center stood an octagonal watchtower, its body inlaid with ancient runic bricks.
The texture of the stone was peculiar. It looked deeply pitch-black, but under the sunlight, it flowed with white light, and the deeply embedded runes upon it seemed to ignite.
Su Cheng stood beneath the tower and looked up. What are these runes for? They look quite different from the ones used in ordinary magic arrays.
The edges of the recessed runes glowed with a faint silver light, winding around the bricks like blood vessels.
When her fingertips brushed over them, she could feel a faint, almost imperceptible vibration, like a slumbering power pulsating deep within the bricks.
Sasha grabbed her wrist, his cold, long fingers sinking into the young woman's warm skin. Do you know what might happen?
He stared at the runes. ...Although I understand that you mages often can't resist this kind of attraction, this is related to the power of the Dark God.
Su Cheng gasped and quickly turned her head to look around, confirming that there was no one nearby and that the pedestrians in the distance didn't seem to have heard.
Although his tone didn't sound like that of a follower, casually bringing up this name was quite dangerous in itself.
Not to mention he was a vampire.
This was the center of the town, a square paved with beige stone bricks, surrounded by various shops with rich goods displayed in their windows.
The town hall was a little further away, and the area in front of its doors was quite lively, with several knights leading magical beast horses arguing.
Outlanders frequently appeared in this place, especially passing mercenaries. The local residents were used to it, and would only take a second glance when they saw a vampire.
Su Cheng: ...I thought you all respected her.
Sasha looked at her with a strange gaze. Her?
Su Cheng was still pondering his words. Are these bricks related to the Dark God? Or do they have anything to do with those dogs—uh, sub-gods?
She turned her head. There were also inconspicuous cracks on the surface of the bricks. Upon closer inspection, she realized that those marks stretched very long.
...Were all these stones pieced back together?
Su Cheng asked uncertainly.
"Yes, this is a relic from Mytheros—"
The vampire let go of his hand. "If you release your mental energy to carefully sense it, you might hear some sounds, and perhaps even see something."
Su Cheng looked at him suspiciously. "What is Mytheros?"
"An ancient city. It is said that there used to be a temple of the Eternal Night Cult. During the Siege of the White Night, the Church's army destroyed it."
Sasha said casually, "Its ruins are just at the foot of the mountain over there. It is actually not far from here."
Su Cheng: "?"
Su Cheng: "The Church didn't raze it to the ground and actually left ruins? And they even allow people to take the bricks out of it?"
Sasha crossed his arms. "Perhaps they wanted to do that too, but just couldn't manage it."
He looked like he was deliberately being mysterious to prompt her to ask more questions.
Su Cheng couldn't help but puff out her cheeks.
She just wouldn't ask!
Even though she was indeed very curious.
This town was nestled in the mountains and had no large hunting enclosures. Kai had taken a few dragon-eagles into the mountains to find food, and Camus had, as always, buried himself in a bookstore.
Only Sasha had bought some magical beast blood, drank it, and started strolling around, eventually meeting up with the equally wandering Su Cheng in the square.
"...There won't be any danger, right?"
She asked, somewhat uncertainly.
"It might be a little uncomfortable, but not dangerous. These things have been sitting here for thousands of years, right?"
Sasha looked up.
Su Cheng thought about it and figured it made sense. Most of the residents were still ordinary people; if this thing was truly dangerous, they would have moved away long ago.
Her mental energy training had never stopped. Although there was no priest to heal her, and the intensity of each session wasn't too high, she was at least practicing.
Now she could mobilize her mental energy without relying on magic.
Su Cheng stared at the bricks, took a deep breath, and slowly let her mental energy seep into them.
Her weak, intermittent power enveloped the bricks like a broken spider web.
The moment it touched them, it felt as if she had been entangled by something scalding and viscous.
The howling wind brushed past her ears, the clinking of chiseling echoed in the distance, crowds surged in a bustling city area, and rows of spires reached toward the sky.
The scene kept swaying, as if the whole world was bumping around.
A silver-haired man stood in front of her. His face was blurred, but she could tell he was very tall, standing straight, looking elegant and arrogant.
He wore a dark blue velvet coat, with the hem swirling with star-like silver embroidery, and his cufflinks and collar pin gleaming with a cold luster.
The man held a slender ebony cane, the head carved into a winged falcon, its eyes inlaid with two brilliant white crystals.
A few people knelt before him, holding trays with several black bricks on them.
The silver-haired man raised a hand and lightly brushed over the bricks, and engraved incantations appeared on the stones.
Those people looked at the stones with joy, and someone excitedly kowtowed to him.
The silver-haired man turned and left indifferently, looking completely unmoved.
"...Damn!"
Su Cheng suddenly woke up.
She panted heavily a few times and staggered backward until she bumped into the vampire's arms.
"Hmm?"
Sasha was somewhat surprised. "Did you 'see' something?"
Su Cheng turned around angrily and grabbed his breastplate. "You said there were only sounds!"
"Normally, there are indeed only sounds," the vampire looked at her. "But your talent in mental energy must be quite good, so—"
Su Cheng let go and covered her forehead. Her spiritual power felt as if it had been abruptly severed. A mild backlash made her see stars, and an inexplicable chill still roamed inside her head.
"Be careful, Lord Magician!" a kind resident passing by said. She carried a vegetable basket and looked over with concern. "These stones all have magic."
"Oh, thank you." Su Cheng looked at the person in front of her. Seeing that she was a kind-faced older woman, she could not help but ask a few questions.
The woman obviously loved to talk. Seeing the magician asking her for information, she perked up and proudly introduced the stones, puffing out her chest.
"These stones help us predict the weather. For example, if there is going to be heavy fog, the patterns on them will glow white, and then we know we cannot go down the mountain—"
She rambled on about the treacherous mountain roads outside. "You powerful mercenaries all have flying mounts, but our entire town can hardly find a few magical beasts capable of carrying people. The roads outside are long and difficult to ride horses on. If heavy fog rolls in halfway, a fall could kill someone! Oh, right, there are also thunderstorms and strong winds. These magic stones can warn us in advance..."
Su Cheng never would have thought that the runes on them served such a purpose.
The woman kept talking endlessly about how useful the magic stones were, a wonderful tool passed down in the town for a thousand years, looking quite proud.
Su Cheng asked, "Do you know where these stones came from?"
"I do!" The woman became even more smug. "They were made by the former Lord!"
Su Cheng recalled the silver-haired man from that vision. "The mayor?"
"No, no, no!" The woman shook her head. "It was a Viscount. He was the lord of all of Mitheros. Ash Mountain Town is just a part of Mitheros."
Su Cheng understood. It seemed the ruins at the foot of the mountain were the main city, and this small town was just a subordinate district.
Su Cheng asked, "What was his name?"
The woman was stumped.
"Anyway, he was a great man! Generations of our families have been grateful to him. My grandfather told me—"
The woman sighed. "Unfortunately, he was killed by pagans."
This was likely a story passed down through generations, known to all the native locals: the learned, kind-hearted lord who cared for his people died at the hands of the Dark God's followers.
Those brutal heretic bandits bathed the city-state in blood, turning the entirety of Mitheros into ruins, and the honorable Lord died in battle to protect his subjects.
The woman told the story with impassioned fervor, simultaneously starting to spit on the pagans and curse the damned Dark God.
Su Cheng quietly looked at Sasha.
The silver-haired young man slightly raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile in his crimson eyes.
Su Cheng immediately understood.
A thousand years ago, the forces of the God of Light and the God of Darkness were distributed all over the northern and southern continents. But after the Siege of White Night, the Dark God's forces withdrew from the northern continent.
At least on the surface, they were all wiped out, and those who did not die fled.
Sasha said that the ruins of Mitheros once housed a temple of the Eternal Night Secret Cult, which meant that the place was clearly a territory under the influence of the Dark God's faith.
So—
The followers of the Dark God could not possibly have rushed into this city to massacre people; they were all on the same side.
Taking a step back, even if they really wanted to commit atrocities, such as holding a sacrificial ritual, they would not act like straightforward thugs smashing, burning, and looting.
After all, the territory was theirs, making it incredibly easy to do whatever they wanted in secret.
The auntie cursed for a long time, still indignant, and Su Cheng could not help but ask about the situation at Miseroth.
"The ruins?" The auntie hurriedly shook her head. "You must not go there. It is full of ghosts. That place was cursed by heretics, and even the lords of the Holy Church cannot get close. You can even hear crying at night..."
Su Cheng's eyes darted around. "Is that so?"
"Of course it is. Going there is a waste of time, and it might even be dangerous. Oh, by the way, we have a bonfire party tomorrow night, a monthly event..."
The auntie rambled on for a bit longer, saying that if she was not in a hurry, she could stay here for the night. "My daughter's inn still has some very nice rooms—"
Su Cheng: "..."
She just wants us to stay at the inn.
After the auntie left, Sasha tapped her on the shoulder. Su Cheng turned to look at him, and the vampire revealed a sly smile. "If you want to go, let us go. It is not far anyway."
Su Cheng narrowed her eyes. "You know what I am thinking?"
"You want to go to the Miseroth ruins," he glanced at her. "I am guessing you have not seen a ghost yet?"
The two exchanged a look.
Five minutes later, using Wind Walk, Su Cheng followed the vampire, leaping through the mountain paths.
The surrounding wild grass and green trees flashed by, and the winding, broken stone paths flickered in and out of view among the woods.
With the blessing of magic, she did not need to expend much effort to easily leap great distances, especially with the enhancement of her battle aura—
Even if she jumped from a height of over ten meters, she basically would not get hurt.
Therefore, they traveled very quickly, at least much faster than ordinary people, and in many places, they could walk in a straight line without having to detour.
Su Cheng leaped down several smooth mountain rocks in succession, rolled in a pile of grass, and patted the dirt off her hair.
"Have you been there before? How much longer until we arrive?"
"Mhm," Sasha still had to slow down to wait for her, chatting leisurely as they walked. "At your current pace, we should make it before midnight."
Saying that, he grabbed her wrist and squeezed it. "Ha, your battle aura is going to run out soon."
Su Cheng: "..."
The sun is only just starting to set.
The twilight sky gradually deepened, and night enveloped the mountains. They finally reached the foot of the mountain, and Su Cheng was already panting heavily from exhaustion.
Her battle aura had indeed depleted very quickly.
Moreover, fog rolled into the mountains after nightfall. If she had not been a wind mage, she would have fallen to her death a hundred times over.
Su Cheng had a terrible stitch in her side and groaned in pain while clutching her stomach. "...Unbelievable. When you said it was not far, I thought you meant the kind of distance we could cover in half an hour."
The vampire crossed his arms and watched her from the side. "I could get here in half a minute."
"Nonsense, you people can jump straight down from the top of the mountain and be perfectly fine—"
He raised an eyebrow. "You people?"
"Long-lived species who have practiced battle aura for hundreds of years," Su Cheng said, out of breath. "How am I supposed to go adventuring like this?"
Sasha chuckled. "It does not matter. There should not be any fighting up ahead anyway."
Su Cheng: "Can you not jinx it?"
"...If there is, I will take care of it, alright?"
"No, I want to fight!" Su Cheng said angrily. "My hands are itching right now. I really want to beat someone up—"
"Then how about you beat me up?"
"..."
They bickered noisily as they walked along the foothills.
Suddenly, Su Cheng stopped in her tracks.
The rolling peaks outlined a jagged silhouette under the moonlight. At the boundary where the lake at the foot of the mountain met the night sky, an entire massive ruin floated high in the air.
It was astonishingly large, like a torn piece of the firmament. Its edges glowed with a sickly, blood-red halo, resembling a scabbed wound.
Because of the great distance, she could only vaguely make out the outlines of the architectural wreckage.
Those magnificent buildings were frozen in the angles of their collapse. Between the slanted streets and bridges, flying fragments of walls looked like falling dead leaves.
"...How is this ruin hanging in the sky?"
She looked up in astonishment.
"Was it an empty city to begin with? Or did someone put it up there?"
Su Cheng couldn't help but ask.
However, no one answered her.
She turned her head to look and suddenly realized there was no one around. In the sparsely wooded mountain forest, only the night wind howled.
Su Cheng was speechless. "If you're hiding on purpose, hoping to jump scare me, it's not going to work, and it's really boring—"
The next second, a pale, slender hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.
"Never mind then."
Someone whispered right by her ear.
Su Cheng: "..."
Su Cheng forcefully swallowed the curse that almost escaped her lips. "See, I wasn't scared."
The vampire straightened up. "Right, I'll just pretend I can't hear your heartbeat."
Su Cheng swatted his hand away. "How can a centuries-old person be so boring!"
Sasha smiled, crossing his arms. "I'm not centuries old, you know."
Su Cheng: "Over a hundred?"
Sasha was noncommittal, merely looking at her with a hint of amusement. "How old do you think the Commander and Camus are?"
Su Cheng hesitated to speak.
She knew neither of them were ordinary humans, and they definitely couldn't be in their twenties like they appeared.
Su Cheng: "The fact that you're asking me means it's probably not easy to guess—"
"Then let me phrase it differently," Sasha tilted his head. "How do you think the three of us rank in terms of age?"
Su Cheng fell into deep thought. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly noticed a shadow fall over her feet.
Two large, dark shadows swept over.
The newcomers' footsteps were very light, approaching almost silently.
Su Cheng: "..."
Su Cheng turned her head and found that the two people who had just been mentioned were standing on her left and right, and both were staring at her.
