Chapter 9 (1/3): The Maritime City of Velindros

The group used the cover of night, riding swiftly through the ruins and thick smoke to evade sight and escape through the southern city gate.

Along the way, they first passed the corpses of men and wolf half-beasts, then through burning tents and shattered wagons. Muddy water splashed beneath the horses’ hooves as they galloped towards the forest. As the group watched the morning fog rise from the low areas of the woods, they realized dawn was approaching. The wind poured down from the treetops, carrying leaves that brushed past their cheeks.

Qiu Meng sat in front of Shalin, her hands instinctively clutching a corner of her mother’s robe. She looked up at the light filtering through the layered branches.

That light was thin, initially just a few deep red threads cutting diagonally through the canopy, casting tiny beams upon the earth. Yet, even that faint light managed to ease her expression a little.

Everything last night had happened too fast.

The fortress was blown up, the town caught fire, and the streets had become ruins. Even now, whenever she closed her eyes, she could still see the blaze that had scorched the sky.

But at least—

Her father was still alive.

Her mother was also alive.

That was enough to let her breathe a silent sigh of relief deep in her heart.

Dante rode on another horse, his shoulders and waist wrapped in bandages, beneath which crude healing magic had been applied to his wounds. The injuries hadn’t fully healed, only the bleeding had been barely stopped. With the jostling of the horse, his brow furrowed from time to time. Yet, even so, he held the reins in one hand and managed to unfold a map with the other, glancing down at it occasionally. He had to avoid danger zones as much as possible.

“We’re almost there,” Dante said in a low voice. “A bit further, out of the forest, and we’ll be able to enter the city ahead.”

Qiu Meng turned her head to look at him, pursed her lips, and said nothing. She just gripped her clothes and observed their surroundings, not daring to let her guard down, afraid of encountering those assassins again.

Her father’s spirits seemed a bit weary, yet he was still as tense as her mother, protecting her. Despite his injuries and the fatigue that made him want to sleep, he pretended to be full of energy, just to reassure her.

In contrast, her mother was terrifyingly calm.

Her hand holding the reins was steady, her breathing even, as if she had never gone out the night before and had simply slept in bed. Qiu Meng leaned against her, able to clearly feel the steady, rhythmic heartbeat in her mother’s chest. That sound was comforting, making her instinctively press back a little further, almost burying herself entirely in her mother’s arms.

Shalin looked down at her, a faint smile curving her lips.

“What’s wrong… Xiao Meng? Scared?”

“…A little,” Qiu Meng admitted honestly, her voice muffled. “But I feel much better now…”

“Because I’m here?”

“Because… Dad and Mom… are both by my side, not like… them.” Qiu Meng recalled the novels she had read in her past life. In times of war, those without power either lost both parents or ended up in other terrible situations.

Upon hearing this, Shalin was briefly taken aback, then reached out and ruffled her hair.

“Xiao Meng… it’s okay now… Mom will protect you. You can sleep peacefully now~”

Those words were too soft, almost as if they would be blown away by the wind.

But Qiu Meng heard them.

And for some reason, just hearing those words made her nose tingle. She quickly buried her face further forward, not wanting her mother to see her crying.

Ahead, the fog began to change color.

At first, it was a grayish white, but then it gradually took on a greenish hue. Qiu Meng thought she was just tired from lack of sleep, but when she rubbed her eyes and looked up again, she realized it wasn’t an illusion.

“…?”

She was startled.

“What’s going on…”

The next moment, the horses finally crossed the forest boundary.

The view, previously blocked by the dense trees, suddenly opened up, revealing an expanse of wetland so vast and desolate it seemed to stretch out of nowhere. Puddles, shallow lakes, moss-covered stone paths, and low, wild grass extended into the distance. A pale green mist floated on the water’s surface, and behind it, broken stone towers and ancient ruins half-buried in the mud could be seen.

A damp smell hit them head-on.

It was a mix of moss, mud, stagnant lake water, and an indescribable scent of decay.

“Ugh…!”

Qiu Meng wrinkled her face and instinctively covered her nose.

“This smell… is so weird.”

Dante let out a laugh from the front.

“Wetlands are like this. You’ll get used to it.”

Qiu Meng made a disgusted face.

“It’s not a question of getting used to it…”

She muttered under her breath, but before she could complain further, the eastern horizon suddenly brightened.

The deep red sky, mixed with black, first turned a dark blue, then quickly lightened to a clear, grayish blue. After that, a true ray of morning light crossed the low-lying mist and ruins in the distance, shining directly on her face, forcing her to squint.

The light was too bright.

This was the true light of dawn.

“We’ve finally made it…”

Qiu Meng raised a hand to shield her eyes, murmuring to herself.

As the horses continued forward, the sky was fully pushed into morning. The dark blue faded to a golden orange, and the moss-covered stones at the edge of the wetland were illuminated by the sun. A few broken beacon towers stood tilted in the distance, guarding an ancient lost city.

“Xiao Meng~ Look.”

Shalin lifted her chin slightly, signaling for her to look ahead.

“This is the Skell Ancient City.”

“Huh?”

Qiu Meng sat up straight immediately.

“So this is the Skell Ancient City?”

She knew this name.

She had seen it in her mother’s manual. It said that in a more distant era, Skell Ancient City had been an important temple of the Blaze Order. Later, after several wars, the Heavenly Construction Group had added many strategic facilities on top of the original ruins.

But that glory didn’t last long. It was rumored that the Duke of Skell had conducted some kind of high-risk experiment underground, which spiraled out of control and exploded, destroying most of the main city.

Now, the only thing that could be considered “well-preserved” was the massive ruined palace ahead.

The horses stepped onto the waterlogged stone path, sending water splashing from under their hooves.

Qiu Meng followed the view and saw the palace standing quietly deep in the wetland. It was about fifteen stories high. Although the main structure was weathered and damaged, the top still retained a facility resembling a beacon tower.

The door was tightly shut, and the surrounding area was littered with collapsed bricks and ruins half-buried in the mud. Some vaguely resembled the outlines of stables, some looked like barracks, and others were just a few broken walls.

“This must have been a strategic stronghold in the past…”

Qiu Meng looked at the ruins and said softly.

“Mm.” Shalin then looked at the ancient city and said, “An ancient city that could serve as a temple, a main city, and a fortress~”

“Why not repair it?”

“Probably can’t afford it. Or maybe there’s no need…” Shalin paused, then added, “Some fortresses, once breached, are never repaired. Because the important things have been destroyed, and repairing them won’t bring them back~”

Qiu Meng didn’t speak. She just looked up.

She stared at the dead city illuminated by the morning light, and suddenly thought of the town behind her, equally swallowed by flames and war. Though their destruction was different, the feeling of “never being able to return to its original form” was eerily similar.

“Mom.”

“Hm?”

“Where are we going next?”

“To the nearest port city on the border.”

Shalin thought for a moment about the city’s name.

“Vilindros—that’s the city’s name.”

“Vilindros…”

Qiu Meng repeated the name softly to herself.

“Nice name, right?” Shalin smiled. “It’s one of the United Kingdom’s most important trade hubs. Ports, waterways, merchant guilds, academies, hospitals—you name it. The medical and educational systems are decent. We’ll settle there first. It’s better than staying in that border town.”

“Sounds impressive.”

“It is.”

Dante chimed in from the front, his voice still a bit hoarse.

“At least, unlike the border town, you won’t have to tough it out alone when something happens. Mom even studied at the academy in that city~ The guard system there is built by students and guards together.”

Qiu Meng didn’t say anything more. She just listened quietly to her mother.

She turned her head once more to look at the ruined palace at the edge of the wetland, then nodded slightly.

The horses continued along the waterlogged stone path, their hooves echoing hollowly across the wetland. The morning wind passed through the broken towers and their hair, the scent of the air constantly shifting.

***

Crossing the wetland, they traveled until around noon, when the scenery ahead finally changed again.

The ground gradually dried out, the puddles and mud receded, replaced by gently rolling grassy slopes and an endless expanse of plains. Here, they could already see well-maintained dirt roads, with occasional wagons and pack animals passing by. The crisscrossing ruts indicated that the trade routes here were much busier than those at the border.

“Grasslands…”

Qiu Meng lay forward on the horse’s neck, her eyes lighting up.

“I’ve only seen this in books before.”

Unlike the heavy city walls that loomed over the border town, the sky here felt completely open. No high walls, no towers, no Great Wall pressing down on people like an eternal weight. There were only the waves of grass, gently swaying in the wind, stretching one after another to the edge of sight.

The horses were tired too.

When the sun was fully overhead at noon, her father finally raised his hand to signal a halt. They took a short break by a small stream.

The stream wasn’t wide, but the water was extremely clear, revealing smooth pebbles at the bottom. Short trees and waist-high grass grew along the bank. When the wind blew, it carried a mix of green grass and water vapor that was so clean it felt almost luxurious.

After jumping off the horse, Qiu Meng looked around, then slowly crouched down and reached out to touch the grass.

It was soft.

And it carried the warm, comforting temperature of having been baked in the sun.

She wanted to act like she was used to such scenery, but the moment her fingers touched the blades of grass, she couldn’t help but have a very unambitious thought.

‘So this is what a real grassland looks like.’

‘Even the grass feels more like grass than the grass at the border.’

Not far away, her father had led the horses to the stream to drink and graze. He casually bent down to wash his face. Leize, on the other hand, leaned against a tree, slowly sharpening his rapier with a whetstone.

Over here, her mother was already expertly preparing lunch.

First, she used a dagger to cut open a loaf of bread. Then she took out a few leaves of lettuce, broke them, and tucked them inside. Finally, she sliced some dried meat and laid it on top.

“Here, Xiao Meng.”

She handed over the simple sandwich she had made.

“Eat something first.”

“Okay, coming!”

Qiu Meng immediately trotted over, took the food with both hands, and began nibbling on it with small bites.

The bread was a bit hard, but the dried meat was fragrant and the lettuce was crisp. For someone who had been fleeing since last night, such a simple meal felt almost like a taste of happiness.

But before she could enjoy it for too long, there was a sudden splash from over there.

She looked up and saw her father, holding a spear, thrusting it violently into the water. The next second, a fish was speared, thrashing wildly in the air.

Qiu Meng’s eyes widened.

“Mom… I want some of that!”

Upon hearing this, her father showed a rare hint of pride.

“Now this is real wilderness skill, you know, daughter?”

“I know, I know! Grill it!”

“Fish can’t be eaten unless it’s fully cooked~” Shalin watched from the side and reminded him, “If Xiao Meng gets an upset stomach, I’ll put you on the fire too, dear.”

“It’s not like I can’t grill!” Dante grumbled defiantly, but he still obediently started a fire.

Leize watched the couple bicker, a slight, barely perceptible smile touching his lips as he walked to the river to help catch fish.

Soon, the two men were sitting around the campfire, one preparing the fish, the other flipping it to cook. Despite their earlier friction, they weren’t fighting now, just helping each other.

Qiu Meng nibbled on her sandwich, staring at the fish over the fire, her craving growing stronger.

After swallowing her last bite, she finally couldn’t help but turn to Shalin.

“Can I try catching a fish too?”

Shalin looked up and nodded.

“You can.”

“Really?”

“Really. But be careful not to fall.”

“Okay!”

Qiu Meng immediately perked up, ran to the stream, rolled up her sleeves, crouched down, and carefully observed the movement in the water.

In the clear water, a few fish were darting in and out of the crevices between the rocks. She held her breath, focused on one, and waited for it to swim close to the shallows before suddenly reaching out—

“Ha!”

Splash!

She actually managed to touch one.

A cold, slippery feeling shot from her palm to her wrist. Qiu Meng was startled for a moment, then quickly grabbed with both hands, desperately trying to scoop the fish out of the water.

“I caught a fish!”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

But a fish is a fish.

And it was a fish that had just been caught, bursting with vitality.

Just as Qiu Meng was reveling in her triumph, the fish gave a sudden flick of its tail, slipping from her grasp. She instinctively tried to toss it onto the bank, but she misjudged the force. The fish smacked against a rock, bounced back, and its tail landed squarely on her face.

“Whoa—!”