Snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky.
Erin and a dozen others stood facing the gates of Endymion City, gazing at the majestic city that stretched out at the edge of the horizon.
She pointed toward the gates and said, “Everyone, see that row of stone giants at the entrance?”
Holding a parasol, Froyah pursed her lips in a smile. “Not a bad sight. Seems your human sense of aesthetics isn’t too terrible after all.”
The stone giants were sculpted like warriors, and even from afar, their intimidating presence was undeniable.
“Your human sense of aesthetics”?
Wait, you’re not human?
Erin muttered in her mind but couldn’t be bothered to argue. Lady Froyah often spoke in a condescending tone, as if she looked down on others.
She was probably referring to the Magus King who built the city and his followers—after all, rumor had it the Magus King came from humble origins.
Everyone else agreed and complimented the statues when—
Clarette suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Did—did I just imagine that, or did those statues just move?”
Erin twirled her finger and smiled. “Nope, you didn’t imagine it. Those statues are actually living magical constructs. I thought I mentioned before—Endymion City is one of the top ten forbidden zones on the continent because the city itself isn’t ‘dead.’”
Seeing everyone’s expressions darken, Erin blinked and continued explaining, “The Divine Punishment didn’t actually destroy the city.
It just cut it off from the outside world, sealing the magical creatures inside. They can’t leave the city limits, which means they hold quite a grudge against any outsiders who dare enter.”
Redwolf and the others sucked in sharp breaths and exchanged looks. They all saw the same grim realization in each other’s eyes.
A living city filled with resentful magical creatures? That was… not good.
Froyah merely snorted with disdain. “Why so nervous? If Endymion weren’t this dangerous, I’d suspect the Lawbook’s intel was fake. If it wasn’t dangerous, why would I offer you all such a high reward?”
The adventurers fell silent.
Erin added reassuringly, “Don’t panic. I’m here, remember? When it comes to Endymion City, if I say I’m second in understanding it, no one would dare claim first. Just do exactly as I say, and I guarantee you’ll be safe until we reach the Central White Tower.”
Froyah smiled. “Well then, Miss Number One, could you tell me how we’re supposed to deal with those stone giants at the gate?”
Redwolf pondered aloud, “Hard to say how strong they are, but their size alone makes them look tough to handle.”
Erin shot him a look. “There’s no need to fight them at all. The real magical creature is the wall itself that surrounds Endymion. Those stone giants are just summoned constructs from the wall. Even if you kill them, they’ll regenerate. Unless we can tear down the entire wall—”
Don’t ask how Erin knew. They had spent half the day in a brutal battle at the city gate before realizing these giants were literally unkillable.
Froyah considered this. “But avoiding them won’t be easy either. What if we get pincered from both sides by these things?”
“Very simple—they can’t enter the city.”
Froyah’s eyes lit up. “Is there a magical restriction that keeps them out?”
“No, just look at the size of the gate and then at them. There’s no way they’d fit through something that small, right?”
As soon as Erin finished speaking—BOOM!—a huge stone ballista bolt soared through the air and buried itself deep in the ground, leaving everyone pale.
“Oh right, and they have both melee and ranged variants. Watch out for those archers—getting hit means instant death.”
That’s not a bow!
That’s a freaking siege crossbow!
Froyah swallowed hard. The area in front of the gate was littered with shattered bones—clearly the remains of those crushed by those ballistae. Are we really going to charge through that?
“Don’t worry,” Erin said as she flopped into Layla’s arms, curling up in a princess carry. “Their aim is terrible! And Endymion has other entrances, but I honestly think this one is the easiest!”
Since their so-called guide was so confident, what else could Froyah and the others do but trust her? No way Erin would risk her own life as a joke, right?
This is the easiest? Really?
Clinging to Layla’s neck, Erin blushed and shouted, “Everyone, on my signal—get ready—”
“Charge!!”
“And don’t stay in one spot for more than three seconds!”
As soon as Erin’s voice rang out, the adventurers burst into a desperate sprint.
The stone giants had detected the intruders. The city wall’s automated defense system activated. A harsh red glow erupted from the wall, and in the blink of an eye, the row of stone giants drew their bows. In the next instant, ballista bolts rained down like a storm.
Clarette was terrified.
The lady isn’t lying, right? This really is the easiest gate to breach?
As she wondered, the thunderous sound of falling bolts filled her ears. She could even hear the miserable screams of her teammates—“Oww!” “Shit!” “I’m gonna die!” No need to look—Clarette was sure a few had already been shot dead.
Too awful!
This was the price of trusting a wicked lady too easily.
But she didn’t dare stop running. Braving the deadly hail of bolts, she sprinted with all her might.
Hesitation leads to defeat!
After what felt like an eternity, the city gate finally came into view. Clarette bolted through, and only once she’d passed the threshold did she collapse to her knees, gasping for breath, her heart pounding wildly.
Then she heard Captain Ansel’s voice beside her: “Reminds me of the old days—haven’t sprinted in robes like this in a while.”
Clarette panted, “Uncle, your luck’s not bad. But I wonder how the rest of the adventurers fared…”
Don’t tell me… half of them are already dead?
Don’t be mistaken—she wasn’t worried about those people’s lives. What she was truly afraid of was losing too much combat strength, which could turn the rest of the journey into a dead end.
Ansel said, “What are you talking about? Who died? Didn’t the young lady say it herself? This is the easiest gate to break through. With how terrible the aim of those ballista bolts is, there’s no way anyone actually got hit, right?”
Huh?
Claret froze for a moment. She looked around—and sure enough, everyone was accounted for, not a single one missing.
Seriously? An arrow storm like that from so many siege ballistae, and all of them missed?
Could it really be that this was the easiest gate to breach? Or were they just absurdly lucky that no one got shot?
Layla reluctantly set Irene down. Looking toward the long street ahead, lined with red carpet, her gaze turned serious. “Take a short rest, then we move forward. Up ahead is the first checkpoint inside the city—‘The Knights Welcoming the Triumphant King.’ Prepare for battle. Also—”
“Many of the magical creatures here are intelligent. No matter what they say… don’t believe a single word of it.”
——
Serena stood before the city of Endymion, the crimson light in her eyes filled with caution.
“We’ll need to enter through the South Gate. The North Gate has a siege formation made entirely of stone giants and ballistae. Under normal circumstances, there’s absolutely no way to break through!” she explained. “In contrast, the gate defended by the wyverns in the south is a bit easier to deal with.”
Just thinking back to the time she stormed the North Gate with Irene and the others made Serena’s heart skip a beat. Nobody had died that time, and she chalked it up to pure luck—but how many times could you count on luck to save you?
Fighting by luck alone… meant you never knew when death would come.
Just as Serena was preparing to initiate the fight, a voice called out from behind—it was Paluma. The female thief was bundled up in a thick winter coat; Serena couldn’t help but wonder if that would affect her agility.
“Just got new intel from the guild. That gang of outlaws is almost at Endymion City. And we’ve confirmed their identities—they’re all demons who infiltrated the human world! There’s even photos of the group—”
Paluma handed the photo to Serena. One glance, and Serena’s gaze locked up. She murmured:
“…Irene?”
Why are you with demons? Don’t tell me… you’ve already defected to their side?!