Chapter 718: Cataclysm School
Chapter 718: Cataclysm School
"The Silver Witch has made Whitebay City her base and renamed it Silver City."
"As for them..."
"These poor souls are relatives and friends of the city's former administrative staff, and now they're being hunted down."
The Tier 5 Awakened explained the situation ahead.
In two days, Lindsey and Alice had come very close to the border guard's hometown. Just beyond ten more floating islands lay the first major city in this world.
The situation was exactly as they had guessed.
The Silver Witch ruled over the city and had initiated a purge.
The civilians fleeing before them had narrowly escaped the purge, and only two days ago, they had found an opportunity to escape.
But even so, the Law Knights under the witch's command immediately gave chase.
As long as they didn't leave the Middle Ring World, these strict enforcers of order wouldn't let any escapees slip away.
After listening to all this, Lindsey couldn't help but quip, "Take over a city and kill the management too?"
"If it were a normal city, this would not only greatly reduce the people's sense of security but also set the worst example, ultimately harming themselves."
The Awakened could only smile bitterly.
"Most of the lords here are like this."
"The witch possesses absolute power and demands absolute loyalty. The ants beneath her notice..."
Creak!
Lindsey suddenly heard a faint sound.
He looked in the direction of the noise and saw it was Alice's right hand, the one gripping the sword hilt.
"..."
Lindsey patted the Righteous Lioness' shoulder.
While comforting his companion, Lindsey handed the captives over to the Awakened.
These people had lost their ability to resist, and only those they were chasing had the right to pass judgment on them.
The handover was almost complete.
Lindsey was curious about the Awakened's abilities, fearing they might be related to Deviators, so he casually asked, "Sir, your Awakened technique seems similar to a Life Scholar's?"
"But it's also a bit different?"
The man from the Cataclysm School laughed and candidly replied to his savior, "Me? I'm from the Cataclysm School."
"This body is all I have. The previous battle was truly embarrassing for both of you to witness."
Assured that it was unrelated to Deviators, Lindsey bid farewell, "Since you're fleeing, we won't waste any more time."
"We'll leave these pursuers to you. Safe travels ahead."
The man from the Cataclysm School turned to the captives.
When Alice had asked earlier, he had also remembered who was forced to obey orders and who had done so deliberately, even to satisfy their lust for killing.
He had made a distinction in his mind.
Both sides bid farewell in reality.
...
This temporary encounter came to an end.
But Alice still stood in place, so Lindsey interrupted her thoughts, "Alice, let's go collect hunting materials first."
"This is a Tier 5 Law Knight; who knows what good stuff we might get from him."
Alice furrowed her brows, "Collect hunting materials—even from people?"
Lindsey shrugged, "The game's judgment doesn't care if you're human or not."
"My stance on this is that I won't deliberately create slaughter for gain, but if an enemy dies by my hand, I won't be polite about acquiring materials."
As he spoke, Lindsey handed over the game module.
Alice carefully considered Lindsey's answer and eventually accepted the module.
As they gathered materials from the Law Knight's corpse, Lindsey casually asked, "Alice, that man mentioned the Cataclysm School earlier. I don't think I've ever heard of it before."
The Righteous Lioness responded promptly, "The Cataclysm School is built upon a very unique theory."
"They believe that insects die, humans die, and all life eventually perishes. Extending this concept further, they argue that mountains and rivers will meet their end, and the earth and sky will also face their demise. Ultimately, they believe that the entire universe, encompassing all worlds, will reach its final conclusion."
"So, their purpose in accumulating Essence and honing their skills is to prepare themselves for the cataclysmic event that will inevitably destroy the entire universe."
Hearing this, Lindsey's tone turned slightly odd, "In the face of such a crisis, their solution is to temper their bodies?"
Alice explained, "They have two paths."
"The first is the man we just encountered. They cultivate their bodies, eventually forging an indestructible eternal form, ready to confront calamities. In terms of physical strength alone, even the mighty Life School experts might pale in comparison."
After describing the first path, Alice pointed to her chest, "The other path focuses on the inner self. They mold their souls and wills, and after reaching the Fifth Stage, they may even abandon their physical bodies, creating multiple selves and pursuing an eternal state beyond the constraints of time and space. This is their way of evading the impending calamity."
Lindsey made a note of this Awakened school of thought.
However, his attention soon shifted to the foundation of this school, "Alice, do you believe that the cataclysmic event they foresee, the destruction of the universe, is real?"
Alice had also regained her composure by now.
She turned her head towards Lindsey, offering a smile, and extended her right hand, which held an Essence Seed, towards him, "Lindsey, this is my hand."
"The most valuable possession of humans is our hands. They allow us to eat, dress, drink, work, and when necessary, create our own destiny."
"If that cataclysm is indeed destined to arrive, I won't seek escape. Instead, I will use these hands to shatter it!"
Lindsey chuckled in response, "You're something else. Seeing your reaction earlier, I thought you might need some comforting words."
Alice's tone remained as calm as ever, "To shatter the will of the Righteous One, this level of intensity is far from sufficient."
After cleaning up the battlefield, Lindsey and Alice set off again, this time with a quicker pace.
Before nightfall, they successfully traversed the final few islands and halted at the edge of the empty sky island.
In the Sky Sea before them, a massive island, hundreds of kilometers wide, floated in the blue-gray sky.
Surrounding it were smaller islands, all disconnected from their floating bridges, subjugated by some special rule.
They circled the central giant island like satellites, each floating obediently.
Undoubtedly, this colossal island was the Silver City.
It was also where the Silver Witch, a Tier 7 Awakened, resided.
To enter or exit this city, one had to either fly or utilize these satellite islands under her control.
"..."
Lindsey and Alice exchanged a glance, knowing they had two options.
One was to take the long way around, avoiding any interaction with the Silver Witch.
The other was to infiltrate the city and search for a flying ship that could grant them access to the skies.
(End of Chapter)
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