Chapter 303: Ninglan New City
Ninglan New City, an ancient city that has stood amidst these ruins for over a thousand years. Although the historians guiding us weren’t the best, through a special inquiry, I and Sister Bai managed to gather some information.
For instance, why this city has been able to survive for so long.
The establishment of Ninglan New City is inseparable from the “Ninglan Guardian Stele” in the very center of the city, which is fundamental to its existence.
As for why such important information was so easily disclosed, it is simply because this massive stele is situated right in the center of Ninglan New City, in a conspicuous location, making it impossible to hide. It is better to openly share this information.
The Ninglan Guardian Stele was discovered by the first city lord of Ninglan, establishing the foundation for Ninglan New City, and generations have guarded and preserved this stele.
But why build the city on such a guardian stele, and what exactly does it protect? This is equally worth understanding.
Specifically, they said that here, energy tides affecting the entire world surge every so often. Without a corresponding energy counterbalance, humans cannot survive such tides, and the damage these tides cause to the human body is permanent, with no cure found so far.
Thus, the time we are in now is actually quite fortunate; it is not the period when energy tides wash over, and we are even in a low-energy phase, making it the safest time for outdoor activities.
Energy tides have destroyed too many things, including but not limited to flora and fauna from the outside world.
The plants visible outside are all energy-adaptive plants that sprouted from energy remaining after the devastation caused by energy tides. This is how plants have chosen to confront such disasters. The same goes for animals; under the influence of energy tides, they either d*e or mutate to survive.
Mutated beasts, like the ones we encountered earlier, mostly feed on those energy plants.
I don’t know if these energy tides have any effect on our consciousness, which exists in the dream world, but I suspect they most likely do not.
According to the city defense soldier, while patrolling outside the city, he needs to verify the identities of outsiders and confirm whether we come with good intentions. They mainly rely on their subjective judgment for this. If we give our consent, they will take us to meet the highest-ranking officer of the city defense, a person called Mo Le.
There’s even a possibility that we will meet the current city lord of Ninglan New City.
However, not every outsider is treated that way. As long as they do not violate the rules within Ninglan New City, they will temporarily provide accommodation for outsiders.
I’m also curious about the current city lord, who seems to be quite interested in outsiders as well; otherwise, he wouldn’t personally receive us.
If such a large city can be managed by them, then their workload is undoubtedly quite heavy.
Perhaps our existence forms might be a significant inconvenience for them, which is why they wish to gently guide us not to cause chaos.
Otherwise, if they took a hardline approach, they too would suffer in dealing with unruly individuals.
As we approached what is referred to as Ninglan New City, I couldn’t help but marvel at the size and grandeur of this massive city, with many defensive works on the outskirts designed to cope with various troubles.
The outer defensive walls are built using the most primitive yet effective technique of piling up huge stones, beneath which is a tight defense, likely the main force of the city defense outside.
Such design completely disregards the need for easy entry and exit for the inhabitants. Perhaps considering the natural disasters described earlier, the effects of energy tides, it is not impossible for residents to never leave the city walls in their entire lives.
When we arrived here, we were unsurprisingly stopped.
“Please wait a moment; I will report the situation. Do not make any movements here.”
“Uh-huh.”
Sister Bai and I nodded and made no movements. After all, when we saw the demeanor of those who stopped us, it was clear that not everyone is as easy to talk to as these few.
Having been in years of combat, especially here fighting so-called mutated beasts, they exude heavy hostility and do not seem to be good at communication.
But compared to these, I care more about what kind of ability the Ninglan Guardian Stele has to counteract energy tides.
It is clear that this power does not encompass all of Ninglan New City, or perhaps what I see now of the city walls is just one layer of the many defensive walls pushing outward from Ninglan New City. After observing closely, I noticed that these enormous stone walls were severely weathered, and I could even sense the elemental energy infecting those stones.
Extraordinary energy forms a stable protective layer to counter energy tides… that is indeed a miracle.
After a period of waiting, another group of people emerged, including the team leader who had previously led me, and at the forefront, there was someone… just by their aura and the armor they wore, I could tell they were not ordinary.
Perhaps this person is the highest-ranking officer of the city defense, Mo Le?
“Hello, outsiders; I am Mo Le of the Ninglan New City City Defense.” Forgoing unnecessary pleasantries, he straightforwardly introduced himself.
“Ninglan New City welcomes the visit of outsiders, ladies.”
“Hello, I am Yang Yuelan.”
“Bai Yu.”
After a brief introduction, the somewhat stern city defense officer, Mo Le, began to inquire about the purpose of our visit.
“We have just arrived and are exploring; I became curious upon discovering this city.”
“Is that so? Then you are indeed lucky.” Mo Le was somewhat surprised by our calm demeanor. The appearance of outsiders generally meant they were the first point of contact for the city defense. After some probing, they knew of the situation, but in initial encounters, outsiders typically reacted with panic, fear, confusion, or simply did not understand what was happening, as if they were bewildered by their own arrival.
However, these two before him appeared quite composed; they were either powerful or knew something. Yet, their strength did not matter much to them; although they could not physically confront these outsiders, neither could the outsiders’ attacks have any effect on them.
So, Mo Le was not afraid of powerful outsiders but was wary of them being troublesome.
“Indeed, I think so too.” I nodded, acknowledging that luck was indeed on our side. “By the way, do you just let us chat right here?”
“Apologies, please follow me.” It seemed like Mo Le finally came to his senses and led us to the enormous city gate.
After the guard signal activated the opening of the gate, this long-sealed door slowly creaked open under the harsh sounds of machinery.
However, what lay beyond this gate was not a flourishing cityscape but rather a transition zone that could be described as perilous.
“This is the combat area and buffer zone at the forefront of Ninglan New City. The real Ninglan New City requires some distance to reach, hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s alright; I don’t mind, but… are such defensive works really necessary?” Perhaps because I had never seen such a grand scale, but if it were just to defend against those mutated beasts, it shouldn’t be needed, right?
“Of course, it is highly necessary. As the outermost defense of Ninglan New City, it can deter a large number of disturbances from mutated beasts even in normal times, reducing unnecessary trouble. When the beast tide occurs, it will also serve as a filtering threshold for mutated beasts, holding significant strategic importance…”
While Mo Le explained the value he attributed to these structures, he was also testing our situation.
The walk to this point took quite a while, and we probed each other extensively, most of the talking was handled by Sister Bai, as she was much better than I was at dialogue.
“We’re here. Allow me to formally welcome you once again to Ninglan New City.”
Once Mo Le finished that statement, the true Ninglan New City unfolded before us. The first feeling I experienced was one of unique shock; it was a prosperity that starkly contrasted with the desolate ruins outside, filled with a distinct cultural charm that struck my senses.
As we crossed this threshold, the expansive and stunning scenery seemed to create two worlds in contrast with the outside. A giant stele stood in the center of the broadest square.
It was so eye-catching, as if it was pulsating with the lifeblood of the entire city, and I could “see” the source of power of the Ninglan Guardian Stele, isolating the interior of Ninglan New City from the outside.
The stele appeared to have tiny inscriptions carved upon it, likely chronicling the glorious achievements of generations?
Surrounding the square were bustling markets filled with people and shops, yet beneath this prosperity, there seemed to be an undercurrent of… gloom.
The buildings here were composed of retro styles and elements that created the flourishing Ninglan New City, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that this architecture style looked vaguely familiar.
However, compared to these trivial matters, I was more invested in that Ninglan Stele. The power it constantly emanated was something I was all too familiar with!
Earth Vein Energy.
“Ladies, please follow me.” At that moment, Mo Le once again interrupted my ponderings.
“Hmm? Where to? Are you arranging accommodations for us?” I asked instinctively.
Mo Le’s previous statements disrupted my train of thought; after realizing this power was Earth Vein Energy, it felt like I had connected the dots, but my thoughts broke off.
So I set that aside for now.
“We will arrange accommodations for you both as soon as possible, but before that, I would like to invite you to meet the city lord at Ninglan Township Fort.”
“Oh?”
I raised an eyebrow, surprised that right off the bat they wanted us to meet that lord?
Though the current lord seems to hold a position similar to a “hereditary,” and although they are not as outstanding as the first city lord who founded Ninglan New City, it is evident that the person who has managed to guard the city until now is no pushover.
“By the way, your city lord shouldn’t have the time to meet every outsider, right?”
“Indeed, the city lord is extremely busy and cannot meet every outsider, so I need to request permission first.”
“So you act as a filter, determining whether we qualify to meet the city lord?” I asked with a slight smirk.
“Yes, even among outsiders, not all are welcomed in Ninglan New City. After our interactions, I believe you both indeed qualify to meet the city lord. I imagine you also have many things you’d like to communicate to the city lord?” Mo Le admitted candidly.
Mo Le was well aware that they seemed curious about the current Ninglan New City and everything happening now. Including when they came with that squad, they were inquiring about history and other matters, which he understood clearly, hence making such a judgment.
“Of course! If you two do not wish for that, then I can directly arrange accommodations for you. You can stay here. If you wish to leave, just let me know; I generally stay at the frontline of Ninglan New City.”
“Okay.”
I nodded and then looked at Sister Bai, primarily assessing her thoughts on meeting the city lord.
In truth, I was indifferent about meeting the city lord; it wasn’t something I felt compelled to do. The most I could do is understand the circumstances within this world and see how other students who were affected by the nightmare were faring in Ninglan New City.
“It should indeed be worth going to meet them,” Bai Yu nodded at my glance, agreeing with Mo Le’s initiative.
However, even if we do not go, our arrival will likely still be reported to that lord, as we are indeed unstable elements, and they may be quite interested in our existence.
Along the way here, Mo Le had been subtly probing into the nature of our world, trying to uncover our secrets.
Such behavior had become routine to us. Until Mo Le led us to the most prominent building in the city, which he referred to as Ninglan Township Fort. To some extent, this could also be seen as the lord’s residence.
However, speaking of which, “Ninglan” should be a surname, right? Or perhaps “Mo” in Mo Le is also a surname.
At that moment, I seemed to grasp a very key point!
Surnames, architecture, language…
All of these continually remind me that there are countless connections between here and the world I belong to!
And the earlier Earth Vein Energy had my thoughts drifting to “Earth Vein Shackles.” I remember the Academy Head mentioning how the Earth Vein Shackles bind us; to leave the original world, we must sever the shackles. But I have not severed them, so… have I not arrived in another world? Perhaps this is also part of the Main World?
This conjecture is too shocking; if this world is also a part of the Main World, then those ruins… a thousand years ago… I seem to recall being a new student of the 1145th batch at the Witch Academy…
This series of clues seems to point towards a singular truth.
“Stop! The area ahead is Ninglan Township Fort; unrelated persons please halt!”
At that moment, the guards abruptly blocked our path.
“It’s Lord Mo Le. Apologies, you’re bringing… I will report this immediately.”
“Uh-huh, thank you.” Mo Le nodded in acknowledgment.
