Chapter 177 - Without Question
Chapter 177: Chapter 177 Without Question
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“You will be able to kill him this way!”
An anxious voice sounded in the little girl’s head, but her expression remained as if nothing had happened. She pouted her lips and continued: “How can that be! … Besides, that Halfling’s luck is good. If you don’t let him help us find that Son of Fear, can it be that we find him ourselves? … There are spiritual connections between Sons of Gods!…”
“This stupid dumbass is so useless!… I can’t beat him even if I get involved!…”
“Now we can only wait for him to be found. After that, we need to think of a way for him to fight other people. Only when both parties are injured will we have a chance to eliminate him.”
The voice in her head seemed a little angry, and said frustratingly: “Let me out!”
“How can Aladdin be able to handle that Vampire. He can’t even handle a single spell from you. If he was found, he will be killed by the Son of Fear.”
The little girl nonchalantly played with her hair and walked to the windows. She giggled and said: “I won’t let you out. Who asked you, this idiot, to finish your energy. If you want to come out, you’ll have to wait for me to finish using my energy.”
“If you want to kill, then just kill.”
“In any case, except for my older brother, when other people die, they just die. Would it concern me that much?”
“You this useless stupid dumbass!… Do you think that if I don’t initiate anything, brother would just sit there idly?… He already knows that we are the Sons of Fear. He will think of ways to kill the others!… If we don’t strike first, the gap between us and the other Sons of Fears will only grow bigger. If that ever happens, the ones in danger would be Older brother and us!…”
“Unless… you want to keep hiding behind your older brother as deadweight?….”
“Brother is already trying his best!… But ultimately, he’s just a mortal!… This matter can only be up to ourselves!… If not, do you think I wouldn’t want to accompany and be beside older brother?”
The little girl revealed a cool grin as she looked towards the pavement outside the windows, and continued: “This is a relentless battle to the death! If we don’t kill them, they would kill us.”
“Brother would think of a way to help us. That would be very dangerous for him by then.”
“If we ever die, brother would seek revenge. If that happens, he would be in an even more dangerous position!… Keep that pathetic weakness and kindness of yours!….”
“Vivian! We cannot lose this battle!….”
The voice in the head sank and the will to take over the control of the body also dissipated. But a faint thought came about. She spitefully said: “Older brother is my older brother, not yours.”
“Don’t you dare call him your older brother.”
The little girl playfully grinned as she raised her white little hands to unfasten her hairband. Then, she tied double ponytails. She blinked her eyes and naughtily said: “What’s yours is mine. What’s mine is still mine!”
Vivian won hands down.
If virtue was a foot tall, then the devil was ten. It takes constant vigilance to stave off evil.
The Seabreeze blew.
Soran’s figure came out of the mountains in the distance. Near the City of Wealth, there was a mountain range. It was very similar to what Gloria had predicted. The only thing that still confused him was the most important clue to find Vivian. The ‘Snake’ card. Until now, he couldn’t find other clues. At most, he met several poisonous snakes on his way, but obviously, it had nothing to do with the meaning of the card. Now he just hoped that there’s a clue in the City of Wealth, or he’ll have to go to the Soros Islands to search for clues.
Vivian shouldn’t have gone to the islands overseas, would she?
After completing the bloodline purification ceremony, Soran’s strength has increased considerably, especially his Life Force. Now his body felt as though there was endless energy, so much so that he was able to ignore all his minor injuries. Now his Hit Points have become — [Rogue Profession HP6+ (21-10) *0.5] *7+ [Shadow Dancer Profession HP8+ (21-10) *0.5] *2+ [Wizard Profession HP4+ (21-10) *0.5] *6+21 Constitution+15 [Toughen Ability] = 200 Hit Points
Soran has roughly increased 50 Hit Points.
That was equivalent to an increase of at least 3 Profession Levels of Hit Points. The current grade of Hit Points was equivalent to a Creature Level 14 Vampire, or a Profession Level 12 Pure Fighter.
But he might not be able to surpass a Barbarian because Barbarians have a lot of abilities to add on, and their innate ability to learn Toughen by themselves.
This was only a third-grade bloodline purification ceremony and there were still legendary level bloodline purification ceremonies. If one managed to get [Epic Toughen], Professions would add an additional 30 Hit Points at every grade, and the highest can stack 10 times. One can accumulate a total of an additional 300 Hit Points.
When that happens, Legendary Close Combatters’ Hit Points wouldn’t be far from a Dragon’s.
Soran was still able to attain [Epic Toughen]. Because one of the prerequisites for this Legendary Ability is 25 points for Extraordinary Constitution and Soran isn’t far from reaching this attribute. Solely depending on receiving attribute points by raising profession levels was not enough because he had to focus on raising his Dexterity Points. Therefore, he had to raise his attribute by raising his Godhood Abilities.
Lesser Godhood can raise all Attributes by +1.
Soran wasn’t unable to grasp the chances of attaining [Epic Toughen].
As the City of Wealth got closer and closer, Soran couldn’t help but quicken his pace. In the horizon, he could see the vast beaches and sea. There are more reefs near the south coast and the possibility of ships hitting the reefs is very high. So most of the cities are built in relatively safe sea areas. The City of Wealth was just at the harbor in the bay at the front. There was a sea route to the Soros Islands. Although obscure, he could also vaguely see a very small shadow of a boat. However the first thing he saw was not the sail, although the environments were very similar to the memory of Soran’s previous life, the current world was flat.
This was not a planet.
It was more like a flat world frame, just with ups and downs on the terrain.
This parallel continental shelf plane was quite common. Whether it was the Bottomless Abyss or the Hells of Baator, it was all just a layer-by-layer continental shelf structure. The power of another law was maintaining the operation of the world while connecting with other plane spaces. The upper level and the lower level were like layers in the pyramids. The bottom of the two pyramids together made up the largest material plane of all plane spaces.
There were a lot of things Soran wasn’t quite sure of.
What was the structure of the whole universe? He only saw a little when he was traveling in the Star Universe. The stars could connect most of the planes, and it was possible to see the half-planes flying at high speed when traveling in them. It felt a bit like a person traveling in the universe, but what he sees are not planets. Instead, there were planes that were floating, stationary and moving, like planets wrapped in the energy of the eggshell-like law.
Above the Star Universe was the Kingdom of Gods. Elemental Planes on all sides, and Abyss Hell down below.
While traveling in the Star Universe, it was possible to encounter the [Dead Kingdom of Gods]
Rogues weren’t that suitable to travel across different planes.
Other than the Shadow Plane, Soran didn’t even know how to go to the Spiritual World. But, Spellcasters had a natural advantage.
A day passed by so quickly.
Soran could already see the harbor up ahead and outside docks many huge ships. The center of the southern maritime trade was the City of Wealth. As for the trans-oceanic mainland trade route, this place was also a transit station. Soran even saw boats from the Soros Islands and female soldiers living in tropical rainforests were bargaining for their purchases. Occasionally showing off their beauty, chest, and muscles. It made some feel uncomfortable.
The harbor was outside of the City of Wealth.
This was a very prosperous large city. You could see the magnificent temple far away. It was the giant temple of the Goddess of Riches. It was said that the mountain-high worth of Gold Derahls was stored in it, but no one had ever been inside. During the turbulent period, legendary teams were trying to break through this place. Unfortunately, in the blink of an eye, the whole army was destroyed, and other gods did not seem to have the idea of stealing money from here. So no one has ever been able to judge the level of guards here. But it must be one of the most dangerous places in the world.
The symbol of the City of Wealth was the statue of the goddess in front of the temple.
Looking across from a distance, there was a golden shine to it that instantly blinds your krypton golden dog eyes. The statue weighed about 50 tonnes. It wasn’t coated with gold foil on the outside, but a fully pure gold statue!
That’s right.
It was pure gold, and 50 tonnes of pure gold statue at that.
Every time Soran saw it, his heart tingled as if a cat was scratching it. Even though he had seen it many times, his hands were itching but his heart itched even more. This golden statue couldn’t be touched randomly. It was covered with divine power, but there was a blessing ceremony to touch it. Unfortunately, it cost a lot.
Many conniving thieves wanted it but couldn’t get it. Many died up there because of this.
What was wealth?
This was wealth!
Amongst the Gods, there wasn’t anyone more extravagant than the Goddess of Riches. The Goddess has so much money that it made people faint. That year, many worshippers cried and screamed while trying to hug her legs to swear allegiance. But wasn’t that all because of her insane wealth that makes people’s hair stand on end? If you were to ask Soran to choose the most worshipped God, then the Goddess of Riches would be in the top 3 positions!
Her high-grade believers were able to cast a very unique legendary spell.
The name of the spell was [Dragon Covenant]
This spell didn’t require much mana, neither did it require any attributes that were too strong. Even low profession levels were able to use this legendary spell.
The spell was able to summon a Dragon or a group of them!
Pure bloodline Dragons.
It was even possible to summon across planes for Ancient Dragons, or even an Ancient Great Dragon that lives in gaps between time spaces.
It was a very perverted legendary spell.
But it was also expensive.
The legendary spell [Dragon Covenant] was priced from 100,000 Gold Dehrals. The more money you spend to summon, the more powerful the allies summoned. It did not rule out the possibility of summoning the Semi-Divine Dragons from the Dragon Kingdom. Anyway, this legendary magic was only affordable by the richest of the riches. Soran had only seen it once so far, summoning three adult Red Dragons with a mountain-high worth of Gold Dehrals, and then directly destroying a small city.
Soran doesn’t dare to keep looking at the Temple of Riches.
He was afraid of his own impulsiveness. Impulsiveness was a devil. Hence, it was better to keep his eyes off it.
————————————-
It was getting late.
Soran was going to find a foothold first. There were many people in strange clothing nearby. There were also many people with even weirder faces. These were people living on islands overseas. Some of them even painted on their faces. The City of Wealth attracted any race that pursued wealth. There were other intelligent creatures everywhere, such as Dwarfs, Elves, Beastmen, Halflings and so on. Every year, there were many Adventurers from all over the mainland who wanted to find a chance to make a fortune in the City of Wealth.
This was the land of the wealthy.
Walking down the street, you could see a businessman with thick gold chains on his fingers. Otherwise, at least eight of the ten fingers would be donned with gold rings, followed by a powerful guard who also has a gold chain. The essence of the wealthiest in the City of Wealth was still so vigorous. Soran’s hands felt itchy when he looked at them, but he restrained himself and did not make a mistake. Because the guards of the City of Wealth are also very strong and they are the top city legions around. Almost all of them are equipped with one or two extraordinary equipment.
This was the core city of the Goddess of Riches.
It was also an important source of beliefs and the birthplace of spreading her beliefs. She allowed believers of the God of Thieves to move here but did not allow them to destroy the normal source of wealth.
To simply put it, it was okay for thieves to muddle through their meals, but if they dare to expect to make a fortune from stealing, then they’d be doomed.
If they caught one, they would throw them into a mine. The Priest of the Goddess of Wealth would never mind having more slaves for digging! Every year, at least hundreds of people were sent to the mine and they’ve never come out of it anymore!
There was a sudden disturbance on the streets.
Soran frowned and looked on with a dubious face. Because in the distance, it was just like a messy commotion. The crowd was running back in a panic. Some businessmen with big bellies were sweating heavily and the gold chain around their necks was flickering. They have a lot of guards under them, but they shouldn’t have been driven away like stray dogs.
The commotion was growing bigger!
More and more people in the crowd went into hiding. Next to Soran seemed to be a pawn shop. The fierce-looking owner looked into the distance once and drove all his men in. Then he closed the door without saying a word. Even further away, some businessmen panicked and took his guard into the alleys. The fat figure ran so fast that it disappeared all of a sudden. It was a rare sight in a hundred years. People were running everywhere as if they were hiding from a plague, but there was nothing murderous.
Were there any people who dared to behave atrociously in the city of the Goddess of Wealth?!
Soran’s expression grew more doubtful. He jumped lightly, down to the second floor and looked at the place where the commotion had occurred.
At first glance, he almost staggered!
Soran jumped down from the roof without saying a word. Then his figure went directly into the shadow, then entering into sneak, quietly going into the side alley.
It was a plague!
To be able to make such a big stir in the City of Wealth, and to scare so many people away without alarming the city’s army. So far, there was only one!
That is —– A Paladin!!!
And it was a very powerful Paladin. Powerful enough to let people run away without saying a word.
Faraway, a group of Silver Knights could be seen riding on the steeds. They were all in silver-white cavalry armor. At their waist hung a knight’s long sword, and they didn’t wear headdresses. However, they were all covered with armor. Even their arms wore silver-white fish scales gauntlets. These Silver Knights looked awesome and full of a sacred aura. With a kind smile on their faces, it was easy to make people feel good at first sight. They were a very charming group of people.
These Silver Knights, if walking elsewhere, would make the civilians welcome with cheers and cause countless aristocratic girls to fawn over them.
But sadly, this was the City of Wealth.
The effect was that wherever they go, there would always a huge commotion. Large groups of people would flee in panic.
Why was that so?
As you can see, even Soran has escaped. You could tell what this group of guys meant.
“Who the hell released the Paladins?!!”
At this moment, countless people in the City of Wealth were jumping around scolding their mothers, especially those who do tainted businesses. This was a big headache! There weren’t many businessmen who were clean at all. There was a saying called “no treachery, no business”. It wasn’t bad for most businessmen to hover between the Neutral Alignments. There were only a few businessmen in the Good Alignment. Especially those who ran overseas trade. They occasionally collided with pirates. If they won the fight, there would be twice the benefits. How could it not be enticing?
It can be said that in the whole City of Wealth, at least one-third of the people prefer the Evil Alignment.
It’s just that the degree of deviation towards Evil was not very high!
As for the businessmen in the Neutral Alignment, their hands have more or less been tainted with human lives before. They couldn’t be clean on the whole. They wouldn’t go and test for their Alignments without reason. That’s why they couldn’t be sure whether they were inclined to Evil or not. Regardless of whether you were inclined to Evil or not, it wasn’t certain that their hands weren’t clean. In case the Paladin finds you an eyesore and wants to kill you, that will be your bloody bad luck!
It wasn’t that early either.
It was the time when prostitutes and hookers came out to stand in the street to solicit customers. But now, the whole City of Wealth is quiet. There were no fights, sales, and prostitution. Underground casinos were all closed. As long as they were not very clean and were tainted with blood, they all went into hiding. Local gangs retreated and hid too. At least half of the shops in the busiest streets have closed, and the remaining half of the bosses are virtually gone.
This was the power of the Paladins!
They are really too kind! There was no room for evil in their eyes! They were the guardians of justice!
Pitifully, half the world is evil.
Everyone sways between Good and Evil. Even those in the Neutral Alignment are only slightly different in their left and right tendencies.
This was the City of Wealth.
In the pursuit of wealth, there must be a lot of people who have used unsightly means and might have even taken some lives. Few people here were totally clean. That’s why, when they saw the Paladins, their first reaction was to frown, then panic, and then turn around to run away.
Because they were the [Silver Knights]!
They were the strongest group of Paladins in the world. Those handsome looking Silver Knights weren’t flower vases. At least half of them were high-grade professions. If they suddenly turn amnestic and throw out a large-scale Alignment Detection, the whole City of Wealth would shine with blood in its golden splendor.
People from all walks of life and religions were contacting the City Hall in the hope that they would expel these Paladins.
Unfortunately, no one dared to do so.
That was because the current leader of the Paladins was also here, the legendary — [Hand of Silver]!
One couldn’t decipher the age of the leading Paladin, but his face was very resolute. He frowned and looked straight ahead at the commotion, and he could not help but sigh softly.
“Your Excellency, the Hand of Silver!”
Behind him, an angry young knight murmured, “Do you want to purify this dirty city? I’ve seen too many Evil believers!…”
The Hand of Silver could not help frowning, turned to look at him, and said seriously, “Shut up. Don’t say such things rashly!”
“Our task is to destroy that evil Son of Fear!” He has killed thousands of people! A town and five villages have disappeared because of him!…”
“That’s our task. We’ll go back after we finish it.”
The atmosphere became very oppressive.
Some of the young Paladins who had just come out to carry out their mission were indignant and didn’t seem to understand why their faith, his Excellency Hand of Silver, have seen so many Evil believers, but still remained indifferent! Naturally, they would not doubt the piety of the Hand of Silver, because if the Hand of Silver could not be called a Paladin, there would be no one in the world who could be termed as a Paladin.
He was pious, strong, brave, fearless, kind, humble, loyal, sympathetic to the weak, guardian of women and children, and firmly believed in justice. Almost any virtue of the Knights could be used to describe him.
This was the strongest and most pious Paladin in the world!
On his waist hung one of the few Godly Artifacts in the world, [Morning Star]. Only the most Good Ordered existence can use its power!
It seems that there was a kind of sadness brewing.
The Silver Knights were walking in the streets of chaos but could hardly see many people on the road. Their expressions gradually become a little angry, some people are hammering heavily on their chest, open their mouths to emit a silent roar!
They didn’t understand!
They didn’t understand why the believers of justice and the guardians of goodness were like a plague, chasing people away.
Only those older Paladins were as calm and indifferent and were quietly following behind the Hand of Silver. It seemed like this is not the first time experiencing such a situation.
Behind them were the young Paladins.
These young people’s faces gradually become sad, some people even tearing inexplicably. Maybe some would leave the ranks of the Paladins in the future, but the remaining will undoubtedly be firmer and ever more pious.
There were more people ahead!
Some rickety people came out of dirty and filthy alleys. Their faces were full of vicissitudes of life. They were all bruised by life experiences. When they saw the figures of these Silver Knights, a ray of light lit in their eyes. That light was called hope. Many people knelt on the ground, and some even cried and kissed the ground they passed.
A white-haired lame old man staggered over. He knelt trembling in front of the Hand of Silver, buried his head deeply, and expressed his piety and humility. He tearingly said: “Justice… It has finally appeared!…”
“My son… My daughter… They’re all dead… All of them were killed by other people…”
The old man sobbed and knelt on the ground.
The Hand of Silver bent slowly and lowered his head humbly towards the old man before him, then lifted him up, and proclaimed: “Paladins are immortal! Justice is eternal!”
This sentence seems to have contained infinite power.
The young Paladins, who had been extremely depressed, were boiling with blood in an instant. They stood solemnly behind the Hand of Silver and looked steadfastly at the crowd in front of them. Many held their swords tightly as their fingers turned white because of excessive exertion. It was just a sentence but it made them hot-blooded, turning their initial depression into boundless motivation and perseverance!
Only the older Paladins looked sad as if they were powerless, lost and regretful. Finally, all of them were seen with resolute eyes, looking at the group in front of them.
They were the poorest people. The exploited, the oppressed, and the mutilated people. They were weaklings and the most pitiful group of people.
They were not evildoers.
They were victims.