Azure City is the biggest city in the Istarin Empire. The Azure City was also the only city with the largest population in the Dying Isle Continent. Having such a massive population, it was normal for the capital of the Istarin Empire to have multiple public teleportation arrays.
Being the capital of the mighty Istarin Empire, the Azure City was the most developed city on the entire continent. The Azure City had a total of 13 Teleportation Arrays. Of the 13 telecommunication arrays, 5 were the biggest ones. These five are also called the Big Five. These Big Five can teleport up to 100,000 people at one time. At the same time, the remaining 8 Teleportation Arrays can teleport nearly 10,000 people at one time.
The Big Five were located in five special places in the capital. Four of the Teleportation Arrays were located close to the four entrances of the capital. Each teleportation array was approximately 15 minutes' walking distance from the entrance to the city. At the same time, the last of the Big Five was located in the middle of the city. This was also the first-ever Teleportation Array of the capital. The Emperor has personally made all of the Teleportation Arrays.
The last of the Big Five was the busiest. Regardless of whether it was day or night, there were always thousands and thousands of people around the Teleportation Array. It was as if this Teleportation Array never slept.
This Teleportation Array operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, the soldiers who were given the task of operating the teleportation Array and maintaining order, security, and the safety of the public were always busy and constantly working.
However, this has changed due to the Emperor's order. All the Teleportation Arrays in Azure City have been shut down. Other than high-ranking military officials, no one else is allowed to use any of the Teleportation Arrays.
This has left the Big Five Teleportation Arrays completely dead and devoid of any crowd. Suddenly, some of the busiest parts of the City had become very quiet.
"Man, now that we don't have to operate the Teleportation Array, I feel so bored." Ethan Drake was feeling very bored at that moment.
Ethan is 35 years of age. He is a Beast-man. He is a Demi-wolf. Ethan is 6 feet 5 inches tall. He is a skinny man with tan skin. He has silver hair. The color of his wolf ears and tail was also silver.
His clan is known for aggressive hunting. Many members of his clan joined the imperial military and were in the 5th division with him. Ethan was very different from the rest of his clan from a very young age.
Ethan was an Imperial Soldier. He is from Amber's Division. Though unlike most soldiers from his division, Ethan isn't interested in fighting or training. Ethan is more interested in studying ancient teleportation artifacts. He has a hobby of collecting miniature versions of teleportation arrays and other similar artifacts. His interest in studying Teleportation Arrays is what led him to this post.
Ethan was placed here on the recommendation of the vice-captain of the 5th Division. We are very grateful to the vice-captain of his division since he has been able to operate the teleportation array and study teleportation arrays in his free time. Life has suddenly become so relaxed and peaceful for him.
However, coming from a poor family, Ethan has grown to be a hard-working man. So when he suddenly finds himself without anything to do, he feels very bored. It is as if he has lost a part of his life.
"These types of situations only happen once in a lifetime. Instead of complaining, you should try to enjoy this moment." After all, something like this has never happened before. Once everything has been resolved, everything will go back to normal. Ethan looked at the man sitting on his left. His name was Celeb Voss. He was a senior soldier and a local. Celeb lived with his family in the capital. Celeb's family used to work as artisans. They made various handmade products and sold them at Azure City. But this all changed about one year ago when the whole Empire underwent a massive transformation.
Celeb was the first member of his family to join the imperial army. When he first became a recruit, his family pressured him to give up being a soldier because of the dangers involved. Fortunately, after six months of becoming a soldier, Celeb was transferred here and tasked with maintaining the security and public order of one of the biggest Teleportation Arrays in Azure City.
Even though he had to work harder than other soldiers, it was still worth it since this job wasn't dangerous. Not to mention, the extra perks or benefits that he and his family received made his job even more lucrative. Every day, he worked for 8 to 10 hours before returning home, and every month, he received around four days' break.
"I will try...!!" Celeb nodded his head before focusing on painting the small wooden figure of an elephant. Celeb had picked up the habit of carving small wooden animals from his grandfather. This was his way of relaxing. There were also other people sitting beside Ethan and Celeb. Captain Darius Stone was in charge of everything. Everyone here called him Captain. Sergeant Marcus Vale was second in command. He was responsible for overseeing daily operations.
Everyone was having tea, except Ethan and Celeb. While on duty, it was strictly forbidden for any Imperial soldier to drink alcohol or eat any food that might have alcohol. If any Imperial Soldier was found drinking, he would be immediately fired regardless of his rank and status. "Captain, some civilians are approaching in this direction." Said Vice-captain Marcus. Marcus is known for his sharp eyes and can spot trouble from a mile away. Seeing these civilians, he felt something was wrong. By now, everyone in the city should have been made aware that no one is allowed to enter or exit the city. This also meant that no one, regardless of their status, was allowed to use any Teleportation Arrays to enter and exit the city. This means communication with the outside world was totally blocked by the orders of the Emperor. "Why are they coming here?" Captain Stone asked while frowning. "I will go and check." As Ethan was the youngest one here, he decided to take the role of inquiring why these people had come here.
The group of people that approached Ethan were a group of humans. From their clothes, Ethan could easily tell that they were not that wealthy. There were about 23 people in the group, including women. There weren't any children or elderly ones in the group. "Why are you all here? Don't you know that by the Orders of His Majesty, all the teleportation Arrays in Azure City have been shut down?" Ethan asked in a slightly stern tone. He wanted to scare these people away. He did not want to see them pleading as Ethan was weak to such stuff. He might melt seeing them plead. "Sir, this is really important. If we don't go back to our village, then our children and our old parents will die of starvation." Said one of the women as tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Madam, no matter what your emergency is, we cannot break His Majesty's orders. I hope you all can understand." Ethan said in a slightly helpless tone. "But our family members will die of starvation if we don't return with these supplies." Another man stepped out of the crowd and pleaded. At the same time, Ethan's colleagues were observing the whole situation. Seeing these people being so stubborn, Captain Stone frowned. "I am sure your families will be able to hold on for a day or two. I suggest you all go back. Hopefully, by tomorrow, everything will return to normal. At that time, you all will be able to head home." The man who stepped forward covered his face. He was crying loudly. "Man, there is no need to cry." Ethan patted the man's shoulder and tried to comfort him. At the same time, Vice-Captain Marcus noticed one of the men from the crowd was slowly moving towards Ethan while keeping his hands on his hand. Ah.....!!!
Ethan was startled when a man came out of the crowd with a kitchen knife. Just when the knife was about to kill Ethan, a shadow appeared between Ethan and the man. It was Marcus who made the move. Before the man holding the knife could react, Marcus took the kitchen knife and then severed the man's head with it. "Did Marcus just kill a civilian?" Everyone was in shock. But the next second, the man's body turned into black mist and then disappeared. Seeing this, Captain Stone understood everything. "Everything, kill them all." Seeing that their identities had been exposed, all these people who were crying just a few seconds later started attacking Ethan and Marcus with whatever they had. Unfortunately, these Duplicates had the strength of normal humans, and in front of cultivators, they were of no use. Ethan and the rest soon cleared the area, but this experience shook them. Within 20 minutes, they reported the whole thing to the Emperor. After hearing from everyone, Aditya took some strict measures to fight against such situations.