And so... they seized the opportunity to leave Black City.
"Uncle!" Ayala quickly packed the items at their base. With a flick of her wrist, two daggers appeared in her palms. "You were gone for so long. What happened now that you’ve returned?"
"Now is not the time to discuss this." Carl grabbed a piece of black cloth and swept the items inside. "Let’s leave first and talk later."
He had indeed become much stronger, but he didn’t believe he could take on the City Guard, especially since there were also mercenaries in the city. The Knights alone numbered no fewer than ten. And then there was Hal, one of the top Knights! Now, with the experts of the City Guard and mercenaries underground and the city in great chaos, it was a good opportunity to leave.
"..." Ayala paused her packing briefly and then nodded. "Alright!"
"By the way, there are still some things underground."
Even a clever rabbit has three burrows, so she naturally had prepared more than just this single hideout.
"Never mind them." Carl shook his head and walked towards the exit. "Which direction is less guarded?"
"I know of a secret path." Ayala shouldered her pack, trotted to catch up, and pointed south. "Uncle Kolon originally used this path to escape, but unfortunately, he was still discovered by the City Guard after leaving the city. That way is less crowded."
"Then let’s go." Carl waved his hand, signaling the others to follow.
The group of seven hurried towards the secret path Ayala mentioned, encountering others dressed like them along the way. In the direction of the city gate, they could even faintly hear the sounds of fighting. Clearly, others, like them, were planning to escape the city amidst the chaos. However, the city gate was easily defended and difficult to attack; storming it would be far from easy.
"This way!" Ayala waved and rushed towards some ruins. Arriving at a certain spot within the ruins, she used both hands to pull away a pile of wood. Behind it was a small path where the grass had been trampled flat. There were fresh footprints on the path.
Huh? Ayala paused for a moment, then snapped back to her senses. "The grass is flattened; it seems someone else used this route."
If she knew of this secret path, others might as well; there were no absolute secrets in the world.
"Hmm." Carl nodded and took the lead.
The secret path led directly to the city wall, where there was a hole at its base. This spot should have originally been blocked with stones. Now, the hole had been pried open.
Beyond the hole, a dense jungle came into view. Black City had no moat. For decades, few people had come or gone, so the area outside the city had long been overgrown with various plants.
"Are we out?" Little Nan looked astonished, repeatedly glancing back at the city wall, his voice full of disbelief. "Did we just get out like that?"
"Yes." Ayala’s voice was filled with bewilderment. "We’re out. We’ve walked out of... Black City!"
For countless days and nights, they had dreamt of leaving Black City, a place filled with nightmares and death. But numerous obstacles had prevented them from daring to proceed. And now, they had suddenly left the city. The process had been unexpectedly smooth. Suddenly, their hearts were not filled with joy but overwhelmed by a disorienting bewilderment.
"Not yet." Carl shook his head. "We need to get far away from Black City and escape the City Guard’s pursuit first. Only then will we truly be out."
He turned and looked deep into the dense jungle, vaguely seeing figures moving back and forth within. Those who had left Black City before them were clearly not so lucky; they were being pursued by City Guard soldiers.
Flashes of blades and shadows of swords flickered, followed immediately by screams.
Seven City Guard soldiers hacked down those who had foolishly tried to escape the city, then parted the vines and walked towards Carl’s group.
"Still more people trying to use this route?" one soldier sneered. "It seems keeping this ’dog hole’ open was somewhat useful after all. At least it gives us a bit of entertainment when we’re bored."
From the sound of it, they clearly knew about this passage all along. The only reason they didn’t block it was to amuse themselves when bored.
"Be careful," another one spoke up. "Quite a few people have come out this time."
"What’s there to fear?" The soldier lifted the powerful crossbow in his hand. "We have these!"
His crossbow could only fire three crossbow arrows at a time, yet it possessed the lethality to threaten a Knight. With four such powerful crossbows among their group, they weren’t afraid even if a Knight came.
"Heh..." Carl shook his head and chuckled lightly, simultaneously raising his left hand. "Guna!"
SWOOSH! Armor materialized out of thin air and swiftly clad his body. A Black-Armored Warrior, exuding a chilling aura, thus appeared before them.
The scene fell silent.
The faces of the few City Guard soldiers stiffened, fear evident in their eyes, and they instinctively backed away.
It wasn’t just them; Ayala and the others, seeing this for the first time, were equally astonished, their faces quickly lighting up with ecstasy.
SWOOSH! The figure blurred.
The ground beneath Carl’s feet exploded, and he used the propulsive force to instantly rush in front of one of the soldiers.
Swing the sword! Furious Strike! Cleave!
SPURT! The broadsword descended from the soldier’s forehead, exiting below his groin, trailing a splash of blood. The City Guard soldier before him was cleaved in two.
The remaining City Guard soldiers, faces etched with terror, frantically pulled their triggers. Some, without a second thought, turned and fled.
CLANG... Crossbow arrows struck the armor, merely producing a few sparks.
Carl was like a Death God reaping lives, swinging his broadsword as he charged into the crowd, each strike claiming a life.
Seven men, at least three of whom were Knight Attendants, yet against Carl alone, they were utterly powerless to resist.
In the blink of an eye, bodies littered the ground.
Carl sheathed his sword. "Pick up their crossbows, gather their things, and let’s go."
"Ah..." Ayala was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly. "Yes!"
She had thought this journey would be extremely perilous, never imagining that Carl would resolve everything before they even needed to lift a finger.
Little Nan and Leon, on the other hand, who had some understanding of Carl’s strength, were not surprised by this.
"Uncle," Ayala began, "the closest city to Black City is Vitelli City. It’s also known as Fiery Sun City, the Freedom Port."
"Old Lev said that Vitelli City doesn’t have a City Guard, and even the City Lord cannot arbitrarily oppress the common people."
"Do you know the way?" Carl asked, turning his head.
"No," Ayala shook her head, then added, "but I know the direction!"
"Ahead should be the Yadeli River. If we follow the river westward to where it flows into the Endless Sea, that’s Vitelli City."
"Easy enough to find." Carl nodded. "You go on ahead. I’ll find you after a while."
"..." Ayala faltered in her steps. "Uncle."
The others also looked alarmed. Truthfully, none of them were very old, and after leaving Black City, they felt even more lost about their futures. Carl was the pillar of their group. Hearing that Carl didn’t plan to travel with them immediately, they couldn’t help but panic.
The group reached a high slope. Carl stood at the top, turning to look back in the direction of Black City. "There might be pursuers. I can stay behind to intercept them. Besides, I also have some matters to attend to."
"Uncle..." Ayala started to speak.
"No need to say more." Carl raised his hand, silencing her. "You all managed to survive in an environment like Black City; surely you’ll live even better now that you’re out. Besides, we’re not parting for good, just temporarily. I have a way to find you."
"Go on!" He waved his hand. "Hurry, while the chaos in the city hasn’t subsided and the City Guard hasn’t yet discovered that people have escaped."
"..." Ayala’s expression shifted, and after a long moment, she slowly nodded. "Yes."
The group looked at Carl, repeatedly glancing back as they headed towards the river, their figures gradually fading from sight after a long while.
"Whew..." Carl let out a long breath. Finally, I’m alone.
The next moment, he stepped towards the Divine Domain Fragment.
Before he even had time to sort through the spoils of this trip, the package on his person suddenly trembled, and two items flew out on their own.
Hmm? Carl was startled.
Then, his face lit up with ecstasy.