Under Willy's lead, the group followed the Path of Fertility and the Royal Main Street, heading towards the family's fief known as Hearthfire. The roads beneath their feet were originally roads and streets of the sanctuary, but due to years of neglect, the roads were no longer as pristine as they once were, and they had become very difficult to traverse. The broken cement roads were rolled up, exposing the man-made ground. The roads were full of potholes as if no one had ever repaired them, and the road was no different from a small path in the wilderness. Wuyue was having a hard time walking on such a road, and she even considered turning into her water snake form to make it easier. But when she thought about how Vivian had scared the shit out of the locals with just a little ice, she suppressed the urge to transform into a three-meter-long tail. Still, grumbling was inevitable. "Speaking of which, are all the roads here that hard to traverse?"
"Hard to traverse?" Willy looked down at the road. "Oh, it's not as grand as the Highspire Kingdom's. After all, this is just a backwater, and neither the Eisenstadt nor the Highspire Kingdom would send anyone to clean up the roads here."
"You two … why are the 'countries' at war? What's the grudge? "Hao Ren asked awkwardly.
Willy blinked. "Why? Winter is coming, and we need to light the World's End's Flame. The souls of the dead on the battlefield are the fuel for the flame. The Four Great Kingdoms had never fought because of hatred. I think that's common sense. "
Everyone looked at each other, and Vivian frowned. "You guys are divided into … the Four Great Kingdoms?"
"Are you really from the World of Winter?" Willy gulped. "Everyone should know that the Kingdom of Highspire, the Eisenstadt, the Freistadt, and the Starhold are the four kingdoms of this world."
Hao Ren's heart was filled with a strange feeling when he heard that. He found it absurd. In a starship, in a sanctuary city built by the ancestors, territories and factions were redrawn, and became scattered cities and villages. The streets of the past became the arteries between the various' cities', and the buildings became fortresses and towns. The empty factory land became 'wilderness' and 'wastelands' after being cleaned up. The sanctuary was changed beyond recognition, and a primitive society grew on the ruins of an advanced civilization, and the ruins were so small.
All of this was like a twisted and grotesque dream.
He looked up into the sky, and he could see the city on the other side of the enclosed space. He wanted to ask Willy what he thought of the strange structure of the world, but he quickly realized that he would not be able to get anything out of him. The young man was born here, grew up here, and received education from childhood to adulthood. In his mind, the world should be like this. If no one on the ship knew about the concept of 'ark', the people who lived here would probably think of the world as a giant eggshell. The cold space outside the steel barrier was meaningless to Willy.
Willy was a little nervous along the way. He was very reluctant to walk on the road, especially after his comrades had fled. Following people like Hao Ren who were of unknown origins and knew 'witchcraft' made him feel very insecure. But the young soldier had no other choice. He had to lead the way for the outlanders, and be wary of any ambush from the Eisenstadt or Freistadt.
But after walking on the road for a long time, Hao Ren did not see anyone. He could not help but doubt what Willy said. "You said that this is a dangerous road? Why don't I see anyone passing by? "
Willy rubbed his hands as he tightened his sleeves. The weather was cold, and he was shivering. "I don't know … Usually there would be soldiers passing by, or at least merchants passing by …"
He looked up into the sky as he spoke. The dim lights in the city were like fireflies in the dark, and the enclosed space looked like a strange cave full of fireflies. The young man's light brown eyes were a little uneasy. "The world has been going downhill for the past ten years. I can't even count how many times I've encountered something out of the ordinary. Perhaps the Eisenstadt and Freistadt patrols are slacking off today?"
"Going downhill?" Hao Ren asked curiously.
Willy opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but a strange low sound suddenly interrupted him.
The sound came from deep underground, and it sounded like a huge piece of equipment coming to a stop. It spread across the ground, and while it was not very loud, it seemed to shake the entire space. At the same time, Hao Ren felt his body lighten, and a feeling of being lifted off the ground came from beneath his feet. Willy's expression changed, and he screamed in horror. "Don't move! It's' Ascension '! 'Ascension' phenomenon! "
Just as Willy's voice trailed off, everyone felt their bodies lighten. The artificial gravity in the sanctuary had disappeared.
Hao Ren saw a red light flying from one end of the enclosed space to the other, followed by another. It looked like some kind of alarm light, and Willy stared at the light in fear as he silently counted. "One … Two … Three … Three meteors! Great, looks like it won't last long … Everyone, don't move! Especially don't jump! "
By then, the artificial gravity had completely disappeared, and while Hao Ren and the rest were still 'standing on the ground', their bodies were actually floating in the air, and only the soles of their shoes were still touching the ground. Willy's body was tense, and he dared not move, fearing that the slightest movement would lift him off the ground. That would cause him to fly uncontrollably into the air, or even to the other side of the earth. Hao Ren quickly understood the reason for the young man's fear, and tried to calm him down. "Don't worry, don't worry, you reminded us in time, no one will fly out. Does this happen often?"
"No, it only happens once every few months, but it was said that before I was born, it happened less frequently than now." Willy took a deep breath, he was no longer curious about Hao Ren's' ignorance ', and now that someone was talking to him, he felt more at ease. "Winter is coming, the heart of the world is slowly freezing, and the earth no longer has the strength to hold us to the surface … My grandmother told me that. But as long as we can reignite the Furnace of the Ancestors, everything will return to normal, that's what my grandmother told me as well. "
Hao Ren gave a perfunctory reply, and silently looked up at the huge pipes and alloy bridges that ran through the entire space. There were lights swimming on the surface of those things, and those lights were not there before. This was probably some sort of automatic maintenance system of the ark, and it was obviously faulty, but it was still hanging on.
The artificial gravity disappeared for almost an hour, and during that time, Willy kept his hand on his chest, mumbling to himself as if he was praying to some god. Finally, the torturous hour passed, and Hao Ren heard a different kind of deep sound coming from the depths of the earth. When the sound gradually subsided, his body sank, and he once again felt like he was standing on solid ground.
Willy's legs gave way, and he almost fell to the ground. He forced himself to stand up, and gave Hao Ren an awkward smile. "You guys don't seem to be afraid of 'rising' at all."
"As long as we don't fly up, we won't fall down." Hao Ren said casually.
Willy's face was gloomy. "My best friend once said the same thing, but in the end, he died on the other side of the earth, in the square of Wind Valley."
As he spoke, he looked up at the upside-down city buildings above him. "It was a long 'rising', and it lasted for a whole day and night. Poor Birken, he accidentally stretched his leg, and I watched as he rose from the ground, higher and higher … At that time, I did not know how to judge the duration of the rising phenomenon from the meteors, and I thought it would be over soon, but I watched as he became a little black dot in the sky. His sister was right beside me, poor girl … Her brother even crossed the 'axis of heaven and earth'. When Mother Earth regained her vitality, Birken fell to the other side of the world. It was only a few days later that the lord of Wind Valley sent someone to bring Birken back in a big box. "
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