“Your Highness, why don’t you venture into the Suspended City to find out more?”
Barn took a deep breath, his expression grim. As things stood, he couldn't break through Seghete's obstruction to reach the Suspended City. He could only ask Isabella to go alone, hoping for some reward or useful information.
Otherwise, his trip to Sky City would be virtually meaningless. The Imperial nobles wouldn't care about the Light City Lord or the Dark City Lord; they would only seize upon his inaction to vehemently criticize him before the Emperor.
As for the person who gave him the ring, it was clearly not an answer that satisfied her.
Isabella nodded. She was only interested in Bakal's Suspended City. As for Barn's secret thoughts, she hadn't considered them that deeply at all.
Would the Princess care about a Viscount's worries regarding his status?
A ring was quietly placed in Isabella's pocket. Then, Barn pretended to be dejected, found a spot to sit down, and tenderly caressed his chipped short sword.
“Heh heh...”
The Old man suddenly let out a laugh of unknown meaning.
Barn's steady heart suddenly leaped, and his face grew even darker...
Making a small move in front of G.S.D. was like cursing Bakal as an idiot in front of Seghete.
“Cold...”
Yuena's teeth were chattering. Above the clouds, exposed and unprotected, the howling wind was not something a Saint's uniform could withstand.
“If you're cold, just hold on tighter.”
Ye Lin was also a little uneasy. With such a dangerous, unguarded suspended ladder, who knew if two old, dilapidated ones would suddenly lose their ability to float.
His heart pounded violently. Siate and Mai Lu in front had already reached the top, and Princess Isabella also ran incredibly fast.
“I'm a little panicked, the clouds are actually drifting over...”
Ye Lin swallowed, but he was faking it. Yuena, however, went limp, practically boneless as she lay on his back, soft and pliant.
“Don't talk. If I get distracted and fall, it'll all be your fault.”
Yuena froze, then bit her teeth in anger. Shouldn't carrying someone involve clamping their knees? What the hell was grabbing her thighs?
Even worse, she had been ordered to be silent!
“There's only one hour. Of course, theoretically, it's only one hour for the Princess and me. Your talismans haven't shattered yet.”
Upon arriving at the Suspended City, Ye Lin calmly ignored Yuena's almost cannibalistic gaze and pulled out the talisman that had already turned into a pile of shattered bits.
There were two Eyes of Evil, a left and a right. When he found Barn, he was glared at by one of them. Then, not long after the Old man and Seghete started fighting, the other one also woke up.
“These armors are Destroyers?”
Siate looked at the ancient gray armors in front of them. As they approached, a layer of luminescence lit up on the armor's surface, rapidly changing from gray to blue, wielding longswords or great axes as their means of attack.
Ye Lin tried to directly twist these reanimated armors with the Fifth Element. Perhaps because the armors were enchanted, it took one-third of his magic power to crush a Destroyer into a lump of scrap metal.
“Let's go.”
Unlike the Destroyers in the Dark Corridor, the Destroyers in the Suspended City had greater coordination. They often formed battle formations and charged together, posing a significant threat.
What also surprised Ye Lin was Isabella. Although she was a Princess, her attacks were sharp and fierce. Her powerful legs could even kick a dent into the Destroyer's metal breastplate.
Good legs!
“This is Bakal's trial? Nothing special.”
Isabella stomped on a charred Goblin's head, her tone somewhat disdainful.
This Goblin called itself “General Yiyi,” stockpiled a bunch of Molotovs and darts, hiding in high places to launch sneak attacks with hidden weapons. It was half-killed by a well-aimed grenade from Ye Lin.
Throughout the entire ascent, except for a red-armored Destroyer named “Aksion” which was quite troublesome and required the combined efforts of Siate, Mai Lu, Isabella, and Ye Lin's full power of the Fifth Element to barely win, the other monsters didn't seem worthy of being called a trial.
“Wuwuwu~”
A sudden cry tightened Isabella's heart. Hadn't the Suspended City just opened? Why were there miserable, pitiful human cries?
“Don't cry, you're pathetic!”
“Sister, I haven't eaten for several days! This isn't Gran Forest; when I'm hungry, I can still catch Minotaurs to eat. Everywhere here are cold armors; I can't even bite them.”
“It seems there's a battle happening below the Suspended City. If we defeat them, we can get out. If you're really too hungry, go down and catch that Goblin; I'll roast it for you.”
“No, it stinks all over and is all bones.”
“Then you just bear with it!”
“But I'm so hungry...”
Ye Lin and Siate exchanged glances, then looked at Mai Lu, shrugging helplessly.
No doubt about it, Binuoxiu and Kelah, and they seemed to be starving.
“Your Highness, don't harm the two humans above; they are our missing friends.”
Compared to the famished, green-eyed Kelah and Binuoxiu, Ye Lin was much more relaxed. With a bottle of milk in his left hand and two pieces of bread in his right, he leisurely ascended to the next level.
“Intruder, die... Eh... Eh... Eh?”
Seeing the intruders, Kelah grabbed her staff, intending to attack, and then saw Ye Lin, looking amused and exasperated, along with a few familiar faces following behind...
Instantly, tears welled up in her eyes. She dropped her staff and stumbled over, urgently saying, “Do you have anything to eat? Bread, milk, cake, anything! I'm starving to death.”
“Oh, and two servings! No, three servings, I'll eat two!”
.........
“Oh, how did you guys get here? This is Suspended City! We were tricked in by an adventuring team who said Dragonman materials were valuable. But that team disappeared after entering Sky City.”
Kelah's mouth was full, her eyes rolling. Ye Lin poured her a cup of milk before she could barely catch her breath. She hadn't eaten for days and was too hungry.
“To take you two troublesome ones back. Thankfully, the place where you went crazy was Gran Forest. With your intelligence, you're only fit to fight Goblins and Cat Demons.”
Ye Lin was exasperated. It was a good thing this idiot had Binuoxiu who never abandoned her, otherwise, she would have been stabbed to death by a Destroyer long ago.
“What's up there?” Siate pointed to the higher, seemingly final, level.
“Two giant eyes, very evil. I went up once and was glared at, then I fainted immediately.”
Isabella's eyes lit up. She rushed to the suspended ladder first. She remembered Seghete saying that the evil gaze was once an hour, and there was still plenty of time.
Adventure had no etiquette. Who went first depended entirely on speed and ability, and rewards depended on ability and opportunity.
One minute later...
A Destroyer grabbed Isabella's ankle and threw her directly below the suspended ladder. The Princess's pretty face was scraped, and she herself seemed to have fainted...
“See? That's how it is. Besides Destroyers, no one can reach the top level.”
Kelah pointed at Isabella, looking innocent. She had already said they would faint; why didn't she believe her?
“I'll try. God will protect me!”
Yuena buffed herself, holding a cross talisman, and slowly stepped onto the suspended ladder.
Her goal was precisely this: as long as she knew what the opponent looked like, it would be much easier to consult ancient texts or ask the bishop afterward, and the mission would be completed.
One minute later...
A Destroyer dragged Yuena and casually threw her down again. Her talisman was still intact.
Uh...
“The Destroyers are fine. Is it their armor's effect?”
The awakened Princess touched her face. Such minor injuries could be healed with some ointment. What was important was what she glimpsed in an instant!
A golden glowing book and a horn wrapped in immense energy, a dragon horn!
They were floating above the two Eyes of Evil.
The excited Princess found a set of Destroyer armor fragments, barely pieced together an outfit, and rushed up again.
Half a minute later...
The Princess was thrown down again, this time seemingly even faster, and, she didn't wake up.