Chapter 616 - That’s Great
So there was a downward spiraling staircase at the edge of the precipice. It was at least three hundred meters high.
From above, because the midday sun didn’t go toward it, it looked dark down there and one could perceive a faint, murmuring wind.
People with a fear of heights would probably get weak in the knees when they saw this staircase.
And next to it, there was a large spiral slide that was used to transport cargo.
The entire cart was loaded in a specially made large runestone crate, almost half as big as a shipping container.
While loading, a soldier stole a few pieces of beef jerky, which, in the Netherworld, only true nobles could afford to eat, and if they sold them, they could get a lot of grains.
In reality, Roland and Schuck both saw the soldier’s petty move, but both ignored it.
It was just beef jerky, which wasn’t anything expensive to them.
The main purpose of this trip was to acquire information about the True Ancestor of the vampires and deal with her; the business was just a cover.
The runestone box was put on the slide... then the box slid down on its own.
The captain smiled and said, “Don’t worry, it won’t break. There is a special magic array on the stone box, it will slow down by itself when it almost reaches the ground. This is your number plate. When the time comes, collect your things with it.”
“The box can be used to carry people, too, right?” asked Roland.
“Yes, it can.” The captain nodded. “But the human spirit is so chaotic that it occasionally affects the magic arrays on the stone box, making them ineffective so they fall without slowing down, and the person ends up as mush. After a few times, it was forbidden for anything with mental power to enter the box.”
That explains a lot!
Stuffing a silver coin at this captain, instead of taking the spiral staircase directly, Roland cast Feather Landing on everyone and jumped straight down.
Mages like Roland, who were already used to flying and floating, were fine, and Schuck had the Wings of Light and often rode around on his little dragoness, so he was used to heights as well.
But Li Lin, Raffel, and Brazil were scared out of their wits and broke out in a cold sweat.
The feeling of knowing that they were not going to fall to their deaths, but that they were ten thousand feet in the air and that they were slowly falling, was a fear that the average person would have a hard time overcoming when they first experienced it.
As they descended, they also saw many people slowly making their way down there on the steps.
Some were holding onto the handrails, gasping from exhaustion.
It was quite physically demanding to go down from high up. These people looked enviously at Roland and the others.
After four minutes of floating, the five finally landed on the ground.
Roland and Shuck were both fine and jumped lightly a few times to loosen up after they landed on the ground.
Li Lin and the others were sitting paralyzed on the ground.
It was a large square. The brown rocky ground was flat and cold as if the unique vicissitudes and indifference of the Netherworld permeated through.
Quite a few people were passing through the square, of all races, who simply looked at Roland and the others and walked away again in a hurry. Roland went to the side and fetched his goods, which then immediately attracted the attention of many people by the square.
Since this was a path that had to be crossed to enter the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, many people guarded this place to see if there was any chance of making money.
The new clothes on Roland’s crate, as well as emergency rations such as jerky, immediately attracted all the interested parties. These things were hard currency in the Netherworld.
Immediately, a gnome came over. He was only as tall as Roland’s knee, with a big head and a small body, looking rather comical.
“Foreign merchants, may I ask if your goods are for sale now?” The gnome’s voice was shrill, a bit like a child’s. “I have a wide range of contacts here, and with my help, your goods could fetch a rather high price.”
“I want to sell these to the True Ancestor of the vampires, can you do it?” “Her Majesty?” The gnome froze for a moment, then screamed, “You fool, the queen can teleport, she doesn’t lack new clothes at all. She can go to the main plane whenever she wants and return whenever she wants-as easy as going to the toilet. What does she need that she doesn’t have? To sell it to Her Majesty, are you not a fool?” “Then Her Majesty’s maids?” Roland pretended to look lost.
“That would work.” The gnome nodded. “By the way, you can call me Ragnar. Everyone else calls me Remarkable Ragnar. What is your name, my friend?”.
“Roland.”
Ragnar’s large eyes turned toward Schuck. “What about this one whose whole body is filled with blinding light?”
“You can call me Schuck,” the overly handsome Saint Samurai said with a heartwarming smile.
A smile like that could make many women fall for him at first sight.
However, the gnome suddenly covered his eyes, rolled on the ground, and screamed, “Ahhh! Your damned holy light. Don’t smile at me, I’m not gay. Sh*t, you’re going to blind
me.”
The F6 members were dumbfounded.
The gnome’s scream drew more eyes over.
Roland and the others were somewhat baffled as they gave each other looks, and with a decade of friendship, they soon mentally grasped what the others meant.
The gnome seemed to be faking an accident, trying to get some money. Hold back for now, then resist if things go too far.
But things didn’t go as they expected. The gnome rolling on the ground suddenly stopped screaming and got back on his feet as if nothing had happened while patting his old, patched linen clothes. “I can tell you have just fallen from the outside world. I don’t know what kind of thoughts and plans you will have after selling these things and making big money, but there is one thing you should remember!”
The gnome held out his finger, then looked steadily at Roland and didn’t speak.
understood, and with a shake of his hand, he placed a silver coin there.
With great speed, the gnome smoothly took the silver coin from Roland’s hand and continued, “In the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, things related to the Goddess of Light are allowed, but they can’t be arrogant. Especially a smile like that of the Saint Samurai just now... cannot appear again. It will be seen as a provocation by many.”
Roland frowned. “Why?”
“Because this is the territory of the vampires.” The gnome had a matter-of-fact expression. “Back then, the True Ancestor of the vampires, our Queen, Her Majesty, was forced to flee from the main plane to develop here. It was because of the Church of Light and the Church of Life! In particular, the Church of Light was their greatest enemy!”
“Then wouldn’t it be dangerous for the followers of the light to be here?”
“It’s not that dangerous.” The gnome explained, “Although this is Her Majesty’s city, it is ultimately the world of the Nether God. It is said that the Nether God and the Goddess of Light have a good relationship, and she’s been kind enough not to drive the vampires away, so the vampires don’t quite dare to actively seek trouble with the followers of light here.”
“Oh...” Roland felt that the Netherworld was quite interesting.
The relationship between the various races was complicated.
“Of course, Saint Samurai can still be targeted if they get too carried away,” Ragnar said with a narrow smile and stretched his hand out again. “Give me another silver coin and I will tell you more important news.”
A silver coin wasn’t much.
Looking at another shiny silver bauble in his hand, the gnome withdrew his hand in satisfaction. “Her Majesty is awake.”
“This isn’t really important news, is it? The rainbow spanned the sky earlier,” Roland couldn’t help but retort.
The gnome waved his hand. “I only said the first half, you’re too eager. After Her Majesty wakes up, she is going to need to eat.” “And then what.” Roland’s eyes lit up at the news relating to the True Ancestor of the vampires. “But every time Her Majesty feeds, someone will come to harass her. For over a hundred years, this hasn’t stopped.” The gnome sighed.
Those words made Roland and the others tense up, and the five of them subconsciously became wary.
Could it be that the quest they received was to play the role of harassing her when she was eating?
But the five of them had been in major situations, and although they were on guard, the expressions on their faces all looked calm and normal.
Roland even asked, “Someone actually dared to rebel against the True Ancestor of the vampires?”
“In the past, the vampires weren’t very good at sucking blood and didn’t develop the blood clotting technique, and often sucked the blood slaves dry,” the gnome explained. “For almost a hundred years, the vampires killed a lot of blood slaves, all beautiful virgins. The resentment of these blood slaves’ relatives, fiances, admirers, and such added up from generation to generation, and a group called Vampire Extermination Alliance or something was formed. They first killed a lot of vampires, but found that they could not finish killing them, and finally had an epiphany; they thought that the source of the vampire’s evil lies in the True Ancestor of the vampires, and if they killed her, then the vampires would disappear completely.”
Roland looked around. “It wouldn’t be taboo for you to talk to us about this in a city of vampires, would it?”.
“No, it’s just something everyone knows.” The gnome laughed with arms akimbo. “And it’s still daytime, so all but a few of the high-level vampires are still asleep in their coffins.” “So, what does this have to do with what you’re about to tell me?” asked Roland, finding that the gnome was good at gossiping before getting to the point. “That alliance and the vampire queen.”
“Because from our experience, the Vampire Extermination Alliance will soon appear.” The gnome pointed to a massive stone pillar in the distance. “When that happens, the city will be in chaos, and you will need a shelter if you’re not strong enough.” “So, where can we find such a shelter,” Roland said, courteously placing another silver coin in front of the gnome.
“Hahahaha, I like a clever merchant like you. You deserve to make a lot of money.” The gnome jumped up and slapped Roland’s knee rather happily, their way of showing intimacy to the “giants.” “My sister, who is one of the maids in the palace, has a little secret room at the largest stone pillar. It’s quite safe, and... has the possibility of seeing Her Majesty’s charming, petite, lovely figure from afar.” “Oh, that’s wonderful, we need such a safe place.”
Roland took out another silver coin and shoved it into the gnome’s hand while smiling sincerely.