Close Combat Mage

Chapter 420 - Massive Temptation Pt. 1

Before passing the third checkpoint was—Kabryna’s inner city!

The gigantic Kabryna City was currently suffering a pillaging from the thieves. The thieves in this place were actually adventurers from the third checkpoint in addition to traditional pirates. At the moment…both sides had joined hands to loot Kabryna City.

The reason they wanted to ransack Kabryna City was because it was the sole distribution center for metal inside the third checkpoint. Surrounding Kabryna City were hundreds of mines that had been confirmed to have enough metal reserves to be collected for centuries! As a result, this place was in an amazing location for metal, and undoubtedly an amazing mining area that was worth more than the gold mines or the gem mines.

Everyone knew that Kabryna City belonged to the Kabryna family. And the mines around Kabryna City all belonged to that family as well. Kabryna was the name of an Epic-rank hero, the most powerful in history since the beginning of time: the great pirate king!

However, with the changing of eras and the flow of time, large amounts of metal had corroded, and the Kabryna family turned corrupt and depraved. They had already lost the bright glory of their ancestor, turning into a rotten group that only knew of greed and pleasure.

The tide of thieves flooded into Kabryna City to combine with the local pirates. The total number of attackers surpassed four hundred thousand. Although the Kabryna family used money to gather mercenaries numbering over a hundred thousand, this was still not enough to oppose the allied troops formed by these crazed thieves that killed people like flies.

Ropes were tossed up the city walls, and the thieves quickly entered the city to open the gates from the inside. Then…the massacre to overthrow began. Blades flased, swords glinted. Everything in Kabryna City was destroyed by attacks. Before these cruel thieves, nothing could survive, even chickens and dogs!

The battle continued for three days and three nights. Once the thieves were satisfied with the amount of treasure and money they looted, they swiftly moved it away. All of Kabryna City had turned into a dead city by then. Kabryna’s precious items and most of their money were swept away. A large amount of buildings were set on fire, engulfing the city into a sea of flames.

The great fire burned for three days straight before dying down after losing combustible materials. However…the waves of thick smoke did not disperse, rising from every building and filling the air above the entire city with fumes.

Whoosh…whoosh…whoosh…The powerful sound of waves from mid-sized sailing ships slowly approached the broken docks outside Kabryna City. Then, several dozen figures dressed in red and gold shot out from the deck of the ship. Duo Mei’s party appeared in the wharf’s plaza.

Duo Mei and the other girls were shocked to see the corpses everywhere in addition to the damaged buildings. They couldn’t help but survey the distance and see that the destruction was not limited to just the inner city. There wasn’t a single human figure to be seen, yet based on their sharp perception abilities, Duo Mei’s group felt the aura of countless humans.

Duo Mei stepped forward a few steps. She slowly reached her hand back to grip the Six-Winged Phoenix Heavens Blade on her back as she roared out furiously, “All you people hiding, come out right this instant! If you dare to hesitate, don’t blame me for not holding back!”

Upon hearing Duo Mei’s voice, the figures hiding in the darkness couldn’t help but tremble. Yet not a single person ran out. Seeing this, Duo Mei immediately gritted her teeth and her body suddenly flew up into the air.

Clang! Mid-air, Duo Mei abruptly pulled the blade out from its sheath. She had no intention of ensuring the lives of these guys that had acted so savagely. Leaving people this malicious in this world was just a recipe for disaster.

As Duo Mei thought this, she flipped over a building. Her body spun around and used all its strength to slash down towards a figure shivering in a corner. This would be the start of the slaughter!

Boom! The heavy sound rang out as Duo Mei’s blade sliced down at a section of the broken wall. Following her devastating and berserk power, the half-broken wall exploded as if filled with gunpowder. At the same time, Duo Mei could only stare blankly at the pair of figures next to her blade.

Duo Mei saw a young married woman just past her twenties currently staring at Duo Mei in terror. Inside the woman’s arms was a little girl that could barely be five, shaking as she hid in her mother’s hold. The adorable little girl cried as she trembled and said, “Big Sister, don’t kill us, I beg you…”

Duo Mei looked at them blankly in astonishment as she asked in confusion, “What are you doing? Could it be…that you aren’t the people that caused this disaster?”

The young woman frantically shook her head and cried out fearfully, “No! We’re not. We’re just the residents of this city. It wasn’t us that caused all this, but the allied troops of the pirates and thieves. They looted this place a week ago. It has nothing to do with us!”

Hearing the other person’s words, Duo Mei slowly retrieved her war blade from the broken wall and inserted back into its sheath on her back. She then straightened up to coldly declare, “I know there are still many hiding around here. There’s no need for you all to hide either. Just come out!”

There was a moment of silence following Duo Mei’s declaration. Then…shabbily-dressed people walked out from the corners and cracks in the tattered buildings one by one to reveal figures that were clearly starving.

Duo Mei frowned. From what she could observe, these were clearly ordinary citizens. They gave off very weak auras and couldn’t possibly be the creators of this tragedy. It seemed like…this young woman’s words could be trusted.

Despite feeling intense loathing for those that had caused this disaster, Duo Mei knew that this matter had little relation to them. There were too many sad things in this world that one could not do anything about. If they had encountered these people, they might have done something about it. However, since they had already missed the timing, they were powerless. Their objective was finding the young master. They did not have the time or ability to help these people.

After thinking this, Duo Mei nodded and said, “Alright, since you people aren’t the ones that brought on this calamity, we have nothing to say either. All of you can go and do whatever you’re supposed to do.”

With this, Duo Mei turned to walk towards the docks. As she advanced, she furrowed her brows in thought. If Kabryna City was already destroyed, where would they go next to wait for the young master?

Although they were supposed to have been escorted to the end of the checkpoint, there was a sea of death before this area, a territory that one needed to pass using their own ability. Unless they were brought directly to the fourth checkpoint, they could only be brought to Kabryna City.

What troubled Duo Mei was that the young master would have definitely come to Kabryna City. Without restocking supplies here, it would be impossible to go through the checkpoint. However, now that Kabryna City was gone, where should they go to wait for their young master?

As she pondered this, she heard a trembling voice suddenly call out from behind her. “Female hero, please wait!”

“Female hero?” Duo Mei stopped in bewilderment and spun around to stare at the elder behind her in confusion.

Seeing Duo Mei’s puzzled look, the elder swallowed hard and shakily asked, “We’re currently in deep trouble and hope that you can help us. You are mercenaries, are you not?”

“Oh?” Duo Mei studied the elder doubtfully as she questioned, “Do you need help? Fine then…what do you need us to help with? And…what reward are you willing to offer in payment?”

“That’s…” The elder stuttered for a while in response, then replied with much difficulty, “You’ve also seen how the great fire has burned down everything. As a result…we survivors need a large amount of everyday items and clothing. Well, even if those aren’t there, what’s most important is that we need food! Otherwise, we’ll all starve to death!”

“Food?” Duo Mei furrowed her brows and asked tentatively, “Alright, we can help you deliver food over. But…how many people do you have?”

The elder’s eyes lit up at this. He said in a trembling voice, “We currently have over ten thousand people, so…”

“What?!” Duo Mei exclaimed in shock as she cried out, “Ten thousand people! That isn’t possible; we’re not merchants so we can’t get so much food. Moreover…what can you pay us?”

The elder pointed at the surrounding ruins and responded, “Although the cruel thieves burned down everything…our abundant metals can’t be damaged by fire. So…if you can get food, we’ll let you take away as much metal as you please!”

“Tch…” Duo Mei shook her head as she clicked her tongue in disdain. “You’re too naive. Are those goods yours? On what basis can you decide what to do with them? Besides…if I wanted to take that metal, I could grab it myself. Don’t tell me your people would try to stop me?”

The elder couldn’t help but be speechless for a moment. Meanwhile, Duo Mei continued, “This city has already been wasted. It could be called an ownerless property. Even if I occupied it, no one would dare say no. That’s why…there’s no point in trying to fool us with ownerless things!”

Duo Mei then frowned and commented, “Oh right, since the thieves already pillaged this place, how did ten thousand people stay alive? I doubt it was the thieves being very merciful?”

The elder bitterly shook his head and replied, “The reason we survived was because we were all working in the mines at the time, so we avoided the calamity by a fluke. Those thieves killed even children and pregnant women; what mercy could they have to speak of?”

Duo Mei nodded in understanding. She then shrugged and answered in exasperation, “I see. I do really want to help you all, but I really cannot. You have too many people and insufficient compensation. Besides…we have absolutely no interest in the metal you talk about!”

Duo Mei waved her hand and helplessly said, “Alright, let’s part ways here then. I wish you all good luck!” With this, she swept another pitying glance across the people before turning to head towards the wharf.

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