Chapter 8: The First Encounter with Kara

The discovery of hematite brought about the city of Solis, while the production of dark wine made Solis famous.
Though its historical roots were as superficial as the dust on mountain rocks, it was an undeniable fact that its commercial district was the largest marketplace in a 40,000 square kilometer area. Yet after tonight, this title would be taken away. As far as Neo’s eyes could see, there was nothing but flames and white ruins. Roughly estimated, at least 25,000 square meters in the central area had become ruins or were about to become so.

Ash and embers floated in the twisted, steaming air. The melted snow on the ground reflected the flames, turning the area into a giant furnace. Every breath was scorching hot, and the intense heat made one feel as though they might ignite at any moment.

Neo rolled several times on the ground before heading deeper into the burning ruins. The outer areas were ablaze, with flames bursting out from time to time, licking at Neo. Other flames erupted suddenly with a loud boom, turning into swirling waves of fire that rose into the air. Neo’s wet clothes quickly heated up, even starting to steam. The shops here were closely packed; once they caught fire, it spread rapidly along lines or walls. Neo was fortunate enough to experience being greeted by flames on both sides.

After crossing several lines of fire, he entered the central area, which had mostly turned white from the flames. This place was equally dangerous, if not more so. What appeared to be ash-covered ruins actually hid hidden fires—like the ash in a furnace. Though it seemed cool on the outside, digging deeper revealed extremely high temperatures and bright red flames.

Surface flames burned out quickly, but hidden fires took many times longer to cool down, keeping the overall temperature high. Moreover, the burning itself consumedlarge amounts oxygen. The central area, surrounded by surrounding fires and with scattered flames and hidden fires continuing to burn, had very little oxygen. Invisible dangers were often the deadliest.

Covering his mouth and nose with his wet collar, Neo wandered through the ruins like a ghost. While finding a suitable hiding place was important, finding a well was even more urgent. For fire prevention reasons, there were still a few wells even in the commercial district.

He found a well, but the pump had been violently damaged, and there were no buckets to hold water. Fortunately, the rubber gasket used for sealing was intact. Using the balance cone on his sword hilt as a hammer and his hands as pliers, he managed to pump out some water after some effort.

Eagerly, he splashed water on his face and exhaled in relief, feeling as though he had been brought back to life.

Without wasting time, he rolled on the ground again to wet his clothes. He needed a container to hold water.

Neon had accompanied Melian to the commercial district of Solth City several times. He remembered there being a relatively large tin shop in this central area. The invention of the steam engine had given rise to many new things, including machine tools for rolling tin. The tin shop owner sold various items made from tin pressed by machines—mostly daily necessities like basins, pots, and barrels. Though not as valuable or finely crafted as gold and silverware, they were inexpensive and durable, making them very popular among the lower and middle classes; one could even say they were a trend at the time. Neon wanted to find a tin barrel to use, hoping there was still one that hadn’t been melted down.

To his great surprise, while searching for the tin shop, Neon saw a woman lying collapsed by the roadside. She was dressed in leather hunting gear, with no obvious serious injuries but blood on her body, and she was still breathing.

After some thought, Neon decided to do his best. He grabbed the woman’s ankle and dragged her all the way to the well. It wasn’t that he couldn’t carry her on his back or hold her in his arms; it was simply because in such a desolate place, staying close to the ground was more comfortable.

Splish! A full helmet’s worth of water was poured over her head. That wasn’t enough—do it again…

The woman woke up in a mess, coughing from the water, her long hair soaked, looking exactly like a drowning person just pulled from the river.

As soon as she regained consciousness, the first thing she did was reach for her waist. Neon, holding his sheathed dagger, waved it briefly before throwing it at her. “Save it,” he said. “The Dark Cultists are busy and have no time to save you.” Then he put the dripping helmet on his head and covered his nose and mouth with his wet collar, continuing to search for the tin shop.

When Neon found a tin barrel that hadn’t been melted, he was surprised to see that the woman was still there.

Kara watched the approaching man quietly, still wary—not for any other reason but because of his bright blue eyes, which shone in the light of the fire. It was a color found deep in the desert; humans didn’t have such eyes. And if one looked closely, they would notice that the man’s proportions were also different from those of humans. Simply put, his lower legs were relatively longer, which might give the impression of a taller stature, but Kara knew this was a unique trait of wolves.

A quiet, even somewhat elegant wolfman was rarer than seeing a noble pig. Out of curiosity, Kara asked cautiously, “You seem familiar. Where have we met?”

Neon, who was struggling to squeeze water from the tin barrel, glanced at Kara and said slowly, “The prison of Solth City, or perhaps today’s public trial in the square?”

“Ah!” Kara pointed at Neon in surprise. “You’re the swordsman who killed the Savage Lion Kent!”

Neon lazily raised his eyebrows. The Savage Lion Kent was that Level 5 warrior. Most people only remembered that he killed Kent, but they didn’t remember—or chose to forget—that to kill Kent, more than a dozen Level 3 warriors were left severely injured or dead. Still, Kara’s words made Neon feel somewhat pleased, and the tense atmosphere eased a bit.

“Great!” Kara was quite excited.

Seeing Kala’s innocent expression untouched by the worldliness around her, Neo knew trouble was coming. Sure enough, Kala said, “Sir Swordsman, could you help me complete a difficult task? Those scoundrels are gathering supplies and hiding them by burning them. Please help me find where they store them. With those stolen goods as evidence, we can expose the big villains behind this!”
Neo walked silently, carrying the bucket. The destination wasn’t far—less than a hundred meters. Around the corner was a tavern, and Neo took an interest in a tiny wine cellar of less than five square meters. Due to the intense heat, it was more like an oven. There was one large oak barrel whose outer shell was charred but not completely burned, so Neo planned to take shelter inside it, provided there was enough water inside; otherwise, he’d end up like roasted chicken in tin foil.
Kala followed closely behind Neo, trying to persuade him nonstop, “I saw those scoundrels always working in pairs. The two of us make a great team. We can get some clothes and disguise ourselves as them to transport supplies, and that way we’ll find the storage location. Actually, I’ve guessed that the storage place is beneath the commercial district—the most dangerous place is also the safest. Who would think the supplies are hidden underground in the ruins? Those scoundrels are really cunning…”
“Wow! What are you trying to do—cook yourself?” Kala stepped half into the cellar before quickly stepping back. The extreme heat that could ignite anyone at any moment and the suffocating heat made it unbearable. She wondered if Neo had the blood of fire salamanders, otherwise how could he walk in there without even frowning.
Neo didn’t say anything. He wetted the charred surface of the barrel with water from the bucket, then poured the rest of the water into the barrel at the top that he had broken. By then, the barrel had rolled off the shelf and was no longer lying horizontally but standing upright, like a large vat, more than enough to hide a person.
“Will you come with me to find where they hide the stolen goods?”
This was already the second bucket of water Neo was carrying, while Kala kept pleading.
“Will you?” she coaxed.
“Will you?” she pleaded pitifully.
“No!” Neo was fed up with Kala’s nagging. “I’m a target for the Evil Flame Puppet. Now you should understand why I chose to hide in these burning ruins. If you don’t want to die, stay away from me.”
“I don’t understand. What kind of monster is the Evil Flame Puppet? Is it very powerful?” Kala asked in an ignorant tone.
“…”
Neo thought, “No wonder she came up with the stupid idea of disguising herself as a Dark Cultist to investigate the storage location.”
At first glance, Kala’s plan seemed good, but upon closer thought, how could an ordinary Dark Cultist know about such an important location? Even if manpower was needed to transport the supplies, someone trustworthy would have to handle the final leg, and there would surely be stricter security measures. Disguising as a Dark Cultist might work in the streets, but in critical situations, they’d be exposed right away.

Moreover, Neo was now 60-70% sure that this woman was indeed the same Vampiric Woman from before, the one that the Dark Cultists wanted to lure out, and he had merely happened to be there at the right time, witnessing that nearly disastrous trap. With a cunning creature like the Vampiric Woman around, and the Dark Cultists already on guard, pretending to be one of them to investigate the storage site meant almost zero chances of success. While Neo was fetching the third bucket of water, he heard the heavy footsteps of the Evil Flame Puppet. Despite the flames blocking the way, the creature had found him, even faster than Neo had expected. “The Evil Flame Puppet is here! It’s stronger than the Black Butcher. Run for your life! Stop thinking about investigating the storage site— the Dark Cultists are alert, and that Vampiric Woman, likely their leader, has set a trap to catch you. Your plans have no chance of success. And given how cunning the enemies are, the supplies surely aren’t left unguarded for long. With so many Dark Cultists involved, it’s risky—even if you manage to find them now, leading others there might result in nothing but falling into a trap. Go! Hurry!” Neo spoke quickly and urgently, and only then did Kara realize that this werewolf didn’t have any communication difficulties as she had thought; he had simply been too lazy to pay her attention earlier. Kara really didn’t know how powerful the Evil Flame Puppet was. Even the Black Butcher was something she had only heard of, and fortunately, she hadn’t encountered him today. But Neo’s urgent tone influenced her, and she instinctively started running after him, carrying the bucket. Ahow… In the distance, it seemed the Evil Flame Puppet understood Neo’s true intention of hiding in this burning land. At the moment it hadn’t completely lost track of Neo, it let out its first roar—a sound that could be heard clearly even from the other side of Sol’s City. It carried a terrifying force filled with a fierce will to destroy, inspiring deep fear. Dong dong dong dong! The Puppet’s pace changed as well; it charged forward, its flaming axe cutting through everything in its path—flames, ash, burning debris—all shooting around and falling from the sky. From above, it formed a blazing line of fire rushing toward Neo.