Chapter 70: The Abandoned City, Ventoris (I)

Ventoris is a very famous place. Located north of the ancient ruins of Theland, it is neither a city nor a town. It became famous because many rebellions against the empire began here.

“The slums among slums” — such was the contemptuous term used by the imperial nobles for Ventoris. The vast wasteland there made survival impossible. There was no fresh food, no clean water; nothing at all!

Of course, nobles would never dwell in such a place. Anyone with even a few gold coins would prefer to stay far away from this filthy land and never return, for it was considered a land cursed by the gods.

It seemed as though the empire had abandoned it, never sending supplies there unless the country lacked soldiers. As mentioned earlier, the Thelanders were the perfect cannon fodder.

Most Thelanders lived in groups, as finding food was extremely difficult alone. Their homes were in Ventoris — a city built from mud, sand, stones, and various debris. I recall once when a 2,000-strong royal knight army was sent to suppress a rebellion in Ventoris. From the imperial capital to capturing Ventoris, it took only four or five days, which gives an idea of Ventoris’ defensive weaknesses.

Ventoris was a place filled with tears, blood, and hatred. The surviving Thelanders despised the empire and even more so the nobles. They tried to rebel many times, but unfortunately, due to a severe lack of weapons and equipment, all their rebellions failed.

At first, the empire taught the Thelanders a harsh lesson: rebellion must be punished with the harshest penalties. I remember during the rebellion in 221, a force of 1,000 royal knights and 7,000 ordinary soldiers swept through the region, killing every man taller than the height of a horse’s belly. Only those who fled into the mountains survived.

Yet, even such brutal lessons could not subdue the Thelanders. Over more than 200 years, they organized forty rebellions, eleven of which were large-scale uprisings that would go down in history. Even so, the rebels never managed to escape this land — the empire’s strongest force, the royal knights, always kept them at bay.

Gradually, the empire lost interest in this unruly and barren land—perhaps out of sympathy for the centuries of sacrifices made by the Theralanders, or maybe because the empire wanted to keep them as a source of troops. Over the past hundred years, the empire’s control over the Theralanders had eased considerably; even in times of rebellion, it only sent royal knights to quell the unrest, rather than engaging in mass killings as it had done two hundred years earlier.

The ruling class used food and water to persuade some Theralanders to abandon their hatred, leave their homes, and become imperial soldiers—and they succeeded. Compared to hatred, hunger clearly mattered more to some Theralanders.

On the other hand, most still preferred to stay in Theraland and continue fighting against the empire. But the empire didn’t seem to care, as the Theralanders lacked food to fill their stomachs, weapons to fight with, and leaders to guide them in war. All they had was their fighting spirit—a spirit forged over centuries under the oppression of the empire and hunger.

As the empire generally believed, the Theralanders were made up of villains, bandits, and thieves who robbed passing caravans and nearby towns. As a result, merchants preferred to take longer routes rather than pass through this area. Every year, only imperial caravans carrying supplies to Galk passed by, and the bandits and villains among the Theralanders clearly didn’t dare touch them. What they really wanted to encounter were noble carriages—just a few, not too many, so there would be fewer guards…

Of course, what they really wanted most were carriages without any guards, but those were rare… Wait… Seems there’s one?

“Creak, creak…”

As a grating sound gradually came from afar, a black carriage emerged from behind the dead trees, accompanied by a few complaints.

“What a horrible smell, Allen. Are you sure we’re on the right route?”

“I’m sorry, Lelira. I think you could close the ventilation windows…”

“Allen, still no sign of the city? We only brought some bread and water…”

“Uh… I don’t think so yet. Hey, buddy, have you seen it? Hey! I told you to drive, not to doze off! I…”

“Let’s rest here for a while, Allen. I think everyone’s tired…”

“Alright, Ravia—but if I were you, I definitely wouldn’t choose to rest here!”

If nothing goes wrong, I think that’s Jiang Zhe and his group…

“Whinny!” With a few neighs, the carriage gradually came to a stop. Allen reached over and pushed Jiang Zhe, who was wrapped in a dark green cloak, and said irritably, “Hey, buddy, sometimes I really admire you—being able to drive a carriage while dozing off?”
“Shut up!” Jiang Zhe waved his hand and rubbed his sore eyes. He hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in a day and a night—after all, there were only two boys in the group.
In contrast, Allen still seemed as energetic as usual. After teasing Jiang Zhe, he hurried over to the carriage to fawn over the girls.
“Hehe, thank you!” Lisa stepped down from the carriage, holding onto Allen’s hand. She glanced around and frowned, saying, “Where is this? Why are all these trees dead? And… it smells so bad!”
Lerila, who also got off the carriage, covered her nose awkwardly and looked around hesitantly, saying, “Allen, did you take the wrong path?”
Just as she finished speaking, a gentle voice from the carriage said with a smile, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be Theland. If we cross this land, we’ll reach the border of Galik…”
Glancing briefly at the girl with light blue hair beside her, Ravia, dressed in what seemed to be equestrian gear, jumped down from the carriage. Wearing thick-soled boots, she took a few steps forward before turning to Allen and saying, “Allen, didn’t I tell you we need food and water? Do you think we can get any here?” She pointed at a stinking river in the distance.
“I’m sorry,” Allen said nonchalantly, shrugging. “Actually, you shouldn’t blame me—the reins weren’t in my hands the whole time…”
Unreasonably, Ravia frowned and glared at Allen without saying anything.
“So where should we go now?” Lerila looked at her companions, holding the knight puppet, and said hesitantly, “There’s not enough food and water in the carriage. We need to find a place to rest and restock. Also… can we find a place to take a bath first?”
“Well…” Allen scratched his head and looked around, saying jokingly, “I hope so too, but unfortunately… I haven’t seen any towns along the way—let alone villages. Tsk tsk!”
“Allen,” Lisa said softly, blushing as she tugged at his tight equestrian clothes, “It’s so uncomfortable not taking a bath…”

“Wow,” Allen said, shrugging awkwardly as he glanced into the distance. “Well then, ladies, please get into the carriage if you want to find a place to stay before sunset…”
“Okay…” Lisa pouted cutely before reluctantly getting into the carriage.
“Hey,” Ravia stepped in front of the carriage and looked at Jiang Zhe, who was holding the reins with a tired expression. She said calmly, “Why don’t you go inside? Let me take over for a while.”
“Hmm, no need,” Jiang Zhe said, patting his face to snap himself back to reality. “Go back inside!”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, Ravia smiled faintly, stepped up the wooden steps, and sat next to him before sighing. “It’s stuffy in there. I wanted to come out for some fresh air…”
As soon as she finished speaking, a voice beside her chuckled, “Fresh air? Don’t you think this smell is awful?”
Ravia propped her chin and said calmly, “Shut up, Allen!”
“You really won’t go in?” Allen pointed at the carriage. When Ravia shook her head, he shrugged, closed the carriage door, and sat in the front seat, saying jokingly, “It’s stuffy, right? In there…”
As if thinking of something, Ravia frowned and said, “Shut up, Allen!”
“Alright, alright,” Allen shrugged and reached over to take the reins from Jiang Zhe, who was sitting on the far left. Then he shouted, “Pray, ladies! Pray that we can find a place to stay before sunset. Otherwise, I guess we’ll have to sleep with those mountain wolves again—hopefully the wolves of Serland aren’t that hungry… Go!”
Allen was wrong. There were no wolves in Serland. Well, there were no wild animals at all, as they had all been hunted to extinction by the hungry people of Serland…
Fortunately, the carriage was big enough that even with Jiang Zhe, Ravia, and Allen sitting together in the driver’s seat, it wasn’t too crowded.
Feeling the bumps of the carriage, Ravia turned to look at Jiang Zhe and said calmly, “What do you think? You haven’t slept for a day and a night, right? It’s hard to imagine…”
“It’s okay,” Jiang Zhe rubbed his sore eyes, yawned, brushed aside his wind-blown hair, and tried to stay focused as he looked ahead. “I’m more worried about Professor Hodde. We deceived him into thinking we were going to Allen’s hometown…”

“Hey, that’s not deception—it’s a white lie!” Allen said with a smile, waving his whip. “Of course, if you want to go to Operios, you can anytime. It’s my territory—how about visiting your old friend, the Water Phantom, at Loch Ness?”
“Die!” Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes irritably. The Water Phantom was the most troublesome creature he had ever encountered.
“Really. The Water Phantom is quite famous around here. Often, some reckless folks go after them for big sums of money…”
“The Water Phantom? Why catch it?” Jiang Zhe was curious.
Shrugging, Allen said matter-of-factly, “As a pet. You know, rich people think differently from ordinary folks. You don’t expect them to keep a rabbit, right? Believe me, in Operios, you can see all sorts of strange things—like Water Phantoms and fire-breathing triceratops…”
“Triceratops?”
“Yeah, surprised, right?” He chuckled. Jiang Zhe joked, “But to me, it’s just a lizard that spits fire. Its flames are so weak that some rich folks use them to light cigarettes. Hehe, pretty fancy, right?”
“Heh!” Jiang Zhe laughed. Glancing at Laavia, who was giggling, he teased Allen, “What about you? I heard your family is also very rich?”
“Wrong, wrong, wrong,” Allen said seriously, looking at Jiang Zhe. “Not just rich—extremely, extremely rich!” Then he reverted to his usual playful grin and said, “Actually, it’s my old man who’s rich. It has little to do with me. To be honest, before I inherited the family business, that money meant nothing to me… You know, buddy? That old guy keeps trying to convince me to become a businessman like him. It’s ridiculous. For a man, honor is what matters, not gold coins…”
“Are you a man now?” Laavia sneered with a light laugh.
“What are you talking about?” Allen stared at Laavia, pointing at himself and saying with a grin, “Someone like me… huh?” Then he showed off his muscular arms.
“…” Shaking her head speechlessly, Laavia sighed lightly and said, “I don’t know if it exists where you are, but in Altak, only those who have gone through the coming-of-age ritual can be called men…”
“It’s just a coming-of-age ritual!” Allen said nonchalantly.

“A mere coming-of-age ceremony?” Glancing at Allen, Ravia said with a hint of sarcasm, “Then do you know how many people in our Altak die during this ceremony?”
“Wow,” Allen exclaimed in surprise, looking at Ravia, “What’s the matter? A coming-of-age ceremony… does it even require a duel?”
“No duel needed,” Ravia shook her head, rubbing her cheeks that were slightly stinging from the wind, and said softly, “The rules of that ceremony are simple: enter the snow mountains, not team up with any companions, and kill a Maltz Snow Wolf alone…”
“What snow wolf?” Allen asked curiously as he drove the carriage.
“The Maltz Snow Wolf—the one summoned by your opponent, Vincent Flores, during the competition…”
“Ah? That thing?” Allen said dismissively with a smirk, “If I hadn’t wanted to tease that kid that day, I could have taken care of that Maltz Snow Wolf in no time!”
“No, it’s not like that,” Ravia shook her head again, speaking with sarcasm, “Actually, you’re lucky, Allen. You should be glad you didn’t encounter a Maltz Snow Wolf in Altak’s snow mountains… The stormy snow mountains, facing hungry Maltz Snow Wolves—that’s not fun at all, especially when you run into groups of them…”
“Wow,” Allen said with interest, shrugging and smiling, “Now that you mention it, I’m quite interested in your coming-of-age ceremony. When can I go there for a few days and participate in it… By the way, does Altak reject outsiders from joining?”
“Of course not, as long as you have the courage… And if you succeed, you’ll get a pendant made from the teeth of the Maltz Snow Wolf you’ve killed. In Altak, that’s a symbol of a warrior—you’ll be respected by everyone!”
“Wow, sounds pretty good,” Allen said, touching his chin and smiling, “I’ll get one too later. I’ll show you guys what a battle mage can do—those snow mountains, those Maltz Snow Wolves…” Then he turned to Jiang Zhe and said, “Hey, buddy, want to join?”
Yawning, Jiang Zhe replied indifferently, “Not interested!”
“Hey, buddy, are you too boring?” Allen shook his head with a wry smile and said excitedly to Ravia, “So, when?”

Ravia’s eyes showed a mix of seriousness, worry, and something indescribable as she whispered, “Next year, I’ll be fourteen. By then, I’ll have to go back…”
“Hey,” Allen said in surprise, as if realizing something, “You… you don’t plan to join that… whatever it is…”
Ravia sighed slightly, forcing a smile before saying in a threatening tone, “What? Is that not allowed?”
Looking at Ravia in shock, then at Jiang Zhe, who was equally surprised, Allen shrugged and said awkwardly, “Of course, it’s fine… Remember to invite me then. I think a pendant made from a wolf tooth would look really cool, huh!”
“Allen, you really…” Ravia shook her head helplessly.
“Don’t you think so?” Allen asked in surprise.
“I…” Ravia lowered her head slightly and said calmly, “I just want to prove that if others can do it, so can I!”
Jiang Zhe gave Ravia a deep look and shook his head gently.
The sky gradually darkened, but the group still hadn’t found a place to stay. After traveling for a long time, they didn’t even see a single village.
“This is troublesome,” Allen said, scratching his head and shrugging. “What do we do, guys? It seems we can’t find anywhere to stay…”
“Is there nothing nearby?” Ravia asked, frowning as she gazed into the distance. “A place to stay isn’t a big deal, but food and water… We still have some bread, but what about water? The rivers around here…” She showed a disgusted expression, probably recalling the river she had seen before.
“Water? That’s easy, right?” Allen said with a grin, imitating Jiang Zhe’s gesture of snapping his fingers. “Don’t forget, we’re not ordinary travelers—just ask Dia for water, okay?” Suddenly, he noticed Ravia’s expression darken and quickly stopped talking, forcing a smile.
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, who was too busy dozing off to notice, Ravia stared at the distance, now enveloped in darkness. After thinking for a moment, she sighed and said, “It seems we have no choice but to do this…” She pushed Allen, but he made a gesture to silence her.
“It seems we have more than one problem…” Hearing some noise, Allen licked his lips and looked toward the nearby woods.

“There seems to be someone around…” Ravia also seemed to sense something. With her eyes closed, she murmured, “One, two, three…” Then, she slowly opened her eyes and frowned, saying, “There are nineteen people in that forest over there. What do they want?”
“What do they want?” Allen chuckled and jumped down from the carriage, saying mockingly, “Those who hide in the forest at such a time—I don’t believe they’re here to bring us food. Don’t worry, I know what to do—it’s written in knight novels!”
Perhaps the carriage stopping had raised the curiosity of the girls inside. Lisa poked her head out of the window and asked curiously, “Avi? Thos? Allen? What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry!” Allen walked over and gently patted Lisa on the head. For once, he spoke seriously, “Lisa, go back inside!”
“Oh…” Lisa nodded and pulled her head back inside. She watched as Allen opened the door and took out a knight’s sword from under the seat.
“What happened?” Dia stood up involuntarily, asking anxiously, “Could it be robbers?”
“Robbers?” Lelira covered her mouth in shock and murmured, “No way…”
“It’s possible,” Dia said with a frown, speaking softly. “I know a bit about Serland. It’s full of villains and thieves. For food and money, the people of Serland often rob merchant caravans…”
“Ah?” Lisa gasped and pressed herself against the window, looking outside.
“Don’t worry. If those guys dare to cause us trouble, we’ll just tell them—they’ve chosen the wrong targets!” With that, Allen gave a knightly salute, smiling, “Please stay in the carriage, beautiful ladies. If anything happens to you, even the gods will cry!” After saying that, he gently closed the door, slung the knight’s sword over his shoulder in a swaggering manner, and strode ahead toward the front of the carriage.
Sure enough, Dia and Allen’s guess was correct. With faint footsteps, a dozen dark figures approached the carriage step by step. In the light from the carriage, they could see that the man at the front held a short dagger. He chuckled and said in a deep voice, “I thought it was someone important. Turns out it’s just a bunch of kids, making us waste time discussing this…” He licked his dagger and said wickedly, “Be sensible. Hand over the money and food in the carriage, or else…”
“Or else what?” Allen smiled and lowered the knight’s sword from his shoulder. The heavy sword plunged into the ground with a thud.

“Who are you?” Ravia frowned as she sized up the dozen or so men in front of her. A few seemed younger, while others looked much older, but one thing was common—to all of them was tattered clothing, and they emitted a strange odor, just like the river they had encountered earlier. Out of involuntary disgust, Ravia stepped back slightly, covering her nose and mouth with a frown.

“Oh, there’s a little girl too!” Ravia’s clear voice seemed to pique the interest of the men even more. After glancing at the carriage from a distance, a few of them exclaimed excitedly, “Brother, there are just these kids in the carriage!”

“Hm, what?” The bearded man at the front stared in surprise at Ravia and Allen, then shook his head mockingly. “A noble kid’s outing? Pah!” He showed off the dagger in his hand and growled, “Hand over the money and food…”

Before he could finish speaking, another man interjected, pointing at Ravia, “And that little girl too, haha!”

“Right, brother, there are more kids in the carriage—all girls!”

“Hahaha, we’re in for fun tonight!”

Hearing the voices behind him, the bearded man frowned and whispered to Allen, “Leave the food and money, and I’ll let you go!”

“Brother?”

“Shut up!” The bearded man roared fiercely at those behind him, then focused on Allen.

To his surprise, however, the kid in front of him didn’t show any signs of fear. On the contrary, he seemed eager, as if brimming with excitement. What caught his attention even more was the light yellow knight’s sword in the kid’s hand.

Allen shrugged, resting both hands on the sword with a smile. “Actually, we’ve been quite bored on this journey. I’ve been thinking since earlier—why don’t I encounter any of the things from knight novels, like robberies or something…” With that, he drew the knight’s sword from his right hand, its sharp blade flashing faintly in the dim light.

“Wow, that sword… Kid, hand over the sword!”

The men’s eyes were filled with madness. After all, in the now-declining Serland, it was extremely difficult to find a high-quality weapon—after all, weapons were symbols of power!

Of course, the reason for this was nothing but the empire’s restrictions: the empire strictly prohibited other regions from selling weapons to Serland!

Compared to his subordinates behind him, the man at the front clearly thought more carefully. He sensed something wrong, which amused him somewhat.

“Brats, I’m warning you one last time—leave this sword, and the food and money in the carriage, and I’ll let you go!”
“That won’t do,” Allen said with a grin, licking his lips. “If I lose this sword, my old man won’t let me off easy…”
“Brother, why waste time talking to these brats?” growling, the bearded man and his dozen or so accomplices simultaneously drew their daggers, glaring fiercely at Allen. But just as they were about to act, a fiery red object flashed past them and then hovered steadily in front of them.
Then another one…
“This…”
“What’s this…?” The robbers stared in disbelief at the dozen or so fireballs floating in the air. One of them even muttered in terror, “M-Mage?”
“Hey,” Allen scratched his head and turned to look at Jiang Zhe, who was sitting upside down in the coachman’s seat, smiling. “Woke up, buddy?”
“Never really slept well, huh?” Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes.
Making a strange face, Allen grinned and shrugged at the bearded man, who was staring at the fireballs in awe. “It seems like you’ve picked the wrong people. We’re not some noble brats on a picnic… Alright, the game’s over. You’d better leave quietly. What do you think?”
Did those fireballs come from that brat?
The bearded man glanced at the little guy wrapped in a dark green cloak sitting upside down in the coachman’s seat and frowned.
After all, although magic was gradually becoming more common, most people still feared it.
But then again, there were always those who refused to believe it…
“Just a bunch of brats!” A fierce-looking man rushed at Ravia. Before he could raise his right hand holding the dagger or before Ravia could cast a spell, a fireball quickly turned and struck him in the chest and abdomen. With a scream, the man’s body burst into flames, causing panic among the other dozen men.
“Oh, damn!”
“Is it really fire? Damn it!”
The man writhed on the ground for a while before the flames gradually died out, as Jiang Zhe had deliberately controlled them.
“Do we still need to continue?” Allen shrugged, pointing at Jiang Zhe sitting in the coachman’s seat. “I was planning to play around with you guys… Enough, right? Take this guy and leave quickly. My brother isn’t very patient…”

The bearded man stepped forward to check on his accomplice’s injuries, then waved his hand and said weakly, “Let’s go!” As soon as he spoke, the sound of horse hooves came from afar. Hearing this, the dozen or so robbers seemed to realize something, their faces showing panic and hatred as they quickly picked up the injured man and fled into the darkness.

“Hey, what’s going on now?” Alan watched them run away until they disappeared, amused. Suddenly, it grew dark around him—Jiang Zhe had dispelled those fireballs. Within seconds, as the horse hooves grew louder, three knights appeared before Alan.

The lead knight glanced suspiciously around before pointing his spear at Alan and asking with a frown, “Boy, where are your parents?”

Glancing at the spear tip right in front of him, Alan replied in an annoyed tone, “If I were you, I wouldn’t ask so rashly. Maybe your rude behavior will offend someone!”

“Brat!” one of the knights snapped, but the lead knight stopped him. He sized Alan up, then suddenly put away his spear, sat back on his horse, and gave a proper knight’s salute before speaking seriously, “We saw flames in the distance just now…” As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and looked around doubtfully.

“Are those the flames?” Ravia summoned a flame in her hand and smiled at the knight.

“Oh…” Realizing something, the knight quickly dismounted from his horse, gave another knight’s salute, and said politely, “Please forgive my rudeness earlier, respected mage lady… What brings you and your companions here? Of course, I mean no offense—I’m just curious… Oh, my apologies. My name is Ek, Ek Tash!”

“Very well, respected knight,” Ravia smiled slightly, extinguishing the flame in her hand, and asked, “My companions and I are trying to reach Galik, but unfortunately got lost in this area. I was wondering if there are any cities or villages nearby? We’d like to find a place to rest!”

“A city?” The knight named Ek wore a peculiar smile as he shook his head. “There’s only one city in the vicinity, called Ventoris. But believe me, respected and beautiful mage, you certainly wouldn’t want to go there… If you don’t mind waiting here for a day, I think we can take you and your companions to Galk on our way—we’re knights ordered to deliver military pay to Galk!”
“Wait for a day?” Ravia bit her lip anxiously before shaking her head. “I don’t think we can wait that long. In which direction is that city called Ventoris?”
“Well…” Knight Ek hesitated, looking at Ravia. Suddenly, he raised his head and pointed into the distance. “If you follow this road for another day, you’ll reach the border of Galk. There are settlements there. I’m sorry, beautiful mage, but believe me—Ventoris is definitely not an interesting place…”
Glancing at Ek, Ravia asked curiously, “Why?”
Ek showed a look of disdain and disgust as he said in a deep voice, “Ventoris is filled with evil. It’s a haven for scoundrels and thieves. Those Theralanders are like parasites—killing, robbing, stealing… I swear by my knighthood that it’s definitely not a good place. If you and your companions need a place to stay, go in the direction I mentioned. It’s only a day’s journey away…”
Just then, his companion whispered to him, “Ek, we should go back. If we miss the deadline, we’ll be punished!”
“Hmm.” Ek nodded, gave a knightly salute to Ravia, Allen, and Lisa and Leryla who were peering out of the carriage window, then mounted his horse and returned with his two companions along the same path.
Watching them walk away, Ravia sighed slightly and said regretfully, “It seems there’s no city here after all…”
As soon as she finished speaking, a person suddenly stepped out from the nearby woods and said in a strange tone, “There is a city, but it’s not what you imagine…”
“You still haven’t left?” Allen said with a smile, glancing at the bearded man standing not far away. “It seems your accomplices have all gone back. What do you plan to do alone?”

“How… Hah, so you guys discovered us long ago,” he sighed slightly. The bearded man spat in the direction of the three knights and said viciously, “Is Ventoris full of sin? Hm? A den for scoundrels and thieves? Hmph! Tch!” Then he turned to Allen and the others and said, “You heard that too. There’s no other place around here. If you need a place to rest, it’s either Ventoris or another day’s journey to the Galic border—if you want, I happen to have a few empty rooms there…”

With a mocking smile, Allen said cheerfully, “Oh, what’s this? A robber offering lodging?”

The bearded man seemed to think of something, smiled self-deprecatingly, and said seriously, “There are plenty of empty rooms, but no water, no food, nothing you usually need. But I can guarantee no one will bother you there. The price is one gold coin!”

“Wow, one gold coin? Do we look like ignorant noble brats?” Allen laughed and stretched out his hand. “Deal!”

Surprised by Allen’s outstretched hand, the man was stunned for a moment before hesitantly reaching out. He wiped his hand on his clothes, shook Allen’s hand, and forced a somewhat unnatural smile.

“O-Okay, follow me!”