Chapter 961 - 577 Taya’s Departure and the Information on the Relics_2
Lis stretched his body, determined the direction, and then used flying magic to fly away.
Taya had already left, and he didn't want to travel slowly. Finding the Azus Temple buried under the yellow sand was the most urgent thing.
Avin's words were very true.
Taya had already become a legend, how could he fall so far behind?
Make the most of the time; many plans could only officially begin after breaking through to legend.
After breaking through the relationship with Taya, Lis now has quite a lot of momentum!
...
Kale City, southern Western Desert,
This is a unique small city standing on the edge of the boundless desert. It lies alone at the junction of yellow sand and sky, not like other desert towns gently embraced by vibrant oases, but directly adjacent to the vast desert, as if nature specifically carved out a tough gem in this desolate land.
The buildings in Sha Yizhen are mostly constructed from rough stone and weather-resistant wood. The houses are low and sturdy, roofs covered with thick straw or iron plates to withstand frequent sandstorm invasions.
The streets are narrow and winding, flanked by various shops and inns, their exterior walls sculpted by time and sandstorms' mottled traces, telling the stories of every traveler over long years.
Most people coming and going from this small city are dressed as mercenaries, wide-brimmed desert hats shielding them from the blazing sun, windproof goggles protecting eyes from flying sand and stones, tight-fitting clothing reducing sandstorm resistance, and water flasks and backpacks hanging at their waists, essential gear for survival in the desert. Their faces are marked by wind and frost, eyes glinting with a yearning for freedom and wealth.
Kale City is quite special; its location is actually not very suitable for human habitation, except for a few springs, other needed supplies must be purchased and transported from other oases, there is no production.
But because in the desert surrounding this city, many ancient ruins are buried.
Countless mercenaries come here just for the treasure left in those ancient ruins; even Kale, this desert city, has therefore become more prosperous.
Because most ruins are covered by the desert, mercenaries often roam the desert, searching for those ancient ruins occasionally exposed, Kale City is the place where these mercenaries gather and replenish their supplies.
Even if no ruins are found, it doesn't matter; for some reason, the magic power concentration in the desert surrounding Kale City is much higher than other areas, many desert magic beasts live in this region.
Most mercenaries' income mainly comes from hunting these desert magic beasts; only those favored by the Lucky Goddess can find those ruins re-emerging under the influence of sandstorm.
When Lis arrived at Kale City, night had already fallen.
The sunset during dusk dyed the horizon gold-red, and only at this time, the whole city started to get lively.
The dust-laden mercenaries couldn't bother to change clothes, they gathered around in the open-air tavern drinking merrily, boasting today's bountiful harvest; meanwhile, this is also where merchants purchase mercenaries' gains.
The Milky Way spanned across the sky at night, torches stood burning in the tavern, the fragrance of wine floating in the air.
Lis came into the open-air tavern, frowning as he surveyed the loudly chattering mercenaries around him, his eyes searching for something in the crowd.
Kale City doesn't have a Mercenary Guild headquarters, so many mercenaries gathering here naturally formed customary rules.
After all, the City Lord of Kale City is only a Gold High-level Warrior; though capable, he can't possibly make all mercenaries follow his orders.
Within the city, mercenaries are not allowed to strike others proactively, otherwise, they face attacks from everyone; outside the city, there's no restriction, it's complete beast law.
After all, mercenaries who risk their lives choosing to adventure in this desert are people licking blood off the blade edge, unconcerned about life and death.
With Lis's current strength, he doesn't need to specially come to Kale City to rest anymore.
On the surface, almost nothing can threaten his safety in this desert.
But beneath the desert, who knows what remains in those ancient ruins and secret realms as deadly weapons.
Lis came here searching for a person, an information broker who knows the location of Azus Temple.
In his previous life, Lis learned about the existence of Azus Temple from player forums, but he didn't pay much attention, only knowing the temple's approximate location and the reason it was discovered.
After all, at that time, he was purely a mage, the Azus Temple, storing countless records of divine arts, didn't attract him.
Lis remembers that this was a series of quests, players could accept a mission to explore a desert anomaly from the information broker Holan in Kale City.
And this quest ultimately pointed to Azus Temple.
Actually, this information broker Holan had discovered clues to a desert ruin, but he feared the danger and wanted to find some fall guys to scout the way.
When players discovered Azus Temple, Holan followed them closely and eventually appeared to kill the players, who were only Silver Rank at the time, trying to eliminate evidence.
The outcome was widely understood; players resurrected and retaliated against Holan, spreading the news of Azus Temple, while Holan was later killed by countless adventurers arriving after, leaving no chance of gain.
Any new ancient ruin appearing in this desert will inevitably cause bloody battles. The ultimate outcome was Azus Temple was occupied by the True God Church, allowing only church members to enter.
Lis doesn't want to search blindly for the temple still buried beneath the desert, it would take too much effort.
Better to start with the information broker; he should already have the temple's intelligence, but hasn't yet executed his plan.
Lis's gaze quickly swept over the crowd and found his target.
Sitting at the tavern's edge was a middle-aged man about forty years old, maintaining his stature well, neither appearing bloated nor too thin. His meticulously groomed black hair glinted under the dim firelight.
He wore a well-cut dark blue velvet long robe, sleek lines outlining his upright figure, the collar embroidered with intricate silver patterns. A soft silk scarf wrapped around his neck in a gentle sky blue, complementing the robe, trailing softly with each motion, a delicate ruby ring on his finger shimmering with slight brilliance.
The mercenaries' outfits surrounding the man starkly contrasted with his, their loud laughter and crude words, against the man's composure, appeared like two entirely different worlds, distinctly divided in this small tavern.
This is the information broker Holan!
To the mercenaries, this man is pure show-off, claiming to be a fallen noble from the continent's eastern kingdom; whether his words are true is unknown.
Though mercenaries disliked Holan's ways, his strength was decent, and they occasionally needed to buy information from him, so they simply chose to ignore him.
Lis walked directly over to Molan, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Holan put down his wine glass, averted his gaze from the tavern waitress, glanced at Lis, then straightened his expression and respectfully asked:
"What can I do for you, sir?"
Despite being unable to discern Lis's strength, Holan immediately understood that Lis was different from those mercenaries and his fake noble self.
"I'd like to purchase some information regarding the desert ruins."
Lis didn't mind Holan's attitude, speaking straightforwardly.
"What information do you want, is it maps of discovered desert ruins, or the distribution of desert ruins' magic beasts?"
Holan eagerly asked.
"Neither."
Lis shook his head and directly said:
"I want the location of that rumored desert vortex ruin you hold."
Upon hearing this, Holan's face changed dramatically, looking at Lis in disbelief.