The sky suddenly darkened.

Ethan lifted his head and found the sun had already vanished behind the clouds.

This made the city, already cold and desolate, even more bleak and murderous.

Saint Kuanti was already a dead city.

From the moment they stepped onto the streets of the city, everyone felt it.

Everywhere on the ground lay bodies frozen into black ice.

In the shops lining the streets, through glass windows, one could see people who seemed to have been selling items just moments before, now frozen into black ice.

But more prevalent were the traces of twisting and struggling.

The scene was so bizarre and terrifying that it truly chilled the spine.

However, those who came were all true namers, and their mental resilience was strong; they continued to observe and proceed on their path.

Yet, as they walked, the route seemed to go astray.

"Captain, is the route wrong? The King told us to search the West District, why are we heading towards the center?"

Huoyan couldn't help but speak out.

"What do you know? Since it's pollution from ancient artifacts, have you researched the city's history? The most likely place would definitely be something related to Saint Kuanti, and at the northmost end of the city, there's a church built by Saint Kuanti. There must be clues there."

Sunlight retorted sharply and mercilessly.

The others felt a vague discomfort upon hearing this.

Even one of the secondary true namers who had been following him spoke up, "The King told us to explore the West District first, isn't it better if we do that? If we go too deep and encounter danger, what if the King can't aid us in time?"

"Stop babbling. If you think I'm wrong, leave my team."

With Sunlight's words, no one dared to speak further. After all, he was a third-level true namer, and strength was still paramount.

Since strength represented safety.

Ethan exchanged a glance with Anya.

This Sunlight's motives perhaps weren't so simple.

He was a True Namer of the Sun, which probably meant he was a member of the Sun God Sect, and Saint Kuanti was a saint of the Sun God Sect...

Just when the atmosphere had reached a certain low...

A loud bell tolled suddenly, resounding throughout Saint Kuanti.

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

Three consecutive rings.

The bell originally served the purpose of awakening and clearing the mind, but this bell tone instilled an indescribable sense of eeriness.

Especially in this city that was already completely dead.

Who rang the bell?

The next moment.

As everyone remained hesitant and uncertain, the surrounding air suddenly twisted.

Then, the cityscape, the outer walls of the buildings began to peel, the black ice on the ground, and everything started to decay.

A heavily foul stench permeated the air.

The stench was so sticky and moist, it felt as if someone were rubbing a dead fish across everyone's nasal passages and skin.

"Great Sun protect me!"

Sunlight seemed to be the first to react, chanting loudly, instantly causing a bright sunlight to descend, surrounding them.

That disgustingly sticky wet stench indeed faded somewhat, and even the air seemed a bit warmer.

Yet outside the sunlight, the world showed little change.

The cityscape was still decaying, seemingly becoming even older.

In Ethan's aesthetic and historical expertise, the style of these decaying buildings now displayed before him dated back about a century.

That was the era of the Kingdom's great expansion.

Saint Kuanti was established during that time as well.

So, had they arrived in Saint Kuanti a century ago?

Had they entered a historical layer?

What was going on?

"What exactly is happening? Why did we enter directly? Was the entrance the bell sound?"

The secondary true namer in the team seemed to not be warning this kind of occurrence for the first time, yet this change clearly exceeded his understanding.

"Don't know."

Sunlight's tone turned solemn.

————————

At the same time.

When the bell tolled, not far from Saint Kuanti.

Two modified cars were swiftly advancing through the ice and snow.

Upon hearing the bell, the cars temporarily halted.

The people stepping out were dressed in pitch-black leather coats.

At first glance, their attire was somewhat akin to prohibition agents, but upon closer inspection, one would see an embroidery of a three-headed dragon on their leather coat shoulders.

They were members of the Kingdom's most secretive force, the Kingdom Defense Bureau.

At this moment, standing at the forefront of the team, was Heisenberg, a core member dispatched urgently from the Royal Capital known as the Eagle of the Defense Bureau.

He indeed had a pair of eagle-like eyes, glaring at Saint Kuanti in the distance like an eagle fixating on its prey.

They arrived earlier than scheduled.

Because this was an A-Level event, and... it happened in the northern part of the Kingdom.

The northern part of the Kingdom held a special significance known only to a few.

Therefore, they acted extremely swiftly, almost traveling day and night.

For this reason, he originally intended to discharge and investigate all members of Wenster's Prohibition Bureau for delaying and covering up the matter.

Albertine's little schemes seemed no mystery to him.

However, upon arriving in Wenster and meeting Albertine in person, his intentions changed.

Because that was a rather fascinating young man.

Gazing at the darkened skies, Heisenberg recalled his conversation with Albertine.

"You can execute me directly."

"Do you think I wouldn't dare?"

"You wouldn't hesitate about anything; you're the Eagle of the Defense Bureau. I indeed erred, and willingly accept punishment, but I would feel regret."

"Regret?"

"I would regret never being able to serve the Kingdom I dearly love, while all around this Kingdom, so many filthy worms and rats run rampant, gnawing at its body."

"Do you know? I detest smooth-talking individuals the most, but luckily, you're a very capable smooth-talker, so, work well, I await you in the Royal Capital."

Heisenberg stood upright.

Initially, he believed the conversation had concluded.

Unexpectedly, the young man named Albertine audaciously called out to him.

"Lord Heisenberg, since you seem to appreciate me, could you help me with a favor?"

"Oh?"

"When you go to Saint Kuanti, if possible, could you kill a few people for me?"

"Who?"

"Naturally, those black mud worms of Wenster."

"It's A-Level pollution, do you think they could survive?"

"Things in black mud are always resilient to life, aren't they? Dead worms are the good worms."

"If I happen to encounter them and they happen to still be alive."

"Thank you."

Albertine said, lightly tapping his temple with his finger as a salute gesture.

"All for the Kingdom."

"All... for the Kingdom."

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