Chapter 296 - 205: Heading to the Darkness City

And indeed, this was precisely the case.

At this moment, Long Yi is sitting inside an object called a ’Worm Vehicle.’

Yes, Long Yi can only describe this as an ’object.’

Essentially, it’s a gigantic worm, with three rows of diamond teeth at the front, which travels through the earth, cutting and swallowing everything in its path. After everything it encountered gets grinded by the rows of teeth, they enter the body of the Worm Vehicle, where they merge with a special sticky substance, becoming something akin to concrete, seeping out of its skin to fortify the path it passed through.

Following the body of the Worm Vehicle is a series of chitinous frames. These frames, unwanted parts of the Worm Vehicle, have been artificially crafted into cabins. At present, Long Yi and the Second Crown Prince are sitting side by side on the extremely narrow seats in the cabin. Sitting opposite them is a little girl with grey-white hair and exceptionally pale skin. Judging by her appearance, she doesn’t seem much older than nine-year-old Little Zi.

She is the legendary Darkness Saintess, and she is already eighteen years old.

The Dark Clan is a mysterious race that dwell underground. They are typically short, with pale skin, grey-white hair, and eyes that glow in the dark. Their eyes can perceive a broader spectrum of light, allowing them to see infrared and ultraviolet, and thus they can see objects at night.

However, the way this young girl is looking at Long Yi seems a bit off.

The story begins with the night before.

When Long Yi told Ai Lin that he was leaving, Ai Lin immediately wanted to go with him. But Long Yi clearly cannot take Ai Lin with him - after all, Long Yi is essentially seeking refuge under the guise of an excuse.

So, that night, Long Yi fled, rented a Thunderhawk, and flew straight to the Imperial City. At three o’clock in the morning, Long Yi arrived at the Imperial Research Institute. As soon as Ma Deburg, the dean, who had already received word of Long Yi’s impending arrival, saw him, he immediately took Long Yi to the warehouse.

Then, in the warehouse, Long Yi saw a row of repaired Battle Armors, as well as the legendary Golem of Darkness City.

"Big Sister Golem, look, that’s your friend."

Long Yi said to the Fine Gold Golem.

As it turned out, that Golem of Darkness City also has the figure of a female, with an outstandingly glamorous body. Unlike Big Sister Golem, this golem was made of a combination of black metal and wood.

"For a replica, its structure surprised me a lot," the Fine Gold Golem said, "Especially how they’ve modified the structure of the Battle Armor to be more suitable for the Dark Clan."

"What? You’re saying that this is also a Battle Armor?" Dean Angidd asked in surprise.

"How long has it been since you last ate?" The Fine Gold Golem knocked on the chest of the black armor, which then opened up. A small, weak figure slithered out from inside and was caught by the Fine Gold Golem.

"Thankfully I got here in time," the Fine Gold Golem said, "Otherwise, the White Dragon Empire would be the first to go to war with the City of Darkness, because they starved the Saintess of Darkness to death."

Is this the Saintess of Darkness?

Long Yi leaned in for a closer look and examined her carefully.

She seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary, cute little girl and didn’t appear to be special in any way.

The appearance of the Saintess of Darkness attracted many onlookers. The Saintess of Darkness is the second most desirable woman among men on the popularity list presented here, everyone wanted to know what made her so special.

However, the Saintess of Darkness, who appears to be an innocent little girl, is quite orderly in her actions and behavior.

The news of the White Dragon Empire repairing airships and golems dispersed not long ago, and Darkness City received the news. Darkness City has been traditionally replacing labor with golems. Even the golems of Darkness City were rough replicas of giants’ technology. There hadn’t been much progress for many years. Now that the White Dragon Empire has progressed, Darkness City was naturally interested. However, they weren’t sure if the White Dragon Empire would readily agree to help Darkness City. Therefore, the Saintess of Darkness decided to act as a messenger to the White Dragon Empire. Before that, though, she decided to observe the people of the White Dragon Empire from afar.

Then, at an artifact excavation site, a Dragon Rider guarding the area found the Battle Armor operated by the Saintess of Darkness and restrained it. To prevent danger, the Saintess of Darkness did not reveal her identity and nearly starved to death inside the armor.

Long Yi could not help but smile, thinking that the Saintess of Darkness appeared to be rather silly and slow. If she was to act as a messenger, wouldn’t it be better to take the official route?

At that moment, the Second Crown Prince arrived with the Guard Team from the City of Darkness.

The guards of Darkness City each had their Battle Armor, all made of metal and wood. They were light enough, yet sufficiently robust. However, when compared to the Battle Armors that the Institute had repaired, they were much smaller and lacked metal. If it had seen those Battle Armors before, every researcher of the White Dragon Empire on the scene would have been envious, but now things had changed - the Battle Armors of the White Dragon Empire were more advanced!

After a brief exchange, the Saintess of Darkness learned that the tall man in front of her who was considered tall even among humans was the key figure in repairing these armors.

"Mr. Long Yi, on behalf of Darkness City, I ask for your assistance," the Saintess of Darkness requested.

Long Yi did not say anything, but looked at the Second Crown Prince instead.

This matter essentially falls under the scope of an exchange between nations, and this technology can be considered highly classified. As a citizen of the White Dragon Empire, Long Yi naturally has the obligation to consult with the emperor beforehand about this.

"The White Dragon Empire deems maintaining friendly ties with the Dark City to be of utmost importance. Therefore, we are willing to render assistance to Dark City. Of course, we also hope that our political and economic exchanges with Dark City can become further deepened," the second prince spouted government rhetoric.

"So, when are we setting off?" asked the Saintess of Darkness.

"Setting off? To where?" Long Yi questioned in confusion.

"To Dark City, of course!" The Saintess of Darkness answered.

"Is Dark City far?"

"It’s approximately less than ten hours’ journey."

"What for?"

"To help us repair a real golem."

"If that’s the case, anytime will do."

Then, in less than an hour’s time, located at a courtyard within the Imperial Research Institute, the massive head of the Worm Vehicle broke through the sturdy bluestone floor. Following this, everyone embarked on the road to Dark City in a state of perplexity towards the unknown.

"Brother, this is quite sudden. I don’t feel mentally prepared at all. There’s also no build-up." Inside the Worm Vehicle, Long Yi whispered to the second prince.

"It’s not as abrupt when you think about it. Dark City has already delivered its intent to my father awhile ago. Several ministers agreed to offering assistance to them. After all, Dark City originally had great mastery over golem and battle armor technologies. We’re just adding icing to the cake. If we manage to exchange for even more useful resources this time around, we’re essentially earning on our side." The second prince responded.

"Speaking of the emperor, has your father’s health improved lately? He seems to have been coughing a lot recently." Long Yi inquired.

"No, it’s getting worse. He even coughed up blood the other day. He started to have a high fever that wouldn’t go away for the past two days, and is even a bit delirious at times. Several doctors examined him but couldn’t determine the real issue. He doesn’t take his prescribed medicine, and when I sought help from the Water Spirits, they expressed their helplessness too." The second prince wore an anxious expression on his face.

"Could he have been poisoned?" Long Yi immediately thought of this classic scenario. Little Zi who was sitting behind him lightly poked him in the back right away.

The second prince didn’t answer, but his brows furrowed deeper. Long Yi instantly realized he may have spoken out of turn. After all, if the emperor is poisoned, that’s a significant event which could inadvertently turn into a massive scandal if not handled carefully.

Thereafter, everyone was silent on the journey. Bored, Long Yi simply lay down and fell asleep. Little Zi looked at Long Yi’s cramped posture, and lamented, "Poor thing, he can even fall asleep in such a small space."

The Fine Gold Golem sneered, "Heartless, he could fall asleep even in such a situation!"

Unaware of how much time had passed, Long Yi woke up to the Worm Vehicle slowing down. He lifted his eyes to the sky full of fireflies, and in the distance, was an imposing colossal fortress!

The Saintess of Darkness said softly, "Welcome to Dark City."

As expected of Dark City, this city built unbeknownst how deep underground was almost entirely shrouded in darkness. The swarms of fireflies in the sky failed to illuminate a vast area. Long Yi grabbed one to inspect it. The fireflies were not actually fireflies, but miniature mechanical insects, no larger than a fingernail. Their enormous bodies were emitting a faint luminescence.

The Worm Vehicle halted in the city, and the appearance of Long Yi, the second prince, and the guards immediately caused a stir.

"It’s a giant! Look there! It’s a giant!" The petite Dark Clan citizens pointed and exclaimed.

"In their eyes, we’re all giants." The second prince, having been silent for a while, finally spoke.

However, Long Yi only gave an awkward smile in response, without uttering a word. He was surprised to discover what the Dark Clan people were referring to as a giant was not the second prince or his guards. It was Long Yi!

When everyone spoke of the giant, they were all looking at and pointing to Long Yi. Under the dim lights, the second prince failed to notice, but Long Yi was crystal clear!

Was it a coincidence? Or did they realize who he was?

If they did recognize him, then so should the Saintess of Darkness.

Something was not quite right with this situation.

The appearance of humans had caused a spectacle, but no one chased them too far. It was evident that the Dark Clan people were very cautious and careful. Suddenly arriving in such a dark place, people struggled to adapt. The second prince and his guards were constantly bumping into things due to the poor visibility. Long Yi, however, seemed normal. Bajie and Xiaoyou, being members of the Dragon Clan, had excellent night vision. Little Zi was a Female Demon without a physical form; any obstacle she encountered was simply bypassed floating. The Fine Gold Golem didn’t even rely on lighting to identify objects! (To be continued. If you like this novel, please vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Readers on mobile devices, please visit m.qidian.com.)