Chapter 161: City of Death

Many factors influence a war, the simplest and most direct of which is high-end military might.

High-end military power acts like a nuclear deterrent, playing a crucial stabilizing role among nations. Even without going to war, it secures advantages in trade negotiations and various disputes.

In actual combat, the role of high-tier professionals goes without saying.

When the gap in strength is vast, fighting one against a hundred, or even slaughtering thousands or tens of thousands, is entirely possible. Especially for mages, a single area-of-effect spell is sometimes enough to annihilate an entire army.

The Kingdom of Elnor officially boasts four fifth-tier powerhouses, while Karachia has only three.

However, with Leotis currently gravely wounded and missing, the high-end military power between the two nations has reached a delicate balance. Coupled with the fact that Elnor is in the wrong, if a war were to break out, other countries would likely take advantage of their misfortune. Consequently, the current situation in Elnor is extremely volatile.

In this subtle window of opportunity, if any nation can be the first to have a fifth-tier, or even just a fourth-tier professional acquire and absorb a shard of divinity, the balance will tip.

This time, Nelson has summoned everyone precisely because of the divinity shard!

"Most people have already arrived. Time is critical, so I will dispense with unnecessary pleasantries." Nelson scanned his surroundings; virtually all the key figures were present.

"We have just received notification that an ancient ruin has been discovered within the Elven Forest."

This brief sentence caused an instant uproar in the previously quiet venue. Everyone knew what an ancient ruin implied.

Whether it was sacred relics, treasures within the ruins, or spells and technologies from ancient civilizations, all were priceless treasures.

"Guild Master, do we know from which era the ruins originate? How is it that they are only being discovered in the Elven Forest now?" Vice Guild Master Darren had only just learned of this news, and it sounded utterly shocking.

"Guild Master, is it wise to just blurt this out like this? If other guilds and adventurers find out, won't they beat us to it?" some mages asked anxiously.

With such a mixed crowd present, keeping it a secret was impossible.

"This ruin might well be an archaic relic predating the divine era." Nelson's words stirred up yet another tempest.

The so-called divine era referred to the continental civilization's history beginning with the emergence of the gods. However, numerous ruins indicated that even before the birth of the gods, and even before the birth of humans on this continent, an even more ancient civilization had existed in this world.

Some researchers had even deduced that the appearance of the gods was born precisely from the study of these archaic civilizations. Although few people believed this theory, regardless, an archaic ruin predating the divine era was absolute madness-inducing existence for the entire continent!

Before anyone could ask further questions, Nelson waved his hand to signal for silence.

"There is no need to keep this news hidden. The Elven Clan has already issued a proclamation to the entire continent; soon, everyone will know."

"The location of this ruin is rather peculiar. It lies dozens of meters beneath the bottom of Moon Lake, which is why it has never been discovered until now."

Moon Lake is situated in the northern part of the Elven Forest, gathering river water from the Carlos Mountains and sustaining the countless lives of the Elven Clan.

A multitude of aquatic monsters inhabit Moon Lake, and very few intelligent races have ever managed to reach the lake bed, let alone excavate dozens of meters down.

Without beating around the bush, Nelson continued, "Right on the Night of Falling Stars, powerful warriors of the Elven Clan followed the falling shard of divinity in the sky all the way to Moon Lake."

"After the divinity shard plunged into the lake and vanished, the Elven Clan began exploring Moon Lake in order to retrieve it."

*Why did this shard fall into a lake too? Could these shards possibly have an affinity for water?* Chu Yun could not help muttering inwardly.

In truth, the area of Moon Lake is not small, occupying half of the Elven Forest. For such a vast lake, the Elven Clan had always harbored certain puzzles.

It was only when this divinity shard entered the lakebed that they discovered that Moon Lake had actually been a city in ancient times, only for some unknown reason, the entire city had sunk to the bottom of the lake and become buried. This sounded somewhat similar to the Golden City north of the Lalafell Islands, but this was no Golden City; rather, it was a cursed city of the undead.

As the divinity shard plunged into the lake, the ancient remains buried within the city at the bottom of the lake began to revive.

Following this period of development, the undead in the subterranean City of Death had excavated the lakebed, bringing the city of the undead back into the light of day. Countless undead creatures emerged from the lakebed, occupying Moon Lake and its surrounding areas.

Moon Lake suffered severe contamination, which affected not only the numerous races within the Elven Forest but also the Kingdom of Elnor and the Kingdom of Karachia on both banks of the river, and even the southern regions of the Alsis Empire at the downstream terminus.

"Under normal circumstances, drinking water soaked with undead creatures does not have a huge impact, resulting in at most an upset stomach. But perhaps influenced by the divinity shard, the contaminated water in Moon Lake is utterly terrifying," Nelson said, taking a deep breath at this point.

"Those creatures that drank the contaminated lake water began to transform into undead and joined the undead army of the City of Death."

"The only silver lining is that, likely due to the divinity shard, none of these undead creatures have left Moon Lake, where the City of Death is located. However, that lake water still retains its powerful corrosive properties for a time even after leaving the undead city."

Selina, who had rushed over from Viscount Carl's side, could not help asking, "Aren't the elves most proficient in nature magic? And aren't there fifth-tier mages skilled in nature magic within the Elven Forest? Can't they solve these problems?"

Everyone else was equally puzzled and turned their gazes toward Nelson.

Nelson shook his head: "The source of the contamination should be the divinity shard that fell into the City of Death, but a bizarre barrier has appeared around the periphery of this City of Death following the appearance of the divinity shard."

"Aside from the dead, only life forms of the third tier and below can enter it. The elves have also tried various methods, such as forcibly breaking the barrier, but all ended in failure."

"Having no other choice, they issued the proclamation to the continent. Otherwise, no one would give up a divinity shard, even if it might be related to death."

"Whoever can seize the divinity shard and resolve the crisis of Moon Lake and the Elven Clan will gain the friendship of the elves and the Spring of Life, which can extend one's lifespan."

"In fact, even without any reward, adventurers across the continent would flock to it like ducks. This is the first publicly revealed divinity shard, after all!"

"Since only professionals of the third tier and below may enter, the elves have also made a guarantee: they will protect the successful individual for one month to ensure the person is not robbed of the shard by other powerhouses before finishing its absorption."

"Our Black Stone City is closest to the Elven Forest, and we still have a chance now. Once the elite forces of the major powers arrive, there likely won't be any chance left."

The Kingdom of Elnor is merely a lower-middle-tier kingdom on the continent. Aside from the advantages of distance and friendship with the elves, everything else is a disadvantage.

"So, aside from Selina being barred from participating, does anyone else wish to take part in this operation?"

Selina: "???"