Chapter 24

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Volume 2 + Chapter 24: The City of Ancient Ruins

What entered Xia Yi’s view was a magnificent cluster of ruins.

Its expanse far surpassed that of the seaside city, with no end in sight—perhaps even the capital of the Kingdom of Rhine might not compare.

The style of the City of Ancient Ruins was grand and imposing, truly awe-inspiring. Just by gazing upon it, one could feel the weight of the ages it carried.

The city was fully equipped with functional buildings: there was a bell tower, a priest’s temple, a royal palace, and even towering skyscrapers that reached the clouds—such technology was unprecedented in this land.

Perhaps, this truly was the product of some ultra-ancient civilization that had reached the pinnacle of prosperity.

“…Incredible.” Xia Yi was utterly stunned.

Could it be that the golden kingdom described during the Age of Great Navigation was actually here?

It was just that the entire ruin had already fallen into decay. Nearly half of it was submerged in water, and under the erosion of endless time, its desolation was fully laid bare.

Why was there such a city of ruins in the depths of the ocean?

Was this where the Black Tide had originated?

And those half-dragon monsters—why had they brought her to this place?

At this moment, Xia Yi’s heart was filled with countless questions.

Within the ruins, she saw some figures slowly moving about.

They were the half-dragon monsters.

Xia Yi could recognize them—these people were once residents of Golde. After being tainted by dragon blood, cursed, they had transformed into such appearances.

And now, they seemed more like the native inhabitants of this place.

“…?” One of the half-dragon monsters suddenly stopped, lifting its head sharply and looking toward the cave where Xia Yi was hiding.

Xia Yi reacted quickly and immediately shrank back.

“Whew… that was close. I almost got noticed.”

She carefully retreated several steps, hiding herself in the darkness. After waiting for a while, she cautiously peeked outside.

The half-dragon monster hadn’t noticed her and continued walking forward.

“There really are too many secrets here,” Xia Yi murmured in awe.

Originally, she and Serra had come to Golde to investigate the Black Tide, hoping to use the opportunity to complete their mission and elevate their own prestige.

But who could have imagined that hidden behind this string of events were so many secrets—and dangers far beyond anything they had anticipated?

They had even encountered a legendary beast—Leviathan.

“Serra… I hope she’s okay.” Xia Yi was a little worried.

Back then, in order to ensure her safety, Serra had risked her life to fight Leviathan and draw the legendary beast’s attention.

Unfortunately, afterward Xia Yi had run into the Sirens.

If it hadn’t been for Ella, it was hard to say what might have happened to her.

“And Hill… I don’t know what’s become of her either… Now, I’m all alone.”

Xia Yi furrowed her brows.

Xia Yi furrowed her brows.

Although she wasn’t exactly sure where she was, she was certain that she had already left the coastline of Golde and entered the depths of the ocean.

But she wasn’t some pampered and willful noble lady—she was a resolute and unyielding Human Sword Saint!

She had fallen into great peril many times during her past adventures, but as a Human Sword Saint, she had never chosen to give up. She fought until the very last moment.

It was precisely through so many desperate situations that she had forged a sword heart as calm as still water.

Xia Yi wasn’t about to sit and wait for death—she moved into action.

She returned to the cave and looked at the several half-dragon monsters there.

Thanks to Ella’s intervention, the half-dragon monsters were in a deep sleep and clearly had no awareness of their surroundings—not even realizing she had awakened.

Xia Yi raised her hand.

“Holy Sword, Gram.”

She softly called upon the holy sword.

Sensing its master’s will, the sword appeared silently in her hand.

She approached the half-dragon monsters, raised the sword, and plunged it into their hearts.

Without a sound, the half-dragon monsters died in their sleep.

Going back and forth several times, she eliminated all of the half-dragon monsters inside the cave.

Xia Yi’s sword style was focused on real combat, not flashy techniques—it even included assassination sword arts.

Most of these were likely innocent people from Golde. It was only due to being caught in the Black Tide that they had become what they were.

Letting them pass into eternal slumber within a dream, free of pain—perhaps that was already the best ending for them.

“Rest in peace.”

Xia Yi murmured, and then disposed of all the corpses.

…

Inside the cave, Xia Yi checked around and discovered that it was actually one of the passages leading into the City of Ancient Ruins.

Besides that, there was also a special discovery.

Should she say she was lucky?

Or rather… very lucky…

“Mmm.”

Xia Yi looked at the human boy lying unconscious on the ground in front of her.

If she remembered the name correctly, this should be Albert, a student from Laurel Tree Academy.

This was the guy who initiated the research project “The Black Tide of Golde”, sending her former student Hill to lead a team to Seaside City.

Somehow, this guy hadn’t been killed by the half-dragon monsters, nor had he been infected by the dragon curse.

Perhaps, due to some specific reason, he had been brought safely to the City of Ancient Ruins—along with her—and just happened to come along with her as well.

“Hey, wake up.”

“……”

“Albert, it’s time to go!!”

Xia Yi found some cold spring water in the mountains and splashed it onto Albert’s face.

“Ah!! Go go go! Let’s go go go, I’m going now!!!”

Albert woke up, and his mental state seemed about the same as before—still not normal, still acting completely deranged.

“Albert, can you have a normal conversation with me?”

“What? Where do you go? Now? Here?!”

“Forget it. Go back to sleep!”

Xia Yi smiled kindly.

This time, she summoned the Rose Staff and swung it at Albert’s head.

Sleep magic—whoosh~!

“Ah!”

Poor Albert was struck by Xia Yi’s magic and passed out once more. No more “going” for him now.

“This guy’s useless. I’ll just leave him here.”

If Albert had still been rational, Xia Yi had thought she might be able to get him to help with something—at least be of some use.

Unfortunately, no such luck.

Still all on her own, it looked like she’d have to operate solo once again.

Xia Yi placed Albert in a relatively hidden spot inside the cave.

Then, she prepared to venture into the City of Ancient Ruins to investigate.

After all, she had once experienced the Sea Dream, and in her heart, she had a strong premonition—this was the place that those influenced by the Sea Dream longed for day and night.

As she reached the mouth of the cave, the silver-haired loli hesitated.

“My body is a pure-blood dragon right now. If I just walk into the City of Ancient Ruins like this, I’ll definitely be discovered by the half-dragon monsters. Those creatures have extremely sharp senses.”

Xia Yi realized that her current situation was almost impossible to navigate.

Her combat power wasn’t nearly as strong as Serra’s. Even with the Holy Sword, she was only about fourth-tier in terms of fighting capability. How could she expect to move freely in the enemy’s stronghold?

Definitely not realistic.

Was there really no way out…?

Suddenly, Xia Yi remembered something.

She had always been carrying the key to breaking through this situation.

“That’s right! How could I forget about that? If I use it, I can solve my current dilemma!”

——————————

[Author’s Note: Afraid you’d complain, here’s an extra update!]