Blue Card Starry Sky

Chapter 169 Desolate City
The team has been in the wilderness for a day now! They've been walking along the way, but haven't seen many fairies or monsters, nor have they spotted the team that came in before. The sun is about to set, and night is approaching.

After everyone agreed to rest on the spot, it was deemed very unsafe to march at night.

Luo Xi helped everyone find a safe and spacious place to set up camp. After a day of walking, everyone was a bit tired. Some started a fire to cook, while others set up camp and cooked. Everyone was busy and conscientious. For safety reasons, Lan Tian specially arranged two guard posts, which were guarded in shifts to maintain a high level of vigilance.

What Blue Sky fears most now is a large-scale attack. When they first entered, Elder Xiao Yuhao of the Church of Light said that they had discovered a city with a large number of defensive forces. The wasteland was also a well-developed social class and a force not to be underestimated.

That evening, Lan Tian chaired the first meeting upon entering the wasteland, where all group leaders met to discuss the upcoming itinerary. At today's pace, this was the last thing Lan Tian wanted – it was too slow!

With so many people moving so slowly, what could be done? Lan Tian immediately thought of a vanguard force, forming a flight vanguard team with some highly skilled pilots to scout ahead and conduct reconnaissance along the route.

Everyone agreed with Lan Tian's suggestion to select one pilot from each group to form a pilot team responsible for reconnaissance and surveillance.

The next day, the group quickened their pace considerably. The vanguard scouted the road ahead to ensure it was safe before the rest of the group accelerated. For five consecutive days, the group moved at a very fast speed and encountered no monsters or demons. Therefore, they remained safe for those five days, having already advanced deep into the wasteland. They discovered many buildings and houses along the roadside, but all bore signs of battle, likely left behind by the group's previous encounters with the wasteland's monsters and demons.

Those who came in earlier must have been here before, leaving traces of a battle. Who knows what major event might unfold ahead?

As night approached, the vanguard returned to report. They said they had discovered a city fifty miles ahead, with signs of human activity. The city was guarded by high-level fairy beasts, and its walls were numerous and heavily fortified.

Lan Tian immediately thought of the city Xiao Yuhao had mentioned. Was this the city they had seen before? The previous city lord, the Heavenly Essence Bull Demon Emperor, had been killed by Lan Tian and his group. Were there any other powerful demon emperors guarding this place?
If they were to encounter a Demon Emperor-level team, those teams would surely be in grave danger. Even deep within the desolate region, they were no match for Demon Emperor-level teams. It seems they are already in great peril. Now, no one dares to advance rashly for the time being, and they gather together to discuss countermeasures.

"Let the Flying Vanguard team investigate the situation in the city before we can take action. Acting rashly would be bad for everyone. Demon King-level demon beasts are very difficult to deal with; they are all stronger than any one of us."

Lan Tian explained the situation to everyone, assuring them that they should not act rashly. He then instructed them to set up camp there, conceal themselves, and prepare for battle.

The next morning, Lan Tian and Hai Liang disguised themselves and quietly slipped into the city. The city was nearly deserted, almost empty. The buildings here were exceptionally tall and spacious, reflecting the large and imposing size of the demonic beasts of the desolate region. This was strikingly different from the architectural style of the Blue Card Continent. Furthermore, the supplies here were also very different, consisting mostly of rough and inferior handmade goods.

The streets were filled with food stalls, lacking the magnificent and elegant architecture of cities on the Blue Card Continent, and devoid of the craftsmanship spirit that pursued excellence and perfection. It was too humble, a city of low taste.

Lan Tian discovered that everyone here uses blue crystals for trade. He had stored a lot of blue crystals in his time-space ring, and now he could use them to buy items.

In a breakfast shop, various kinds of fairy beasts ate their meals. The shop was bustling with activity, people coming and going, and business was booming. The shopkeeper was extremely busy! Everyone was very hospitable to their customers. Bowls of steaming hot breakfast filled the air with their fragrant aromas! There was fragrant porridge, savory bone broth, and various kinds of fine meat from fairy beasts. Everyone ate with gusto, their mouths greasy and their faces beaming with joy, completely satisfied.

Lantian and Hailiang also ordered a bowl of porridge and meat. Indeed, it tasted amazing, truly fragrant and delicious! They didn't even seem to put in any toppings, yet it was still so tasty! It was a wonderful meal.

Here, Lantian overheard the fairies and beasts discussing something: a servant auction was to be held in the central square today. They were said to be auctions of recently captured lowly creatures from the Blue Card Continent, and all the major families were eager to acquire them. These lowly creatures seemed to greatly admire the powerful families; it had been a long time since such creatures had appeared! They also heard that the barrier to the Blue Card Continent had been broken, allowing them to enter their wasteland. They couldn't enter the Blue Card Continent yet, but once the Ten Supreme Emperors broke through the barrier and opened the Blue Card Continent, their wasteland would be able to conquer it without difficulty and descend directly to the Blue Card Continent! ...

Lan Tian understood something about what everyone was discussing. The small ants being auctioned off were the missing groups of monsters; they had been captured by the demonic beasts here, completely powerless to resist, and had become slaves, being auctioned off. The second thing was that there were ten demonic king-level beasts in the wasteland, and they were breaking the barrier between the wasteland and the Blue Card Continent. Once the barrier was broken, the demonic beasts of the wasteland would invade the Blue Card Continent, capturing its people. At that time, the people of the Blue Card Continent would become slaves of the wasteland, their food.

Both of these matters are extremely troublesome. Lan Tian doesn't know how they were captured, how they lost their ability to resist, or what skills or methods the demon beasts here must have used. Why do the demon beasts like to auction us off as slaves? What benefits do they get from us? What role and value do we actually have for them?
To find out the reason, Lan Tian and Hai Liang mingled with the crowd and arrived at the central square.

This was a plaza larger than five football fields, surrounded by stone pillars. In the center of the plaza stood a circular platform, three tiers high, each separated by a step. It was essentially a three-tiered circular platform, upon which stood dozens of martial artists—all members of a hunting party from the Blue Card Continent who had come to the desolate region. However, they were all now bound by gleaming silver handcuffs and leg irons.

Looking out from the blue sky, one could see that the handcuffs and leg irons were radiating energy fluctuations. These were high-level energy shackles, which completely deprived them of their ability to resist, turning them into slaves who could be manipulated at will.

(End of this chapter)