Slaughter City (3)
"Ha-, halt."
Scott shouted, trying to show a strong front.
Tang San looked at him coldly. Right now, Scott's helmet had already fallen off, revealing the face of a vicious middle aged man. He saw the expression in Tang San's eyes, and was already alarmed. Clearly, he hadn't imagined how this kid's strength would be so terrifying. Wasn't he a Spirit Master?
"Obstruct me again, and I don't care if I have to kill every one of you."
Tang San said coldly.
"No, not obstructing you. You've already passed my test. You have the qualifications to enter Slaughter City."
The dread knight spoke with some difficulty. What he least understood was, when ordinary Spirit Masters came here they would panic when they couldn't use spirit abilities, but this youth in front of him didn't seem to reveal a trace of influence from it.
He handed over a black tile in front of Tang San, and Tang San off-handedly took it. On the tile was carved a human skull, and below was a number. 9528.
"This is your Slaughter City ID. Please enter the city, someone will receive you at the gate."
Holding the tile, Tang San advanced with large strides, without giving the dread knight a glance.
Gazing at Tang San's gradually distancing back, Scott drew the saber at his waist. Swinging it fiercely he cut off his own already completely ruined right arm. Scarlet blood soaked the black soil, the stench of blood filling the air.
...
The pitch black city gates gave people a kind of extremely oppressive feeling. Tall words were hung on the enormous city gates, Slaughter City.
Two black armored warriors stood silently in front of the gates. Before Tang San could reveal the token in his hand, a woman with a black muslin mask stepped out to greet him.
"Welcome to Slaughter City."
The woman's voice was very pleasant. Stepping aside from in front of Tang San, she made an inviting gesture.
Even though this underground city made Tang San extremely astonished, especially the restrictions on spirit abilities, he maintained a calmly accepting attitude, following that woman through the gates. Perhaps it was because of the identification badge in his hand, but nobody stopped him.
Entering the city, what Tang San saw was a blue purple world. Lanterns were hung on both sides of the street, all of them issuing only these two colors of light. Making him somewhat astonished was that there were no few people here, and nobody paid attention to an outsider like him. Besides everything appearing that dim, what he saw was unexpectedly no different from an ordinary city.
"I'm your guide. You can ask me about anything you don't understand. Within twenty four hours, I will answer all your questions. After twenty four hours, this is the place where you'll live, and you'll formally become a Slaughter City citizen."
Tang San nodded, saying:
"Slaughter city, what kind of place is it?"
The black masked young woman said:
"A paradise. A paradise of depravity."
Tang San frowned,
"So simple?"
The black masked young woman nodded agreement.
Tang San said:
"Then how was Slaughter City founded?"
The black masked young woman's answer this time was more to Tang San's satisfaction,
"Slaughter City has already existed for a thousand years. According to legend, it's the domain left behind after a formidable Spirit Master broke through the hundredth rank. Here, all Spirit Master abilities are ineffective, people can only rely on their own instinct and physical strength to survive. Spirit power can be used as a source of strength."
Tang San looked at the black masked young woman,
"Then what are the rules here?"
The black masked young woman said serenely:
"The rules here are that there are no rules. As a citizen of Slaughter City, you can do whatever you want here. Even if a Title Douluo came here from the outside world, he would still grow weak due to losing his spirit abilities. But under the rule of our Slaughter King, there's basically no need to fear them. In Slaughter City, as long as you have the ability, you can do whatever you want. But I must warn you, precisely since there are no rules here, you may face mortal danger at any time. In some sense, this is a paradise of crime."
"Paradise of crime?"
"Yes. There are a lot of people who come here precisely because they can't exist in the outside world, and have no choice but to enter. After coming here, there's no need for them to worry about pursuit again. Each citizen of Slaughter City will enjoy Slaughter City's protection.
Tang San hardly paid attention to this protection. Since he could come here through force of violence, that meant any power could do the same. Even without spirit abilities, there was still spirit power. Title Douluo were still powers among powers here. Were the criminals here really safe?
"Mister 9528. I understand what you're thinking."
The black masked young woman suddenly said.
Tang San stared blankly a moment,
"You know what I'm thinking?"
"You're definitely wondering how Slaughter City can protect its people, yes?"
Tang San's heart twitched,
"How do you know?"
The black masked young woman said:
"Because every new arrival to Slaughter City will think the same thing. But very soon, they will give up on this idea. Entering Slaughter City requires undergoing the test and slaughter examination. Even though you entered via a peculiar method, you carry sufficient killing intent. Moreover, you defeated the lord dread knight. Therefore you obtained permission to join. However, there's one thing I must warn you of. Entering Slaughter City is simple, but leaving is practically impossible."
"Can only enter, never leave?"
Tang San somewhat shocked looked at the black masked young woman. He didn't believe he would be unable to break out.
The black masked young woman nodded, saying:
"There are special law enforcement teams within Slaughter City. You met lord dread knight Scott, but he's only one member of the enforcement team. The mighty Slaughter King controls everything here, and the powers of the enforcement team are all Spirit Douluo who the Slaughter King have granted the ability to use spirit abilities. The captain is even a Title Douluo. Once a lot of people wanted to break out, but there are no exceptions to the end result."
Tang San was shocked. If saying Title Douluo that couldn't use spirit abilities were still formidable, then Title Douluo that couldn't use spirit abilities would definitely be unable to defeat Spirit Douluo that could. Furthermore, according to what the black masked young woman said, the captain of Slaughter City's law enforcement was actually a Title Douluo that could use spirit abilities. No wonder she would say it was impossible to leave.
"Is there no way out?"
The black masked young woman calmly said:
"Not quite. There's only one way to leave Slaughter City. That is to become the champion of Hell Slaughter Arena, obtaining the qualifications to challenge the Hell Road, and after breaking through the Hell Road, then you can leave Slaughter City. Every power who does so will be bestowed with the title of Deathgod. In Slaughter City's thousand year history, there has appeared altogether eight Deathgods."
Eight in a thousand years, what kind of unbalanced figure was that?
"Then if one fails the challenge?"
Tang San questioned closely.
The black masked young woman smiled:
"Slaughter City, has no defeat. Only success and death. This is so for all matters."
Tang San smiled slightly,
"It seems this place really is worthy of being Slaughter City."
The black masked young woman said:
"There is no currency within Slaughter City, any food and drink are provided free of charge. Of course, poisonous ones are not excluded. Here, dead people are the most valuable. The number of human skulls each person possess symbolizes their strength. The blood and skulls of the opponents you've personally beheaded can be used to trade for other goods."
A cold light flashed in Tang San's eyes. It seemed that it was as his father said, anyone here had come by the road of death.
"Fine, bring me to Hell Slaughter Arena."
Tang San said indifferently.
The black masked young woman stared blankly a moment,
"You're sure? Entering there, less than one in ten can return alive. That's the place where it's the easiest for our Slaughter City population to decrease. Each person will be required to enter Hell Slaughter Arena once each year. As long as they can pass one fight, they can life in Slaughter City for another year."
Tang San calmly said:
"I'm sure, let's go now."
With Purple Demon Eye, Tang San could vaguely see the elegant eyebrows of the young woman's face wrinkle slightly behind the black muslin.
"Since it's like that, follow me."
Finished speaking, the black masked young woman walked towards the center of the city. The pace she kept was very measured, following at Tang San's side all along, just half a step ahead of Tang San.
Tang San wasn't urgent about anything either, only calmly observing everything around him.
As they walked, a figure suddenly stood up on the side of the road. He had previously been in a dark corner, and even Tang San hadn't noticed him.
"Oh, there's a rookie, it seems there'll be a new Bloody mary. Gaga."
His gaze sweeping this person, Tang San couldn't help frowning. The speaker's age couldn't be discerned, because his stature was really too extraordinary. His entire body didn't seem to have two liang of flesh put together. If he didn't have a layer of skin, it might've been easy to mistake him for a human skeleton. Moreover, simple observation told Tang San that this wasn't because he had cultivated any special methods. His qi and blood were both empty, he could die at any time.
"Can people like him also pass the Hell Slaughter Arena battles once a year?"
Tang San asked the black masked young woman.
That skeleton then saw the black masked young woman on Tang San's other side, and seemed as if he had encountered something terrifying, no longer daring to say anything, and swiftly vanishing into the darkness again.
"Of course not. Not everyone needs to pass the baptism of the Hell Slaughter Arena. After all, the mortality rate here is too high. Besides experiencing a fight in the Hell Slaughter Arena every year, there's still one other way survive in Slaughter City. That is to contribute two cups of Bloody Mary every month."