34 Bryarmont Town

"Bryarmont Town"

Large, flourishing words announced this name to the world, which Aaron read while taking in the breathtaking image in front of him.

Around 15 kilometers away from him rose a mountain up into the air. To see its snow-capped cliff, Aaron had to bend his neck all the way up.

In fact, its top was even hidden by clouds, which made him marvel at the sheer height that meant that this mountain was definitely taller than any he and Woof had ever seen.

The Town, in question, was at the base of this mountain.

On two sides, the forest continued onward, marching up the mountain, but in the middle was a large wall made of stone in the middle of which stood a wooden gate.

The name was written on top of this gate.

This wasn't what had caused Aaron to stop in his tracks and gape as if he was seeing a Tera which could swallow him whole. No, the reason was that was the image of the densely packed houses which were arranged neatly on the mountainside, sloping up until a certain height.

Indeed, although the gate and wall blocked a lot of the view of the town, those buildings which were present at a higher altitude were clearly visible from where they were standing.

Of these, the most remarkable one was the stone structure at the highest point where the town ended. It's most remarkable feature was a tall tower, which jutted straight up from the slope of the mountain, which meant that it made a 45-degree angle with the surface.

At the base of the tower was a massive palace which looked grand, even from here.

At the place where the tower met the ground was what looked like the largest part of the palace: it looked like someone had taken one of the huts Aaron had seen in the Hamlet and magnified it many, many times while also adding embellishments and designs at various places which made the entire atmosphere of the building, itself, change.

Although the rest was also a sight to behold, this Central Palace caught his attention because of a particular reason: with his sharp eyesight, Aaron could make out a gigantic sculpture of an Eagle which looked like it had just landed on the V-shaped roof of the Palace, and was facing off against some unseen foe.

Apart from this, the feature of the Town which struck Aaron most was the fact that a portion of the forest looked like it had been cleared to make its existence possible, and that it was so large that it could easily hold more than a thousand people.

From above, it would definitely look as if a rectangular patch had been torn off from the densely forested surface of the Earth.

It was definitely artificial, as when he looked to the side, he saw that from where the path they had been walking on ended, there was a large, wide plain in a perfect rectangular shape that extended all the way up to the point where the Town ended. As he had seen before, the jungle continued in all other areas.

Edmond was waiting with his arms folded while he saw Aaron take in the breathtaking sight with his mouth agape. He couldn't gloat here, as he had been the same way when he had first seen this sight, too.

After giving him a moment, he spoke up.

"Bryarmont Town. Named after the Bryar family which established it 56 years ago. That family rules this place to this day. As they are on the slope, any horde which attacks them must face their attacks from above, which land them at a disadvantage. The main threat is aerial, but even this is mitigated due to the specially approved 'Energy Cannons' that were bought by the Town from the World Government. In the surrounding areas, this is the Town that is closest to upgrading to become a City. At least, that's what I heard when I first came here."

Most of what Edmond said went over Aaron's head, but he did understand the statement about a horde facing attacks from above. They had been in that position multiple times, which meant that he knew exactly how much of a disadvantage there was in such situations.

Aaron's eyes were still fixed on the Eagle, which looked familiar, although he couldn't make out many details from where he was standing.

"What is that on the top of that Palace? Is it a Giant Eagle?", he asked, as that was the Tera which matched his the ones he knew the most. Only, he had never seen one as large as the one in front of him.

"Oh, that? Yes, it is supposed to be a Giant Eagle, the Primary Tera of the Arthur Bryar, who set up this Town in the first place. Stories say that he was very well connected, so he was able to call in a favor from the World Government, itself, which enabled him to use this spot which would usually be teeming with forest life and other Teras. In one night, this whole area was supposed to have been flattened. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, it makes you wonder just how powerful the Teras of the World Government are."

Aaron had to turn to Edmond to make sure that he wasn't joking.

Clearing this area of hundreds of kilometers in a single night?!

Impossible!

His eyes completely wide open, Aaron tried to imagine just what kind of Tera could even be capable of such a feat.

Nothing came to mind, except fear.

He was no stranger to being on the weaker end, but in front of such an existence, he wouldn't even be able to put up a resistance.

"We don't need to worry about that, now. Come on. We need to head to the prison where my father is being held."

Saying so, Edmond started walking ahead on the plain which was mostly empty except for a few people here and there who were also making their way toward the Town.

On their way in these past three days, Aaron, Edmond, and Woof had occasionally come across a few Ascenders, but they just hurried on their way without saying anything. Edmond was leading the way using his AA, so he was the one choosing the path to go on whenever they came across a fork.

The most interesting encounter had been with an Ascender who was riding a strange, two-legged Tera with white feathers, a thin neck, and a sharp beak.

He had been about to ask AA what it was, but it had zoomed past them, leaving them coughing and cursing in the dust, while Woof even barked at it.

As Aaron distracted his mind by reminding himself of random things like these, he noticed that they weren't heading to the stone wall and gate of the Town. Instead, they were veering off to the side.

Soon enough, they were standing at the spot where the wall curved at the base of the Mountain. Here, adjacent to the wall and surrounded by trees due to the fact that this area wasn't cleared, was a large wooden building with the name "Town Prison."

Boldly, Edmond walked inside after telling Aaron to wait at the entrance, where two sturdy men clad in shining clothes that almost looked like it was made out of metal holding long-poled weapons with a curved blade at one end were standing.

They were chatting among themselves casually, but they stopped when loud, booming laughter was heard from inside, followed by a shout.

"BOYS, GATHER AROUND! THIS RUNT HAS RETURNED TO FIGHT FOR HIS DAD! CALL JANGIR OUT, IT'S TIME FOR HIM TO FEED!"