238 Chapter 238. The City of Blood and Dust

Continuing his search for the prisons after getting a general direction from the woman he had previously saved, Michael climbed back down to street level.

It wasn't because he was bored of jumping from one building's roof to the next, but because the direction didn't allow him to.

With the smoke above his head and the bloodstains decorating both roads and walls, the entire city had a depressive vibe. He couldn't hear any sounds besides cannibals roaring with laughter or the screams of the residents.

Using his Ring of Communication, he contacted Beatrice and informed her of the general situation inside Guulrahn. The woman informed him of the location of the gates and asked him to try and take over and open them if possible.

'It seems that she's planning to ask for backup and get a squad to clear the city. Since I'm down here anyway, I might as well check for the city gates and how to open them.'

Sighing despondently at being given more work and more pressure, he vented on the cannibals that stood in his way.

He found three more people being chased and a group of twenty being led somewhere - probably the prison - which he saved.

After pointing them in the general direction of the ladder and explaining where it was hidden, he continued cleaning the city of trash. He was truly a model citizen!

Half an hour of searching later, he found the Gate House, which was unfortunately locked from the inside.

[ Main Quest update - The City of Blood and Dust

Objective: Find a way into the city's prison. ]

With the Sanctuary keeping mum, he inspected the gate and realized that it must have a mechanism controlling it somewhere nearby.

And surely enough, he was able to find one immediately, guarded by two Maniacs and a Gorger. 

Unfortunately, they weren't doing their job as guards very well.

'Tsk, tsk, tsk! Sleeping on the job, huh? How about you sleep forever then?'

With the gate open, he ventured inside the prison and cautiously advanced while searching for this woman.

As expected, the situation inside the prison was gruesome. He successfully saved about ten or so people, but he saw the corpses of over a hundred dead after being tortured or eaten alive by these monsters.

Dealing with the weaklings, a worthy challenger finally appeared that posed somewhat of an issue.

[ Akil, Jailer of the Weak (Elite) - Level 60

*Shadow Enhanced: Summons shadows around you that deal 75% of your damage as Shadow damage.

*Waller: Manipulates the earth to create a wall around the target.

*Vampiric: Each successful hit on an enemy heals you for 75% of the damage dealt. ]

For the first time in a while, he had to deal with a fairly difficult enemy.

It was a truly disgusting combo where the 'Jailer' would raise earth walls to box them in and then create the shadows that attacked them from all sides.

Furthermore, the shadows themselves were intangible but could hurt you, while you could deal only with the Elite, who not only had a high number of Life Points but could also lifesteal.

Fortunately, with his superior numbers, the Necromancer overpowered him and eliminated this pitiful existence. 

With a master key grabbed from the Elite's body, he began unlocking the doors he had previously been unable to break through with force.

The mental state of the prisoners inside wasn't very good, though.

[No... no. I... I'm not ready yet! I can eat more. Get fatter! I'll taste better, right? Please. Let... let me eat more.](?)

[*Chuckle* Off came a finger, out came an eye... packed up nice in the butcher's pie... *Chuckle*](?)

[Hey... they... they get stronger from eating us. *Giggle* Our flesh. *Giggle* Isn't it wonderful!?](?)

Feeling pity for the poor souls tortured both physically and mentally in this prison, he used five of his potions to heal those lightly wounded and had those who were still mentally sound to lead the group out.

Like before, he pointed them in the general direction of the ladder, praying that the wooden thing wouldn't collapse under the weight of so many people.

Continuing his search for Oyuun, he found an interesting journal hidden in one of the empty rooms under the metal framework that acted as a bed.

[ I can't eat anymore, but they won't stop feeding us. Fruit and honey. Bread and wine. I try to resist, but they force it down my throat. Everything hurts! ]

Reading this passage with a strange look on his face, he shook his head and threw the small booklet in his inventory. He would inspect it more carefully when he returned to Kyovashad.

Going from one holding cell to the next, he found everything from corpses, people who have been stuffed to death, people who decided to kill themselves rather than suffer the fate of being treated as reared animals, and those who barely managed to survive and keep their sanity somewhat intact.

Finally, in one of the cells further to the back of the prison, his efforts paid off, and he found a woman marked by the Sanctuary with a golden sign above her head.

"Miss Oyuun?"

[You... you're not him... who are you? The chopping, it stopped and I thought... I thought he was coming for me next.](Oyuun)

"Miss Zolaya sent me."

[She... she's still here?](Oyuun)

"You'll see her soon. We need to get through the market first. With this commotion, it's likely that more cannibals have been alerted."

[I... I know another way. It's safer. The old prison wing. It was sealed off years ago after an earthquake.](Oyuun)

Nodding, he fed the woman his last healing potion and helped her stand up. Following the direction she pointed at, Michael soon reached the old prison wing and found a large hole in the wall.

[This wall ahead. That used to be the entrance to the old prison wing. Can you break through?](Oyuun)

It was hastily 'patched up,' but with a couple of good kicks, reopening the passage was possible.

He had his Golem smash at it with his fists while the Reapers and Cold Mages covered their backs in case they were ambushed.

Seeing as nothing happened even after a slight commotion was created from Quarterback's fists punching through the wall, the Necromancer relaxed slightly and began fishing for more information from the woman.

"Do you know where all these cannibals came from?"

[From here. They were prisoners. A clan of bandits led by Tyrant Brol.](Oyuun)

'How stupid to just keep them alive in here if they were this much of a problem. Knowing that they were cannibals and bandits didn't warrant a death sentence? In this case, the death of the upper-class idiots was very much a 'consequences of your own actions' type of thing. And the commonfolk had to also suffer because of their stupidity and arrogance.'

Shaking his head inwardly, he had his minions scout the way forward after breaking the wall, and after moving through a small passage filled with dust, they found another hastily patched-up hole, which was immediately demolished as well.

This time, the commotion attracted some unwanted attention and a large group of undead, including Bloated Corpsefiends, Shambling Corpses, and other weaklings. 

[No... I... I thought it would be safe this way...](Oyuun)

"Relax, they're not much of an issue. We'll get through. Just make sure you stay close to me so I can protect you in case of an emergency."

Seeing the woman obediently nod and move closer to him, Michael began exploring the old prison wing for an exit.

The large number of undead made the Necromancer wonder exactly what had happened in this place. Oyuun mentioned the earthquake but didn't know more than that. 

'For such a large number of undead to exist, it must mean that a large number of people died—probably prisoners and guards of this old wing. As for what the earthquake was, I can only investigate in the future. Luckily, it's only the undead that are much slower than me and my minions.'

Since it was unknown territory, they moved slowly and cautiously, clearing the area of any possible threats. 

The lights were dim, and if he had made the mistake of coming here at night, it would've probably been pitch black. Fortunately, the windows in the walls allowed barely enough light from the outside to see the path ahead.

The duo and the minion squad moved through four different large 'rooms,' clearing the cells of undead and searching for any possible survivors.

Unfortunately, except for some piles of bones, only undead roamed this old wing. 

[Look! There! A crack in the wall!](Oyuun)

Finally, their patient and detailed search produced some results. Stopping the lady from running ahead alone, he had Pathfinder go in first and explore the area.

After making sure the coast was clear, he nodded to Oyuun. Sending in his Reapers and Cold Mages through the gap to establish a defense line, they followed right behind them.

As for Quarterback... unless he decided to smash the wall in, he could only send the Golem back and resummon it outside.

Since the first option might draw unwanted attention, he directly unsummoned the big boy.

Taking in his surroundings, he realized they were outside the city, very close to where he left Lorath and Zolaya behind.

Relaxing slightly, he looked at the poor woman standing on her knees and looking at the sky. Her hair was messy, and her clothes were covered in blood.

Most of her wounds have healed already due to the potion, but her mental scars would take much longer to be dealt with.

[We made it...](Oyuun)

"Mhm. We're safe now."

[I can't stop my hands from shaking, and my knees gave way after seeing the sky... Give me a moment, please.](Oyuun)

"Take your time to recover. In the meantime, if you don't mind, can you answer some questions?"

[If I know the details, sure.](Oyuun)

Adding mentally that this would distract her - maybe - and provide him with intel about what exactly went down, the Necromancer arranged the information he already had.

Right now, what he was mostly worried about was Elias, so it was a priority to find out more about the man.

"What do you know about Elias?"

[Elias? The tall, pale man? I... I saw him at the royal court. He walked in unannounced. *Sigh* Demanded the city to be given to him. The Overseers sent him to the prisons, of course. They laughed about the strange man all night. That was the last time they ever did...](Oyuun)

Pondering if getting into the prison was the actual goal, Michael reasoned that it might be the case.

Elias needed a large force to take down the city, and the cannibalistic bandits led by Tyrant Brol were right there waiting for him.

As for what use he had for them beyond this... probably none. What he needed was the city itself and, most likely, its population.

'If that bastard plans to do something with this city, it very likely has to do with summoning the Lesser Evil. Hopefully, one of the conditions on the list is not 'massacring an entire capital city,' because if so, it was already cleared.'

"Who were these Overseers you mentioned?"

[Royal Blood. They ruled Guulrahn for generations. Decadent and cruel, but they were saints compared to Brol.](Oyuun)

Adding mentally, 'Better the devil you know,' the Necromancer inspected the situation and saw he completed the Main Quest already.

[ Main Quest complete - The City of Blood and Dust

Reward 1: 59,136 experience points

Reward 2: 3,120 gold coins. ]

[ Main Quest issued - Small Blessings

Objective: Escort Oyuun to Zolaya. ]

Speaking of Zolaya, there was one thing Michael couldn't understand.

"Why didn't you escape? How did you end up caught?"

[I was waiting for Zolaya at my home. When I realized she wasn't coming, I... I tried to run, but those monsters caught me.](Oyuun)

"Well, it's alright now. You're finally out. Are you ready?"

[Yes. Where is she?](Oyuun)

"Let's go. I'll bring you to her."

After leaving the place called The Trail of Bones, they reached a small hill and heard two people arguing nearby after the neigh of a horse attracted their attention.

He knew both of them.

[Keep that beast quiet.](Lorath)

[Shhh, it's safe now... nothing will get you up here...](Zolaya)

[She's really here...](Oyuun)

Seeing the woman break into a sprint while crying, Michael shrugged and followed behind her after sending his minions back to the Spirit Realm.

Judging from how emotional Oyuun was and how hard Zolaya searched for a way to rescue her, they were definitely more than mere acquaintances.

Hearing someone run toward them, the bickering duo stopped and looked at the crying woman. Before either of them could react, Oyuun smashed into Zolaya's arms and began sobbing loudly.

[Oyuun!? Thank the Heavens! You've come back to me!](Zolaya)

Stroking the crying woman's hair, tears formed under Zolays's eyes as her cheeks pressed on Oyuun's.

Between sobs, the escaped 'prisoner' was barely able to mumble some words.

[You waited... kept yourself in danger...](Oyuun)

Only to get her face squished by both Zolaya's hands in response.

[Oh, you stubborn cow, of course I waited! Where would I go without you to tell me?](Zolaya)

[*Sniff* Anywhere away from here.](Oyuun)

Seeing Lorath look away, Michael sneered and patted the man's shoulder. It seems that people do get more emotional with old age.

[*Sniff* Yes, well... you're a lucky fool, I'll give you that.](Lorath)

"*Snort* Yeah, right."

[Ah, Lorath here sent this one to find you. They need your help getting into the palace.](Zolaya)

Finally remembering the reason for which they saved her beloved, Zolaya stroked Oyuun's head reassuringly, prompting the woman to nod obediently.