Surprisingly, the caravan didn't stop mid way. They didn't face any new enemies, and were not stopped by a single opponent as they travelled quite a long way.
The four hours that they walked non stop put quite the toll on everyone, but soon, they had sight of the final goal.
In the air, they could see where they were going. The forest was slowly getting thinner and they were approaching the remains of what used to be a giant city.
They could already see ruined slabs that had a few instructions to the travelers who came through the forest. But those were all but useless now. Who would need to read the instructions to enter a dead city?
Jake marveled as they saw the city gates and the wall that surrounded it. The wall still stood tall even after decades of neglect. There was moss growing all around it, and cracks were visible from even the distance that Jake was at.
As for the city gates, they could no longer protect the city from any intruders.
When Ganshin stood in front of the city gates, all he needed was a slight push and the two giant barricades made of steel that stood twenty feet tall just toppled over.
It was slow. The two gates slowly fell to the ground, accelerating as it started its descent, before it collided with the ground. The moment it did, everyone felt a chill.
The sound that came from the gates was not one that was well received by the living. It felt like a thousand screeches, not the sound of metal colliding with ground.
And the gates also broke into multiple pieces as it fell to the ground. The only good thing about what had happened was that they had a path that they could take through to the city.
The sound that came from it, the wear and tear of the gates, and the rusted look that they gave, all pointed to a ominous city that they were entering.
Forget a haunted house here and there. It was like they were entering a haunted city.
Ganshin walked forward, leading the way. He stopped a few feet in front of the city gates. This was probably a square, and in the peak of the city's life, it would have been filled with merchants, travelers, and the bustling sound of people buying things, laughing, interacting.
But now, all that was here was a deserted space, the concrete land that they stood on cracking beyond repair.
Ganshin took a deep breath, his eyes showing signs of regret and melancholy. He had something to do with this city, Jake assumed. That look that Ganshin gave when he looked at this place, it was something that only those who lost something could give.
Jake knew that.
But Ganshin shook his head and looked forward once again.
"Follow me. Be very careful. The light is slowly dimming, and soon enough, night will come." Ganshin said.
Jake looked up at this time. The forest was behind them, and they no longer had the trees to obstruct some of their view. Jake could see the sky in it's full glory.
There was nothing to see though. The clouds covered the sky, grey and black, threatening to release a downpour.
But the smell that would come before rain was not here. Nothing about this place smelled good. It smelled like dust, and death.
The sun was completely covered, and little of its light came down to the city beneath. They could see, but nothing looked like how it was supposed to. This was a grey world that they had just entered.
"Do not stop. Keep moving."
The only sound that came after Ganshin gave the orders was the sound of the carriage's wheels rolling on the concrete roads.
Maybe the only difference after entering the city was that the roads were different. The buildings to either side were just like the trees of the forest.
They tower above the caravan, and no one knew what was within them. For all they knew, the enemy was in one of those buildings, looking down upon the fools who came to this lair.
Jake had the uncanny feeling that he was being watched. Someone was tracking his every move. He did not tell anyone these, because he was almost sure that everyone else was feeling the same way.
The words that Father Joseph gave as an advice and as a warning rang true right now. They were being watched, and only the feeling became apparent now.
They continued to walk past the roads, which were much wider now, so they could enforce a much tighter formation.
Jake was pushed to the center, next to the caravan. He was the weakest here, so he was only going to be a weak link if there was a battle. It was better if he stayed with the priests and mages.
Only when a monster would escape to the center would he be a meat shield until the mages and others would deal with that monster.
Jake had no qualms with his position. Any position, he would accept.
As he walked along the caravan, he looked up in the air. There were a number of big buildings that the city housed. Some of them no longer had a roof on top, some of them were perfectly intact, and some of them were in between.
But the center of the city was no doubt the tallest building of them all. The clock tower of the city. It stood above every other building, and it was the direction that the caravan was headed toward.
Jake could not understand why they were looking for a Holy Ground in the middle of the city, but he didn't say a word.
Surely, the leader knew where he was going. He seemed to have an understanding of place he was going to.
"We are almost here. I can feel it. There is a strong evil presence in that direction." Father Joseph's voice came from Jake's left.
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