A Demon's Journey

The city of Vanta had a land unsuitable for farming. This rumor had been spread for so long that it had become a fact in the hearts of the people.

The first thing Shun did was take a walk around the city. He was checking the soul, the land, and analyzing just what was the issue.

In his years of cultivation and study, he had continued his research of plants. Even though his powers had no relation to plants, he used his intelligence to figure out the issue and solve it.

Soon, he understood that the nutrients of this land had been sucked dry. He didn't know of the concrete reason though.

Had it been sucked dry by some creature or maybe it was sucked dry by the crops around.

To gather more information, Shun asked a few officers to pull out their historical records to check just when had this land lost its nutrients.

Maybe the Mayor of that time noticed something peculiar and recorded it.

After a day of reading the entire history of the City of Vanta, Shun finally gained a lead.

3 centuries earlier, the City of Vanta was very prosperous. In fact, it was so prosperous that it was only behind the capital city in generating income.

The main source of its income was the Salt Mines, Agriculture, and some ore mines.

However, one day, the Salt Mines and Ore Mines suddenly lost all their resources. It was as if something had sucked them.

And a few years later, no crop could be grown in the agricultural land of the City of Vanta. The minerals and nutrients in the soul had been completely exhausted.

Shun understood that something had occurred during this time that had drowned the City of Vanta in despair.

The subordinate who informed Shun of this information glanced at him, he found that Shun was smiling, "Why are you smiling, Lord Mayor? Did you figure out the reason?"

Shun replied casually, "Naturally. I also understand where the thing is who overthrew the City of Vanta from grace."

"Order the guards to inspect the perimeter of the city. Make sure they have someone possessing Earth Ardor among the group. Check if there is a hollow cavity under the ground."

"A hollow cavity?" The man didn't understand how Shun had come to such a conclusion.

Before he was about to leave the office, Shun also added, "Bring me directory where you have recorded the entry of the other lords into the city. I want to check who can be our allies."

The officer felt that this command was quite strange. The previous mayor had never requested this directory unless someone very important was about to visit the city.

"…Alright."

Once the officer left, Shun laid his back against the chair and closed his eyes.

'After solving this issue, I can give new agricultural techniques and use crops that would rejuvenate the nutrients in the soul and should slowly recover it to its peak.'

'According to the economic directory I saw, the city imports too many goods. Especially from Selka City. We are too dependent on that city whether it's food, pharmaceutical, or weapons. The only thing the City of Vanta exports is treasured goods and its historical sites. This city is on the verge of collapse.'

Shun knew that because he was now the Mayor of this city, the Selka City would soon stop exporting to the City of Vanta.

The Noble Families were sure to pressure the Mayor of Selka City. He was thinking of an alternate way to get food.

He didn't need to think long about this issue as a plan formed in his mind soon enough.

The official soon returned back with the directory requested by Shun and left.

Shun picked up the directory and began to read it. Sometime later, he noticed something strange and smiled.

'So that's how it is.'

It was soon the afternoon time and Shun went to eat some food.

While he was eating, a man rushed towards the office with an excited face. If one looked closely, one would find that he was the same man Shun had ordered in the early morning.

He knocked on the door and Shun allowed him to enter.

The man looked at Shun and noticed he was eating, "Mayor, I apologize for coming while you were eating. But this is truly urgent."

Shun didn't mind it and spoke, "What is it?"

"As you ordered us, we found a secret entrance underneath the ground. It is a tunnel just as you said." The man couldn't help but be excited. He couldn't believe Shun had managed to deduce it so accurately.

Shun didn't seem surprised and asked him, "And? Did anyone go in?"

The man shook his head, "No. The entire tunnel is dark while it is releasing a sinister aura as well. I believe it would be better to prepare an exploration team to check this tunnel."

Shun soon stood up and this surprised the man, "Mayor? What are you doing?"

"I need to check the tunnel," Shun replied casually.

"But Mayor, you haven't finished your food." The man spoke.

Shun smiled but he changed the topic, "Let's go. Tell me who are the people near the site. Give me a brief description of their abilities."

Shun walked out of the office with the man following him.

The man was surprised at those words. It meant he wasn't planning to specifically gather a bunch of warriors for exploring this site but seemed to be going with the warriors near the location.

He hadn't heard of someone doing such a thing. Was it because he knew there was a lack of warriors in the City of Vanta? Or was it because he knew they wouldn't obey him wholeheartedly? Or was he just worried about them that he personally wanted to check it out?

The officer didn't know what Shun was thinking. All he could do was follow the orders assigned to him.

Once they were outside the building, Shun used his Ardor to fly while also bringing that officer with him.

'Because of Mayor's young age, I always forget that he is a 5 Star Warrior and the youngest knight in the Sinyalian Kingdom.'

~~

In just half an hour, Shun and his fellow companion reached the location.

They met with the warriors near the site.

Shun looked at them and spoke, "Follow me. We will explore this tunnel together."

Without waiting for their response, he entered the tunnel. He was absolutely confident that these people would follow him.

Just a look at them and he could see their curiosity. This curiosity was only surpassed by their fear of the unknown. But now that Shun was here, they relaxed their guard and followed him.

A golden orb of pure Ardor was created that shone light in the dark tunnel.

It showed them the path in this tunnel.

Bats flew out of the tunnel along with some rats and other creatures.

"Stay calm. Don't think of attacking them. They won't hurt us." Shun suddenly ordered his men.

The men behind him obeyed his words. But they were quite surprised because even these lowly creatures were 2 Star Rank Beasts.

Even a rat could take on one of the guards behind Shun and have a good chance of winning.

After walking for 30 minutes, a guard groaned with a face full of dissatisfaction, "Just how long do we have to walk?"

"The more important question would be who created this tunnel. It's actually so long and right under our City of Vanta. How come we never discovered it?" His friend had a question as well.

Shun heard their words and began to speak, "This was constructed 310 years earlier by Earl Regan Barret from the barret house's territory."

"What?! The barret house?! Its' a Marquis Family now. They provide the most herbs and raw medicinal products to the Merchant Union and Alchemy Association. Why would they need to do something like this? It's not a good idea to randomly name them, sir." One of the guards spoke with disdain in his voice.

Shun had expected such a response and merely added, "You will understand soon enough."

After some time, Shun suddenly halted. He looked at the ground and saw they were no longer going any deeper and it was now plain ground.

Some steps ahead, there were red kiln bricks. These red kiln bricks covered the path ahead. There were thick walls on both sides that gave a very mysterious feeling.

As Shun neared this scarlet path, he felt his Ardor getting weaker.

'A suppressing formation huh?'

This wasn't surprising to him. It would have been more surprising if the security wasn't atleast this level.

Shun carefully observed the bricks on the ground and then spoke solemnly, "Be careful now. Make sure to follow me step by step."

He observed the looks of his guards and saw they were confused. Shun let out a helpless sigh and picked up a stone on the ground.

He threw that stone on the scarlet path with a strong force.

As that stone crashed into a brick, it pressed the brick with enough force to press it down. Once the brick was pressed down, they all heard some mechanical sounds.

A second later, the walls opened on both sides and spat fire at that area.

Once Shun's followers saw that scene, they were dazed.

They now understood that they couldn't walk randomly.

"This path has many such traps. I can see a path ahead of us. Just make sure to follow me perfectly."

Slowly, Shun placed his feet on the scarlet path. As he placed his feet, he moved his other feet to the next brick.

He soon moved forward while gesturing for the others to come as well.

His subordinates soon moved one by one. They made sure to trace his path step by step. Nobody wanted to be barbecued.

As they were walking forward, they felt that their cultivation base was getting weaker. And soon, they stopped feeling Ardor altogether.

The official behind Shun asked him, "Sir, how are you finding the right path?"

Shun replied while walking, "It's not difficult. Just look for the tiny cracks on the bricks. It means someone has moved on those bricks while moving ahead. The other reason I can figure out the correct path is that this path has been constructed using a 64 x 64 model. After creating one block, he lopped it while adding some tricks along the way. Using the 64 x 64 model, the architect had tried to make this path with the most traps while also giving a way that would be difficult to find for anyone other than the creator."

"I memorized the path he created for the first block and used it to break down the other blocks he created ahead. We can avoid the general traps that way. As for the tricks, we just need to keep observing carefully and there is a hint carefully planted in certain locations."

Shun's subordinates couldn't help but admire him as they heard him explain it in such a casual voice. It was as if it was as easy as breathing for him while they couldn't understand it even after hearing his words.

Shun suddenly pointed at a specific brick ahead of him, "Like this spot. It's the hardest spot since we are at the end of one block and would change the block with the next step. Any wrong move and we will trigger a vicious trap. The creator has given hints perhaps because his master asked him so that his people could pass this path even if they forgot the path."

"So the creator left a brick with a small cut on it on its upper side to indicate that this was the correct path," Shun spoke with a monotonous voice.

As his subordinates heard his explanation, one guard couldn't help but grow tense. They were essentially standing in a trap. As long as they triggered even one, they could die.

Right now, not a single one of them could use their Ardor. They would have no chance of resisting the attack at this point.

Just as he was thinking this and he took the next step, he felt his feet sinking to the ground.

As he looked down, he saw that the brick on which he had stepped and pressed down. His eyes widened in shock as he yelled, "Nooo!"

Everyone turned their heads towards the man as they saw small holes appear on both sides of the walls and something thin was shot out of those small holes.