Chapter 408: The Misdeeds of Grey City (12)

After walking inside the city for a while, Luosen realized that the name "Grey City" fit perfectly.

Everywhere in the city one could see solid building ruins that were hard to clear, their color a steel gray.

The pedestrians on the streets had grayish faces, their clothes were also gray, and the roofs of houses made of various materials were likewise gray.

Even the pigs, dogs, and livestock wandering the streets were mostly gray.

It was unclear whether it was genetic mutation or simply extreme filth.

Walking on the narrow, filthy, uneven streets, Luosen clearly felt a poor, oppressive, desperate apocalyptic world.

Along the way they met many people, yet saw no smiling faces.

Some stood at their doorways hurling insults at neighbors, some coughed and spat loudly, others dumped overnight waste onto the street, some fought at the slightest disagreement, and some even made love in the street.

But more people silently stayed in corners, bearing suffering from hunger, illness, and other misfortunes.

There were also many outright unlucky souls.

All the misfortune pressed upon them, tightening their nerves to the limit, leaving them on the brink of collapse at any moment.

"Ah~~ Ah~~~~"

From time to time, Luosen could hear some odd, half‑laughing sounds, coming from lunatics crushed by life.

They had seen impoverished, ruined worlds before, but a place like the Abyss was truly a first.

After walking a bit, they let out a sigh just like Beilu Dandi.

"The Abyss really is a haunted place."

Of course, even in the most desperate places, there are still some novelties.

Because the greatest trait of humanity is its love of trouble.

Luosen followed the scent of roasted meat carried by the wind and kept moving forward.

As the aroma grew stronger, more fellow travelers appeared on the street.

Most of the companions were young adults, and from their expressions most seemed to be outsiders joining the commotion.

Their presence injected a rare spark of vitality into this gray city.

Following the crowd, they eventually reached a large, roughly leveled open ground.

Around the perimeter of the clearing, many onlookers had gathered; further inside stood a group of battle mages wearing dark‑blue short robes and bearing the Dawn Eye insignia.

Looking further inward, the situation became more complicated.

On the left were open‑air cages forged from raw iron, single‑person cells, thirty in total, each holding a prisoner.

On the right were specially made large grills, ten of them.

Four of the grills already had their fires lit and food placed on them.

Some sizzled with oil, while others still gasped, shrieking in agony.

In the very center of the clearing stood a makeshift platform of earth and rubble, upon which a Dawn Eye mage stood.

The mage sported a big belly, a face full of flab, gray‑hued eyes, and looked like a rare scoundrel.

In his left hand he held a Black Gemstone Staff, and his right hand steadied a book.

He shouted, "The next prisoner to be executed is the evil Dragon Mountain Brotherhood member, a Dawn Eye traitor, 14th Ring Fallen Mage Gewinna Vell Deng Bo!"

As he spoke, two tall, robust Dawn Eye mages walked to a rust‑stained iron cage and pulled a woman out.

Thanks to the nourishment of powerful magic, the woman appeared young, though her soul was over seventy years old.

Her dark‑green hair was a mess, her delicate oval face swollen in several places, she wore no clothing, her pale skin covered in filth and scars, and many congealed bloodstains were visible on the inner thighs.

Clearly, she had already endured terrible torment before the execution.

Yet with magic reaching the 14th Ring, her vitality became immense; despite the body's countless scars, her spirit was hardly broken, and her dark‑green eyes showed no fear, only anger and resolve.

She offered no resistance and was quickly taken to the central platform of the square, standing silently.

Yet even after such horrific torment and loss of dignity, her appearance still far surpassed that of ordinary mortals in the Abyss.

She resembled a phoenix that fell from the clouds into mud, or an angel suffering within the Abyss.

The onlookers instantly erupted into a stir.

Many people, especially men, stared at the female prisoner with a gloating, morbidly greedy gaze.

The rotund mage swept his gaze over the female mage, his slanted eyes flickering smugly, and shouted.

"The Mage Guild's holy flame will thoroughly cleanse her sins and bind her body's great power within her flesh."

"Ordinary people who consume this flesh will receive the blessing of mysterious power, making men stronger and women more beautiful."

"Of course, such potent flesh does not come free; a price must be paid."

"Furthermore, the exact price depends on the specific part of the flesh."

"For example, here."

As he spoke, the rotund mage lifted the Black Gemstone Staff, pressed it lightly against the prisoner's chest, carving a deep dent. "Look at this crimson peach loaf, its form perfectly plump; once baked it is not only fragrant and sweet but also greatly restores vitality."

"Because of its rarity, it will be auctioned, with a starting bid of one kilogram of obsidian gold."

Saying that, he drove the staff further down, finally striking an indescribable spot with such force that the baby‑fist‑sized black gemstone on the staff sank more than halfway in.

"And this, a spot even the gods would rejoice over. Once roasted, it possesses an unforgettable flavor and grants you a potent mysterious blessing."

"Its starting bid is three kilograms of obsidian gold."

On the platform, the rotund mage, as if treating livestock, began publicly selling the female prisoner's flesh.

What made the hairs stand on end was that the onlookers around the square were not only accustomed to this but many even leapt at the chance, ready to join the flesh auction.

Throughout the process, the female prisoner remained silent, staring at the rotund mage with a gaze full of suppressed fury.

The rotund mage certainly felt it, but he felt no fear, only growing smugness.

"Madam, times have changed; you are no longer the lofty Dawn Hand, but my prisoner. I will torture you however I please."

While speaking, he brandished the Black Gemstone Staff and began stabbing wildly; the prisoner immediately tried to curl up in pain, but two mages behind her instantly used magic to lock her body in place, making it easy…

The spectators below grew ever more frenzied, a big-bearded man shouted with an envious face.

"Kageru, use less force, don't break it, we still need to sell it for money, hey!"

Kageru is the name of Yuanfu Fashi; he laughed heartily and replied, "Luomi, do you want to buy?"

The big-bearded man spread his hands: "I would like to, but I lost the last bit of good stuff I had last night."

"Heh~ You're truly an incorrigible gambler."

Kageru jeered, then turned his head to look at others and shouted loudly: "This prisoner was once a big shot in the Mage Association; if it weren't for his brain being screwed up, we would have to kneel and pay respects when we saw him!"

"The interesting items on her body, ordinary people couldn't even use them, let alone see them; now they can be roasted and brought out to sell, that's absolutely top-grade goods."

"Please, everyone, widen your dog eyes and take a good look; this thing is far, far better than your wives, even the flirtatious women in the pleasure houses can't compare."

The spectators grew ever more frenzied; clearly a horrifying execution ground, it was forcibly turned into a meat-roasting stall.

Luosen stood in the corner, expressionlessly watching this scene, secretly sighing in his heart.

"This is probably what it looks like after order completely collapses."

He wanted to save people, and also wanted to punish this bastard named Kageru a bit.

Although this Kageru has a 12-ring soul and carries a powerful magical artifact on him, he could easily and silently kill him.

But in the end, Luosen still did not make a move.

It wasn't out of fear of retaliation from the Dawn Eye, nor fear of the battle-mage guards on the square.

But because he discovered that the situation in the Abyss of Pain was not as simple as he imagined.

Amid the densely packed crowd of onlookers, he sensed a very faint aura.

His extreme mortal temporal talent and Laifu's formidable computing power endowed him with incredible sensitivity.

He faintly felt that the owner of this aura, though also a mortal, possessed incredible strength, giving him a strong sense of danger.

The terrifying part is that Luosen cannot locate this person's existence, nor can he produce a clear temporal vision from this sense of danger.

This shows that this person is also a spacetime expert, whose understanding of spacetime is enough to match him, possibly even exceed him.

Since he has already reached the mortal limit, how could the other surpass him?

Luosen didn't know before, but after allying with the Joyful One, he came to know.

The Joyful One's disciple Lifu told him that deep in the abyss, there likely exists an incarnation of an otherworldly true god in the mortal realm.

In other words, he might have encountered a true god.

Therefore, Luosen could only choose to endure and prepare himself for all-out combat.

But he did not feel despair.

Because Lifu told him that although a divine avatar is powerful, being confined to the 23-ring mortal realm means it can at most wield 23-ring magic, and even with the aid of a divine artifact, it cannot break the mortal realm's rules.

Its greatest advantage lies in mastering many spells unknown to mortals, or what could be called 'divine arts'.

But if one strikes fast and hard enough, a flurry of punches still has a chance to kill the old master.

And this happens to be Luosen's advantage.

At this moment, the wicked deeds on the open ground continue, and countless twisted-heart spectators still fervently chase after them.

But even in the darkness, there is still light.

One of those rays of light is emitted by the youth Aoliangde.

This youth also stealthily approached the open ground.

Next chapter, this afternoon.

(End of chapter)