Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 354 - 240: Past Events of the Royal City (Part 1)_2

Chapter 354: Chapter 240: Past Events of the Royal City (Part 1)_2

"Yes, but not the main entrance because this is the dark corridor that every warrior must pass through. Some have become deformed here from fear of the dark, while others have witnessed courage they never knew they had."

"Isn’t it because the lighting system consumes too much energy that you have to turn it off on non-competition days, dear Mrs. Marium?" A teacher’s sarcastic laughter came from ahead, that of Emet Selk.

"Shut your mouth, you Quasel brat. If you’re brave enough, come and challenge me."

"Not today; I am to challenge my elder brother today, and I prefer not to waste my energy on you." Emet Selk, the teacher, said, then quickly headed towards the exit.

"Do you know each other?" Malin watched as the teacher ran out of the exit and turned to Mrs. Marium.

"Of course, all four of us Earls and Emet Selk, whom you met today, were once students in an academy established by the royal family. Emet Selk is a very... very knotty fellow, not many people like him." Mrs. Marium said, seemingly unhappy as she brought up some melancholic topic. She quickly ceased explaining and walked out of the dark corridor with Malin.

Malin looked up and noticed the iron cover above could be opened... It seemed like an imperfect imitation of engineering from before the Great Destruction Era, but it was good enough if it worked.

With that thought, Malin looked at the center of the field and saw that more than a dozen pairs of opponents were dueling. Teacher Emet Selk had already stepped off the field, and Malin could see his brother, as the two appeared to be talking about something.

"The era before the Great Destruction must have been like the Heavenly Kingdom. See these metal steps? They have withstood thousands of years, neither the Earth Dragons nor we could destroy them." Sitting on the steps, Mrs. Marium turned to Malin: "You surely want to try your hand in battle, don’t you? Go, show the world your strength and courage."

Malin nodded, then walked to the center of the field.

"Marium, who is that?" A half-human woman approached and hopped onto a step next to Mrs. Marium.

"A child of an acquaintance, looking to test his mettle." Mrs. Marium replied with a smile.

"He really looks fresh and tender, but what’s with that highly mutated Toby rabbit? His girlfriend?" The half-human said, propping up her chin: "It really seems so, isn’t he afraid that one night the rabbit will turn into the meat-eating kind?"

"Everyone has their own preferences, Fadel." Mrs. Marium glanced at her friend.

Sometimes, that’s just how life is; friends and strangers are just a fleeting matter. If she truly acted against this child, Marium would not intervene, because there are those who would be eager to kill her.

Isn’t that right, Anna?

The Northern woman thought and smiled to herself.

"My preference is cute ones just like him. Can you introduce me?" The half-human woman seemed oblivious to the deathly stillness in her friend’s eyes. She watched the boy standing on the edge of the stand: "He seems to be picking his prey, cute one, why don’t you look back?"

"To see how ugly you’ve become, cousin Fadel?" A well-dressed Gnome gentleman approached, paying no heed to the half-human woman’s glare and went straight to Mrs. Marium, lifting her large hand and gently kissing the back of it.

"Master Banai, you always speak so bluntly; you won’t win the favor of women that way." Mrs. Marium said with a smile.

"And that is why I prefer you, Mrs. Marium. Compared to you, my cousin is as stupid as a wild boar. She doesn’t even realize who, between her and that boy, is the real hunter and who is the prey." The Gnome gentleman turned to glare at his cousin: "Your prey is Gaiate, Malin by name, the lover of Princess Faye, the Apprentice of the Goddess of Harvest, and the favored of the Lord of Justice. Put away your little schemes, or else I’ll just watch as the Paladins burst into your house and hang you on the stake."

"It’s him!" Having heard her cousin’s introduction, Mrs. Fadel frowned deeply.

"That’s why I say you’re foolish. You dare to act without even investigating the background of your prey, how you’ve survived until now is truly the greatest mystery to me. The Goddess of Fate must be sparing your pathetic life for the day when you glitter on the stake of the Lord of Justice." The Gnome gentleman adjusted his collar and tie, adding: "I now must go down and speak with Mr. Malin, because as the vice-president of the Engineering Society, I need to strengthen our relationship."

"I’ll accompany you there, if I may?" The half-human woman still seemed eager to act.

"Then your brother would come to this city today and hang both me and you in the Half-human’s black cell." The Gnome huffed, saying: "So you sit right here, and if you dare follow me, then I won’t need your brother; I’ll kill you right now."

As he said the latter part, a wire rope slid out from the sleeve of the Gnome, coiling around the half-human woman’s neck twice.