CH 26

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And with a swing of the sledge hammer, I dispatched the goblin queen on the stadium filled with corpses of her kins. Then I checked to see for survivors.

(Nothing moves anymore… is that all the goblins?)

Since I’ve killed every goblin in this stadium that can pack 30,000 people, I can say that this is the hardest work I ever done.

Even with the number of goblins increases their quantity their quality is still as shoddy and with the use of the sledge hammer and sometimes using my tails I was able to exterminate them but still their amount is to large that I feel quite tired.

It was a set of queen and a king but a mere goblin with huge do a thing against me and with the single blow from a sledgehammer, his shield was crushed instantaneously along with his body.

Fortunately, the goblin here has a stench that is tolerable. Perhaps the fact that half of the roof was gone allowed better ventilation.

Now that the cleanup is over I decided to wash up and make bed at the shopping district that I marked. It’s not a big mall like the one in Aiza, but it’s not small either. I’m sure I can find some of the thing I’m missing.

But first I need to clean myself up, so I went to a nature parkin search for water but as expected the water is muddy and dirty as if it has been used by those goblins.

I was thinking if I have to use the sewers but luckily, I found a pool of rainwater on an abandoned greenhouse, so I used it. It’s not a big problem since it has only been four days since the last rain and now that I am refreshed, I went to pick up my luggage and head over the shopping district.

I would secure the things I need here while it’s still morning then hunt around the vicinity and spend the night here. I’m getting constant sleep everyday except for last night, that’s why I want to get a sleep today.

So, I started browsing on the shopping district. While I was gathering necessary items, I looked for a place to sleep and brought in supplies that I could use.

(…How many scrubbing brush are there? It looks like I bought too much clothes too.)

It was great that there’s a futon shop, but it most futons aren’t usable anymore, but luckily there’s some bet that are still usable and is completely reasonably good.

I actually tried laying on it with a four-layers mattress and it was able to hold my weight with no problem at all. The bed is good for sleeping and it’s quite good to sit on but this makes me closer to the ceiling. I guess I’ll adjust the details later, I need to get some food first.

I went to the forest to hunt – but the goblins might haver over hunt already since I need to go too far. Goblins are really harmful.

The sun had already set when I returned, so I dismantled the boar I had and secured the fire. I am able to finish this boar in one sitting without any problem. I found out about this when I was watching those elves, I noticed that  I don’t feel hungry but I do feel full and this boar isn’t enough for me to fill me up. Then I drank a bottle of water and lie down on the bed.

(This isn’t bad, I wonder if I’ll reach the Imperial capital tomorrow?)

Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep easier than I expected.

The next morning, I woke up and stretched. I add a washcloth. A cloth and a pair of tongs to my pack which is now even more substantial and leave Cheval.

My course is southeast toward Aiza, which is not so far and I estimate that I will arrive there by noon. The trees are not so dense which will allow me to increase my speed.

There was nothing special on the road but the town of Isa came into sight sooner than expected. I notice the state of devastation is far worse than I expected.

(This isn’t something I expected from a mall)

The fear is pretty much well founded.

The city if Aiza’s condition is in rougher condition than expected and the cause is definitely apparent. It was heavily burnt down. The crumbling outer walls were left in their burnt-out state and there’s too few of other creature’s sign. I can’t even see a sign of goblins here. I also noticed the unusual lacking of vegetation.

Every city I have seen so far has been is eroded by greens and plants but the city of Aiza is different. It’s gray and not green.

I tried exploring the city but it was in no condition to have anything that can be of use.

(I know that it was a war, but do they really have to burn this city so thoroughly?)

Every where I look all I see were the standing remains of burned building that shows the extraordinary the level of destruction that happened here. I explore a bit more of Aiza and it was fruitless, there’s nothing left here that is worth taking.

This make me worried about the Imperial Capital.

(No wait, this might not be true, but can this be the result of the secret weapon that we saw before?)

I tried analyzing about the idea that popped out of my head and the conclusion that I got is, it’s possible.

Using that secret weapon to reduce a city to smithereens is not something that I would advocate but it is a possibility. It’s also possible that the war against the elves have deteriorated so badly that this happened.

(Come to think of it, the elves can live for around 300 years)

Someday, I hope that I can know what ever happened here. So I decided to head over the Imperial Capital.

(I wonder what happened to the Imperial Capital after 20 years)

When I finally think about it, it was surprising to find out that there are lots of thing that I missed and want to know more of.

Then, when I was about to leave the gray city. What lays before me is a vast desert , an endless expanse of it that seems to goes on forever.

Sand. It’s quite difficult to walk on it, but I can run and walk fine.

(There’s not ocean in the empire, but is this what a sandy beach looks like?)

I tried to run on it and was surprised that I can’t speed up to the speed I expect. I tried walking and running but I can’t really move faster than I want. Thus I just enjoy the scenery of this vast expanse nothingness of the dessert.

Along the way I ask myself

And I haven’t reached any conclusion, and honestly, I feel like it’s no use thinking about it.

Then reality hit me. I knew in my heart that this would have happened but there’s still part of me denying that it would happen.

(Is this the reason why the Empire fell?)

What I had in front of me is the epicenter of an explosion. I wonder how many explosives did it take to made such a huge crater. It swallowed up the Imperial Capital and burned down the nearby agricultural fields and burned down the City of Aiza.

This might as well be the reason for the formation of that desert.

Now I understood. The reason why the Kingdom of Canaan had abandoned science. If this is the end result of science then anyone would choose to abandon it.

No it’s more like if they decided to pursue science they would be targeted. I don’t want to call out my beloved homeland, but I want to ask you one question.

What kind of catastrophe had caused this to happen? Was the path the Empire took is a mistake?

The only thing I can do is clench my fist infront of the scene before me. The place I want to return to is no more. The places I want to see is now gone.

(I’m starting to miss the career counseling from my student year)

There are more thought that came out. I thought I already accepted this long ago but it seems I was struck by reality hard. I have so many things that I want to say but I can’t put them into words.

Then at the very least I howl my soul out. There’s no one here that would hear me. Then I turned my back to the crater that was once my hometown and started walking away.