CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 0054: THE CITY OF VELANOR

The snow thinned as Modret and Axel descended the quietly winding path.

Before long, the faint shimmer of lanterns emerged through the mist, and the vague silhouette of a sprawling city appeared beyond the valley.

"The City of Velanor," Axel murmured quietly, his tone filled with nostalgia. "It’s been years since I last came here."

"You came here before?" Modret asked curiously.

Axel nodded, "I wanted to get a feel for what the outside world far from the Axarel Manor felt like."

"I see."

Modret’s eyes lingered on the distant gates — the people bustling, merchants calling, laughter echoing faintly through the wind.

Taking a light step, he approached the gate where four guards were stationed, with Axel following close behind him.

Soon, they reached the gate. And as they did, the guards immediately sharpened their gazes, staring at the unfamiliar men in front of them.

A guard’s gaze lingered on Modret’s ragged clothes and clicked his tongue.

"You should know the rules: you need to be a Faction member or affiliated with a faction to enter into Velanor."

Modret turned to glance at Axel; he hadn’t mentioned anything like this...

Axel smiled and approached the guards, placing his hand into his robe before taking out a few pieces of gold coin.

Seeing the gold, the guards’ eyes lit up.

Nodding faintly, one of them patted Axel’s back, "Youths truly know their way around things these days."

He collected the gold coins then waved his hand, signalling for them to enter in through the already bustling gate.

Upon entering, Modret and Axel widened their eyes in surprise.

"What’s this? Electricity?" Modret frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

He glanced at Axel; however, the youth just shook his head, signalling that he didn’t know anything about this.

Around them was a buzzing city filled with countless rays of light that shone brightly.

Ahead, there were even things that looked like vehicles casually being mended and constantly examined.

A few children gathered in front of the vehicle and pointed their hands at it, discussing in a low voice...

Modret rubbed the back of his head, worry creeping into his mind.

Meanwhile, Axel glanced to the side and after some deliberation spoke up.

"Young master, we should head to an inn. We can have a warm meal and perhaps overhear discussions about what’s going on."

Feeling that the line of thought was reasonable, Modret nodded and gestured for Axel to lead the way.

Time passed as the two trudged through the bustling street and after a short few minutes, they finally arrived at a slightly well-known inn.

They stepped inside, causing the sound of jingling bells to resound, alerting everyone of their entrance.

The inn was mostly filled with matured men drinking themselves away, while there were a few youths who decided to hang out at the tavern to have fun.

Modret and Axel found an empty table and walked to sit down, waiting for someone to attend to them.

They didn’t have to wait too long, as within a few minutes, a little girl who seemed to be around the age of five approached them with a small parchment in her hand.

She sighed exasperatedly, then handed them the parchment, bowing politely—a gesture that made Modret chuckle slightly.

"Please select what you wish to have," her cute voice sounded filled with emotions.

After staring at her curiously for a brief instant, Modret took the parchment from her, glancing at it closely.

After ruminating over his choice for a while, he finally pointed at three meals then handed the parchment back to the little lady.

Jutting away, the girl swiftly departed.

Axel looked up at Modret, "You seem interested in the girl?"

Modret laughed, a flicker of emotion passing through his eyes.

"She looks like an interesting girl..." he thought, recalling her crescent moon eyes.

Axel looked confused, unable to understand what Modret meant, however, he didn’t dwell on it, shifting his gaze to the crowd.

Ahead of them, at a table a few feet away, a discussion between a group of men clad in sleek brown jackets was ongoing.

He tapped Modret lightly, drawing his attention to the men.

In one of their hands was a green core—a celestial core.

The man rolled it around for a moment before sighing.

"It’s truly too difficult to use these as a source of movement for those carriages. Most of the time they tend to explode despite having a vast amount of energy."

"Yes. Most of the workers have also complained about the enthrallment to swallow it whenever they are working. Just what is the city lord thinking by asking us to ensure we completely assimilate this with the carriages?"

"Within just a few weeks, we’ve already been able to bring these lights using the energy stored within these crystals coupled with the abilities we possess. It’s only a matter of time before we create something truly worthwhile. I guess that’s the reason the government are unwilling to let us catch our breath."

"Sirs, your meal..." Modret and Axel’s eavesdropping was interrupted by the sound of a plate being placed on the table.

A slender lady with dark purple hair, the same shade as the little girl from before, placed the dishes before them.

Her purple eyes scanned the two, seeing no hint of lust towards her, as she let out a wry smile before bowing once more.

Modret studied her departing figure, ignoring her swaying hips and instead focusing on the guesses in his heart.

’She seems related to the little girl from before... Her sister perhaps? Or her mother?’

Suddenly, someone reached out towards her, wrapping his arms around her swaying hips and causing her to pause her movements.

Modret noticed that she frowned subtly before feigning a relaxed smile then gently removing the man’s hand from her waist.

"Not tonight, Von, I’m pretty busy right now."

"Aye, come on, let’s have fun..." the man roared wildly, however, she just increased her pace, her figure vanishing into the kitchen.

Axel studied Modret’s expression then asked, "Should I deal with him?"

Shaking his head, Modret replied, "There’s no need for that. We’re currently lying low and there’s no need to bring anymore troubles to ourselves."

Axel nodded, then the two returned to their meal.

When they were done, Axel headed back to the counter and purchased two rooms for the duo...