Chapter 1261: The Protective Barrier Disappears
“Everyone leave Mercenary City immediately…” A clear voice rang out from afar. It originated from a Heaven Saint Master who was in the city, and he yelled extremely loudly. His voice basically reached all of the city.
All the people in the city returned to their senses with that. They all looked at the rapidly-expanding cracks in the ground. No one dared to stay any longer in the city, all moving away. All of them moved as quickly as they could.
Ever since the city had been founded, it had always been peaceful, yet such a violent earthquake had actually occurred now. This was far too abnormal. Almost everyone sensed that some great change was about to happen.
Swish! With the whistling of wind, a Heaven Saint Master flew through the air coated by barely visible, azure-colored, wind-attributed Saint Force. He shot through the air as an azure streak of light, quickly flying to the outskirts.
“My god, that guy’s crazy. He’s actually flying in Mercenary City. Isn’t he afraid of the punishment from the barrier…”
“Even if he’s fleeing for his life, there’s no need to do that. Doesn’t he know that flight is forbidden in the city…”
“Flight is an ability that only the upper echelon of Mercenary City can enjoy, and none of them are weaker than Saint Rulers. Not only is this person a Heaven Saint Master, he’s not a member of Mercenary City either. He’s done for…”
“That Heaven Saint Master is going to be in trouble. Let’s see just what punishment he suffers next…”
Many people who fled sneered inside as they watched the Heaven Saint Master fly. Many of them were prepared to see the outcome of the Heaven Saint Master soon.
Among the people who fled, there were many Heaven Saint Master, but all of them had chosen to run on the ground. There was no one bold enough to fly in the city.
However, the people who were ready for a good show kept waiting, but not only did the flying Heaven Saint Master escape without any of the imagined punishments, he even flew out of the city in an extremely short amount of time.
“What’s this about? This Heaven Saint Master hasn’t suffered any punishment from the barrier. Are the rumors false…”
“No, it’s impossible for the rumors to be false. Ten years ago, I personally witnessed a Heaven Saint Master flying through the city become heavily injured by a bolt created by the barrier’s energy in the sky. Was that Heaven Saint Master some important member of Mercenary City? Is that why there was a special exception?” A black-robed old man asked in doubt. He was also a Heaven Saint Master, but he dared not to fly. He also ran quickly along the ground with everyone else.
“Everyone look, the barrier of the city has vanished.” Suddenly, an alarmed cry rang out from afar. Everyone raised their heads immediately after that, but when they saw the sky, all of their mouths hung agape as disbelief flooded their faces.
This was because the huge barrier that had always enveloped the city was rapidly fadinh. In less that five seconds, it had actually disappeared without a trace, despite existing for countless years without any accidents.
All the people sank inside when they saw this. This was an extremely horrible omen. Almost all of them could sense that some shocking changes were about to happen to the city, and as soon as they thought about that, everyone sped up a little. Without the threat of the barrier, many Heaven Saint Masters became fearless. They took to the sky as various streams of light.
At the same time, several dozen Saint Rulers hovered high in the air at the center of the city. They were extremely stern as they glanced between the vanished barrier and the trembling ground from time to time.
“What’s happening to our Mercenary City? Why has the protective barrier suddenly vanished, and why has such a great earthquake suddenly occurred?” A Saint Ruler involuntarily questioned. He stared at the huge cracks a palm wide that riddled the city. They all knew that the piece of earth that the city sat on had been protected by the barrier through all ages, causing the ground to become rock-hard. Even Saint Rulers could not leave a mark if they used everything they had, yet the ground had now been reduced to such a sorry state. All of them were left in disbelief.
“Quickly use a secret technique and contact the grand elder and everyone else,” a Saint Ruler commanded in a hurry. Although they were part of the upper echelon of the city, all of them were Saint Rulers. All the Saint Kings had left the city, so they could do nothing about the sudden changes with their mere strength as Saint Rulers.
All the Saint Kings remained gathered in the ancient mountain ranges where Tian Jian had become a Saint Emperor. They all congratulated him and asked for guidance in regards to Tian Jian’s experience of becoming a Saint Emperor.
The several Saint Kings from Mercenary City were all excited and smiled more brightly than anyone else. It was extremely significant for Mercenary City for Tian Jian to become a Saint King.
But at this moment, the grand elder’s face suddenly changed in a drastic way. He had received a message through a secret technique from Mercenary City and learned of the great changes.
The grand elder’s complexion immediately became extremely horrible. He turned to the Saint Kings beside him and said, “Something bad’s happened. Mercenary City has undergone an upheaving change. Elders, immediately head back to the city as soon as possible. We cannot waste any time at all.”
“Alright, we’ll hurry back immediately.” The Saint Kings from Mercenary City could see how severe the situation was from how the grand elder had lost his composure. Without any hesitation, they immediately constructed a Space Gate and hurried back.
The grand elder did not return with them. With a flash, he arrived by Tian Jian’s side and said through a communication technique, “Great elder, I’ve just received a message from Mercenary City. The city is undergoing great changes. The protective barrier has vanished while the entire city is violently trembling. The ground has cracked and the city is in ruins.” The grand elder spoke extremely sternly. If he had not been certain that the person who sent him the message would not lie, he would be doubting the reality of the matter right now.
This was because this was an unprecedented event ever since the founding of the city.
Tian Jian’s expression changed as well because of what the grand elder had said. He could not help but think back to the matter Jian Chen had mentioned before, about how the tunnel to the World of Forsaken Saints had been sealed deep underneath the city and how an earthquake had already occurred back when he was grand elder. However, it had occurred and ended very quickly and did not cause too great of a commotion.
“Has the seal beneath Mercenary City been broken?” Tian Jian suddenly thought of this matter and his heart immediately sank. He heavily replied, “Grand elder, let’s return to the city immediately.” Before he had even finished speaking, Tian Jian began to construct a Space Gate, quickly stepping through it as he pulled the grand elder along.
“Everyone, please gather in Mercenary City immediately. I have some important matters to discuss with you all.” Just as the Space Gate was about to close, Tian Jian’s voice rang out, landing in all the ears of the Saint Kings present.
All of them looked at each other. They had been stunned by the abnormal actions of the Saint Kings from Mercenary City.
“Tian Jian and the Saint Kings of Mercenary City have left in such a hurry. Has something happened to the city?” A Saint King from an ancient clan asked in doubt.
“Mercenary City has always been guarded by the protective barrier that even Saint Emperors cannot smash through. In terms of defenses, even the protector clans cannot match up against them. It would be slightly reasonable if you said that something had happened to the protector clans, but it’s an absolute joke if you’re talking about Mercenary City,” a dignified old man in golden dragon robes chuckled. He was the ancestral emperor of the Felicity Empire and was extremely powerful. He was at the peak of the Eighth Heavenly Layer and about to reach the Ninth.
Quite a few people from the protector clans immediately became displeased by what the ancestral emperor had said, but none of them dared to say anything in response. This was because the ancestral emperor was correct. In terms of defensive measures, the protector clans were not on the same level as Mercenary City.
When they faced the sneak attacks from the experts of the Hundred Races, they were not even able to stop a small group of Saint Kings with just the strength of a single protector clan. On the other hand, Mercenary City had managed to block the attacks from all the invaders with just a barrier. Even the simultaneous attacks from several forbidden artifacts could not even shake the barrier, which was more than enough to see how terrifyingly tough the barrier was.
“Everyone, let’s gather in Mercenary City since great elder Tian Jian has invited us,” the ancestral emperor added at the end. He left with the two other Saint Kings from the Felicity Empire, heading to Mercenary City.