174: Krahal-Zir, A Mid-Tier City?
174: Krahal-Zir, A Mid-Tier City?
The sound of haggling rchants, the scent of spice and scorched tal, the press of countless bodies moving through tight streets, that’s what Ben and Elvira expected from Krahal-Zir.
Instead, silence greeted them.
The mont they passed through the scorched iron gates, Ben’s brow furrowed.
“I should get a refund from those intel rats,” he muttered.
“This isn’t a trade hub.
It’s a graveyard.” Krahal-Zir was listed as a mid-tier city, its prosperity supposedly built on its control over it’s magma channel system.
That made intel scarce.
The Dhurnokh were masters of tunneling and subterranean trade, they barely have information on this city.
This is what make it a promising entry point for Ben’s plans.
Another vital node to claim for his future revolution.
But, what he see now… The streets were too empty.
The air too still.
Buildings leaned under their own weight, their wall cracked and crumbling.
Markets stood open, but no buyers ca.
Few guards patrolled.
Those who did move slowly without any.
Elvira narrowed her eyes as they walked deeper into the city.
“Sothing’s wrong.
This place… it feels hollow.” “No one even bothered to greet us.” Elvira raised an eyebrow.
“Well, we did arrive unannounced.” Ben scoffed.
“That’s a la excuse.
They should’ve gotten word from the capital by now.
I won the challenge, officially.
Bureaucrats should be scrambling, prepping for a full power transition.” His eyes narrowed, mind already shifting gears.
‘Eight.
Nine.
Sweep the city.
I want all infromation, and any abnormal activity.’ From his shadow, two forms peeled.
These weren’t his ability.
After the knight appeared, the system unlocked a new layer of elental affinity, fragnts of control over shadow, fla, and other elents.
Side effects of devouring the relic, though Ben still wasn’t sure if “side effect” was the right word.
He’d grumbled about it plenty.
The system seed to hog all the power from the relics he consud.
But arguing with the knight was pointless.
Eventually, Ben just let it go, and focus on his own abilities.
The streets of Krahal-zir were quiet.
Ben, now wearing the familiar face of Tzarek, walked through the heart of the city.
At his side, Elvira had taken on the form of a random female Nephirid, one that won’t pull attention.
Their eyes flicked sharply across every building, every alley, every passerby.
The crimson banners of the city still fluttered high above, etched with the sigil of the molten seal.
rchant stalls stood half-stocked, their owners barely glancing up at potential custors.
So shops were shuttered entirely.
The main square, supposedly the trade hub, felt more like a ghost market.
The mama port were empty.
“Only three people taking care the dock, and they’re not even a nephirid,” Elvira murmured dryly beside him.
Ben didn’t respond imdiately.
He look at a nearby group of guards standing at a corner.
Their armor bore the crest of the city, but their posture was slack.
One leaned against a wall, another played with the edge of his blade.
“Let’s ask,” he muttered under his breath.
“I doubt they even know who their new ruler is.” Elvira said.
One of the guards looked up lazily as Ben approached, his eyes half-lidded beneath a chipped helm.
“What’s your problem, huh?” he drawled, not moving from his slouch against the wall.
“You lost or sothing?” Ben didn’t answer.
Another guard stepped forward, rolling his shoulders with an audible crack.
“Oi, do you even know who you’re talkin’ to?” he asked, sneering.
“You got a death wish, picking a fight in our city?” Ben’s eyes narrowed, his voice low.
“That’s funny.
I thought this was my city.” The first guard scoffed.
“Your city?
You think just ’cause you strutted in here with your chest puffed out we’re supposed to kneel?
Who the fuck do you even think you are?” Ben didn’t reply.
He just moved.
The closest guard never saw the blow coming, Ben’s fist slamd into his gut.
BAM!!!
The man folded in half, breath leaving him in a strangled wheeze before he crumpled to the ground.
The second guard reached for his sword, but he’s too slow.
Ben’s knee drove into his jaw, lifting him off his feet and into a heap against the wall, unconscious before he hit the ground.
A third tried to shout, hand glowing with a weak rune, Ben caught his wrist, twisted, and slamd his face into the stone pillar beside them.
Blood splattered.
He slid down without a sound.
The last one froze.
Then panic hit his eyes.
With a panicked scream he turned and bolted, armor clanking wildly as he ran down the cracked stone street, shouting, “Reinforcents!
We need reinforcents!” Elvira raised a brow, arms crossed.
“Was that really necessary?” Ben cracked his knuckles, eyes still fixed down the street.
“Why bother looking for them, Let them co to us.” And co they did.
Within minutes, the heavy sound of boots echoed through the city’s.
A dozen guards stord into the square from three directions, weapons drawn, expressions grim.
They weren’t the sa lazy lot from before.
These wore polished armor, their movents sharp, purposeful.
Veterans.
But what caught Ben’s eye was the mix.
Only four of them were Nephirid.
The rest were from other species, they have crystal-tipped spears, a scaled beings with slitted eyes, and a feline like creature crouched low to the ground with twin daggers already drawn.
At the center stood their captain.
A Nephirid, scarred and older, with molten eyes and a long iron halberd resting across his shoulder.
His eyes grow in recognition the mont he see Ben, But Ben didn’t give him any change to talk.
The mont their eyes locked, he moved.
A dagger shot forward, its sharp edge a whisper in the air, aiming straight for the captain’s throat.
CLANG!
The halberd snapped up just in ti, deflecting the blow with a hiss of sparks.
The captain stumbled back, molten eyes wide.
“What’s the aning of this?!” Ben’s second dagger was already coming down aid for the knee.
Another clang.
Another parry.
But the force still buckled the old Nephirid’s stance.
Ben’s eyes narrowed, a smirk curling on his lips.
“This is the strength Krahal-zir has to offer?
You disappoint .” “Enough!” the captain bellowed, his voice cracking the air like thunder.
“All of you, take him down!”
Reviews
All reviews (0)