Chapter 542 - 540: Return to Dusk Town

"Are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"Let’s head out then."

"Alright!"

Hilia equipped herself with everything prepared and left the school, heading outside.

"So, are we going to the City of Dawn this time?"

Hilia asked.

Rose nodded, "Do you remember Dusk Town?"

Hilia nodded.

"Dusk Town is peculiar, filled with a dense power of death, while outside it’s the City of Dawn representing life. Your task now is to completely unravel the mystery behind Dusk Town."

Rose had already selected the next hunting target.

Previously, in Letes City, they had used the Magic Power of the entire city’s Protective Array to instantly destroy the magic puppet of an unknown Tier Six Mage who was being pursued by the City Lord.

That person is Rose’s target.

When Mr. Pharos killed the opponent, Rose sensed that the other’s soul was gathered and was not truly dead.

Besides the Nether God, there’s another deity who controls the power of death.

One of the Twelve Main Gods, the God of Life and Death.

"Hilia had previously purged a cultist stronghold in Dusk Town, but that’s not the entirety of the Dusk Sect. The peculiar environment of Dusk Town might be related to the God of Life and Death," Rose thought.

Ethel’s Divine Format fragments are four-tenths with Benovia, one-tenth with Shaline, and the rest hidden in the Sea of Tranquility.

Ethel has nearly been stripped bare, no longer needed for exploitation.

Next, it’s time to look for clues about a new Main God.

The City of Dawn, near Huijin City, is Rose’s primary investigation target.

"Last time in Dusk Town, while completing the commission to resolve the cultist stronghold, wasn’t the situation there already clarified?" Hilia tilted her head in confusion.

Rose chuckled lightly, "It’s not that easy to conclude. Even with numerous dead, the power of death wouldn’t gather in one place and linger endlessly."

Hilia nodded, somewhat understanding, "Alright then, let’s go to Dusk Town and expose all its secrets!"

With Hilia’s current strength, reaching the City of Dawn near Dusk Town doesn’t take long.

By midday, she arrived smoothly.

Arriving at a new place, Hilia habitually went to the mercenary tavern, sat for a few hours to relax, and used her sharp ears to catch surrounding information, filtering out the content she wanted.

"...Recently, some disturbances have occurred around Dusk Town again."

"Yes, yesterday when I got closer, I was directly invaded by contamination, scared me to death, an entire day’s wages spent on purification."

"Let’s wait for what the City Lord says, once the City Lord and the Divine Hall clarify the disturbances, we’ll decide whether to take commissions there."

"The commissions there are said to have increased in price."

"Just a slight increase, such money is hardly comparable to the expensive purification fee. I’d say, those people in Dusk Town might have long sided with the cult; otherwise, why would they stay in that corner enduring contamination without running away?"

"I think so too, those guys seem to be asking for trouble, not much to gain from them."

"..."

Hilia listened to the surrounding conversations and precisely found the keyword Dusk Town among the voices.

"Dusk Town disturbance?"

Hilia took interest, grabbed her juice, and went over to find the receptionist for the mission, exhibiting her mercenary badge, and asked, "Is there a commission for Dusk Town?"

The receptionist paused, surprised and looking up, "Dusk Town? There is, but are you sure you want to go?"

Hilia nodded, "Yes, there’s danger there now, and we mages with transcendent power cannot sit idly by."

The receptionist was startled but proceeded to list the various tasks related to Dusk Town.

Hilia quickly examined them, the first and second were commissions issued by the Divine Hall and the City Lord, requiring investigation into the causes of disturbances in Dusk Town.

Hilia thought for a moment but didn’t accept them.

Although these have the highest rewards, Hilia is reluctant to engage with the Divine Hall or the City Lord.

Her biggest fear is that once she connects with these two places, inadvertently she might collapse another castle or Divine Hall.

It’s best to avoid them.

"Besides the commissions issued by the City Lord and the Divine Hall, which have high bounties, other commissions in Dusk Town do not offer good rewards, none exceeding 1 Gold Coin."

Hilia shook her head and finally chose one commission offering 80 Silver Coins, the task was to help find someone.

The commission was just incidental; Hilia primarily intended to use it as an excuse to enter Dusk Town to investigate the situation.

After taking on the task, Hilia didn’t plan to rest in the City of Dawn; while it was still daylight, she set off directly towards Dusk Town.

Outside the City of Dawn, there were still many tents and camps, looking much like when Hilia visited previously.

"I wonder if the gang specializing in scams is still around."

Hilia muttered.

Looking back now, there’s a slight sense of nostalgia.

Too bad the object of nostalgia had already perished alongside the cultist stronghold.

Oh, and Suna didn’t die.

"That Suna apparently ran off later, her memory I’m not sure has recovered, might or might not return to Dusk Town... but it doesn’t seem to matter."

Hilia felt the surging magic power within her, smiling.

This time, if she encounters Suna, she can definitely handle it personally.

Passing by numerous camps and tents outside the City of Dawn, Hilia slowly headed towards Dusk Town.

As she got further from the City of Dawn, the tents and camps gradually dispersed until entirely gone.

After a long walk, Hilia arrived in front of the contamination and death aura, gazing at the deathly aura and contamination emerging before her.

At this moment, contamination surged, forming layers of overlapping waves of contamination.

The concentration had increased nearly double!

Hilia carefully sensed and found no unusual spots — alright, it’s all unusual!

"With such dense contamination, logically the residents of Dusk Town should all have left."

Hilia pondered, growing increasingly curious about Dusk Town.

Previously she only passed by Dusk Town without entering.

Before she entered, she encountered the small cult group attempting to trick people into joining the Dusk Sect, and was fooled into the cultist stronghold.

Although eventually, Hilia used the entire stronghold to set off fireworks.

This time, Hilia planned to observe the villagers first before deciding to enter the core of contamination and death aura, to see if the past "Nether River" and other side had changed.

Thinking thus, Hilia dove into the contamination.

Gradually, gray mist surrounded her, luckily not to the extent like Golden Apple Stone Forest where the path is nearly invisible.

This level was still manageable.

Soon, Hilia arrived at Dusk Town.

From the outside, she saw numerous villagers gathering together, praying towards a statue of unknown appearance.