Picking Up Attributes From Today Chapter 88: Closure of City Gates, A Grand Path

Chapter 88: Closure of City Gates, A Grand Path

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Meng Lei hadn’t just been hunting Magical Beasts during these few days spent exploring Magical Beast Forest. He had also encountered quite a few attacks from other humans. Despicable adventurers like them were often involved in contemptible dirty dealings like this, so apart from being fairly wealthy, they also carried other things on them.
Battle Aura technique manuals were one of such things.
After a few successful counterattacks where he had killed the attackers, Meng Lei had obtained quite a number of Battle Aura technique manuals. Among them were both ordinary run-of-the-mill manuals, as well as exceptionally rare and precious high-grade manuals. His rewards were pretty bountiful.
It was just a shame that these were useless to Meng Lei. The Fire Dragon Manual alone was already enough for him to cultivate. All the other manuals, no matter how many they were, were nothing but just white elephants.
Since they were white elephants, he might take a few out and let the villagers cultivate them instead. That way, not only would it raise the villagers’ combat strength, but the manuals could also be put to their fullest use.
However, Hudders declined his offer. “Meng Lei, these Battle Aura technique manuals are too valuable. We can’t take them! You’ve already done so much for the village...”
“Captain Hudders, these are just things that I found in Magical Beast Forest. They aren’t of much use to me, so just take them.” Meng Lei said with a smile, “You can impart these techniques to everyone, especially the children. When everyone’s combat strength is higher, I’ll also be able to go about outside without worrying about other things.”
“This...”
After hesitating for a moment, Hudders agreed to it in the end.
...
Seven hours later, Meng Lei and the others safely arrived at the Great Dragon Blood Wall. However, none of them had expected that all the city gates leading in and out of Great Dragon Blood Wall were actually closed, and entry and exit had been prohibited!
The people inside couldn’t come out, and the people outside couldn’t go in.
A soldier suited up in armor and holding a spear stood ramrod straight on top of the city walls, on standby and ready for battle.
At the bottom was an assembly of several adventurers, merchants, and commoners. All of them had been denied entry into the city and were now shouting angrily at the soldiers above the city walls.
“Open the gates!”
“Open the city gates!”
“The ant tide is coming! Let me in!”
“Goddamn it, you bastards! Open your damned eyes and take a good look! I’m Baron Skyles of the foothills! Hurry and open the gates for this Baron here!”
“O’ dragon god, have you abandoned your people...”
As though they were statues, the soldiers on top of the city walls were completely indifferent to the people cursing and swearing fiercely at them. They didn’t even pay them any attention, much less harbor any intention of opening the city gates!
This enraged the people even further, and all sorts of expletives and curses were thrown at them without even a moment’s pause, forming a scene that looked terribly out of place with the stern, imposing Great Dragon Blood Wall.
The magic cars came to a stop in front of the crowd. Meng Lei alighted and couldn’t help but frown as he watched the scene in front of him. Hudders followed behind Meng Lei and asked anxiously, “Meng Lei, the city gates have closed. What are we gonna do?”
“Don’t panic.”
Meng Lei waved him off and walked to the front of the crowd.
A chubby middle-aged man dressed in nobility fashion spat furiously, “You goddamn bastards! I’m a noble, you can’t keep me out here!”
“My lord, hurry and think of something!”
Beside him, a noblewoman with a baby in her arms wept as she said anxiously, “Our child is only one year old. I don’t want... Sob!”
The fat man took a look at the swaddled baby. The fats on his face quivered a little, and he began to curse even more furiously. “You bastards, open your goddamn eyes, and take a good look! I’m a Baron! A noble...”
In the midst of the fat man’s cursing and swearing, a shadow suddenly shot toward them from a distance away, and he arrived at the bottom of the city walls in an instant. Then, after he leaped high into the air, the tips of his feet tapped lightly in succession against the city walls, and he climbed up to the top like a spider.
Upon seeing this, the fat man hurriedly raised his voice and shouted, “Expert! Esteemed expert, I’m willing to offer you 10,000 gold coins. Please bring us up there!”
However, the expert vanished into the depths of the city walls without even looking back at him, as though he didn’t hear what he’d said at all.
“That bastard!”
Baron Skyles was so mad that he couldn’t stop stamping his foot.
“Mr. Baron here, do they allow people to jump up the city walls like that?” asked Meng Lei as he pointed at the soldiers stationed on top of the city walls.
Baron Skyles turned around and glared at Meng Lei in annoyance. “Why wouldn’t they? As long as you have the ability to jump up there, it’s not like they can chase you back down, right?”
“Exactly! The Great Dragon Blood Wall is a fortress meant to defend against beast tides, not to keep us out here. Those goddamn bastards shouldn’t be keeping us out here!”
“Those capable of jumping up there have already done so. Only weak, innocent commoners like us are left now. They clearly intend to let us die outside the city walls!”
“The city walls are over 50 meters tall, and only people that are Third-Grade Warriors and higher are able to jump up there. We...”
At the side, the enraged crowd rallied together, furious yet helpless. Hudders also said, “The moment beast tides come invading, the Great Dragon Blood Wall will close their gates in advance and will only open them again when the beast tide recedes. Those that can’t enter the city in time can only resign themselves to their fate. It’s something that cannot be helped.”
Ol’ Amos floated out at this point and said in a low voice, “The city gates are made out of obsidian rocks, the most solid, sturdiest, and heaviest rocks in Heaven’s Vault Continent, and they weigh as heavy as half a million kilograms the moment they are closed! An eighth-grade magic core is used up every time they open the gates, and you should know how valuable an eighth-grade magic core is!”
Ol’ Amos sighed and went on. “In the eyes of the soldiers in charge of guarding the Great Dragon Blood Wall, perhaps ordinary people that can’t even climb up the walls aren’t even worth as much as an eighth-grade magic core.”
Meng Lei was silent in response to that. When he’d first transmigrated to this world, perhaps he hadn’t been able to understand such actions that totally disregarded human lives. After all, no matter how important everything else might be, human lives were the most important.
However, as the amount of time he stayed in Heaven’s Vault Continent became longer, and he was exposed to more and more things, it was easy to see why that was the case now.
In Dragon God Empire, the Four-Classes Stratification System was very clear-cut. In the eyes of the nobility and people with power and status, ordinary humans were just cheap, lowly people.
Were the lives of cheap, lowly people valuable? Not at all!
If they die, then so be it.
How could they possibly compare to an eighth-grade magic core?
“What a frustrating world this is!”
Meng Lei took a deep breath and suppressed the messy thoughts in his mind. He walked step by step to the bottom of the city walls and murmured, “Since they won’t open the gates, then I can only go up there myself!”
He’d only just spoken when the ground in the far distance suddenly began to shake. An earthen dragon suddenly broke out of the ground surface, bellowing and roaring furiously as it charged ferociously toward the bottom of the city walls with its fangs bared and claws brandishing.
Then, it crashed right into the bottom of the city walls.
Boom!
Dirt and earth flew everywhere as a booming explosion rang out from the ground.
A massive amount of dirt and earth piled up, and in less than the amount of time it took to take a few breaths, a grand path leading up to the top of the city walls had formed!
“Oh my dragon god!”
“This...”
Everyone at the bottom of the city walls was astounded by the sight of this. All of them forgot to even react as they gazed at the slope leading straight to the top of the city walls.
“A path!”
“It’s a path!”
Someone let out a shout. A great furor went through the crowd instantly, and tears of joy formed in everyone’s eyes as they began to cheer madly.
“A Magician!”
“It’s a Lord Magician!”
“He created that path!”
Everyone looked one by one at Meng Lei, who stood at the top of the slope, their feelings of gratitude obvious. Meng Lei gave them a slight smile and said, “Hurry and come up here, everyone! Time waits for no one!”
“Yes, yes!”
No one dared to be tardy. They hastily carried their things and climbed along the slope up the city walls. The fat Baron Skyles walked over to Meng Lei, embarrassed and grateful at the same time, yet not forgetting to give him a standard nobility salute.
“Esteemed Lord Magician, thank you very much. I, Skyles Borunga, am eternally grateful for your kindness in saving our lives!”
“You’re welcome!”