Final Lord

Chapter 365 Vast Cloud City

Between Cloud Feather Sea and Sunset Mountains lies an endless expanse of territory, like two completely different worlds.

This pristine, forbidden sea is located on the northernmost coastline of the Dawn Empire. It is shrouded in perpetual fog and is the most mysterious border region on the map of the Dawn Empire.

The Sunset Mountains are located in the southern part of the Dawn Empire.

Even traveling day and night along the trade routes of the God of Commerce, it would take several months to travel from the Sunset Mountains to the Cloud Feather Sea.

Wang Bufu couldn't accept wasting so much time on the road, so he chose a better method—using the wilderness teleportation array.

Within the Iris Territory of the Stag Duchy, there happens to be a wilderness teleportation array leading to the northern part of the Dawn Empire.

However, this teleportation array was located deep underground, and even the lord of Iris Territory was unaware of it. It was only discovered after Mango conquered Iris Territory in his previous life.

Using the teleportation array, Wang Bufu led his troops and arrived at the vicinity of Yunyu Sea in just five days.

……

Due to the unique chaotic ecology of the Cloud Feather Sea, it is home to thousands of strange monsters—from the Cloud Winged Dragon Lizard that soars through the sky to the Mist Shadow Jellyfish that lurks in the deep sea.

The materials dropped by these monsters are very valuable.

Because of the rules governing demigods, Yunyu Sea has never experienced a demonic tide.

With a large number of monsters to gather materials and no danger of being swept up in the demon tide, it was this abundance that gave rise to dozens of fortified cities built around Cloudfeather Sea.

These steel fortresses, like sentinels guarding order, are scattered along the winding coastline. Each fortress city is open to the outside world, widely absorbing adventurers or mercenaries who risk their lives for money.

Among them, the most famous is Haohan Cloud City.

This colossal fortress, known as the "Pearl of the Cloud Sea," is comparable in size to the capital of the Dawn Empire. Its towering walls are constructed using the Dawn Empire's unique Starshine Stone, which gleams like pearls in the sunlight.

Twelve epic-level magic towers form a ring around the cloud harbor in the center of the city, and the ever-operating fog-dispelling magic arrays at the top of the towers open up safe passages for passing ships.

The city is divided into three main areas: the military control zone is home to Dawn's most elite Cloud Sea Fleet; the free trade zone is a hub for caravans from all over the continent; and the most bustling area is the adventurer camp, where the sounds of clashing swords and clinking coins fill the air.

Mercenary groups from all over the world accept bounties here, and countless lone adventurers with dreams form teams to set out on expeditions. The vast amounts of spoils they bring back are processed in the city's alchemy workshops and eventually transformed into precious treasures that are sold far and wide by caravans, accompanied by the sound of camel bells.

As dusk falls, the vast cloud city's cloud harbor lights up with countless lights. The decks of returning sailing ships are filled with the brave warriors who have survived by sheer luck, while the taverns are already stocked with bubbling ale.

Fight, come back alive, and revel in the glory!
This is the daily routine of every adventurer, and also the glory of the vast Cloud City.

"My God!" Wei Yi unconsciously tilted her head back, her emerald pupils reflecting the towering city wall that pierced the clouds.

Her slender fingers gripped the merchant's cloak she was using as a disguise, and she said incredulously, "This is outrageous! At least thirty meters! I've never seen such a tall building before."

In the morning mist, the city walls built of starlight stone gleamed with a pearly luster, and under the rising sun, they shimmered with a rainbow of colors.

Every hundred meters at the top of the city wall stands an arrow tower, its spire inlaid with fog-dispelling crystals that emit a soft blue light.

Wei Yi unconsciously stood on tiptoe, but still couldn't see the whole city wall.

“Just this one wall…” she murmured, her voice filled with undisguised shock, “is ten times higher than the walls of the Bucks’ capital! No, maybe even more… So this is what a real metropolis is like?”
Compared to this city, the capital of the Buck Kingdom is like a rural village.

"Make way! Little girl, don't cut in line, go to the back. If you stand here, you'll never be able to enter the city." It wasn't until a kind reminder came from behind that Wei Yi came to her senses.

Only then did Wei Yi, disguised as a caravan worker, notice that the crowd queuing to enter the city had already filled the square in front of the city gate.

Besides humans, there are many other races that are rarely seen in the Principality of the Buck.

The heavy armor of the minotaur mercenaries clanged, the cloaks of the elven rangers fluttered in the morning breeze, and even a few dwarven engineers were arguing incessantly about the alchemy device on the luggage cart.

The mixed scents of various races mingled in the air, yet strangely, they maintained order—thanks to the well-equipped Dawn Guards at the city gate.

The Vast Cloud City has a total of seven gates: one main gate and six side gates.

Even the smallest side door was large enough for three carriages to drive side by side, but now long, winding queues had formed in front of each door.

There's a queue to enter the city, and there's a queue to leave the city!
Even with so many gates open at the same time, it is still impossible to completely handle the flow of people entering and leaving the vast Cloud City; guards must be on duty to maintain order.

Wang Bufu noticed that the guards were wearing light gold armor inlaid with cloud patterns and holding long halberds that gleamed coldly, and were methodically checking everyone's pass.

Occasionally, when a caravan's pack animals snorted impatiently, the leader would immediately reprimand them in a low voice. In the face of this city, even the most arrogant caravan had to restrain its arrogance.

"The Dawn Swordsmen, the foundational faith force of the Dawn Empire, it's been a long time," Wang Bufu thought with emotion.

Faith-based professions are always three times stronger than normal professions. The Dawn Swordsman is no exception.

Although they are all melee units, they can rely on the blessing of the Dawn God to gain an advanced 80% ranged damage reduction and a large amount of health recovery.

Every Dawn Swordsman can easily defeat a normal swordsman of the same rank.

They are the main force candidates that Wang Bufu wants most right now—they are inexpensive to build, easy to advance in their professions, and have considerable combat power.

"It's a pity it's a profession based on faith," Wang Bufu shook his head.

A profession based on faith can be both made and broken by faith.

In their previous lives, after the fall of the Morning Star God, the strength of these Dawn Swordsmen was instantly halved. Not only were their attributes reduced, but half of their special skills were also lost.

"Boss." Just then, a middle-aged man with a kind face walked up to Wang Bufu. "We've arrived at the place. Um, could you please settle the final payment?"

Wang Bufu looked at the other party. He was the leader of the [Small Mercenary Group]. To be precise, he was the former leader.

"The Little Mercenary Group" was the name of his mercenary team, which once boasted over seventy exceptionally powerful members. However, after a failed mission a few years ago, only two of the team's top members survived, and the group gradually declined.

But even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse. The small mercenary group remains one of the top mercenary groups, belonging to the second tier in the vast cloud city.

Only mercenary groups with a gold medal or higher are allowed to enter the interior of Cloud Feather Sea.

Wang Bufu had no interest in building a new mercenary group and slowly upgrading it from scratch; that would be too exhausting.

He chose to buy a ready-made one.

(End of this chapter)