Chapter 368: The City Inside a Pig

"Achaar?" Li repeated with bewilderment. Arthur didn"t answer right away and walked toward the old vehicle, clearing out the vegetation with his hand.

"It"s a vehicle of transportation. You can consider it as a wagon that doesn"t need pulling." Arthur explained, but the man of ancient origins didn"t seem to understand.

"Is it a product of another world?" Li seemed to know of the Realm"s unique properties, and Arthur simply nodded in response. "Did the spirit devour this metallic monster?"

"It seems so," Arthur didn"t try to correct him as he opened the door. It gave a screech as the dust flew everywhere. Arthur looked at the interior of the car, which had mold all over it.

"Why is there a car in the current era?" Arthur wondered. "Can this be from future Earth?"

There was no other explanation. It could also be that the spirit never visited Earth, but it simply came across a car that traveled back in time as Arthur did.

"Either way, this spirit is a lead."

Arthur was interested in anything that had a clue about how to get back to Earth. He might be a Lord here, but it wasn"t enough for him to stay here.

His mother, Oren, Emma, Oliver, Jonah, Miko, and Mistletoe waited for him. Arthur could never forget his duty to protect them and the debt he had toward them. That"s why his quest in Alka was to guarantee Solomon going into the trial while leaving a good impression on him.

Arthur looked through the car for any personal belongings, and he found a restaurant"s receipt. Then, he looked at the time stamp and found that it wasn"t in the past but the future.

"February 20th, 2050." Arthur read the date. He looked at the dashboard and found that it had withered flowers. "Were they going out on a date?"

They didn"t find anything else in the car. Arthur walked beside it and looked at the broken gla.s.s: It had blood. What happened before this car arrived here didn"t look good.

"Have they died?" Li asked with a hint of sadness. He brought his hands together and began to pray. "If their souls are in heaven now, may they be one with the divine."

Arthur didn"t know what kind of religion Li had, but he didn"t mind his actions. He hated all religions, and his father was the same. It might have directly influenced Arthur"s opinion about the matter, but he didn"t know.

He tried to look for anything else like an address, but the car looked like it survived a hurricane. There was not a thing inside in its proper place.

"I should keep it in my subs.p.a.ce," Arthur tried putting the car inside, but it didn"t work. The same with his skills and runes, he couldn"t use anything but his chains of creation.

"Let"s look for other creatures,"

Arthur walked off from the car after inspecting. Li followed after, but Arthur paused. He turned toward the car and read the plate.

48378 YVA/Y

"Yalveran Union, Yalen City," Arthur realized. "The disaster will hit the capital of the Yalveran Union in two years, bringing this machine to Alka."

Arthur made a mental note as his eyes clouded with worry. The Yalveran Union saw enough problems with what happened to Alka. It was a wonder if it can take another hit.

"Is this wagon from your world?" Li asked, and Arthur paused and nodded.

"Would you want to live in it?"

"I"m bonded to my village and my people," Li said without hesitation. "I have dreams of seeing every world out there, but they shall remain as dreams."

"How can you see the other worlds?" Arthur asked, intrigued. Li was the first person to say he had such a dream.

"I don"t know, but there are enough legends to make me believe. If there"s a way, then there"s a will."

"I don"t think you are using this correctly," Arthur said with a sigh. "That dream of yours might not be as improbable as you think it is." He said, hinting at Li"s future as a member of Mistletoe.

The man simply nodded as the two walked through the jungle. Then, as it began to clear, they felt the ground shake beneath them. The two looked at each other and the hill in the distance.

From beyond the hill peeked a giant head of a creature. It walked slowly, taking its time as it strolled toward the two. Arthur squinted his eyes at the incredible creature, which wasn"t a monster.

"A mammoth?" Li muttered in shock. "It"s as big as that hill..."

Arthur was equally interested in the creature, which lived in the belly of a spirit. He looked at its head and found several figures on top of it.

"Humans," Arthur muttered with shock. From their disheveled appearance and leather clothes, he could tell they have lived in this jungle for quite a time. "This doesn"t look good." 

"We won"t fail just because others did," Li said encouragingly. "They might help us leave this place."

Arthur could only hope that would be the case. He waited until the mammoth reached them, and he had to crane his head up. From above the mammoth came out two people, a man, and a woman.

"Who are you?"

They spoke in Alvan Language, which astonished Arthur. He thought they would be people of the Yalveran Union, which he can ask about what happened, but that doesn"t seem to be the case.

"We are seekers of the Spirits Realm, trapped here by the pig," Arthur answered as Li stood there cluelessly. The man and woman looked at each other, whispering some things.

"A seeker? One of the great ones?"

"We need to let the chief receive them. They should have information about the outside world," The woman added with resolution.

"Is there something wrong?" Arthur asked, interrupting their conversation. The two turned to him and shook their heads.

"We invite you to meet our leader,"

The two people spoke at the same time. Arthur squinted his eyes at their lax att.i.tude about this matter. Did they not fear that Arthur and Li would harm them?

"Wait..."

Arthur paused. His eyes widened as he looked at the two. They were ordinary humans, not ethereal creatures like Li and Arthur were. Can this place be separated from the Spirits Realm?

"We will accompany you," Arthur answered after thinking for a bit. Since they didn"t fear him, it seems there were some restrictions on the interaction between spirits and normal humans.

"Hm, it sounds fishy. What if they ambush us?" Li voiced out his worries when Arthur told him about the earlier conversation.

"We are strong enough to break free, then." Arthur shrugged. Li nodded as if that was the truth. "These humans are our only way out, so we can only follow them."

"A lack of choice is the greatest choice," Li nodded.

"Not really," Arthur was amused. "Let"s follow them then," Arthur then turned toward the two people and nodded toward them.

They led the way around the hill and walked into a rainforest. The humidity rose as the group walked deeper and deeper into the forest. Finally, they pa.s.sed by a swamp, which Arthur used his chains to cross instead of riding the mammoth.

"Look," Li pointed in the distance. "Manmade towers."

Arthur saw it as well. There were wooden watchtowers on each side of a valley"s entrance. They approached the towers and stopped at the gate.

"We brought back seekers!"

The man shouted at the guards, who looked at Arthur and Li from behind their helmets. The guards nodded and began opening the gates.

"Hm?" Arthur noticed how odd their actions were. Even if Arthur and Li were seekers, then their security shouldn"t be so lax. They walked through the valley, which began showing the signs of a civilization living here.

Huts and mud houses were everywhere, with people going in and out of them. The people looked at Arthur"s golden body and Li"s white appearance with awe.

There was also a hint of joy.

"It seems Seekers are respected here," Li said with a nod. "We might not face any issue in getting their help."

"I sure hope so," Arthur said but remained unconvinced. He looked at their expressions and tried to feel what their existence says, and it made him scared.

There were not only mammoths but other giant creatures used for transportations. The mammoth that the two people rode led Arthur and Li toward a ma.s.sive wood house decorated with flowers and trees.

"Welcome, seekers!" A giant man came out of the house and welcomed with a heartful grin. "Seekers are always guests of our humble abode!"

"Many thanks for the warm words, good friend," Arthur replied without showing his feelings. "Can we know where we are?"

"Oh, a native of Alva?" The man said with surprise. "This will make things easier!" He added with a grin. "This is our city, Ligan!"