Chapter 172: Relics

“A Ruin?”

Zhou Huai’s eyebrows twitched.

“What Ruin?”

He had only heard of Secret Realms and dungeons.

This was the first time he had heard the word Ruin.

Nakamura Shin'ichirō lay on the ground, silent for a moment, seemingly struggling to organize his thoughts.

After a while, he explained in a hoarse voice.

“Your Excellency... Your Excellency may not have heard of it.”

“My teacher told me about it too.”

“In this world, there are eight Great Ruins, distributed across the globe.”

“Inside... there are civilizations left from thousands of years ago, and countless treasures.”

“Perhaps... perhaps even the legendary Divine Artifacts.”

Zhou Huai, controlling Moria, remained silent, signaling him to continue.

“On the surface, Ruins are very similar to Secret Realms.”

“But they are much vaster than Secret Realms, and deep exploration reveals many human-like civilizations within.”

“There are even buildings and written characters.”

“Some of the characters even bear a slight resemblance to our current writing.”

Zhou Huai interrupted him at this point.

“How do you know all this so clearly?”

“Have you seen it?”

Nakamura Shin'ichirō’s body trembled, but he still nodded.

“To be honest, a Ruin appeared within our Sakura Country.”

“My teacher once took me inside to explore it.”

“At first, I wasn’t entirely convinced, until I saw many ancient buildings inside, and only then did I believe in the existence of Ruins.”

He paused, a hint of inexplicable fanaticism in his voice.

“The only Divine Artifact our Sakura Country possesses, the 【Yata no Kagami】, was obtained from that Ruin.”

“My teacher also told me that there are a total of eight Ruins.”

“Currently, we know of one in our Sakura Country, two in the Free Federation, and one in the ancient country of Egypt.”

“The remaining four locations are still unknown.”

“But what is certain is that there is at least one within your Great Xia Country.”

Zhou Huai countered.

“How are you so certain?”

Nakamura Shin'ichirō explained.

“Ruins are different from Secret Realms.”

“Ruins contain various mechanisms and traps, which punish explorers who trespass.”

“The most terrifying punishment among them is the Beast Tide.”

Zhou Huai sneered.

“According to you, most cities in our Great Xia Country have encountered Beast Tides.”

“Then wouldn't all four remaining Ruins be in our Great Xia Country?”

Nakamura Shin'ichirō shook his head violently.

“No, it’s different.”

“The Beast Tide I’m talking about isn’t an ordinary Beast Tide.”

“It’s that kind... that kind of large-scale Beast Tide capable of destroying a city!”

He seemed to recall some terrifying scene, his voice changing pitch.

“The numbers aren’t tens of thousands, they’re hundreds of thousands.”

“It’s millions, or even tens of millions of monsters in a Beast Tide!”

Hearing this, Zhou Huai was suddenly stunned.

Three words instantly popped into his mind.

Simon City!

Ten years ago, didn't Simon City encounter a Beast Tide numbering in the millions?

That disaster directly led to the entire city being razed to the ground by mutated beasts.

So, according to Nakamura Shin'ichirō's statement.

There is very likely a Ruin near Simon City!

It was its existence that caused Simon City to suffer such a massive Beast Tide.

Thinking this way, many things could be explained.

Such a large-scale Beast Tide couldn't possibly form out of thin air.

Yet, the Great Xia Military Department was completely unaware of it, with no reaction whatsoever.

By the time they discovered it, the army of mutated beasts had already reached the city gates.

Therefore, that colossal Beast Tide was very likely formed within the Ruin from the beginning.

They burst out of the Ruin, catching Simon City completely off guard.

Zhou Huai’s gaze turned cold.

The reason the Beast Tide suddenly appeared and attacked Simon City.

Was it because someone triggered a punitive mechanism within the Ruin while exploring it?

Which led to the innocent deaths of hundreds of thousands of Simon City residents.

Zhou Huai fell into contemplation.

So, the question is.

Who would be exploring the Ruin?

Which organization would it be?

The answer was self-evident.

Within the Great Xia Country, all known large Secret Realms are under the strict control of the Military Department.

Let alone a strategic existence like a Ruin.

So, was the disaster in Simon City back then entirely caused by the Military Department?

No wonder, after ten years, there has never been a clear answer regarding the cause of the Simon City Beast Tide.

Nor has any high-ranking Military Department official stepped forward to apologize to the deceased people of Simon City.

It was as if that tragedy had nothing to do with them.

At this moment, Zhou Huai’s mood was somewhat complex.

He had originally thought the Military Department would be the Great Xia Country’s most steadfast cornerstone.

Now, it seemed that wasn't quite the case.

Zhou Huai looked at the humble figure on the ground, his voice icy.

“What else do you know?”

Nakamura Shin'ichirō felt the bone-chilling coldness and pleaded tearfully.

“I... I only know this much!”

“Please, let me go!”

Zhou Huai continued to press.

“So, have you found any clues about the Great Xia Country’s Ruin yet?”

“Are there any other spies lurking within the Great Xia Country?”

Nakamura Shin'ichirō shook his head desperately.

“I have no clues whatsoever!”

“And I don’t know about any other spies!”

“Everything I’ve said is true! True!”

As he spoke, he began to frantically kowtow to Moria, his forehead hitting the ground with dull thuds.

“Please, let me go! Please!”

Zhou Huai ignored him, sneering.

“I didn’t expect your mouth to be quite stubborn.”

“In that case, let those brothers continue to entertain you.”

With that, Moria’s figure transformed into a puddle of ink, silently merging into the shadows on the ground.

Not long after.

The heavy iron door of the basement was pushed open again.

Those burly men walked in, rubbing their fists and palms.

They had malevolent smiles on their faces.

“Heh heh heh...”

The bearded fat man leading them cracked his knuckles, making a “crunch, crunch” sound.

“Our ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Lord said you seemed a bit unsatisfied with our service yesterday, didn’t you?”

“It’s fine, there’s still plenty of time.”

“Let us slowly entertain you.”

Despair instantly crept across Nakamura Shin'ichirō’s face.

“No—!”

... ...

On the other side, Zhou Huai’s consciousness returned to his main body.

In his mind, the tragic scenes he witnessed in the Simon City dungeon kept replaying.

Perhaps, the Military Department had its difficulties.

But their handling of the situation was truly chilling.

Once this matter was exposed, the image of the Great Xia Military Department in the hearts of all citizens would be shaken.

However, this was not something he could worry about right now.

The only thing he needed to do now was to quickly strengthen himself.

Only by possessing enough power could he have a say in this treacherous world.

Just then.

A cold System prompt suddenly echoed in his mind.

“Ding! Your Clone ‘Thunder Swordsman Yasuo’ has reached Rank LV30.”

“Triggering the Class Change Challenge Mission.”

“Do you accept?”