Chapter 172: Ruins

"Ruins?"

Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow.

"What ruins?"

He had only heard of Secret Realms and dungeons.

It was his first time hearing the word ruins.

Nakamura Shinichiro lay flat on the ground, silent for a moment, seemingly struggling to organize his words.

After a long while, he explained in a hoarse voice.

"Your Excellency… Your Excellency might not have heard of them."

"My teacher told me about them as well."

"In this world, eight major ruins exist, distributed all over the world."

"Inside… exist civilizations left behind from thousands of years ago, as well as countless treasures."

"Even… even legendary Divine Artifacts."

Zhou Huai manipulated Moria, maintaining silence, signaling him to continue.

"On the surface, ruins are very similar to Secret Realms."

"But they are vaster than Secret Realms. Deeper exploration reveals that many human-like civilizations exist within them."

"There are even buildings and writing."

"Some of the writing even has slight similarities to our current writing."

Hearing this, Zhou Huai interrupted him.

"How do you know so clearly?"

"Have you seen them?"

Nakamura Shinichiro's body trembled slightly, but he still nodded.

"To be honest, a ruin has appeared within Sakura Country."

"My teacher once took me inside to explore."

"At first, I wasn't too sure either, until I saw many ancient buildings inside, and then I believed in the existence of the ruins."

He paused, a trace of inexplicable fanaticism entering his voice.

"The only Divine Artifact possessed by Sakura Country, [yata no kagami], was obtained from those ruins."

"The teacher also told me that there are a total of eight ruins."

"Currently known ones: Sakura Country has one, Free Federation has two, and the Ancient State of Egypt has one."

"The exact locations of the remaining four are not yet known."

"However, it is certain that there is at least one within Great Xia Country."

Zhou Huai asked in return.

"How can you be so certain?"

Nakamura Shinichiro explained.

"Ruins are different from Secret Realms."

"Various mechanisms and traps exist inside ruins, and they will punish explorers who trespass."

"Among them, the most terrifying punishment is the beast tide."

Zhou Huai sneered.

"According to what you say, most cities in Great Xia Country have encountered beast tides."

"Doesn't that mean the remaining four ruins are all in Great Xia Country?"

Nakamura Shinichiro shook his head fiercely.

"No, it's different."

"The beast tide I mentioned is not an ordinary beast tide."

"It's that kind of… that kind of large-scale beast tide enough to destroy a city!"

He seemed to recall some terrifying scene, and his voice went out of tune.

"The number is not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands."

"It's a beast tide of millions, or even tens of millions!"

Hearing this, Zhou Huai was suddenly stunned.

Three words instantly popped into his mind.

Simon City!

Wasn't Simon City of ten years ago subjected to a beast tide numbering in the millions?

That disaster directly caused the entire city to be razed to the ground by exotic beasts.

Therefore, according to Nakamura Shinichiro's statement,

There was a high possibility that ruins existed near Simon City!

It was precisely because of its existence that Simon City encountered a beast tide of such scale.

Thinking about it this way, many things could be explained.

Such a large-scale beast tide could not possibly form out of thin air.

Yet the Great Xia Military Department was completely oblivious to this and had no reaction whatsoever.

By the time they discovered it, the army of exotic beasts was already at the city gates.

Therefore, that massive beast tide likely formed inside the ruins in the first place.

They rushed out from the ruins, catching Simon City off guard.

Zhou Huai's gaze turned cold.

The reason why the beast tide suddenly appeared to attack Simon City…

Was it because someone triggered the punishment mechanism inside the ruins while exploring them?

Causing hundreds of thousands of residents in Simon City to lose their lives unjustly.

Zhou Huai fell into deep thought.

Then, the question arose.

Who would the person exploring the ruins be?

Which organization would it be?

The answer was self-evident.

Within Great Xia Country, all known large-scale Secret Realms were under the strict control of the military department.

Let alone ruins, which were of strategic-level existence.

Therefore, the disaster in Simon City back then was entirely caused by the military department?

No wonder ten years had passed, and there had never been a clear answer regarding the formation cause of the Simon City beast tide.

Nor had any high-ranking military official stepped forward to apologize to the dead 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 originally thought the military department would be the solidest bedrock of Great Xia Country.

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?"

Feeling that bone-chilling coldness, Nakamura Shinichiro cried and begged.

"I… I only know this much!"

"I beg you, let me go!"

Zhou Huai continued to press.

"So, have you found any clues about the ruins in Great Xia Country now?"

"Are there any other spies lurking within Great Xia Country?"

Nakamura Shinichiro shook his head frantically.

"I don't have any clues at all!"

"Nor do I know of any other spies!"

"What I said is all true! True!"

As he spoke, he began to kowtow frantically towards Moria, his forehead striking the ground and making a dull thud.

"I beg you, let me go! I beg you!"

Turning a deaf ear, Zhou Huai sneered.

"I didn't expect your mouth to be quite stiff."

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

Having said that, Moria's figure turned into a pool of ink, silently blending into the shadows of the ground.

Not long after,

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

Those muscular and burly men walked in, rubbing their hands.

Their faces bore ill-intentioned smiles.

"Hehehe…"

The bearded fat man at the lead cracked his fingers, making crisp cracking sounds.

"I heard from the Master that you seemed somewhat dissatisfied with our service yesterday?"

"It's fine, there's still plenty of time."

"Let us entertain you slowly."

Despair instantly crawled all over Nakamura Shinichiro's face.

"No—!"

…

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

In his mind, those tragic scenes seen in the Simon City dungeon constantly emerged.

Perhaps the military department had its difficulties.

But their handling method was truly chilling to the heart.

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

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

The only thing he needed to do now was to rapidly grow stronger.

Only by possessing sufficient power could he have a say in this treacherous and unpredictable world.

Just at this moment,

In his mind, a cold System prompt suddenly sounded.

[Ding! Your Clone 'Thunder Swordsman Yasuo' has reached Rank LV30.]

[Class advancement challenge quest triggered.]

[Do you wish to accept?]