The Starfall Forest was the base camp of the monsters. Smith had originally planned to stay there only briefly—to gain some experience, then quietly slip away.
But now, several Demon Kings within the forest were displeased with his actions. They had grown restless, ready to force him out.
Smith had no choice but to flee.
If those Demon Kings truly got serious, there was no way he could stand against the entire demon-infested forest by himself. The only realistic choice was to leave—fast.
After carefully monitoring the situation outside his hiding spot, Smith sent out a few clones to act as decoys. When they had drawn attention, he slipped quietly from the cave and bolted out of the Starfall Forest.
"Roar!"
His clones deliberately revealed themselves to the monsters nearby, luring them away. Meanwhile, Smith's real body took advantage of the chaos to escape as fast as he could.
Along the way, he encountered several minor monsters, but they weren't difficult to handle. He dispatched them easily.
Unless it was a fourth-level Little Demon King, nothing in this part of the forest could really stop him.
And so, Smith charged forward relentlessly. An hour later, he had finally emerged from the dark thickets of Starfall Forest.
Even from outside the boundary, the furious roars of beasts still echoed behind him.
"It's definitely time to move on."
Smith shook his head with a sigh and started walking along the main road.
The Starfall Forest sat near the center of the Holy Empire. Beyond its borders, Smith would cross from the East and South Districts into the vast North District—home to the Holy Royal City itself.
During the Holy Empire's peak, the Northern Region was fully governed by the Holy Royal City.
That influence was still visible here. The roads in this region were built wide, sturdy, and extended in all directions like the spokes of a great wheel.
Even the road beneath Smith's feet was broader than the main avenues of Huaihai City and Jinghai City combined.
He walked for nearly two hours. On the way, he was ambushed by a few scattered monsters, but none of them posed any serious threat.
Eventually, the faint outline of a city appeared on the horizon.
Jinghai College was still offering a bounty for Smith, but their influence had limits. Even a powerful institution like Jinghai couldn't possibly command every city across the five major regions—Southeast, Northwest, Southwest, Central, and North.
The North District, in particular, had little to no connection with the Southeast. Even if the bounty from Jinghai had reached this far, that didn't mean the people here would care enough to act on it.
Smith was gambling on this.
He took a deep breath and continued walking toward the looming city ahead.
It was a grand yet silent city, shrouded in an air of solemnity. Several large flags flew high from the city walls—yellow with a symbol of a semicircle at the bottom.
The flag of the Holy Empire!
Once, this flag had flown on every city wall in the empire.
Now, only a few cities directly governed by the Holy Royal City still displayed it with pride.
"Tai'an City…"
Smith spotted three large red characters carved onto a massive stone tablet standing before the city gates.
The name rang a faint bell in his mind.
After a moment of hesitation, Smith stepped forward.
"Who goes there?!"
As he approached the city gate, two guards appeared on the wall above, glaring down with suspicion.
"Hello," Smith called out calmly. "I'm lost and looking for a place to rest."
"Lost?" one of the guards barked. "You look more like a rebel. Rebels aren't welcome here. Leave now!"
A stranger wandering alone and claiming to be lost—no matter what city it was, no gate would open under such flimsy pretenses.
"I'm not a rebel," Smith said. "I just got lost. I mean no harm. Look, I'm alone—I don't pose any threat."
"Enough talking! If you don't leave now, don't blame us for being rude," the soldier replied coldly.
Even if someone wasn't a known rebel, the rules were strict. Without orders from their superiors, the guards couldn't allow any outsider into the city.
That was the most basic protocol.
Smith understood this. Unfortunately, he couldn't come up with a good enough reason to convince them otherwise.
Just as he was about to turn away, his eyes locked onto something—the dark golden sacred armor worn by the guards.
A flash of inspiration struck him.
Quickly, he reached into his space ring and pulled out a token. Holding it high above his head, he shouted, "I have this! Can I come in now?"
It was a dark golden token with the image of a tall city gate engraved on it.
A sacred token!
He had received it back in the Dark City, when Li Tuo had passed it on to him through the Red Queen.
The Red Queen had said, "As long as you hold this token and find someone from the Holy Empire, they will help you."
Smith hadn't known if that promise was true.
"Wait… Is that… a sacred token?!"
The sunlight hit the token, causing it to shimmer. The bright reflection made both guards widen their eyes in shock.
"Where did you get that token?!"
"Don't ask where I got it," Smith said. "Just tell me—can I come in?"
Judging by their stunned expressions, it was clear the sacred token held real authority.
"If you possess a sacred token… then of course you may enter."
Though still slightly wary, the guards honored the token's power and began opening the city gate.
"It actually worked," Smith muttered in surprise. He quickly stashed the token away and walked into Tai'an City.
Behind him, the giant gate slowly shut.
But what greeted him inside was… disappointing.
The city was eerily desolate.
Judging from its structure alone, Tai'an City was nearly as large as Huaihai City.
But everything felt abandoned.
At the city gate—a key military checkpoint—there were only a dozen or so low-ranking holy soldiers on guard, none above the second or third level.
Looking around, the streets were mostly empty. Only one or two people passed by occasionally. The rest of the city was like a ghost town.
"Sir, please forgive our rudeness earlier," one of the guards came down and apologized to Smith with a respectful bow.
Smith waved his hand in a relaxed manner. "It's fine. You were just doing your job."
"We'll escort you to the City Lord right away."
Smith hadn't intended to meet the city lord—he just wanted a quiet place to stay. But the guards insisted.
Left with no other choice, he followed them.
As they walked through the city, Smith noticed that while many buildings stood intact, only a few showed signs of occupancy. For every seven or eight homes, only one seemed inhabited.
No wonder the city felt so lifeless—there were barely any people left.
…
Before long, they reached the City Lord's Mansion.
"Please wait a moment, sir. I'll go inform the City Lord," one of the soldiers said before rushing inside.
Moments later, he returned—with a middle-aged man at his side.
As soon as their eyes met, both men froze in shock.
"It's you?!"
"You're… Kong?"
"Kong Changxing," the man replied instantly.
"Right! General Kong Changxing."
Indeed, the City Lord of Tai'an City was none other than Kong Changxing—the very man Smith had rescued back in the Starfall Forest.
…
They stood there for a moment, both remembering the events that had led them here.
Smith had never expected to see a familiar face in such a desolate place. Let alone someone he had once helped.
"Well, well," Kong said with a faint smile. "Fate truly has a strange way of bringing people together again."
Smith smiled. "I was just passing through. Didn't expect to run into an old acquaintance."
"You saved me back then," Kong said solemnly. "And now, you've returned—just in time."
Smith raised a brow. "Just in time for what?"
Kong glanced around the empty courtyard and sighed deeply.
"To see what remains of Tai'an City… and maybe help save it again."
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