Chapter 165 – Sunset City

Legend has it that Sunset City earned its name from a Master-Level powerhouse who called himself the Sun Sword Saint and fell in this place long ago.

Sunset City has no so-called Lord—it is one of the rare cities within the Dillon Kingdom directly controlled by the Dillon royal family.

Before the Dillon Kingdom and the Kamos Kingdom became hostile, Sunset City was a commercial hub in the western part of the Dillon Kingdom. However, as border tensions between the two nations escalated, it gradually transformed into a military stronghold, rumored to be garrisoned by nearly a hundred thousand Dillon Kingdom troops! No one knows the actual situation.

Yet, its status as a military stronghold has not brought peace to the city. Instead, in some ways, Sunset City has become a lawless land!

With criminals, spies, smugglers, unruly soldiers, and mercenaries from both kingdoms gathering here, coupled with the corrupt and extravagant Noble class managing the city, Sunset City is a classic example of a place that “appears harmonious and beautiful on the surface but is turbulent and filthy beneath.”

Now, at the very beginning of the Evergreen Season, the midday sun shone as usual on the mottled walls of Sunset City. Several groups of idle mercenaries strode toward the notice board by the city gate, where a crowd had already gathered. Everyone was discussing the newly added bounty notices on the board.

“Move aside, move aside! Rat, tell me what big catches have made the list.”

“Big catches” is a slang term in the bounty hunter circles, generally referring to “prey” with high bounties.

A muscular Strongman covered in scars, carrying a battle-axe as tall as a person, pushed through the crowd while loudly demanding answers. From within the circle of people, a short subordinate immediately responded loudly:

“Boss, it’s incredible! This time, there’s a truly massive ‘big catch.’ My goodness, the bounty is a full three million Gold Coins!”

“Holy shit, that’s huge! Quickly gather the brothers and sharpen your blades—we’re heading out. This is the first time I’ve ever encountered such a big ‘catch.’ This time, the Hammer Gang cowards better not dare try to snatch it from me!”

Hearing the bounty amount reported by his subordinate, the scars on the Strongman’s face twisted into a grin. What did three million Gold Coins mean? Even in the capital of the Dillon Kingdom, a hundred thousand Gold Coins could buy a mansion in the city center! An ordinary bounty hunter could hunt tirelessly for a lifetime and never earn three million Gold Coins.

“Boss, I haven’t even seen what the big catch did yet…”

“Quit dawdling, it’s annoying! What else could it be? Just some foolhardy poor brat who pissed off a high-ranking Noble. How many of those haven’t we dealt with already?”

Impatiently, the Strongman shoved aside the person blocking the youth, stepping on goods scattered on the ground by the civilians as he forced his way into the circle. The civilians, writhing in pain on the ground, could only seethe in silence when they saw the massive battle-axe on his back.

“Let me see what a three-million-Gold-Coin big catch is capable of!”

With an arrogant “I fear nothing” expression, the Strongman stood proudly in front of the notice board. He quickly found the bounty notice at the very top!Unlike other hastily hand-drawn wanted posters, this one was not only exquisitely detailed but even colored with dyes.

The person depicted wore cyan mage robes, with most of their face obscured by the hood (his appearance upon first arriving in Doleiz City).

The bounty noted below the portrait was indeed highlighted in red and bold – three million gold coins, an unprecedented amount in the history of the Dillon Kingdom.

But that wasn’t the most shocking part. What truly astonished and even terrified people was the official description provided by the Dillon Kingdom.

Criminal – Punk Cyan, Formal-Level Mage, age unknown, possessing formidable power and ruthless cruelty. Anyone providing credible leads would receive a reward of fifty gold coins.

Crimes: Destroying Doleiz City, spreading plague, slaughtering 150,000 city residents and nobles, killing Doleiz City’s Lord Gollat Hyde, destroying temples, desecrating deities…

After reading these descriptions, nearly everyone broke out in a cold sweat. A Formal-Level powerhouse annihilating an entire city… Any one of these crimes alone could be considered the pinnacle of evil terror. Though such matters felt distant to ordinary citizens just trying to make a living, it was enough to generate genuine fear from the depths of their hearts.

The muscular strongman suddenly grabbed his subordinate nicknamed “Rat” and delivered two resounding slaps that left the short young man with swollen cheeks and a bloodied mouth.

“Are you trying to get me killed? A madman who slaughtered 150,000 people – is that someone we can afford to provoke? That’s a Formal-Level monster! He could crush a dozen small fries like you with one finger!”

After shouting this, the strongman threw “Rat” aside roughly, quickly scanned the crowd, then hurried away with his tail between his legs.

As time passed, the crowd gathered around the wanted poster gradually dispersed. After all, no matter how catastrophic the disaster, if it didn’t directly affect them, it remained merely “news” to be discussed and forgotten – everyone still had their own affairs to attend to.

In fact, even those still marveling at the wanted poster didn’t take the matter seriously. At the very least, a young man in a brown robe didn’t raise any suspicions among the people.

No one noticed that beneath that youth’s hood were eyes shimmering with deep blue magical radiance.

Indeed, the young man in the brown robe was Punk.

After a day’s journey, he had finally reached Sunset City. Just as he was about to enter the city, he immediately spotted the conspicuously displayed wanted poster. Punk then mingled with the curious commoners and approached to take a look.

Unlike ordinary people who merely saw it as novelty, Punk quickly deduced much information from this simple wanted poster.

The very existence of the wanted poster represented the Dillon Kingdom’s helplessness. Catching a Formal-Level powerhouse with a piece of paper? The idea was so ridiculous it wasn’t even laughable. This poster was clearly the kingdom’s desperate last resort.

Now, after seeing the wanted notice, Punk could confirm that Haitzita’s Magic Box was effective – the Archmages of the Dillon Kingdom simply couldn’t track him down.Punk also discovered that the warrant had pinned the plague and other incidents on him, but the Dillon Kingdom had no reason to lie for Tisha Xia’er, nor did they need to add more crimes to his already “lengthy list of offenses,” as doing so might deter some powerful bounty hunters.

Thus, he could basically conclude that the Dillon Kingdom had not thoroughly investigated the events in Doleiz City—at the very least, they hadn’t uncovered the full story. Moreover, since it involved Legendary-level power, the Archmage of the Dillon Kingdom likely couldn’t prophesy any useful information.

This secretly pleased Punk. He didn’t want anyone to know about his acquisition of the “treasure,” and the Dillon Kingdom’s unnecessary additions to the warrant instead gave him a sense of relief!

“Everything in Doleiz City is over. As long as I keep a low profile from now on, no one will be able to trace anything back to me with the power of the Haitzita Magic Box. For the next period… I’ll focus on establishing a new research base in this Sunset City”!

Puck thought happily as he strode toward the ancient gates of Sunset City!

Please bookmark and vote. My updates might not be the fastest—as a male college student, I’m doing my best to squeeze out time. I write slowly, each chapter taking over two hours… But no matter what, since you all support me, I’ll work hard and seriously!

(End of Chapter)