Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2176: Emberlyn City

Emberlyn City lay thousands of kilometers from Cinderloch City. Though smaller in scale, it remained one of the more prestigious cities under the care of the Pyrmond Faction.

Grey and Reynolds took several days to cover the distance. The delay was not caused by the journey itself, but by the scattered groups of Gnomes they encountered along the way. These were remnants that had not been present at the main camp when it was destroyed. Whenever the two found one or two Gnomes, they eliminated them without hesitation and then carefully inspected the surrounding area for any others that might be hiding. The process repeated multiple times as they moved from one region into the next.

As they crossed the boundary between the Cinderloch region and the Emberlyn region, the atmosphere shifted noticeably. Both Grey and Reynolds had experienced this change before during their travels. The same heavy, oppressive feeling had greeted them the first time they entered the Cinderloch region.

At one point the duo hovered above a small island and looked down at the dense greenery below.

”You’re sure there’s something there?” Reynolds asked, his expression skeptical.

”Not me. The bunny leader,” Grey replied. The bunny leader had sensed something in this direction and had insisted they investigate.

They waited only two minutes before the bunny leader appeared, his voice carrying clear frustration.

”Damn it. It’s gone.”

”Didn’t you say you sensed something here?” Void asked with open mockery, clearly enjoying the chance to needle the bunny leader.

The bunny leader grunted. ”Yes, but only the shell is left. The main item was harvested, and not long ago either.” Saying this, the bunny leader tossed what looked like an open lotus flower at Grey, ”Keep it.”

”I told you there was nothing, but you didn’t believe me,” Void continued, unwilling to let the matter drop.

The bunny leader immediately argued back in anger. Grey shook his head after keeping the item as the two began to bicker and turned to Reynolds.

”Let’s continue.”

They left the island behind and pressed on into the Emberlyn region. Later that same day they reached the outskirts of the city.

After the events in Cinderloch, Grey had decided that he would always inspect a city for Necromancers before doing anything else. Only after confirming that Emberlyn City was clear of their presence did he head toward the Mayor’s manor.

As a high-ranking member of the Pyrmond Faction, his arrival at the gates was handled efficiently. The guards led them inside and informed the Mayor at once.

When Grey and Reynolds entered the main hall, only seven experts were present. Among them were Elder Varis, the Peak Sovereign from the Pyrmond Faction, and Keith. Keith was the only one in the mid-stages of the Sovereign Plane, currently at the Fifth stage. Everyone else present stood at the Eighth or Ninth stage, including the Mayor himself.

All eyes turned toward Grey the moment he walked in.

Those who had never seen him before studied the famous young man with open curiosity and careful appraisal. One of the Eighth-stage Sovereigns narrowed his eyes slightly, measuring the calm aura Grey carried and finding it difficult to match the youthful appearance with the heavy reputation that preceded him. Another expert, a woman at the peak of the Ninth stage, exchanged a brief glance with the man beside her. Both of them had heard the rumors, yet seeing Grey in person still left a faint sense of disbelief. He looked too young, too composed, to be the same person said to have already killed a Peak Sovereign. A third expert kept his expression neutral, but internally he could not help wondering whether the stories had been exaggerated. Only Elder Varis and Keith showed no such uncertainty.

Keith, on the other hand, displayed clear surprise and elation. Faction Leader Bertram had informed him days earlier that Grey had returned to the Faction and had asked about his location. Keith had been expecting him, yet he had not imagined Grey would finish matters in Cinderloch so quickly.

”Greetings, Elder Varis,” Grey said first, offering a respectful greeting to the Peak Sovereign. He then gave a simple nod of acknowledgment to the others present.

Elder Varis returned the greeting with a nod of his own. The Mayor and the remaining experts responded with short nods as well. None of them took offense at the difference in formality. In their world, seniority of age carried little weight compared to strength. Once an Elementalist reached the Peak of the Sovereign Plane, even a much younger expert at the same level was treated as an equal. Some of those present, being only Eighth-stage Sovereigns, did not even consider themselves on the same level as Grey.

Keith stepped forward slightly, worry visible on his face. ”The Faction Leader said you went to assist Cinderloch City. Could it be that the city has fallen?”

They had received no recent information from the Cinderloch region. With their own territory under heavy attack, they had not been able to spare the time or manpower to investigate other city regions. Although Keith trusted Grey’s abilities, he still found it difficult to believe that a single person could reverse the situation of an entire region so quickly. Seeing Grey appear here so soon after being sent to Cinderloch was therefore alarming.

Keith’s question immediately put the Mayor and the others on edge. Even Elder Varis’s gaze sharpened. Emberlyn City’s region was already under serious pressure from the Gnomes. If Cinderloch had fallen, the enemy would be free to launch a pincer attack, and the consequences would be severe.

One of the Ninth-stage experts who had been silently appraising Grey felt his chest tighten at the possibility. Another clenched his fist without realizing it. The thought of Cinderloch falling was enough to turn the earlier curiosity about Grey into genuine dread.

Grey saw the sudden tension on their faces and could not help but feel slightly taken aback. He let out a short chuckle.

”Relax. Everything in Cinderloch has been settled.”

His words did not produce the relief he expected. Instead, the people in the hall stared at him with completely dumbstruck expressions. No one spoke. The Eighth-stage Sovereign who had been measuring him earlier froze with his mouth slightly open. The Ninth-stage woman who had exchanged glances with her companion now stared at Grey as if she had misheard. Even Elder Varis’s eyes narrowed a fraction further, waiting for clarification.

The Mayor rubbed both ears as if to clear them and asked carefully, ”Did you say Cinderloch City has fallen?”

Grey’s mouth twitched. He stared at the Mayor for a moment before repeating himself more clearly.

”The Gnomes’ camp in the Cinderloch City region has been wiped out. Every Gnome there was slaughtered. The few that remain scattered are still being hunted down even now.”

The statement landed in the quiet hall like a heavy bell. Shock rippled across every face. The experts who had doubted the rumors only moments earlier now looked at Grey with completely different eyes, the weight of his words forcing them to reevaluate everything they thought they knew about the young man standing before them.