A huge thank you to Frightened One and Alrazi az for joining as members on my Patreon! Your support means the world to me and truly motivates me to keep creating. As a token of my appreciation, I will provide 2 extra chapters . I hope these chapters add even more value to your experience!
You are both an important part of this community, and I am truly grateful to have you on this journey with me!
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After crossing the North Sea for several hours, Ryan felt that his speed wasn't too slow. It was still extremely cold in Northern Europe, with over a foot of snow on the ground and a few overturned ships floating in the frozen seawater. The entire surroundings were covered in silver, with occasional birds flying by. The sound of the waves crashing behind him added to the natural beauty of the scene.
Ryan looked at the magnificent snowy landscape and felt a tinge of nostalgia. He was born in Northern Europe and spent a pleasant childhood there. His family was wealthy, owning a castle and a vast hunting ground. Even though he didn't have inheritance rights, he still received a large sum of wealth.
'Back then, I really was living freely.'
Ryan glanced up at the gray sky, a bit self-deprecating. It was the standard life of a carefree prince, cursed to spend his life living aimlessly. Those days, though he had no power, were especially happy. In winter, he would stay in the castle, soak in hot springs, lift the maids' skirts, and, in the midst of their screams, take advantage, praying for the dragon to awaken soon and bring destruction. He longed for the day when he could roam the world freely.
It was also during one such winter that he saw a document on his desk, stamped with the symbol of The Fire Moth, and painful memories flooded back. He suddenly understood where he was, spent a few confused days, quickly adjusted his plans, and somehow found himself where he was now.
'I really don't know if this is luck or bad luck.'
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, pulling himself out of his memories after a long moment. He left the coastline and started studying the tactical map.
According to the SkyNet observations, a corrupted source with an approximate rating of 1000HW appeared three days ago. Given the effects of corrupted accumulation, it shouldn't have moved too far, and there was no sign of any artificial gathering like the Fourth Herrscher.
This could almost certainly be a judgment-level corrupted beast. With a 500-kilometer radius, there were three high-level corrupted sources, so there were two possibilities.
First, these could all be the traces of the same corrupted beast. Second, there might be more than one high-level corrupted beast.
Now, The Fire Moth had ended their hunting activities, and their material reserves were full. They had realized that hunting was pointless. As long as the corruption reached a certain threshold, new monsters would be born. Every hunt required a huge amount of resources.
It was really helpless. The enemy was right there, but they couldn't attack. Resources were becoming scarcer, yet they still had to supply billions of people, leaving large areas of abandoned zones.
During the hunt, Northern Europe had yielded very little. The third team, led by Razor, spent a long time without killing even a single high-level corrupted beast.
'It's like they're purposely playing hide-and-seek. And considering how close they are to the Wind Herrscher, there's definitely something off.'
On the map, there was a vast area marked in gray. If the map was zoomed out, red and blue regions could be seen as well.
According to the League of Nations rules and the proposals from The Fire Moth, the Earth was now divided into Fallen Zones, Abandoned Zones, and Controlled Zones.
Fallen Zones were self-explanatory, as the Honkai Beast had taken over them, with deadly corrupted energy filling the air. Only a few humans could survive in the cracks, and most of these survivors were afflicted by corruption diseases, dying anywhere was the same.
Controlled Zones, like South Britain, were centered around giant cities with good order, sufficient supplies, and, except for the occasional Honkai Beast, were no different from the peaceful old world.
"Abandoned Zones are somewhere in between. The Fire Moth have retreated, but the corruption hasn't yet infiltrated."
Ryan realized that there were quite a few such areas, like Africa, where 70% of the control had been given to nature, with only coastal strongholds under control.
These areas had some common characteristics, such as harsh natural environments, deep inland locations, no important resources or major cities, and strategically insignificant positions.
It was a logical approach. The Fire Moth had to concentrate their forces and couldn't afford to waste resources. Maintaining order was much harder than hunting Honkai Beast. Just transporting daily supplies was an astronomical cost.
"Then, the wealthy and powerful moved out. Just like in Lion City, it became more prosperous. The ordinary people were left to fend for themselves. Humans, even at the end of the world, still have social hierarchies."
Ryan smile turned sarcastic, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. Humanity's territory was shrinking, and if everyone were to be moved out fairly, The Fire Moth couldn't bear it.
It was like the underground shelters in some domed cities. Not everyone could get in, and it was said that residency rights in New York had soared sky-high.
The last refuge of humanity. Even if the world was destroyed, everyone wanted to be the last one to die.
"I can't worry about that. Let's focus on gathering information first." Ryan didn't think about it any further and plunged into the snowstorm.
Just like the Battle of Britain, the key to breaking the deadlock had been information from a survivor settlement. Without that information, Ryan would never have had the advantage of time and place.
Satellites in the sky could never compare to natives who had grown up in the area. The failure of the third team proved the point. Ryan glanced at the map again and set off toward the northeast.
The wind and snow grew stronger, and the world turned white. The surrounding area was filled with rolling mountain peaks and bays with rippling waves. There were no signs of Honkai Beast or humans anywhere.
The closest Fire Moth outpost was several hundred kilometers away in Gothenburg. The original government institutions had all evacuated. Ryan passed several abandoned villages but saw no signs of destruction, only houses buried under snow.
He gradually understood why The Fire Moth had contracted their forces. These godforsaken places weren't worth guarding.
Some enjoyed order, while others returned to chaos. It wasn't fair, but it was the reality.
Ryan stopped in a logging cabin for a while, lit a bonfire, and finally warmed up.
"This place is so cold it's unbearable. There's no signal either."
He pulled out his phone and took a quick look, then tightened his coat, thinking how large the Earth was. No wonder he hadn't found the Ice Herrscher before.
"About ten more kilometers northeast should be a town. According to the intelligence department's analysis, there are still several thousand people here. They couldn't get residency rights in Gothenburg, so they had to stay here."
Residency rights were essentially like a passport. Most were decided by lottery. Without one, people couldn't get protection, and had to do the lowest, most menial jobs. It was even worse than being in an Abandoned Zone.
This was the coldest reality. Now, it seemed to be working. At least those with residency rights lived well and didn't have to starve and freeze.
Of course, the people here weren't resigned to their fate. Like the wreckage of ships in the bay, they desperately tried to reach Britain, but the clever ones were always few.
"Most of them will have to stay in this godforsaken place, struggling against nature, fighting for the bare minimum to survive. It's essentially no different from Montpellier."
Ryan stared at the flickering flames, suddenly raising his right hand.
Bang—
The door was suddenly kicked open, and a figure wrapped in a white cloak rushed in, raising an automatic rifle aimed at Ryan back and immediately pulling the trigger.
No bullet came out, though, because the rifle turned into a pile of parts in his hands. Before he could react, an invisible hammer struck his chest.
Bang!
The entire wall collapsed, and the crushed man fell into the snow, rolling a few times before falling silent.
"I just found a place to hide from the snow, and you guys come to welcome me already." Ryan looked through the hole in the wall, spotting a few snowmobiles. He snapped his fingers.
Rat-a-tat-tat...
The dense gunfire erupted, shooting through the wooden wall, shattering the glass, tearing apart the bonfire, until a man raised his hand, and the shooting stopped.
"Cease fire, move up, let's see if he's dead."
Several beams of flashlight light pierced the darkness, and they looked experienced. The logging cabin had been a trap, drawing in people who wanted to get to Gothenburg.
The man squinted, switching to a new magazine while looking at the flashlight beams. After a few seconds, his brows furrowed.
Where is he?
As confusion lingered in his mind, the flashlights one by one went out. There was no sound in the wind and snow, and the eerie scene made cold sweat run down his back.
No, this wasn't a human!
Without hesitation, he tossed the rifle behind him and ran toward the snowmobiles. He had only run a few steps when he stopped, as if the night had frozen him in place.
There was a person sitting on a snowmobile, their gray coat looking thin in the heavy snow. Their gray eyes casually locked on him, and a chill ran from his feet to his forehead.
Before he could even pull the trigger, his body stopped obeying.
"What's your name?" Ryan brushed the snow off his shoulder and asked casually.
"Obin."
"What are you doing here?"
"Robbing passersby. Kill the men and steal their supplies, sell the women in town, and use the money to buy residency rights."
"Why do you do it?"
The man paused, then answered, "To survive."
It seems like I just asked a pointless question.
Ryan grinned and nodded slowly. It hadn't been even a day, and life in Lundum had already become strange. Just like Eden's song fading from his ears.
He asked more questions: where the nearest town was, the population, who the leader was, their connection to The Fire Moth, and, most importantly, information about high-level Honkai Beast.
After Obin answered all of his questions, Ryan gently moved his finger. A high-speed air current sliced through his neck, and a head flew into the air.
The headless body stained the snow red, but soon, the snow covered it again. Ryan couldn't be bothered to look at it, merely summarizing the information.
Unlike Northern Britain, The Fire Moth's withdrawal hadn't brought destruction, but rather a power vacuum, which gave birth to another order—an order driven by survival at all costs.
The social structure hadn't collapsed. Instead, it was quickly replaced, and many people even refused to return to the old society.
Here, there was no law. Murder, rape, flesh trade—anything went, as long as you were stronger than others. You could exploit the weak to your heart's content.
"Quite carefree, huh? Staying here as the king of the mountain is better than begging in Lundum, right? Except for the cold, it kind of resembles Sundown Alley. Speaking of which, where exactly is Sundown Alley?"
Ryan exhaled deeply, thinking of something that had troubled him for a long time. He had looked for Sundown Alley long ago but couldn't find it on the map. Seeing these people, he started to understand.
Unless, it wasn't called Sundown Alley back then.