"It's just ahead."

Lady Kuisu whispered to them.

Fang Hong often heard that Dulun was a prosperous trade city in the south. In Eteliria, cities within the Sky Sea region rise for several reasons: because of the gathering of artisans, access to water, convenient transportation, or being located on major thoroughfares. This city possessed all these advantages, so its prosperity was not surprising.

But at this moment, the city in his eyes appeared only cold and desolate. In the severe cold, Dulun seemed to be covered with a thick layer of ice, freezing its vitality. The streets were scarcely populated, with only squads of soldiers marching by, their footsteps adding to the oppressive atmosphere.

Not far off was the famous Ash Square, surrounded by four large gates, each adorned with a shield emblem. On it was the emblem of the Modkaesar Family's phoenix. This ancient emblem had silently watched over the land since the city's foundation, inch by inch transforming into what it is today.

Footsteps crunched on a thin layer of ice, both cold and slippery, making cracking sounds. The square was also covered with snow, left unattended and empty. Fang Hong saw that the crowd was almost entirely concentrated in one direction, surrounding a gallows guarded by a squad of soldiers, with a few prisoners standing on it, hands tied behind their backs, nooses around their necks.

As they approached, the soldiers clearly grew tense, shouting at them from afar, "Stay away, outsiders!"

Xiangzi immediately wanted to draw his sword, but Fang Hong hurriedly stopped the impulsive fool. Lady Kuisu glanced in that direction and then asked, "What's going on here? It wasn't like this last time I was here."

They found a guide who cautiously explained to them, "A few days ago, someone attacked the execution grounds, so the soldiers are on edge."

Just then, the clock in the square struck.

The executioner on the gallows, as if wound like a clockwork, stepped forward and pulled down the wooden lever. The wooden planks beneath the prisoners opened abruptly, and they fell, the sturdy ropes seemingly stretching their necks.

Death came swiftly, without even a struggle, a faint white light emerged from the corpses.

But death was not a release; the gallows were blessed with the Divine Strength of the god of justice and order. The condemned would resurrect in place after a few minutes—Colin Ishurian's penal code specified several categories of capital punishment, the most severe of which required the prisoners to be executed more than five times.

The guide told them that this execution had been ongoing since the morning and was expected to continue until evening. Each execution was spaced by several hours—in Earth time units, many couldn't withstand the trauma and often went mad before the final execution.

But the execution would not stop, proceeding mechanically to its final ritual, like a solemn ceremony.

Leaving a deep impression on the onlookers' minds.

This was probably one of the most barbaric scenes an Invoker could witness in Eteliria, but Fang Hong watched as those people gradually revived a few minutes later, and the executioner once again put the nooses around their necks.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.

"What are their crimes?" Luo Yu asked.

This group consisted only of him, Xiangzi, Fang Hong, and Hilveld, along with Lady Kuisu and her workers. The reason for bringing him and Xiangzi along was due to previous Combat with Ragnarok's people, during which they acquired a Teleportation Robe and the ranger leader's protective cloak, both needing appraisal.

"Harboring rebels—"

"Actually related to the Westwood Sibika family affair. The King ordered the imprisonment of the main members of the Westwood Sibika family's Red Rose faction, but the Earl and his daughter vanished."

The guide glanced at them, "I heard that many nobles in the south of Dulun were involved in mutual rescue, and the King is now recklessly settling accounts with these people. Most of what you see are such cases; there were even more a few days ago..."

Fang Hong was taken aback, not expecting this matter to be related to him.

He couldn't help but think that Hilveld was in a similar situation.

"Please, don't cause trouble," the guide reminded them, "or I'm done for."

Everyone nodded; they weren't here to cause trouble after all.

Passing through the square, ahead was Dulun's city hall—Charlotte Leaf Building—just a week ago, a meeting that decided the fate of the entire south was held here. Unlike the worldwide attention at that time, the place now was bereft of its former grandeur.

As the blizzard approached, the city hall was temporarily closed, windows dark as voids from the outside, like hundreds of eye sockets of a giant beast silently watching the square.

As Lady Kuisu mentioned, ahead—

Was a tall building located to the side of the Charlotte Leaf Building in the southeast of the square—a lodge, Winter Heron—one of the largest lodges in Dulun.

Starting from the Valley where Mr. Greyrock was, it took a day to travel to and from Dulun, so procurement work clearly couldn't be completed in one day, thus upon reaching the city, they first needed to find a place to stay.

Unfortunately, likely due to the recent end of the Southern Region resolution, there wasn't a single inn in the city, big or small, that was available, and they received the same response every place they tried—no vacant rooms.

Or not available to outsiders.

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