The Dawn of the New World

Hao Xuan stared at the guard with a blank expression, only realizing he was serious a few seconds later.

"I'm good. I will take care of my own needs," he said nonchalantly and turned around. The guard was about to reach out again when Hao Xuan's voice carried over.

"Tell Dai Zhi he can come visit me anytime. I'd love to know how tonight ends for him."

And with that, without waiting for response Hao Xuan was out of sight within seconds along with everyone else.

Ceni stared in his direction until his back vanished from view and followed after with the other two princesses.

"Tell brother Dai Zhi I'm going to stay with my friends as well," she threw out the words while walking past the guard.

"Princess..." he tried to stop her but without using force, that wasn't going to happen. And he didn't have enough confidence to touch a single hair on her head.

Hao Xuan walked through the pathway that was looked more like a street inlaid with stone, snaking behind the shimmering gold buildings that went on for miles. The architectural design seemed to be heavily influenced by Victorian London, or maybe it was the other way around but they were similar and quite daunting.

After walking for a few minutes he paused and looked back. The Heran had raised its head back up but he didn't feel even the slightest movement. It seemed like the people that had made this city had thought of everything. Even when Heran was walking, the city on its back would remain completely motionless.

But what confused him was the rain. It wasn't stopped by the barrier that most definitely surrounded the entire beast. Its pitter-patter rang loudly in the empty street.

The crowd walked along the street, whining and complaining as they went. Some 15 odd minutes later the street opened up into a large plaza that divided the city in half.

To the right were the last row of gold buildings shimmering with sigils and insignias all over and to the left was a forest.

Hao Xuan rubbed his eyes in disbelief. From the outside, this place didn't seem that big but it was certainly several times larger now that he could see it first hand.

It was an actual forest of thick leafy trees that were 1-2 meters thick and dozens of meters long. He could even hear a few heartbeats when he focused his hearing which meant there were animals or beasts inside.

There was a huge temple on the right with towering ceilings. The words "Let the Light Guide your Way" were written in large, bold letters above the entrance. Hao Xuan accidentally scoffed upon reading them.

Many of the injured separated and went into the temple to get healed, including Ceni's group. She threw a few glances towards Hao Xuan when she thought he wasn't looking but he could feel her gaze even when facing the other way.

Henrik gestured to Hao Xuan to follow him and moved towards the forest.

There was a muddy path here with numerous footprints, both old and new. It cut through the forest and after another few minutes of walking, they came to a clearing.

Two large buildings that both faced other way blocked their view. They were five stories tall each with tens of windows on every floor, one for each room.

Walking through the middle of these buildings Hao Xuan came out in front of a beautiful lake. Even at night, he could see the blue water that never overflowed no matter how much rainwater poured in.

In the distance, there was even a small mountain here.

Fortis slumped down from Salome's head and wiggled over, testing the lake water by dipping a few tentacles inside.

"Home?" he asked brightly. Hao Xuan could see the excitement on his face.

"Yeah, home for now. But don't eat the fishes that are in there. I'll make you some food soon," Hao Xuan gave his permission and Fortis merrily jumped into the water, splashing some on Hao Xuan.

Hao Xuan turned around and lead Salome towards the building on the right which was for the boys. He tried to open the door but no matter how hard he pushed it wouldn't budge. Confused, he called out his badge and the door opened on its own.

"These people..." Hao Xuan muttered under his breath helplessly. Both of these buildings were pretty worn out and looked like the servent quarters when compared to the magnificent 'town-like' area they had just come from but even here they were using such measures.

He stepped through but heard a thud and turned around to see Salome down on his butt.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Hao Xuan asked while helping him up but only got a shrug in response.

"You go in first then," he gestured towards Salome.

Salome nodded and took a step but was pushed away by an invisible force, this time falling several feet away.

*Sigh*

Hao Xuan's guess was correct. Anyone without an identification badge would not be given entry. He helped Salome up again and patted his shoulder.

"Alright, let's go over there instead," he pointed towards the other side of the lake.

He called out his trust portable camp and placed it nearby. He disabled the obscurity field around it which basically turned it invisible.

There was enough room here for three people to stay with ease so this was going to be his base from now on.

The night was over 60 hours long here so there was still ample time.

He washed up and gave Salome a new set of clothes when Henrik came running over.

"Why are you here? Wait, nevermind that, there's news from Dai Zhi's team," he saw Hao Xuan's camp and was surprised for a second but quickly returned to the topic at hand.

"They managed to repel the attack of those unknown creatures and ventured inside.. Apparently there is a huge structure down there but also much more dangerous. Beasts and demi-human creatures are present in hordes but the Hall has a 'seer' with them this time and she says there is a great treasure buried there!"