There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

"This time it took much longer than before," Lu Qing thought to herself after hearing Ling's reply.

"How much longer until we reach the Steel City?" Lu Qing asked again after standing up.

She and Ling need to remove the pollution from the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. They have now removed the pollution from the wind and water elements and are heading to the location of the fire element.

The Steel City is a city built by humans over the past fifty years. The elves and the creatures of the Elf Forest do not know much about this city, only that its name is Steel City and that it was built by humans using steel.

According to Ling, the core of this city was built around the element of fire, and the people who built it seemed to want to use steel to drive the power of the fire element.

At first, the elves didn't believe in such things, but when the steel city was completed, it actually isolated the dense void power in the air, forcing them to believe in the power of humans.

Unfortunately, the humans who built the steel city completely severed all contact with the outside world after completing the city, so that no living beings outside knew what had happened inside the steel city.

"We've only just set off; we're still a long way from the Steel City!" Ling said, somewhat speechless, after hearing Lu Qing's words. "You've asked Ling that question so many times already."

"Really?" Lu Qing asked with some doubt, as she had forgotten many things after absorbing numerous memory fragments from Knight Myron.

"Of course there are."

Ling glared at Lu Qing, annoyed, and said, "The Steel City is very, very far from the Elf Forest. We need to go to the old capital first to find the Steel City's... um..."

After thinking for a long time, Ling finally spoke up: "The train station, that's right, the train station!"

"Although that train station has long been abandoned, the trains inside should still be intact. We can go there and drive the train to the Steel City."

"Don't worry about being intercepted. That train is so fast, it's impossible to stop it. If anyone tries to catch us, with your skills, no one will be able to catch you!" Ling said, floating proudly beside Lu Qing, as if to say, "You came up with such a clever idea, come and praise me."

.......

Ahem, I haven't finished writing the rest of the content yet, but I still want to get full attendance. I'm very sorry, but I got a little caught up in gaming today and didn't have enough time, so I'll just use these copied paragraphs to fill in for now. Once I've finished revising, just refresh the page; you don't need to resubscribe! It's just that it's not very friendly to pirate readers lol (anyway, it's not very friendly to pirate readers if I don't finish posting the chapters every day and then have to revise them).

Ahem, I haven't finished writing the rest of the content yet, but I still want to get full attendance. I'm very sorry, but I got a little caught up in gaming today and didn't have enough time, so I'll just use these copied paragraphs to fill in for now. Once I've finished revising, just refresh the page; you don't need to resubscribe! It's just that it's not very friendly to pirate readers lol (anyway, it's not very friendly to pirate readers if I don't finish posting the chapters every day and then have to revise them).

Ahem, I haven't finished writing the rest of the content yet, but I still want to get full attendance. I'm very sorry, but I got a little caught up in gaming today and didn't have enough time, so I'll just use these copied paragraphs to fill in for now. Once I've finished revising, just refresh the page; you don't need to resubscribe! It's just that it's not very friendly to pirate readers lol (anyway, it's not very friendly to pirate readers if I don't finish posting the chapters every day and then have to revise them).

Ahem, I haven't finished writing the rest of the content yet, but I still want to get full attendance. I'm very sorry, but I got a little caught up in gaming today and didn't have enough time, so I'll just use these copied paragraphs to fill in for now. Once I've finished revising, just refresh the page; you don't need to resubscribe! It's just that it's not very friendly to pirate readers lol (anyway, it's not very friendly to pirate readers if I don't finish posting the chapters every day and then have to revise them).

Ahem, I haven't finished writing the rest of the content yet, but I still want to get full attendance. I'm very sorry, but I got a little caught up in gaming today and didn't have enough time, so I'll just use these copied paragraphs to fill in for now. Once I've finished revising, just refresh the page; you don't need to resubscribe! It's just that it's not very friendly to pirate readers lol (anyway, it's not very friendly to pirate readers if I don't finish posting the chapters every day and then have to revise them).

Ahem, I haven't finished writing the rest of the content yet, but I still want to get full attendance. I'm very sorry, but I got a little caught up in gaming today and didn't have enough time, so I'll just use these copied paragraphs to fill in for now. Once I've finished revising, just refresh the page; you don't need to resubscribe! It's just that it's not very friendly to pirate readers lol (anyway, it's not very friendly to pirate readers if I don't finish posting the chapters every day and then have to revise them).

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Chapter 571: The Old King's Knights

"Hey, this way, this way..." As Lu Qing and Ling arrived at the city gate of the old capital, a deliberately lowered male voice sounded from beside them.

"Someone's here?" Lu Qing and Ling looked at each other in surprise. After thinking for a moment, they decided to go and find the person who had spoken.

Recalling the direction from which the sound had come, Lu Qing crawled into a broken hole on the left side of the city wall. Soon, a thin man with one eye infected by the power of the void, emitting a faint red light, appeared in front of them.

"Ah, by the sacred tree, I never expected to see such a beautiful young lady in the old capital." Upon seeing Lu Qing's appearance, the man was first stunned, and then couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Ling: "This one... could he be the legendary son of the sacred tree?" The man looked at Ling with some hesitation.

"Children of the Sacred Tree" is another name humans use for elves, often appearing in the mouths of priests of the Hongli Sam religion. Those who believe in the Sacred Tree firmly believe that elves born from its branches possess mysterious and powerful abilities. Therefore, in addition to "Children of the Sacred Tree," elves are also known as "Children of Gold" or "White Angels."

Depending on the customs and habits of each region, the names may vary. The most official name is Elf, but the most widely used name is Children of the Sacred Tree.

Without answering the man's question, Lu Qing looked at him with some doubt and said, "Are you a normal human being? Why are you here?"

"I am of course a normal human being, it's just that my eyes have been slightly eroded by the power of the void. As for why I'm here..." The man paused, narrowing his eyes slightly as he spoke:

"I may tell you, as you've probably already guessed, I am a priest of the Hongli Sam Church, but unlike my insane colleagues, I have ample knowledge and experience, and a brain that relies on logic to think... Sorry to say too much."

"The reason I stayed here is because it is close enough to the sacred tree that I have enough time to study its condition."

"Studying the state of the sacred tree...?" Lu Qing asked with some surprise upon hearing the man's words. Logically speaking, a devout priest would not use the sacred tree as research material, as this would often represent blasphemy.

"Of course, as a priest of the Hongli Sam Church, how could I not care about the health of the sacred tree?"

“Those mad priests are so stupid. The sacred tree is in trouble, and all they do every day is pray. They even rejected my request to cut samples of the rotten roots of the sacred tree for research.”

"Ah, of course, they're probably all dead by now, so no one will stop my research anymore."

"So, have you figured anything out?" Lu Qing asked curiously.

"Of course, would you like to hear it?" Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the man seemed to become interested and began to explain to Lu Qing in detail: "The roots of the sacred tree were originally extremely difficult to cut, but after it withered, due to the blood and void power that filled its interior, it was corroded and had a large number of holes."

"Once you find the area with the most holes, you can easily collect the roots of the sacred tree by striking it with a heavy sledgehammer."

"After some research, I discovered that these roots actually retain their original activity. As long as they are exposed to nutrients, they will recover very quickly."

"The main reason why the sacred tree cannot obtain nutrients is the blood and void power that are blocked inside the roots, forming one huge tumor after another."

"If these blocked blood energy and void power can be removed, the roots of the sacred tree will absorb a large amount of nutrients in a short time and eventually recover completely."

"Is everything you're saying true?" Lu Qing asked, somewhat skeptical. She felt that the person in front of her might be bragging, or he might be telling the truth.

And there was something she was actually quite concerned about: the man in front of her claimed to be a priest of the Honglisam Church, but how could a priest of the Honglisam Church not recognize the ritual attire she was wearing?

She walked all the way from the city cathedral to the city gate, and almost everyone in the city saw her, let alone the priests of the Honglisam Church.

There are two possibilities: one is that the other person really didn't attend the Sacred Tree Festival she held fifty years ago; the other is that the other person wasn't a local of the capital and came here after the Sacred Tree Festival ended fifty years ago.

Of the two possibilities, Lu Qing leans more towards the latter.

"Trust me!" The man's expression suddenly became somewhat agitated. He roared and straightened up, his scarlet right eye radiating a rich aura of emptiness.

"Do you see my eyes? This mesmerizing, powerful ability allows me to see things that ordinary people cannot—a much deeper world..."

"Huff... huff..." The man's voice gradually returned to normal. He looked very tired as he breathed heavily, gently covering his right eye with one hand and said, "I'm sorry, this eye always affects my emotions, making me a little... irritable."

"Are you really okay? You looked so scary just now..." Ling floated beside Lu Qing and couldn't help but ask.

"Oh~ this kind Miss Child of the Sacred Tree, please rest assured, I will be fine." The man smiled and said after hearing Ling's words.

"So why did you stop us back then?" Worried that the other party might get angry again, Lu Qing thought for a moment and decided to put aside the issue of the Sacred Tree research for the time being, and instead ask the man why he had stopped them in the first place.

"Regarding this matter..."

The man seemed to realize something, and his expression changed slightly. He said, "I mainly want to remind you that the old capital is extremely dangerous. Apart from me, there are no other living people left here."

"Under the influence of the remnant souls of the former king and queen, the entire capital is filled with a thick fog teeming with the aura of the dead. Once injured, the body will become extremely stiff, and there is even a risk of turning into a rotting corpse."

"Under the influence of this fog, the streets are filled with twisted flesh monsters, walking corpses, and skeletons that have turned into undead... but these are not the most dangerous."

"The most dangerous is the Old King's Knights, a patrol force composed of a group of vengeful spirits who have lost their minds. They patrol the streets of the capital every day, and if any living person is killed by them, they will become part of them."

"Of course, the Old King's Knights also have patrol routes. As long as you don't cause too much of a commotion in the city, it's fine to deliberately avoid them. But there is one place that you absolutely must not go!"

"That's inside the castle in the center of the old capital. The vengeful spirits of the king and queen, who turned into ghosts after their deaths, have been lingering there ever since. Anything that dares to approach, whether it's a spirit or a mindless monster of flesh and blood, will be fiercely attacked by it!"

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Chapter 572: Jaegers

"The Knights of the Old King?"

"The vengeful spirits of the king and queen?"

This was probably another piece of news that Lu Qing heard when she arrived in the old capital that surprised her greatly. It was one thing for the old royal knights to be so bad, but the king and queen had actually become vengeful spirits.

Lu Qing frowned, her mind replaying her memories of the king and queen in this dream world.

Although they didn't communicate much, she could still sense the affection between them for their children. Unlike the cold royal family relationships she had in mind, the king and queen in this world valued emotions very much.

Although she had suspected it all along, Lu Qing still couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and loss when she learned that they had turned into resentful spirits.

"Oh, since you're so familiar with this place, do you know where the train station leading to the Steel City is?" Ling suddenly thought of something and asked the man in front of her.

"You're going to Steel City?" The man raised an eyebrow in surprise, then shook his head and said, "Don't even think about it, it's impossible. Steel City has been sealed off for a long time."

"As they left, the workers in the Steel City sabotaged the train's engine, so you can't get through even if you find the train station."

"How could this happen..." Upon hearing the man's words, Ling's mood visibly plummeted.

“However…” The man paused, then said, “If you do me a favor, I can fix the train engine for you.”

"Really!?" Ling exclaimed excitedly.

"Hehe, of course." The man chuckled and pointed to his right eye, saying, "Although this eye has brought me a lot of trouble, it has also allowed me to quickly master some skills that others cannot."

“If I hadn’t chosen to stay here, I could have left with the people of the Steel City as a mechanic on the train.”

"That's great! Tell us what we need to do!"

“Ling…” Lu Qing gently rubbed her forehead, suddenly feeling worried that Ling might be kidnapped by someone one day.

"Don't worry, what I ask you to do shouldn't be too difficult for you," the man said with a slight smile, seeing Lu Qing's expression.

“My name is Yesger. Judging from the direction you came from, you must have come from the Elf Forest,” Yesger said, his gaze seemingly drifting over Ling.

“That’s right, we came from the Elf Forest.” There was no point in hiding it, so Lu Qing thought for a moment and nodded in acknowledgment. After a slight pause, she added, “My name is Lu Qing, and she is a spirit.”

“Very good, Princess Lu Qing… um?” Yesge frowned subconsciously, then suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked at Lu Qing in surprise and said, “You, you are Princess Lu Qing?”

"Huh...huh? I thought you didn't recognize me." Lu Qing said after a slight pause.

"This... fifty years, how could you...?"

Shaking her head, Lu Qing looked at Yesge and said, "It was due to some unexpected reasons. A lot happened, and it's too much to explain in a short time."

"Please don't worry about that, just keep telling us what you want us to do."

"It's hard not to care..." Yesger thought to himself, but prying into other people's secrets was not a friendly thing to do, so Yesger decided to selectively forget about it.

"It's like this, as you know, I'm researching the roots of the Sacred Tree. I'm trying to develop a potion that can evaporate flesh and void power..."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a medicine. Anything that can solve the problem with the roots of the sacred tree will do, but my recent research has encountered some minor... problems."

“Hoo…” After taking a deep breath, Yesger said, “I don’t have enough samples. I need to carefully study the situation where blood energy and void power are mixed together, and find a way to dissipate them.”

"And since blood energy and void power are mixed together in my body, and the flesh giants, creatures with energy highly similar to those blocking the roots of the sacred tree, are too powerful for me to defeat, I would like to ask you to help me kill a few flesh giants and bring their corpses here."

"As payment, I will take you to the old capital's train station and help you repair the train engines there."

"You must be quite strong. It's no easy feat to travel safely from the Elf Forest to the Old Capital," Yesger said with a light laugh.

"Okay, we agree." After listening to Yesger's words, Lu Qing thought for a while and then nodded in agreement.

If they wanted to get to the Steel City, they had to take the train at the old capital's train station. Otherwise, if they walked, it would take them who knows how many years. By the time they arrived in the Steel City, the core of the Sacred Tree might have already withered.

They had to agree to Yegges's request, no matter how difficult it was, including having Lu Qing repair the train engine.