The sun had already finished most of its journey towards the west as evening began to fall.
Anom and Crystal have been travelling for around five hours now. They travelled faster as Crystal was almost in her peak state. At this pace, they would reach the city soon.
Anom looked around as he noticed that the concentration of trees here was not as dense as before. And there were also not any old and large trees like the ones he saw in the peripheral forest before. Well, many trees here were already thousands of years old but they still lacked in comparison to the forest he was in earlier.
'Then how extraordinary the main area of the forest must be.' He thought as he turned to look at the path he had walked on.
"The city was very prosperous in ancient times and extended to this place. But this place was soon engulfed in a war between various empires and became lifeless. After a few years, the Zeru forest overtook this land. The peripheral region we were in before used to be the border between the forest and the city. But that was thousands of years ago." Crystal told him the reason.
They slowed down a little to save themselves from getting exhausted but kept travelling. They didn't know the situation within the city right now, so it was better to arrive there before the next day began and the situation turned more delicate.
They spent a few more hours on the road as they travelled without stopping. By now the night had fallen as a multitude of stars covered the sky. Their light competed with the moonlight for dominance over the sky.
Anom looked up and saw this star-studded sky which was unfamiliar, but gave the same feeling of tranquillity he was familiar with.
His senses picked up some footsteps coming from the distance, bringing his attention back to the ground.
Crystal also detected the incoming footsteps and said, "They might be mercenaries who must have been to the forest to collect materials from the beasts, and various plants and herbs. Any city which is near a forest will have an abundance of mercenaries who are willing to undertake the jobs available." She paused and said after some thought, "But don't engage with them needlessly. Some of them are too eccentric and might hit even a smiling face."
Anom looked at the girl weirdly. 'Hey! I'm basically a mercenary too,' he complained inwardly as he focused on the group coming towards them. Well, the group was actually coming from another direction and they had to come to this path as all the routes on this side of the city merged together at this place.
Anom soon saw the people who were going in the same direction as them.
There were a total of about thirty people. There were around five females, the rest being males. They were carrying some equipment with shiny gems embedded in them, illuminating the area around them. Crystal told Anom that they must have done this only now, as doing it inside the forest was like painting a target on their heads and inviting the beasts to a feast. She also told him that some groups did this to announce their successful return, and it was also made them stand out from other group who were more discreet.
Anom looked at their appearances, which were so mismatched that he wound have believed it even if someone said that they were a part of a circus crew made of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities.
Most of the people in the back were covered in leather armour. They were all carrying some luggage on their backs. They must rank last in the group and were probably brought to do some miscellaneous tasks and carry the luggage.
More than ten people in the middle carried various types of weapons with them. Some were carrying short swords, some carried daggers. The weapons they carried differed, as did the people carrying them.
For the first time after coming to this world, he saw other hair colours besides black and brown. Della, Cassana and Crystal all had beautiful black hair. Only Lizi had brown hair.
At the front were four people. They seemed to be the ones leading this group and you can tell they were strong with just one look.
A big and hunky guy was walking on the right side of the group. His bald head was decorated with a long scar that reached to his left eye, separating his left eyebrow into two.
He carried a big metal mace with sharp spikes at its end. The weak points of his body were covered with pieces of black armour. His rough appearance was enough to intimidate his opponents, making them loose their will to fight.
The two people in the middle were a pair of a man and a woman. The reason Anom considered them a pair was because they both were wearing similar clothes. Maybe they were part of the same organisation besides working as mercenaries.
The man was tall and had a robust physique. His blonde hair and light green eyes complimented his good looks. His eyes showed his pride and arrogance. His clothes, which included his pants, a shirt and a long jacket, were of white and darker shades of blue.
The woman had beautiful features and a proud expression on her face. Her light blonde hair was tied in an intricately shaped ponytail. She was wearing a sleeveless top with a high-neck. Her legs were covered in a white pair of leggings. A skirt was tied at her waist with slits on both sides, showing her slim and shapely legs which were covered in white. Her clothes were of the same colour scheme as the blonde man, making her attractive figure stand out.
The last one was also a woman. She wore a black full-sleeved top which hugged her bountiful chest with purple patterns drawn on it. A black shawl was wrapped around her shoulders. A purple and black skirt covered her bottom while her legs were wrapped in thigh-high black leggings. The gap between her skirt and her leggings displayed her plump and fair thighs. The bottom half of her face was also covered with black cloth. Only deep purple hair and violet amethyst-like eyes were visible. If not for the fair skin visible on her face and her thighs, she would have looked like a painting drawn using shades of purple and black only.
The thing that interested Anom more than her sexy body were her weapons. She carried two small daggers in her hands. But Anom's sharp eyes located a few throwing knives attached to her belt on both sides of her waist.
Anom analysed them as the group came closer. The people of that group had also detected Anom and Crystal's presence.
"Cover your face." Anom ordered Crystal while he did the same. He did so in case her arrival ended up alerting her enemies.
Crystal understood the point so she covered her face with a piece of black cloth. She also used it to cover her hair. Although her injuries were healed, she had left the black cloth wrappings Anom had used to bandage her injuries. Her dress was torn in the areas where she was injured. And she didn't carry any extra clothes in her storage pouch. So she could only make do with the strips of cloth left after Anom tore her cloak. Currently, she looked weird with all the black strips of clothes covering her.
She was mad about the way she looked but Anom consoled her by saying that it at least worked as a decent disguise.
Soon, both sides met on the path which led towards the city.
There was still some distance between them, but they were now travelling in the same direction.
Some of the people inside the group turned their heads to see if they knew anyone among the two newcomers, but only saw two covered faces.
The group analysed the two strangers.
Anom was dressed in full black while carrying a bag and two short swords. He looked like a typical adventurer and didn't stand out that much.
Crystal was the one who received some peculiar gazes. Her figure indicated that she was a woman, but her appearance with so many strips of clothes covering her body made her look funny.
She noticed some people giving her weird looks and couldn't help but want to beat up Anom, who told her that it was an "effective" disguise. Well, there was no denying that it had worked.
Anom and Crystal only looked at the group once and continued speeding on their way. Anom had already analysed their strength and knew that the four in the front were stronger than him. Even though they were not showing their full strength, Anom had honed his senses for years and had never failed to recognise a threat. While Crystal was anxious to reach her family faster as they were already so close to the city.
The big party of mercenaries also didn't have much interest in the two strangers. They just wanted to reach the city quickly and celebrate their harvest with alcohol and women.
Only the violet-eyed woman gave an additional glance at Anom. She found his movements interesting. Anom's movements were efficient and wasted little to no energy. She would have been all the more surprised if she knew that Anom and she had much more in common when it came to their skills.
Soon, they left the forest behind. The road they were now walking on was much better than the beaten path they had travelled till now. It was paved with large pieces of cobblestones, making it sturdy enough to last many years.
They came across an intersection. Starting from this point, there were various different types of trees and plants full of fragrant and colourful flowers on both sides of the road.
Then they continued on this path as they met many other people going in the same direction as them. And although it was night, there were still people who went in the opposite direction to complete various tasks.
Before long, they saw a high wall in the distance. In the illumination of various gems and bright crystals, the black wall looked majestic.
As Anom got closer, he saw many people standing outside a large gate which was at the end of the path they were on.
Crystal informed him that they would have to go through a check before the city guards allowed them inside.
Anom thought of something and told her to decrease her speed. Crystal followed with what he said as she knew he must have thought of something important.
They were soon left behind by the group of mercenaries who were travelling parallel to them. They also noticed when Crystal and Anom slowed down but didn't think much about it.
"What happened?" Crystal asked as she saw the mercenary group reaching the city gate.
"Do you think your enemies will let you enter the city so easily?" Anom was doubtful and didn't know whether the enemy would be bold enough to attack them in the middle of the city. But he knew nothing about the rules of this place, so he couldn't guess the extent to which their influence reached.
"Don't worry. They must have already expected me to return after not receiving any news of my capture. The killers they sent also died, so they will act more carefully. They must have dispatched some spies near the gate by now; but they will never attack us inside the city." Crystal was sure that they were safe now that the city was in front of them.
Anom remained silent as he didn't think that situation could be so simple. The enemies must have made some plans to deal with Crystal but he just didn't know when they would act.
They soon arrived in front of the queue outside the gate and joined one of the queues.
Anom saw many people entering directly after showing some kind of metal token.
Crystal explained that those were entry tokens issued by the City Administration Office. The ones used by most of the people here were Bronze level tokens.
Above the bronze level were silver and gold tokens, given according to the authority one had in the city.
Crystal had a silver token with her, which made it easier for Anom. Anom was introduced as her guest when the guard at the door asked for his information. It was not much of a problem to enter such cities where trading made for the majority of the city's occupation. Mercenaries also disliked much hassle and preferred cities where the law was lax enough for them to roam without many worries.
Although that was the case, it didn't mean that they could act lawlessly or that the City Administration would be afraid of them. Instead, it was because the administration was confident in the abilities of their soldiers who could keep these mercenaries under control.
The only one who took out a silver token besides Crystal was the blonde man from the mercenary group they met earlier. He was surprised when he saw the silver token in Crystal's hand.
As they passed through the gate, a grand sight was before them. The first thing Anom saw was various guard posts around the gate. Many guards were standing in various positions to keep an eye out for any disturbances. Some guards were stationed above the City Wall.
A smile appeared on Crystal's face as soon as they passed the area and arrived inside the outer area of the city.
"I'm finally back." She exclaimed joyfully. She then turned towards Anom with a sweet smile on her face.
"Welcome to Nulis City!"
Anom stared at the city where he was supposed to arrive at first, in accordance with Della's intention. But after all these days, he finally arrived at his first settlement in this world.
He couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement. He took a deep breath, stepping forward while anticipating the adventures that awaited him within this city.