Chapter 98: The Game Begins: A Footsoldier in the City of No Return

The great city had fallen. Broken walls and shattered towers, everything lay in ruins. It was the silent aftermath of slaughter. Only a thousand or so demons still roamed its corpse-strewn streets.

White bones carpeted the ground with no graves to cradle them and no names to remember them by. Who knew whose sons these bones once belonged to.

A month later, a human army returned to reclaim the city. After a bloody battle, they took it back. The commander, a man with a blood-red scar across his face, drank with his officers in grim celebration.

Five days later, the demons struck again, and the city fell once more. Flames devoured it for two months before another human army arrived, only to meet the same fate. One by one, more armies came, and one by one, they perished.

Now, more than ten years later, Qi Yuan stood atop those same ancient walls. No army had set foot here in a decade.

He gazed out over the city of bones. "Any soldier who steps foot in this city will be courting death. Not a single soul lasted more than ten days."

Then, he murmured, "So, my mission this time is to defend this forsaken city?"

He stood alone in the desolate area, staring up at the towering battlements that bore countless blade marks. The air itself carried a weight of grief and ruin.

On the wall, four weathered characters were carved deep into the stone: City of No Return.

Qi Yuan glanced down at himself. "Level 45,

huh

?"

This time, when he entered the game, he wasn't starting from level 1. He figured level 45 corresponded to the late stage Foundation Establishment Realm. His in-game level matched the strength of his soul in the Canglan World.

"Level 45," he said with a grin. "Good enough to hunt some monsters."

If he killed monsters here, he would gain XP, strengthening his cultivation in the real world. The thought alone sent a thrill through him.

"Shame I don't have a decent weapon," he muttered. Just as he thought he'd entered this game alone, he froze. "Little Bride?"

Looking down, he saw the familiar crimson mark still etched upon his chest. She'd come with him into the game.

"Little Bride!" he called.

A ripple of red light answered him, and Little Bride appeared beside him. She looked around in confusion, but the instant she saw Qi Yuan, her fear melted away. She clung to his arm tightly, like a frightened bird seeking shelter.

Qi Yuan's lips curved into a smile as he said softly, "In the old days, scholars read beneath lamplight, with red-sleeved maidens to keep them company. As for me, I guard this lonely city with my crimson bride by my side."

The thought warmed him, and for the first time, this game seemed worth playing.

Then came the howls. Having sensed him, the roaming demons surged from every shadow, roaring in mindless rage. Tearing apart any human they found was pure instinct.

Hundreds came at once, their monstrous forms crashing toward him like a tidal wave of nightmare.

"Little Bride!" Qi Yuan shouted. "Sharing One Robe!"

At once, blood-red streaks of light streamed from Little Bride into him. Crimson armor encased him, gleaming sinisterly. Spikes along his shoulders shimmered like molten rubies, and his figure swelled, towering ten meters tall.

He lifted his hand, and a broken sword fell into his grasp. The blade lengthened, swelling with power. Scarlet light bathed it until it gleamed like a blood-forged greatsword.

He grinned, revealing sharp fangs. "Come then, little monsters, let the hunt begin!"

Like an instrument of warfare, he plunged into the horde. The demons were not his match.

"Die!"

One swing, and dozens of demons fell. [XP +40] [XP +20] [XP +10] [XP +35]

Experience poured into him like a flood. Qi Yuan became a storm of slaughter, unstoppable and merciless. Wherever he passed, the city became a purgatory, and the demons knew only death. For ten days and nights, he alone scoured the City of No Return clean.

Now, leaning against a half-collapsed wall, Qi Yuan gasped for breath, sweat and blood all over his face.

"The city's finally clear," he murmured. "No more demons."

He'd slain them all and risen to level 49.

Four levels in ten days. Not bad.

A soft chime echoed in his ears:

[Demon scourge complete. Key Fragment ×1 obtained.] [Begin defense of City of No Return. The longer you maintain it, the greater the rewards.] [If demons re-enter the city, the mission will fail.]

Qi Yuan exhaled, smiling faintly. "Who says this world isn't a game? I'm clearly the player."

He sheathed his sword and pulled Little Bride close. The two of them sat atop the ancient wall overlooking an endless sea of yellow sand. When the wind howled, veils of dust were lifted. Here and there, rusted swords poked through the ground.

Qi Yuan held Little Bride as they watched the desert together. When sandstorms raged, he shielded her. When night fell, he dug a shallow pit beneath the wall and slept beside her. Whenever a demon dared to enter the city, he sensed it instantly, and struck it down in one hit.

"I wonder when the next wave will come," he mused.

That day, Qi Yuan and Little Bride sat on the wall, waiting—half in hope, half in dread. If some wandering creature broke into the city, his defense mission would fail. But without enemies, he couldn't gain EXP either.

Then, far across the dunes, he saw two figures staggering closer. They were men in battered armor, barely standing upright.

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes.

***

In the distance...

"

Cough... cough...

" Zhang Sheng lifted his head, eyes misting as he saw the towering walls. "We've finally made it...."

Beside him, Chen Jiao—pale and missing an arm—handed over the last of their water. "Drink up, Brother Sheng. Once we've taken the City of No Return, our brothers will rest easy."

That was all they had left.

They were the remnants of the Song Battalion and were part of the 1,723 soldiers sent to reinforce the city, led by General Li Huan, once one of Great Xia's most celebrated commanders.

The City of No Return had been lost for over a decade and was among 108,000 fallen cities.

Half a year ago, the King of Great Xia had poured the last of his nation's strength into forming a force of aged veterans, sending them to reclaim the city. However, along the way, they were ambushed by the demon army. In the ensuing massacre, only Zhang Sheng and Chen Jiao survived. They crawled out from a mountain of corpses, broken but alive.

Now, maimed and bleeding, they pressed on with the sole purpose to plant the Great Xia battle flag atop the walls.

As long as that flag flew, even for a day, the city would still belong to Great Xia. If demons held a city for over a hundred years, it would be lost forever, unless humans retook and held it for another century.

It was a near-impossible task.

And so, every man who marched toward the City of No Return did so knowing he would never come back.

In Great Xia, people often said,

"The moment you take the road to the City of No Return, your days are numbered."

Chen Jiao smiled faintly, though sorrow shadowed his face. "It is a shame we can't keep the flag flying forever."

He'd been a butcher all his life, as his father and grandfather before him. His cousins and father had both perished here. He was the last of his line.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Zhang Sheng, once a constable's son, was the town's pride. He was a man who'd dreamed of galloping through the world. Against his father's wishes, he'd secretly joined the army, determined to make his name.

"Ten years since this city belonged to Great Xia," Zhang Sheng said hoarsely. "Once we raise the flag again, our people will be filled with hope!"

His grandfather had also met his end here. He was the youngest of his family. Since his brother could take care of his father, he stepped up to bring honor to the family.

Both men were half-dead already, coughing blood as they spoke.

"To die where our Great Xia ancestors fell, there's no greater honor," Chen Jiao murmured, his words refined despite his rough birth.

"It is only a pity we can't give them proper graves," Zhang Sheng said as he drew his worn blade, his eyes hardening.

Once they entered the city, they'd be surrounded by demons. Death was certain. Even without the demons, their wounds would claim them soon enough.

Then, suddenly, Zhang Sheng froze. "There, on the wall. Someone's up there!"

Chen Jiao followed his gaze and went still, disbelief in his eyes.

Impossible. The city had been lost for over a decade. How could anyone still be alive there? Surely it was just an illusion.

They exchanged a glance.

"Let's go see."

As they drew closer, their astonishment grew.

The city was quiet. Too quiet. Not a single demonic howl echoed through its streets. There was nothing but silence.

That wasn't what their scouts had reported. The City of No Return was supposed to be crawling with demons.

And yet, atop the wall, a dark-robed man sat calmly with a broken sword resting across his knees. He was unmistakably a human.

"You... who are you?" Chen Jiao called out, mustering his courage.

The man on the wall stirred, his voice even, almost detached. "I am the guardian of the City of No Return."

The two soldiers froze, overwhelmed by shock and awe. Could it be that after all these years, the city had never truly fallen? Could it be that a lone warrior of Great Xia still held its walls? One man, one sword... He battled against the endless darkness?

"I am Zhang Sheng, soldier of the Song Battalion of Great Xia!" "I am Chen Jiao, also of the Song Battalion!"

Qi Yuan's gaze flicked toward them, his lips curving slightly.

"So," he murmured, "these must be the NPCs assigned to this defense quest."