The story of the City of Ashes came to an end for the time being, after a period of rest and recuperation, Ian was completing the quests given by the system every day, using all of the talent enhancement points he had accumulated to raise all of his ability levels to Flare level, at this moment Ian's strength had reached its peak, and it was time for him to start a new journey, to fulfill the promise he had made to William, and for the sake of the safety of the City of Ashes at the same time!
The early morning sunlight warmly sprinkled on the streets of the City of Ashes, the people inside the city began a new day of busy life, while outside the city gates, a small sending off party stood quietly.
Ian was carrying a simple traveling bag, and his gaze was calm as he looked at the few people in front of him. William, Alexander, and Adrian, were all silently watching him at the moment, each of their eyes revealing a strong sense of reluctance.
William first walked forward and handed a map to Ian: ''The start of the selection will be in two months, the place you will be traveling to this time is called the Iron Fortress, it is the outer city of a power called the Aurora Council of the Upper World, and the preliminary selection starts there, this is a detailed map, the route is already labeled. Inside the map is a badge, that is a symbol used to prove that you are a City of Ashes personnel. Ian, you must be careful, although there are abundant resources there, the competition is even fiercer and full of dangers we can't imagine."
Ian nodded with a smile and took the map, "Don't worry, I will be careful. I will also try my best to fulfill the agreement between us, I will do my best to complete the mission and ensure the safety of the City of Ashes."
Adrian pulled out a ring with a reluctant face, "Kid, this is a storage ring, the same as the one I'm wearing, although the grade is a bit lower than mine, but this is the only one I have left, don't lose it, you'll have to return it to me when I come back."
"Why are you still so stingy, wait for me to bring you back something better. "
Alexander solemnly patted Ian's shoulder with a firm tone, "Have a safe trip, Ian, no matter what happens, we'll be here waiting for you to come back."
Ian responded with a soft smile, "Don't worry, I won't forget this place. Take care of yourselves as well, I look forward to seeing the City of Ashes more prosperous and strong the next time I return."
After saying goodbye, Ian turned around and firmly took a step in the direction marked on the map. Gradually, his figure disappeared at the horizon.
"Our life and death is in the hands of this kid, how much confidence do you guys have in him?" Adrian asked.
"If he can't do it, then no one can." Alexander had faith in Ian.
During the long, quiet journey, Ian's thoughts drifted back to everything that had happened a few days ago.
On that day, he and Alexander had brought the rhombus crystal with them, and once again entered the ruins and stood in front of the mysterious creature again.
This time, they finally got a full view of the mysterious creature. Its body was coiled in a wide space, covered in dark and tough scale armor, and a pair of deep eyes flashed with intelligence and indifference.
"A dragon?" Alexander said in shock, his voice trembling slightly. Surprise arose within Ian, "Alexander actually knows about dragons, dragons are a creature that existed in mythology in my original world, why do people in this world know about it as well, could it be that they have the same mythology?"
The dragon slowly opened its eyes and its low voice echoed through space, "That's right, I am a dragon. My name is Redick, humans, why have you come here again? Hasn't it been tossed around enough?"
Ian calmly stepped forward and said sincerely, "We didn't come here wanting to fight again, but we wanted to have a good talk with you. I want to know the origin of this relic and your story. I can see that you are not a murderous creature, so why did you destroy the City of Ashes?"
Redick looked at Ian and spoke slowly: Human, I know you, if it wasn't for you, the City of Ashes you speak of would have been destroyed."
"How do you know about the City of Ashes?"
"It's nothing strange, since I can manipulate those mutant beasts, I naturally have a way to get information from their memories, I can tell you that I am not a murderous person, I just want to quickly unseal the seals to get revenge on the guy who killed my master, if unsealing the seals requires the sacrifice of a large number of lives, I can only say that I am sorry. "
"How long have you been sealed here? " Ian continued to press, "I don't remember anymore. "
Ian quickly grasped the point, "If you've been asleep for thousands of years, the enemies you're looking for should be long dead."
"No, they won't, they must still be alive!" Redick remained firm, "They? Who are they?" Ian felt like he was getting close to the truth.
Redick looked at Ian and snorted, "With your current strength, you don't deserve to know this, when you really have the ability to influence this world, I will tell you myself."
Seeing that he couldn't ask for more information, Ian finally stated the purpose of his trip, "As you can see, we now hold the key to the relics, you are no longer able to gather the mutant beasts to fight for you, and you yourself are trapped, why don't we come to an agreement, we will follow up with more people to come and explore the relics, but they won't come to bother you, and I hope that you will be able to put away your enmity towards us, as well. Otherwise, if we blockade the ruins, you will never be able to leave."
"Human, you dare to threaten me!" Redick was visibly angered, Ian continued to explain, "No, this is not a threat, this is cooperation, if you agree, I can assure you that within ten years, I will definitely come back here again and find a way to unseal you, so that you can regain your freedom."
Redick obviously had some heartfelt feelings, but was still skeptical, "You're only a Flare level, what makes me believe that you can unseal me?"
"I'm a man who keeps his promises, if I still don't have the ability to undo the seal in ten years, I'll come over and be at your disposal. "
Redick thought for a moment, "Good! I agree, I can feel a kind of mysterious power in you, maybe it is really possible for you to do it, but I have to remind you, if you dare to lie to me, I also have a way to make you all pay, it's just that I don't want to use this kind of method as a last resort. "
Ten years was too short a time for Redick's long life, he didn't care to wait ten more years. It was just that for Ian, he needed a motivation to spur himself on and keep improving his strength.
The reason why Ian dared to make such a promise, naturally he had certainty, he believed that he could become the top power in this world in less than ten years, if it was still not enough, he still had the props of the system, he had already asked the system, the One Strike Kill Card could directly destroy the seal, but Ian did not dare to liberate it hastily before he possessed the strength to overpower Redick.
After reaching an agreement with Redick, the exploration of the ruins afterward will also go much smoother, it won't be long before the overall strength of the City of Ashes will also be raised by a large margin, thoughts returned to reality, Ian had already walked out along the map for a long distance, he looked at the map, in front of him was the ruins of a city, there should be no one living in it, and explorers may occasionally appear, however, Ian thought of the reminder that Alexander had given to him before he left , that someone had once seen a Luminary-class battle in these ruins.