Chapter 457 - Chapter 457: Chapter 433: Feast at Hongmen (1/2)

Chapter 457: Chapter 433: Feast at Hongmen

The skies over the Valer Capital seemed perpetually shrouded in a thick, gray veil of haze, an unwelcome yet familiar guest to the city.

At dawn, what should have been a moment of renewal and freshness, the sun was blocked by myriad fine particles, managing only to cast mottled shadows, draping the unsympathetic cityscape in a dim and oppressive filter.

On either side of the streets, towering chimneys stood like giants, intermittently belching black smoke and white vapor that intertwined with the low-hanging haze, merging indistinguishably.

The passersby’s eyes revealed resignation and concern about the air quality; their pace quick, as if searching for a temporary haven from this gray world.

The buildings along the street, obscured by the haze, became blurry—distorted versions of themselves. The mountains, naturally the city’s barrier and scenic backdrop, were now barely discernible silhouettes.

Yet, even in such conditions, the city’s residents lived with unyielding resilience, each ray of light that penetrated the haze treasured dearly.

Darren, dressed in black and wearing a mask with concealing effects, walked along the street, hearing the cries of those nearby.

“Boycott the factories! Boycott the Lorne citizens!”

He shook his head slightly, a cold smile crossing his face.

“No wonder the Vallere Restoration Army exists, because those bastards from Lorne seriously polluted factories, many located close to the Valer Capital. They leave the pollution here and take back the industrial products.”

“If Cyart wasn’t just a bit too far, making the costs higher, they would definitely have brought the factories there as well.”

Darren then glanced at the shops along the street, muttering to himself about some products from Lorne.

“Another point, the labor here is cheaper than in Lorne, and without a doubt, Vallere has also become a dumping ground for numerous Lorne products.”

Suddenly someone rushed up to Darren, screaming loudly, continuously patting his own shoulder!

“Reject the Lorne citizens! We must drive out the Lorne citizens, or our nation, our descendants, will have no future! Reject Lorne! Drive them out!”

After speaking, he glared angrily, and started to sing the Vallere national anthem.

Darren just watched the scene expressionlessly, deep inside he felt no particular affection towards the Vallere or Lorne citizens.

He was just very clear that he had to protect the Cyart people!

This meeting was undoubtedly secretive, so instead of going to the Valer Palace, he followed the guide of a contact person to an underground plaza within the capital.

In the Valer Capital there was a massive underground plaza, almost half the size of the city above ground, reportedly developed long ago by a legendary Heavenly Enlightenment.

It was like a vast underground palace, quietly lying beneath the surface, contrasting starkly with the bustling world above, its grandeur and elaborate design unrivaled.

Upon entering the plaza, the first thing that caught Darren’s eye was a long, wide path flanked with soft lighting that illuminated the way forward, opening up dramatically as he progressed.

A vast space unfolded before him, bringing a slight smile to his face as if he had stepped into another world.

“What an interesting place,”

Darren looked up at the ceiling of the underground plaza, built from high-strength, extraordinary materials. Though he didn’t know what exactly it was, he could feel a tremendous power.

“Hmm, I have a special premonition… perhaps like White Bones Canyon and Lava Hell, this place might also suit certain consecution pathways for an Extraordinary Exponent to advance…”

Although he wasn’t sure, he had this suspicion.

The vast interior of the underground plaza was meticulously organized into various areas, even featuring a massive central fountain whose jets danced and sparkled in the light, surrounded by shops, cafes, brothels, clubs, and inns…

Not long after,

Darren stood in front of a cafe and immediately encountered the person who had come to meet him.

It was a bald dwarf, muscular and robust, his face covered in a beard, dressed in black, though he looked somewhat melancholic.

In the Eastern Four Kingdoms, dwarves were a relatively rare species.