Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1073 - 1067: The Desolate City

The scene before them changed rapidly.

When Ronald retrieved the original tome of Grand Mage Shui from the sea.

The historical fragment started to collapse, just like when he first obtained Majie'er's original tome.

Immediately following, Ronald, who had just been submerged in seawater, suddenly felt the surroundings loosen.

Once the scene stabilized before his eyes.

He found himself standing at the initial location where he had first boarded Lackmont isle.

Beside him, Il had also been reset to this location and happened to sit down on the ground. By her actions, it seemed she was holding something and was about to take a bite.

"..."

Witnessing this, Ronald, in a good mood from having obtained the tome, asked her with a smile:

"Il, what are you eating?"

"Boss, I'm eating air!" Compared to Ronald's good mood, Il was clearly not happy as she responded to Ronald with a nearly tearful face, "Actually, if you took a little longer, I might have finished this roast before being dragged back here?"

Having just accomplished a goal, Ronald was happy to banter with Il, so he went along with her words:

"You didn't tell me, did you?"

"If you had told me beforehand that you were eating, I would definitely have waited to get this tome!"

Ronald mentioning this didn't help.

Upon hearing the teasing words, Il collapsed emotionally, didn't even bother to brush the dust off her pants, and hugged Ronald's leg desperately:

"Boss! You're really ruthless!"

"After those people knew my situation through that crystal ball, they continuously launched attacks on the tower. If I didn't have a few tricks up my sleeve, they would have captured me on the spot, chopped me up, and buried me in the soil to plant tree saplings!"

Il's tone and demeanor when recounting these words were indeed full of tears.

But this metaphor, clearly not one a human would use, made Ronald laugh even more:

"It's not like I had a choice."

"Shui isn't like Majie'er; just because we ask, he won't hand us the tome willingly. The battle I experienced was far more intense than what you went through in the Trinity Tower."

Il did not retort upon hearing Ronald's response.

Though she stayed in the Trinity Tower, she was aware of the fight on the sea through some other means.

Il continued hugging Ronald's leg, then nodded pitifully and made her request:

"I know that too."

"Boss, in our next actions, could you not leave me behind alone? If another situation like this occurs next time, I might not be able to handle it."

"Alright, we'll go together." Ronald would not refuse such a request, "But remember, we need to collect three tomes in total, and this is the last one. If we face difficult situations, you need to be clever and work with me accordingly."

Upon Ronald's verbal promise, Il immediately brightened her expression with a joyful smile.

She then let go of the tightly held leg and made a commitment:

"Boss, I can absolutely guarantee that!"

"..."

With the conversation concluded, they continued towards Lackmont.

This time, however, they didn't need to enter the city.

After just a few breaths, Ronald felt the concentration of magic power in the current environment was unable to maintain the spell reinforcement he had just reset.

It was evident; this was a further advanced era.

The feeling of spell dissipation confirmed everything.

So Ronald restructured his own spell, resulting in an enhancement less effective than the one in the real world outside.

—The situation was clear.

This historical fragment they were in was not during the battle-filled Dark Age. Instead, it was a period where the Barrier Mountain Wizards were sealed in the "Infinite Negative Domain," and the entire world began enforcing information control.

The two continued forward.

The city in their sight was in a state of decline.

In the area inhabited by ordinary people, some old tower blocks had collapsed under the sun and wind of the island environment; not to mention even the castle area high on the hill, accessible only to Mages, was almost abandoned as well!

Ronald scanned the area from a distance, able to see only a few intact structures.

"..."

Faced with such a scene, Ronald silently expanded the perception range of his spell.

He did not seek to deeply understand the feelings of the people in this city.

Merely to ascertain how many living people still existed here!

The spell, covering a vast range, promptly fed back results, which were as expected, leaving a complex feeling.

This once flourishing magical city now had only seventy-four people left in the castle zone, with Ronald slightly adjusting the precision of his emotion perception to identify all of them were Casters.

In other words.

Lackmont had dispersed most of its Mages and residents, leaving these last individuals to defend the island.

Upon careful thought, such a situation made sense.

Ordinary cities, to control mystical information, merely need distribute Casters appropriately, clear residents' related memories, and let time stabilize the abrupt changes in the environment.

But Lackmont was different.

This island, isolated overseas, had production structures and many facilities closely tied with spells.

Even after clearing residents' memories.

Living in such an environment long-term easily leads to uncovering mystical elements, thereby hindering the objective of information control.

Additionally, the city's ruler, Grand Mage Majie'er, supported rules like information control. This decline was therefore Lackmont's destined endpoint.

Walking through this city, Il was no longer as cheerful as she was at the seaside. She lowered her voice slightly and spoke with a somber tone to Ronald:

"Boss, everyone's gone from here..." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Ronald nodded, his response to Il matching the silence of the city:

"Different era, after all."

"The past prominent figures aimed to chart a right path for this world; the consequences are as such."

Thus, Ronald and Il silently strolled through the abandoned city in sync.

Over time, the animals here no longer feared humans.

In the ruins of the city, small creatures frequently blocked Ronald and Il's path. Neither wished to disturb them, so they bypassed the creatures and continued moving forward.

It wasn't long.

Amidst this Lackmont, Ronald and Il met others.

That was when they approached the castle district.

A striking figure with bright red hair immediately caught their attention.