Supreme Devil Lord: I Can Refine All Energy-Chapter 40: Checkpoints

The night had fallen. The stars were twinkling, and the moon was shining, washing the vast lands in a soft moonlight. It wasn’t enough to chase away the darkness, however.

Kroft City...

The streets of the core city were illuminated with exquisite lamp posts that had [Light Stones] and [Illumination Formations] that amplified the light emitted by the light stones, while the middle city’s streets were also lit up with them, although their number wasn’t as much, nor were they as exquisite, showing the difference between the standard of the core and middle city.

Still, compared to the slums that were plunged into the darkness, the middle city was a very privileged area.

Within the darkness of the slums, a group of three was moving toward the middle city, their speed slower than normal as two of them were supporting the third person, who was walking with an exaggerated limp in their steps.

These three were none other than Eric, Riya, and Elena. It had been over two hours since they left their home after bidding Liam farewell.

"Mom, let’s stop for a while." Riya suggested, her tone laced with worry.

Eric glanced at Elena, who stubbornly shook her head, "No. We can’t afford to waste time. The darker it gets, the more dangerous it will be to be out here. We need to reach the middle city as soon as possible."

"But Mom..." Riya looked at her, seeing her face covered with cold sweat and then at her leg, which had started bleeding again.

"It’s alright, little Riya. We are almost there." Elena interrupted her, forcing a smile on her face.

Seeing Elena wouldn’t listen to her, she turned to Eric, whose breathing had yet to return to normal from the exhaustion of carrying Elena on his back for over one and a half hours. He only took two breaks, one fifty minutes ago and the second one just ten minutes earlier.

With an apologetic look on her face, she said, "I know you haven’t recovered, big brother, but can you please carry her, or better yet, make her stop until you recover?"

Eric shook his head. "Mom is right, Riya. We can’t afford to waste more time here."

Saying this, he exhaled a deep breath, inhaled another, and crouched in front of Elena, with his back facing her, "Come on."

If it was before he became a warrior, walking while carrying her for just ten minutes would have rendered him too exhausted to move his muscles, but now, even after carrying her for over one and a half hours, he was ready to carry her again after just a short rest.

However...

’This is not enough. I have to become stronger.’ He thought. He guessed if he had been a Grade Two Novice Warrior, he wouldn’t have been nearly as exhausted—if at all. Therefore, his will to become stronger only grew.

"But you haven’t—" Elena hesitated, not wanting to trouble him when he was already exhausted.

"I have recovered enough. Come on. Let’s quickly reach the city." Eric interrupted her before she could speak.

After hesitating for a moment, Elena shook her head, "No. Let’s just stop for a while."

Though he would be able to recover a little more now, he couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh in his heart before standing up. "Alright."

Riya pouted her lips and said in an aggrieved tone, though her eyes flashed with a victorious smile, "Hmph! Why didn’t you listen when I told you to stop?"

Elena glared at her and pulled her ear. "You naughty girl! I know you asked him that just to make me agree."

"Ow! Ow! Sorry, Mom!" Riya hurriedly apologized, and after Elena let go of her ear, she looked at her with puffed cheeks, "I told you not to do that. I’m not a kid anymore."

Elena chuckled and pinched her nose, "You are always going to be a kid to me."

"Ow! Stop it, Mom!"

Eric watched their playful banter with a small smile on his face. He knew both were feeling anxious deep down but were doing this just to show each other—and him—that they were fine and not too bothered by the situation.

Five minutes later, Eric crouched down in front of Elena and told her to get on.

"Why don’t you rest for a bit more?" Elena gently said,

"No. It’s alright." Eric shook his head and then waited.

A moment later, he felt her soft body press onto his back as she threw her arms around him. With a satisfied smile on his face, he gripped the back of her thighs and stood up. "Let’s go. We’ll only stop when we reach the middle city."

... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Over ten minutes later, they noticed the light flickering in the distance and sighed in relief before picking up speed and soon arrived at the periphery of the middle city and moved toward the entrance.

Although there was no wall dividing the middle city from the slums, and thus there was no proper entrance, one couldn’t enter this part of the city from anywhere they wished.

The Kroft family had made two checkpoints on the east and west sides of the city. Only after paying the entry fee there could one lawfully enter. If someone entered from anywhere else, without paying the entry fee, the guards patrolling the area would immediately capture him.

If you had enough credits to pay the guards, you would only be detained for a number of days as punishment; if not, you would either be sold as a slave or would be killed.

This rule had been in place for hundreds of years, and everyone obediently obeyed it. Of course, there were still some desperate ones who would enter without permission, never to be seen again.

Eric didn’t like this rule at all.

If they didn’t want them to enter without permission, they should have just made a wall. But no, they left the area open.

As for why they did this, it was obvious. They wanted slaves but didn’t want to ruin their image by forcefully kidnapping people from the slums like the smaller noble families or merchants sometimes did.

There were two guards manning the checkpoint, and a few people were standing in a queue.

Eric let Elena down and exhaled a deep breath. At the same time, he sighed in his heart. Although it was exhausting, he enjoyed carrying her.

"Let’s go." He led them to the queue and waited for their turn.

"How many days?" One of the guards asked the middle-aged man in front of him.

"T-Two days, my lord." The man said as he respectfully handed a black metal card over to the guard.

The guard, however, didn’t take it and instead pointed to the small box to the side, "Place it there and place your palm above it."

The man did as told. Then the guard asked, "The entry fee for two days will be 60 credits. Do you agree to pay?"

"Yes, my lord." The man said, and the box vibrated slightly.

"Take it and go. Remember to leave after two days on your own." The guard said, and the man left after nodding.

"Next."

Eric took a step forward.

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