112: force
Soon, Su Ze realized he was wrong.
Guided by Sun Hao, it didn't take long for him to find the Starfall Pit, which was not far from the Imperial Capital.
He had originally thought, how big could a meteorite crater be?
Finding Guo Linshan should have been an easy task.
But in fact, he was indeed ill-informed.
An asteroid with a diameter of five kilometers is enough to form a massive crater nearly a hundred kilometers wide, equivalent to the area of an average city.
Although the meteorite that caused the Starfall Pit was much smaller, only about the size of a few basketballs,
its density was incredibly high and its weight staggering, so the resulting crater was not small at all.
It was at least large enough for a small city to be established here, named Starfall City.
It was a ring-shaped city because the closer one got to the meteorite at the center, the stronger the gravity became.
No building materials could withstand such force to construct houses, let alone the construction workers themselves.
Therefore, buildings were only constructed within the sustainable range of the outskirts, gradually forming a unique arc-shaped city.
Starfall City was quite special; due to the gravitational environment, it was difficult for ordinary people to live here.
Consequently, everyone living in Starfall City was, without exception, a Beast Tamer, and mostly those who commanded earth-attribute demon beasts.
As soon as Su Ze entered the city, he felt a powerful force dragging him toward the ground; every step was extremely difficult.
Only after adapting slightly could he walk normally.
In the city, whether it was the ground or the walls of the houses, everything gave off a thick and solid impression, looking several times thicker than walls elsewhere.
This was all to withstand the influence of several times the normal gravity; if standard construction specifications were used, they would likely collapse within a year.
“Since this place is so close to the Imperial Capital, it really is influenced by the Four Great Families, isn't it?”
Su Ze looked at the names of various shops around him: Zhu Family Grand Hotel, Qiyun Pavilion, Jiang Riverside Nightclub... Although the residents were all Beast Tamers, Beast Tamers were still human after all, and they also needed daily entertainment and leisure.
And most of these shop names were related to the Four Great Families.
“If Old Guo is staying here... he must have been discovered by the Jiang Family long ago, right?” Su Ze said with some unease.
But Sun Hao shook his head: “If they had known long ago, they wouldn't have come to trick us for information.”
“Captain Guo is experienced; he definitely wouldn't let his tracks be found easily, and the Jiang Family's reach isn't everywhere.”
As he spoke, he pointed toward the center of the city: “In the empty space in the middle of this ring city, the gravity there is so strong that few people except high-level Beast Tamers can withstand it. Even the Jiang Family probably doesn't have many high-level Beast Tamers with the free time to come here, right?”
Beast Tamers primarily cultivate Spiritual Power; it's not like in fantasy novels where they use ten or a hundred times gravity to temper their bodies.
So the gravity of the Starfall Pit is only useful for some earth-attribute demon beasts, helping them cultivate quickly.
Other than that, it's at most a tourist attraction, allowing visitors to compete over who can walk further.
Guo Linshan came here to use the powerful gravity to hatch the platinum-level beast taming egg Su Ze gave him, so he must be there.
“Let's move quickly; it looks like someone has already gone to report our arrival,” Su Ze said, looking around.
When Guo Linshan arrived, he might have hidden his identity so no one recognized him.
But Su Ze and his companion had walked in boldly through the main gate, so they were recognized as soon as they entered the city.
Su Ze had already noticed someone quietly leaving and heading toward the depths.
Su Ze gave Sun Hao a look, and the two of them chased after the person.
That person must be going to report to Jiang Sheng. To Su Ze, whether they found Guo Linshan or not wasn't important, as long as they could stop Jiang Sheng and the others.
Moreover... his goal was more than just stopping them... In the depths of the Starfall Pit, the two brothers Jiang Sheng and Jiang Donglin were looking with sinister smiles at Guo Linshan, whom they were forcing step by step into the deeper areas.
Guo Linshan was only about ten meters away from them, but this distance could never be closed.
Because gravity as heavy as a mountain pressed down on them, and they were only managing to offset it with difficulty using their beast taming armor.
But even so, they were still very excited.
Because Guo Linshan was in a even more miserable state than they were!
To avoid their attacks, Guo Linshan could only brace himself and maintain a ten-meter distance from them at all times.
And this ten-meter difference meant the gravity he endured was several times, or even over a dozen times, that of Jiang Sheng and his brother.
If he hadn't relied on the demon beast hatched from the egg Su Ze gave him, he would have likely been crushed into a meat patty long ago.
“Cough... Gravity Ape King, they're moving again. Let's get a bit closer to the inside... cough.” Guo Linshan spoke with difficulty to the beast protecting him; the intense pressure made him cough up a mouthful of blood.
“master, this gravity is nothing to me yet, but even with my help, you've reached your limit. You can't take even one more step inward.” The Gravity Ape King said to Guo Linshan below it.
Even though its power offset most of the gravity, the remaining pressure had already reached Guo Linshan's upper limit of endurance.
The Jiang brothers also noticed this and began to take difficult steps forward.
“Although I don't know the origin of that ape-like demon beast protecting him, it seems its level isn't particularly high, yet it can withstand gravity several times stronger than ours. It must be a demon beast with a powerful bloodline.” Jiang Donglin looked at the Gravity Ape King with burning eyes.
His strength had just reached a bottleneck, and he needed a demon beast with a powerful bloodline to form a contract with so they could break through the bottleneck together.
“Be careful when we strike later; leave that demon beast to me!”
“No problem, Big Brother,” Jiang Sheng nodded and said.
Though every step was arduous, they still steadily advanced about a meter forward.
At this distance, they were already close enough to deal a fatal blow to Guo Linshan.
And Guo Linshan could only choose to stay put and take the beating, or take a step forward and be crushed to death with broken bones by the powerful gravity.
He tried to move his leg, but the right foot he stepped out with began to emit the crisp sound of bones snapping, starting from the toes.
In just this one step's distance, the gravity had doubled once again.
By the time he endured the agonizing pain to fully plant his right foot, the entire foot had suffered a complete comminuted fracture.
Despair began to spread.
The two men's attacks struck simultaneously, but they were all blocked by the Gravity Ape King.
It felt extremely displeased.
It was an Ape King, one of the most violent and unruly demon beasts.
To be humiliated like this by two humans now, it couldn't help but let out a roar toward the heavens.
Seeing this, Guo Linshan sighed softly. He was old and no longer had the drive he had in his youth.
The Gravity Ape King following him was indeed a waste of its potential, and it shouldn't die here.
“Kid Su Ze, I might have to fail your kindness.”
As he spoke, he ignored the pain and prepared to leave the protection of the Gravity Ape King, intending to let the heavy pressure end his life.
This would also count as returning its freedom.
Without him as a burden, this gravity field would be a playground for the Gravity Ape King; it could easily escape from Jiang Sheng and his brother on its own.
Just then, someone ran over in a panic, but after running only a few meters forward, he reached his limit. He opened his mouth and shouted: “Lord Jiang Sheng, this is bad! That kid Su Ze is coming!”