202: Chapter 202 Earthen Hills

After gathering the wizards in the city and joining Augustine to give them a stern warning, Nie Ning took Sensen and Heloise into a carriage and left the capital.

Heloise seemed to be leaving the city for the first time, as she was extremely curious about everything in the outside world.

Seeing this, Nie Ning revealed a gratified smile like an old father.

At least in Sensen's eyes, he was no longer the only one who would reveal such an expression.

Moreover, Heloise had a high talent for Alchemy, which was the reason Nie Ning was willing to take her with him.

After all, this person was truly gifted, capable of creating things like chaos crystals based on her own insights.

Even though it was mainly created using the technique of Elemental rotation, Heloise's discernment alone was worthy of praise.

Coupled with her cold personality, she did not like to have too much contact with the outside world.

It was only a case of him bothering her, while Heloise almost never came to bother him; she was truly born to be the perfect worker.

Even if the production of the god-forbidden ring failed, Heloise might be able to find the source of the problem, which would undoubtedly save him a lot of time.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

A carriage slowly traveled along the main road.

"I'm done playing, I'm done playing."

At this moment, Nie Ning's voice came from inside the carriage.

Nie Ning pushed away the chessboard in front of him and huddled into the corner with a frustrated look on his face.

This world had its own board games, which reminded Nie Ning of Go.

Nowadays, time was no longer as pressing as before, so the three of them traveled leisurely along the way. Bored, Nie Ning had created a Go set to pass the time.

But who would have thought that both Sensen and Heloise had talent in Go that could only be described as heaven-defying.

Apart from winning the first two games, even after he changed the rules several times, he had not managed to win a single game, which left him feeling completely defeated.

"We have arrived at our destination."

Heloise ignored the sulking Nie Ning, lifted the curtain, and looked outside.

On a desolate stretch of yellow land, a city eroded by yellow sand stood in the distance.

Upon hearing this, Nie Ning swept his vast Spiritual Power around, able to perceive that the air contained extremely high levels of fire element and earth element.

However, in the city not far away, he did not sense much sign of life.

Obviously, because the environment was too harsh, the number of people living here had become sparse.

As the carriage entered the city under Nie Ning's control, the entire appearance of the city was exposed before them.

The city before them looked weathered, and the dilapidated houses were a world of difference compared to the previous city.

There were mostly elderly people in the city, very few young people, and even fewer children; the whole city exuded a lifeless atmosphere.

Nie Ning and Heloise, who was carrying a bag, stepped down from the carriage, and their luxurious attire immediately drew the gazes of the residents.

In such a barren place, almost no one ever visited, let alone two people who obviously were not ordinary.

Just as the two wanted to look around, several people dressed in ragged cloth shirts but with exceptionally sturdy builds walked up.

When passersby saw these people, they all subconsciously averted their gazes.

"The two of you are new here; do you need a guide? We can..."

Before the burly leader could finish his sentence, a Wind Blade sliced him in two.

Heloise looked at Nie Ning with some astonishment, not understanding why he had suddenly attacked.

"You, you, you actually dare to attack in the city!"

Seeing that their big brother was dead, one of the underlings pointed at Nie Ning, trembling, his face full of horror and disbelief.

"I am not your parent, so naturally, I will not indulge you group of local ruffians."

Nie Ning said with a calm expression.

The malice on the other party was undisguised, as if they were practically holding a knife to his forehead, not to mention that their bodies were stained with a heavy scent of blood.

If I don't kill you, who do I kill?

As Nie Ning's words fell, several Wind Blades swept past, and the remaining few were slashed in the throat by the Wind Blades.

After dealing with the few local ruffians, Nie Ning patted Heloise on the shoulder: "Are you not used to this?"

"It's fine."

Heloise shook her head.

Although she was indeed a bit shocked just now, based on their time together and what Nie Ning had done in the capital, he was at least not the type to kill innocent people indiscriminately.

Nie Ning smiled: "You are a First-Ring Wizard after all; with your Spiritual Power, you should be able to perceive their malice. You will get used to it later."

The principle of malice is a special kind of mental fluctuation unconsciously emitted by the soul.

And Malice Perception enhances the observation effect of malice.

For a Wizard, perceiving mental fluctuations like malice and killing intent is not a difficult task.

As for ordinary people, they cannot control the mental fluctuations they emit at all, so they cannot hide these types of mental fluctuations.

Like those Second Ring Wizards, their use of Spiritual Power is very formidable.

Even if Nie Ning does not use Malice Perception, he cannot detect whether those people have any malice toward him.

"Understood."

Heloise nodded.

Seeing this, Nie Ning did not say anything more.

Heloise was very intelligent, just not used to going out much.

As a Wizard, she would eventually encounter such things sooner or later, and in the end, she would have to experience and adapt to it herself.

"Young man, you should hurry and leave, otherwise it will be too late when the people from the Wild Sand Gang arrive."

At this moment, an old woman leaning on a cane walked tremblingly near the two and spoke.

"Does the city lord here just let those ruffians do as they please?"

Nie Ning asked with some confusion.

"This place is already impoverished, and with the Wild Sand Gang here, several city lords have been forced away."

The old woman sighed and continued: "Now the entire city is under the control of the Wild Sand Gang, and even the few remaining water sources are in the hands of those people."

"It just so happens that I need to stay here for a while, so I will help you solve this trouble."

Upon hearing this, Nie Ning smiled and said.

Refining the god-forbidden ring is very troublesome; how could he let these people disturb his mood at such a time? So it was better to just deal with it directly.

"Young man, I appreciate your kindness, but they have some Great Knight among them, who is very powerful. You should leave quickly."

The old woman shook her head, urging the two of them to leave quickly.

And for people like them, this was a place without hope; there was no need for Nie Ning to die here for their sake.

"Rest assured, this city will return to normal very soon."

Nie Ning did not explain too much; after speaking, he took Heloise and drove the carriage into the city.

Relying on his perception of Elemental Power, Nie Ning arrived in front of a high tower eroded by wind and sand.

Next to it was a Guard Hall, but there were only a few Guards sleeping inside.

As Nie Ning's Spiritual Power seeped into the high tower, it immediately triggered the warning formation inside.

Not long after, an old man with a wrinkled face, wearing a gray robe, and hunched over opened the door.