The Buried City of Giants

Every building in sight was built on a staggering scale. The gates were all over a dozen meters high, and the main structures were equally colossal, though most were buried under yellow sand and rock. "Has there ever been a giant civilization in history?" Anbaixiu searched his memory of the history books he had read. Official records mentioned nothing of the sort, and as for unofficial histories... unofficial histories hardly counted. Some even claimed that the Creation God Ao was born after a goblin banged the universe—far too wild to take seriously. Catherine was equally astonished. In the historical chronicles of the elves, there seemed to be no mention of such a civilization either. And the elven lineage had never been broken, with records tracing back over ten thousand years. "Amazing," Catherine said excitedly. "Nothing broadens the mind like traveling firsthand." Anbaixiu felt his horizons broadened as well. A giant civilization had never been recorded in any book; the only giants he was familiar with were hill giants, but those had worrying intellects and were merely brutes with immense strength. Since no giant civilization had ever been recorded, all of its techniques and knowledge must have gone undocumented as well. That meant this lost underground city might hold ancient spells and magic gear. Ancient magic wasn't necessarily superior, but previously unseen spells were bound to hold immense value for researchers. Stepping through the gate, they walked several dozen meters down the wide avenue until a massive monument came into view. The inscriptions carved upon it were weathered beyond recognition, leaving only an eroded humanoid figure perched atop the monument. "This humanoid sculpture... Your Majesty, what do you make of it?" Anbaixiu asked. When it came to artistic attainment, if the elves claimed second place, no one dared claim first. Catherine studied the statue closely and said with slight regret, "The weathering is too severe; many details are impossible to make out. But the figure is bare-chested, with immaculate muscle lines and an overwhelming sense of power. In terms of sculpting technique, the artist was exceptionally skilled. The surrounding buildings share the same style, suggesting the city was designed under a unified vision by an artist. Standing right at the city's entrance, it's likely either a deity they worshiped or one of their heroes. Beyond that, I can't tell much else." Anbaixiu stroked his chin. For Catherine to praise its artistic caliber, this civilization must have been truly advanced. Art could not flourish until basic survival was secured. A substantial portion of this giant civilization must have lived without worrying about food to sustain such artistic development. Did giants possess such intellect? Anbaixiu recalled that nearly all recorded giants were merely musclebound brutes with negligible wits. "Something here is strange. Look at the road behind it." Catherine pointed past the monument. The main avenue split in two behind it, forming a subtle angle at the fork. Most cities preferred four-way crossroads to divide sectors for ease of urban planning, making this Y-shaped junction rather jarring. Catherine extended her fingers, measuring the angle, and said with curiosity, "This angle... it seems to match the corner of a regular five-pointed star. I have a theory. Give me the map." Anbaixiu unrolled the map Heji Stone had given him. Catherine took it and began tracing with her fingers. A moment later, Catherine conjured glowing lines of magic, drawing a pentagon in midair before inscribing a pentagram within it. "My guess is that the city's layout looks roughly like this. The outer city wall forms a regular pentagon, and the interior is partitioned into distinct districts by the pentagram. We are currently standing at one of the pentagram's points, and the roads branching left and right should lead to districts of different functions." Anbaixiu looked at the buildings lining both streets and saw no noticeable difference. He knew little about architecture, but he trusted Catherine's judgment. "A pentagram layout... could it be related to some infernal cult?" Catherine shook her head. "Unlikely. Pentagrams aren't exclusive to demons and devils; many forms of ancient magic incorporate that shape." "Then let's split up and explore to see if there's anything of value. We'll rendezvous back here in an hour." Catherine peered into the deep gloom ahead, feeling a hint of nervousness. This was her very first time adventuring independently. Yet wasn't this precisely what she wanted? "All right. Splitting up is more efficient." After speaking, Catherine cast several defensive spells on herself and even invoked Greater Invisibility, vanishing completely into thin air. Anbaixiu found it rather amusing. The girl acted like a rookie adventurer; he truly wondered how she had ever become a legend. Perhaps genius worked in mysterious ways. Catherine headed down the right path, leaving Anbaixiu to take the left. A lich had no need for light. Fully blending into the shadows, Anbaixiu walked down the left branch. Though called a fork, it was actually broader than the main thoroughfares in the City of Alchemy. Looking at the colossal flagstones beneath his feet, Anbaixiu grew increasingly certain that giants had built this city. Everything seemed magnified several times over. He encountered no danger as he advanced, but after walking about a kilometer, the path was completely blocked by rock and yellow sand. Anbaixiu tried casting spells to excavate the debris, but even after digging over ten meters deep, the obstruction remained unchanged. It was impossible to tell whether the majority of the city remained buried, with only this single corner exposed by sheer coincidence. With the way ahead blocked, Anbaixiu could only retrace his steps, inspecting the buildings on either side along the way. Wooden doors had long since rotted away, crumbling into dust at the slightest draft stirred by his passage. The interiors were vast and hollow, revealing nothing of value beyond the faint outlines of long-decayed furniture. *Looks like a residential district, all dwellings for giants...* He checked several houses. Though their sizes and layouts varied slightly, their contents were much the same: dining halls, bedrooms, kitchens, and other rooms were all fully accounted for. To Anbaixiu's surprise, the city also possessed an impressive sewer system connected directly to each residence, demonstrating the immense thought poured into its construction. Such details made it clear that the city had once harbored a glorious civilization. Yet what struck Anbaixiu as odd was the complete absence of corpses in the ruins. Apart from the special material used to forge the city gate, he had not seen a single skeletal remain since entering. Where had the original inhabitants gone? Had they all fled before the city met its end? Unfortunately, so much time had passed that countless traces were erased, leaving Anbaixiu with no way to tell. Seeing that an hour was nearly up, Anbaixiu returned to the monument, where Catherine was already waiting. "Back so soon?" Anbaixiu asked in surprise. "The road was blocked not far ahead; there wasn't much to see," Catherine replied, her gaze shifting evasively. Anbaixiu: ... *Did the girl get spooked the further in she went, and ran back here halfway through to wait?* Never mind. Calling her out directly wouldn't be polite; he could always investigate at his own pace later. Anbaixiu said to Catherine, "I didn't find anything on my side either, though it looks to be a residential district." Catherine said, "I didn't find anything useful either. The right path appears to be a commercial district. The buildings look like storefronts, but they're completely empty. It looks like someone was already here and hauled off everything of value." "Must be that old rascal Heji Stone. He definitely sent people ahead to loot the place, not leaving me a single gold coin. Stingy bastard." Anbaixiu huffed, though he didn't truly take it to heart. He was rich now; he had no shortage of gold. "Since there's nothing of value and no apparent danger, let's pick a spot and start moving in. There's a decent house on my side—plenty of space, and a good location." The place Anbaixiu had in mind was the largest house in the residential district: a three-story structure nearly as tall as his original castle, with an expansive interior that offered more than enough room for a new home. Catherine naturally had no objections and followed Anbaixiu to the gigantic dwelling. With a casual wave, Anbaixiu summoned a band of skeletons to clean the house. They cleared out every scrap of decayed furniture, after which he opened his personal pocket space and began unloading his luggage and belongings. Catherine took a handful of seeds and began scattering them around the house, accelerating their growth with magic. The underground city had no ventilation. While bearable for short visits without suffocating Catherine, living here long-term required purifying the environment. Air-purifying plants, naturally luminous flora, and edible varieties quickly sprouted, shrouding the house in lush greenery. An outsider seeing this would never believe it was the lair of a lich. However, these magical plants could only be grown outdoors, and Catherine built her own private room outside using woven vines. Anbaixiu's skeleton legion was busy moving things inside the house; low-tier skeletons lacked the precision to control their dark magic, and magical plants could not survive in such an environment, quickly withering away. The boundary between life and death was stark and unyielding; none could cross it. After half a day of bustling effort, the laboratory was finally set up in its rudimentary form. Anbaixiu dismissed his skeleton legion and retrieved a vast stockpile of metal materials and stacks of blueprints from his personal pocket space. These were the resources left behind for manufacturing golem puppets after the disappearance of the City of Alchemy. Anbaixiu had originally lacked interest in golem puppets because necromancy clashed with golem crafting, making it pointless to chase trivia at the expense of fundamentals. Now, however, circumstances had changed. The Ryan Empire stood a very real chance of uniting the continent, and he had to plan for his future. Anbaixiu intended to forge himself a new body—a body of steel immune to the Holy Light.