Chapter 418: The Name of Despair
After paying one silver coin as the city entry tax, Katie finally entered Mithril City and arrived at the Lower District.
Upon entering, the first thing Katie saw was the slums, a common sight in the Lower District, only more concentrated near the city walls, forming a continuous stretch.
This is because the water flow becomes increasingly polluted the further out it goes, and the dense population of the Lower District exacerbates this situation. Therefore, anyone with some means would desperately try to live closer to the walls of the Middle District. The water discharged there, if filtered through multiple layers, is barely drinkable. Of course, various aftereffects and illnesses are unavoidable. However, occasionally valuables can be salvaged from the sewage, making it even more desirable.
Those without means could only live further and further away, becoming poorer as they went. For example, the outermost area near the city wall was almost entirely slums, inhabited by those who were penniless and could only rely on scavenging for survival.
These areas, haphazardly formed by shacks of various sizes, were like psoriasis growing on the city, hiding countless sins and malice. They were not as simple as they seemed.
It couldn’t be helped. A large number of the lowest-class residents lived here. Some were escaped slaves, some were criminals, and most were the powerlessโthose who had no ability to earn money, no skills to kill, and no value to be killed. If they didn’t scavenge, what else could they eat?
The vast majority of residents here were so poor that all they had left was a worthless life. Therefore, they either lived in misery or chose to gamble with their lives. Over time, poverty and death became the only things that remained here.
As soon as Katie entered, she was targeted by countless malicious gazes. Many of them didn’t understand what a witch represented, and of course, they didn’t care. Even if they knew that a witch’s curse could not be avoided even by the soul, it wouldn’t matter, because they were already living in hell. How could things get any worse?
As long as they succeeded once, the money from selling such high-quality goods would be enough for them to move out of this despairing place, the Lower District. Even being exploited and bullied in the Middle District would be better than rotting away day by day here.
Fortunately, Katie was accompanied by the Minotaur. Just from its appearance, this monster could be seen as someone not to be trifled with. One glare from its blood-red bull eyes would make even seasoned adventurers weak in the knees, let alone these severely depleted slum dwellers. Therefore, even those who were not afraid of death were unwilling to act rashly, because they couldn’t see a shred of possibility of success. It was better to choose a target with a higher chance of success.
As Katie felt countless malicious gazes, the merchant caravan that entered the city with her had already swiftly killed seven or eight petty thieves from the Lower District. Amidst constant shouts, they even hung the severed heads on both sides of their carriages to deter those who came later.
But it was useless. The slum dwellers didn’t care about death. As long as there was a sliver of opportunity, they were willing to risk their lives. A piece of bread, a bowl of waterโthere was no shortage of people willing to sell their lives for these. This forced the merchant caravan to be even more vigilant than they were outside, and they had to temporarily hire a local gang to escort them to the Middle District.
These local gangs, dressed in tattered rags and carrying all sorts of tetanus-inducing makeshift weapons, were quite reputable. After receiving half the payment, they formed a circle, and anyone who dared to approach was beaten to death without a word.
As for resistance, ha! They were the local snakes, each one having fought their way to their position. Those who were stronger than them either joined them or became their colleagues. In order to maintain the sustainability of this profession, they wouldn’t easily break the rules and fight among themselves. Therefore, under their protection, the merchant caravan smoothly entered the Middle District, guarded by the city defense forces. They also successfully obtained a sum of money that would allow them to survive. As for those starving slum dwellers, who cared?
Katie thought she had seen many terrible places, but this was the first time she had seen one this bad. As she went deeper, more of the dark side of the slums was revealed, making her realize that the terrible environment was only the most insignificant aspect. Despair was the true theme here.
With no land to cultivate, no jobs to work, and no hope for a better future or survival, despair was everywhere. The emaciated slum dwellers were either stealing and robbing or waiting for death to come.
What was even more terrifying was that there were three well-established trades here: slaves, death, and souls.
Selling oneself into slavery in the Middle District had almost become the only chance for the slum dwellers to escape their fate. Although they might become targets for killing and amusement, live bait for feeding pets, laborers who worked to death, or experimental subjects for some magic practitioners, as long as they could leave the Lower District, there were plenty of people willing to sell themselves. Therefore, the Lower District had the largest slave market in the entire Mithril City, even attracting many specialized slave traders from the surrounding areas, working together to make the market bigger and stronger.
Katie had expected this, but she was still surprised to see necromancers openly selecting bones and living people here.
Corpses that drifted down the sewage from the Upper and Middle Districts would be salvaged by the slum dwellers here. The severely decomposed ones were stripped of their flesh and piled up as bones, while the fresher ones were treated with preservatives and wrapped in cloth strips to prevent insects and rats from gnawing on them.
These were laid out one by one, allowing the necromancer masters from the Middle District to choose.
Occasionally, a living person would be chosen by a necromancer master, and they could be taken away for a paltry sum of money. It was likely that they would soon become a mindless skeleton soldier. If they were lucky, they might become a decent-looking zombie, at least retaining some semblance of their former appearance.
There were also cultists who would blatantly purchase a bunch of living sacrifices and perform blood sacrifices at any open space, filling the surroundings with smoke and stench. But as long as they paid, none of this was a problem. No one cared where their souls would end up, whether in the hands of demons or evil gods. The local gangs would even prepare the sacrifices in advance according to their requirements, including the cleanup work after the ritual.
This was not hell, but it was more like hell than hell itself.
As a sensitive witch, witnessing all this undoubtedly had a huge impact on Katie’s mind. She felt like she was sinking into a swamp called despair, constantly being infiltrated by it.
Fortunately, the holy symbol of Death and Shadow emitted a shadow that enveloped Katie, allowing her to find temporary peace under the tranquil shadow.
“Now I understand why my mother’s prophecy pointed to this place.” Katie, the witch whose name was Despair, said with a bitter smile.
Fortunately, Death and Shadow embraced death and darkness, preventing Katie’s mind from being distorted by feeling too much despair. Instead, she found a new path.
