Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 133: The Border City of Le Rien Infernal
The airship continued forward and entered a cave passage on the opposite side of the gorge, but the path seemed to slope downward even as the ship remained adrift in the air. Upon reaching the end of the passage, the airship began to descend into a massive pit, following a circular path like a drill spiraling deeper and deeper. Ard, Eva, and the others stood at the edge of the deck to look down; though it seemed incredibly far, a light began to emerge from the darkness at the bottom of the abyss. Ard turned to Hardim beside him.
"We’re going straight down?" Ard asked.
"Yes, we are right at the border of Le Rien Infernal, and to reach the crossing, we have to go down," Hardim answered.
"Hmm... so our destination is truly a world within a world. It’s really unbelievable, just like the hollow earth theory I heard about on Earth," Ard muttered, unintentionally speaking his thoughts aloud.
"Hmm? Earth? What’s that?" Hardim asked.
"Thump." Eva, standing next to Ard, immediately elbowed him, making Ard realize he had said something he shouldn’t have.
"It’s nothing, don’t mind me hahaha," Ard said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing awkwardly.
"Oh, alright then," replied Hardim, whose face made it clear he wanted to ask more, yet he seemed confused about how to even begin.
They fell silent again and simply stared downward, watching as the ship descended slowly, much like a helicopter preparing to land, except the distance was vast. Eva shifted closer, pressing against Ard.
"You really need to watch it; when you’re thinking, don’t use your mouth," Eva scolded in a whisper.
"Sorry, I’m still in awe and a bit in disbelief that this actually exists," Ard replied.
"As for that, I feel the same. You know yourself that my country is obsessed with myths and things like this... to be honest, I was a believer too, since I’m essentially a fragment of a goddess’s soul from this world who was born over there," Eva murmured in a whisper.
"Yep, that’s true. I’m just like you, and that’s why my heart is racing a little right now," Ard whispered back.
"Same here. I’m also feeling my heart race, even though I’ve lived in this world since three thousand years ago," Eva added in a whisper.
The airship descended further and further, yet they didn’t feel it too intensely because of the numerous crystals embedded in the cave walls, illuminating the cavern so it wasn’t pitch black. Additionally, they saw groups of people walking along the cliffside paths that spiraled down the pit, occasionally entering caves in the abyss walls that seemed to lead to other regions in the subterranean network. After quite a long time, they finally reached the bottom of the pit and resumed their journey through a cave tunnel; a pinpoint of light appeared at the end of the passage, growing larger as they moved forward.
A few moments later, they emerged from the cave, and right before them stood a fairly expansive city with a fortress wall surrounding it, both ends of which were anchored to the cliffs. However, what left Ard, Eva, and the others stunned was not the magnificent walled city, but the environment of the underworld itself, which looked just like the surface of a planet. There were vast grasslands stretching out before the city with mountains visible in the distance; there was also a dense forest with plants that were completely different from those on the surface, looking like prehistoric flora.
The sky was bright like daytime, though not quite as brilliant as the sun, with the light coming from a massive, round crystal that seemed to hang motionless in the ceiling. It truly looked like another world inside the world on the surface.
And what was most impressive was the presence of giant beasts resembling dinosaurs mixed with mythical creatures of truly massive proportions, roaming across the land and through the heart of the forest as seen from the air from a distance. Giant mushroom-like plants could also be seen in the middle of the forest, releasing powder-like spores into their surroundings.
"Wow... this is exactly like the book by Jules Verne I read back on Earth... incredible," Ard said.
"Oh... right, I read that book too," Eva added.
"Ouch," 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Ard and Eva turned around; they saw Beatrice and Adeline had seemingly just finished pinching their own cheeks, their eyes fixed straight ahead as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The sheer awe was written all over their faces. It wasn’t just those two—Rosalind, standing behind them, also looked amazed, as did Alicia, Milia, Claudia, Mirea, Irwin, Irina, Patricia, and Ainsley. Their eyes were wide and locked onto the scenery ahead, which drew closer as the ship moved steadily toward a hangar inside the city.
Ard glanced over at Geoffrey, who looked captivated while Thorena stood beside him, seemingly explaining a great many things.
"Welcome to the border city of the Kingdom of Grimgarth... the city of Dhubrim. After we land, we will meet the King at the military camp located at the border wall," Hardim said.
"Alright. Looking at it, the fortress defenses are quite tight, aren’t they? With cannons mounted on top and... ballistae as well," Ard noted.
"Hoo... so you understand cannons and ballistae? Impressive. To think there’s a surface dweller who knows about such things," Hardim remarked.
Ard looked down and saw a vast number of vehicles resembling tanks, armored cars, and even single-person helicopters powered by steam engines. Ard suddenly realized that the entire population of this massive city consisted of dwarven soldiers and troops who were ready for battle at any moment. The city was like a large-scale military camp, with its operations center located in a second fortress structure in the middle of town. He also spotted several zeppelins on the ground, armed with cannons like fighter planes.
"Ard... why do I feel like I’ve gone back to Earth? Is their warfare the same as the war we experienced on Earth?" Eva asked in a whisper.
"I don’t know, but looking at it from up here... it seems their war looks like a war on Earth. They use technology that is similar and almost identical to Earth’s, even if it’s supported by magic... this is actually annoying," Ard whispered back.
"You’re right. I never thought we would experience the same things we did on Earth in this world—the things I regret and have tried so hard to forget," Eva whispered in return.
"Like it or not, we have to go through with this. I know it’s going to be hard, but we don’t have a choice anymore," Ard said in a whisper.
"Uh... just like on Earth. Back then, we didn’t have a choice either," Eva whispered back.
"Hey... at least this time I’m not fighting against you, right?" Ard asked in a whisper.
"Yes, you’re right. This time we are allies, and we should finish this war and complete our objective here as quickly as possible," Eva answered in a whisper.
"Yeah, that’s for sure," Ard replied.
The two held hands, looking down at the city below that looked like a military camp. They both felt like they had become Ace and Edith again—two super soldiers from opposing sides who were enemies during World War II on Earth. They gripped each other’s hands tightly until they were sweating, letting go of all the trauma, bad memories, and the history they shared when they lived on Earth.
The airship continued its forward momentum and finally landed in an open hangar located within the second layer of the fortress, the heart of the border forces’ command center. As they disembarked and exited the hangar alongside Hardim, Thindor, and Thorena—who was still holding onto Geoffrey—Ard and Eva saw a military camp that looked exactly like their camps during the war on Earth. They saw countless dwarven soldiers, both men and women, running around the camp for training; they wore military uniforms made of leather, yet the patterns were strikingly similar to Earth’s military fatigues, and they were carrying rifles.
"Okay, we’ve definitely returned to Earth. Ugh... this is going to be the most annoying mission for us, Eva," Ard whispered.
"Yeah... why does their military look just like the one back home? Did someone from Earth get reborn here and train them or something? I really don’t get it," Eva whispered back.
"I don’t know. I don’t understand it myself," Ard replied.
But shortly after, several bulky iron golems powered by steam engines—looking like giant exoskeleton armor or massive robots piloted by dwarves—passed by the hangar where they stood. They carried weapons and stepped carefully to avoid the running soldiers and the vehicles surrounding them.
"Okay, this is definitely way crazier than Earth," Ard and Eva said in unison, their voices barely a whisper.
The two of them could only stare at the swarm of war golems, which looked like the mecha robots from stories that didn’t even exist yet back when they were on Earth. It felt like they had stepped right into a sci-fi movie; they watched with looks of pure awe, not even daring to imagine the implications.
