Scarlett and Aoto traveled deeper into the Armament Kingdom. Since Scarlett was trying to discover the reason for her presence here, she deliberately didn't rush their exploration.
Because of this careful approach, it took them several hours before they finally reached the inner sections of the Armament Kingdom.
It was only then that they encountered other people. At first, they worried that they would stand out noticeably, but they soon realized that despite the advanced technology of the area, the local fashion sense hadn't changed much.
Although whenever someone caught sight of Scarlett, they would freeze momentarily, completely mesmerized by her extraordinary beauty. Still, Scarlett had grown somewhat accustomed to such reactions over time.
As they continued wandering, the surroundings became even more futuristic. Wide highway roads stretched across the landscape with floating cars gliding smoothly along them. Even within the city, the population of Armament seemed surprisingly sparse.
The roads had very little traffic, though this might have been due to the well-designed and complex highway systems that even rose high into the air.
Nevertheless, the population clearly appeared to be quite low. Buildings featured digital billboards displaying various advertisements, and more domestic robots wandered about, performing their programmed tasks.
The only significant difference was that this area was much cleaner than the abandoned city section they had passed through earlier.
"Dang, I never imagined that part of this world would be so technologically advanced. Still, there are CCTVs everywhere. It's like you're constantly being watched whenever you're outside. There's absolutely no privacy," Aoto remarked, feeling as though he were trapped in a cage under constant surveillance.
"And those large screens on the roads too—they're showing the faces of rule-breakers, right?" he said, pointing at the massive displays that featured different people's faces along with their names and monetary rewards listed beneath.
"No wonder everyone calls the Kingdom of Armament a dictatorship," Scarlett responded with a sigh.
Despite the oppressive atmosphere, both of them couldn't help but admire the scenery. The infrastructure was so massive that they felt tiny in comparison. The predominantly white and glass walls gave the city a clean, aesthetic appearance.
"I just hope no one asks us for our ID," Scarlett murmured before continuing to walk.
Fortunately, no one requested their identification—not the robotic guards, nor even the few real guards wearing strange white uniforms.
"I wonder if they have internet and smartphones here. I really want to play some games. Should we visit some shops?" Aoto asked. It had been more than a year since he last accessed the internet. To be honest, he had almost forgotten that something as amazing as the internet had ever existed in his life.
"Maybe they use VR games instead, and it's not like we have their currency anyway," Scarlett immediately rejected his idea.
And she was absolutely right. Perhaps this kingdom didn't use physical currency at all, with every transaction happening digitally instead.
Another hour passed as they continued on foot. It was already afternoon, and they were still wandering without any clear destination in mind.
"Urgh... this is so boring. What are we supposed to be doing here? Just walk around all day?" Aoto shouted in frustration, stomping his feet on the ground.
"I don't know. Maybe we're meant to meet the mysterious king. Only then might I get some clues," Scarlett replied, pausing for a moment before continuing.
"But where would we find him? There doesn't seem to be any royal palace around here," Scarlett said, her brow furrowed in thought.
Aoto considered this for a few seconds, pondering the situation, when an idea suddenly struck him. "What about the military? Dictators are always surrounded by the army for security."
Scarlett nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. We should look for their military base instead of trying to find the royal palace," she said.
"Then let me ask around," Aoto added, turning and running toward some pedestrians.
"Wait, why would locals even tell you where the military is?" Scarlett called from behind, but Aoto ignored her completely.
He spotted two elderly men taking a leisurely walk and immediately greeted them before asking his question.
"Does either of you know where the military camp or base is located?" he inquired.
At that moment, Scarlett joined him from behind but remained silent, simply standing there quietly.
"Oh, are you one of those technical expert youngsters? Where have you been until now? The departure for war is already starting, and registration might close in just a few minutes. After that, you'll have to hope the war lasts a few weeks so they'll need more forces, It's the best time to earn huge amounts of contribution points and change your life," the first elderly man said in a hurried voice, his eyes darting around anxiously.
"Ump... huh?" Aoto muttered, completely confused by what the old man was saying. Scarlett had the same bewildered expression on her face, her brow furrowed in puzzlement.
"Look, the bus is here too. Go hurry and make sure to get off at the next stop. It's not far away," the other elderly man pointed behind them with a trembling finger.
As both of them turned around, what they saw was nothing like a bus at all.
Just on the other side of the highway, there was something similar to a never-ending railway track, and on it, there were just big empty metal carts lined up, as if they were there to transport heavy products rather than living beings.
One thing that seemed quite strange was that they were floating in the air without any magic at all. It was as if the track and the cart had some magnetic force between them, making the cart stay suspended in the air.
It definitely didn't look like a bus at all.
Both of their lips twitched with hesitation, but it wasn't like they had any other choice. They immediately bolted and flew into the air, landing directly on one of the carts in a single second.
The incredible speed of their movement made both of the elders freeze in place. For a moment, they thought that meeting the two youngsters had just been a hallucination caused by old age.
Meanwhile, the carts started moving again. There was no electricity running through them, only the cart at the very front seemed to have some mechanism built inside that might be controlling the speed and direction of the other carts.
Since it wasn't running on any electricity or fuel, just floating above the ground, it felt quite weird—like they were using flying cars, yet at the same time it wasn't actively flying.
"I think I read about using magnetic fields to make hyper-fast trains. What was its name again?" Scarlett said, trying to remember the exact words from her school days science books.
"No point trying to remember. We both were terrible at science and maths," Aoto chuckled, a playful grin spreading across his face.
Although his words were completely accurate, Scarlett just chuckled lightly, giving up on trying to remember, and started focusing on the surroundings instead.
The cart rails' routes were incredibly complex. Sometimes they moved right, sometimes left, and sometimes their path rose so high that they could see the buildings below them like miniature models.
It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, like riding a roller coaster for the very first time, with Aoto's heart racing with excitement and Scarlett feeling a strange mix of thrill and apprehension.
Still, their ride barely stretched up to six minutes before the next stop came.
And just like the last stop where they had been picked up, this one was also randomly positioned on the other side of the highway, just like ordinary bus stops used to be.
"Phew, at least no one asked for a ticket or something," Scarlett said, exhaling lightly as a wave of relief washed over her.
"Maybe all government transport is free. I guess I'm kinda being impressed by this mysterious dictator," Aoto replied, his voice filled with genuine admiration despite himself.
As they walked further away from the bus stop, they realized that there was no military base here either.
Scarlett even rose high into the air, scanning the area carefully, yet she found nothing. Those elders must have given them false directions, either by mistake or intentionally.
But just as she was about to descend back to the ground, she saw something else instead.
There was a nearby restaurant and a digital billboard beside it. And instead of advertisements, it was showing something that made Scarlett's eyes widen in shock.
She immediately descended and grabbed Aoto's hand, her fingers tightening around his. "Come with me," she said urgently.
They immediately reached the restaurant. Before Aoto could ask why she had dragged him here so suddenly, his gaze landed on the billboard as well, and his mouth fell slightly open in surprise.
The digital billboard was displaying a news channel, and several other people from inside the restaurant and outside were watching it as well, their faces illuminated by the screen's glow.
The reporter was standing outside a military base camp, showing hundreds of sturdy, huge robots lined up around a massive teleportation portal that shimmered with energy.
There were army forces as well, wearing white space suit-like outfits that gleamed under the artificial lights, with laser guns clutched firmly in their hands.
"Two... one... and the end. The time limit for registration has now ended. No more new applicants will be accepted. If you still want to participate in the war, you can reach out to the nearby military base from your location and explain about your specialty. If you're lucky, you'll be given a chance," the reporter said professionally before turning to look at the army with admiration.
"Now, our brave soldiers will teleport to the Mystveil Kingdom before participating in the war with them," he said, turning back to look at the camera with a confident smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"The war will begin in less than an hour from now. The military has drones, so we'll try our best to showcase footage of the war with DreadHaven for you. With our capable leader with us, victory is already assured. All we will evaluate is the casualties at best," the reporter said with a huge smile, completely confident in their overwhelming forces.
Meanwhile, behind him, the army started to go inside the teleportation portal at a steady pace, their white suits disappearing into the swirling vortex one by one without hesitation.
"Wasn't the war supposed to be held in a few weeks? And they're supposed to inform each other before the attack. It's clearly against the rules," Aoto shouted out of both frustration and anger.
"I knew they were never going to follow any rules anyway," Scarlett sighed deeply, though this was still far from her expectations of what might happen.
"Forget it, forget it. We still have time, Let's find this army base and stop the forces from teleporting to Mystveil. It'll definitely disrupt their plans," Aoto said, his legs already floating slightly in the air, ready to fly at a moment's notice.
But Scarlett shook her head slowly, her expression grim. "No point. Just look carefully, it's not live. We're already late," she said, biting her lower lip so hard that it almost bled, and clenching her fist so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Her teeth gritted together audibly, she was annoyed, and incredibly angry that her body trembled slightly with suppressed rage.
"These bastards! If I would have known this before, I would have taken some missiles with me from Earth and launched them at them, destroying everything in one go. I wonder how they would have stopped a missile with barriers that only block something with mana in it?" she shouted into the air, her voice echoing slightly with raw emotion.
Her shout clearly attracted several glares from the people around them. The nearby civilians looked at her with confused expressions, some whispering to each other while pointing in her direction with concerned frowns.
Aoto was about to calm her down, but then a sudden realization hit him like a lightning bolt. As he looked at Scarlett, she paused as well, having the same look of dawning comprehension on her face.
"This kingdom is quite advanced in technology as well, right? It must have missiles far better than Earth's?" she thought to herself, her eyes narrowing as the terrifying implications settled in her mind.
Forget about human kingdoms—how would DreadHaven protect itself from missiles launched from hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away?
What if they just ignore the missile, thinking it's just some harmless piece of metal falling from the sky?
One missile like a nuclear one would be enough to obliterate DreadHaven completely, leaving nothing but ashes and memories.
Yes, Lunatic, Reiza, Li Feng, and others would surely survive with their power, but what about the rest of the innocent citizens?
Who knows how much damage their souls would receive, and she'd have to search for fallen souls all over again.
Too much trouble from just one Kingdom, not to mention there's Mystveil as well, especially the Holy Knights, who are quite experts regarding souls and would surely take advantage of the chaos.
"Aoto, I'm not too sure, but aren't all powerful missiles shot from within the border of the country?" she asked in a flat, emotionless tone.
"I guess so. I only saw tanks and normal missiles on moving vehicles. At best, marines got more destructive ones, but this fight is on land, not water. Aircraft can't do much except blowing up some buildings," Aoto replied seriously, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to follow her line of thinking.
"But why did you ask—" he was about to ask but then, he suddenly realized why she was asking that specific question, and his blood ran cold.
She is going to destroy this entire Kingdom!
All the hairs on Aoto's body stood up instantly, and a wave of panic washed over him. He immediately grabbed her hand. "Wait... wait... wait! Let's rethink about this. There are civilians here as well," he said desperately, trying to make eye contact, but Scarlett had her blindfold on.
"You're not going to do it, right? RIGHT!?"