Sorcery Monarch

Chapter 52: The Butterfly Effect

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Note: In one hour, the first chapter of my new work titled "Apocalypse: Mad Necromancer's Troops" will be published. The publishing schedule will be as follows: 8 chapters per day, at a rate of one chapter every 3 hours, until chapter 48.

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Chapter 52: The Butterfly Effect

March 6th, morning.

Blood Moon City.

Golden sunlight bathed the castle built into the mountainside.

Two towering spires pierced the sky, with surging waves of magical energy spreading outward continuously.

The white walls of the towers were intricately carved with complex spell runes that gleamed softly with magical light as mana flowed through them.

A few swift birds flew by, attempting to pass near the towers.

"Crackle!" A sharp sound rang out, and silver lightning struck swiftly, enveloping the birds in an instant.

The birds didn't have time to cry out before they were scorched black by the deadly lightning, spiraling down to the ground.

Weighing less than half a pound, the birds thudded onto the dusty ground, dead beyond recognition.

Two small figures quickly emerged from the dark corners of an alley, snatching up the charred birds before anyone else arrived.

Jifan cautiously watched the alley, wary that a tall vagrant might appear and snatch away the hard-won meat in his arms.

His small hand, hidden in his sleeve, gripped a rusty, chipped dagger tightly. The blade, although old, was still sharp enough to kill!

In the dangerous slums, being ruthless was just one of the basic survival skills.

But today, Jifan seemed to be lucky, managing to bring his prize back to his dilapidated shack without incident.

He carefully knocked on the sturdy wooden door and, as agreed, let out three dog-like barks.

The thick wooden door slowly opened, and a frail figure peeked out from behind the gap, speaking in a worried yet hopeful voice:

"Brother, why are you back so early today? Did you get hurt?"

Slipping inside with practiced ease, Jifan slid the door's heavy bar into place, placed a small stone on the door frame, and patted his sister's head before pulling out the charred birds from his arms with a smile:

"A gift from the lord. We'll have meat to eat today."

Little Jixiang beamed as she looked at the blackened birds, nodding eagerly before rushing to the kitchen to fetch a basin of water.

The two spent half an hour cleaning the charred birds, revealing the small amount of meat underneath.

Stifling her hunger, Jixiang sipped at a bowl of water, her large black-and-white eyes watching intently as her brother worked.

Jifan carefully chopped the meat into small pieces and placed them into a chipped iron pot. He glanced at their dwindling firewood, then at his sister's thin face, and made a decision:

"The spoils from the first level of the sewers are getting scarcer. Even if it's dangerous, I'll have to go deeper. Otherwise, we'll both starve..."

"I'll need to find Tom later. He's not the brightest, but he's reliable, and at least he can fight decently..."