novelraw Chapter 657 631: I'm Not a Coward
Chapter 657 631: I'm Not a Coward
Several cars were driving along the road.
Chen Shouyi sat in the back seat as countless heavy-duty trucks formed a long line on the road, kicking up thick dust.
"The other side has been repeatedly scouted. The climate there is suitable, the resources are abundant, and no sign of barbarians has been found so far. The first batch of supplies, including food, books, and clothes, is being transported in preparation," explained an accompanying officer in a timely manner.
He belonged to the military's younger faction, distinct from the old guard. Usually, they have been involved with martial arts since youth, possessing considerable personal strength, unlike the older ones who are long past the age for martial arts practice and lack passion for it.
Although Divine Blood and Divine Marrow can enhance physical attributes, there is no shortcut for skills and combat awareness.
An authentic martial artist, honed through countless days and years, can unleash four to five times their strength with every move, incomparable to a fake martial artist.
Often, even a great or senior martial artist can be lethal.
"If... the situation deteriorates, how many people will migrate then?" Chen Shouyi asked.
"Zhonghai has prepared enough food and supplies for ten million people to last a year, but, in reality, those without a martial artist's physique will have to be abandoned," the officer said.
Chen Shouyi nodded, feeling heavy-hearted.
A martial artist apprentice can barely move in the otherworld, only martial artists and above can act freely, and evacuation to the otherworld doesn't mean the end; further migration is inevitable, away from the spatial passage.
Even if they barely follow, their destiny would be abandonment.
In comparison, it's better to stay on Earth under the Barbarian God's rule.
Now, all hope rests on humanity winning this war.
"In case it happens, would your Zhonghai forces also go?" At this point, Chen Shouyi asked.
The officer said, "According to the principle of voluntariness, one can choose whether to enter the spatial passage."
"What about you?" Perhaps feeling suppressed, Chen Shouyi asked unusually.
"My parents are old, my father is bedridden, and my wife just gave me a child this year..." he spoke softly, his eyes slightly red: "I just... I'm not a deserter."
"I understand, it's human nature," Chen Shouyi consoled, pale.
After that, the atmosphere became silent.
The car drove slowly, unimpeded, and soon entered a heavily guarded underground base.
The spatial passage was located about a dozen meters underground, quite concealed, perhaps the reason for choosing this passage.
Chen Shouyi got out of the car and, accompanied by numerous officials, walked into the spatial passage.
He discovered it bustling inside, with supplies piled high.
Countless treaded steam trucks loaded with containers were neatly arranged in a formation. As far as the eye could see, they were densely packed by the thousands, with supplies continuously being transported in.
This is preparation to rebuild human civilization!
...
Chen Shouyi did not stay long, refused the escort and companionship, and walked out of the base at his own pace. Under the clear sky, the light was glaring, and the asphalt road was baked like soft mud.
He passed by a small shop.
He bought a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and lit it. Countless smoke particles danced rapidly, cloaked in a layer of vibrant sheen under the light. With his vision, if he wished, he could capture objects at the micron level.
He could see the cells on his skin and the bacteria crawling on them.
However, he could barely see these, like ordinary people seeing tiny dots, and he would never pay attention to them. To him, these were everyday sights, and he had long since become accustomed to them.
Just as ordinary people wouldn't pay attention to the lines on their skin.
He deeply inhaled, and the cigarette butt burned down in an instant. He exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and then flicked away the cigarette, briskly heading home.
...
In the next few days.
The entire Great Xia Country was in a state of surging undercurrents, with a large number of researchers, including top engineers, ordered to leave their labs or factories and secretly travel to Zhonghai under military escort by train.
These are the essence of humanity.
As long as these people exist, they can recreate human civilization anywhere.
Many have already keenly sensed the unusual, rumors began to spread, but strong measures kept society stable.
Day by day, the atmosphere grew more oppressive.
Then the prophesied war did not occur. The Lord of Lightning had not moved since Yan State, as if the mysterious being was just playing a joke.
Half a month later.
The last trace of energy from the Divine Stone was completely absorbed by Chen Shouyi, turning entirely to dust.
He opened his attribute panel:
Strength: 23.2
Agility: 23.2
Constitution: 23.3
Intelligence: 23.1
Perception: 21.9
Will: 21.7
Energy Accumulation: 50.65
Faith Value: 15802.5
"Apart from perception and will, they finally all reached the 23-point mark."
At his thought, he allocated his accumulated faith value to Giant Transformation.
After a few seconds.
The Giant Battle Body progress, originally at 35.01%.
Has now become 50.01%.
He glanced at the two little creatures collecting nectar nearby and walked several kilometers away.
"Transform!"
In an instant, his body rapidly expanded.
His clothes burst apart and were swept away by the fierce wind.
In a blink, a towering twenty-meter giant stood on the hill, his body covered in black patterns, with streaks of lightning arcs flowing over his skin, exuding a frightening aura.
He glanced at the attribute panel.
Strength and Constitution have respectively reached 41.1 and 41.4.
Boosted thirteen hundred times, his strength neared thirty thousand tons.
At his thought, a massive rock weighing several tons flew into his hand.
His palm gently squeezed.
With a "boom" sound.
The rock shattered like a crisp biscuit under his grip.
"Compared to the Forbidden Land's evil entities, even the Barbarian God does not excel in physical prowess. Their strength lies in divine power and instantaneous lightning-fast cognitive reaction speeds," he mused.
Although not in the otherworld, he believed his 41.1 strength could still crush the Lord of Lightning.
Just as when facing the God of Light, deprived of divine power, relying solely on the physical body, it couldn't even kill him in a short time, but once he caught an opportunity, it was a direct kill.
But that was an altogether fortuitous encounter, unreproducible.
Lately, the immense pressure has been suffocating him, and he constantly contemplated strategies.
He can use the vacuum field to block long-range lightning divine arts, but he cannot block the opponent from breaking through the vacuum field and using divine arts in close quarters.
"The opponent's cognitive speed is about four to five times mine... but their speed should not be much faster than mine. If combined with Air Imprisonment..." he pondered.
He closed his eyes, quickly forming a vacuum around him, surrounded by solidified air, mentally simulating a battle with the Lord of Lightning.