I Save The World In A Doomsday Text Game

Chapter 177-2: The Inheritance Trial of the Dark Dragon Knight (2)

[You reach out to touch the massive stele…]

[Your whole body tensed, fully bracing for the coming trial.]

[…]

[A long time passed, but nothing happened.]

[Perplexed, you looked at the stele and tried touching it again, but still the so-called trial did not begin.]

[Just when you thought that perhaps, after so many years, the trial’s power had been worn away…]

[A strange drowsiness slowly crept over your mind. You struggled to keep your eyes open, but were helplessly pulled into an unknowable dream…]

[You have entered a Residual Illusion of Knowledge…]

[…]

[Countless shouts and screams filled your ears. You heard the sound of weapons hacking into hard carapaces, and of jointed limbs piercing armor without end.][You slowly opened your eyes. Before you lay a battlefield where countless humans clashed with terrifying creatures.]

[Those creatures, their bodies covered in hard shells, were the starborn monsters you knew well.]

[The desolate battlefield was strewn with corpses, some belonging to starborn beasts, but far more to your own kind.]

[You looked toward the sky. Countless massive flying creatures battled the tiny human figures. The pure white glow of sigils flashed without cease. Blood rained down. Corpses fell from the sky.]

[You noticed a terrifying, sinister shadow circling above, spewing waves of pitch-black flame. Beneath that dark breath, the starborn monsters melted and dissolved without resistance, dropping from the sky…]

[You focused your gaze. That monstrous shadow was a living black dragon!]

[As the dragon wheeled overhead, you could faintly see a figure holding a massive spear riding upon its back.]

[This dragon was far smaller than the remains of the Ancient Hermit Dark Dragon you had seen earlier. Compared to that colossal skeleton, this one was like a child.]

[Wherever the dragon and its rider passed, the starborn monsters were slain in droves. Not one could withstand a single blow!]

[Yet in the face of the endless, sprawling battlefield, the slain monsters were but a drop in the ocean. No matter how mighty the Dragon Knight was, he could not change the tide of battle.]

[Suddenly, a horrific starborn creature broke through the soldiers’ ranks and lunged at you, claws slashing!]

[You drew your Ancient Dragonfang Greatclub and smashed the monster into pulp with a single blow.]

[You defeated an Unknown Starborn Creature. You gained no experience.]

[A soldier clad in armor hurried to your side, dropped to one knee, and loudly begged your forgiveness. He blamed his incompetence for allowing the spawn of the evil gods to threaten your safety…]

[You waved him off and ordered him back to the front lines.]

[You looked toward the fiercest part of the battlefield. Whether the scholars fighting in the sky or the soldiers battling on the ground, all were forced to retreat step by step against the endless waves of monsters…]

[Suddenly, a long horn call resounded in the air, blowing three times in succession.]

[You frowned, a foreboding sense growing in your chest…]

[The same soldier returned, armor soaked in blood, leaning on his cross sword. His face was filled with despair as he reported: the front line had collapsed. The scholars were preparing to retreat from the battlefield. My lord, as the Legate of the Oath Legion, you must lead the troops in covering their withdrawal.]

[You looked up. Sure enough, the tiny human figures in the sky had begun to withdraw, no longer engaging the monsters directly.]

[Only that black dragon and its rider still refused to retreat, still fighting in the thick of the slaughter!]

[Brave and resolute apostle, what will you do?]

[1. Roll your eyes and scoff, “Why do we have to cover the retreat? Come on, we’re getting out of here,” and order your soldiers to flee with you, preserving the flame of humanity’s survival.]

[2. Curl your lip in anger, “You talk too much! Get back to the front and fight! What are you doing bothering me?” and order your troops to charge, while you slip away alone and desert the battle.]

[3. Roar boldly, “Brothers, charge with me! Slay those alien fiends from beyond the stars!” and lead a headlong assault with all forces, covering the scholars’ retreat to the last.]

At any other time, Lin Xun would have chosen the second option without hesitation.

In the hellish game, staying alive came first, there was no shame in playing it safe.

But right now, he was in a Residual Illusion of Knowledge, inside the Dark Dragon Knight’s trial.

Of course, he had to pick the most fearless, heroic option.

Otherwise, if the Dragon Knight was still up in the sky fighting while he ran off first, he’d definitely be eliminated from the trial.

Without hesitation, he pressed the third option: charge and cover the retreat.

[You drew your Ancient Dragonfang Greatclub and let out an earth-shaking roar that echoed across the battlefield!]

[With unwavering resolve, you charged toward the front line. Countless soldiers answered your call, roaring in unison as they drew their swords and rushed into the melee!]

[High above, the scholars seemed to receive a shared signal. In an instant, they began retreating to the rear of the battlefield…]

[Your legion rolled forward rows of massive ballistae. Once the scholars had withdrawn, volleys of bolts launched like swarming locusts.]

[The monsters chasing the scholars were felled in droves by the rain of bolts. Amid the dense crossfire, not only the starborn beasts but also some straggling scholars, and large numbers of legion soldiers, perished.]

[Under the hail of arrows, the starborn creatures were forced to abandon their pursuit of the scholars, turning instead to attack the ballistae surrounded by your ranks.]

[You paid no heed to the ballistae. You knew perfectly well that the moment they revealed themselves, both the weapons and the soldiers manning them were doomed to fall beneath the monsters’ claws.]

[That death belonged not just to those soldiers, the sacrifice was also your destiny.]

[Dragging your Ancient Dragonfang Greatclub, you charged into the heart of the battlefield’s meat grinder.]

[Facing the tide of monsters like a living sea, you roared and swung your weapon to begin the slaughter…]

[You defeated an Unknown Starborn Creature. You gained no experience.]

[You defeated an Unknown Starborn Creature…]

[You defeated…]

[…]

[…]

[Your vision gradually turned red. The Regenerating Scale Armor of the Dragon Rider on your body had already saved you from several lethal attacks.]

[But slowly, the armor’s regeneration could no longer keep pace with how often the monsters tore it open.]

[You could no longer tell whether the blood soaking the scales was yours or the starborn creatures’.]

[You felt a trace of exhaustion!]

[Suddenly, a sharp claw came slashing at you again. Dazed and weak, your arm failed to parry the blow.]

[A figure stepped in front of you, taking the strike in your place. The claw punched through his body without mercy.]

[Wiping blood from your forehead, you saw that it was the same soldier who had spoken to you before.]

[Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth as he whispered to you. “My lord Legate… you must hold out to the very last… May Omniscient True Knowledge be with you…”]

[When he finished, his head slumped powerlessly.]

[Expressionless, you gripped your greatclub tight and smashed the monster before you into pulp.]

[You gazed at the endless sea of creatures, drew in a deep breath, and charged forward once more!]