novelraw Chapter 298: The Solar Heroes Battlefield, A Strange Death
Chapter 298: The Solar Heroes Battlefield, A Strange Death
[You possess the Shell of the Wilds Hunter of Radiant Light!]
[Fragmentary memories of the hunter’s life linger within the Shell…]
[…]
[The last letter your younger brother sent you from the royal capital arrived half a month ago.]
[Unusually, the letter did not boast of what new beasts he had hunted, what precious furs he had obtained, or which noble he had sold them to for how many silver coins.]
[There were only a few lines of scrawled, twisted writing in the letter…]
[Your brother said the royal capital… had changed utterly!]
[Above the royal capital, famed as the City of the Blazing Sun, the eternally unchanging Golden Blazing Sun suddenly turned blood-red without warning, the color of fresh blood!]
[Walking under the crimson sunlight, even the most devout priests of the Church of Divine Light would fall into madness, sinking into monsters that knew only slaughter!]
[When you read these lines, you looked up at the sky. The Golden Blazing Sun hung there just fine, with no trace of blood red.][You knew this was another prank by your brother, just like when he stuffed horse manure into your bed when he was a child, yet you still could not suppress your anger.]
[Your brother’s joke went too far. If the contents of the letter were discovered by the Church of Divine Light, they might denounce your brother as a heretic and inflict the most severe Punishment of Light.]
[The Punishment of Light is terrifying. The Church’s Paladins of Discipline bind the offender to a pillar, and a bishop-level figure from the regional cardinal group administers a penalty of direct exposure to the Blazing Sun…]
[To demonstrate the harshness of the punishment, the bishop does not allow the offender to die immediately, but bakes the offender under blazing, magnificent sunlight, slowly draining the moisture from the body until the offender faints from dehydration, then forcibly pours salt water down and orders nuns to heal him, repeating this for seven days, until only a dried corpse remains.]
[You once had the dubious fortune of witnessing the Punishment of Light. You remember this cruel penalty all too vividly…]
[You decide that after finishing the letter you will burn the paper. Though your brother may be suspected of desecrating the Blazing Sun, it is only a joke, with no malicious heresy.]
[You force yourself to continue reading your brother’s prank of a letter…]
[Your brother said that the people in the royal capital had all gone mad. Under the crimson sunlight, people despaired and wailed, either sinking into monsters or dying beneath the monsters’ claws.]
[At last… a figure radiating golden sunlight appeared.]
[The figure was incomparably mighty, as if he could pluck the sun from the firmament with a single reach!]
[That was one of the Four Solar Heroes whom people worshipped and who existed only in legend, the Titan known as the Defender of the Golden Blazing Sun, Dan!]
[Dan came to save the royal capital, to save the believers who worshipped Him!]
[The frenzied, deranged monsters were so fragile beneath the Solar Hero’s feet. The Solar Hero wiped out most of the Corrupted.]
[With Dan’s descent, more Solar Heroes descended as well.]
[People originally thought that panic would subside and that the monsters would all be annihilated by the heroes’ might… but to their horror, the three Solar Heroes who descended afterward radiated a blood-red light like fresh blood, just like the sun in the sky…]
[Those three heroes had not come to save the royal capital… they raised their blades against their former comrade and against the Titan who protected the people.]
[The royal capital became the battlefield of the Solar Heroes. The survivors fled the capital one after another…]
[Your brother also fled with the others, exiling himself toward places not yet illuminated by the Blood Sun, namely the place where you had settled, Moonlight’s Hometown – Saint Rance!]
[Your brother urged you to gather all valuables and, most importantly, food, to wait for his arrival in Saint Rance, so the two of you could hide from the Blood Sun together…]
[You once heard a priest in the church say that if a person thinks everyone in the world is mad, then it is not the world that is mad, but that person’s head.]
[Looking at the twisted scrawl on the letter, you felt the matter was serious. It might not be as simple as a prank.]
[After careful thought, you judged that your brother had likely been bewitched by heretics, leading to mental aberration. He needed to take Holy Water of the Church to cleanse his heart.]
[You burned the letter and secretly resolved to hunt more fierce beasts to exchange for the costly Holy Water for your brother…]
[…]
[As you expected, half a month passed. You heard no news of the royal capital’s fall, and your brother did not flee to Saint Rance. It was all just your brother’s mad ravings.]
[You were soon able to scrape together enough silver to purchase Holy Water. You only needed to work a bit harder to hunt a few more beasts…]
[The shattered memories end abruptly here.]
“Damn.”
“So I didn’t traverse into a peaceful world before the apocalypse…”
“I entered at the time node of a battle between demigod heroes!”
Based on the known plot, the Demigod Titan Dan, no matter how strong, could not fight four with two fists. He would be defeated by the other three Solar Heroes and eventually sealed beneath Saint Rance, planting the seed of the Corrupting Blood Sun…
Moonlight’s Hometown – Saint Rance was the town for his first entry into the Blood Sun world. Most of Chapter 323 took place in this town called Saint Rance.
According to the hunter’s memory, his residence was in Saint Rance.
The place he often hunted could not be too far from Saint Rance either.
That meant the forest where Lin Xun currently stood was very likely the shadowy forest to the southwest of Saint Rance, the homeland of the Ancient Treants!
[You possess the Shell of the Desire-Bearing Greedy Wolf Star Lord!]
[You ride your sword into the sky, look northeast, and indeed see a large town.]
[Unlike the ruins in your impression, the town was extremely prosperous. The landmark Artemis Clocktower rose high and was intact.]
[This made you absolutely certain that the town was Moonlight’s Hometown – Saint Rance!]
“The hellish game, as expected of you. I knew there was no such thing as a god-tier opening… the demigod war was waiting for me afterward!”
Lin Xun suspected that the reason Dan was not sealed elsewhere after his defeat but beneath Saint Rance was very likely because the Solar Heroes’ battlefield was about to shift to Saint Rance.
In other words, he would not only have to face the other twenty-three Apostles competing in the dark, but also confront the final demigod war!
The other Apostles, not having experienced the Forgotten Abyss of the Fading Afterglow beneath Saint Rance, even if they obtained memory information similar to that of the hunter Shell, likely could not determine that the final battlefield was in Saint Rance.
Indeed, had he not previously triggered Dan the Titan’s hidden plot, then even with the hunter’s memory, the information about Dan would have been glossed over as something like an internal war among the Four Solar Heroes.
“Fortunately, compared to other Apostles, I am not only superior in combat power, I also have an informational edge.”
Returning to Saint Rance brought not only these advantages. Lin Xun could even claim the hidden rewards he obtained before again!
For example, the sapling of the Tree of Life guarded by the Ancient Treants, the Earth Giant Shell in the Beastmen Giants’ burial grounds, and the items that enhanced the quality of giant bloodlines…
[What is your next action?]
[1. Go to Moonlight’s Hometown – Saint Rance.]
[2. Go to the territory of the Beastmen Giants.]
[3. Search for traces of the Ancient Treants.]
Lin Xun thought for a moment. The highest-value reward for him should be the Essence of the Giant’s Bloodline.
In Chapter 323, the Earth Giant’s bloodline had been enhanced twice, and both bloodline items were in the Beastmen tribe.
The current Easter Egg Chapter was sixth difficulty. The hellish game would surely boost the monsters’ strength…
Of course, that was not what worried Lin Xun. He did not know when the Solar Heroes would arrive at Saint Rance, nor did he know where the remaining twenty-three Apostles were hiding.
To win the Disciple position, he would have to defeat the other candidates and also… survive the demigod war!
He was about to press an option when the Slaughter option in the hellish game flashed.
He clicked to check and saw Unknown Apostle No. 13’s status change from Alive to Under Death Penalty!
The hellish game also marked No. 13 Apostle’s remaining Death Penalty time as one hour.
This Apostle had died once in the short time since the start and had to remain in the wandering soul state for a full hour!
Not long after, he saw this Apostle’s Death Penalty time reset to one hour, meaning he had died again while in the wandering soul state.
Immediately after, the hellish game announced…
[Unknown Apostle No. 13 – Dead!]
“Just… died like that?”
Amos had told him that after an Apostle’s death, they would revive at an independent hidden respawn point. Each time, the respawn location differed and would not be exposed.
As long as they were not found by other Apostles during the Death Penalty wandering soul period, dying once would not be a huge loss.
But from Death Penalty to soul strength cap reduction to death, the entire process for Apostle No. 13 took less than a minute.
“Could it be that Apostle No. 13 revived right next to another Apostle each time, so he was killed the instant he revived?”
“Dying twice in the wandering soul form, the maximum soul strength drops to zero, and the Apostle’s main body Shell and soul die as well…”
[Suddenly, you sense a strange aura rapidly approaching!]
[You descend to the ground and look toward the depths of the forest…]
[A figure flickering with red light pokes its head out from among the trees…]
[You have encountered Unknown Apostle No. 17!]
[Will you flee immediately or kill him?]
The text of the hellish game flashed a dense blood hue, trembling continuously.
Without time to think, Lin Xun decisively pressed the latter!
[True essence surges through your body. Forming a sword seal with your fingers, the Star-Shifting Celestial Sword becomes a slashing sword light…]
[The red-glimmering figure seemed to want to flee immediately, but before he could take a step, the fierce sword light pierced through his chest!]
[Blood sprayed like a waterfall. The figure slowly fell, and the Shell dissolved into motes of starlight and vanished…]
[You have defeated Unknown Apostle No. 17!]
[Because your invasion permissions are high, you may plunder one piece of loot from this Apostle.]
[Please choose the loot category you wish to plunder…]
Lin Xun quickly pressed the equipment category, but his mind was not on the loot at all.
He saw the Slaughter option flash again.
He clicked to view it.
[…]
[Unknown Apostle No. 17 – Under Death Penalty, remaining penalty time 59 minutes 55 seconds!]
[…]
[Unknown Apostle No. 17 – Under Death Penalty, remaining penalty time 59 minutes 59 seconds!]
[…]
[Unknown Apostle No. 17 – Dead!]
Just like Apostle No. 13 earlier, this Apostle whom Lin Xun had killed also died twice in quick succession in the wandering soul state after his Shell’s death!
The first time, the hellish game would reset the Death Penalty timer. The second soul death directly announced the Apostle’s death…
“That can’t be a coincidence!”
Every Disciple selection’s Easter Egg Chapter is different. No one knows the precise details inside. The chapter intel Amos told him came from the organization.
Lin Xun suspected there was an error in Amos’s intel. Random revival could not place one right beside another Apostle every time.
If it was not the hellish game doing it deliberately, then it could only mean… the Apostles’ revival places were dangerous. Existing as a feeble wandering soul, one would face death the instant one revived!
“In this chapter… I cannot die even once?”
He suddenly understood. Other Apostles died because they could not Reshape their Shells during the Death Penalty period.
But he did not need to Reshape. He only needed to possess another main combat Shell.
“Should I die once to see what the revival situation really is?”
After careful consideration, Lin Xun still gave up on the idea. Do not court death and you will not die. If the revival point was truly a dead end, the cost of trial and error would be far too great.
The gear dropped by Unknown Apostle No. 17 was only Epic grade, and it was a lousy greave-type foot armor.
Lin Xun casually moved it to the Earth Giant’s equipment slot. His mind was already working on how to eliminate the other candidates and survive the demigod war.
He pressed the option to go to the territory of the Beastmen Giants.
[You ride your sword into the sky, flying toward the direction of the Beastmen Giants’ territory in your memory…]
[Your weapon Star-Shifting Celestial Sword has the effect of increasing sword-riding speed, causing you to fly faster and faster…]
[…]
[With the gale in your face, as you ride the sword, the trees of the forest below grow sparser.]
[You know you are about to reach the edge of the shadowy forest…]
[You gaze into the distance. The mountain ranges at the forest’s edge look strangely unfamiliar, completely different from the mountains of the Beastmen tribe you saw before.]
[Do you wish to continue riding the sword deeper?]
Lin Xun frowned.
What was going on? Even if the chapter difficulty differed and the time line was not the same, how could the terrain have changed?
Could it be that the time span between the two chapters was so great that seas had turned into mulberry fields?
[You continue riding your sword, and, following the general direction in your memory, arrive above the Beastmen tribe.]
[You look down and see no valley where the Corrupted Blood Beastmen lived, nor any territory of the Beastmen Giants.]
[Below is a stretch of wild mountains, covered only in lush vegetation and trees.]
[You descend on your sword. The scenery is completely different from your memory…]
[Will you remain here to search carefully, or return to the shadowy forest?]
Lin Xun refused to believe it and chose the former.
He spent a long time, and except for occasionally finding a wild beast, he did not discover a single trace that the Beastmen Giants had ever lived here.
With no other choice, he could only return to the shadowy forest.
“Damn it!”
If he could not find the Beastmen Giants, then the Essence of the Giant’s Bloodline was gone.
Lin Xun could only settle for the next best thing and search for the Ancient Treants.
When he first entered Chapter 323, he had been a rookie and could only draw out the great treants by setting the forest ablaze.
He was no longer that green. To find the treants now, he only needed to circle the shadowy forest once while flying. Given the imposing size of the Ancient Treants, it would be very difficult for them to hide their tracks completely.