novelraw Chapter 997: The Final Journey (9)
Chapter 997: The Final Journey (9)
The battlefield roared with the sounds of fighting.
Guardians' Union.
Giant Clan.
Fire Pit.
Knight Order.
Before returning to the East Continent, Qing Chen had heard about the legendary stories of himself and these people before him.
In the dimly lit safe house, he listened quietly, eating biscuits.
At that time, it was like listening to an audiobook; he didn't even consider the protagonist of this novel to be himself.
Everything in that story was so far removed from his life as a 17-year-old high school student; there was no sense of immersion.
At this moment, Qing Chen watched as the giants appeared before him like ancient giants, like a group of Kua Fu chasing the sun, trampling on the mountains and earth. The moment more than 5,000 giants collided with the Orc Legion, the front-line Orc soldiers fell like dominoes.
He watched the Guardians' Union members limp down the hillside, supporting each other as they charged into battle, yet when they truly encountered the Orc Legion, they still exploded with amazing combat power.
He watched the four Knights fight their way through the Orc Legion, joining forces to chase down the three old Fate Weaver monsters, pursuing them across the battlefield.
From south to north, from east to west.
These people didn't know if they could win this battle.
These people didn't know if they could return alive.
They had already fulfilled their responsibilities, defended their lines, and could rest.
But when there was a need here, they still came without hesitation.
Xiao Er's surprised voice was still in his ears: "Boss, Boss! All our reinforcements have arrived!"
Everyone shouted excitedly: "Reinforcements!"
At this moment, even Qing Chen was infected by this overwhelming joy, unconsciously smiling, even shouting along with everyone.
Only at this moment did he finally feel like he was part of it, no longer an outsider.
Outside the encirclement.
The Giant Clan and the Guardians' Union reinforcements cut in from both sides. Although their numbers were small, they fiercely disrupted the Orc Legion's formations, rendering them tactically inept.
At this time, the giants grabbed the legs of the Orc soldiers, using the burly Orc soldiers as clubs, swinging them wildly, smashing the Orc soldiers until they couldn't stand.
Inside the encirclement.
"Follow me!" Xiao Er led the elite Guardians' Union members, starting to concentrate on breaking through in one direction, trying to connect the inner and outer encirclements and join forces with the reinforcements.
The almost exhausted Qing Chen followed behind the Guardians' Union members; as soon as someone was in danger, he immediately stepped in to save them.
Everyone fought fiercely, and Qing Chen was no exception.
Their bodies were stained with crimson blood, indistinguishable between Orc and their own. They didn't know how long they had been fighting when several Orc soldiers charged forward, using their burly size to pounce on Xiao Er.
Qing Chen suddenly killed from the side, grabbing the Orc soldier's falling claws.
He suddenly twisted his waist and spun, causing the Orc soldier to spin twice before throwing it away.
With a loud thud, the thrown Orc soldier knocked the Orc soldier formation into disarray.
However, the next moment everyone froze, Xiao Er and Little Seven outside met eyes.
One second later, Xiao Er reacted and roared: "Brothers, break through!"
"Break through!"
The people inside and outside the encirclement, like the rivers of this world, all rushed eastward, finally converging together and flowing endlessly!
However, Little Seven's attention was no longer on Xiao Er; he looked at Qing Chen with tears in his eyes: "Boss, you're finally back!"
Qing Chen was stared at by Little Seven, feeling a chill down his spine: "Ah... who are you?"
Little Seven was stunned: "I'm your most loyal..."
Xiao Er cursed: "You little rascal, you're up to no good, trying to become a Black Family member while the Leader is amnesiac!"
Little Seven: "You son of a bitch, don't spoil my good thing..."
Qing Chen couldn't help but laugh; what was going on? Was this the team he had led before? It didn't seem quite like his own personality!
Just as this interruption happened, the Orc Legion again surrounded them, seemingly wanting to separate the inner and outer circles again.
However, strangely, as soon as Little Seven shouted, "Boss, you're finally back," it made the Guardians' Union reinforcements all red-eyed, rushing towards this place like madmen, wanting to see their "out-of-the-way, unheard-of' Boss!
But before they could see Qing Chen, the Orc soldiers had already rushed forward to push them back, blocking everyone's sight.
The Guardians' Union members looked at these Orc soldiers and thought that they were too ignorant; why were they coming here at such a crucial moment?
"Kill them!" Luo Wanya took the lead, and this group of Guardians' Union members, in order to catch a glimpse of Qing Chen, actually tore the Orc Legion that had just surrounded them again...
The Orc Legion was stunned!
They probably couldn't imagine that the Guardians' Union members could be so dedicated to seeing their Boss!
On the battlefield, Luo Wanya excitedly stepped on the corpses of the Orc soldiers and came to Qing Chen: "Boss! You're finally back. Do you know how we've been spending these days? It's been terrible!"
Qing Chen was a little at a loss: "Let's deal with the danger first!"
"Okay, okay!" Luo Wanya turned around and led the Guardians' Union members to kill again, widening the gap.
But Luo Wanya and others didn't just come to see Qing Chen; countless family members suddenly killed over, foolishly glanced at Qing Chen, and left...
Unknowingly, the Orc Legion became smaller and smaller.
While Qing Chen was fighting, he suddenly heard cheers from afar, layered upon layer, like wheat waves rolling in the fields.
He turned to look and saw a violent young woman with a ponytail and a bandage around her waist, wielding a domineering long sword, holding up an old man's head, standing atop the pile of Orc corpses!
The next moment, she raised the old man's head high: "Kill!"
The Guardians' Union members all roared hoarsely: "Kill!"
Everyone's voices were hoarse; they fought desperately, pouring all their strength and courage into the fight!
The Orc Legion, which had originally surrounded the Guardians' Union, began to scatter and flee, as if their fear had broken free from the control of the Forbidden Artifact Ant Queen.
The Guardians' Union members wailed and chased after them, not wanting to let a single Orc soldier escape.
The Orc Legion began to collapse; the East Continent was about to win... but Qing Chen felt like something was missing.
This intuition made him feel uneasy.
It's like you always feel like you forgot something when you go out, you can't think of it no matter how hard you try, until long after you've gone out, you realize that you did forget to bring your wallet.
That intuition is not unfounded, but a subconscious reminder to you.
Amidst the cheers, Qing Chen stood in place, thinking, trying to find the source of that uneasiness from his past memories.
What is it?
What clues did he miss that caused him such unease?
In an instant, Qing Chen's pupils constricted.
Everyone's movements became slow motion; when Little Seven cheered, sweat dripped from his hair, each drop flying and suspended in the air.
A beastman's neck was pierced with a dagger; crimson blood spurted out slowly.
The whole world seemed to have suddenly slowed down.
However, it wasn't the world that was slowing down, but Qing Chen's thoughts that were speeding up!
Qing Chen seemed to return to the origin of the story, that narrow, dilapidated military alley.
He was still sitting under the awning in front of the supermarket; the uncle passing by, holding four freshly baked sesame cakes, some water vapor spreading from the freshly baked cakes, forming a layer of white mist in the transparent plastic bag.
At the end of the alley, Bus 103 flashed past the narrow alley; a woman in a beige trench coat held an umbrella and ran towards the bus stop.
But this wasn't the clue he was looking for.
Qing Chen stirred his memory, passing through a gray fog, he didn't know what was in the fog, he couldn't get close.
At this time, Qing Chen heard a voice.
He seemed to return to that dimly lit safe house; the tritium lamps on the wall emitted a faint light.
Black Widow calmly said to him: "The Roosevelt royal family has required each Duke to pay tribute with a Forbidden Artifact every year since 64 years ago. Currently, many Forbidden Artifacts are hidden in the royal family's hands, and it is rare to see them used."
Qing Chen suddenly woke up!
Yes, 64 years is 256 Forbidden Artifacts concentrated in the hands of the Fate Weavers; this is only the tribute from the four Dukes; the Fate Weavers themselves don't know how many Forbidden Artifacts they still have.
However, even though the Orc Legion was about to be defeated, Qing Chen had not seen those Forbidden Artifacts.
In the information given by the Fifth Princess, the Forbidden Artifacts were to be used to contain the Forbidden Artifact "Amber'.
But even if the Amber, which can seal the Hundred Ghosts Night Walk, needs to swallow a Forbidden Artifact a year, it only consumes dozens of them; what about the rest?
Now the Fate Weavers are about to lose; why don't they use them?
When a person is drowning, they will want to grab at a straw; yet the Fate Weavers still hide those Forbidden Artifacts.
The war with the West Continent lasted two or three months, and the Fate Weavers only used less than twenty Forbidden Artifacts; where are the rest?!
Moreover, Storm Duke has not appeared until now.
Qing Chen broke free from the state of super-memory innate in his bloodline; he saw many Guardians' Union members cheering and celebrating; some hoarsely venting their pent-up emotions, some collapsing to the ground and weeping.
Qing Chen suddenly shouted: "Shrink your formation! Close in on me, don't celebrate, the battle isn't over!"
He wasn't sure what the Fate Weavers' last resort was, but now was definitely not the time to celebrate.
When he shouted, the Guardians' Union members stopped to look at him; Little Seven asked: "What's wrong, Boss?"
"Return to the last line of defense, quickly!" Qing Chen had no time to explain.
All the Guardians' Union members fell silent; they calmed down and returned to their fighting state; those who were crying actually suppressed their emotions, wiped their tears, and stood up!
North of the battlefield.
The tall Storm Duke, clad in black robes, stood on a mountaintop; he closed his eyes tightly, as if trying to sense something.
Not far away, twelve Fate Weavers, clad in black robes, stood silently, waiting.
"Fate has been obscured; some of you can even lock onto the Marquis of Phoenix City thousands of miles away, but I can't see what's happening right next to me," Storm Duke said calmly, "I guess there's a special existence that suddenly appeared on the battlefield; the fate around him will be hidden... Qing Chen."
Storm Duke revealed the true principle of Qing Chen's fate-obfuscating ability: Qing Chen is an existence beyond this world; with him as the center, and his life Force field as the radius, no one within 100 kilometers can probe the fate of this land.
Qing Chen is like possessing a halo that obscures fate; wherever he goes, this halo covers that place.
Outside the halo, only the fate related to him will be blurred, as if a frosted film is applied.
Inside the halo, everything disappears.
A Fate Weaver whispered: "Has he transcended the Demi-God realm...?"
"Then he is a true god."
Storm Duke replied calmly: "It doesn't matter, today we slaughter a god."
He raised his eyes; on the mountaintop behind the 12 Fate Weavers, Forbidden Artifacts were placed in order, including wardrobes, clocks, bracelets, magic hats, headphones, human skulls, and eyeballs placed in vessels.
Totaling 258; some have appeared in West Continent society and are known to people, such as the pair of eyeballs that can be transplanted into normal people, giving them the ability to see through things; such as the magic hat that allows one to hear the thoughts of others when worn; such as the bracelet that allows one to become diamond-like when worn.
Some have never appeared, always hidden in the palace of the Royal Capital.
A Fate Weaver offered a staff about two meters long; the staff looked like white bones intertwined, and at the top of the staff were two bony hands holding something, but it was missing.
Another Fate Weaver took the human skull from among the Forbidden Artifacts and handed it to Storm Duke.
Storm Duke took the staff and placed the human skull on the top of the staff; with a click, the staff was complete.
He heavily struck the staff on the ground.
With a buzzing sound, green flames burned in the skull; the flames in the eye sockets kept flickering.
The skull opened its mouth and took a deep breath; the remaining 256 Forbidden Artifacts on the ground turned into powder and poured into its mouth.
The East Continent has very terrifying Forbidden Artifacts, such as Forbidden Artifact 002: The Heavenly Chessboard, which requires the sacrifice of 3610 lives to complete the containment.
And the Forbidden Artifact in Storm Duke's hand requires the sacrifice of 256 Forbidden Artifacts!
No wonder the royal family requires the four Dukes to pay tribute with Forbidden Artifacts; the Fate Weavers have been waiting to contain this terrifying staff.
The next moment, the green flames in the skull burned intensely; its eyes emitted light; the sky changed; green streamers of light twisted and meandered in the sky; within a radius of 100 kilometers, it seemed as if it had suddenly entered an eternal Extreme Night, with aurora filling the sky.
Storm Duke's eyes also turned green; he stood on the mountain, looking into the distance: "Fate Weavers, go to the battlefield, completely conquer this world."
On Frontline a1, Si Yue of the Forbidden Artifact Tribunal was containing the corpses; if they were not contained, the entire East Continent would become a Forbidden Zone after this battle.
The crows were busy in linen robes; Si Yue suddenly exclaimed in fright: "What's going on?!"
May curiously looked over: "What's wrong?"
Si Yue hesitated and said: "Those corpses seem to have moved, more than one!"
"It can't be; they're all dead," May wondered.
However, as they were speaking, the corpses of the dead Orc soldiers suddenly moved, and then they slowly got up again.
The festering wounds, the blood-stained bodies, did not affect their movements.
Moreover, the dead Guardians' Union members also slowly got up; there was no emotion in their eyes; even if their abdomens were cut open, they could still move as if they were alive.
Si Yue and May roared: "No good, quickly retreat from the battlefield, it's dangerous!"
They didn't know what was happening; they only felt that something big was about to happen!
However, after those corpses got up, they didn't pay any attention to the Forbidden Artifact Tribunal members; instead, they twisted their bodies and ran wildly towards the direction of Frontline a5!
On Frontline a3, more Orc soldiers got up and let out deafening roars at the sky.
The next second, the more than 4,000 giants who had fallen earlier also got up. The whole world seemed to have fallen into hell, hideous and terrifying.
These resurrected corpses began to run!
The army of the dead was gray and decaying, but they retained their strength and realm from when they were alive!
In front of them, the corpses of two old Fate Weaver monsters were beheaded by Wang Xiaojiu, but they could still run as headless ghost corpses, as if they didn't need heads.
San Yue had just arrived at the edge of the battlefield; when she saw this scene, her pupils suddenly constricted: "Frontline a3: 30,000 Orc soldiers, 20,000 Guardians' Union members; Frontline a5: 90,000 Orc soldiers, more than 4,000 giants; Frontline a5 also has..."
Frontline a5.
The Guardians' Union and all the reinforcements, at Qing Chen's call, abandoned their celebrations and all retreated to the last line of defense.
Everyone held their breath and observed the battlefield, wanting to see what made Qing Chen so alert. But after a few minutes, nothing happened.
A family member whispered: "Nothing's wrong."
Little Seven coldly said: "Shut your mouth, when has the Boss ever been wrong."
Even though Qing Chen is now amnesiac, they still believe in Qing Chen unconditionally; since Qing Chen said there would be danger, there must be danger!
At this moment, everyone saw that outside the defensive circle, the corpses of the Orc soldiers who had fallen to the ground trembled, and then those Orc soldiers slowly got up.
Little Seven was stunned: "That's not right; I remember it; it was I who personally broke its neck."
The next moment, more and more Orc soldiers got up; some still had daggers stuck in their hearts, some had their faces split open by Wang Xiaojiu; those dead Orc soldiers were all "resurrecting'.
Not only that, but the dead Qing Family soldiers and Guardians' Union members also slowly crawled up from the ground.
Little Seven and others' eyes widened; they realized that these corpses were all being controlled by someone behind the scenes, turning them into Living Dead warriors!
Just on this Frontline a5, there were 120,000 Orc soldiers, 160,000 Guardians' Union members, 60,000 Qing Family soldiers, and three old Fate Weaver monsters.
If the enemy and friendly forces on Frontlines a1 and a3 also resurrected, the number of dead they would face would be terrifying.
On Qing Chen's side, there were wounded and exhausted Guardians' Union members, giants, and Fire Pit men.
Even Chen Zhuoqu, Hu Jingyi, Li Ke, and Wang Xiaojiu couldn't hold on much longer.
It turned out that the Fate Weaver family had done so much, even sacrificing all their Air Fortresses, just to create an illusion of "victory' for the East Continent, and then let the East Continent concentrate all its elite forces and trump cards on this battlefield, ultimately transforming them into the army of the dead in Storm Duke's hands!
"Boss, what should we do now?" Little Seven asked.
Qing Chen said: "The most important thing now is to find the person who controls this army of the dead and kill him."
As the saying goes, to capture the thief, you must first capture the king; as long as you kill this person behind the scenes, the war will end immediately.
But the problem is, it should be Storm Duke who controlled all this, but Qing Chen never saw Storm Duke's figure throughout this battle; the other party hid in the dark, waiting for this moment, extremely cautious!
At this time, the army of the dead had already rushed to the front of the defensive circle; Wang Xiaojiu tried to use the guillotine to chop off the head of an Orc soldier, but how could a dead Orc soldier die again?
The Orc soldier whose head was chopped off seemed to have no weakness; even without its head, it could still pounce and fight.
"How do we fight this?!" Wang Xiaojiu's eyes widened; even if she was powerful, she couldn't chop every Orc soldier to pieces, could she?
The most crucial point is that there were also Guardians' Union members among the Orc soldiers.
Little Seven and others watched their former comrades-in-arms who had just died rushing towards them, and for a moment, they couldn't bring themselves to attack!
It's not that they are weak... they had fought side-by-side through the most difficult 7,000 kilometers, but now they have to fight each other; even knowing that the other party is no longer their former comrade-in-arms, it is still difficult to accept.
While they were hesitating, a gap had been torn open in the northeast corner of the defensive circle by the army of the dead.
Xiao Er, Little Seven, and others immediately came to their senses and roared in unison: "Wake up, the living must live! Don't collapse, don't give up!"
The remaining Guardians' Union members finally reacted and began to fight back desperately.
However, how could the living win against several times their number, an almost invincible army of the dead?
Someone asked blankly: "We can't win, right."
This war seemed to never end.
They had survived the Rat Tide, traveled 7,000 kilometers, and killed countless Orc Legions, but the war still didn't end.
They groped forward in the darkness, falling down, getting up, falling down again, getting up again.
But... how long will this darkness last?
Little Seven gasped and answered: "What if we can win? Don't give up, how will you know if you don't try."
Someone asked: "Then what if we try and still lose?"
Little Seven roared as he charged towards an Orc soldier: "Try again!"
Try again?
Try again?
Try again!
In desperation, the Guardians' Union members once again exploded with boundless fighting spirit.
Xiao Er fought desperately with an Orc soldier; Xiao Wu knocked down the corpse of a former comrade-in-arms, hoarsely shouting, "Wake up, I'm your fifth brother," to no avail.
They didn't know how to win, but no one surrendered.
Qing Chen fought while watching these people struggle to survive, feeling that everything was so familiar.
One by one, the Guardians' Union members died; the defense line shrank again and again, hopeless, yet never giving up.
In an instant, all this pulled him back to the City 10's lower three-district defense line.
At that time, Xiao San roared hoarsely behind the defense line; Zhang Mengqian beat an iron basin on the tall building to warn everyone of the approaching Rat Tide; the Guardians' Union members and the refugees of City 10 fought desperately at the front of the defense line.
Hold on!
For a moment, the surging memories began to overflow like a bursting dam.
Qing Chen quickly extracted useful information from those memories, wanting to find a way out; he suddenly woke up: "Hold on, there's still a glimmer of hope, you must hold on!"
Because, in his memory, he saw many people who should have appeared but hadn't yet appeared!
Just as Qing Chen was about to extract more information from his memory, his consciousness was enveloped by a gray fog; the fog was like a huge maze; no matter how he ran inside, he couldn't break through...
Finally, in the fog of his consciousness world, he ran into an invisible wall.
Qing Chen suddenly understood; this was his sealing shackle.
He began to frantically beat the invisible wall, as if trying to smash everything to pieces, one blow, two blows, but the invisible wall remained motionless...