novelraw #602 - Chapter 600: Speed Through the Maze
#602 - Chapter 600: Speed Through the Maze
Spin, leap, I close my eyes.
Qi Jing dodged various attacks from enemies within the third level of the labyrinth.
After Zhu Qingan sent him up, it didn't take long for him to realize that the difficulty of the labyrinth here was gradually increasing.
The first level of the labyrinth only had traps, the second level replaced the wall bricks with exploding rocks, and the third level added a type of moving stone puppet.
There were three types of these puppets in total.
One type was a panther-shaped stone man, a full three meters tall, with sharp claws and great speed.
Another type was spider-shaped, only half as tall as Qi Jing, capable of climbing walls, and the same color as the walls. Without Kenbunshoku Haki, it would be difficult to avoid their ambushes.
The third type was rather strange; they were humanoid, but not completely "human."
Besides being four meters tall, they had a pair of feathered wings on their backs and wielded two extremely sharp longswords, like seraphim from Western mythology.
Most importantly, they didn't trigger the traps they walked over, as if the labyrinth here had a friend-or-foe identification mechanism.
So, they couldn't be used to detect the location of traps.
But for Qi Jing, it made no difference whether they were there or not. All he had to do was dodge and run along the walls until he found the exit to the upper level.
With unparalleled precognition and speed, he only spent five minutes traversing half of the labyrinth's map and finding the staircase that led upwards.
It's worth mentioning that this staircase was more than twice as high as a human's, and looked very suitable for that "angel" stone man from earlier.
Could it be that the people who built Sky City were these angels?
Whatever, I'll go up first.
Lacking any spirit of exploration, Qi Jing quickly arrived at the fourth level.
As soon as he arrived, he discovered what the newly added defense mechanism of this level was.
Poisonous fog.
The entire space of the fourth level was filled with a gray poisonous fog, obstructing vision.
If you were to ask him how he knew it was poisonous, wearing a full-body battle suit and not needing to breathe outside air, then you'd have to ask the goblin foaming at the mouth on the ground.
The Goblin Token that Qi Jing possessed could control all the goblins that saw it, so he kept a few dozen of them in his space, as ordinary biological tools.
Anyway, they could survive by just feeding them some grass, very easy to take care of.
Passing through the poisonous fog, Qi Jing only spent three minutes this time to reach the fifth level, but he didn't find anything different between the fifth and fourth levels.
Perhaps it was some abnormal state being bestowed.
It's too hard being an expert, not even knowing what attacked you, truly lonely as snow.
Since it was similar to the fourth level, Qi Jing quickly found the exit of the fifth level, but he didn't rush out. Instead, he carefully observed the outside with Kenbunshoku Haki in front of this exit, which was obviously different from the previous four levels.
Going up the thousand-step staircase, you would arrive at a circular sunken arena, with rows of spectator seats on the surrounding thirty-meter-high platforms.
It was like a closed coliseum, the only exit being the hole in the sky.
As for the opponent, it should be that large stone man in the center of the arena.
Its style was like a combination of the three types of puppets from the underground, not only possessing eight legs with sharp claws, but also carrying a pair of wings on its back, with a fierce expression and something resembling a cannon on its chest.
Qi Jing was curious if its wings were really useful.
The angels below were so thin, he could somewhat understand them being able to fly, but this "big fatso" didn't seem like it could be moved by wings no matter how you looked at it.
Let's try it.
Cautious, Qi Jing summoned a clone, let it carry his Kenbunshoku Haki skill, wear a battle suit, and ride a flying motorcycle to test it out.
Just when he thought this clone would be attacked after going up, the puppet acted like it crashed after seeing the clone, not moving at all.
Nani?
Shouldn't be?
Were the batteries removed? Investigate again!
Qi Jing let his clone fly out from the hole in the sky, observing the outside through the camera.
It was a square paved with golden bricks, with a pair of huge wing sculptures erected in the center, very spectacular.
Next to the square were buildings similar to those of medieval Europe, symmetrical in pairs, only in gold and white, with a very strong artistic atmosphere.
In the distance was a super large tall building, vast and boundless, reaching straight into the sky.
The closest building was a spire house in the back.
"There are a dozen or so ethereal birds eating something in that house."
The clone sensed the creatures inside with Kenbunshoku Haki, and told Qi Jing, who was observing below, through the communication device.
Ethereal birds?
Why are there ethereal birds here?
Was Sky City built by ethereal birds? This idea appeared in Qi Jing's mind, but he quickly overturned it.
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
If they built it, how could they still unite with other alien races? A race that can build such a structure must be as powerful as humans at least.
Then there is only one possibility—cuckoos occupying the nest.
The natives of Sky City have never been found. After they suddenly disappeared for unknown reasons, the ethereal birds discovered this place five hundred years ago, and eventually took control of it through a series of explorations.
Since they are old rivals, then things are easy to handle.
Qi Jing, not afraid of any attacks from the ethereal birds, directly flew out with his wings spread, arriving at the house with more than a dozen ethereal birds at an extremely fast speed.
First, catch a prisoner and ask Lao Miao if they have been captured!
Fortunately, ethereal birds can use mental communication to communicate directly, otherwise, even if he had control glasses, he wouldn't be able to ask anything.
Just as Qi Jing was about to make a move, a voice suddenly came from behind him:
"Greetings, Human Lord! Zi Dayu pays his respects!"
He turned around and found that there was actually a purple ethereal bird, who had just exited from a virtual state, looking at him with an extremely respectful attitude.
???
Human Lord?
What kind of title is this?
Aren't we mortal enemies?
Didn't we humans kill your patriarch? Weren't you going to kill humans and seize the other-dimensional gate?
How did it become 'Lord'?
Qi Jing asked:
"Why do you call me 'Lord'?"
He held his umbrella sword, constantly vigilant of his surroundings, in case this ethereal bird was just bait to attract his attention, letting the other birds brew some powerful attack.
The purple bird said:
"The Human Lord created us, and we are a race that repays kindness, so of course we will call the Lord 'Lord'."
Damn, this tone is so sincere.
Doesn't sound fake.
Too bad, a Pinocchio mask can't be worn on a bird's face.
Qi Jing squinted his eyes and asked it with a puzzled expression:
"Have you seen a human just now?"
Regardless of what tricks it's playing, I'll ask about Miao Kui's whereabouts first.
Zi Dayu respectfully replied:
"Just now, Lord Miao went to the central hall with Captain Lan Dayu."