Chapter 123: Flame Part 1: Reunion [VIP]

"What is that!"

"Oh my God! What is that thing!"

“It’s incredible!”

“…”

Screams of terror rang out one after another, the night sky fell into darkness, and the earth shook. Xiao Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw an incredibly magnificent mirage emerging in the night sky above the royal capital.

——If what he saw could be called a mirage.

At the junction of the royal capital and the night sky, a giant black snake, darker than the night, rose into the sky, its massive body obscuring the slightly bluish moon that originally hung high in the sky.

Behind the giant snake, two black moons slowly rose in the night sky illuminated by moonlight, lamplight, and firelight. They were unfathomable, bizarre, and looked very much like darkness itself.

The twin dark moons rose higher and higher, enveloping the sky and the entire world in their darkness. Skeletons, zombies, ruins, and flames of war covered the earth.

In the extremely dark area below the twin moons, the flames formed by the coiled black serpent and the dark throne of death are faintly visible.

There was a vague figure on the throne.

(A black snake? A "tower master"? Twin black moons shrouding the world in death and darkness?)

(And what about the throne of death with a giant black serpent swirling beneath the twin black moons, forming a flame and darkness?)

(Who is the blurry figure sitting on the throne?)

(……)

A series of questions arose, and the one that made Xiao Yun most anxious was—

The mirage he saw at this moment was almost exactly the same as the dream of the black double moons and the throne of death that Alfonso had described to him!

In Alfonso's dream, the one sitting on the throne of death in flames and darkness was...

Combined with Black Snake...

(If the black snake coiled into a throne in my mirage and the "Tower Master" are the same black snake...)

(If the "Tower Master" wasn't lying, it was indeed my brother's "pet"...)

(No! It wouldn’t be such a coincidence!)

Xiao Yun repeatedly emphasized this in his heart, but——

(So ​​what if the person on the throne looks exactly like my brother! There's a very high chance that he is the original body of the mysterious gene in my brother! After all—)

Xiao Yun clenched his fists.

(Combining my brother's account, Grand Duchess Anna's description of her pregnancy, and the various anomalies of the divine tower, it's clear that the black-haired high priests of all generations were not the result of natural conception. As early as the formation of the fertilized egg, they were artificially implanted with a special genetic gene, the so-called "divine gene." This gene gave them more beautiful appearances, smarter brains, and more powerful magical abilities, but also made them sensitive, short-lived, and fragile...)

(…Anyway, no matter what happens in the future, I believe in my brother! I believe that he, with his soft heart, will never become a god of death who drags the world into hell!)

"—Did you see that too?"

"Dark Night Mentor" suddenly appeared beside him, pointing in the direction of the royal capital and asked tremblingly.

"What did you see?"

Xiao Yun played dumb.

The Dark Night Mentor looked suspiciously: "Huh? You didn't see it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay, so you really didn't see it."

The Dark Night Mentor grumbled and waved his wand, "Pitch black isn't a good thing! Let me light it up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the magic wand served as a light source, and the darkness was illuminated again. Just as people were about to cheer for the restoration of light, they saw something hidden in the darkness!

Xiao Yun's eyes also instantly became fierce and sharp, and the "golden blade" slashed out, carrying the scorching heat of flames.

"Everyone! High alert! The enemy is about to attack!"

"What? Enemy attack?"

The soldiers cried out in surprise.

Fortunately, this group of people had just experienced the bloody battle of the Ebola Bridge.

The desperate battles with the Royal Guards and the lizard monsters honed their combat skills and made them resolute and fearless. Even when faced with inhuman creatures like the lizard monsters again—

"Snoo! Snoo! Snoo!"

The footsteps of the enemies in the darkness were unusually heavy, as if they were not living people who could freely control their limbs but rather lumps of meat that were passively moved.

The soldiers raised their weapons and prepared to fight.

The magicians also responded to the "Dark Night Mentor", lighting up the lights one after another to ensure that their warriors could see the enemy clearly.

"Hulu-hulu-hulu"

The enemy finally emerged from the darkness.

However, the soldiers were so frightened that their lips turned purple and their cheeks twitched the moment they saw the enemy's appearance clearly!

“This, this…”

"What is this thing!"

"I've never seen... anything like this!"

"We, we..."

Xiao Yun was also stunned.

What appeared before them were not living people, but a large number of corpses.

Most of these corpses have already rotted, missing arms and legs, and even heads. The clothes on their bodies are also tattered, and only the style of burial clothes can be vaguely seen.

In other words, the ones attacking them at this moment are zombies, zombies that have been given a second life in some way!

The soldiers who were frightened just now were now screaming in terror at the sudden appearance of the army of the dead.

live! "

The enemy army reoccupies the world!"

“Help! Help!”

"Ah! Gods, save me!"

“…”

“These people…”

Xiao Yun was speechless, but he understood everyone's fear.

——The legend of the Legion of the Dead does indeed circulate in the religious mythology of this world.

Legend has it that when the end of the world comes, Yahui, who represents darkness and chaos, will end his long slumber, step down from the throne, open the gates of hell, and allow the devil of hell to lead the army of the dead to surge out and occupy the world of the living.

When the world is completely occupied by darkness and death, Shem, who represents light and order, will rain down meteors and magma, ending the old world and ushering in a new era.

However, myths are just myths after all. In this world—

"His Majesty!"

The mage beside Xiao Yun asked quietly, "How should we deal with this situation?"

"Tell everyone, this is not the resurrection of the dead!"

"no?"

"I'm absolutely sure!"

Xiao Yun took a deep breath and took the lead in walking towards the Legion of the Dead.

Crash——

The "golden blade" passed by, and the body of the deceased instantly shattered and burned.

"See?! When I attacked them, they stood there motionless like wooden stakes! These are just dirty tricks performed by third-rate magicians to desecrate corpses! They are not the mythical army of the dead that will usher in the end of the world!"

"Everyone cheer up! Get ready for battle!"

The deafening roar spread throughout the venue with the night wind. The uneasy people picked up their fighting spirit, and a strong anger ignited deep in their hearts.

"How dare you desecrate the dead!"

"Damn black magician!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Send them back to sleep!"

“…”

The belief in justice boosted everyone's morale, and inspiring shouts echoed on the battlefield.

The army of the dead was quickly defeated.

But as the army of the dead was quickly defeated, the real army emerged.

Thousands of fully armed royal knights walked out from the woods on both sides of the avenue, with bloodstains on their weapons and armor, and traces of smoke and fire on their faces.

The moment he saw Xiao Yun and the many people wearing black magic robes around him, led by the "Dark Night Mentor", the Knight Commander showed an angry expression: "As expected! It's you! You used the black magic teleportation method on us!"

"ah?"

Xiao Yun was stunned for a moment.

At this moment, a mage appeared beside Xiao Yun: "Report, the Sin Tower has fallen."

"What?"

"His Highness Yaris's convoy had just withdrawn from the north gate when the Emperor's Royal Knights launched a general attack on the Sin Tower. Lord Ansel, who was responsible for the rearguard, and... all of them... were killed..."

"Teacher Ansel..."

Xiao Yun's eyes suddenly became moist.

Upon hearing this, the commander of the Royal Knights on the other side laughed heartily, "That's right, we were the ones who captured the Sin Tower! We had originally planned to capture Ansel alive and hand him over to His Majesty! But unfortunately, he died in battle!"

"It was you who captured the Tower of Sin..."

Xiao Yun suddenly opened his eyes wide, and the huge black snake that rose into the air and covered the moon in the illusion appeared in front of him again.

"I see!"

The black snake in the illusion is indeed the black snake who calls himself "Tower Master"!

It will bring the army that captured the Tower of Sin to its front!

As for those dead who had just fought with him——

Perhaps it was the work of a black magician under the Dragon Emperor who was skilled in resurrecting the undead, or perhaps it was the dead who were accidentally awakened by the power of the black snake.

It is well known that the "Tower Master" Black Snake has the ability to guide the dead.

"—Think it through! Prepare to die!"

The commander of the Royal Knights laughed.

At this time, he didn't know that the handsome young man in front of him not only possessed the divine power to easily kill the lizard monster, but was also a powerful warrior who could fight against ten thousand enemies alone!

"You are the ones who deserve to die!"

Xiao Yun shouted, issuing an order: "Kill them! Avenge our comrades!"

"yes!"

The army, which had just defeated the dead, was in high spirits and immediately engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy.

"We're not even afraid of lizard monsters or the army of the dead, so how could we possibly be afraid of a group of living humans?"

"Kill—revenge!"

"Revenge! Revenge!"

"Open a bloody path! To Denos!"

“…”

Excited and intense emotions boiled under the night sky, and the battlefield echoed with suffocating screams and shouts.

The bloody head-on collision between the two armies made the already dark night sky bloody, with limbs flying everywhere.

But even so, the members of the Citizens Volunteer Corps followed the elite troops led by Malus and fearlessly threw themselves into the battle, turning into razor-sharp swords and stabbing the enemy.

If one man is cut down, two men will immediately jump over there.

If two people fall, three will immediately join them.

…

Soon, the Royal Knights, who were at a disadvantage in terms of momentum and numbers, began to retreat.

Dawn arrives, the sun rises, and its sacred light illuminates the woods strewn with corpses and blood.

Realizing that there was no hope of victory, the commander of the Royal Knights shouted and prepared to retreat.

"Put down your swords! Surrender now!"

When the shout was heard, Xiao Yun looked up and saw Leno, who had been replacing Kelly as Yaris's chief attendant for some time, standing on the driving platform of a black carriage with his command sword held high. In front and behind the carriage were allied soldiers with red cloth tied on their arms.

"Yaris!"

Xiao Yun was surprised and delighted, and rode forward: "How could you——"

"After receiving the tragic news that Ansel, who was responsible for the rearguard, had been completely wiped out, I was worried that something had happened to you as well. I urgently contacted the magician next to you to learn your location and immediately asked the team to change direction and meet up with you..."

Yaris stepped out of the carriage and looked at his brother with mixed feelings of sadness and joy: "Fortunately, you are okay... Fortunately, everything is not too late..."

"Teacher Ansel's matter—"

"It's okay, I already..."

Yaris held back his tears and said, "Anyway, let's get rid of the enemy first."

"Yes, clean up the battlefield first."

Xiao Yun took a deep breath and shouted to the members of the Royal Knights who were still hesitating about surrendering: "Put down your weapons, we won't make things difficult for you!"

"Really? You really won't make things difficult for us?"

"We rise up to save our homeland from the clutches of evil, not to exterminate our compatriots! As long as you lay down your weapons and stop fighting us under the Emperor's orders, we will naturally not make things difficult for you!"

"But we—"

The knights were shaken.

"We killed so many of your people, and even caused the death of Lord Ansel... Will you not hold it against us?"

"You attacked the Tower of Sin under Edmund's orders, resulting in the deaths of Ansel and his men who were left behind. The culprit is Edmund, who gave the order, not you who carried it out! I will not punish any of you for this!"

Xiao Yun suppressed his grief and expressed it generously.

Hearing this, a paladin no longer hesitated.

He walked up to Xiao Yun, holding his sword in both hands, knelt on one knee, and said sincerely, "I am Lauren from the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Royal Knights. On behalf of the entire 3rd Battalion of the 5th Regiment, I surrender to you! Please accept my sword!"

"I accept your surrender."

Xiao Yun spoke calmly and firmly, taking the command sword from Lauren.

Seeing this, Lauren's men dropped their weapons and formally surrendered.

…

…

After accepting the surrender, Xiao Yun handed the handling of Lauren and the others to the experienced Malus. He quickly walked to Yaris and held his cold hands tightly. "You look pale and your hands are cold. Are you really okay?"

"no problem."

Yaris said with a sigh of relief: "Seeing that you are safe and sound, my heart finally settles down."

"What just happened..."

"I support your decision."

Yaris said calmly, "No matter what era, killing prisoners will only intensify conflicts and make subsequent battles more difficult. Besides, they were just following orders... The culprit is "Him" who gave the orders, not the soldiers who carried them out."

"that--"

Xiao Yun glanced around and discovered that the "Dark Night Mentor" had vanished without a trace long before sunrise. He then asked in a low voice, "Brother, did you see the strange sight of a black snake soaring into the sky above the capital last night?"

“I see.”

Yaris suddenly leaned towards Xiao Yun: "I feel a little uncomfortable, can you help me get in the car?"

"sure."

Xiao Yun helped Yaris get into the carriage.

After getting in the car, Yaris immediately took out the golden gem and the coded note with blood-stained words blurred by tears, and recounted the situation in general.

When Xiao Yun learned that Ansel had a chance to escape but chose to die because he wanted to leave the gem to them, his eyes became moist again.

"Teacher Ansel...how could you...I left the gem in the Tower of Sin so that it would be useful when I was leaving, but you...you are a noble man, a true knight..."

"Yes."

Yaris choked up and said, "He is our most loyal supporter. No matter what happens, he always believes in us and will not abandon us. He even took the initiative to stay with us... But we... can't protect him..."

"He has achieved his fulfillment."

"I know, I know him, but..."

Yaris burst into tears once again. "When my tears fell on the note and were absorbed by the gem along with the blood, triggering the vision of the black snake soaring into the air, I felt an intense rage. I even had the urge to kill the black snake that watched Ansel die without trying to save him! Even though I knew at that moment that what I was truly angry about was my own inability to do anything!"

"Yaris, there's no need to blame yourself. For you, no matter what happens, no matter what dangers we encounter, Ansel, I, and everyone gathered here will not regret it..."

Xiao Yun held Yaris's hand tightly, using his own warmth to soothe his fragile heart.

"We will always come back to you, no matter what, we will always love you..."

"But I can't bear to lose any more."

Yaris looked up at Xiao Yun. His black eyes, as bright and unfathomable as a night lake, were flashing with unprecedented light, exactly the same as the black double moons that Xiao Yun saw in the illusion, illuminating the world.

(Could it be that…)

"Yaris——"

"Thank goodness you returned to me safely."

Yaris looked away, his delicate head leaning weakly against Xiao Yun: "If you don't return safely, if I rush here and see this... I will completely lose the desire to live..."

"You're starting to get carried away again."

Xiao Yun once again held Yaris's hand tightly, and his fingertips rubbed the Goddess of Love ring on Yaris's left index finger: "Promise me, no matter how the situation changes, even if I can't return to you on time, you can't give up your life easily. You must live, live firmly for this world!"

"Why? Why must I live even if I lose you?"

"Because I want you to live, no matter what happens, I want you to live for a long time."

Xiao Yun said earnestly, and couldn't help but bring Yaris's left hand to his cheek, and gently rubbed his lips against the statue of the goddess of love that served as the ring face.

[Promise me! You must promise me! This is my only request!]

"Brother, brother..."

For a moment, Yaris's eyes were a little dazed, as if his gaze was looking through Xiao Yun's face into the past long, long ago.

…

…

Denos is located in an open plain area eighty kilometers north of the capital of the Kingdom of Light. It is a religious city built around the belief in the Twin Gods. It holds a vital position in the Western Continent, where the Twin Gods are the mainstream religious belief.

Therefore, although the city of Denos is within the territory of the Sun Empire, it is not under the empire's control at all. Instead, in order to please the believers of the Twin Gods throughout the Western Continent, each dynasty of the Sun Empire would donate a large amount of wealth to the holy city of Denos. The emperors of all dynasties had to hold their coronation ceremony in the Great Temple of Denos, and after ascending the throne, they would visit Denos regularly and live in the Sun Palace, which is only 300 meters away from the God Tower, basking in the glory of God while listening to God's teachings.

In this city built to serve the gods, even the emperor of a country would receive only slightly more respect than anyone else. Apart from the high priests chosen by the ziggurat, no one could freely command or use this city.

…

"His Highness Yaris——"

As soon as the team arrived at the outer city of Denos, the priests of the Church of the Twin Gods, accompanied by the knights of the Holy Land Knights, rushed over impatiently, beating their chests and stamping their feet, weeping bitterly.

"I heard about all the hardships you've gone through along the way. I cried so hard that my tears are almost dry!"

"Fortunately, Your Highness is safe!"

"I can't believe such a horrific tragedy happened in the capital of the Kingdom of Light!"

"Your Highness, do you need to rest immediately?"

“…”

"Well, I'm glad to see you guys again so soon."

In the carriage, Yaris said coldly.

He did not get out of the carriage, nor did he even stop it.

The priests were already accustomed to his arrogant attitude and followed the carriage at a trot, holding their robes.

The leader of the Holy Land Knights, who was traveling with them, arranged for the Holy Land Knights to persuade the devout believers lining the road, saying, "Your Highness needs to enter the Great Temple immediately to rest." He then quickly walked over to Xiao Yun and whispered, "Lord Lucien, the inner city is a sacred place. The army cannot enter."

Xiao Yun nodded: "I know, I will let them stay in the outer city."

Hearing this, the team leader added with a broad smile, "Don't worry. To be an enemy of Denos is to be an enemy of tens of millions of Twin Gods believers in the Western Continent! As guests of Denos, they will receive the finest hospitality in the outer city of Denos. Not only will they be safe and secure, but they will also have specialized personnel to provide them with free food, lodging, and medical treatment."

"Teacher Malus——"

"clear."

Malus stepped forward and contacted the leader of the Holy Land Knights to arrange for the team to stay in the outer city for rest.

Xiao Yun and his personal guards accompanied Yaris's carriage into the inner city of Dinos, where a large number of religious buildings were built with the sacred tower as the center.

…

The carriage stopped in front of the steps of a large circular temple built on a hill. The tall tower building behind the temple, its surface inlaid with colorful crystal mosaics, was the well-known divine tower on the Western Continent.

The carriage doors opened and priests swarmed in, transferring the unwell Yaris from the carriage to a chair.

"Your Highness, rest assured. Neither the human knights nor the demons from another world dare to invade the divine tower or the Great Temple. At least, so far, no black magician has dared to attack the divine tower or the Great Temple."

“Hopefully, this record will continue.”

Yaris smiled bitterly and raised his hand to let his brother come to his side: "Only when you are by my side can I truly feel at ease."

"Me too."

Xiao Yun held Yaris's hand.

Seeing this, the chief priest said flatteringly, "After receiving your message, the priests worked day and night and finally prepared all the necessary items for the coronation ceremony. We only need to wait for Your Highness to recover before the ceremony officially begins—"

"The coronation cannot be delayed. Wait until tomorrow..."

"Not only did you have to endure the bumps of the carriage along the way, but you were also forced to bear a lot of pressure. Your body has been greatly affected. You should rest for a few more days."

Xiao Yun persuaded seriously.

Yaris shook his head: "This is an emergency."

"Emergency situations require more attention to your health!"

"That……"

Yaris looked up at the divine tower, which shimmered with colorful crystal light in the sunlight, and said firmly, "Three days! Three days at most! The coronation ceremony must be held in three days."