Chapter 417: Final Moment, Dawn of the Future
The face of the Dark Moon covered the sky, and the Flesh Moon had expanded to its limit. The waxing moon was approaching fullness, and the leap to the First Abyss was nearing completion.
Under the increasingly dark moonlight, the giants fought a desperate battle to the death.
Divine power burst forth, beams of light converged, and dragon and serpent clashed fiercely, causing a tremor that shook the battlefield. A dragon of corpses and a giant serpent of steel, a totem guarding the past and a machine forging ahead into the future, these diametrically opposed wills clashed under the moonlight, their only similarity being an unyielding steadfastness and a deep hatred.
Above the giant, night-burning fire and white flames ignited as swords clashed, coalescing into a frenzied beast, biting and plundering each other's strength as they battled. The essence of the firestorm was life forced to its limit, the strongest killers killing each other in the flames.
This was a uniquely fierce battle. The swordsmanship they displayed at this moment transcended technique and bordered on the Dao. This skill was worthy of a world-renowned duel, where thousands of warriors would pay a fortune to witness their demeanor. But this battle had no spectators. It would determine the fate of the city-state, and indeed the world, yet it was destined to take place in the shadows.
They are the spokesmen of the abyss and the warriors of the Allied Forces. They are also the killers of the Blood Alliance hidden in the dark. They seem to be able to decide the world, but they also seem to be nothing more than bloody knives in the dark alleys.
The once cynical killer now had only solemnity in his eyes. The once aloof killer now laughed amidst the fray. The two sides quietly switched sides, and for the interminable seconds, it was unknown who watched coldly from behind the mask, and who stood aside, roaring inwardly.
"Aren't you going to say sorry to me?" Chu Hengkong swung his knife vigorously. "We have known each other for so many years, but you kept it a secret from me for so long!"
Wang Quan smiled. "So what if I tell you the truth? Will you come over from Velus and help me?"
"I'll kill you first, my dear friend, so you don't have to suffer! Every Qingming Festival, I will bring wine and cigarettes to your grave, and place the most beautiful flowers of the year on your grave!"
"By your barbarian standards, you're truly romantic, even thinking of sending me flowers!" Wang Quan raised his hand and released gravity. "Unfortunately, I can't die before the mission is completed, and even if you kill me, I'll die. So, let's switch gears and let me mourn you at your grave!"
Gravitation formed a pitch-black sphere, forcibly pushing Chu Hengkong away. He plunged his divine slash into the corpse dragon's back, slowing it down. Simultaneously, he unleashed a flying knife of willpower. Streaks of blood blossomed from the dragon's back like flowers, obscuring his path. Wang Quan hurled a barrage of white flaming darts, but at the cost of being stabbed by the knife, she knocked him off the dragon's back. She pierced her palm and struck the corpse dragon's skull, chanting as she wove a new divine art.
"Darkest Moon, cradle of beginnings, the first forgotten abyss. Please respond to my will, isolate time and create the cradle of eternity!"
The approaching black moon's outline rippled slightly, like a stellar smile. Moonlight condensed into a black beam, striking the corpse dragon's rotting wings. The sacrificial corpse dragon resonated with divine power, and the moonlight transformed within its body, radiating through its decaying body and forming "anchors" that pulled at spacetime.
Dark Moon Divine Art: Falling Moon Skywell. Absolute protection that pulls time and space!
The overly heavy force dragged the space, and time and space collapsed with the corpse dragon as the center. The black and white battlefield curled up to form an invisible "well". Wang Quan and the corpse dragon in the well gradually floated towards the black moon, and the two snakes outside the well could not move forward no matter how hard they tried.
Chu Hengkong immediately realized the other party's plan, and she began to escape again, using this skylight to avoid the battle itself. Wang Quan didn't need to defeat them, as long as he waited for the black moon to arrive.
"Akong, come back!"
His sword couldn't transcend time and space; he didn't yet have such power. But Chu Hengkong wasn't worried. He believed someone else must have a solution. He sheathed his sword and returned it to the top of the Hades Serpent's head. Velvet was holding her staff high. The tip of her staff sent a signal, resonating with the bells on the Ark of Silence. The Hades Serpent heard the call, and its eyes shone with a golden light.
"Special spacetime parameters established, anti-divine force equation proven. Permission granted for decisive battle, main gun doors open!"
The divine light in the snake's eyes shone brightly, flowing like tears into the slowly opening maw of the Hell Serpent. Velvet simultaneously poured her spiritual energy into the snake, and deep blue and golden light converged at the snake's mouth, causing high-frequency vibrations in the surrounding spacetime.
Velvet's eyes bled from the overload of operations. She poured her mind into it, barely standing with Chu Hengkong's support. The tip of her cane opened to reveal a red button, and she slammed it down as if declaring the outcome a done deal, issuing the final command.
"Time axis measurement cannon, fire!"
The Hades Serpent glared, and a burst of light erupted, piercing the gravitational well like a divine spear. The ever-collapsing space-time suddenly froze, and the light pierced straight into the well, piercing through the corpse dragon's chest, becoming a bridge of divine light connecting the inside and the outside!
Wang Quan's astonishment turned into anger, and even though they were far away, they could feel that anger.
"Aiming at the power of the space-time barrier? Why would they go to this extent just to fight for the city-state?"
“I’m going to cross the Second Abyss, so of course I’ll be preparing measures against Eternal Time.” Velvet wiped the blood from her eyes. “It’s a difference in thinking. You won’t understand if you don’t want to look to the future.”
She looked at Chu Hengkong with a firm gaze: "Now I will give you the final mission of this operation. I will deal with the enemy's totem, and you will kill the enemy's killer!"
"oh."
Chu Hengkong responded casually.
Like the end of every battle.
"Just leave it to me!"
He left his boss's side and embarked on the road to Hell. The murderous knife rang with excitement, carving a scarlet scar across the bridge of divine light. He shattered gravity with his spear and blasted away the white flames with his deathwings. The corpse dragon spat out a ray of corrupted blood, attempting to bury him mid-flight. However, the divine staff on the back of the Hell Law Serpent rose one after another, clearing the sea of blood with a relentless bombardment, piercing the path.
Wang Quan's slash arrived at this moment, aiming for the most fatal moment as always, unleashing a circular slash imitating the Iai technique. Chu Hengkong exerted his full power to create the Qi armor, forcing his body to withstand the blow. Under Wang Quan's astonished gaze, he launched a divine slash, the long sword flying out of his hand and piercing Wang Quan's shoulder, knocking her off the corpse dragon's head!
The wound barely healed, the black blood and the will fighting within him. Chu Hengkong flung out the chain of doom, grasping the murderous knife by the causal connection. This allowed him to fall with Wang Quan, tumbling to the edge of the gravity well.
Chu Hengkong swung his divine slash in midair, its mark forming a bright line across the battlefield. Wang Quan took a step forward, swinging his sword to deflect the blow, then thrusting out a fatal lone star. Chu Hengkong's bloody aura was devoured, transforming into satellite-like flaming stars, roaring as the slash continued.
Every direction was a deadly zone, and the annihilating blows penetrated every corner. Chu Hengkong wielded his sword with one hand, transforming his wrist into a sickle. The death wings behind him stretched out into withered claws. From the upper left, upper right, and both sides of his waist, the death wings swung out four times in an instant, leaving sharp claw marks that obliterated Bai Yan. Simultaneously, the divine slash and the sickle of disaster struck simultaneously, and with his supreme swordsmanship, he blocked the lone star!
Thousands of thrusts echoed from a single sword strike, and the intertwined blades counterattacked with even greater speed. Skills were further refined in the battle against powerful foes, each plundering the other's techniques, and each embracing self-improvement in a matter of seconds.
However, Wang Quan's swordsmanship was ultimately more mature. Chu Hengkong slashed away 99% of the stardust from the Lone Star, but he couldn't successfully deal with the final, fatal thrust. The blade was no longer reachable, and the sickle of disaster was only a hair's breadth away. He simply transformed the sickle into a palm, threw the Divine Slash up, and with his right palm, he grasped the longsword!
In an instant, Lone Star's sword intent erupted, piercing his palm, breaking the bones, and piercing his entire arm with the most brutal force. Blood spurted out from the cracks in his muscles, and Chu Hengkong's right hand was crippled. However, he smiled nonchalantly and raised his left arm, which had been transformed into a wrist of disaster.
He grabbed the chain fluttering in the air, and the divine slash followed the chain. In the moment where he couldn't dodge, he gripped the fierce knife tightly and slashed down fiercely!
The sound of blood splattering was like the sound of wind. A ferocious blow nearly severed Wang Quan, and Chu Hengkong's right arm was crippled by the eruption of white flames. Both men simultaneously distanced themselves, Chu Hengkong temporarily switching to holding the knife with his wrist, while Wang Quan wielded the sword with both intact hands. Rage and sorrow mingled in her eyes, like a vortex of chaos.
"Are you going to kill me?"
"Ah, kill you."
"What will happen after you kill me?" Wang Quan asked, "Can the city-state remain peaceful forever? Can the Earth be saved? Is there hope for the Shendong World?"
Chu Hengkong's smile faded, and Wang Quan stared at him deeply.
"Nothing will be resolved. Everything you hold dear will eventually be lost. There will only be sorrow in the future."
"So, I won't let you go forward."
She swung her sword again.
Ignoring the gradually spreading scars, he cuts back the scarlet blade.
"You are the only person I care about in this world."
"I won't allow you to go to the end of the road. I will definitely save you."
Use the flaw in your right hand to see through the sword's momentum.
He took a step forward and stabbed the killer's chest with his sword.
"Even if you hate me my whole life, even if I kill you right here! I will definitely save you!"
Like a last glimmer of hope, her momentum rose steadily. The Dark Kingdom had been cornered, all her means broken, yet she was now stronger than ever. In the end, she finally revealed her true feelings, her duty and her soul resonating for the first time, imbuing her sword with an unrivaled will.
Chu Hengkong's blade, however, was weak. In this crucial moment, his unstoppable momentum was suppressed by his opponent's arrogance. Something in his heart roared, urging him to refute his enemy's outrage. But for some unknown reason, the words he was about to speak were stuck in his mind.
"What's the point of your actions?"
Therefore, only one-sided questions can be raised.
"What good will it do to drown out pain with pain? Covering up a big tragedy with a small tragedy, replacing a huge pain with a small pain, will that save everything? Endlessly escaping like this will only accumulate new mistakes. Moving forward in your way will only bring you pain!"
"Then don't go any further!"
Kingship roared.
"Stop it! That's it!"
"Staying in the gentle cradle, savoring the only happiness I've ever had. Even if it's a stagnation you despise, I will make this safe moment eternal!!!"
She stood still and drew her sword. All her energy, all her determination, all her will poured into the blade, making it a pure white line.
The white flames died. The storm ceased to blow. Even the roaring sound became an echo of the past. In the world of complete silence, only the sword light spread, slowly but resolutely imprisoning eternity.
It was no longer a false esoteric teaching; it was a true sword forged from the heart. The desperate cries of those trapped in the dead end finally revealed a true miracle. That sword itself was the present, a moment forcibly frozen by the power of life. It would occupy all of existing time and space; before this sword, there was no future.
True secret sword, eternal moment!
Chu Hengkong felt as if the world was filled with white light. Even Wang Quan himself had vanished, leaving only the infinitely expanding sword light and the endlessly echoing prayers. He sheathed his sword and slashed out with a withered flame. The blazing fire penetrated the spacetime, but it failed to burn out, swaying in the encirclement of the white light like a faint candle.
It was his injury. His right hand hadn't recovered yet. The withered heart fire wielded with one hand alone wasn't enough to withstand Wang Quan's strongest strike. He had to use the time he'd gained to recover, then risk everything for one final blow—
wrong.
The mind is instinctively resisting.
That's not the case.
It's not about the injury. It's not about the skill. It's about the heart.
The so-called "martial arts" is the cohesion of life.
Despite her extremes and despair, Wang Quan, who had abandoned all lies, gathered her true heart in this single sword strike. This single strike was the answer she had reached at the end of her struggle and pain. This kind of swordsmanship is the life of a warrior. You can only defeat her with your own will, but you cannot deny the times when she had given her all.
But he couldn't offer an answer, because his life was even more empty than the king's power. Without a firm goal, without the meaning to carry, his empty mind, anchored by others, could only answer with the words of others and engage with their thoughts.
But those answers were ultimately not his own will, just as the sword in his hand was not his own blade. The Withered Heart Fire was the sword of the Seven Stars Chongming, the words the Canxin Fate Master would speak to Wang Quan. Chu Hengkong was not the Seven Stars Chongming, and could not truly unleash the power of this sword.
So he will definitely lose.
If you want to win, you need your words.
Although extreme and foolish, it is an absolute voice that can be uttered without hesitation at this moment.
What will happen after knowing the truth? What will happen after knowing the end of the world?
What can the sacrificial snake say?
What can Chu Hengkong do!
"—Then let's move on."
The ethereal man said.
"Towards doom. Towards despair. Running as fast as you can on the road to certain death."
The empty heart beats violently because of this.
From the depths of nothingness, shining stars emerge.
He reached out and grasped the light.
Seize your own answers that arise in the moment of life and death.
"Your will shall be inherited by me. Your wish shall be fulfilled by me."
"I will defeat the heretics, defeat the abyss, I will smash all those broken plans, and save the Earth with my own hands—"
"Go save this world with your own hands!!"
What other reason is needed?
If you can’t even believe in your present self, how can you have any future?
A light shone brightly within his heart, projecting itself onto his blade. No more confusion loomed in his soul, and from this endless void, something called self finally emerged.
Chu Hengkong, holding his sword in one hand, slashed at the pure white world, slicing out dazzling starlight. He ran wildly with the starlight, reaching the end of still time. His slash touched Wang Quan's longsword, and the white blade trembled with his persistence!
Wang Quan, who was equally crazy, questioned: "Why do you believe you can do it?"
He swung his sword once more, his mind no longer confused.
He brandished his sword and roared at the dark monarchy, at the black moon, at this sick and mad world, letting out a roar that belonged only to him, a cry of arrogance and heroism.
"——Because I am the invincible sacrificial snake!!"
It was a relentless strike, unconcerned with the past, unconcerned with the future, unconcerned with so-called possibilities, charging stubbornly forward in the present. Condensed by the will of the mind, the blade's light became an incomparably blazing and shining star, rising from the other side of the frozen horizon.
Like the end of a long night and the breaking of dawn, the ethereal man slashed out of himself at the final moment. The light of the morning star pierced the still moment, condensing the warrior's wild imagination and slashing, transcending eternity in this moment!
The true secret sword: Dawn of the Star!
That slash pierced through the still time and space, shattering Wang Quan's sword.
Then, everything ends in the light.
·
The first thing to go out was the bloody spirit.
The overdrawn vitality had already exceeded the limit and was extinguished and scattered with the slash.
Then, the white flames gradually faded, falling like pure white petals. The dark sea was as calm as the abyss, and the windless silence was broken by a slight noise.
A drop of blood streaked across the blade and fell onto the sea, causing faint ripples.
It was bright red blood, different from that of the fallen. It flowed from the wound in her heart, where the murderous knife had pierced her chest.
Chu Hengkong held the knife in one hand and stood quietly. Wang Quan's sword was only a hair's breadth away from his head, a line that meant life or death.
Wang Quan chuckled and released his sword.
She had a lot to say, she wanted to ask why your knife was so powerful, why you were so confident, and why you could find yourself at such a moment.
But she swallowed those words in her heart because she knew that Chu Hengkong was that kind of person.
This man never reasoned. He simply leaped into action, messing everything up. He needed no justification, possessing pure strength, like a barbarian transported to Earth. Reasoning with a barbarian is useless, and he won't understand your tales of hardship and difficulty. He simply believes he can succeed, and then uses his unthinkable methods to achieve one miracle after another.
This is his strength.
Because of persistence, we become strong.
Wang Quan suddenly felt exhausted, too exhausted to even offer polite words. She had prepared a touching last message, intending to leave a lasting scar on the victim should she die. Stubborn people are also burdened with sadness. She would tell Chu Hengkong, "I will become your memory," and from then on, she would become a figure who lived in his memory, causing him pain.
But forget it. Chu Hengkong always keeps his word. He has already chosen such a bad future, so why torture him?
She was going to die anyway.
"Congratulations," she said dryly, "you win again."
Chu Hengkong loosened his grip on the knife and looked at her. His eyes also changed at this moment, with an emotion that Wang Quan was familiar with and desired, but had never seen in his eyes before.
"I used to like you," he said.
He sighed deeply, as if relieved, and spoke out the truth that had been weighing on his heart for many years.
He recalled the night long ago when the girl had secretly hidden in his room to give him an unexpected surprise to celebrate his birthday. He timidly chatted with her, not daring to look into her eyes as she lay in bed.
Now, a long time had passed, long enough for him to look the girl in the eye openly. She stared with eyes wide open, surprised but smiling slightly, like a simple girl who was confessed to for the first time and couldn't believe it.
Tears streamed down her dirty cheeks. The white-haired girl reached out to him, touching his shoulder for the last time.
She moved her lips silently, searing the final words into his eyes.
She disintegrated before the killer's eyes, like rain falling into the sea.
(End of this chapter)
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