Chapter 66
“I want to burn them all,” Long said.
This is the entrance to the ruins. To move forward, they must wade through this mountain of corpses and sea of blood. The stench of blood filling their eyes and noses makes everyone's faces grim.
Hill raised his hand: "Wait a moment."
He cast a magic circle, saying, "Let's check if anyone is still alive first, otherwise it wouldn't be good if they were burned to death like this."
The dragon seemed about to speak but then stopped.
Lord Martin's face was grim, while Lortheran was observing the sky, which was also a mix of black and red. In the distance, the shadows of rolling mountains could be seen, but he didn't know if it was an illusion or reality.
After all, this place was once the domain of the Earth God.
Hill's magic circle was light blue, and wood-based magic is particularly sensitive to life force. Soon, he saw the result given by the magic circle.
In an instant, his face turned extremely pale.
Lord Martin snapped out of his daze: "How was it?"
Nearly half of them...did not die completely.
Hill said in a low voice.
This means that these humans, or other races, were dismembered and left here, their blood accumulating and mixed with filth. Their bodies twitched slightly from the pain, but they couldn't simply die.
Even if they are engulfed by the dragon's flames, they must endure the burning pain.
The place where the group was standing was a small cliff, and the view below was truly appalling.
“We’ve lingered here too long.” Lortheran, who had been silently reciting scriptures, turned his gaze from the sky to the others.
"It's time to go."
He didn't spell it out, but the others already knew what he meant.
Lord Martin lowered his eyes and did not refute. Long looked at him and asked, "How do we get across?"
In the past, when they went on adventures, no matter what dangers lay ahead, their team would never hesitate for a moment. The only thing that could make them hesitate was their lives.
The only solution in the past seemed to be to have the dragon revert to its original form and carry them.
Lortheran frowned, stretched out his hand, and several points of light appeared, then darted away rapidly, but they could never escape his grasp.
Lord Martin glanced at it and frowned: "This constellation... is not right."
The other dragon and elf were bewildered. In their team, Lortheran was a natural astrologer, and even Veris only learned it later. Of course, the two of them couldn't understand the mystery of those points of light.
Lortheran: "Of course you're looking at it wrong from your position." He waved his hand, and the point of light floated in mid-air. The boy stroked his chin. "But it doesn't matter, the meaning is quite clear."
As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of pitch-black light instantly pierced through the entire ruins.
Dragon and Hill looked up: "Wow—"
Lord Martin looked up as well: "What is this?"
As the light waves appeared, the ground began to tremble, and screams echoed from somewhere within the ruins.
The voice sounds like a man's.
“Hmm, Veris is here.” Lortheran said, putting away the starlight, then pointed to the ground that had been a sea of blood. “Now they’re all dead.”
Ambrose, the god of the earth, is one of the three deities who can manipulate magical elements. Although the corpses were dead, he could make them appear alive in an attempt to slow down Lortheran and his companions.
Hill frowned, puzzled as to why his magic circle had malfunctioned. Was it really the ruins of a god? He couldn't let his guard down, nor could he be too confident.
The dragon looked up at the black pillar of light, but after a while, its eyes began to sting. It had to lower its head and rub its eyes, but it kept saying, "I thought Veris wasn't coming."
Below the cliff lay flat land, the corpses vanished—or rather, the souls had vanished. Veris had used his demonic power to destroy them all. At the end of that flat land lay a ruined stone city.
The dragon looked around and said that the stone city was originally located on the ruins, but it was smashed to pieces by its two tails.
"Why don't I blast Stone City to pieces this time too!" Long suggested excitedly.
Lortheran shook his head: "There are probably still people inside. Although there are many deadly obstacles on this cliff, there are also people who manage to bypass them and enter the city."
For example, that hero squad from later generations.
Upon hearing Lortheran's words, the dragon let out an "Oh," looking quite regretful.
Although the corpses were gone, the bloodstains remained, and the stench lingered. Lord Martin stared at the flat ground and suddenly spoke: "Dragon, burn the area below. There are probably still some remaining checkpoints."
"Great!"
The dragon immediately transformed into a small dragon about the same height as a human. The others tacitly took a few steps back. The dragon happily opened its mouth, and instantly, the surrounding temperature soared.
Terrifying flames filled the field of vision, engulfing the entire land covered in blood.
Above, the dark beam of light still pierced through the ruins, as if it were stuck between the collarbones of that high and mighty deity, rendering Him unable to move.
The trial participants entered the ruins faster than Lortheran and his group. Lortheran and his group spent a considerable amount of time on the cliff. After clearing the ground, the stone city in the distance began to glow. Hill squinted at it and judged, "That's a magic circle, but it's only fourth-tier, right?"
The current magic rating system is different from that of later generations.
"Alright, alright, let's hurry over there, lest someone else take all the treasures!" The dragon was already impatient, treating this trip to the ruins as an adventure no different from its previous ones.
Although the stone city ahead was dilapidated, it was more intact than the one outside the ruins. Perhaps Ambrose simply had a taste for such dilapidated stone cities.
Many of the mud houses in the city were destroyed. Looking down from the sky, one could see many small teams confronting each other, some still fighting. Bloodstains were smeared on the yellowish-brown ground, instantly reminding one of the tragic scene at the bottom of the cliff.
Arnold and his companions stood beneath an altar, at the center of which floated a long, clearly extraordinary scepter, bound by brown chains and emanating a violent magical aura—presumably a mechanism protecting the scepter.
The magic circle just now was cast by the white-eyed young mage, but no matter what kind of magical attack it was, it would be instantly broken down into incredibly smooth magical elements when it hit the chains.
These people were clever; they even knew to set up a magic circle to block the view. Those who were fighting didn't notice that there was such a place in the corner of Stone City.
But from the sky, the view is unobstructed.
“That must be a divine artifact,” Hill said thoughtfully, looking at the scepter.
Lord Martin nodded, his eyes reflecting the seven-colored light emanating from the scepter. It seemed that all divine artifacts emitted this kind of light, making it extraordinary at first glance, practically screaming "Come and take it from me!"
“Magic attacks are useless against chains.” Ryu also noticed the clue.
Hill: "Let Lortheran do the chopping. He can easily cut right to the weakest spot." He chuckled a few times after saying that, as if he had thought of something amusing.
For example, once Veris and Sylvain took turns trying to open a certain box, using all sorts of dissolving potions and super-powerful magical beams, but they still couldn't open it. Then Lortheran ran over, angrily shouting "What the hell is this?" and smashed the box on the ground. The box must have hit a major artery, because it shattered into pieces instantly.
Veris's expression at that moment was priceless.
Sylvain couldn't tell anything amiss, and simply put away the dangerous dissolving agents.
Lord Martin touched his nose and let the dragon descend.
The dragon dared not fly too high, for fear of touching the black pillar of light that pierced the sky. Hill said that it seemed to have the magical aura of Veris on it, but having it was one thing, but touching it and getting hurt was another.
Destroying the magic circle only requires releasing a higher-level reconstruction spell.
Reconstructing magic is not just a literal requirement for a magician to be able to analyze and reconstruct a given magical incantation, but also to be able to reconstruct the magic used by others.
A magical element fell, and then the entire magic circle that had blocked the view collapsed in just three seconds. The people under the altar were startled and turned around to look at the figures standing behind them after the magic circle disappeared.
Arnold was delighted to see Lortheran, who was standing lazily next to Lord Martin and claimed to be his father.
Allen stared at the dragon in a daze.
There was no other reason than that the dragon's human form was truly unexpected. It had neat short gray-green hair, but long braids hung down from its shoulders to its waist. It had two shiny black dragon horns on its head, short round eyebrows, and clear light gold eyes that looked almost green. The childishness between its eyebrows and eyes was obvious. At this moment, it was looking around aimlessly.
He looks only thirteen or fourteen years old!
Ryu noticed Allen's gaze, raised an eyebrow, and looked over, his eyes full of consideration.
Carlo then looked at Hill, an exceptionally large elf in the group. Whether now or three hundred years later, elves are slender and beautiful. Such a huge elf, seemingly even larger than Astor, is truly rare.
"What? There's an elf here? Hey, I have to kill this guy." Hill immediately noticed his lifelong enemy, frowned, and his fingertips twitched, a cold glint flashing across his face.
Astor seemed oblivious to the situation; no, his face showed obvious wariness, clearly viewing Lortheran and his group as enemies trying to steal the treasure.
Murphy took in the group at a glance, his expression unchanged.
The first encounter between the hero team three hundred years later and the original hero team was tense and on the verge of war.
One side has all its members, and although it's not yet fully formed, it's already the standard configuration for a hero's team.
The other side was incomplete; one person died, another went to deal with the biggest trouble in the ruins, and then another person was crammed in.
However, in Long's opinion, none of these people can compare to them.
Seeing this team of heroes evoked mixed feelings in Lortheran, so he took a step back and smiled, "You guys fight, don't worry about me." He was quite fragile, and the only skill he had left was Astrology; if he had to say, could he be considered lucky?
"Give us the Staff of Firmament," Lord Martin said, his hand already gripping the sword at his waist, ready to draw it if the other party didn't agree.
Upon hearing this, Astor was the first to shout, "Impossible!"
“Uh, well, no…” Arnold snapped out of his daze, raised his wrist, and tried to stop his companion. He didn’t think those people were enemies; the founding king had even agreed to move them to a more comfortable courtyard.
"Kill me? With your abilities?" Carlo sneered, meeting Hill's gaze with a cold glint in his eyes.
Hill squinted: "Let me tell you, my only wish in this life is to kill all the elves."
Murphy didn't speak, but simply gripped the staff that Veris had repaired for him, and magical energy surged within it.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Hill alone was a reason to kill him. He raised his right hand, several iron beads sliding and spinning on his fingertips. They looked like they were about to fall at any moment, but they kept spinning steadily in his palm and between his fingers.
"Stop talking nonsense! I can kill them all with a single breath of flame, that artifact is definitely not afraid of fire." The dragon was a little impatient. Why be polite to these humans? Even if there was a dragon descendant among them, did it need another descendant?
It's not like all the other dragon descendants have died out!
"Hmph." Hill sneered, and a dozen iron balls flew out of his hand, exploding in mid-air. Several puppets landed and attacked Arnold and the others.
Astor raised his weapon, magical beams shot from the tip of Murphy's staff, and Carlo drew his bow and arrow. Wood magic flashed, and countless vines instantly sprouted from the ground.
Allen was somewhat disappointed, but he still drew his weapon to fight. Only Arnold, who was standing in the center, felt like he was caught in the middle. After all, his dual cultivation of magic and martial arts sounded good, but in reality, there were people in the team who were more outstanding than him. So he gritted his teeth and also drew his sword.
The puppet's attacks are close-range, so a warrior's combat skills are more suitable.
The dragon shook its head, tilted its head, opened its mouth, and blew hard.
The humans were instantly swept up by the strong wind and hurled towards the mud house; the other puppets immediately followed suit.
Sure enough, they were a group of incredibly weak humans.
Lortheran watched this scene with his hands behind his back, yawning. How could Arnold's squad at this stage possibly defeat the original hero squad in its later stages? These kids hadn't even entered the Royal Academy for systematic learning yet.
Those dozen or so puppets alone are enough to give them a run for their money.
Lord Martin paid no attention to these juniors who were clearly more than ten years younger than them. He stepped onto the altar and stood before the Staff of Earth, which was bound by chains.
The dragon stood to the side, bent down and breathed a small cluster of flames onto the chain, which remained unharmed.
Hill watched with his arms crossed, clearly not intending to get involved. This was something Lortheran should handle; the rest of them were just unlucky.
Lortheran stood at the very back of them, looking up at the sky above. The black pillar of light was still there, but he didn't look at it for long, because if he looked at it for too long, his eyes would hurt.
All around were mud houses, and the distant mountain ranges were no longer visible.
That scream never rang out again after the dragon breathed fire and swept the blood-stained earth.
Is it Veris who is suppressing the legendary god of the earth?
"Swish!" That's when Lord Martin drew his sword and slashed down fiercely.
The chains were completely unharmed.
The Staff of Earth Fixation still hovers above the altar.
Lord Martin's expression remained unchanged as he casually chopped at a few more spots, but the chains did not change at all.
Now Hill was also in a difficult situation. Could it be that even they couldn't break these chains?
He was skilled in alchemy, so he stepped forward to investigate what the chains were made of that could withstand so many attacks.
On the other side, Arnold and his group initially thought the puppets wouldn't be too strong, but as the battle became deadlocked, they realized something was wrong.
They were now on high alert, which made the puppets' attacks seem less casual than they had initially appeared.
For a moment, their faces turned grim.
Allen glanced at the altar and saw Hill still studying the chains, and inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if they couldn't get the artifact, they didn't want those people to get it so easily.
A strange competitive spirit stirred within him, and the puppet attacked again. Allen was nearly hit, but fortunately Arnold reacted quickly and pulled him away.
These puppets were more powerful than any opponent they had ever encountered.
In Arnold's eyes, these puppets were second only to the cloaked figure that floated in mid-air outside the city walls that day.
And that was just one puppet, while there are twelve of them here in total!
They were already feeling overwhelmed, and Murphy's magical output gradually shifted from offense to defense.
Carlo could fly, but as soon as the puppets raised their hands, countless cold arrows flew out from their palms. Carlo's face turned ugly as the dense arrow shadows approached, forcing him to land on the ground and rely on the vines of wood magic to interfere with the puppets.
However, even though these puppets are alchemical creations, they are incredibly agile, easily performing some difficult maneuvers with swift reactions, making one almost suspect that they are being manipulated by humans.
Hill's alchemy skills have reached a level that is beyond the reach of the second tier.
Puppet master, puppet master, should one be a human first, or a puppet first?
Or, both.
His ability to summon an entire armored army is no joke.
Invulnerable to swords and spears, unafraid of ordinary water and fire, its attack and defense are far superior to those of ordinary human soldiers, it does not need any food, and it has absolute loyalty.
The original hero team did not have any single-profession members.
Veris holds the title of apothecary but does the work of a mage. He can occasionally kill a magical beast with a single punch, and when necessary, he can also control magical beasts, make some simple alchemical products, and repair weapons. He is an all-around genius.
Sylvain, an unfathomable magician, though he never claimed to be an astrologist, could understand celestial phenomena at a glance. His combat prowess was also maxed out. When enemies got close to Sylvain, assuming that this magician must be weaker than a warrior in close combat, they were surprised when Sylvain twisted their heads off with one hand.
...Well, Sylvain's methods of killing were rather barbaric.
Hill is a warrior and alchemist who has reached the pinnacle of alchemy and claims that he can hardly see a new future for alchemy at present.
Needless to say, dragons breathe fire and roar wind, making them essential for any journey. They can be used to sweep away enemies or to roast meat and cool off, making them extremely useful.
Lortheran, with only one maxed-out Luck stat, is the one who gets 99% of the treasures in the party.
Any one of these people could be a better sparring partner for Arnold's team than someone who spent a whole year studying diligently at the Royal Academy.
Hill said he would kill Carlo, but he didn't actually do it and instead went down to study the chains.
They must obtain the Staff of Stabilization before the site closes.
Meanwhile, in another part of the ruins, Ambrose was pinned to a wooden frame, his body pierced by black chains, but he still stubbornly insisted that the humans could not break His chains.
Veris stood to one side, not even glancing at Ambrose, and simply said, "So?"
He only needed to make his move once before the site closed.
The purpose of the chains was unimaginable for both Lord Martin and Arnold.
First, it can neutralize attacks composed of magical elements, which makes it extremely easy for people to mistake it for an ordinary defensive chain.
Arnold and his companions discovered the Staff of Earth Stabilizer earlier, but they were unable to break the chains.
Lortheran's luck was formidable, but even where he struck the chain at its weakest point, there was a fatal flaw.
...His attack does not exist in the present moment.
The chains, imbued with the divine power of Mika, were created long before the fall of the Seven Gods. Magical attacks would strike the protective shield set up by Ambrose, disintegrating the magical elements.
If it's another kind of attack, then it only exists in the future; it's a chain from the future.
The chains that break in the future will not affect the present.
Veris stared for a few seconds and understood the problem. It has to be said that these gods do have some brains.
However, his companions only suffered because they didn't understand these gods.
With that in mind, Veris silently calculated the closing time of the ruins.
Ambrose knew what he was thinking. He gritted his teeth. He was trapped on this shelf and couldn't move. Facing Veris was like an ant trying to shake a tree. It was all Michaela's fault that he was in such a sorry state!
Every time he struggled, the punctured areas on his body would ache intensely.
At the altar, the two sides remained deadlocked.
Lord Martin frowned as he stared at the chains, somewhat puzzled.
Arnold and his companions continued to fight the puppets. Perhaps sensing their weakness, the puppets slowed their attacks, as if toying with them.
The blond-haired boy stood at the edge of the altar, his back to Arnold and the others, occasionally glancing up at the sky, lost in thought.
Lord Martin and Hill were already excitedly discussing something, with Dragon occasionally chiming in.
The weapons and the puppets clashed and clanged.
The boys were exhausted, their muscles aching terribly. Murphy was also nearly depleted of his magical energy and was panting heavily. The puppets were still slowly attacking.
Arnold, bracing himself against his sword, was drenched in sweat, and his vision began to blur.
My head is spinning, is it because I exerted myself too much? The prolonged fighting has caused insufficient blood supply, so my head is both aching and foggy...
The scenery before him blurred, and Arnold felt his body move as if he were wielding a sword against a puppet...
He opened his eyes a crack, trying to catch the puppet's fighting trajectory.
But then he saw Lortheran turn his head and look at him.
His狰狞 face and the raised sword were reflected in his eyes.
So close!
Lord Martin, who was in the midst of a heated discussion, noticed something and turned his head sharply, only to witness Arnold raising his sword and slashing down at his future self.
What happened?!
Even Ambrose, who was observing the altar and was in excruciating pain, was stunned. Weren't these humans all in cahoots? They said they would kill the other side, but then they threw down a few iron men. They were holding back like the ocean. How did they actually start fighting each other?
Veris frowned, but he still didn't make a move.
"Pfft..."
Those pale hands gripped the sharp sword tightly, blood splattering and even landing on Lortheran's face.
The pain erupted instantly, but his face showed no change in response. He stared intently into Arnold's eyes, as if he could see into the depths of his soul.
"Kid, why did you kill your father?" He gave a provocative smile, blood dripping down his face. He even leaned closer to Arnold, staring intently into his eyes.
"Your body, which you had planned all along, is now occupied by me. You must hate it to death."
"Great God, Yannis."
In the old era when all five gods existed, Poseidon was dead, the twin gods were currently alive, and Ambrose was about to die. So where was the last remaining god?
Even Veris couldn't sense His presence, so there's only one possibility: His position was being concealed by something else.
But the Veris of the present world clearly knows something.
The body that Veris allowed him to occupy belonged to Arnold's biological father.
Trialers from the future.
It's obvious who Yannis belongs to.
"Stars Rise!"
With a roar from Lortheran, countless starlight exploded. Yannis, who was controlling Arnold's body, narrowed his eyes and tried to escape back into the depths of Arnold's soul to conceal himself with the contract.
But... it was too late.
A single starlight was firmly imprinted on His body.
He didn't even know whether it was his soul that was marked, or his divinity—
Lortheran had already prepared for the display of starlight from the cliff.
In the old days, astrologers were not just prophets who only knew how to interpret stars.
They possess some unique secret techniques.
Witnessing all this, Ambrose was first stunned, then burst into laughter: "Yannis, you pride yourself on being smarter than all of us, but you didn't expect to be outsmarted!"
Lortheran's body is useless; he can't even defeat Arnold. Yannis controls Arnold's body. As long as he pierces Lortheran's body with his sword, he can perfectly take over that body, then enter a deep sleep, and Lortheran will continue to control the body.
Those people will definitely turn against each other because of this change.
However, the marks on Arnold and the others also destined them to be able to be teleported away from this era.
If Lortheran's body remains here, Yannis only needs to lie low and wait for the right opportunity to be resurrected.
If Lortheran were to return to the mortal world, Yannis would also be lying dormant. His soul is of a higher standard than Lortheran's and could easily attach himself to Lortheran's body to evade Veris's search. If Yannis hadn't taken the initiative to appear, Veris probably wouldn't have discovered his existence.
It turns out that the body was originally prepared for Yannis himself.
Ambrose's lips curled into a mocking smile.
There is one hour left.
Veris looked down at the chaotic altar. The moment Arnold's aura of Yannis appeared, the blade was already at Lortheran's feet. He clenched his fist instantly.
Lortheran was bound by his restrictions, so divine power could not harm him and would only clash with him, but he really hadn't expected any ordinary attacks.
"Just kill me."
“We guys are just stepping stones for Yannis. The remaining divine power of faith has been absorbed by Yannis. You don’t need to investigate anymore.”
"Ambrose said coldly."
Veris finally looked at Him, his eyes revealing no emotion, and said calmly, "You will pay the price for those lives."
"Huh? Those lowly ants—ah!"
Veris stood before Him, looking at His miserable state, and said, "You can kill me all you want, I won't interfere. After all, this is all the gods are capable of."
"But why torture and kill?"
His voice was cold and icy.
"Watching them convulse and die in agony, your pleasure hasn't changed at all over the years."
Ambrose looked up, panting, and smirked, "Would you care whether an ant is stepped on or burned to death?"
Veris looked at Him: "I won't."
"But all things have a spirit."
He wouldn't care about insignificant lives, because life has its own cycle of birth and death. What he could give was a revitalized earth, timely rain, and a rebuilt nature.
More than three hundred years ago, people praised the earth because it brought life.
Three hundred years later, people praised the Pope and the soil-improving medicine he developed, which truly allowed this devastated land to be covered in green again.
A pale golden light surrounded the young man, and Ambrose's pupils contracted, his words trembling as he uttered: "Why, why do you have faith at this time?!"
“I allow those thousands of lives to enter into reincarnation.”
The gates of hell are opened because of Veris's name.
A life executed by the gods should not be allowed to enter the path of reincarnation.
“You hate life, you despise life, yet you also fear life.”
"Or rather, you are afraid of humanity."
The earth is a cage that the gods have drawn for humankind.
Including elves, dwarves, and dragons.
They all inhabit this continent, relying on planting crops and hunting wild animals. The changing seasons, with their alternating rains and suns, have created a biosphere.
They cannot survive without the earth.
Since the dawn of human wisdom, thousands of years have passed, and songs praising the earth have emerged. The poems of bards are also full of beautiful verses that praise the earth.
Ambrose's faith should have endured as long as Yannis's. The sky and the earth are what humans depend on for survival, and humans have spared no effort in praising the earth and the sky, offering countless acts of faith.
Now it's all gone.
Years of disasters have proven that faith in the Earth God is of little use.
Ambrose would never offer a fake rescue like Yannis.
A glimmer of black light, containing the power of destruction.
Completely destroy Ambrose's godhood.
Veris watched coldly.
Once the remnants of that divine essence are no longer under the control of the main god, they will be completely taken into their possession.
Then he whispered, "In the name of Eros, I establish these rules."
"Deities can also be reincarnated."
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Author's Note: At this point, Xiao Wei just wanted to chase and kill him. [hugs]
tomorrow
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