"Don't... wake up..."
Is anyone calling me?
"Wake up..."
So tired. Fighting for so long. Get up after taking some more rest. Take another break...
"Everyone! Alandia...Gongsun Ce...!"
Everyone?
What's wrong everyone...!
Mo Yuankai suddenly opened his eyes. He sat up holding his chest, and Mo Hu's information came from his optic nerve. A broken cockpit. Confused fog. The glowing holy sword. She was crying. I remembered everything that happened before...!
Orianna put her hand on the wound on his chest and was using the power of Minghua Armor to heal him. Mo Yuankai couldn't help but hold the seventh knight's hand: "Orianna, how are you now?"
"I don't know, Mo!" Orianna said incoherently, "I just woke up... I don't know how long it has been... I, I can't feel the world of Alandia anymore!"
Mo Yuankai's heart suddenly sank to the bottom. He quickly used his heroic stance to repair the broken machine god and activated the built-in detection radar. Everything displayed on the screen is garbled. Is it the interference of the fog?
He thought of the phantoms in the Shadow Mist City, those incorporeal beings that would interfere with electronic devices such as mobile phones and walkie-talkies. Is this also the influence of phantoms? But he didn't hear those crying sounds...
Mo Yuankai had a vague feeling of disobedience, but he didn't have time to think about it carefully. Now was the time to act. "Let's go find A Ce and the Dawn Knight." Mo Yuankai suppressed the pain in his chest and activated his machine, "Exchange information, and then find a way to solve the problem!"
Orianna said in panic: "Do you want to search separately?"
"No! Everyone has probably fallen into a trap, and we can't split up now." Mo Yuankai made a judgment, "Orianna, can you still use the Holy Sword?"
"——Okay!" The female knight wiped away her tears, "Mo, have you recovered from your injuries?"
Mo Yuankai pressed his chest and his heart sank. The power of Minghua Armor healed his physical injuries, but he still felt bursts of pain. There may be something wrong with Lord Yinlu's dagger.
Mo Yuankai didn't know that the dagger was made with part of Kriji's power. In order to prevent the knight from worrying, he forced a smile: "Ah, I'm fully recovered. Let's go!"
Golden light enveloped the broken machine god, and the reorganized material quickly repaired the damaged armor. Chongguang's head and the lion beast on his chest simultaneously emitted bright lights, helping Mo Yuankai find his lost companions in the fog. The Shadow Mist City seemed to have eroded the real world. They could not see the white stone buildings of the royal capital, but could only see ruins, broken walls, dead trees and swamps. There was no one around, and the searchlights were shining into the sky, illuminating the giant moon in the sky under the heavy fog.
"Turn red...?"
Mo Yuankai frowned. The abnormally full moon over Shadow Mist City was slowly turning red, like cloth soaked in blood. "Maybe it's some kind of ritual." Orianna whispered, "A deliberate change...countdown...?"
There were too many messy things to think about. Are Ace and Islandia in this direction? Did he find the right one? He didn't know, he only knew that he couldn't be anxious or nervous. The enemy is probably still in the dark, and if we lose an inch at this time, it will be really troublesome.
"Mo, there!"
Suddenly Orianna exclaimed, and Mo Yuankai saw two lonely figures in the distance. His eyes suddenly widened, he stopped the machine god's actions, and jumped out of the cockpit. "Ace! What's wrong with you!"
It's Ace. His hair had turned gray for some reason and he was stumbling around on the ground. Behind him is the Dawn Knight who knows whether he is alive or dead, wearing a broken holy fire armor.
"..." Gongsun Ce slowly raised his head and looked at the person in front of him. "...Brother." He said hoarsely. "...brother..."
Tears burst out of the boy's eyes, and he collapsed completely. He fell to his knees and howled hysterically.
·
Mo Yuankai and Orianna took the two of them back to the Machine God. It took them a while to understand what happened from the boy's crying. A chaotic battle, a desperate ending, and an inherited impermanent law. In order to protect Arlandia, he put on the broken armor. The old regiment leader, whose life or death was unknown, was not brought along because he was worried that he would still be a puppet.
"It's impossible." Orianna said dullly, "How could it be possible? The leader and the others are all... controlled?"
She tortured her brain and squeezed the memories in her mind, but she couldn't find any signs. It is true that the old captain was exhausted from that battle, and it is true that the queen has been emotionally unstable recently...
But is that all? Is that all? Is this why they were "controlled" into puppets? ! How is this possible? ! There’s not even a sign of the unfolding world! Not even the Monarch Dragon, not even the World Creation Envoy, could do such an incredible thing without expanding the world!
The female knight almost collapsed emotionally. There were too many things that she couldn't understand, making her feel as if she was inside an invisible spider web. It took her a few seconds to get herself out of meaningless thoughts, and then sadness, fear, and powerlessness came like boundless darkness, flooding her soul. The queen passed away, the old captain and the chief mage were not sure whether they were alive or dead, and Airandia could no longer fight. Everyone in the Knights died. The whole city died.
She covered her face with her hands and let out desperate cries.
Mo Yuankai patted the Seventh Knight on the back and said nothing. Gongsun Ce sat opposite him, the despair in his eyes receded, revealing colorless numbness.
"Brother." Gongsun Ce said dryly, "What should we do now?"
Mo Yuankai took a deep breath.
"First we find a way to save the person who turned into mist. Then we knock down the mastermind behind it. That's it, now let's start taking action."
Gongsun Ce looked at him like a dead man. The corners of his mouth slowly moved and he let out an ugly laugh.
"Hahaha……"
Mo Yuankai slapped his younger brother on the shoulder: "Cheer up, A Ce."
"What are you talking about!" Gongsun Ce's smile disappeared and he shouted filial piety crazily. "As if we can do it! Haven't you seen the current situation clearly? It's over! Everything is over!
Everyone is dead and we can’t be saved!
"His tears were almost gone. He sobbed softly. "...Run away. If we go out now, we can still be saved. If you go out now..."
Mo Yuankai raised his fist and punched him hard.
Gongsun Ce was knocked to the ground, bleeding from the corner of his mouth. His glasses were crooked and his cheeks were red and swollen. "...Brother?" He opened his mouth in disbelief. Orianna grabbed Mo Yuankai's arm in panic, and his roar echoed in the cockpit.
"What's the use of crying?! If you cry and say dejected words here, cry like a little girl, can everyone survive?!"
Gongsun Ce's eyes turned red: "I don't want to fight anymore! There's no hope!"
"You don't have to fight. You can run away. You can avoid fighting." Mo Yuankai yelled, "But you have to think clearly, Ace! We are the only ones who can fight now. If we don't do something, this city will Really dead. Then there is really no hope!
"
"Stop fucking morally kidnapping me! I'll tell you about the kingdom's affairs—"
Mo Yuankai grabbed the boy's collar, and his elder brother's roar drowned out his retort.
"Are you worthy of the woman you like!"
Gongsun Ce suddenly froze. He closed his eyes in pain and covered his face tightly. The two of them couldn't see his expression clearly. The last voice of the Dawn Knight echoed in the young man's heart. Her last effort, her strength, her kiss.
give it to you.
She said leave it to you.
The gray-haired boy stood up and wiped his face hard to wipe away the last tears.
"I won't run." Gongsun Ce opened his eyes with a look that was unfamiliar to them. Hatred, sorrow, duty. "I'm not going to run," he said, "I'm going to fight."
"Okay, I'll give you ten seconds to make a plan!" Mo Yuankai pressed him down on the passenger seat. His voice was so loud that it not only encouraged the other two, but also encouraged himself. "Now let's save the kingdom!"
"Let's... ugh...!" Orianna whimpered, "Till the end, do our best!"
Orianna burst into tears. The powerlessness, shame and sadness made her want to scream in pain. Her kingdom is about to be destroyed. The knights who were supposed to protect the kingdom failed to do anything and were defeated. The people who shoulder the hope at the last moment are two superpowers from the outside world.
Gongsun Ce is right. Everything here should have nothing to do with them, but now they still have to fight...but apart from swinging their swords, they can't help much.
My heart felt like it was about to be torn apart. She endured the pain and clenched the hilt of the sword, but tears continued to flow.
·
Gongsun Ce didn't notice anything unusual about his friend. He was now fully focused on the work at hand. We must find a way to save the royal capital, and we must find a way to save everyone.
"Brother, how much power do you still have? Tell the truth."
The eldest brother turned his back to him and said in an uneasy tone: "Not much more."
"Can the new weapon be used? Don't fool me like last time."
"Yes, but I don't know if I have enough strength to activate it." Mo Yuankai hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
"Open the reserve cockpit and let Orianna go in to assist in supplying energy." Gongsun Ce made a judgment, "The Queen is under control, and the mastermind behind the scenes must have relied on her authority to manipulate the barrier. Now let's go to the palace and remove the Saint The Morton clock tower should be demolished immediately!”
"No!" Orianna exclaimed, "If the center is destroyed, the monsters sealed in Shadowmist City will-"
"Don't think about these useless things!" Gongsun Ce roared, "See the moon in the sky! Who knows what will happen after it turns completely red, do it first and then talk about it!"
"...Okay!" Orianna agreed with his judgment. She jumped up quickly and followed Mo Yuankai's command to the head of the Machine God, where there was one of the five ready cockpits. Gongsun Ce sat in the passenger seat and used telekinesis to accelerate the machine god's flight. The two partners who stood up from the desperate situation had a tense and fast exchange. "Brother, the degree of external erosion has deepened, and the current protective layer cannot withstand it." "I will increase my efforts. Can you find the center of the erosion?"
Gongsun Ce quickly analyzed the icons. "The radar collapsed...the analytical instruments were all fucking destroyed. On the right, I think it's on the right." "I think so, let's go."
People with super powers rely on their own intuition to make judgments. Some inexplicable sense of familiarity and hostility spread in their hearts, guiding them in the direction. The man-made machine god Chongguang shuttled through the fog. I don’t know when there were no strange sights around. There was only gray-white fog, only endless fog, and a gray-white ocean.
No one spoke. The unconscious Airandia was lying in the safest position inside the Mecha. The communication channel carried the unconscious voices of the three people. Nervous gasp. Sobs that haven't completely gone away. A groan of pain. The heavy air flow lingered in the throat, and the sound was like the roar of a wild animal before attacking.
"Ah..." Gongsun Ce couldn't suppress his emotions, he roared manically. "hateful……!"
Suddenly the gray fog thinned, and the three people's vision suddenly became brighter. They finally crossed the edge of the silent ocean and arrived at the center of the misty world.
The full moon in the center of the sky was almost completely dyed red. The blood-colored moonlight penetrated the fog and helped them see the ancient castle in the house, the empty clock tower square, and the dead leaves without branches growing among the ancient buildings. Tree. Everything in front of them was as gloomy as a scene in a nightmare, but what frightened them the most was the body of the "castle". That is the building they are most familiar with on weekdays, the seven bell towers of Superbia!
The bell towers that should have been distributed at the seven nodes of the Shadow Fog City are somehow gathered together in the center of the Fog City at this moment. The ancient buildings with a long history are roughly pieced together like toys in the hands of children. The spire of the bell tower protrudes from the wall irregularly, and seven huge dials emerge on it, as if it is a tribute to the king who has fallen here. Everyone laughed silently. The deformed building moved like a living thing, with its brown skin rising and falling like a chest rising and falling due to breathing.
Gongsun Ce's emotions were horrified by this ugly scene, and Gongsun Ce's rationality forced him to make a judgment. The image of a clock tower being brought together... a clock... a countdown?
Just like Airandia used the countdown to change the captain's destiny, the clock tower's countdown also changed something. The mastermind behind the scenes wants to take this opportunity to "advance"... what... clock tower, time, countdown, now is July 31st, 11:59... the predicted time is August...!
“—Tear down the bell tower!”
Mo Yuankai heard his partner's scream, and he pushed the joystick desperately to make the machine god's fists fly out. The ejection device on her head was activated, and Orianna jumped out with the holy sword in hand. The golden sword light destroyed the first bell tower, and then the machine god's flying fist destroyed the dial of the second bell tower. 30 seconds left. The machine god released a ray, which was blocked by the power gathered by the mist. "Use physical means!" Mo Yuankai controlled the machine god to fly, Chongguang's knee joints had drill-like spikes, and he hit the third bell tower with his knee! "Chongguang Fist!" Then the flying fist returned to the wrist. Machine God clenched his fists and beat them from top to bottom. The power of the hero's stance contends with the fog barrier, defeating it, and the fourth bell tower shatters!
The reaction force caused the machine god to retreat, and there were still 15 seconds left. The four shattered bell towers fell off the building complex like coats. The St. Morton bell tower stood in the center, with two severely distorted spiers inserted on both sides of the building like the left and right hands of a snowman. Orianna recharged her strength, swung her sword, and the fifth bell tower melted in the light.
With 10 seconds left, Gongsun Ce controlled the flying wings to separate from the Machine God, and attacked from both sides with the Seventh Knight. The impact from two directions caused the sixth bell tower to break. Gongsun Ce and Orianna were knocked away by the defensive spell. 5 seconds. The last bell tower of St. Morton is still running, and the eyes of the artificial machine god erupt with light like the sun. 3 seconds. Once again, he used the skills he had used in the decisive battle with the Skeleton King, and used the full power of his clenched iron fists. A stream of light like a whirlpool formed between the giant and the bell tower. Chongguang struck out with the momentum of breaking a cauldron and defeating the last bell tower!
"——"
Everyone's voices could not be heard clearly, and the light bloomed and then dissipated. Last second. The dial of St. Morton's clock tower shattered, and the overloaded artificial machine god fell to the ground, setting off earthquake-like waves.
Orianna braced herself against the bumps and raised her eyes with hope.
The side of St. Morton's clock tower is covered with cracks, like porcelain about to break. The dial of the clock tower was completely broken, and the three hands stopped just before pointing to 12.
She wanted to cheer excitedly.
Then, a wooden cuckoo jumped out from the inside of the clock dial.
"Cuckoo~!"
The crudely made wooden bird's head is inlaid with a solitary glass eye.
"Cuckoo~!"
Again and again, the birds repeated their boring calls. It seems like a mockery of all the efforts, all the struggles, all the struggles so far.
】
"Cuckoo~!"
The once stiff pointer passed the last grid, and a new day finally arrived. The deafening bells sounded like a grand salute to welcome the arrival of the monarch.
The moon above the sky was completely dyed red, and the fog that spread across the city swept across the city like a typhoon. The crack leading to the vast sea of stars flashed away, and the gray stars responded to the call of the former body and came from the other side of the world.
Just as it would happen countless times in the boy’s late-night nightmares——
0:00 am on August 1st.
The disaster of the underworld is coming.
·
On the dilapidated battlefield on the other side of the city, the seriously injured Lord of the Hidden Law passed out among the ruins.
His body was shaking erratically like an old TV image with poor signal, as if it would completely collapse into a phantom if he was not careful. A book with a gray cover floated out from his black clothes, and the "script" flew to where he should go. Between the pages shaking in the wind, there are lines of handwriting that have already been written.
[The eye boy left behind by the Netherworld Dragon is a source of resonance that is better than a seed. The power to maintain the barrier of Shadow Mist City is poured into it through the "countdown" ceremony of the clock tower, which satisfies the conditions for shaking the realm of reality. When a new day comes, the Nether Dragon and the Hell Realm descend from the inside of the world. The knights who have prepared for the prophecy for months are greeted by a completely different disaster.
We cannot blame everyone for their negligence. After all, the prophecy revealed a natural disaster that was bound to come, but what happened now was a man-made disaster born of malice. God’s will is unpredictable, but people’s will is hard to find! 】
