"In the center of the messy yellow sand Gobi is a silent lake."
“The quicksand of chaos is where travelers perish.”
"A temple illuminated by silvery moonlight."
"The arena filled with crimson moonlight."
"In the Fourth Era."
"Below the thirteenth rank."
"'Underground Laputa' where Vita Water is located."
Laite silently recited the poems imprinted on the meteorite, trying to decipher them within the limited time before the meteorite-related rituals were completed.
Unfortunately, Laite has never been to Silent Highlands. Apart from the map, he does not understand the entire layout of Silent Highlands.
After all, it has been shown in many military reports and confidential documents that the terrain of Silent Highlands is relatively complex, and there are even some uninhabited areas in the middle. Legend has it that anyone who enters, even those who are lost, will die. If they do not go around, crossing The high ground is an act of seeking death.
While silently reciting the memory, Laite clearly felt that since his rank was promoted, despite the painful memory of walking in the Gobi desert, he seemed to have suffered some mental damage, such as schizophrenia and delusions. "Minor symptoms", but memory has improved anyway.
Just like before, it was necessary to read it four or five times to remember a general paragraph. Now, Laite can remember the key information in it after only reading it silently twice.
"Maybe he has an epiphany about the method. Is this the not very obvious but very reliable improvement brought by the 'inspiration' sequence core?" Laite guessed.
Immediately afterwards, while those [Soldiers] were still dancing crazily and repeatedly, Laite silently memorized some key words.
"'Silent Lake', 'Chaotic Quicksand', 'Silver Moon Temple', 'Crimson Moon Arena', as well as 'Fourth Era' and 'Sequence 13'. These things still need to be interpreted. If you and Su It would be best if they could get in touch with the Guerra Committee and Brett. Even if they can't get in touch for the time being, I'm still in Silent Heights after all. At worst, I can try my luck while following the army on combat missions." Laite silently made up his mind.
"Remember Brett said that the Scots Army and the escort were the last to enter the highlands, and most of the troops will be deployed in the southern camps, where there is a bit of industrial base. The north is sparsely populated. If the situation is extreme, I will be alone. Go to the central location to explore the 'Daughter of Tool Yuan'. I'm afraid the secrets in me are not as simple as what I see.
Just like an iceberg, only a small part is exposed to the outside. The more potential and deeper parts require me to take the initiative to decipher it. "
After secretly making up his mind, Laite exhaled a short breath through his nostrils. Then, he clenched his fists tightly and continued to watch the "wonderful" and "uncanny" ceremony.
"[Warriors], you are doing a good job. You are saving a soul that is about to collapse. He is a machine, but it is easier for him to reach the gods and become gods. Please contribute your strength and let me find the direction." Old "Magic" "Master" continued to sing, like a bishop who did not go to confession in the Lord's church but became the choir leader.
"Ah, ah, ah." Those [soldiers], under the guidance of the old "magician", turned out to be in order, like soldiers of the ancient infantry phalanx who were about to charge when the attack horn was blown, howling collectively. , very powerful, very shocking.
However, the next second, they stopped their weird dance, and instead forcefully opened up their military green uniform tops and shirts underneath, revealing their solid, strong, angular, and powerful chests.
But Laite turned his head and looked carefully. The skin on their chests, especially the heart, had been burned away, revealing a mechanical heart glowing with a rich red light.
There were even bits and pieces of hot red liquid splashing out from the damaged area.
There is no doubt that they have become unintentional people. The so-called [Force Field Creator] in front of them, the old man who calls himself a "Magician"... must have infected them with "Burning Liquid", and then used [Seduction] similar to Yato's. [Deceiver], or some props similar to Dylan's [Deceiver] ability manipulated them.
"The old man just mentioned the fair trade of paying money and labor songs. It seems that I have to ask after the ceremony. These soldiers can't be saved anyway. I have to find out the specific methods of his manipulation. Maybe... a long time ago In the future, I will need this kind of ability to realize my longer-term ideal of becoming a true 'Wasteland Echoer'. To restore peace to the world and open up the future of the Star Era," Laite said to himself.
After a few more minutes, the meteorite was covered by the reddish-brown liquid seeping out from inside. As the liquid flowed, it formed a thick scab, causing it to dissipate from the surface of the steel and return to the reddish-brown color, as if covering the meteorite. The state of a layer of cooling lava.
"Mr. Laite, it's over." The voice of the old "magician" suddenly appeared in front of Laite, startling him.
"Oh, those people are hopeless, right?" Laite said with a hint of sadness, staring at the group of [soldiers] standing there, shaking their heads aimlessly.
"Yes, they signed an employment contract with me, and I paid each of them 35 Singapore dollars, which is equivalent to the reward of a new ducat. They willingly became unintentional people to assist me in the ritual, and faced the fate of death. The old "magician" tidied the magician's robe that was stained with mud and red sticky liquid, and a proud smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
His smile even turned into a laugh, revealing yellowed teeth with fallen teeth that emitted a foul odor.
"You have already received directions, and you also invited me to watch such an interesting performance. I think before I drive away, I have a question you must answer for me." Laite said, with his right hand He put his hands on his hips and "happily" touched the "Crazy Bear" pistol on his waist.
"I don't think you would bully an old man, right? I am already in my twilight years and I am going to see the Lord soon. Besides, since you can see us, talk to me and watch the show, you and Luo Nie must exist." Otherwise, there is no way to explain our current encounter. In this case, I will definitely be able to help you answer your question, as long as you don't hurt me, and I don't want to fight." The old "magician" suddenly said with a little fear.
"How do you control them? Is it a prop?" Laite asked, pointing at the [Soldiers].
"'Fair employment', this is a prop that is not classified as a ranked monster, and belongs to the category of sacred objects. As long as the other party is a pure human without magic power, he will be hired by me after signing the contract, and I will let you Of course I have to pay for it.
And within the specified time, even death cannot undo it, because this is something that leaves ink on the gods. The old "magician" said proudly:
"But I can't give you the prop. It belongs to the Pope of Hope Church's private collection. I just borrowed it."
"That's it, then I have no problem." Laite made an American shrug, subconsciously took out the "Crazy Bear" pistol and said:
"Then I'm leaving. I'm afraid I won't be able to stay in the hotel later. It's fate that we met, yes, fate. Meteorite, haha, Luo Nie... Luo Nie, this name does sound familiar now, but I forgot about it. Never heard of it."
"Speaking of young people, don't you want to briefly understand this meteorite? Such an important thing, and it is the product of my summons after establishing a stance." The old "magician" showed a confident but weird expression.
"I would like to hear the details." Laite nodded.
"Legend has it that in the middle of the Third Era, a young man called the 'Friend of the Dragon' arrived in the Avantlai Empire. He was a promising young man, a man in the army, extremely strong, and also had water and dark magic sources. force.
Later, after several years of wandering and traveling, he was forced to leave Bingqi City under the persecution of the Avant Royal Family and Queen Lelita, went to Canon City, and joined the "Ancient Mysterious Investigation Agency" organize. "
"Interesting." Laite commented.
"Indeed." The old "magician" paced back and forth and said:
"By the way, I would like to add that although Canon City is a city, it is only a small town in terms of size. In many cases, the history books from Avant are also recorded as Canon Town."
"Let's go back to the meteorite. The boy was actually saved by the dragon clan, and later also saved a red dragon. But when he was in Canon City, he met a boy who was transformed into a demon dragon. Their magic power and blood The interweaving triggered the ancient mysterious spell and summoned the meteorite."
"But at the end of the story, the boy naturally penetrated the dragon's chest with a firecracker and won the battle. From then on, that meteorite was contaminated with the dual atmosphere of dragons and humans until it was touched by me and was touched by me. master."
"The story of the meteorite is indeed interesting. If I am lucky enough to go to the north, I will definitely walk eastward along the 'Great Railway' and go to the Avantre Empire and the Crusted Empire further east. In fact, I What I am more interested in is the Fire Empire, their culture fascinates me." Laite sighed unconsciously.
"Don't you want to know that boy's name?" the old "magician" asked quietly.
"who?"
"Letter Hain."
"Laite Hain?" Laite asked in shock.
Isn't this a combination of "Red-faced Hain" and my name? Could it be that there are secrets related to Avant's coming to the empire in my body?
Laite suddenly felt that his brain was filled with endless information, wrapped up, and began to feel bursting. It seemed that it was filled with countless papers and characters on them. They were crowded, almost blurring, and his brain was horrified.
"It seems that you have some fate with meteorites." The old "magician" seemed to notice something strange about Laite. After considering it for a few seconds, he took out a sharp-edged glass object from his arms and stuffed it into Laite's body. In his hand, he said:
"I hope the Pope once gave me a 'Heart-Seering Prism', which is said to be related to the gods and the sun, but I have never been able to use its power correctly. Now I give it to you, and I hope you can play its due role.
By the way, I am very grateful to the young human psychic who killed Kayas. He is very powerful and I like him very much. After Luo Jie regains her senses, I will go find Natasha and guide her to leave the underworld and go to heaven. I think the train that symbolizes my life is almost heading to the terminal. Young people, the future is yours. "
As the old "magician" spoke, countless white-hot threads began to surge all over his body, like a caterpillar that was turning into a cicada, being wrapped in place and twisting his body wantonly.
"Wait, what else do you know?" Laite asked after recovering from the brief shock.
"No. 12 of the twelve cardinals, 'Xue Mu', I can sense his scent. He is not far from here. I think you need to be careful, young man..." Old "Magic" "Master" responded.
A few seconds later, as the white "chrysalis" was completely formed, the body of the old "magician" exuded a rich brilliance, as if the sun was coming.
After exploring the space around the body of the old "magician" inwardly and emitting an instantaneous rainbow-like light, he finally disappeared in place, along with the meteorite, as if he had never appeared before, except for the messy footprints. Apart from that, no trace of this past was left behind.
"Brother Laite, why don't you go?" Feng pulled the corner of Laite's clothes and urged him roughly.
"That's right, you might encounter a night curfew if you're late." Laite agreed.
But just as he turned around to leave, one of the seven or eight [Warriors] who had mutated into Wu Xinren, after losing the control of the old "Magician", roared towards him and rushed towards him.
"Brother Laite, I know you are very tired, why don't I show you my strength." A proud expression appeared on Feng's young face.
After murmuring the spirit in Guzhne Empire language, his right hand was instantly surrounded by a blue halo. As he dexterously stretched out his hand and shook his wrist, an arrow made of ice appeared in front of him. lose.
"Go, Bingjian, you have experienced a glorious era, and now you can still play your role." Bing's voice was full of youthfulness, but it was deep and sinister.
But then, the tail that resembled the archer from the Second Age of the Zine Empire was made of feathers made of ice crystals. The tip was sharp, and the overall light and dexterous arrow instantly penetrated the chest of the Wu Xinren [Warrior].
Snapped!
There was an explosion sound, and Wu Xinren's mechanical heart in front of him had turned into a ball of broken mechanical products. As he fell on his back, a gurgling red "burning liquid" was already flowing from his chest.
With just one swift blow, Feng killed the Wuxin in front of him.
"Awesome." Laite praised:
"If I remember correctly, this is the magic power of the water source."
"That's right, brother, haha." Feng said with a proud smile.
"Awesome, of course you are, but whether you are the lost or the supernatural is up for debate." A deep and steady voice came from the left side of Laite's body.
Laite held the "Wild Bear" pistol warily and turned around to look. At some point, without warning or being noticed, three military jeeps and ten or twenty fully armed men appeared on his left. , a [Warrior] wearing the uniform of the Imperial Legion.
They all raised their standard rifles and aimed their bullets at Laite and Feng.
But the man who asked him just now, holding a small black pistol, was wearing alternative black-based clothing and a black mask.
On his epaulettes are three horizontally arranged "dark-toned" five-pointed stars and a simple "dagger" pattern.
"I am a superpower, and so is my brother Feng." Laite opened his left arm to protect Feng, pushed him behind him, stared at the man in front of him cautiously and asked:
"But who are you?"
"I am the commander of the security team of the camp patrolling the outer area of the camp in Area B. My name is Keton, and I am currently at the 4th level of Silver Blade. Judging from your clothes, you should be a member of the guard team. I am very curious as to why you Your brother and I will stare blankly at the swamp for a long time, and my team members and I will stare at you for a long time.
Of course, there are also those careless ones who have been dancing on the spot. I don’t think you have any intention of attacking each other, so you stand and watch for a while. However, if I remember correctly, those unintentional people should be members of a certain squad of the Zhnetsk Corps that disappeared a few days ago.
You stared at them for a long time, right, and didn't make a move. It wasn't until the unintentional person attacked you that your brother struck back. I think your relationship with Wu Xin Ren is unusual. Please explain it. "Keton pointed the gun at Laite, then pointed at Wu Xinren next to him, and asked with a serious and cold face.
"My name is Laite. I am currently at the fifth level of Silver Blade. I think that as a member of the Sogra Guard, I don't need to explain to you." Laite said in a cold voice with a gloomy face and the same seriousness.
In front of this group of [Soldiers] and Keton, he loaded the chamber of the "Wild Bear" pistol, stepped on the soft mud, and walked straight towards the Wu Xinren who was patrolling the place with dull eyes.
Immediately afterwards, he raised his hand and pulled the trigger six or seven times in succession, causing the silver bullets to penetrate their solid mechanical hearts.
Bang, bang...
As the red scalding liquid and bright blood danced messily, the group of unintentional people were forever freed from their painful fate.
Laite "executed" them!
