Ten thousand I am across the heavens

Lan Cheng didn't hide his doubts but asked directly. Judging from the current situation, he held an absolute advantage, at least in terms of military strength. Even if the question he asked contained some sensitive points, he could handle it.

"Do you have any questions about the Holy City and the demigod heroes? As for the former, the Holy City has stood there since ancient times. Legend has it that the people of the four ancient empires entered the Creation Block from the Holy City. It is said that our world was created within the Creation Block."

In mythology, the land emerged from the holy city, filling a void of creation. The goddess, taking pity on us, created the earth, but without water, humanity could not survive. So rivers began to flow. Yet, on this land, there was no air, and humanity scattered across the land suffocated. Air was then created, allowing people to survive briefly, but without hope, for the entire land remained shrouded in darkness.

And so the sun was created, endlessly orbiting the primordial land. But the survivors found themselves without food, and a crimson tide surged forth from the primordial land. Plants grew on the earth, fish swam in the rivers, and birds and beasts appeared on the world. From then on, four great empires were established, thriving and multiplying on the once wild and untamed primordial land.

Legend has it that everything in this world gushed forth from the holy city, as if it were the source of everything.

The goddess bestowed upon us everything we need for survival, yet even gods have their good and evil aspects. Humanity thrived and multiplied on the primordial land for many years, living in peace until the arrival of chaos. A vast amount of chaotic matter erupted from the holy city, creating the scorched earth of chaos. One of our responsibilities as believers of the goddess in this world is to fight against chaos.

When the primordial land first created the world, a prophet foretold that chaos would one day descend upon this world. Therefore, the four core sacred relics within the Holy City were entrusted to the four major human empires for safekeeping, to be returned to them when a summons is received from the Holy City in the future.

We've already exhausted all our efforts and made many sacrifices to escort the sacred relic here. Thankfully, we met you; otherwise, the relic under our country's custody might very well have been lost.

After hearing this myth, Lan Cheng seemed thoughtful. The process of creating this world felt somewhat familiar. It was reminiscent of the creation goddess commanding her firstborn son to create the world. Similarly, blood evolved into an ecosystem on the planet.

However, it lacked the creation of the earth and air—the crucial elements in shaping the world. What follows is even stranger: the Holy City not only created the world but also chaos, a contradiction that seems self-contradictory. Moreover, according to the myths and legends, everything in this world seems to originate from the Holy City. Even now, with the scorched earth of chaos occupying a large area, the Holy City still stands at its center.

"In short, if you want to know more, you have to go to the Holy City. Even if you return to the Royal Library of the Sultanate now and find the most learned people, they can only tell you so much. After all, no matter how much culture is passed down, thousands of years have passed, and history has become myths and legends. This is also the only time in the last thousand years that we have had a chance to break through the blockade of the Chaos Scorched Earth."

According to the map, this place is closer to the location of the Holy City than it is to the Empire.

The female warrior clearly wanted to keep Lan Cheng here, since having one more person meant having more fighting power, especially a super strong person who had just been killing everyone.

"I see now. You want me to protect you on your way to the Holy City, right? I am indeed very curious about what kind of place that is. But let's be frank. The Holy City is located in the core of the Chaos Scorched Earth, so it must be extremely dangerous. You say you're already halfway there, but the second half is probably the most difficult part. Otherwise, why didn't you go to the Holy City on your own pilgrimage before?"

The female warrior stammered, unsure of what to say. Relying on their own strength to reach the Holy City was indeed unlikely, but they did not want to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Moreover, they had already suffered heavy losses, and even if they returned the way they came, they might not be able to get back.

"Very well, since you have never successfully reached the Holy City, you probably don't know what dangers you will face on the way. Just tell me about it based on the descriptions in your mythology."

Although Lan Cheng didn't agree to escort them, he had already shouldered his greatsword and was moving forward with the Templar Knights. Only after getting closer did he realize that these warriors were actually quite strong.

In terms of physical ability alone, these people even surpassed the soldiers he had once commanded. However, they mainly used cold weapons and had no firearms or the ability to strike beyond visual range. Relying solely on their physical abilities to fight against the almost endless mutated monsters, they were indeed facing a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

"Based on the legendary level of terror... it's said that the monsters surrounding the Holy City are piled up like mountains, and the entire mountain range is filled with the mutated monsters we fought before. But they shouldn't be that strong, right? After all, Holy City warriors gave us intelligence before. Since they were able to break through, they shouldn't be unable to fight back! Probably..."

Lan Cheng sighed helplessly. Who could say for sure about such things? No one had successfully made a pilgrimage in over a thousand years. We couldn't judge whether a place was dangerous based on just one person's word.

It seems the Holy City warriors are helping the nations. But what if the Holy City has completely fallen, and Chaos now controls it? Are these Holy City warriors also corrupted? Could the information they transmit be false? Is it possible that these very people are trying to lure the four great empires into sending their sacred artifacts to the scorched earth of Chaos, thus trapping them in their own net?
These are all possibilities, but Blue City didn't say that he did need a guide. In the vast wilderness, he couldn't possibly find the so-called holy city just by relying on one direction.

The Knights Templar had their own methods for determining the direction of the Holy City, through prayer, meditation, and sacred rituals unique to this world.

The group continued their journey for about two days, encountering attacks from mutated monsters along the way. After trekking over a hundred kilometers, they finally saw a faint glimmer of light on the horizon. "Those who escaped from the pilgrimage group mentioned the radiance of the Holy City. We just need to follow the light to find it, but as we venture deeper into the Chaotic Scorched Earth, we'll encounter more and more enemies."

Lan Cheng nodded, but wasn't worried. As time went by, he found himself becoming more and more adapted to this world. Before, he only possessed superhuman physical abilities and could unleash the brilliance of will during battle. Now, he had gradually mastered how to use this extraordinary power within him. Although he didn't know its source, he was certain he was very strong, even stronger than the entire legion combined.

This was quickly confirmed, for the dark mountains before them trembled slightly with the arrival of the visitors. Then, in the light of the horizon, the collapse of the mountain peaks could be vaguely seen, as if a severe landslide had occurred. Someone in the knightly order took out a telescope and looked at the collapsing mountains in the distance, only to be terrified, turning pale and nearly dropping the telescope.

Lan Cheng frowned, took the binoculars, and gazed into the distance. His vision sharpened to its maximum, and he could clearly see millions of mutated monsters charging towards them, their earth-shaking force shaking the entire mountain range. It was more like their legends said: the entire mountain range was composed of mutated monsters, and at this moment, they had awakened it.

The Templar warriors gazed at the blades in their hands, feeling the steel armor beneath their bodies. These weapons, once a source of pride, now offered them no sense of security. The enemy's numbers were simply too overwhelming. Even if the entire Sultanate mobilized its army, it couldn't possibly defeat such a vast foe. Even with a militaristic approach and a nationwide mobilization, victory seemed impossible.

"What should we do?" The female warrior looked helplessly at Lan Cheng beside her. "I could take my two greatswords and go in for a couple of runs. I reckon I could take care of a few hundred before I throw up and can't stand up anymore. Hmm... maybe I can die a more dignified death."

"What should we do?" Lan Cheng touched himself, carrying the sword he'd been carrying all the way on his back, then shook his head. He casually tossed the sword aside and said, "I don't know what to do either, but I think I might be able to kill them all."

He didn't know where this feeling came from, but Lan Cheng just instinctively felt that he could do it. The overwhelming force, even the collapse of entire mountain ranges, turning into enemies and rushing towards them, was indeed very shocking, but in his view, this level of power did not seem insurmountable, and even seemed a bit weak.

Having discarded the blade, he seemed to have also freed himself from constraints, and a silvery-white radiance of will emanated from his palm, gradually coalescing into a familiar form. Centered on himself, the silver light constructed a massive and sturdy metal structure—a land battleship tens of meters high and hundreds of meters long—which gradually took shape in his mind. Following closely behind was the land battleship that provided logistical power, a vessel intimately familiar to the Eleventh Legion. In this unfamiliar world, the Dao Yuan reactor emitted its first roar. The silver light gradually materialized, transforming into a solid iron-gray. The heat dissipation grates opened, releasing heat that distorted the surrounding air, while within the grates, a fiery red glow emanated, the sheer size of which conveyed a palpable surge of energy. Lan Cheng stood atop this land battleship constructed from the radiance of will.

Since arriving in this world, he had always had a question: why was the ability to distort reality so powerful here? Although this question remained unanswered, he had truly verified the extent to which his will could distort reality when he went all out. While he couldn't possibly bring his entire previous legion into the fray, he could certainly create the strongest war machine he had ever controlled.

On the land-based battleship, the massive main gun slowly rotated its muzzle. Even when it was still over ten kilometers away, a beam of light shot out from the main gun. A huge mushroom cloud instantly exploded in the distance, and the shockwave swept across an area several kilometers in radius. The mutated monsters, not particularly strong individually, were instantly vaporized at the core of the explosion, while those around them were crushed into fragments by the shockwave. Many more monsters were blown into the air, falling like petals to the ground, only to be smashed flat on the hard earth.

The Templar Knights stared in disbelief at the land battleship that stood like a small mountain on the earth; such a thing couldn't even be imagined in the fantasy novels of their time. It seemed like a miracle that could only be born in mythology.

The female warrior, who had been trying to trick a powerful bodyguard into joining them on their journey, stammered, pointing at Lan Cheng standing on the land battleship, "A... demigod? Are you also a demigod hero?"

Lan Cheng didn't have the energy to reply at this moment. Creating such a massive thing out of thin air was also a huge burden for him, and the number of enemies was indeed a bit too many. So he didn't waste any time. The land battleship he summoned couldn't last forever. While it was still alive, the missiles on the battleship were unleashed in full force, bombarding without any hesitation, while the main guns turned again for another round of bombardment.

One dark red mushroom cloud after another rose into the sky, and countless mutated monsters were reduced to ashes in the devastating explosions. The terrifying mountain peaks in the distance had now been razed to the ground. The powerful firepower had accomplished something that seemed impossible to these knights who appeared to be from ancient times.

After the threatening enemy forces had been reduced to ashes in the explosion, Blue City slowly descended from the sky. The land-based battleships that had been constructed also disappeared.

"Are you a demigod too? It's said that only demigods can roam freely on the Chaos Scorched Earth." The female warrior eagerly ran up again to ask.

"I shouldn't be. Logically speaking, I should be a pure human, but it's hard to say here. The power I just displayed shouldn't belong to just me. Hmm... After causing such a commotion, someone's definitely here to clean up the mess!" Lan Cheng looked towards the Holy City. After the giant mushroom cloud rose, the sea of ​​clouds in the distance appeared to have been cleaved open, and something was moving at supersonic speed through the clouds, seemingly not far away.

[To be continued]

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