Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 847 Violation
Blackthorn Third Legion warship, sortie room.

"Tsk, I thought I could get an extra half-day of rest, but finding a clue at a time like this is really a headache."

Inside the capsule-shaped launch pod, Yamu, who was checking all the safety measures before launch, gently rubbed his temples, his face full of worry. At the same time, he glanced curiously at Xin Lailai beside him and said, "Speaking of which, Captain Hei, are you really okay? I remember you almost crippled yourself in the Island 13 world?"

"Thanks to Her Excellency the Sister, I've recovered to full strength, though I did get a scolding from her," Xin Lailai replied calmly as she went through the final confirmation process.

Although these pioneers were at the forefront of this expedition, if we were to categorize their contributions, Sister Chris Roanna's Fire Seed incarnation, located inside the warship, deserves at least half the credit for their ability to conquer so many worlds inhabited by the Abyss Holes in just one month.

If it weren't for the other party's superb healing skills, which were comparable to the deep healing in Paradise, given the side effects of their abilities, let alone 13 worlds, they would probably have their combat power greatly reduced after just 3 worlds, due to various problems such as boundary lightning erosion, death energy backlash, and the dormancy of their protective energy, and might even have been bedridden for ten days or half a month.

But thanks to the nun's presence, they managed to recover to their peak condition in just one day after each return, ensuring they could face every battle in top form without worrying about ability cooldowns or the accumulation of hidden injuries.

……

Sister Chris Roanna: "Lord Black Sword, the inspection of the teleportation pod is complete, and we are ready to depart at any time."

……

A gentle voice, slightly distorted by electronic distortion, came from the broadcast. Xin Lailai nodded slightly, then skillfully reclined into her assigned cabin. Looking at Yamu and the Death Bearer before her, she spoke:

"Let's go, hurry up."

"Ah."

"Yes, yes! Sigh, I hope I don't run into any more monsters and demons after landing this time!"

The slightly helpless grumble faded away, and the next second, all the lights in the sortie bay went out with the sound of the hatch closing. The next second…

[Power supply complete, launch commences!]

Boom——! !

A violent impact erupted, followed by an unusually intense feeling of weightlessness.

From the outside, one could see that as the announcement of the launch began, the launch bay, which was originally located at the stern of the Blackthorn warship, was like a cannonball accelerated to its maximum speed. With a loud bang, it crossed a distance of over a hundred kilometers and crashed heavily into the spacetime barrier below, which was enveloped by a layer of dark energy, at an unimaginable speed.

The formation of abyssal wormholes originates from severe spacetime distortion, which in turn forms an incredibly thick spacetime barrier on the outside of the planet along with its gravity. This is why the sortie pods in the legion are designed to be so exaggerated, and why the third phase of operations prioritizes a small-scale combat mode.

After all, just building a sortie pod and space-breaking device that can be used by 3 to 5 people requires a huge amount of resources. If a legion of hundreds or thousands of people is sent in every time, even with the legion's financial resources, it would be difficult to withstand such consumption.

[Warning: We are about to arrive at the designated coordinates. Please prepare for spacetime turbulence!]

A cold notification sound flashed by. Inside the launch pod, the three, who had already taken the slow-release fluid, sensed the sudden, violent tremors around them. They expertly deployed layers of defense in their own ways, and then Xin Lailai released protective energy, enveloping all three of them. Finally—

[Landing complete, Pioneer has arrived at designated coordinates!]

A terrifying shockwave, as if it were about to shatter a person alive, erupted, causing the three of them to grunt in unison. After the commotion subsided, the three of them opened their eyes almost simultaneously and pulled the lever next to them, which required a person with 90 points of true strength attribute to exert all their strength to move.

Om-! !

The next second, the launch pod where the three were located suddenly disintegrated from the boiling steam. Then, Xin Lailai casually waved her hand, using her giant crystal hand to instantly clear away the smoke and dust that were obscuring their vision. She then walked with the Deathbringer and Yamu to the edge of the huge crater created by the launch pod, taking in the entire scene in the distance:
twilight.

This is the first impression one gets from the scene before one's eyes.

The dim, yellowish sky, tinged with a hint of red, was reflected on the cracked earth, casting long shadows of the withered trees in the unsettling twilight.

Looking around, one skeleton after another hangs beneath the crooked, withered trees, bearing the marks of time, swaying with the churning yellow sand, revealing utter desolation and ruin.

"Ah...ah..."

As the tremendous noise caused by the landing subsided, a series of hoarse groans gradually reached their ears, causing them to instinctively look in the direction of the sound:

Those were... no, to be precise, a group of 'people' crawling on the ground.

Its mummy-like appearance is covered with numerous dark red fire marks, as if branded on, making one wonder if its limbs can still function normally. They are twisted outwards in a bizarre way.

Moreover, these desiccated figures seemed to be drawn by something, crawling relentlessly towards the edge of the earth bathed in the afterglow of twilight, completely ignoring the location of the three people.

"These are... creatures from the abyss?" Yamu stared at the mummified corpses in the distance, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Judging from their aura, these desiccated figures did indeed possess extremely obvious traces of abyssal energy. However, their behavior—ignoring the three of them—was completely different from any abyssal creature he had ever encountered.

“Be careful, something feels off about this world,” Xin Lailai said, then looked at the Death Keeper beside her. The Death Keeper nodded slightly, took out the divination tools that Xilona had specially prepared for her, and his eyes flickered.

Om-! !

A dazzling starlight flashed across the girlish crystal pendant, while the Death Bearer frowned slightly, as if he had witnessed a troublesome scene.

"How about it?"

“This is troublesome. The divination was automatically interrupted on my end, which means that the root of what we are looking for may have causal pollution.” The Death Bearer lowered his eyes slightly, and a cold and solemn look flashed in his dark blue pupils, while Xin Lailai and Yamu’s expressions changed slightly.

“However, at least the direction is confirmed,” the Death Keeper continued, looking along the crawling mummies in the distance toward the edge of the earth. “Over there, at the location of the Abyss Hole, there is a creature far more powerful than them. In the hall it guards, there is a secret chamber containing the clues we are looking for.”

Does it involve clues about the causal aspects of pollution...?

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai remained silent for a few seconds, then looked up and gazed in the direction indicated by the executioner, and spoke:

"Get there as fast as you can."

“I have a very bad feeling that if we don’t grasp the clues given in the divination as soon as possible, there is a good chance that… something irreversible might happen.”

……

……

Astral Plane, Kasinome Line

"I can't take it anymore, Xiao Cai, Maomao, Xiao Huan... I'm so bored! Do you guys have any interesting stories to tell?"

A weak, low murmur came from the somewhat cramped cockpit. The imaginative young man, whose gravity adaptation had been deliberately turned off, floated around like a dead fish with its head turned upside down, his eyes lifeless, pleading for help from the chef and Yukito who were playing cards nearby.

"Meow?"

"I can't afford it, um... Master, why don't you try knocking yourself unconscious?"

"To 9, are you just going to let him drift like this?" "To Q, just leave him alone, let him live like this."

"A royal flush! Hehe~! They won!"

"Ah! That's not fair! Why are you holding the royal flush again? Did you get the kitten to cheat for you?!"

"Hehe, Snow Rabbit, luck is something you can never predict!"

"Pah! I don't believe you for a second, this has been going on for ten consecutive years..."

Under the dim starlight, the noisy argument echoed from the cockpit, causing Han Xiao in the passenger seat to rub his forehead, a look of helplessness in his eyes.

"Hmm... Sister Xiaohan, have we arrived yet?"

A confused voice rang out, and Quan Momo, who was curled up sleeping on the side under a small blanket, rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked Han Xiao a question in a daze.

"Not yet, but we're already near Reef 118. After two more jumps, we can finish this mission."

"Oh, okay? Then I'll go to sleep...sleep...uh?!"

Upon hearing this, the young miner mumbled a couple of things half-asleep, then shrank back into his blankets. Facing the small monitor screen prepared specifically for him to keep him from getting too bored, he was about to close his eyes and go to sleep when, as if witnessing something utterly horrifying, his eyes widened and he froze in place:

—Looking around, one sees a face that looks like a thousand-year-old mummy, with dark eye sockets filled with cracks like lava... stuck there at some point.

"Hmm? Momo, what's wrong?"

"Ghost... ghost ghost ghost... ghost!!!"

……

Astral Plane, Andusia World Fortress.

"Commander, this is the report that Lord Black Sword just uploaded."

"Yes, I've already seen it. Heh, to have reaped so many 'fruits' in just one month, I must say you truly live up to your reputation as Black Sword Sir?"

A light, airy laugh echoed from the command room. Beneath the enormous screen, a short, stout man with glasses adjusted his glasses, seemingly quite satisfied with the report before him.

"Also, Commander, just now, Black Sword successfully confirmed that the clue we are looking for is within Island 14. Before he left, he asked me to tell you that he has a very bad feeling and that you must be careful of enemy attacks while he is away."

"Black Sword Sir's warning? Heh, judging by his intuition, for him to say something like that, it seems danger is very close." The major narrowed his eyes and chuckled, a dangerous glint in his dark golden pupils. "Hmm... well, just in case, please have Her Excellency tell the contractors at the other outposts to immediately return to the nearest one..."

"Commander! There's an emergency!" Before the major could finish speaking, a hurried report suddenly rang out from the command room, quickly relaying the message to the major:

"Just now, Transport Squadron 002 witnessed a large-scale invasion of abyssal creatures near Outpost 118 on the Sunken Reef! And it was discovered that this invasion did not trigger any alarms!"

How can a large-scale intrusion be bypassed by alarms?
Upon hearing this, the major's dark golden pupils flashed with a deep, unfathomable light. He then unconsciously grinned, speaking with a chilling half-smile: "Heh heh, it seems the thing we've been so worried about for so long is finally coming!"

As he spoke, the major stood up, supporting himself on the armrest. His gaze swept across the huge star map above, and then, with a solemn expression, he gave the order:

"Pass down the order: everyone... immediately go on high alert!"

……

On the other side, in the isolated world of Island 14.

Dark Slash - God Annihilation!

"roar…!!"

[Note: The current squad member "Deathbringer" has killed the Abyss Species - Remnant Host (Host)]

"Phew...finally killed this thing. By the way, what kind of weird characteristic is this? It was so hard to kill. Old Black, did you figure out the reason behind it?"

The abruptly silenced roar fell from the cracked earth. In the dim afterglow, Yamu, whose body was crackling with lightning, glanced at the huge corpse that was gradually turning into white ash under the erosion of the Netherworld, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"It looks like simple immortality and damage reduction, but something feels off," Xin Lailai said, her eyes filled with solemnity as she looked at the corpses in front of her and the main hall behind them.

sense of violation.

An incredibly strong sense of incongruity.

From the moment he stepped into this world and saw those mummified abyssal creatures that exuded a strong abyssal aura yet showed no interest in him, an indescribable sense of unease and discomfort lingered in his mind.

Including the boss battle we just had.

Judging from its ultimate abilities, it was just an ordinary overlord-level abyssal creature, but it managed to gain ridiculous damage reduction and recovery abilities by relying on some characteristic that they could not identify.

No, the problem isn't actually there, but rather...

'If that abyssal characteristic is the crisis the Death Keeper foretold and the root cause of this world becoming what it is, then…'

—How could this trait, which merely makes abyssal creatures more resilient, trigger such a massive crisis?!
'Lai Lai, the seal on that great hall has been broken.'

'Yes, I understand.'

Zero's voice echoed in her mind, bringing Xin Lailai back to her senses. She turned to look at the temple that resembled an ancient pyramid. After using her Starry Domain to survey the entire scene within, her 'gaze' locked onto a secret chamber deep within the temple.

Is this the place?

"How is it?" Yamu asked from the side.

"We've found the place the deceased mentioned; it's right here below."

As Xin Lailai spoke, a circle of black and white light instantly appeared on her body, and she swung it sharply in the direction she was pointing.

boom! ! !
The violent black and white energy flashed by, annihilating all the rocks in its path under its precise manipulation. Then, Xin Lailai, gazing at the safe passage she had blasted open, spoke coldly:

"Let's go."

"It's time to find out... exactly what this prophetic disaster is."

……

(End of this chapter)