Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 585: The Glory of the Heart (Part )

September 558th, 1th year of the New Lunar Calendar.

Cruzde Federation, Far Northeast Region, Transnebuya Region, Highway K-1201.

After three days of rest, Dak and Anthony bought some guns, ammunition and food in the "New Town" of Hoptov. Of course, there was also a rocket launcher that could blast the hard skin of most "Heartless People" and Lost Ones.

During these three days, Dak learned a lot of information that he had not noticed in Novaask.

First of all, the large-scale appearance of "explosive fishmen" in the ruins of Custard Lake is definitely not accidental, nor is it a spontaneous "wave of careless people", but the work of the radicals affiliated with the Dedication Group or "Spear of Odyssey".

As a federal officer of the 5th rank of Hurricane, although the situation in the western part of the Federation is critical and the governors of the eastern provinces, regions and cities are ready to make moves, Dake still got the information he wanted from the Hoptov Strategic Group by virtue of his status as an officer and a few new ruble gold coins with Vasily's portrait printed on them.

After all, in the vast desolate area east of the Ice Domain River, except for the top leaders of local city committees, the rest of the administrative and strategic personnel affiliated with the Federation basically have not reached the Dark Star level.

"Have you asked clearly?" Anthony sat in the wobbly military pickup truck, together with Dak and a few other surviving adventurers, enduring the isolation and bumps, waiting for the pickup truck to drive into the Outer Nebuya Mountains.

"The intelligence should be accurate, because when I was fighting with the 'Explosive Fishman', I felt the scorching smell of blood and fire. The last time he led the 'Heartless Man' to launch the 'Wave' to attack our train was this man, the Lost Vampire - Miren." Dark said, taking out a yellowed portrait from his arms and handing it to Anthony.

"Mirren?" Anthony looked carefully at the portrait which was only outlined with standard, rounded black lines. The vampire depicted on it did not seem to be the tragic and beautiful young man with fangs, wearing a black robe, very elegant, and with cold eyes as recorded in historical documents.

It seems that the "Heartless Virus" has offset the inherent defects passed down by the vampire bloodline, making Mirren's appearance closer to a "real lost person."

"Is this a sketch of his real appearance?" Anthony asked in disbelief.

"Of course. The person who painted my portrait is named Theresa. She is a descendant of the Cruzde royal family and has Putoya blood. Her ancestors have always been court painters for the royal family of the old empire. Even though the New Yuan Empire collapsed and her family declined, she can still make ends meet with her painting skills." Dark explained to Anthony:

"The profession of painters, generally called 'speed painters' by the Federal Strategic Corps, is one of the indispensable professions in the army. Take Theresa for example. Even if she has only seen a picture once, as long as she wants, she can completely imprint it in her brain and draw it at any time.

"A week ago, shortly after the 'Explosive Fishmen' attacked our train, Theresa's 'Hoptov City Defense 1st Brigade' came into contact with the retreating 'Heartless People'. Since they were retreating to the Outer Nebuya Mountains, the 'City Defense 1st Brigade' was not qualified to approach there without receiving specific orders, so..."

"So Teresa remembered Mirren's appearance at just one glance?" Anthony was a little surprised, his mouth unconsciously half open, expressing his surprise.

After all, as far as he knew, the "city defense series" armies were basically ragtag armies used to maintain local law and order. Not only did they not have complete standard weapons, most of them were used to fill the line during the war, and they did not accept any people with special abilities.

In other words, Theresa is just a pure human being with the ability of "photographic memory"!

Dak seemed to understand Anthony's inner guess and nodded slightly to show his approval.

"Those who can serve as 'Speed ​​Painters' must be pure humans. This kind of strategic work cannot be given to emotionally unstable mutants, let alone Lost Ones who can rebel at any time. The successive chief executives of the Cruzde Federation are well versed in the administrative methods of the Khitanris, and they cannot tolerate the existence of any threat to their power." Dak looked at Anthony and explained seriously:
"Indeed, Theresa only saw Mirren in the crowd two hundred meters away, and then drew this sketch based on previous information. The blood race... before the new era, they were indeed a dark existence. They could not stand the light and could only rely on sucking blood for food. They generally have handsome faces, fair skin, and a lifespan several times longer than that of humans."

"What exactly are the Lost Vampires? I've only heard some scientists in Novayask mention it before, but those scientists who took the money but did nothing didn't understand it either." Anthony criticized with disdain.

"The people of Rigne once believed that the Lost Vampires were simply the superposition of the 'Vampires' and the 'Lost Ones'. But it turns out that the people of Rigne were too superficial, just like their Crown Prince Ivant and the historical Emperor Kotsky." Dak said as loudly as he could in the bumpy pickup truck:
"It has been proven that although the Lost Ones of the Blood Clan have suffered from the pain of both the 'Blood Clan' and the 'Lost Ones', such as the desire for blood, meat and raw food, their bodies are also constantly suffering from the pain and torture of the Lost Ones, as well as the threats of 'mutation' and 'degeneration'. But in fact, the characteristics of the Lost Ones make up for the shortcomings of the Blood Clan, and the identity of the Blood Clan strengthens the power of the Lost Ones."

"I still don't quite understand it. It's too obscure." Anthony waved his hand.

"To put it simply, the skin of the Lost Vampires is no longer as pale as the wall. They can eat meat to replace blood and live normally under the sun. Not only that, the original vampires can only use blood magic that tends to be dark, but after becoming Lost, they also gain compatibility with any type of magic power." Anthony pointed at Mirren's portrait and said:

"Mirren is a Lost Vampire who is proficient in using the magic power of fire. It is said that he can live for at least 500 years, and his lifespan is equal to the sum of the lifespans of the Lost Vampire and the Vampire. I remember that I met him once in the military camp near the 'Kushen Ruins'." "So, you actually know him, right?" Anthony looked down at Dak and sighed softly. Dak's identity quietly became more mysterious in his heart. During the few days of adventuring with Dak, he gradually stopped being careless, and his tone also lacked the education of a seasoned adventurer to a "newbie".

"Of course." Dak nodded and said:

"In fact, the deceased former commander-in-chief of the campaign, Yaroslav, the governor of Kanosk and Vasilysk, once introduced him to me. Miren, who belongs to the part of the Order Society that cooperates with the Federation Council, is a servant of the Wind Mine, which has been alienated into the Axe of Pramini by Roka of the Chaos Group through the Poems.

"To put it mildly, it's a 'life secretary' who also serves as a 'work secretary'. After the 'Wind Mine' was captured by the Chaos Group, the 'Chaos Group' resurrected the Hinet people's experimental subject Atto through a mistaken ritual, resulting in this 2.5-meter-tall 'new human' monster completely dominating them."

"So what happens next?" Anthony's curiosity was completely aroused. He originally thought that the struggle within the human camp was already quite complicated, but the struggle between the Lost Ones seemed even more complicated, with many more elements of mysticism and extraordinary things, making it even more interesting.

"After that, the mutated 'Pramini Axe' of the 'Wind Mine' disappeared after the 'Gnadi Line' collapsed. I heard that after several twists and turns, it fell into the hands of Nebrius. So I guess that Miren came to the Far East Zone 3 in pursuit of the 'Wind Mine'." Dak explained in an extremely serious tone:

"I speculate that the 'Core of Khitanlia' is not only the key item to open the 'Yaoguang Evolution Platform' and restart the 'Mind Control Platform', but its special function is more likely to be related to 'healing' or 'reshaping'."

"No matter what, it is very important to know that Miren is a Lost Vampire." Anthony patted the "Federal Eagle-New" rifle and smiled confidently:
"The Heartless Virus will not give the vampires the ability to resist Silver, and the Lost Ones cannot resist Silver, which contains magical power. Before leaving the rest camp, I have replaced all my bullets with Silver. If he dares to show up, I am confident that I can shoot through his head with one shot."

"Then I'm looking forward to your perfect performance, Brother Anthony. But now, let's take a nap and conserve our energy." Dak said with a yawn.

Within a minute, he fell asleep leaning on his military backpack, with a rumbling snoring sound in his throat that resonated with the sound of the pickup truck.

……

After an unknown amount of time, the familiar shaking feeling suddenly stopped, and Dak suddenly woke up from his sleep.

Before he could fully recover from his shock, he heard a song sung by a familiar voice that was powerful enough to penetrate all obstacles.

He leaned against the car window and listened carefully. Along with the singing, he could hear music played by Khitanris instruments. This gloomy and dark tune, mixed with melancholy and a little horror, was very much like the Japanese music that Hoshino Shouta had played for him.

Hoshino Shouta?

The appearance of this young man from Khitan flashed in Dak's mind. This familiar style of music and voice seemed to belong to him.

However, Shouta Hoshino has no reason and no ability to come to the Outer Naibuya Mountains, so who is the "person" who plays and sings the Japanese music?

In an instant, rationality took over every cell in Dak's body. He did not get off the car rashly, nor did he make any sound. Instead, he listened quietly to the strange music.

"The dead of creation live."

"The Flame Dragon Emperor of the Eastern Sun has fallen."

"The Ten Thousand Appearances Shrine is open."

As the last Khitan-speaking language was recited, the music and the singing came to an abrupt end.

Dak quietly got off the pickup truck with the door open and looked outside. He saw a group of adventurers, federal warriors, and some lost people wearing strange oriental costumes, all kneeling in front of them, in an area stained by the crimson moon.