Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 637 The Call to Choice (Part 2)
The ethereal voice, like a ghost drifting through the underworld, stirred a sense of spiritual loneliness and panic in Dark and Adaloni.

Immediately following, as the demonic energy within the two resonated with the surrounding "Sorrow," like dominoes, the tiny "Sorrows" rapidly converged into the circular platform, causing the surrounding pillars to emit red light representing warning and slaughter.

These lights flickered intermittently, as if reminding those who had strayed in to leave quickly.

However, Dark and Adaloni had no reason, nor was it possible, to fly up from hundreds of meters underground and leave directly, so they could only let the pillars glow red.

Soon, the red color spread outwards, creating ripples that were terrifying.

Cracks began to appear on the surface of the "terracotta warriors" that had been kneeling, and a red liquid, like thick tomato juice, began to ooze out, emitting a strong, nauseating stench, as if rotten fruit and meat were mixed with a variety of foul-smelling sauces.

Within seconds, all the "terracotta warriors" cracked open, and the broken terracotta fragments were shaken into powder under the rings of red light. Then, one after another, black hybrids of humans and fish, whose outlines could only be seen under the light of the "Eternal Light" flashlight, appeared in front of the two like an army in full formation.

"They seem to be the army guarding this place, which means this is indeed a ruin. No, this is not just an ordinary ruin, but a more mysterious underground palace that holds even more treasures," Adaloni analyzed, a greedy smile spreading across his face.

Even for a dragon, even after living in the world for a thousand years, Adaloni could hardly suppress his inner ecstasy. The concept of an underground palace was first invented by the Flame Empire and was typically used to bury former rulers. However, the Khitan Ri people valued death more than life; in Eastern culture, even in the underworld, a deceased ruler must maintain their ruling status.

Therefore, the Yan family, the royal family of the Yanhuo Empire, usually builds luxurious, grand, and magnificent underground palaces for the former emperors, and even buries many gold and silver treasures, as well as some order-ranked demons with special abilities, for the emperors to "use" after their deaths.

In Adaoni's eyes, since this is a dungeon with the style of the Khitans, it must have been built at least in the middle and late stages of the Third Era, after the brief alliance between the Fire Empire and the Crusaders.

Therefore, Adaloni's perception was not unfounded; there might indeed be amazing "treasures" belonging to the dragon race here.

“Since it’s an underground palace, there must be guardians and traps. Are these black fishmen that sprang from the terracotta warriors the guardians of this underground palace?” Dark asked, pulling out his “Anti-Mad Bear” pistol from his waist, ready for battle.

“I don’t think they can be considered guardians, or even guards. They’re just soldiers standing guard at the gate. I remember that in the second year of the Longshi era, the Supreme Ancestor Yan Jun devised the system of ‘human sacrifice.’ However, the ‘human sacrifice’ of the Khitanris is different from that of other barbarian tribes.” Adaloni casually explained, looking at the black fish-men confronting the two of them.

"After the emperor of Khitanris died, one hundred of his most trusted and elite soldiers were made into 'human figurines' to guard the outer perimeter of the palace. The five most trusted generals were placed inside the underground palace as 'sole guardians'."

"These 'human figurines' are called 'fish scale figurines.' They are made from the scales of 'spirit fish' captured in the Black Min Islands, which are then made into a paste and applied to the soldiers' bodies. At the same time, mysterious ordinal demons from the palace are used to extract their souls. After their bodies are covered in mud, they are placed in a kiln to bake."

"So, they turned into these black fishmen?" Dark looked at the black fishmen in front of him, who were only one meter tall, and couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.

“The soul and body are not meant to live and die together. The body, after the soul separates, only shrinks slightly. Combined with the kiln temperature of several thousand degrees, their size naturally won't be very large. However, just like the court etiquette of Khitanris, the soldiers guarding the imperial city and palace usually don't hold high ranks; only important figures can enter the palace,” Adaloni further explained.

"There may be powerful generals inside the underground palace, but these black fishmen are nothing more than minions that can be wiped out with a flick of the finger. Moreover, this underground palace should have existed for more than a thousand years. I don't know if the Crusad Empire has explored and modified it, or if it has placed some technological equipment around the underground palace."

“But we have no way to bypass it and enter the deeper parts of this ruin. No, perhaps the interior of this palace is the deepest part of the entire ruin. Moreover, I did not sense any other-dimensional aura. In other words, there are only physical buildings here, and there is no non-linear space like the ‘Crimson Illusion Ruins’ and the ‘Bitter Deep Ruins’.”

“Then let’s fight.” Dark gave Adaloni a look, and the two nodded in unison, exchanging knowing smiles.

Immediately afterwards, Dark pulled out his pistol, chambered it, and poured in a sufficient amount of dark magic power before launching the attack.

Bang bang bang!
Three consecutive shots accurately struck the heads of the three black fishmen in the front row. Instantly, black blood flowed all over the ground, and the bodies of the black fishmen disintegrated, turning into a pool of black and red pus and blood that flowed into the underground river next to them and was carried away by the swift current to the outside world.

Adaloni, on the other hand, rubbed his hands together excitedly. He strode forward, leaped up, and punched a black fishman right in the heart.

Having not participated in underground boxing matches for a long time, Yadaloni was eager to release his pent-up restlessness. His relatively large fist struck the black fishman's chest as if it were a piece of paper.

Adaoni's speed was clearly faster than that of a human at his peak. He retracted his fist even faster than he threw it. After the black fishman's body exploded, the splattered blood did not touch his fist at all, and flowed into the rushing river just like the fishman before him.

Facing two "special humans" of order 4 and order 5 who possess divinity, the black fishman before him was at a natural disadvantage, and his power was suppressed to some extent.

In just over ten minutes, with the alternating use of magical energy and weapons, and with Dark and Adaloni attacking with both hands and feet, not a single black fishman was left.

Even during the battle, Adaloni's mind was briefly disturbed by the dragon bloodline and the surrounding "sorrow," causing him to enter a berserk state. A towering pillar was broken by his fist, shattering into heavy stone blocks, some of which fell into the river, while others crashed onto the circular platform in front of the giant gate.

However, just as Dark and Adaloni were panting heavily, anticipating the opening of the giant gate and their entry into the depths of the underground palace, the world around them suddenly fell silent. Not only did the giant gate remain motionless, but not even a trace of living matter appeared.

Just as Dark and Adaloni were wondering what was going on, the melodious sound of a Khitan Ris Japanese haiku rang out again:
"The wrathful one is approaching."

“Things of sorrow and resentment are secretly born.”

"Good fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune." This time, the two truly heard the source of the sound, right in front of them, at the tall female merman sculpture that they had long overlooked.

Originally, Dak thought it was just an ordinary decorative or ceremonial sculpture, nothing special. But when countless golden rays burst out from its gaps, Dak pulled Adaloni back several steps and assumed a fighting stance.

The outer stones of the sculpture suddenly exploded, flying in all directions. Two small pieces of stone grazed Dak's face, leaving a shallow scratch and slowly flowing, writhing blood.

He understood that this was an illusion caused by the "high concentration of grief," and he could never focus his attention on these mentally devastating things.

The female merman that sprang from the rocks in front of us, while its design is comparable to that of a sculpture, presents an overall sense of suffocating mechanicalness.

Her head was square-shaped, similar to that of a murloc naga, but where the horns would normally be, two straight antennae grew instead, seemingly ready to receive orders from the Empire at any time.

The tail, which was originally designed to stand upright like a snake, is now like tank tracks, making her move forward as if she were gliding slowly.

Her most important arms are two hand cannons that are slightly warming up, while her back has a pair of jet engines that support her takeoff, as well as a pair of slightly concealed cannons/rocket launchers.

In addition, there was a deep blue gem on her chest that emitted a bright light, which seemed to be the power source for this mechanical device.

Faced with the two intruders, Dark and Adaloni, the female merman, though without a clear expression, conveyed her attitude in a "subtle" way:

"You killed my children! You killed my children! You are sinners! I will make you pay with your lives!"

Before Dark and Adaloni could react, the female fish-woman's eyes emitted a rich crimson glow, making her resemble a gargoyle or a demon from the underworld. She then accelerated towards the two with her treadle-like tail.

Boom!
The female merman's hand slammed into the ground with a loud bang, but thanks to Dark's status as a high-level professional [Disruptor], possessing excellent agility, he only needed to jump slightly to dodge the female merman's furious attack.

Then, taking advantage of the moment he turned in mid-air, he raised the "Imitation-Mad Bear" pistol and fired two shots at the female merman's chest.

Although the two shots had no real effect, they calmed the female merman down considerably. Although the two sides switched positions, they returned to their previous standoff.

“These black merfolk are burial offerings. They are not your children, nor are they your property. According to the laws of the Flamefire Empire, they belong to the master of this palace. I think it should be some Khitanri emperor from the middle of the Third Era, right?” Adaroni asked in the language of the Flamefire Empire.

The female merman was taken aback at first, but then her body emitted a soft blue glow, which temporarily calmed her emotions.

She bowed slightly and responded to Adaloni in Crusaders:

“You are a dragon lord, right? I was rude just now. This palace does indeed belong to the emperor of the Flame Empire, but it was built with great care by the Crusad people. I am a ‘guardian mechanical body’ designed based on the personality of Princess Volichna Rurik of Crusad. Both I and these black fishmen were created by the princess. Therefore, these black fishmen are my children.”

"So, what's your name?" Adaloni then asked in Krishnamurti.

“Eochina, my energy comes from the ‘Primal Form: Eokka,’ a spirit without a physical body that can only continuously supply energy outwards,” Eochina replied.

"Therefore, Princess Vorichina named me using part of her name. Around 1532, I was placed here to guard the sleeping emperor and gods. For the first five hundred years after this 'symbiotic palace' was built, the Crusad royal family would maintain it every 50 years, but since the large-scale outbreak of the 'heartless virus' 1000 years ago, it has gradually been abandoned and no one has maintained it anymore."

“Can we go in and take a look? We got here by mistake because of the bombardment by the ‘Heavenly Punishment Fire’ and can’t find our way out. I can sense that there’s a passage in the underground palace that leads to the outside world,” Adaloni requested.

To his and Dark's utter surprise, Iochina did not refuse, nor did she make any unreasonable demands. She simply slid her tracks aside, clearing the way to the giant gate.

"Since you are guarding this palace, why did you let us in so easily?" Dark asked, fearing a trap.

"When the palace was completed, the most famous Taoist priest in the Flame Empire cast a divination. He started with the 'Qian' hexagram shown in the hexagram and, combined with demonic energy, made predictions about the future," Aiochina explained.

"He knew that after 1532, someone possessing an absolutely concentrated flame would inevitably come to this place. He would be a dragon, someone who could uncover the truth and save the world. According to the program's settings and the limitations of the prophecy, I could sense the intense dragon aura emanating from the person beside you. According to the rules, I could not stop him."

"As for the passage to the outside world, it does exist, and it's located deep within the underground palace. Every time, the royal guards of the Crusd Empire use that passage to reach the surface and leave this place. So, you don't need to worry about leaving."

“In that case, please help us open this giant door. We want to enter the underground palace to see what’s inside. However, before we enter, I would like to ask, who is buried in this palace that requires the use of Crusad’s technology to bury them beneath Crusad’s territory?” Adaloni asked the crucial question.

Iochina was silent for a moment, and after the blue light on her chest flickered rapidly for a while, she answered in a cold, mechanical voice:
"He is the emperor of Khitanris, the 'Lucky One.' According to the official account of the Flame Empire, he should be the 'Shangling Emperor' who caused the 'Longqing' disaster."