Ark Undead

At first, it was just a few sparks, but as time passed, like a heated iron ring, the cracks at the entrance became clearly visible against the backdrop of the crimson light in the passage.

Countless monsters born from the abyss quickened their pace, eager to see what was in that light, crowding towards the cave entrance to get to the other side.

When they touched the opening, they discovered that the light was not just a ray of light, but a supreme fire so intense that it could annihilate them.

But by the time they realized this, it was too late.

For countless ages, the first ray of light piercing the abyss brought greetings from the old era.

Golden flames emerged from the passage in the form of embers, and then burst into a raging inferno.

A ring of fire extends outward from the cave entrance, following the muddy ground, using all filth and malice as fuel to ignite the endless defilement.

This seemingly unstoppable reversal finally awakened the people of the abyss. The fear in their bones made them retreat, burying their heads in the viscous sea of ​​the abyss like stray dogs.

That was a war that began generations ago, a war that burned up half the abyss.

The sheer power of a single person, their silent roar, is enough to keep the abyss of darkness ablaze.

This light also attracted the gaze of beings from the depths of the abyss.

His resentful gaze was filled with surprise.

The opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

—A regret that has lasted for thousands of years has finally come to an end.

This war, which has lasted for generations, has never ended. He will announce his return with overwhelming darkness, and he will devour the owner of that flame alone.

Not enough, not enough.

The power of plunder, the communion of sharing, those fleeting moments of joyful memories, are so beautiful amidst millions of years of solitude.

Just thinking about it makes it impossible to suppress the surge of violence and greed within me.

Thus, the evil in human nature almost solidified, and wave after wave of profound darkness surged into a monstrous surge, reversing and obscuring the ring of fire.

Ultimately, it was a fire without roots; the ring of fire was shattered and extinguished by the surging tides of the deep abyss.

But when this deep tide reached the entrance to the fiery cave, it filled the void left by the burning abyss.

The door frame, stretched open by the power of the abyss, was torn apart by the mighty force, and the opening was filled back by the tide of rules, then reinforced once more with flames as a mark.

The endless darkness roared and crashed against the sealed entrance, but received no response whatsoever.

A twisted roar echoed in a corner of the Abyss Sea, tearing countless Abyss citizens apart, reassembling, and being reborn.

The Undead clenched his five fingers and crushed the last inch of the abyssal aura that had solidified into a doorway.

The cracks floating in the air finally closed, and the scars were smoothed out by the scorching flames.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers who had been holding fragments of true fire, intending to repair the passage, put away their containers and turned away without hesitation, throwing themselves into the endless battle.

Li Qing, who had been following the Undead the whole time, also turned his gaze to the end of the passage, to the warm light there.

"Real fire...hehe...it's right ahead."

Li Qing's eyes were lifeless, and whispers from the abyss echoed in his ears, along with the voices of those smiling faces from his past memories.

At this moment, Li Qing's hands had mutated into insect arms, and his head and skeleton had also begun to mutate, squeezing his brain and dispelling the last shred of his humanity.

The beastly mask on his face cracked slightly, as the abyssal aura lurking within his body was transforming this host into a perfect, flawless war machine.

That was the regret of tens of thousands of soldiers before they died, and also the power that enabled them to slay demons.

After losing the military seal to suppress it, it thrashed about inside the body it was residing in.

Even the immortals were slightly surprised by the abyss hidden within Li Qing's body.

Even so, the old general maintained his last shred of clarity.

"They...they've left."

He lifted his twisted legs, his body hunched over, his armor cracked, and ran toward the last glimmer of light in his eyes.

Just like when he was a child, he ran towards his father, his hero, and his ideal.

315. Offering sacrifices to nine thousand fires

(Suggested background music for this chapter: Sunset on the Waves, play on repeat.)

The weapon pierced the armor and penetrated into the sticky flesh.

Blood splattered everywhere, the solidified blood of the abyss scattered across the land.

The soldiers, emerging from countless holes, finally arrived at their destination.

It was a sphere of light enveloped in a pure flame. However, the light of that flame was obscured by the deep black liquid gushing from the large hole in the ground. Only a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of light escaped.

But the Undead only glanced at it and immediately sensed a familiar primal aura within it.

This is what he left behind: his power, his memories.

Forced to be separated, the forces stationed here to prevent the abyss from leaking out also sensed another version of themselves and erupted with unprecedented pressure.

Beneath the sudden flash of light, the abyss that had sprung from the earth first receded in fear, then surged outwards in fury.

It was angry at its own cowardice and ashamed of the humiliation of being suppressed for ten thousand years.

Thus, the Undead finally reunited with Onstan on the other side.

Both sides have suffered more than half of their soldiers dead or wounded; of the original two thousand soldiers, only a few hundred remain.

It was just two passages connecting to the abyss that forced the Southern Expeditionary Army into such a predicament.

Only about ten Imperial Guards remained. Chen's Chixiao sword was stained with countless drops of blood, all of which were the blood of his comrades.

The weakness she resisted in the past was precisely the naivety of not wanting to sacrifice anyone. Little did she know that on the road to her ideals, sacrifice is the most glorious shortcut.

Now, Chen no longer hesitates because of his cowardice.

She was the Grim Reaper to her comrades, a paradise that prevented them from falling into the abyss, a place where they could sing aloud in a hell called ideals.

"No, we don't have enough manpower."

Seeing this scene, Ling frowned. Although the remaining soldiers still had the strength to fight, the idea of ​​continuing forward after lighting the flames and sealing off the remaining three abyssal passages deeper inside was simply a pipe dream.

Even a god like Reiwa wouldn't be confident of maintaining his integrity when faced with such a massive amount of abyssal energy, let alone these ordinary soldiers.

The power of the Undead and Ornstein was suppressed in the Abyss, even with the True Fire restraining the Well of the Abyss.

In the end, only the Undead and Ornstein will likely survive. And whether they will leave safely is uncertain.

This was the first time the Undead had sensed such a massive and murky abyssal aura in Terra.

This is not a quantity that can be dealt with by the First Flame simply by burning it; it is vastly different from the Abyss Nest that was burned through the portal before.

Theresis's abyss nest in Kazdel has not yet gained a foothold; it would be easily burned if it were touched by fire.

But the Abyss Well in the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons is different.

The First Flame and the Abyss are like water and fire; water can extinguish fire. But when the fire grows too large, water poured on it can even fuel it.

Blocked on the road to the present world, it has accumulated weight over millions of years, and even the First Flame dares not say it can solve everything.

"No, don't rush... Divine General @JPY...%# Lord..."

Li Qing, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up from behind the Undead.

His body had mutated to the point that no one could recognize him.

His neck stretched extremely long, and each vertebra was also elongated, so new limbs would probably grow out soon, completely changing his body shape.

But he can still speak. Even though his words now carry a distinct, rustling echo, like those of insects.

"The fire-worshiping ceremony is only... beginning now."

...

Humans are born with seven emotions and six desires.

No one can escape the sins that are inherent to the human race.

From childhood, I have grown up step by step by trampling on my own base desires.

It could be a crying out to parents for something, or a fight with a playmate over a disagreement.

Whenever emotions are released, the seeds they carry take root and sprout in the heart according to a predetermined outcome, waiting to bloom again.

But when reality delivers its iron fist, pounding on their hard skulls, they will only realize their mistakes—whether due to arrogance or greed—when they suffer a devastating blow.

This is the path a person walks through in life, constantly making mistakes, constantly correcting them, finally facing reality, compromising with reality, acknowledging their sins and arrogance, and finally spending a peaceful and dreamless life in the cultural society composed of human beings.

The proud bow their heads, the stubborn turn and walk away, the tyrannical restrain their anger, and the greedy control their appetite.

People embellished this process, gilding it with gold dust.

It's euphemistically called "growth".

It seems that the meaning of life is to learn how to avoid suffering and torment, allowing our originally sharp edges to be smoothed away time and time again.

Their ideals and dreams, through countless self-hypnosis sessions, turned into a dull gray and eventually disappeared completely from their dreams.

Perhaps what they search for throughout their lives is nothing more than the purest desires of themselves when they first opened their eyes.

But reality has pushed them too far away, so far that even standing on the so-called mountaintop and looking back, all they see is a hometown shrouded in mist.

The past is buried by the clouds and mist before them. The biting cold wind urges them to keep looking up, or to huddle here and hastily end their meaningless lives.

No one remembers what kind of future they dreamed of as children.

Li Qing was the same.

He was not satisfied with the status quo, even though Great Yan had become one of the most powerful nations on the Terra continent. Even though every citizen of Great Yan had food to eat and clothes to wear, even though he had walked this path for fifty years, squeezing out his last drop of value for his homeland.

But did he really want to become a general when he was a child?

The storybooks sealed in the box, and the toys bought to deal with noisy children, are covered in dust that is hard to wipe away.

Even Li Qing himself doesn't remember that he spent several years practicing how to draw lively limbs with his pen on the table in the tent in order to become a picture book author.

When did Li Qing pick up a weapon, put down his paintbrush, and begin his campaigns on the battlefield?

What caused him to stop even touching toys and instead pick up a dry military treatise, studying it again and again under the lamplight?

His eyes were cloudy and his vision was blurry.