Above the endless sea, a group of floating boats flew slowly. The propeller spun lazily, listless.

The cabin was full of people, but it was quiet at the moment, all in a daze, and no one spoke. From time to time, the sound of waves could be heard below, and it became more and more silent.

On the largest floating boat, Xiang Caidie leaned in the corner, looking at the man on the sofa.

She didn't bother. The other party has been in this state since he came back. And the whole team was also enveloped in a sad mood.

She could tell that the group had lost someone who was very important to them.

She has followed Hua Beidou since she was a child, and she is used to seeing life and death on the battlefield. Because she is from the past, she understands that the best comfort at this time is not to disturb and let them slowly digest this sadness.

Chen Xing looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, was stunned for a long time, grabbed the wine bottle on the coffee table suddenly, poured a big sip of wine, and then leaned back on the sofa and exhaled heavily.

Sigh in my heart.

Good people don't live long, but evil lasts for a thousand years.

This world has one less iron-clad man, and one more careerist who eats people and licks blood.

The bold words of swearing to the sky were still in my ears, but when I calmed down, all that was left was confusion - what did he, the mayor of a fringe town, do to fight against a powerful presence in the darkness.

There is a saying that the ideal is very beautiful, and the reality is very skinny. It's easy to say big, but it's another thing to do it.

In the middle of his thoughts, he pulled out a fragment of black pottery from his collar that had been made into a pendant. A faint purple light flowed on the dark gold pottery shards, exuding a mysterious and ancient atmosphere.

After months of contact, his psionic energy has been able to fuse and communicate with the black pottery fragments, although the strength of the resonance is still far from the original goblin skull, but it has basically met the needs of exploring the undercurrent of time and space.

It is impossible for every undercurrent relic to be 100% resonant, after all, there are only a few people who are highly affinity, and one seven or eight achievements is enough.

The ** who wants to become stronger has never been so strong, and he seems to have returned to his fledgling days and wants to have his own place in the big city.

He couldn't wait to get back to the surface, to connect with the undercurrents of time and space, and to find the ancient and mysterious urn.

Then he took out the worn-out pocket watch that Shad Sinclair had given him. The copper surface is pitted, mottled and old, full of traces of ancient time.

Open the lid on the surface, and the glass on the surface has shattered, revealing the mechanical springs and gears inside.

If you look closely, you can see that three curved hands are twisted together, the hour, minute, and second hands, all pointing to three o'clock in the morning.

Perhaps this was a coincidence at the time of the damage, or it could have been deliberately pointed to this point in time.

After a period of exploration, he found that this pocket watch was different from ordinary undercurrent relics. It's not so much an Undercurrent Relic as a Charging Device, similar to a Psionic Shield Activator, or a Psionic Battery, etc.

If he tries to inject psionic energy into the pocket watch, his psionic energy will be absorbed and transformed into the pocket watch's own energy.

Generally, there will be residual spiritual energy inside the undercurrent relic, and if you resonate with these spiritual energy, you can follow the flow of these spiritual energy into the undercurrent of time and space.

However, this pocket watch does not have this concept, but it will "transform" the input psionic star sand to form a new and unknown energy body.

When filled with psionic energy, it appears to be activated, releasing a mysterious energy that guides the user's perception.

Since Chen Xing did not absorb the black pottery urn, he did not try to accept the traction of the pocket watch. Although there are many incomprehensible oddities in the pocket watch, Chen Xing believes that Xia Der Sinclair will not lie to him, and this pocket watch is the key to entering the shipwreck graveyard.

A few days later, the float flew over the sea and, after applying for temporary access to the airspace of the United Kingdom of the Gratamu Tribes, flew through Dafang Chau to the Central Wilderness and then back to the United Kingdom on the Ambergris River.

When passing through the White Elephant City, Chen Xing stayed for several hours. He went to the White Pagoda Academy to visit the University of Foyongqi, and wanted to meet Ramsden, the guardian of the world, through the side, and hand over Tieno's relics.

But Fo Yongqi told Chen Xing that Ramsden often went out to run errands, and Shenlong could not see the beginning but the end, and even he, a university scholar on duty, could not see him a few times a year. If you want to meet the Guardians, you must stay at the White Tower Academy and wait for your time.

The meaning of the words is that Chen Xing's status is too low, or his importance to the world is too low, the guardian is the guardian of the world, and there are all kinds of opportunities, so it is impossible to arrange a meeting for him alone, so he can only follow Buddha Yongqi and wait for the opportunity to meet.

Chen Xing still had a lot to do, and it was impossible for him to stay in the White Tower Academy. He wanted to entrust Fo Yongqi to transfer it, but he didn't feel solemn enough. After all, it was Tienuo's deathbed confession, and it was not appropriate to fake others.

After Chen Xingsi thought about it, he still let things go for a while, and then look for a chance to send it over. He had to see Ramsden himself and deliver it with his own hands, so that he could be worthy of Tienaud's heart.

A person's innate skills can be studied and improved so that they can be learned and used by others. This is how all the general skills came from, including the energy storage shooting, charge shock, psionic compression, and so on that Chen Xing learned.

Many of the family skills of large families were passed on to future generations by their ancestors through the study of their own natural skills, such as the "Fire Dragon Wave" of the Yang family of Gray Horn City, the "Ice Shield Technique" of the Moore family of Raven City, and so on.

Under normal circumstances, in order to maintain the family advantage, family skills will not be passed on. Tieno has two natural skills, the gigantic body and the iron wall, but he gave it to Ramsden and contributed it to all mankind.

Such great affection and righteousness are worthy of Ramsden's personal reception.

A few days passed, and the journey of thousands of miles finally came to an end.

When I returned to Beiqiao Town and looked at the familiar scenery, I felt like I was suddenly separated from the world.

One person is a world.

When I went, I had a world of Tieno, and when I came back, I lost a world of Tieno.

Chen Xing hadn't thought about what to do next, nor did he think about how to settle the Lei Guang Regiment, so he let the troops stay in Beiqiao Town and repair in place.

Beiqiao Town used to be the base camp of the Beiqiao Regiment, and now the core layer is transferred to Raven City with Hua Beidou, and the Iron Sisters are stationed in the Great Sanctuary of Monitor Lizard City with Yeyang Bailiu. There are only regular troops left in Beiqiao Town, and many military camps are empty, just enough for the Master Regiment and the Thunder Light Regiment.

When she was on the floatboat, Xiang Caidie said something to Chen Xing. She said they were ready to disband the regular troops of the Beiqiao Regiment, and if Chen Xing was interested, he could take over the troops.

After the establishment of the Great Church, the Northbridge Regiment has shifted from a mercenary group to a religious organization, and its main source of income has also changed from the mercenary group's combat income to the commercial income of the Raven Ruins.

Originally, the core of the Northbridge Regiment was the Sisterhood of Steel in the Northbridge Branch of the Red Earth Continent, but the state religions of the principalities of the Ambergris River were the three major religions, and they had no room to survive, so they could only exist in the form of mercenary groups, making a living by fighting wars while preaching sporadically.

Now the situation is different, and the Sisters of Steel have a formal status in the Northern Alliance, allowing them to preach and grow in the open. But when you have a political status and become a regular army, you can't go to war casually.

In this case, the original conventional troops have become chicken-like existences. The cost is huge, and it is useless, so it can only be thrown in Beiqiao Town to eat food. It's a pity to discard it.

"What about the conditions for taking over?" Chen Xing asked. There is no free lunch in the world, these words must have been instructed by Hua Beidou, the regular troops in Beiqiao Town have more than 2,000 people, which is more than twice the number of the master group plus the Lei Guang regiment, and the equipment is also the best. Not to mention the floating boats, there are more than fifty Valkyrie mechas. No matter how good the relationship is, it's impossible to give him away for free, right?

"Hua Po said......" Xiang Caidie hesitated, and seemed embarrassed to mention money to Chen Xing, after all, the relationship between the two is here, and talking about money hurts feelings.

"You just have to say, you are you, Hua Beidou is Hua Beidou." Chen Xing said.

"Hua Po said, say ......" Xiang Caidie seemed to have made a lot of determination before she spoke, "Just exchange your shares in Crow City." ”

"That's good!" Chen Xing's stake in Crow Market was not much at all, and it was nothing compared to the total value of the regular troops of the Beiqiao Regiment.

"It's just personnel and light weapons,......," Xiang Caidie added with some embarrassment.

Sure enough, it's an old fritter, how can it be a loss-making business. Not only does it not lose money, but it can also kill three birds with one stone. Disbanding the mercenary group requires a severance pay, just like the company disbanding and dismissing employees, transferring it to Chen Xing directly saves this cost.

Exchanging a group of cumbersomes that have lost their use value for real money is a profitable and loss-free deal, no matter how you look at it.

But then again, the quality of the soldiers of the Beiqiao Regiment is relatively high, and they belong to the management of the regular army, which is not at the same level as those who are born in the wild road like the Master Regiment. These people followed Hua Beidou to fight in the south and the north, and they have rich combat experience, which is by no means comparable to ordinary mercenaries. With a little armament, you can engage in large-scale warfare.

But Chen Xing hasn't thought about the next step yet, and it is a bit unbearable to expand so many people at once. He promised to go back and think about it and give a reply later. Xiang Caidie's side is naturally no problem, she has been here for more than ten or twenty years, and it is not bad for these few months. She still has some feelings for this unit and doesn't want to disband it.

After settling down temporarily, Chen Xing ran to the underground training ground of the Beiqiao Regiment, closed the door, and tried to communicate the undercurrent of time and space through the fragments of black pottery.

Seeing Yuecanglian and Xiang Caidie standing outside the door, protecting Chen Xing. Communicating with the undercurrents of time and space is extremely dangerous, and someone must be around to take care of them, and they can help if something happens.

Of course, such help is limited and limited to small problems, which are generally not solved by anyone.

Chen Xing turned off the light and kept himself in the dark, then took out the black pottery shard, held it in his palm, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention on the shard.

There was silence all around, not a single sound. It is more than 10 meters underground, and the outside world cannot be heard, so it is very suitable as a place for communication.

It was as dark as thick ink, with only a faint purple light spilling between the fingers.

In psionic vision, countless threads as thin as a hair burrow into the fingers, merging with the purple brilliance.

Empty his mind and follow the guidance, gradually, Chen Xing felt that his body was slowly sinking.

Consciousness penetrated the reinforced concrete beneath his feet and plunged into the darkness deep in his heels.

I don't know how long this situation lasted, and suddenly my body was light, as if it had lost its weight, and it was light and fluttering, like a floating feather, floating in the endless void.

A flash of gold suddenly flashed in front of him, and the speed was extremely fast, and he flew around his body and threw himself into the endless darkness.

The trajectory of the point of light is beautiful and flexible, like cruising in the water and playing among the clouds.

Golden-scaled koi!

Chen Xing immediately chased after him. This koi is an illusion of psionic energy remaining in a fragment of black pottery. In the years of endless wandering, the black pottery urn absorbed the psionic particles in the undercurrent of time and space, and gradually formed an independent spirit, which was called the "machine spirit".

The black pottery fragments contain a part of the spirit of the instrument, and there is an invisible connection with the body. As long as you follow the spirit, you can find the body of the black pottery urn.

Time passed quietly, Chen Xing chased the koi, and hours passed in a blink of an eye. Compared to the previous undercurrent trip, this time the senses are clearer. He saw countless wrecks wandering in the darkness.

Broken trees, cracked stones, broken buildings, half-cut statues, wheels of carriages, rusty broken swords, dry bones of animals, human corpses......

It's like being in a huge ocean of garbage, cruising and exploring the wreckage of civilization. Unrecognizable directions, aimless drifting, the only guide is a touch of gold ahead, so that the soul will not be lost in endless darkness.

A sleek, high-tech object floats by. Chen Xing couldn't help but be curious, and reached out to grab it.

It's a helmet with blocky, crystal-like modules inside.

Another object floated by, clutched in his hand, an old coin with a lizard's head on it.

Just as he was immersed in the novelty, he suddenly had a tingling in his scalp, and a huge sense of crisis hit.

In the deep and boundless darkness, a hideous eye opened, and the scarlet light passed through countless spaces and swept over Chen Xing's body.

The aura of tyranny swept over like a flood, and the whole world became blood-red.

Followed by the fear of the abyssal sea, Chen Xing's whole body was like falling into an ice cave, and his blood seemed to be frozen in an instant.

Savage and terrifying, but mixed with a hint of familiarity. Chen Xing's pupils shrank suddenly!

Gluttonous Monarch!

The golden-scaled koi seemed frightened and fled through the wreckage, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xing was taken aback, and when he looked back, it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.

Not to mention going back, there is not even a road.

He couldn't help but get nervous. He only cared about becoming stronger, but he didn't realize that he had an abyss brand on his body, and once he entered the undercurrent of time and space, he would be hunted down by the Gluttonous Monarch.

What to do?

He's a little at a loss. He is just a novice, and he has only been exposed to the undercurrent of time and space for the second time, and he doesn't know how to deal with this kind of crisis at all.

He racked his brains to think, but after thinking for a long time, he didn't have a clue.

Time passed minute by minute, and the coercion became greater and greater, like substance. He could feel that the Gluttonous Monarch was approaching.

There is no way to retreat, and there are pursuers behind

He became more and more anxious, his body trembling, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Roar!"

A dull roar exploded in his mind, and the pain invaded, and he was in a trance, his vision blurred, his ghosting was stacked, and he felt like his body was shaking, as if he would faint at any moment.

No, I can't faint!

If you faint, you will sink forever in the undercurrent, the body is still alive, but the spirit is dead.

He clenched his teeth, but his consciousness dissipated little by little, powerless to stop it.

Just when he was about to hold on, he suddenly heard a crisp phoenix chirping.

It was like a sword suddenly unsheathed, cutting through the imprisonment, and the sinking consciousness quickly awakened.

A little green mang, from far to near, fluttered its wings, flew around him, and then flew into the darkness.

Qingluan leads the way!

He quickly followed, speeding through the wreckage, an unwilling roar coming from behind him, angry to the extreme, but unable to do anything.

After a while, Chen Xing opened his eyes suddenly, his face and body were covered with sweat. He knew that he had been closed in the ghost gate for a while, and if it hadn't been for Qingluan's rescue, he would have become a vegetative person like Zhao Ruoxi back then.

Not even lost, but devoured by the Gluttonous Monarch.

"Hoo ......"

He exhaled heavily, glanced at the black pottery shard in his hand, and put it back inside his clothes. As long as the imprint exists for a day, he will not be able to communicate with the undercurrents of time and space. The realm has been locked, and at this moment he is like a bird in a cage, no matter how he flies, he can't fly out of the cage.

A huge sense of despair gripped my heart, and it was suffocating.

Leaving the training ground, he changed into his old clothes, intending to go to monitor lizard city to breathe.

In order to hide his eyes, he changed into an old mercenary uniform and put on big sunglasses. After all, there are two people in the city who want his life, and although it is unlikely that the other party will run out into the street, it is right to be careful.

At midnight, he walked along the riverside of the monitor lizard city, thinking about it, but he couldn't think of anything.

He's just a little person, he has no ability and no background, and he has to rely on himself for everything. In the current situation, there is simply no way to go to heaven and no way to go to earth.

Is that all there is to it?

Is there no other way?

Despair, or despair, except despair, there is only despair......

Before you know it, it's dawn.

He walked aimlessly down the street, and the shops had just opened.

The waiter at the coffee shop moves out the chairs and starts the day.

The owner of the flower shop lifted out the flower shelves and laid out the delicate flower baskets.

It's all white orchids, with a faint fragrance.

He sat down near the florist and ordered an espresso. No added sugar, no added milk, hoping that the bitter coffee and the scent of orchids will bring him a touch of clarity and inspiration.

However, he sat all morning, and still had no clue.

Unless there is a miracle, in his situation, he can only hide back in Orchid Town and survive until Qin Wu comes to the door.

It's better to live so aggrieved than to die.

"Looks like there's only one way left." Chen Xing said to himself.

Another way is to join the kingdom's army and make a contribution. Once you've gained status, use the power of your kingdom to fight against the Gluttonous Monarch!

It seems that there is only this way.

"Miss Su, I'm here to buy flowers again today, welcome."

"Well, I have an important guest for dinner, and I want to buy some orchids back and put them on the table."

"Oh, Miss Su, you really know the goods, our orchids are the best in all of Monitor Lizard City."

The woman's voice is soft and soft, reserved and polite, and it is very familiar to the ears.

Chen Xing subconsciously turned his head, and in the afternoon sun, a beautiful shadow came into his eyes.

She wore a white sundress with a pair of lotus shoulders exposed, and her white porcelain-like skin seemed to glow.

Bright eyes and bright teeth, fresh and lovely, like a female student who has just come out of the campus.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes, and in order to make sure he was not mistaken, he subconsciously took off his sunglasses.

In an instant, he seemed to be back in that summer afternoon.

The girl sat at the piano, her silhouette slender and graceful, her expression reverent and serious, and the beautiful music jumped from the elf-like fingertips.

Everything is so beautiful.

When he was in high school, he once secretly liked a girl, but because of the gap between family and grades, he only dared to watch from afar, burying this love in his lost youth.

Later, he met a girl. Although they are from different backgrounds, they have the same temperament, which haunts him and gives him the idea of returning to a peaceful life for the first time.

A job that doesn't pay much but is enough to live, a small but stable nest in a small place, and a wife who is not too bright, but gentle and lovely.

But fate made them pass by and became each other's passers-by.

Looking back, the other party also recognized him and opened his eyes wide.

"Mr. Mercenary!" The beautiful eyes are rippling with light and sparkling.

Chen Xing subconsciously stood up, his attention was attracted by the girl in front of him, and he didn't even notice that he had knocked over the coffee and chair.

The two looked at each other. Time flies, like a white horse passing through the seams. Even though the past few years have passed, the love hidden in the depths of memory has been awakened at the moment of eye contact.

"Su ......"

Before Chen Xinglai could call out the other party's name, a figure suddenly broke into sight.

It came very suddenly, like admiring a beautiful landscape oil painting, and suddenly a knife flew and stuck in the middle of the oil painting.

A slender and powerful arm wrapped around his waist.

In an instant, Chen Xing's world was like a broken glass window. With a bang, glass shards shattered into the ground.

The man is extremely handsome, with deep and bright eyes, a well-defined face, and a perfect figure, with a well-proportioned man, more than 1.85 meters tall. The face is gentle and elegant, but there is a kind of coldness that rejects people. At first glance, there is a feeling of dragon and phoenix among people, as if he can't find any shortcomings in him, which makes people feel ashamed.

"Xuefei, have you bought the flowers? It's time for us to go back. The man's voice was calm and soft, full of pampering.

"Not yet." Su Xuefei looked at the man beside her with a happy smile on her face, "Gato, I met a friend. ”

"Is that the gentleman?" The man looked at Chen Xing.

"Hmm!" Su Xuefei nodded and introduced to Chen Xing, "Mr. Chen Xing, this is my boyfriend, Ricardo." ”

Chen Xing felt that his neck was a little rusty, and nodded with difficulty.

His heart is extremely sour, his first love in the past, but today he is leaning on someone else's arms. The sadness and powerlessness, as well as the indescribable embarrassment, made him want to turn around and leave immediately.

But for some reason, his feet seemed to be filled with lead, and he couldn't move a step.

"Grotto, this is Mr. Chen Xing, he is a very good person."

Ricardo, the eagle owl on the back of the dragon!

The head of the four military geniuses of the Red Clay Continent, how could Chen Xing not have heard of it.

"You, hello ......"

After a night of melancholy and the sudden changes in front of him, Chen Xing's mind couldn't turn around, he was dazed, and subconsciously stretched out his hand to the other party. It was a knee-jerk action out of politeness and didn't give much thought to it.

"Hmm." Ricardo glanced at Chen Xing, probably because his mercenary uniform was too old, Ricardo just nodded and did not stretch out his hand.

Chen Xing's hand froze in mid-air, not if he took it back, if he didn't take it back, it wasn't.

One is a well-known figure, the other is a little-known mercenary, the status gap is not a star and a half, how can the other party shake hands with him.

Seeing Chen Xing's embarrassed appearance, Su Xuefei felt a slight pain in her heart, and pushed Ricardo away with a ghostly gesture, stepped forward to hold Chen Xing's hand with both hands, "Mr. Mercenary, how are you doing lately?" ”

Ricardo seemed somewhat surprised, but there was no other expression on his face.

"It's okay, it's okay." Chen Xing replied.

At that moment, several young men and women came up from behind.

"Hey, isn't that one in front of you, Lord Li?" "I didn't expect Master Li to be so idle and come out to go shopping with his girlfriend."

These people are all handsome men and beautiful women, dressed extraordinarily, and they are the sons of the magnates of Monitor Lizard City.

Chen Xing, whose face was gloomy and wearing an old mercenary uniform, was like a dirt dog on the side of the street compared to them.

"It's a real honor for us to meet Brother Grotto here." "The day after tomorrow, my father will hold a drinking party, and Master Li wants to appreciate his face." "Go, go, our Lord Li is going to accompany his girlfriend, how can we have time to participate in anything?"

"Hahaha, Brother Grotto, you are the sword of our Northern Alliance, you can't indulge in lustful dogs and horses, playthings are discouraged......" "Look at what you said, our Lord Li is in good health, and it's no problem to have seven or eight more girlfriends."

This group of people chatted with Ricardo on their own, and Chen Xing was like a transparent person in their eyes.

Not only Chen Xing, but also Su Xuefei was the same in their eyes, like a bubble in the air, and there was a meaning of ridicule in and out of the words.

"Okay, okay, don't laugh at me." Ricardo clenched his fists and looked begging for mercy.

"How dare you do this, laugh at Master Li, give us a hundred dares and don't dare." "Everyone is just joking, don't mind, Lord Li."

"We have great respect for Brother Grotto in our hearts. When it comes to the young talents of this monitor lizard city, Brother Gato is definitely the best among us. Whether it is the arrangement of troops or the pen and ink poems, all of them are models of our generation......"

The crowd gathered around Ricardo to tout, and the two overlooked people looked at each other and laughed.

After a long time, surrounded by young elites, Ricardo left with Su Xuefei.

Su Xuefei didn't speak, but just looked back at Chen Xing several times, with a trace of unspeakable reluctance hidden in her eyes, but she didn't dare to look more, so that others would notice.

Watching the crowd leave, Chen Xing sat down in despair. The strength in his body seemed to be drained, and there was no trace of sparkle in his eyes.

With his status and status, joining the kingdom army is to take everyone to be cannon fodder.

The ancestors are made of iron, and it is difficult to have a place in the powerful and powerful Lizard City.

After a long time, Chen Xing slammed the table and exhaled heavily.

"Okay......"

"It seems that this is the only way to go......"

He seemed to have made up some kind of determination, and his eyes showed determination.

He was ready to use his life as a bargaining chip to gamble on a chance.

A chance to change your fate!

Instead of living humbly, it is better to have a bang.

If you don't succeed, you will become a benevolent!

He walked steadily, from the main commercial street to the city center, and then through the parade square, step by step to the front of the red castle.

"The royal city is heavy, no traffic!"

In front of the castle gate, on the moat, the guards crossed their spears to stop Chen Xing from moving forward.

"I'm Chen Xing, asking to see the demon princess!"