Chapter 1: A New World?
The terrible feeling of vertigo faded away, and the man opened his eyes weakly.
"Which world have I reached?" Zhao Kun, who was still in an abnormal state from a long journey, was puzzled. However, his intellect told him that now was not the time to doubt. Because he smelled a lot of blood.
The situation is unknown, but it can be dangerous. So he immediately put his hand on the gravel-filled ground and stood up.
"It's a little heavy......" The man shook two steps and stood still. At the same time, he shook his head, trying to expel the vertigo caused by this long-distance time travel from his mind.
The situation was dangerous, and Zhao Kun, who glanced around, immediately determined this.
It's clearly a camp, and it's a breached—
Several lit wagons were scattered around the camp, almost entirely covered in flames. And their goods are scattered around, and many of them are burning. Rolls of cloth unfolded and sprinkled on the dirt floor, broken buckets leaking out, and some of the food scraps that had been taken away were scattered into the dirt...... The cargo was also dotted with charred black human bodies, as well as the corpses of some men in armor.
Zhao Kun kicked away a helmet, then pulled the half-truncated sword out of the sand. It didn't take him to look further to confirm that the armor worn by the armor seemed to be similar to his. And the extent of the damage ...... Except for those whose heads were obviously blown out or whose bodies were divided, several of the armor on his body were the same, as if they had been smashed to pieces by something.
Taking two steps forward, he drew another spear stuck in the ground, but the back half of the spear was nowhere to be found, but fortunately the spearhead was still there, and it could be used as a short spear in his hand. Plus the one-handed broken sword in his hand, which was about the same length as his forearm...... In any case, in this place where there was clearly a fight, it was much better to have something in hand than not to take it at all.
Zhao Kun, who had a weapon in each hand—let's call it that—looked around, but couldn't find any more blades to use. Scattered on the ground were broken blades like the ones in his hand.
This made him wonder a little, could those intact weapons have been taken away by the enemy? But why didn't they take everything with them and burn them down? Even if you are afraid that you can't take it, you can burn the food and cloth or something, but can't you use the armor or something?
Something unusual interrupted Zhao Kun's thoughts.
There was a noise around the ruins, and he instinctively lowered himself and tensed his muscles.
What is likely to be a battle next, Zhao Kun has already been mentally prepared. Before the departure of this mission to catch the ducks on the shelves, he was even ready not to go back.
I don't know how many epochs ago, the infinite world of the Dream Realm region was once shrouded in the glory of the outer gods and the old rulers, but for unknown reasons, they abandoned this area and stopped paying attention to it. Now, for some unknown reason, some of the outer gods and the old rulers have taken an interest in these worlds again. It's just that some of these beings are cautious, some are radical.
The cautious are like Yogsothoth, steady and steady, sending the Faceless into the dreamscape from all directions, world by world, layer by layer. It is said that the primeval Eternals actually know all worlds well, so the Faceless as the chosen one only needs to spend a certain amount of time in one of each world's system before they can be branded and lit up. Then, Yogsothoth could easily and unhindered the realm of the world to which it belonged to be enveloped in its glory, if it wished.
And the radical ones are like Igronac, who soared all the way and lost contact in the second-layer world. In fact, the approximate area where he lost contact was not the center of the second floor, and he didn't even touch the door to the third floor. Otherwise, it wouldn't be them Faceless.
The Silver Key has summoned less than ten Faceless Beings on a search mission, all of whom are not far from the world that appeared some time before Igronac's disappearance.
Of course, this is not far from the old days and the outer gods. At least although Zhao Kun didn't know the specific location of the world he was coming to now, it was certain that it would be an ultra-long-term trip for him. To make matters worse, the destination of such a trip is separated by at least six worlds from those that can be interfered with at any time by Yogsothos - those that have not yet been illuminated by the Faceless One.
In fact, just by looking at the shock caused by the time travel, you can know the distance and the near.
Supposedly, there is no harm in allowing the recipient to be brought over by the Hound of Tyndalus, a dimensional creature that can travel through time and space at will, through the spell of Shadow of the Hound. After all, the recipient has always been hidden in the so-called shadow of the hound, and the hound, which can walk freely in time and space, carries the traces of Igronac's past existence to the target.
Unless the Hound suffers some damage that compromises this layer of protection, then the Receiver will share a very negligible portion of the damage to the Hound. And now Zhao Kun's state is the so-called Twisted Void Imprisonment, or in Planescle's terminology the Dark Void Erosion, and only if the Twisted Void/Dark Void travels too long will he take this kind of damage.
A barking unfamiliar voice came repeatedly, and Zhao Kun moved cautiously, trying to hide his figure.
Whether it's called the confinement of the Distorted Void or the erosion of the Dark Void, in short, in this negative state, his combat power is not one in ten. Whether it was magic or true qi, all the transcendent energy in his body was in a disorderly fluctuation, basically impossible to invoke.
The man took a deep breath, feeling the abundance of the magic factor in the whole world, which he thought was probably called it, with a slight headache. For the Faceless who can travel through time and space, the extraordinary energy of this world is almost the same, and the conversion and compatibility of anti-positive energy is the basic ability of the Faceless.
Only those worlds that do not have transcendent energy, or even suppress it, will make the faceless who are new to life unfamiliar feel worried. And what is even more depressing than this is about the way it is now, others can use extraordinary energy, but they can't use it in a short period of time.
To Zhao Kun's ears, these unknown words full of guttural sounds were blasphemous and rude, and he could only pray now that the other party was not looking for him.
But contrary to his wishes, the movement grew louder and louder, and Zhao Kun soon heard the sound of branches breaking and boots stepping on the pit covered with fallen leaves. Then there is the addition of a sound similar to that of leather armor being wiped by a brush, as well as the movement of certain accessories......
"Slow down, slow down...... Even if I give me another twenty seconds......"
Zhao Kun carefully hid behind a mess of things, clutching the weapon in his hand tightly, hoping that the enemy would find himself as late as possible.
Enemy, yes.
There is no doubt about the enemy.
Shadow of the Hound is a spell that can only be learned by a special caster who has been promoted to a certain point (will 25 or greater). This spell is divided into two parts, first the hound will bring the person to the destination, and then the hound will devour a victim with a high degree of fit, and the faceless one will completely replace the person.
We all know that the Tyndalus Hounds like to lurk in the past, and that their victims are not just killed, but completely absent from beginning to end - if the Facelings don't choose to replace them. No one in the world will remember him, because his entire existence, from the past to the present, has been eaten by hounds without leaving any trace. For all the people in the world, this person did not exist, and everything he did did did not exist, and the world would develop according to the trajectory without this person......
But if there is a person to replace the victim, it is a different matter. As the hound feeds, the Faceless Breath infects its victim's past. So, the man still exists, but no one knows that he has been replaced by another person. Even if victim A is a white fat man and the substitute is a black and thin man, whether it is in the photos or people's memories, from the past to the present to the future, A is indeed a black and thin man.
Just like the current Zhao Kun, in the eyes of any being who is not able to completely transcend (not only space, but also time) in this world, even if the gods are in the world (if this world has one), he is the victim. It's a clever way to do it than any disguise - to take someone directly from the timeline. It is also a necessary means to go deep into areas where there are no support forces alone, in order to prevent some unnecessary trouble.
At this time, Zhao Kun had already digested a certain part of the residue left after the hound ate - that is, the victim's memory. This memory told him that his name was Usain Bolt, and that Bolt Vortagen, a noble count of the kingdom, was also the commander of the camp. As far as he could remember, it was the monster that attacked their camp that made that sound.
Zhao Kun's instincts told him that those enemies were looking for him. He could even see the strange shadows hunched over in this direction.
It's a pity that Bolt doesn't know much about his enemies, and neither does Zhao Kun.
"Do something, I have to do something!" The man gasped eagerly, desperately hoping that the chaotic true qi would return to normal functioning. The speed at which this gentle life energy returned to normal was far beyond the magic power, so it was Zhao Kun's only hope at the moment.
A huge figure turned.
The true qi that had just returned to normal suddenly burst out, and Zhao Kun pounced forward and swung his sword!
It was a black-green humanoid creature that was large and wide, at least three heads taller than Zhao Kun, with fists the size of his head, a large chin protruding forward full of protruding fangs, the rest of its face small and sinister, and a pair of long, elve-like ears erected in fantasy novels.
The monster's armor was made of the skin of an unknown animal, and it was dark in color, and it held a large wooden club in one hand, which was also covered with sharp spikes of various sizes, some of which were supposed to be sword tips and spearheads. In its other hand it held a spear decorated with a string of white objects.
Everything happened so suddenly, and the contact between man and monster was just a moment. The beast had only had time to raise its terrifyingly ornamented spear, and its throat had been deeply sliced.
The monster then collapsed, and Zhao Kun suddenly realized that the objects on the spear were human ears, perhaps the spoils of the massacre that had taken place here before he arrived......
But it was too late to sigh, for the beast did not act alone.
Its companion, one who was slightly shorter than it, but also in his costume was holding a giant axe, had already opened its terrifying mouth, let out a wild roar, and rushed towards Zhao Kun.
Zhao Kun frowned, raised his hand, and half of the spear flew out with an unrivaled whistling sound, hitting the other party's throat - the strong body of the green-skinned beast might not be able to die if it was penetrated by such a thin short spear, so he had to aim at his throat.
But if only his spear had come earlier. The beast fell, but there were battle howls around the camp, two, four...... As far as the eye could see, a whole group (12) of these clumsy beasts were all surrounding his location. To make matters worse, howls could be heard even in the distance in what appeared to be a swampy area.
The howls made Zhao Kun's brows furrow even tighter. Unfortunately, his chaotic magic won't be able to subside today. This means that the Fruit Crossing directly replaces Count Bolt Vortagen, who can't even open the storage space in his magic book, and the silver key that can be opened by relying only on mental power has no weapons that can be used for battle.
The man picked up the horrible spear on the ground, full of booty. A spear that could not be held in one hand may be just right for the beast, but too thick for the palm of a man.
"!" Zhao Kun still raised his spear, and with a sudden force of both hands, he threw it out, aiming at the green-skinned beast closest to him.
The slightly larger beast walked the fastest, and the heavy spear thrown by Zhao Kun sturdily hit the green beast's chest, passing through it. The spear pierced through the opponent's tough skin and muscles, and the monster immediately fell in pain, only to reach out its claw-like hand and swing it in vain.
Before Zhao Kun could carefully appreciate his results, a spear flew towards him from behind, and Zhao Kun lifted his breath and moved out with the force under his feet, just to avoid the spear's attack.
Then came a few cobblestones whizzing in. This time it came from the front, and Zhao Kun could see it clearly, and the other party had a few things waving that should be slings. And the 'small' stones fired by their slings were already much larger than Zhao Kun's fists.
"Let's get a weapon that fits in hand!" Zhao Kun smiled bitterly and dodged the long-range attacks coming from all directions, and retreated behind a cover. "A broken sword that is not as long as a forearm is too bad!"
The man complained, and then stopped the useless behavior.
He gasped, trying to recover as much of his true qi as he could with the breathing method. Obviously, once he fights these beasts that seem to be coming in a steady stream, his true qi will be consumed very quickly.
However, between seven or eight breaths, a figure at least two meters tall with muscular leather armor about to crack had already pounced on him, wielding a hammer in his hand.
Although the armor on his body slowed down his speed, Zhao Kun still dodged the opponent's attack, and at the same time, the broken sword in his hand slashed at the opponent's wrist. As soon as the wail sounded, the bloodstained broken sword had already stabbed the opponent's throat in the hand of Zhao Kun, who was on the right fit.
The beast clutched its throat helplessly and fell, Zhao Kun didn't have time to be happy, he held up the one-handed hammer that fell to the ground with both hands, and smashed it towards another beast that rushed over with a long knife.
It dodged the throw, but was approached from the other side by Zhao Kun. The beast waved its long knife impatiently, and the movements that were too clumsy for a person like Zhao Kun undoubtedly did not make a difference. The broken sword brought out a shower of blood on the beast from the bottom up, and Zhao Kun also kicked on the opponent's knee, and the whole person jumped backwards in reverse, dodging the opponent's dying counterattack.