That...... What is that?

In the darkness, Tails looked horrified at the rock formation above Kez's head.

He tried to blink, but he still saw nothing, and it was pitch black above Kez's head.

The Sins of the River didn't give him any feedback.

"Hey, boy!"

The seamstress's displeasure almost filled the little hole: "Are you kidding me?"

The voice echoed in the cave.

Tails was startled by the shout.

"Nothing ......"

The boy took a deep breath and stared at the top of Ketz's head in shock: "Go, distracted......"

"Here it is. ”

Tyers stretched out his arm this time, lifted the inextinguishable lamp to the front, looked left and right with palpitations, and moved forward little by little, finally clasping the palm of Ketz's hand and climbing up.

Naturally, there were many seamstresses.

But Tails doesn't care about that anymore.

As Kez continued to explore his way, Tails held a lamp alone, passing by where the face had been.

The latter couldn't help but raise his head frequently to confirm whether there was really an extra weird face on the top of his head.

But there was still nothing, only stone quietly embedded in the rock formations.

Am I mistaken?

Yes, right?

Tails took a deep breath, pressed his trembling hands and feet, tried to throw all the thoughts out of his head, followed the little light in front of him, hugged the inextinguishable lamp in his arms, and continued to move forward in the dark environment.

They advanced again for half an hour.

During this time, Tails cautiously stepped forward, each step with trepidation.

He couldn't even beat his heart anymore.

Before he knew it, the prince was already drenched in a cold sweat.

"Very well, we have already walked more than half of it, and now we have ...... above our heads" came the seamstress's voice, sounding quite satisfied: "Not far away!"

Tails was relieved.

In front of the cave, Kez held on to the rock wall in his left hand and turned to the right.

But at this moment, Kez pressed on the empty wall with his left hand......

A human face appeared!

Tails only felt a numbness in his chest, he didn't catch his breath, and his whole body trembled!

"Smack!"

His inextinguishable lamp smashed at his feet, and the firelight flickered, casting Tails' shadow onto the rock face, but failing to cover the outline of the face.

It was a man with deep facial features and blue dye on his forehead and cheeks.

Like the first man before him, he was thin and atrophied, his eyes were pale, his lips were bared, and his complexion was not like a living person.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Kezi gritted his teeth and turned his head: "Don't fall and can't extinguish the lights!"

"Without the lights, do you bang your head out?"

The seamstress was a palm's throw away from the face on the rock wall, but she didn't feel anything wrong.

[We must ......]

The man in the rock wall stared at Tails with his pupilless eyes, his cervical vertebrae turning slowly like a rusted clock, his black lips closing one by one, and a terrible sound between his dead wood-like teeth, as if in his ears:

【Elf ...... Kill the ......】

Orc...... Kill all ...... too]

【Enemy Country...... Kill all ...... as well]

[Ourselves...... Why not...... Kill the ......】

Ketz was still counting the boy unhappily, as if he was in two different worlds from the man, and he didn't hear it.

This is......

Mixed with the ...... of the ancient emperor's Chinese The lingua franca of the Western Continent?

Tyres, who was furious in his heart and was about to cry, stiffened his face and pointed in the direction opposite Ketz: "But ......"

"There......"

However, when he turned his gaze again, Tails was horrified to discover:

The man is gone.

Ketz looked back in confusion: all that was left behind her was a black rock wall.

There is no face.

It is as serene as ever, covered by alternating lights and shadows.

Tails froze.

He began to tremble slightly.

Kezi frowned and looked at him, "Hey!"

"What's there?"

The boy shook his head violently.

Tails took a big breath and sprang up like a nimble rabbit!

He picked up the lamp, used his hands and feet together, and almost crawled away from the rock wall and ran in front of Kez.

The frightened prince turned past the strange rock wall, and before him there was another pitch black, barely able to see a downward slope.

"No, Kez," Tyers swallowed as he ran, his fingers numb and his voice unsteady:

"Something is wrong. ”

Ketz was a little stunned: "What?"

Tails resolutely resisted the desire to turn back, and shook his head desperately: "Black Path...... This place is very evil. ”

"I see something...... Stuff. ”

Kez looked thoughtfully at Tails' embarrassed appearance and suddenly chuckled.

"Are you really afraid of the dark?"

The creepy Tails bit his lower lip and tried not to think: "This is not a black ......"

He was interrupted.

"Shut up!" the seamstress rushed to him with a vicious look and stabbed him in the chest: "I promised the lame, then I will definitely send you out......"

"Follow well!"

"Don't be afraid of the dark!"

Tyles, who wanted to cry without tears and was terrified, was speechless.

In front of him, Kez swore and jumped down a ramp, causing the air current, and a chill hit the surroundings.

With a sad face, Tails hung the lamp on his chest, put one foot in front of him, and propped his hands behind him, and slid down the slope.

This time, his eyes widened, and the sins of the Prison River flowed faster and faster.

"I remember just walking through here......"

Tails listened absentmindedly, but just as he was about to slide to the bottom of the slope......

He was facing each other on his back, and on the rock wall at the top, three figures suddenly appeared!

Old people, women, men.

Tails, who was falling, trembled!

Again, a low, eerie whisper rang into his ear.

【Are you ...... I am...... Who are we......] This is the call of the old man, and the lingua franca of the Northland accent is full of confusion.

Thou art us...... We are you......] This is a man's whisper, full of ancient imperial language, the language is elegant, but it is very weird.

They were pressed against the rock wall, their eyes were white, like dead bodies, staring at him firmly, clear in the darkness!

The woman also stretched out her withered hands to him.

【Why......】

[Why, you're there, ...... over there]

It's lingua franca, but the grammar is complex and full of accents that Tails hasn't heard.

There was a heart-rending chill and hysterical pain in the words:

【My ...... Lover's ......】

Why...... Not from ...... Battlefield...... Return ......]

Brownish-gray nails swept across Tails' face, sending a chill to the bone.

"Bang!"

The stunned Tails landed on his ass and fell firmly!

What the hell is this!

"!"

Tails couldn't help but open a foul mouth, at this moment, he only felt goosebumps all over his body!

He got up and strode forward, just wanting to stay away from the figure above him.

What the hell is this!

Panting and panicking in the dark, Tails crashed headlong into Kez, who was reminiscing about the way.

"Are you crazy!"

The seamstress was knocked to her feet by him, and looked back angrily: "I swear if you ...... again"

But she couldn't go on.

Both of them felt it: the ground shook slightly beneath their feet.

Ketz's spit and Tails' breathing converged in unison.

At the same time, a frightening noise came from the rock formations in the darkness:

"Kara—"

The faces of the two turned white in unison.

"Click-"

This?

Tails listened carefully to the terrifying voice.

It's like......

Like, the sound of rock cracking?

After a few seconds, the crack grew louder and louder!

"Brush the ......"

In the dim light provided by the two inextinguishable lights, Kez and Tails stared widely.

With a pale face, Kertz touched the top of his head: several pieces of rubble the size of a fingernail fell on their heads.

"Oops. She only had time to pop the word out.

The ground shook violently again!

The frightened Tails grabbed the rock next to him so that he didn't fall.

Feeling the shaking of the ground, Kez finally stabilized his balance, and his face changed greatly: "Damn!"

"Somewhere must have collapsed again!"

As soon as the words were finished.

"Bang!"

The cracking and shaking sound turned into a screeching smashing sound.

It's like a boulder falling behind you.

The seamstress's expression was ugly, she didn't care about counting Tails, hung the inextinguishable lamp around her neck, and climbed up the road neatly: "Run!"

"Boom!"

A boulder slammed down a low slope not far from them, rolling downward.

Tails was shocked, knowing that now was not the time to be afraid of ghosts.

The prince didn't care about reserving his strength, he called for a familiar and unfamiliar power, and desperately urged the sins of the prison river all over his body!

Rumble!

The sins of the river of hell happily rushed over his head and overflowed his body.

Feeling the pulsation of blood vessels and the filling of muscle strength, feeling the vision clearer than day and the gurgling flow of air in the cave, Tails slammed on the ground and got up instantly!

He clung to the rock wall and followed in Ketz's footsteps.

The ground shook again.

Soon, the surrounding sounds turned into a deafening roar, and the vibrations of the rock formations and the ground were heard at the same time!

"Boom ......"

The prince caught up with Kez in horror.

"Boom!"

The sound of the rock falling was getting louder and more frequent, and it seemed to be close at hand.

"What ...... to do"

Tails desperately jumped over a shallow pit, grabbed an uphill rock formation, and gritted his teeth in the roar, "This...... Was it the same before?"

The ground shook again, and Tails didn't stand still, and fell to the ground.

His inextinguishable lamp slammed into the rock wall, extinguishing in an instant with the sound of shattering.

But now I don't care so much.

Escape matters!

Tails, whose scalp was numb, propped himself up again, and stepped a few meters away in three or two steps.

Under the violent shaking of the ground, he fell and ate for an unknown number of dogs, but he could only move forward with his life!

"Hell, the last time I brought someone here was six years ago!" came Kezi's angry voice from the roar, and she was obviously very upset: "After the shield area is destroyed, the black path will sometimes collapse!"

"That's why the lame man sealed this place!"

Tails slammed into the wall left and right in the shock, struggling to maintain his balance and keep moving forward, but in such a hostile environment, even the familiar Kez couldn't get up quickly.

"Bang!

There was a loud bang behind them—the slope they had passed had been smashed hard by a rock that had fallen from nowhere!

Gravel splashes.

Looking back at this scene, Tails' soul was outraged!

Tails took two steps to avoid a falling rock on the left.

"Bang!"

But that's far from the worst.

As the falling rock smashed open a crack, another person suddenly appeared inside.

A withered figure with white hair.

【Come to ......】

【Join us in the fight against the tyrant......】

[The empire will fall, and the north will rise......]

Its eyes were white and its muscles were rotten, but it had lips as dry as its companions, sparse white hair, and a wrinkled scalp, and it held out its boneless hand to Tails.

Tails shuddered, and the Sins of the River of Hellriver automatically gathered on his left leg without calling, kicking him desperately, cursing and rolling to the right.

What the hell!

In the process of escaping for his life, Tails saw from a distance that another sleek, scorched face appeared in a pit in the lower right of him.

It opened its pale eyes and smiled horristically at him, its lips closed together.

[In order to protect my family, I want to kill all the enemies......]

[But with my family, the enemy will find my weakness and defeat my ......]

[I just, I can't, kill all the enemies......]

[For the sake of my family, I can't be defeated......]

【Family...... Can't become, my weakness ......]

[So, in order to defeat the enemy, in order to protect my family, I must first ......]

【Must ......】

[First ......]

[Kill all my family.] 】

The words of this "person" fell, and his dry hands suddenly held his head, letting out an endless howl of pain!

it!

The sobbing Tails covered his ears and shouted angrily in his heart, rolling and crawling in the direction of Kez.

What a thing!

Ketz in front of her braked sharply, and Tails nearly crashed into her.

"Bang!"

"God, the road I remember is all messed up......," the panicked Ketz howled angrily, and the non-extinguishing lamp shook violently on her chest:

"Why are you so unlucky, it feels like we're collapsing wherever we go!"

A rock slammed into their path, and Tails and the seamstress were shocked and turned to the other side.

"...... wherever you go" Tyers held back the fear in his heart and shouted disgruntled as he fled, "Are you sure you don't have the last name Drake?"

"Bullshit!"

Kezi said angrily: "My surname is ......"

But at this moment, Tails, who was fleeing for his life in the tremors, landslides, and falling rocks, was breathless.

He was frightened by what he saw.

In the field of vision of the Sins of the Prison River, countless faces, figures, and human figures that had only been seen appeared one after another on their way to escape.

These "people" share the same characteristics:

Withered as a dead corpse, with eyes but no eyes, and stiff movements.

They, these monsters, are everywhere with their heads peeking out of cracked rock crevices, or their limbs sticking out of smashed pits, or even rising their backs out of the ground abruptly.

Tails felt only an endless chill coming from the soles of his feet.

This time, they emitted an ominous black mist, and they all turned to Tails in unison, both near and far, and stared at him deadly, opening their ugly lips and opening each other.

[The emperor is calling...... The knights are full...... Triumphant, triumphant, triumphant!]

[As pointed out by the blade, the war will end...... After this battle, the empire will have no enemies, and we will be able to return to our homeland......]

[We are surrounded, there is no need to leave rations, the wounded leave their horses for the healthy, and the unarmed go to search for the bodies of others...... Cavalry, dress, let's do one last charge, so that King Anset will have fewer orc mongrels to deal with......]

Why do we have to fight...... Why, the Xitao people didn't beat us, so why did we hit them?]

[Cell, Cruri, Lokatasada...... Cara Lukel ...... Cell, Cell, Cell, Cell!

A wide variety of languages, elegant or popular ancient imperial Chinese, retro or modern lingua franca, and even many languages that Tails knows but cannot understand.

There were even several beings who didn't look like normal humanoids, screaming in pain at words he didn't understand at all.

The cave was suddenly noisy.

But Ketz, as always, seemed to find nothing, and just ran forward.

More and more words, whispered, muffled, or roared, accompanied by layers of abnormal emotions, seeped into Tails's ears.

The terrified Tails wailed and scrambled to speed up, running as fast as he wanted to escape from this hellish place!

The sound continues:

[Whether they have weapons or not, the reason is simple: this is the place drawn by the emperor, it is our territory, if they do not recognize themselves as imperial people...... Then they are our enemies......]

[The uprising failed, and the whole army was destroyed...... The Inspector of the Empire will soon be here, flee ......]

[Blowing the military trumpet, it's the ice bastards...... Orc ...... We've got to stop them here...... Believe me, humanity will win!]

[Deserter, deserter, deserter damned, deserter is not worthy of being a human being...... If you don't have the courage to cut off your head, you deserve to be beheaded by others!]

[Broken city, broken city!Follow me, let's rush up, no one will be left!Long live the empire!]

"Kez!"

Tails covered his ears and wailed, enduring the headache that hit him inch by inch.

"Kez!"

He couldn't help but look at a certain thin female "person" with a hideous and terrifying face who was only an arm's length away from him, and he swept over one obstacle after another regardless of it, relying on the vision of the sin of the prison river to prevent him from falling in the dark:

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible!"

"Black Trail...... This place is very wrong!"

In the rumbling sound, Kez's angry voice came from the front, as if he had just avoided a rock that had fallen overhead: "yes, I can see it too......"

"Also, thank you for your nonsense!"

The moment "Ka ......" Kezi turned around, another huge rock cracked overhead!

Vertical fall.

"Be careful!"

Kezi subconsciously raised his head, and his face turned pale.

That rock...... Shrouded them all underneath.

Tails' scalp was numb, and he couldn't care about the soreness of his legs, so he tried his best to catch up!

But after seeing the situation in front of him clearly, he rushed forward with a chill in his heart: no.

The rock that fell overhead - the range was too big.

Even if he pounces on Kez, even if they sprint with all their might......

I can't avoid it.

What to do.

The boulder was only a few meters above Kez's head.

What to do?

At that moment, Tails desperately recalled all the skills he could use.

Yara, Rolf, Wya, Blacksword, Sister Corleone, Edda......

But in the face of this crisis, their skills and emergency methods are not used......

What to do.

At this time, it was a figure that Tails didn't expect, and suddenly appeared in his mind.

In the memory, the man's expression was cold and pale.

The blade struck out of his hand and miraculously folded back.

Tails was shocked.

A rare finishing power seeped into his bones and joints, bursting with unspeakable power.

In a flash of lightning, Tails' feet accelerated, and he slammed into the Kez in front of him, holding her waist firmly.

At the screams of Kez, they fell forward together, the boulder above them getting closer.

Tails gritted his teeth.

The Sin of the River of Hellriver began to roar through his body, causing his pores to shrink for a moment.

In his ears, the agitation of blood in his veins gradually overshadowed the endless words of those "people".

His bones began to moan.

"Ahh

The rocks overhead were getting closer and closer, and even began to reflect the light of the inextinguishable lamp.

The next moment, his forward momentum miraculously stopped: Tails' legs were firmly grounded on the ground.

They didn't fall.

Not only that, but the bones in Tails' body made a terrible explosion,

Tails' face contorted, and the power of the end gathered into his legs.

As if overcoming inertia, the figure of the young prince who had just rushed here suddenly folded backwards!

"Bang!"

Huge rocks fall.

A loud noise echoed in my ears.

Ketz sat down on the ground, staring blankly at the scene in front of him, at the rock that was only a few inches away from him.

Beside her, Tails lay on the ground, panting in pain.

"Whoa......

The rocks that fell in front of them shattered inch by inch, and many rolled to their feet.

At the last moment, Tails pounced forward, pounced on Kez, and unbelievably changed direction in an instant, leaping two meters backwards, dragging them out of the range of falling rocks together.

"Wow," Ketz reacted slowly, his eyes widening, "How did you do that......"

"Don't, ask. "It's Tails, whose legs are numb and he can't breathe.

Damn it......

Tails gasped in embarrassment, but felt the ground continue to tremble, and the roar in his ears did not abate.

This is...... You want me to die.

At this moment, Tails, who was lying on his back, suddenly condensed a pair of pupils!

Directly above his head......

A terrifying face appeared on the rock face.

Tails recognized the face: thin facial muscles, a stiff smile, sharp, rust-colored teeth.

and the brightly colored armor.

It's the man.

Its defeated eyes looked at Tails, moved its stiff neck inch by inch, and slowly spoke:

[Come on.] 】

You shouldn't be over there. 】

You belong to us. 】

It is still standard and classical, and the ancient imperial Chinese language is clearly spoken.

If you ignore the deep chill that lies within.

Its voice fell, and a thick black mist emanated from its body.

In the next second, before Tails could react, the rock formation beneath them shattered inch by inch!

"Boom!"

"Hey—"

Before a frightened Ketz could utter a single word, she sank down as the rock collapsed.

"Kez!"

Tails screamed and pounced, trying to catch the panicked seamstress: "Catch me!"

But his hand could only skim in vain over the figure of Kez, touching her fingers one last time.

Kezi fell, farther and farther away from him, the shock on his face still unsettled.

Tails stared blankly at the woman who had fallen in the dark.

But there is nothing that can be done.

Until the figure of the seamstress was completely swallowed up by the darkness.

Never to be seen again.

Overhead, a hoarse and terrifying voice came, speaking the chilling ancient imperial Chinese:

[Come, companion......]

【Join us!】

(End of chapter)