Chapter 235: Only d*e in Battle, Never Falter on the Path of Escape
On the flat Gobi Desert outside the southern wall of Yumen Pass, amidst the vast array of the Shaman Queen’s Army, a blonde boy wielded a pair of terrifyingly large scythes, gazing blankly at the terrifying noise of the iron beasts in the distance.
Aletan Aluslan was the boy’s name, meaning “Golden Lion.”
As a renowned warrior of the Aluslan tribe, he had long ago rid himself of fear; when those iron beasts appeared, he only felt confusion.
Before the expedition, the tribal leader once told him, “The people inside the pass are all cowards who fear d*ath. When our army presses down, those defenders will definitely hold out for no more than an hour.”
Having pillaged merchant caravans alongside his tribesmen since childhood, Aletan believed the leader’s words deeply. In his impression, those inside the pass would begin to fear as soon as he drew his sword; after a bit of hardship and seeing some bl**d, they would be wailing.
Some tribes referred to the pass dwellers as “two-legged sheep,” and Aletan found this description quite fitting. They were indeed timid like sheep, and their flesh was as delicious as lamb.
However, when he came to the battlefield and clashed with the Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers stationed at Yumen Pass, he discovered that both he and the leader seemed to be mistaken.
Those Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers demonstrated through their actions that the pass dwellers were not cowards; they not only withstood an hour of battle with minimal casualties but were also equally brave and formidable as tribe warriors.
Before the expedition, the leader had also mentioned to Aletan, who was to lead more than half of the Aluslan tribe’s warriors in a strong attack on Yumen Pass, “The pass won’t wait for reinforcements; the great Shaman Queen will bury all their hopes with sand and fire.”
However, this time the leader was wrong again.
Yumen Pass not only awaited reinforcements, but they were also a fearsome contingent.
Those iron beasts were getting closer, and Aletan could feel the ground trembling violently beneath his feet as the rushing iron beasts roared, emitting terrible noises.
Dust and thick smoke swirled, blurring his vision, the air saturated with the stench of bl**d, both old and new, so thick it was nauseating.
Suddenly, as dazzling white lights flashed at the front of the array, Aletan Aluslan felt a blur in front of his eyes.
Then, a muffled roar came from the front ranks, accompanied by the fearsome whinnying of battle horses.
That direction should be where the Wuzhi Black Tribe’s light cavalry array was located.
A few moments later, as his eyes adjusted slightly to the dazzling brightness, Aletan saw a horrifying scene.
“Boom—!”
With a loud crash, an iron beast charged into the Wuzhi Black Tribe’s light cavalry array. In an instant, the formation was torn apart by the frenzied force, horses and men upturned, bl**d flying.
The dark, wheel-like legs of the beast walked over the bl**d-soaked ground, creating a sticky sound echoing back.
The speed of the iron beast’s charge was too fast; the splattered bl**d and chunks of flesh still lingered in midair when it had already rushed past, crushing more tribe warriors’ bodies.
Under watchful eyes filled with astonishment, like Aletan’s, herds of giants surged through the ranks, tearing apart several formations in mere moments.
However, such casualties were not enough to instill fear in the major tribes.
They were the bravest warriors on the Gobi Desert, the people of the great Shaman Queen; dying in battle was not an end for them, but an unparalleled glory!
Moreover, no matter how terrifying a creature might be, there should logically be a time when it exhausts its strength…
Could these tens of thousands of tribal warriors really not bring down a few beasts?
Seeing those iron beasts breaking through several formations, inflicting massive casualties, and becoming ensnared amid the encirclement of the tribal warriors, like sinking into a quagmire, their speed gradually slowed. Aletan gripped his scythes tightly, with a fervent spirit for battle in his eyes.
“Good—!”
“k*ll it! k*ll it!”
“…”
Before Aletan could let his growing battle spirit drive him towards the iron beast ahead, he was greeted by a wave of cheers.
Following the sound, he saw not far away a man, his upper body exposed and skin darkened, with a pair of large bull horns on his head, steadying a rusted spear in his hand. Taking a few strides, he rushed in front of a massive iron beast, thrusting his spear forward.
“Boom—!”
With a loud bang, the spear sunk deep into the head of the iron beast, causing him to stagger back a few steps, stabilizing his form, and bending slightly as he used all his strength to j*rk the spear upward.
With a sound of metal twisting and tearing, the giant beast’s head was lifted into the air, sparks flying.
That was a warrior of the Wuzhi Black Tribe… he killed those terrifying iron beasts!
Seeing this, Aletan, brimming with fighting spirit, gained even more confidence in victory. He then took a few steps forward, launched himself into the air, leaping over the chaotic array, raising his scythes towards another iron beast not far away, slashing down.
His heart thumped like a drum, as though a lion roared within his chest. Feeling the boiling bl**d infused with the power granted by the great Shaman Queen spread through his limbs, Aletan’s mind flashed with a thought—this strike would surely cut that beast in two!
However, at that moment, a woman’s voice broke through the cacophony of the battlefield and reached his ears, sounding even clearer than the wind chimes, starkly jarring upon entering his ear.
“Wow! That big guy looks so dark, like a loser, but unexpectedly he’s a lucky guy? He actually hit the jackpot with the first shot!”
Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw two women standing atop the head of an iron beast at a distance, remaining near the chaotic military array.
Aletan could not understand the women’s nonsensical chatter, but from her cold, expressionless face, he could see that she cared nothing for the iron beast being killed by the Wuzhi Black Tribe’s warrior, its head severed from its body.
In her eyes were composure, disdain, and… joy!
——————
As she controlled twenty-seven trucks, accompanied by blaring horns, charging towards the Shaman Queen’s Army array and causing widespread destruction, Luxianbei briefly hesitated about whether to continue indulging the instincts of the witch-type.
Although those tribal members had been influenced by the powers of the Shaman Queen and could no longer be considered normal humans, some with strong abilities even showed signs of physical beastization. From a certain perspective, they had already become akin to the half-urban legends wandering outside Yumen Pass a thousand years later, becoming kindred.
But since they were half urban legends, there was still half that was human; Luxianbei felt a twinge of reluctance to wipe out so many in one go.
However, when the Shaman Queen’s army formations were toppled under the impact of the trucks, bodies and limbs flying everywhere, that small piece of reluctance in her heart instantly vanished.
A unique sense of pleasure surged from the heart that blended the core of the witch-type urban legend, shooting straight to her brain, leaving her feeling light-headed and dizzy.
An indescribable, intoxicating feeling quietly rose from the depths of her heart.
In a daze, she seemed to hear a voice that sounded like countless young girls overlapping, whispering enticingly in her ear.
“It is the fog that obscures the eyes, the star that leads the storm. It is her child, the lips that extinguish the lights and kiss the darkness…
“Red as slaughter and withering, pale as sorrow and silence. It is formless fear, and also tangible chaos…
“The shadow awakening beyond paradise, possessing eyes that can beautify or corrupt all things…”
As the whispered descriptions of power gradually intensified, that voice presented her with one question after another.
Why is that?
Why can those guys k*ll, but you can’t k*ll them?
These guys run wild in the Gobi Desert, mercilessly ambushing merchant caravans and travelers, enjoying the benefits brought by the law of the jungle. When someone stronger than them appears, shouldn’t they accept the fate of being hunted?
……
On that battlefield shrouded in bl**d and dark clouds of d*ath.
The mass deaths of tribal soldiers, while bringing pleasure to the core of the witch-type urban legend, were not enough; they could not satisfy her; she wanted more!
This place lacked fear, pain, despair, and other intense negative emotions…
Perhaps due to the influence of the Shaman Queen’s power, those soldiers of the Shaman Queen’s army were not afraid of d*ath at all. The destruction of their bodies did not bring them pain, and the loss of companions did not bring them sorrow.
Fortunately, calamity always likes to leave a bit of a backup.
So, as a thought flickered, traces of crimson palm prints quietly illuminated the trucks, which had almost come to a stop…
“The second act is about to begin, my dear, are you happy?”
“Wow! That big guy looks so dark, like a loser, but unexpectedly he’s a lucky guy? He actually hit the jackpot with the first shot!”
Hearing Luxianbei’s words, Shen Baiwei, who was anxiously watching the surrounding Snake of Time while gazing blankly at the sky, paused for a moment, turned her head to look at Luxianbei, and frowned.
Did she attract that thing?
If so…
What about protecting me? She might be in more danger herself, Shen Baiwei thought anxiously.
————
Long before she resolved to continue escorting Li Tietou and Zhu Erming to Yumen Pass, Shen Baiwei felt a certain gaze upon her.
It was a chaotic, disordered presence that could not be perceived through sight, sound, touch, or even spiritual sense; only the person being watched or the urban legend could detect its existence through a way that transcended all sensory limits.
From it, Shen Baiwei felt a benevolent care as well as a chilling malice.
A similar feeling she experienced at the Tethys Laboratory, the way the experimental personnel looked at the unique individuals used for experimentation.
Their care was because those unique individuals were rare, yet they were secretly plotting inhumane experiments on those extremely rare special subjects… as if treating the last remaining experimental mouse.
But that presence watching from the shadows was far more unsettling than the experimental personnel at Tethys Laboratory.
As soon as she stirred up the thought of getting in touch with that thing even slightly, Shen Baiwei distinctly felt the chaotic black lines symbolizing the harbinger of the punishment of time, which had been slowly encroaching on her body, suddenly becoming strangely active.
That perhaps was the punishment of time, gradually drawing closer… this was Shen Baiwei’s judgment of that eerie gaze at the time.
As Luxianbei manipulated those trucks, Shen Baiwei sensed that unsettling gaze intensify even more.
The source of that gaze seemed to be in the sky, in the depths of the vast night.
There, something was moving, accompanied by a bizarre rhythm, endlessly spinning.
As it turned, it sprinkled powers that should not exist here onto the earth, quietly changing everything.
As that entity gradually approached, Shen Baiwei realized her previous judgment was wrong; it was perhaps more than just a simple punishment of time but some horror beyond imagination.
And the cause of that entity’s approach was most likely calamity…
It seemed to be emitting a certain energy, driving calamity to create slaughter, to destroy, to utilize the thousands of lives on this battlefield as sacrifices, to complete a ritual, summoning some terrifying existence.
To descend upon this battlefield or within the body of calamity…
“…”
No, she had to think of a way to stop calamity! Shen Baiwei thought anxiously, opening her mouth, just as she was about to say something to Luxianbei, a sudden deafening roar echoed in her ears.
Something exploded!
Continuous explosions.
The earth shook violently, and crimson flames engulfed…
————
“Boom—!”
Aletan jumped up, crashing heavily onto the head of an iron beast, distorting and deforming its skull, and his dual blades followed suit, slicing open two fierce wounds on its head in an instant.
After stabilizing himself, he turned to glance at the two women in the distance, growing more intense with murderous intent in his bloodshot eyes.
“d*mn witches!”
Noticing that the two women riding the beasts could be the ones controlling the iron giants, a thought arose in Aletan’s mind—k*ll them!
To him, just as a warhorse needs a knight to gallop, and a falcon needs a falconer to hunt, by killing those two witches, the threat of the iron beasts would dissolve.
However, before he could truly take action, the explosion occurred.
The iron beasts, which had been forced to halt by the tribal warriors, suddenly erupted with blinding crimson light, which grew more intense, ultimately evolving into a violent explosion like festive firecrackers celebrating the New Year.
“Boom—Boom—Boom—!”
Deafening roars rang out one after another. The terrifying shockwaves accompanied flames, creating waves of fiery storms, advancing towards him, the frightening temperature rippling through the air.
In the next moment, amidst the spreading sea of fire, a faint bark seemed to be heard, as a bright, blinding silver light erupted from the head of the iron beast that had been thrown up by the Wuzhi Black Tribe’s warrior.
A suffocating sense of danger spread with that flash of silver light.
An astounding sound instantly overwhelmed the previous continuous explosions and the chaotic noise of the battlefield, plunging everyone’s ears into silence.
In the central area where the silver light burst forth, the ground trembled violently, like a blanket lifted by invisible hands, the Shaman Queen’s army scattered on it like beans or coins, insignificant little things.
Tumbling up and down, unable to resist!
Everyone felt their bodies lift into the air in that instant, then crash down heavily, before being lifted off the ground once more.
Aletan, one of the closest to the center of the silver light’s explosion, clearly felt the life Force of his companions vanishing at an astonishing speed.
They did not d*e; they were directly ground to dust.
As the silver light spread and enveloped his body, he experienced unprecedented pain, his bones and bl**d torn and shattered inch by inch, making it impossible to ease for a long time, far from comparable to cutting or burning.
————
After two or three moments, the aftermath of the explosion finally faded, and the flash of silver light vanished.
Blackened scorched earth lay scattered across the battlefield, like dark marks pressed into the ground, surrounded by dead and injured.
Even more shocking was the area where the silver light had erupted.
The people, items, and even the land that had been there seemed to have evaporated, leaving behind only a deep pit and a web of fissures.
The warriors from various tribes finally felt fear, watching as the only remaining iron beast at the edge of the formation fled like a scared sheep in the opposite direction.
And in that direction awaited them the Yumen Pass defenders, who had just regained awareness from their shock and had taken a short respite.
“Release arrows!”
“Spearmen form up!”
“Prepare rolling stones!”
“…”
Exhilarating shouts rang out from the parapets of the south wall of Yumen Pass.
The harvesting moment had arrived.
A torrential rain of arrows, luminous bolts from crossbows, and giant logs fell continuously. Lives were quickly snuffed out like being drawn into a shredder, yet in the chaos of battle, the fleeing steps did not halt.
Because they saw, beside those two women, new iron beasts were gradually revealing themselves in the reflection of the surrounding flames, roaring in unison with sharp, high-pitched sounds.
Those iron beasts could not be killed; no matter how many times they were slain, they would return…
That kind of power could only be suppressed by the great Shaman Queen; they could not compare at all. Escaping towards Yumen Pass might allow a slim chance of breaching the city and perhaps even survival…
Various thoughts quietly arose in the hearts of the Shaman Queen’s Army.
However, while the vast majority of the tribal warriors rushed like moths to the flame towards the walls of Yumen Pass, a very small number of figures rose from the scorched earth, from beneath the shattered remains, from the bl**d-soaked trenches filled with sand.
Those bl**d-soaked and scarred bodies swayed, their eyes flickering with a bloody glow, like bloodthirsty beasts.
They were the true progeny favored by the great Shaman Queen!
They would only d*e in battle and would never falter on the path of escape…
————
Aletan lay curled up on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
He did not know how long it had been, but a flow of heat surged from deep within his body, boiling his bl**d, swiftly alleviating the pain and granting him the strength to stand again.
Furrowing his brow, he unsteadily rose to his feet, lowering his gaze to his trembling eyes.
His entire chest and abdomen had almost lost all flesh, with only scattered bits of shredded meat remaining, wrapped around squirming entrails.
But… he was not dead, felt no pain, and only wanted to continue fighting.
Taking a deep breath, Aletan gazed ahead at the two witches and the reappearing iron beasts, inhaling the murky air that filled his half-empty lungs, then stepped forward.
The moment he took a step, what appeared in his mind was not the teachings of the leader or the high priest of the tribe, nor the sacred mandates of the great Shaman Queen, but rather his elder sister, Melu Aluslan.
Once the most beautiful of the Aluslan tribe, now already withered.
His elder sister had starved to d*ath…
In a terrible winter several years ago.
It was a harsh winter when food was so scarce that even roots were hard to find. Many tribe members perished under the ravages of hunger and cold, and Melu was one of them.
Before she passed away, Melu asked him, “Little brother, do you think we are really different from the people inside the pass?”
“I heard that inside the pass, there’s an endless supply of fine wine, herds of cattle and sheep, and fertile land that can grow enough food for everyone to eat…”
“Why are those things possessed by them and not by us? What do we lack compared to them?”
At that time, the young Aletan did not know how to respond to his sister’s question.
He was also very puzzled as to why, being human too, the pass dwellers could live like humans, while they lived like beasts.
And whenever they attempted to claim anything from within the pass, they would be driven away by the Longxiang Army and other border defense forces, becoming worse than beasts.
Were they really inferior to those pass dwellers?
Such doubts troubled Aletan for a long time, until the arrival of the great Shaman Queen finally gave him the answer he sought.
The great Shaman Queen said they were not inferior to those inside the pass; they were stronger and more excellent than those pass dwellers, and more deserving of everything that the pass dwellers possessed!
If they did not fight, did not resist, did not plunder, their tribe and their descendants would be forever trapped on the Gobi Desert, fighting with beasts for scraps, suffering from natural disasters.
They wanted to live, wanted to live better; that was not wrong, so they must go k*ll, eliminate those pass dwellers less than them, and seize what belonged to them!
No matter if what lay ahead was an iron beast or fiery mountains…
Go, fight! No need to worry about what’s behind.
The great Shaman Queen would grant them strength and the meaning of combat, guiding them ever onward.
