Chapter 1156: The Forgotten Land (1)
It could be seen that the battle had ended and one party was being chased by the other. The party upfront attempted to escape from the death threats in a fl.u.s.ter, while the party at the rear yelled, waved their weapons, and gave chase. As if the fleeing party weren’t unfortunate enough, Rhode’s group was blocking their path ahead.
The fleeing party climbed over the hill and witnessed the ‘unexpected guests’ ahead. After taking a close look at one another, both sides were surprised. Rhode stared in astonishment at the group of…. Humans.
That’s right. Rhode suspected if they were even humans.
Even though they resembled humans with their arms, legs, and heads, there was nothing else similar between them apart from those features. They were tall and burly, and the shortest one amongst them was at least two meters in height. Moreover, their arms were so long that they had extended to their knees. They gave Rhode an impression that they were as though hairless gibbons. Not only that, but the clothes that these ‘people’ wore also seemed really odd, and could even be said to look somewhat primitive. The clothes seemed to serve as armor made from some unknown animal skins and the ‘people’ wielded thick wooden clubs. There was an instant when Rhode thought he had transmigrated to a primitive society…
Not only that, but the skin color of these people was also odd. Unlike the skin of colored races on Earth that had a l.u.s.ter to them, their skin color was turbid and bizarre as though it were a layer of transparent skin wrapped around pitch-black liquid, leaving one incapable of looking straight at it.
Furthermore, after taking a closer look, Rhode discovered that their facial features also looked peculiar. Most of them had horns on their heads, but unlike the horns of demons and devils, they seemed more like animal bones instead. Besides, their ears were also in odd shapes like irregular humans transformed from inexperienced evil spirits mentioned in legends and folklores in Rhode’s country.
Even though Rhode knew that he might not meet ordinary people in this place, it still exceeded his surprise that things were this bizarre. That was also why both parties were instantly taken aback. But shortly after, the ‘people’ being chased reacted instantly. A man who seemed like their leader yelled and almost immediately, his dozen men riddled with scars scattered in panic and in all directions.
Meanwhile, the pursuing troops at the rear stopped giving chase. On the contrary, Rhode witnessed the leader raising what seemed to be a stone-made sword, screamed some unrecognizable commands, and his men surrounded Rhode’s group immediately!
As the ‘strange people’ encircled his group, Rhode let out a snort before turning around to give a hand gesture to the two Canarys. Upon witnessing his intention, the two young ladies nodded and raised their arms like a mirror reflection of each other’s. Along with this action, a blazing flame wall burst out of the ground, twisting and spreading across the land to stop the group of people. As soon as they witnessed the flame wall that suddenly emerged out of the ground, they shrieked and retreated in a fl.u.s.ter. But shortly after, their leader yelled once again and the panicky soldiers came to a halt immediately. But even so, they gazed at the flame wall in terror and were afraid to get too close to it. This apparently enraged the leader. The leader raised the stone sword in his hand and commanded in a rage. Shortly after, some tall and st.u.r.dy figures strolled out from the back.
No, it wouldn’t be right to consider them as people at all. No matter how Rhode looked at them, they seemed just King Kong from the movie! They were four to five meters tall, covered in tough muscles, and held enormous rocks in their hands. Then, they raised their arms at the command of their leader and hurled rocks at Rhode’s group!
The rocks, in the size of millstones, were tossed at extreme speed, so Rhode even heard the whistling winds. Perhaps one wouldn’t be able to escape and would be smashed into minced meat by them, but this ‘rough’ attack wasn’t effective to Rhode’s group. Before Rhode gave a command, Mini Bubble Gum had already snorted and pointed a finger forward. Then, a golden radiance flickered and transformed into a solid barrier above everyone.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The huge rocks crashed into the barrier and didn’t leave a single scratch on Rhode’s group.
Looking at this scene, the soldiers apparently became even more frightened as they retreated gradually. The man in the middle who seemed like their leader extended his hand and pointed at Rhode’s group. Even though Rhode couldn’t understand what he was blabbering about, it was obvious from his expression that it wasn’t anything nice.
“Hmph.”
Rhode snorted. At the next moment, he slashed the sword in his hand abruptly and a dazzling blade ray erupted forward. Shortly after, in a series of horrified screeches, the high and mighty leader covered his face with his hands and collapsed to the ground. He struggled and his body wrung constantly as pitch-black blood spurted out of his wounds, splas.h.i.+ng all over the ground. Looking at this scene, Rhode twitched his brows in surprise. Even though he didn’t go all-out in this attack, no one should be able to survive this attack without a defensive barrier in the Dragon Soul Continent. This a.s.sault was definitely sufficient to split the man into two and yet, Rhode didn’t expect him to have such a thick layer of skin to actually defy it forcibly.
Who exactly are they?
Although Rhode was dubious, the ‘strange people’ didn’t give as much thought. On the contrary, as soon as they witnessed their leader crumbling to the attack, they broke out into chaos, turning around to escape as quickly as possible. In just a few moments, none of them remained on the scene, not even that unfortunate fellow who was slashed by Rhode. The wilderness restored its earlier peace. There was nothing else except for dust, sand, and gentle winds blowing across the plain. One would even be suspicious whether what one had witnessed was just an illusion.
“What was that all about?”
After a few moments, Mini Bubble Gum widened her eyes and asked. Well, she couldn’t be blamed since most people hadn’t even reacted to what just happened! The entire process from when those ‘people’ met Rhode to after Rhode attacked and scared them away only took a few minutes. In the blink of an eye, the wilderness recovered its tranquility. It was as though a bunch of fools had run up to the stage, kicked up a racket, and got off the stage one after another. Before the audience figured out what happened, the performers on the stage were already gone. That felt… ridiculous and fascinating.
“They’re probably natives of this place and have nothing to do with us. Let’s move on, we have a long journey ahead.”
Rhode shook his head. If they looked like ordinary people, perhaps he might be interested in interacting with them. However, they seemed like unevolved primates, so he couldn’t care less about paying any attention to them. Rhode wasn’t a biologist or historian and had no interest in these creatures that couldn’t speak in complete sentences and were ugly beyond imagination. Shortly after, he threw this matter to the back of his head and continued to lead his group toward the tower.
Even though this was nothing more than a random episode which proved to Rhode that there were forms of life on this land, it was a pity that not everyone had the same thought as him.
Rhode discovered that they were being tailed.
But ‘being tailed’ was kind of speaking too highly of the stalker because that fellow was following far behind and had no special intention to conceal himself. Even though the distance between them was far, Rhode recognized that man as one of the ‘primitive men’ who had covered his head and sneaked away like a rat after the defeat earlier. But Rhode had no intention of dealing with him. No matter what intention he had, Rhode wasn’t mindful at all. Right now, his priority was to search for the path that led to the Seven Fantasy Boundaries and return to the Dragon Soul Continent as soon as possible. Those bizarre primitive men were entirely out of his considerations.
The journey wasn’t smooth, but was considered rather successful. Apart from the incident earlier, Rhode’s group didn’t meet any forms of life such as animals, plants, or even any lakes or rivers in this world. What left Rhode helpless was that even though they spent almost an entire day walking toward the white, cylindrical tower, the distance between them only shrank a little. Rhode couldn’t help but suspect if he had made a wrong choice.
Although Erin mentioned she could transform into her enormous dragon form and transport everyone, Marybelle objected to her suggestion. Not only that, but she also warned Erin and Lydia not to expend too much of their powers. Even though they were situated in the gap between Order and Chaos now, the balance of forces in this place had been destroyed entirely after the five Creator Dragons left. If Erin and Lydia were to display their aura and strength of Order, it might attract the attention of Chaos immediately. It would be a disaster for that to happen to them in a place far away from the Dragon Soul Continent. Therefore, apart from continuing their journey on foot, they didn’t have other choice.
Even though there wasn’t a sun or moon in this world, day and night were still clearly distinguished. The curtain of light above everyone gradually dimmed and the world around them became dusky. For safety’s sake, Rhode’s group decided to stop their journey and searched for a windless and flat area to rest instead.
After a short while, the sky darkened entirely.
No, it was as though the lights of a room were turned off. As the bright light vanished completely, the world was enveloped in pitch-darkness. Rhode stood above a hill and gazed at the darkness. The dense darkness was so thick that even the flame radiance could barely illuminate the area ahead. Fortunately, in this dark envelopment, the huge tower ahead continued to emanate gentle rays of light like a beacon guiding the way in the darkness.
At that moment, Rhode heard soft footsteps behind him. Then, a young lady went up to him quietly.
“… This is an alternate world, huh? What a peculiar place.”
“Don’t you wanna take a break? You must be tired after a whole day of walking.”
Gazing at Canary, Rhode couldn’t help but show his concern. Even though there were two Canarys right now, he could easily distinguish the differences between the real and projected young ladies. Perhaps after going through a painful experience, the real Canary set off mature and depressed qualities now. On the other hand, the two Bubbles were like true sisters and Rhode had a hard time differentiating one from the other.
Although Canary and Mini Bubble Gum decided to leave Earth with Rhode and they received somewhat powerful strength from their projections due to resonance, their const.i.tutions were that of ordinary humans, after all. After walking for such a long period of time, one should be feeling exhausted by now. In fact, Mini Bubble Gum didn’t even have dinner. She went straight into the tent and slept immediately.
As for safety…
At this thought, Rhode gazed at the magical runes flickering in the surroundings. At least they were enough to keep them safe.
“I’m alright, Rhode.”
Upon hearing his doubt, Canary smiled and nodded at him. She lifted her head, turned to the pitch-black world ahead, and let out a long sigh.
“Honestly, I don’t even know if I’m in a dream or reality. In the past, I basically never traveled. But now, not only have I left Earth, but I also left the world I’m familiar with and came to a completely foreign land…”
Canary said. She couldn’t help but extend her arms and embrace herself. Even though she was exhausted, it was due to this reason that everything around her left a deep impression in her mind. Be it the sky or ground, at a glance, everything seemed so unfamiliar. This strong, intense feeling made her forget about fatigue for the time being.
Upon looking at her expression, Rhode remained silent and stretched his hand out to caress the young lady’s hair. How could he not understand her feelings? This wasn’t his first time having similar thoughts as hers right now. Every time he stood and looked out of the window from his room, he saw houses built of wood and stones, paths made of bluestone, and carriages driving across them—not familiar, spider web-like highways and speeding cars in the city.
The world in his memories and where he was right now—which exactly was the real one? Which world was the one that could prove his existence and allowed him to live in it?
Perhaps this would be a question that couldn’t be resolved forever. But fortunately, maybe this problem that bugged him for a long time could be resolved after the Dragon Soul Continent was transmigrated to the solar system.
“No matter what, you’re here with me and that is enough.”
After placing his hand gently on the young lady’s delicate shoulder, Rhode wrapped his arms around her. Upon hearing his answer, the corners of Canary’s lips perked up into a mild smile. She closed her eyes, embraced the man in front of her, and leaned on his chest to feel that special warmth. This was the only thing she wanted after coming to this world. She had basically nothing now. The only thing left for her to pursue was this man in front of her and there was nothing more important than him.
“… Feels like you’ve gotten much more muscular, Rhode. I couldn’t recognize it from your appearance…”
“Perhaps that is because I didn’t exactly have a carefree life here.”
Rhode forced a bitter smile. Before he transmigrated, his body was of the standard of an ordinary and healthy person. But after arriving at the continent, putting aside the changes in data values, just the experiences and battles he went through had more or less strengthened him. It was impossible for him to be as fat as a swine since he was often das.h.i.+ng about in tough terrains.
Upon hearing his answer, Canary kept quiet. After a few moments, she lifted her head and gazed wittily at the man. For some unknown reason, Rhode felt like something bad was about to happen the instant he detected her gaze…
And indeed.Shortly after, Canary asked.
“Rhode… I heard my other self mentioning that you have a lot of girlfriends in this world… Don’t you have anything to say to me about that? For instance, Miss Marlene, Miss Lize, and Miss Anne? What kind of girls are they? I’m really curious about them.”
“Ugh…”
Rhode instantly realized that perhaps this was a more troublesome issue he had to resolve before heading back to the Dragon Soul Continent.