A heavy blow was dealt to Gu Jun’s mind. All of his suspicions and truths that he refused to believe were true. These cultists knew that Son of Steel was Son of Misfortune, in fact this was common knowledge in the foreign world. The Son of Misfortune destroyed Carlot Academy? It was Landon who brought despair upon the world? It was Landon who urged people to turn their backs on the Goddess of Life and turn their faith to the true God, the Lord of R’yleh?
Which of the information was true? All of them? Gu Jun could not tell anymore. Too many truths were bent out of shape by history and time. But he believed in one truth. There was power of light in Landon, the Son of Steel had always existed within the Son of Misfortune. It was why he still had hope, even now, the world still had hope… The system, that mysterious power, it should be the handiwork of Son of Steel…
“Tragedy, tragedy!” The call in the wind began again. The black-robed individuals closed in. Be it the new arrivals or the old ones, they moved faster. The shattered flesh regenerated faster. Gu Jun wanted to do something but he could not even summon the energy to open the system in his mind. His consciousness faded…
“Dirty-minded Jun?” Naturally Wu Siyu could sense his distress. She reached out to share with him her mental power. ‘No, stay away!’ Gu Jun was so worried that he managed to utter a weak, “no…” The dark force within him was going out of control. If she connected with him, he’d draw her into the abyss. Hearing his warning, Wu Siyu halted. But her brows were locked and she asked, “Then what can I do?”
The grass on the plain coiled being ravaged by the wind. The ritual had reached a new height. More black-robed individuals climbed out from the mud. Their sudden appearance broke up the agents’ formation. Two agents from the assault team staggered and fell. The surrounding black-robed individuals lunged forward and stabbed them repeatedly with the scalpel. The two agents screamed as their fresh blood dyed the sharp scalpels red. The team of 100 plus agents were fighting against millions of monsters that could regenerate. They had no number’s advantage and their weapons were too weak. Once this became a close quarter combat, it would be too dangerous to use firearms. The monsters could regenerate but if any of the agents was hit by stray bullets, they’d be dead. Eventually, the Russian leader, Puloscov was apprehended by a few flesh monsters. They bit on his face and neck. Others stuck scalpels into the man’s body.
“Ah!” Puloscov wailed. The scalpels stabbed multiple times into his eyes. “Open fire!” The Russian agent roared in anger. They fired at the monsters, turning them and their respected leader into mush.
The number of fatalities was rapidly climbing. Toddy Matt, the young man from DBM was swamped by black-robed individuals. His friend, Michael J. Bruce wanted to go and help but he was stopped by the flesh monsters. The plains were turning into hell. The agents’ physical and mental power were draining. It was getting difficult to even sign the Ancient Seal. And there were still so many enemies…
Other than Zhang Huohuo who still worked on Xue Ba’s heart resuscitation, and Uncle Dan who applied emergency rescue on Deng Ximei, the other medical units joined the battle. The 17 sedated agents were easy prey for the flesh monsters. Carl Douglas’ life was ended with a slice to his throat. Before he perished, his lips seemed to say, “Today we will all die…”
Leaders like Bell Grant and Frederickson urged the others to hold on but they knew this was a losing battle. Even the land’s travellers, who were used to death and brutality, were stunned. They were not facing normal adversaries here…
“Dirty-minded Jun, Dirty-minded Jun!” Wu Siyu did not give up. Since she couldn’t touch Gu Jun, she used her voice to summon him.
It proved useful… If not for her, Gu Jun would have lost his consciousness already and he’d succumb to darkness.
He watched the development on the hill. Members of the Afterlife Cult had all walked in the stone plaque. Only a few individuals in red remained. Then the Deep Ones walked into the plaque. Afterlife Cult, R’yleh Cult, Dagon’s Sect, they had overlapping members…. Because the Son of Misfortune, and Dagon were both servants of the Lord of R’yleh.
Gu Jun was reminded of the system, it was a power he triggered at Long Kan Seabelt. It activated the power of both the Son of Steel and Son of Misfortune within him. Thinking back to the rewards he had received, they were all related to these two forces of power. Long Kan Seabelt… The Seagull…
Perhaps due to this astral projection state that he existed in, Gu Jun appeared to gain a new understanding of the Deep One’s Language Mastery Textbook scroll. He suddenly gained a renewed appreciation of the words and symbols on the stone plaque. It opened him up to the abyssal world described in the plaque. There were many lost souls and sacrificed individuals in there. There was life within the stone plaque…
He saw two Deep Ones smiling at him. Their faces reminded him of his childhood.
“Xiao Jun…” A soft woman’s voice said. One of the Deep Ones spoke. “You’ve arrived. The journey must have been difficult.”
The other Deep One spoke in a sturdy male voice, “Xiao Jun, you’ve grown up so much!”
It hit Gu Jun then. It was them, they were inside the stone plaque, they had sacrificed themselves to Dagon a long time ago.
“What are those documents?” He demanded loudly, “Where have you hidden them?”
“Documents?” The woman’s voice was still gentle. “Aren’t they supposed to be inside your mind?”
Gu Jun understood it then. The ‘documents’ were the rewards given by the system. They had used this method to hide it away…
“This system is your creation?”
“No, we do not possess that kind of power, it is a talent that you’re born with. We merely helped you fix it so that it can be activated.”
He was just a projected consciousness but Gu Jun could feel his eyes watering. He gritted his teeth. “Why, why would you do this. What kind of people are you…’
“Xiao Jun, we are merely children of circumstances.” The gentle woman said, “We are born into families who worship R’yleh, we had no choice. But your father and I have always harbored a different ideology, it was why we ended up together.”
“What ideology is that?”
“You should know by now that no matter what common people do, these existences will not perish. Like fire, they can be used to burn everything or it can herald in a new era. Too many people around us want to use the fire for its destructive power. Our familial bonds and organization responsibility bind us. But we did what we could, to turn the fire towards the light, to avoid a disastrous ending.”
In that moment, he saw some visions from the past but Gu Jun was given a new angle to understand them. When the woman plunged the knife into Elder Tong, the blade was calculated to enter a spot where none of the vitals would be injured. If not for her, Elder Tong would be dead already. This woman tried her best to protect the Spirit Children…
“Then, why, why didn’t you join Phecda…” He pleaded.
“Xiao Jun, we’re so sorry to disappoint you but we’re not good people.” The woman said, “But… we’ve been trying to do good things…”
“Like today.” The man said with a smile. “Silence the Son of Misfortune and keep R’yleh submerged. That is not a bad ending. Xiao Jun, go ahead, we’ll support you. End this ritual. Burn away evil like us!”
Gu Jun’s tears dropped. A new force emerged in his heart to fight against the darkness. It was the spire. The spire that he saw at the ocean floor was now rising inside his heart.
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