Chapter 727 - 453: Shocking Change (Part 2)

Chapter 727: Chapter 453: Shocking Change (Part 2)

If only he were a little more mature and less of an edgy teen.

’Then again, I suppose that’s part of his charm. In fact, it might be better this way.’

Noah turned off the sparkling effects on his body and, with a serious expression, dropped a bombshell that stunned the Hero of the Spear on the spot:

"I’ve found a trace of the Evil God. I’ve confirmed He is in Gaia Royal City. He is the final boss of the game. Only by killing Him can this game end and Gaia be unsealed."

After a moment of shock, the Hero of the Spear shouted in alarm:

"Why didn’t you say so sooner?!"

"I only just found out. What do you think we’ve been investigating all this time?" Noah spread his hands helplessly.

The Hero of the Spear immediately took out his communication device to tell everyone about this discovery.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Gaia Royal City," Noah said. "The closed beta is about to end. If we don’t hurry, we’ll run out of time."

"I’m going with you." The Hero of the Spear hurried to catch up.

The two were already near Gaia Royal City. Traveling in Noah’s vehicle, they quickly arrived outside the Royal City. Since the message had only just been sent, the alliance’s reinforcements had not yet arrived.

"You stay here. I’ll go in alone," Noah said seriously. "I’m a Player. I can resurrect even if I die, but you’re different."

The Hero of the Spear knew his own limits and didn’t try to act tough. He nodded and watched Noah leave alone.

Soon, brilliant bursts of golden light erupted from within the Darkness-shrouded Gaia Royal City. The Son of the Sun was on a rampage inside.

Before long, Noah suddenly revived by the bonfire, startling the Hero of the Spear. "What happened?"

"I was fighting the gatekeeper monster and got ambushed by dogs. It was the Three Dogs Godslaying Array," Noah said with an embarrassed cough.

"..."

"I’m getting serious this time." Noah transformed into a small golden sun and shot toward Gaia Royal City at supersonic speed.

A short while later, violent tremors erupted from within the Royal City.

Noah revived by the bonfire again.

"This is nuts. There are no bonfires inside the Royal City, and it won’t let me save. Do they expect me to clear it in one life?" A troubled look appeared on Noah’s face. Although his Level was high and he was very strong, clearing Gaia Royal City in a single life was indeed very difficult. But the most crucial part was...

"I should go with you after all," the Hero of the Spear said, tightening his grip on his spear.

"No, that won’t be necessary anymore."

Noah shook his head. "We’re almost out of time."

The Hero of the Spear pulled out his phone and checked. Less than ten minutes remained until the Players’ advent!

His mouth fell open, and he murmured, "Has time passed that quickly...?"

"If I hadn’t wasted so much time investigating, I definitely could have made it to the boss."

Noah sighed silently. It was a true shame.

Ten minutes later, Noah waved to the Hero of the Spear and bid a regretful farewell. "Goodbye. And say goodbye to the others for me, too. I’m sorry I couldn’t clear the game."

"You’ve already done more than enough," the Hero of the Spear replied, but Noah had already vanished.

He paused for a moment, then turned and left, regrouping with the allied army over ten kilometers away.

"Let’s go back. Even if we know the Evil God’s location, there’s nothing we can do."

The Hero of the Spear repeated what Noah had once said to the higher-ups, "Only ’Players’ can clear the ’game’."

「Eighty-five years later.」

Another world-devastating war broke out.

In this terrifying great war, the Hero of the Spear killed several powerful enemies in succession, but the city he was in was ultimately devoured by a horrific Demon Tide, and his whereabouts became unknown.

It wasn’t until much later, after the world-devastating war had ended, that Gaia won once again through the sacrifice of countless lives. When people returned to that city to clean up the battlefield, they unexpectedly discovered twenty thousand survivors. The one who had saved them was none other than the Hero of the Spear. Though already gravely injured, he had forcibly carved out a pocket dimension to shelter the survivors from the Demon Tide.

He himself, however, had exhausted his life force protecting the pocket dimension from being consumed by Abyssal Contamination. The moment he confirmed the survivors were safe, he drew his last breath.

Many years later, the Players’ advent brought news of the Hero of the Spear’s death. Another century passed, and the Players who came again brought Noah’s condolences. A warm sunflower was placed before the Hero of the Spear’s gravestone.

·

·

Zhou Chen felt as if he had returned to the time he received the Forging knowledge of the Dwarf King and the Giant King. His consciousness seemed to split into tens of millions of pieces, each one thrown into countless heroic tales, truly experiencing their magnificent and turbulent lives.

It was arguably the most realistic role-playing game in history.

But the experience was anything but wonderful. If it were just one heroic tale, it would undoubtedly be an enjoyable live-action role-playing session. But with thousands upon thousands of stories, it became an absolutely terrifying Nightmare. The excess of knowledge would cram his mind, affect his Soul, and there was a high probability his personality would be rewritten, making him no longer himself.

It was at this moment that Zhou Chen’s Willpower demonstrated its strength. As time went on, his resistance to this illusory dream grew stronger and stronger. At first, he could only remain lucid for a brief moment before quickly returning to a state of hazy confusion. But later on, he was able to maintain enough clarity to break free from the dream.

"Enough!"

Pale Fiery Fire ignited, turning into a sea of flames that swept through the illusory dreamscape and burned it to ashes.

Zhou Chen’s eyes snapped open, a pale, fiery glow surging within his pupils. He was about to subconsciously make a wish to clear the memories from his mind, but before he could, the heroic tales stuffing his brain rapidly faded. Only a few memorable events remained, while the rest of the details were completely forgotten.

Still, to be cautious, he cast a wish on himself to ensure his personality was intact and free from any hidden influence.

Zhou Chen climbed up from the ground and looked at Carol, questioning her in a cold voice, "What exactly are you trying to do? If you’re trying to brainwash me into becoming a Hero who saves Gaia, then you can save it."

"I apologize for acting against you so suddenly, but I truly had no other choice. You are currently the only one qualified to wield Gaia’s Sword. I had to make you pass the spiritual trial to prevent any mishaps... The dream you experienced was the spiritual test of the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings. Now, you can directly wield the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings and become the King of Gaia." Many of Carol’s extended jellyfish-like tentacles retracted, but numerous screens of light still hung in the sky, displaying the stories Zhou Chen had yet to experience.

"Using such methods only disgusts me. This is emotional blackmail!" Zhou Chen said icily.

He then looked at Danika beside him. With an apologetic "I’m sorry," Danika knelt on the ground, ready to accept any punishment.

She hadn’t killed Zhou Chen to let him reload his save and resurrect. Instead, she had been persuaded by Carol to let Zhou Chen fall into the Song of Valotte. Danika knew this was a betrayal, but she was willing to do anything to save Gaia. She was also willing to pay the price for her betrayal. If Zhou Chen wanted to kill her, she would respectfully offer her neck.

"I know. I’m well aware of the consequences of my actions. You can kill me to vent your anger," Carol said, also looking unafraid of death. "But while you were undergoing the trial, many things have happened in the outside world. You will understand that everything I did was the right choice. Only by taking up the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings and becoming the King of Gaia can you end all of this."

"How long was I out?" Hearing this, Zhou Chen frowned grimly.

"Five days."

’Five days... In that time, Tang Ling should have already finished upgrading and cleared the game. But now...’ Worry stirred in Zhou Chen’s heart. Gaia was still in its gamified state.

’Did Tang Ling fail? Impossible. Even if she failed once, she could just reload her save and try again. With her terrifying adaptive evolution Ability, there’s no reason she should have failed.’

"What happened outside?"

"War. A massive war far exceeding any previous scale. The Abyssal Army has poured out in full force, sweeping over every inch of Gaia’s land."

Carol said in a low voice, "I saw that Godslaying Weapon. Two days ago, she entered Gaia Royal City and forced open the path to the Final Holy Hall. But she never came out, and the Evil God did not die."