Nightmare Light

Chapter 264 Eternal Fortress 3
In the heavily sealed experimental field, Ji Zhaohai tore off his protective suit.

Beneath his protective suit, his body surface was covered with dark cysts, his eyeballs moved, and a foul stench emanated from his pus.

Just one glance was enough to make the two emperors feel dizzy and their anger surged—a feeling they were all too familiar with, as such corrupt organizations often appeared in the bodies of mad, tainted lay teachers.

If someone is weak, they will quickly go insane after being corrupted, turning into a twisted and mutated monster.

However, a powerful person, such as an emperor, can use their strength to suppress such a corrupt process and keep themselves sober.

"Old friend, I will immediately gather the best folk healers and priests in the country. Don't be discouraged, there must be a way to cure you!" Tuoba Shou'an frowned and glared, speaking rapidly.

“No, Brother Tuoba,” Ji Zhaohai interrupted him, “that’s no longer the most important issue.”

His eyes were deep as he looked at his two closest old friends. He raised his hand and suddenly squeezed the swollen eyeball on his shoulder: "You and I both know that once you get infected to this stage, there is no chance of survival. I want to take advantage of the time I still have to do something more important."

He said to the two emperors, “My old friends, there are two most important things now—first, to stop the pollution from spreading further; second, to stop the culprit.”

The two emperors nodded.

Tang Qianguan asked him, "Zhaohai, Shou'an and I just discovered that many soldiers in the entire experimental field..."

“If I’m not mistaken, all the soldiers have been infected now,” Ji Zhaohai said. “However, the culprit hasn’t infected the two of you yet, so it’s holding back and hasn’t let the infection take effect in ordinary people.”

“You mean… the culprit… ‘He’?” Tuoba Shou’an frowned deeply.

“Yes, it is Him—the Lord of Fire for All People.” Ji Zhaohai nodded. “He has been whispering to me in my mind for a long time.”

A chill ran through the two emperors.

The Lord of Fire, who controls all life, is a corrupt and insane immortal.

And they personally invited this insane deity back to their base, and even invited Him to conduct experiments with them for several months?!

“No wonder His state was so strange when we first saw Him… We thought He didn’t care to talk to mortals, but we never expected…” Tang Qianguan frowned.

“If that’s the case, we must stop the infection from spreading now—the Eternal Fortress is above Deer Mountain, where all the royal family lives! Below Deer Mountain is Tangsheng City!” Tang Qianguan said.

“Old friend, I’m afraid the problem isn’t that simple.” Ji Zhaohai’s face was grim. He gave Tang Qianguan a deep look. “Dragon Head… when he corrupted me, he also passed on some knowledge to me.”

"He is the Lord of all fires, so His defilement naturally carries the nature of 'broadcasting'."

“When a person is corrupted by His power, that person will have the ability to ‘broadcast’ and spread it to people with the same attributes as him—that person wants to use this method to curse everyone.”

Ji Zhaohai sighed deeply: "Old friend, all the volunteers and soldiers who participated in the experiment in the entire Eternal Fortress are Mist Clan people."

Tang Qianguan's eyes widened, and his whole body swayed suddenly: "You mean..."

"Yes, the curse has been broadcast to all the Mist Clan."

Tang Qianguan's body trembled violently.

Seeing this, Tuoba Shou'an stepped forward and placed his hand on the shoulder of the Mist Clan Emperor: "Old friend, calm down! You are an emperor!"

After a good ten seconds, he smiled again and regained his composure: "Heh, to put it another way, this is a good thing—only the Mist Clan is cursed."

“Only the Mist Clan… that makes things much simpler.”

Tang Qianguan raised his head, looked at his two old friends, and smiled: "My two old friends, I regret to inform you that the task of stopping that person can only be entrusted to you two... You must stop Him."

The two remained silent, both having guessed what Tang Qianguan was about to do.

"I will lead all the Mist Clan away to find a place where we don't have to contact the other two races." His expression was firm. "I will not abandon my people. I will find a way to save them... We will survive."

Tuoba Shouan pressed down hard on Tang Qianguan's shoulder, and the latter patted his hand in return.

Ji Zhaohai wanted to go up and pat him, but his hand hovered in the air and he didn't pat him. He just squeezed out two words from his throat: "Take care."

Ji Zhaohai then said to Tuoba Shouan, "Shouan, you should also lead the Northern people away—I've been infected, and I could broadcast the curse to the Zhu tribe at any time. For your safety, you should also..."

“The northerners will leave,” Tuoba Shou’an grinned, “but I won’t leave.”

Ji Zhaohai frowned: "If you don't leave, how will the people of the North leave?" "Then don't worry about it. Anyway, I have a way to make them leave with their emperor, but I will go with you to stop him."

Tuoba Shou'an grinned, revealing a "northern man's" smile: "Northerners hate failure, hate being cheated, and hate abandoning friends... So, I'm going to go and beat that guy up."

Ji Zhaohai gave the tall, imposing Northern Emperor a deep look and said, "Old friend, if you insist on fighting alongside me... you won't be able to return alive."

"Heh." Tuoba Shou'an laughed loudly, "I'm a northerner! What northerner would be afraid of death? Besides..."

The Northern Emperor looked at Ji Zhaohai: "Old friend, you often say that you worry about all of humanity... Coincidentally, so do I."

Ji Zhaohai stopped insisting.

Tang Qianguan looked deeply at his two closest friends and said, "Well then, old friends... farewell."

After saying that, he turned around, waved to the two men with his back to them, and left the C4 experimental field.

His figure disappeared into the light outside the experimental field.

Ji Zhaohai and Tuoba Shouan exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.

Two days later.

Landmark, Tangsheng City, in the rain.

Tang Qianguan rode on horseback, watching tens of thousands of Wuzu people silently carrying their luggage, pushing carts and leading horses, forming a long line like ants, heading west outside the city.

He turned around in the rain and saw an extremely tall figure standing at the gate of Tangsheng City through the rain and mist.

In the rain, that tall figure blended into the light of heaven and earth.

Tang Qianguan smiled at him and waved.

Goodbye, old friend.

……

Tuoba Shou'an watched the Wu Clan members leave, remained silent for a few seconds, then turned around and walked back into Tangsheng City.

Several equally tall figures came forward to greet them.

"Your Majesty, what shall we do?" said a burly northern officer, his muscles bulging and his strong body almost covered in tattoos.

"Everything remains the same," Tuoba Shou'an said.

"Your Majesty! Please allow your subordinates to go into battle with you!" several officers shouted.

"No, you have more important matters to attend to!" Tuoba Shou'an interrupted the officer. "The emperor is not that important! The survival of our people is above all else!"

His gaze slowly swept over his attendants.

Finally, his gaze fell upon a burly officer who was very similar in build to himself.

“From this day forward, you will be Tuoba Shou’an,” said the Northern Emperor. “You will lead your people to find a new home; this is a heavy responsibility.”

“Your Majesty, I…” the officer hesitated.

"Stop! The emperor must be resolute, otherwise how will his people trust him? Be resolute!" The emperor of the Northern Lands raised his voice slightly.

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Tuoba Shou'an took one last, deep look at his loyal subordinates.

He nodded at them.

"The civilization of the northern people will surely endure."

(End of this chapter)