Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 257 The Ritual That Cannot Be Escaped
Jormungandr, whom we had previously heard about from the bear-men during interrogation. According to the teachings given to the bear-men, Jormungandr was about to descend and rule the world, bringing eternal calamity.

Only those who submit to it can be spared. Those who serve it wholeheartedly will also receive eternal life!
"Who is Jormungandr?" Su Ming asked.

"This is the second question!" Roggen's soul fluctuations grew even more triumphant, and strange energy began to entwine his spirit, slowly pulling him towards the sky. "Thank you for your cooperation. The ritual is complete. I'm leaving!"

Zijin tried to imprison Ruogejin's soul, but found that the energy, though seemingly weak, easily tore through her spell.

Upon seeing this, Qiluo immediately set off on all fours. By the time Ruogejin was pulled into the sky by the strange energy, she had already run more than a hundred meters away. Then, she plopped down in the snow, covering her head with her hooves.

Sure enough, as Roggen's soul became ethereal and transparent, rising higher and higher, he passed the divine scepter suspended in the sky.

The scepter spat at him disdainfully, and Roggen's soul immediately flew out with a snap, shattering into pieces after a heart-wrenching wail.

Even Su Ming was startled by the eerie spiritual energy, feeling a pang of discomfort in his heart and goosebumps rising on his body.

Before long, everything returned to calm. Ruogejin's soul shattered, and the Divine Staff also disappeared.

Although the result was not satisfactory, it did reveal that the core members of the Bell of Calamity possessed a mysterious religious ritual: their souls would be forcibly separated by answering a single question.

"Is the condition for establishing this ceremony to be answered any question?" The scholar began to ponder the details just now.

“Not necessarily. Next time, we can try if the killer isn’t present,” Newman suggested, glancing at Qiluo a hundred meters away.

The unicorn is poking its head out of the snow, shaking its head and flicking its mane to brush off the snow.

"Phew, it's finally over. Why do they all like to blow up poop?" she grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"What exactly is this Jormungandr?" Su Ming frowned. "And what is 'return'?"

"It's possible that it will return to the organization's members," Zijin speculated. "The necromancy system has many soul-based reconstruction spells. It wouldn't be strange if they chose one with fewer side effects and regained their mobility."

“Soul escape and reconstruction, it seems to be this technological configuration,” Newman analyzed. “I remember the Temple of Light also has something like this, right?” He turned to Violet, “Don’t the Covenant faction have a chance to be resurrected if they die unexpectedly?”

“That doesn’t count as resurrection,” Violet said. “It’s actually a transformation into a light puppet, which comes at a high cost and has significant side effects.”

“That’s for sure.” Newman stretched out his bony fingers and tapped his skull. “The fact that I can maintain consciousness for several years is entirely due to the deep cocoon inside.”

****
Everyone began to return to the train, leaving a crunching sound on the snow.

"Back then, did you ask Yeshia a question too?" Su Ming suddenly remembered this and asked Zi Jin.

Violet tapped her chin with her slender fingers, recalling carefully, "Yes, Yesia only answered one valid question for me, and then I performed the ritual to help her pass on." She quickly realized the problem, "That was the first time I used 'Holy Rebirth'—now that I think about it, her ascension shouldn't be the effect of my spell!"

“So, Yesia’s soul completed the ‘ritual’ and attempted to escape,” Su Ming murmured. “Then the Divine Scepter swallowed her whole!”

"It seems so." Violet nodded.

Qiluo excitedly clapped her front hooves, making a crisp clattering sound, "Yay, yay! As expected, the will of the plane is normal!"

"In short, with the Divine Scepter, we can deal with this scum without any repercussions," Newman said. "No matter how technologically advanced this cult is, they'll be heartbroken if we do this."

"It would be best if they were so annoyed that they'd avoid us!" Zi Jin put her hands behind her back, holding her bone staff horizontally, swaying with her steps. "It's really annoying, I've already killed four Saint-level beings—this will affect my reputation!"

"What reputation?" Su Ming didn't understand.

“Bloodlust, huh?” Zi Jin said seriously, straightening her back with her hands. “As a proper scholar, I can’t possibly ask someone to discuss academic matters and have them run away as soon as they hear my name, can I?”

"...How about we just kill a few more?" Su Ming suggested, "so that if others hear you're here, they won't dare to run away?"

Violet slapped his back with her bone staff.

****
"Wait, since the plane's will is normal!" Qi Luo finally realized, "That means the problem with Jormungandr is very serious!"

"Otherwise?" Newman rolled his eyes at her. "Your reaction time is too slow—when have you ever seen a divinely favored person take sides in a conflict?"

Qi Luo's ears drooped upon hearing this. "Why are you causing more and more trouble?" she lamented. "The free auspicious beasts have been completely implicated!"

“The evil god is right there.” Su Ming corrected her logical fallacy. “It’s not like he won’t pop out just because we don’t provoke him.”

"Shouldn't Queen Youhua take action now that things are in this situation?" Newman said.

“…I’ve already told my mother,” Qiluo replied. “She said she’s already handling it. Hmm, I need to send her a message about today’s matter as well.”

Qiluo Youhua, the "Millennial" Queen of the Silvermoon Forest, leads the combined forces of elves and unicorns.

Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief. This kind of inexplicable organization should be dealt with together with the major powers.

[Su Ming, what are your thoughts?] Zi Jin suddenly asked telepathically.

Su Ming sighed inwardly. [If I had a choice, I'd want to stay away from this.]

His and Violet's goal is to build a portal back to Earth and bring back some local specialties as gifts, but they are already facing difficulties enough.

Zi Jin agreed, "Things involving evil gods are difficult to handle. Several major powers have already intervened; there's no need for us to act recklessly."

"Hmm." Su Ming nodded.

"But if the Bell of Calamity and the jackals on Earth are proven to be connected," he continued, a hint of worry in his voice, "then we'll probably have to find out the truth!"

****
The repaired Youth Civilization train set off that night, the roar of the steam locomotive breaking the silence of the snowfield as it roared into Pagani Canyon.

The bottom of the canyon was riddled with potholes, and even the modified doomsday vehicle bounced violently in such conditions, causing the furnishings and objects inside to jiggle wildly.

"Slow down to 15 kilometers per hour!" Su Ming felt like he was about to boil from being shaken so much.
Sure enough, once the speed decreased, the bumpiness also decreased significantly. That's the advantage of electric drive; you can adjust the speed however you like.

About three hours later, the Youth Civilization train finally traversed the most rugged section of the road. The wheels rolled over the last protruding rock and officially stepped onto the highest level of the ice field: the Third Step.

Su Ming had originally prepared many contingency plans for crossing the Shangling Mountains, such as a twin-engine formation traveling in a zigzag pattern, or splitting the load into two runs. But all these plans became meaningless after acquiring the Doomsday Motorcycle.

The rugged mountain road became a negligible distance in the face of the new locomotive.

The train then turned south, taking a detour to the Lorencia volcano.

This place was not on Su Ming's original planned route, but according to the adjusted plan, he would be there to accept the terms of the deal agreed upon by Princess Daphne: 123 necromancers, a technical support team, and building materials.

****
The following afternoon, the Youth Civilization Train had traveled 600 kilometers in a single day and night, and was about to arrive at the rendezvous point. From the perspective of a modern train, this distance would be incredibly short on Earth, but under the transportation conditions of this other world, it was an astonishing feat.

In the workshop, Su Ming carefully calculated the load data. They were still 1500 kilometers from their destination at the foot of the sacred mountain. The road was relatively smooth, and they should be able to reach it in two days.

There was enough fuel, but Su Ming needed to control the amount of cargo carried this time.

Gerus has recovered considerably; although her face is still pale, she is now able to move around. She is currently holding a book, leaning against a soft cushion, and slowly turning the pages.

"Should I apologize to Miss Iser?" Su Ming suddenly asked.

When they parted ways at the Him Cave, Iser appeared remarkably calm. But Su Ming had a gut feeling: this matter would definitely not end well.

Gerus closed the book, thought seriously for a while, and gently shook her head. "Mr. Su didn't do anything wrong in that matter. And if he were to apologize, he should say: 'I'm sorry I shouldn't have taken off your armor and made you appear in front of everyone wearing only a mascot pajama?'"

Upon hearing this, Zijin couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud, her long, light brown hair swaying gently as her shoulders shook.

Su Ming thought about it and agreed, "But she's clearly still angry! And she can use the incident in Shafenger Town as an excuse to make trouble!"

Gerus did not deny it at all, "At most, it'll just be you two fighting."

"I can't beat them!" Su Ming sighed.

If it were a fight to the death, that would be a different story. But in a simple exchange of combat skills, given Iser's quality and level, Su Ming would be completely outmatched.

“Perhaps…” Gerus pondered for a moment, “you could give Iser an apology gift?”

Click!

The pen in Zijin's hand suddenly broke into several pieces, and ink splattered on the table.

The scholar casually picked up a new pen and explained, "It's nothing, just a slight loss of control over my mental energy."

"Your injury isn't fully healed, so don't force yourself to work," Su Ming said to Zi Jin.

He continued to consider Gerus's suggestion and thought it was quite good. "Harmony is the most important thing in everything. I think Iser is quite reasonable."

Su Ming searched his mind and quickly came up with something suitable.

At his command, a gleaming object appeared in Su Ming's hand. He handed it to Jelus, "Take a look at this, what do you think?"

Gerus took it with a puzzled look. It was only about half the size of her palm, yet it felt heavy in her hand, and its metallic surface gleamed with a cold, dark gray sheen. On one side were four interlocking rings arranged in an elegant arc, and on the other side was a small tray.

Each ring is also inlaid with a raised conical spike.

Suddenly, Gerus had a flash of inspiration. She slipped the four fingers excluding her thumb into the rings and held them in her palm. Sure enough, the support plate rested firmly against her palm, and the curves of the four rings fit her hand perfectly.

When clenched into a fist, the four matte-painted cone tips seemed to gleam with a sharp light.

"A fistfight-style weapon?" Gerus asked in surprise.

“Yes, brass knuckles,” Su Ming replied. “Made of high-entropy alloy and metallic glass, it’s very sturdy.”

"...Why send this?" Gerus asked, puzzled.

“After she activates her weapon's special properties, she'll be unarmed, won't she?” Su Ming replied, “This might make up for it a bit.”

“But the price Iser paid for using ‘Stop War’ was that she herself could not use any weapons.”

“This isn’t ‘Ge’,” Su Ming said matter-of-factly. “Let’s give it a try. It’s just borderline. What if it passes the review?”

Testing the limits of censorship is a basic skill on Earth.

“Okay, fine…” Gerus held the brass knuckles, but something still felt off.

****
Light flashed again in Su Ming's hand as the materials quickly combined, and a beautiful light coral red box appeared in his hand.

The box has a delicate peony pattern on its surface, which gleams softly under the light.

"This box is beautiful," Gerald exclaimed. "It's a great way to package brass knuckles!"

Su Ming was somewhat surprised. "Packaging? No, it's not." He handed the box to Zi Jin. "I got you a sturdier pen."

Zi Jin looked up and glanced at Su Ming before taking the box and opening it. Inside was an elegantly designed ballpoint pen with a metal casing. Compared to the ordinary pen she had previously swiped from Su Ming, this pen felt noticeably better and had a substantial weight to it.

“This one is four-color,” Su Ming explained, gesturing for Zi Jin to hold the pen in her hand. “There are four color markings on the pen body; you can switch between them by pressing the button at the end of the pen.”

Zijin tried it out and found that as long as she aligned the desired color mark with one side of her line of sight and gently pressed the same button at the end of the pen, she could switch colors.

She quickly figured out the principle behind it: "It uses gravity sensing based on the way I hold the pen to determine the color I want?"

"Mm." Su Ming nodded.

"This structure is quite ingenious." Newman also curiously leaned closer, stretching out his bone claw to take a look. The principle wasn't unusual, but to make it so small and exquisite was truly remarkable.

With a flick of her left hand, Zi Jin summoned the brass knuckles from Gerald's hand, which flew over and landed on her wrist. With that, she punched Newman away.

The latter rolled to the other end of the carriage.

Rupert, with a pained expression, helped Newman, who also had a pained expression, to his feet.

"Why did you provoke her?" Rupert said in a low voice.

"What did I do to upset her this time!" Newman complained in a low voice as well. "Haven't we moved on from what happened before?"

Rupert shook his head helplessly; this master was truly hopeless.

Rupert was originally supposed to return to Bubing City with the priests' party before heading to Dawnlands. But that day he was very lucky to find several jars of fine wine in the cave.

Since they were setting off the next day, it would be inconvenient to carry these wine jars, and Rupert, not wanting to waste them, decided to take a small sip to try.

(End of this chapter)