Who left their last words here?

Chapter 109 The Second Stage of the Qualifying Test: An Extremely Terrifying Discovery (Part 2)

"rustle……"

The branches of the strange tree with the human face swayed.

The little black cat followed far behind the group.

The road paved with bones has been worn into a wide avenue, and occasionally, one can see the grotesque corpses of bone beasts by the roadside.

These might be the "specialties" of this dense forest; each corpse carries an eerie aura that shakes one's reason, making them exceptionally terrifying.

In addition, there are circular piles of sacrificial bones everywhere, giant bone arches inlaid with sheep heads, and rows of vertebrae standing on the ground...

On each straight, upright spine hangs a skull that flickers with spiritual blue flames.

There were also pale giant trees made of bones that had broken in half, huge skulls that looked like small mountains that had fallen to the ground, and murals made of bone fragments that had been torn apart.

In this mysterious forest of skeletons, similar wonders are countless and can be seen everywhere.

Although he knew nothing about them, Bai Zhou knew from his rudimentary observations that these were beings he could not possibly deal with!

High risk!

Any one of them, if it could still move, would be more dangerous than the E-level black box and the "Self-Portrait of Louis XVI"!
But now, they have lost all their vitality and are crushed to pieces by the passing army of skeletons.

The white boat followed at a distance behind the vast army of skeletons, causing all evil spirits to scatter, and easily traversed most of the dense forest of bones...

At the end of the forest, a high slope comes into view.

After walking several hundred meters, the view suddenly opened up.

The yellow earth was covered in dust, and a majestic, snow-white fortress stood amidst the hazy, endless yellow sand.

A statue of a giant eagle hangs on the city wall, while a stone statue of a human face with two faces, one in front and one behind, stands on the city gate.

This strangely shaped, majestic city is backed by steep mountains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is adjacent to a dense forest of skeletons, like a wedge driven into the only exit of the forest.

It's as if this fortress was specifically built to guard against anything that would emerge from the forest of bones.

A faint humming sound emanated from the giant city, as if some kind of ritual was maintaining its operation.

Even from a great distance, Bai Zhou could hear the commotion coming from the city... as if some kind of celebration was being held?
"hometown……"

Upon seeing the distant, stark white outlines of the city walls, the skeleton army immediately became restless.

The blood-red skull clenched its knuckles so tightly that its hands cracked.

"We're back!"

This place was once the home of their Bone Clan ancestors, but now it has lost all trace of the freedom that once characterized the tribe; all that remains is a giant city.

Those pale city walls were clearly forged from the bones of their people, condemning them to eternal damnation!
"I came, I saw..."

He raised the pickaxe, its sharp tip gleaming in the blood moonlight.

it says:

"We conquer!"

Give an order!
The army stood solemnly and began to form ranks.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The war drum, made from his own rib, rang out loudly, and the army marched forward with high morale.

A cloud of smoke and dust rose up, and the huge commotion attracted the attention of the city gate guards.

A blinding golden light shot into the sky from the top of the city wall.

"Who is violating the situation!"

The golden light was not warm or holy at all; instead, it carried a metallic coldness and sharpness, a domineering and aggressive sense of oppression that made every observer feel as if a sword was pressed against their neck.

When the golden light hovered in front of the city wall, its oppressive aura pressed down like a tsunami. The moment the smoke and dust dissipated, its true form, resembling that of a god, was revealed.

A divine being clad in magnificent golden armor stood in the sky. The giant was nearly three meters tall, and the visor of his helmet covered his face. The muscles on his arms and thighs were like sharp, angular diamonds.

The simple battle skirt possesses a unique aesthetic, with a standard insignia on the chest, a sword and a blade standing crossed in front of the shield, just like the emblem of an adventurer.

Bai Zhou, who was observing from the edge of the dense forest in the distance, took a deep breath and felt his heart pound with fear.

What a powerful golden-armored deity!

An extraordinary being capable of levitating like the Crimson Skull... unfathomable, is it the guardian of this city?

"Even undead dare to invade our territory?"

Golden pupils swept over the grotesque skeletons on the ground, their cold, godlike gaze sweeping over them.

As if following some kind of program, he spoke in a cold, stiff voice, announcing:
"Disrupting important celebrations and invading imperial territory—"

"Punish! Slaughter the nation, exterminate the race, and enslave them for eternity!"

Without any unnecessary words, the golden-armored god fiercely drew the short sword from his waist, its golden light radiating outwards, as if a great sun had fallen from the sky.

Faced with the undisguised gaze of the golden-armored deity, the golden flames in the blood-red skull's eye sockets suddenly exploded.

It raised its head and roared, leaping up from the ground, letting out a hoarse howl as it released its long-accumulated humiliation and anger.

"Rome--!!!"

With a roar, the massive skeletal body shot towards the golden god in mid-air like a crimson meteor!

They roared, they fought, gold and red intertwined.

Faced with the blood-red skull's frenzied attacks, the golden-armored god quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

"Even if you retain less than one-tenth of your spirituality, how could you possibly be my match?!"

The mark between the blood-red skull's eyebrows shone brightly.

With the blessing of the God of War's mark, the more high the fighting spirit of the chosen one is, the stronger their power becomes, which can even double to an unbelievable degree!
"I can suppress everything without the descent of gods!"

The pickaxe flew, and the blood-red skull, like a ball being hit, slammed the once majestic and arrogant golden-armored godman away.

"Warning! The evil is powerful! Requesting reinforcements for city defenses!"

A voice came from beneath the mask, and the golden-armored god who had been sent flying seemed to be calling out something.

The next instant, a response came from the city gate.

"Yes!"

Another, slightly smaller, golden-armored deity stood atop the city wall, appearing behind a ballista.

The crossbow was loaded and chambered; a blood-red bolt lay on it.

"Not good!" an elder among the skeletons exclaimed, shouting a warning to the blood-red skeleton.

"It's their exorcising arrow, specially designed to ward off evil! To pull out the filth!"

Even without them saying anything, the Crimson Skull was already on high alert.

"boom!"

The golden-armored deity on the city wall struck the ballista heavily.

The mechanism turned, and a blood-red lightning bolt shot out from the city wall, flying towards the blood-red skull with a shrill shriek.

An invisible aura enveloped the blood-red skull, and the skull, targeted by the arrow, suddenly stiffened, becoming almost unable to move.

Following closely behind, flying in alongside the crimson lightning, was the figure of the golden-armored god once again charging in.

"Kill!" With victory already assured, the golden-armored god charged forward with overwhelming force.

It was as if everything was already set in stone.

however.

"Ah."

The crimson skull merely chuckled softly.

Is he truly worthy of being called a leader? Facing the evil-repelling crossbow bolts that were specifically designed to counter beings like himself, the blood-red skeleton, trapped in a life-or-death situation, remained calm and composed, simply raising his head and letting out a long howl to the sky.

He shouted confidently—

"May the gods help me!"

"Buzz!"

The mark between his eyebrows immediately glowed, and a thunderous roar from the sky brought down golden lightning, knocking the blood-red "Evil-Slaying Arrow" away.

"Boom!"

The Evil-Slaying Arrow flew back and pierced the chest of the golden-armored god who was rushing towards them.

At this moment, the blood-red skull swung its pickaxe, drawing an exaggerated crescent-shaped arc in the air.

boom!
The golden-armored deity was violently cleaved away, his nearly three-meter-tall body suddenly split in two in mid-air.

Large clumps of blood mist exploded, as if red rain were falling all over the ground, and the upper and lower body separated far, far away.

The lower body landed in front of the battlefield, while the upper body landed near the exit of the dense forest.

"The goalkeeper is dead!"

The pickaxe spun like a top in his hand, the blood-red skull commanding the army, the pickaxe pointing at the city wall:

"Attack!" The roar was deafening, the earth shook.

The undead army began its siege.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

"...?"

In the dense forest of bones, Bai Zhou fell into deep thought as he looked at the half-corpse of the golden-armored god before him.

The corpse, which had been cleaved far away, fell into the dense forest. Bai Zhou followed the trail and chased after it, his heart pounding.

The upper half of the corpse was covered in golden armor, the face mask concealed its expression, and blood flowed from the waist, turning the surrounding area into a pool of blood.

Even when the tiger dies, its frame remains standing.

Even though he was dead, the golden-armored deity was still shrouded in a strange aura, which made Bai Zhou feel a suffocating pressure on his heart when he observed him.

The flesh and blood of the golden-armored deity resembled flesh and blood, yet also seemed to be some kind of special material. The blood flowed on the ground, but quickly solidified into small blood crystals that were half-solid and half-liquid.

"This... is just the goalkeeper?"

Does it mean a gatekeeper?
Bai Zhou blinked twice, feeling both disbelief and a vague sense of sudden realization.

No wonder that in its heyday, the Crimson Skull, which was far stronger than it is now, was wanted and forced to flee, and dared not return without seeking the power of the gods.

Even a lowly gatekeeper is this strong, capable of fighting against the Blood Red Skeleton in its normal state.

Rome was even more extravagant than Shiraishu had imagined!
What kind of civilization is this? How powerful must it be to have an extraordinary being capable of flying guard the city gates?!
In just a few thousand years, why is the world today so different from Rome back then?

What about these powerful extraordinary beings?
What happened in the middle?
"..."

Bai Zhou had previously thought that the test of taking the heads of Roman soldiers should not be difficult.

However, what does it look like now?

"Thank you for the gift from the gods!"

The black cat stood up like a human, and then bowed twice as if in reverence.

Next, Bai Zhou's gaze fell on the chest of the golden-armored deity.

—The blood-red "Evil-Slaying Arrow" was stuck there.

The ballistae placed on the city walls, seemingly as a key defensive weapon of Rome, made the powerful, blood-red skeletons feel threatened, and in the end, they even turned around and stabbed the golden-armored god to death...

But why does it look more like a tree branch than a crossbow bolt?
—You can't even see any signs of processing!
"No way?"

Bai Zhou examined the crossbow bolt closely, even noticing the bark and protrusions on it. No matter how you looked at it, this not-quite-straight "crossbow bolt" was clearly a tree branch.

Moreover, it was a very familiar tree branch!

"The one planted by the Scarlet Queen...?"

Bai Zhou was filled with doubt and unease; the more he looked, the more it resembled the person.

The blood-red tree is difficult to cultivate and nurture; its origin and function are unknown.

However, compared to the thick branches of the blood-red giant tree in the temple, this branch, which was used as the "evil-breaking crossbow," was much lighter in color and much thinner.

—This thing is enough to make the Crimson Skull so wary, using it specifically to exorcise evil and remove impurities?
Bai Zhou's heart was pounding rapidly; he could even clearly hear his own thunderous heartbeat.

After several attempts, Bai Zhou successfully pulled out the blood-stained "Evil-Slaying Crossbow" and put it away.

The purple-gold saber was drawn again, and Bai Zhou severed the head of the golden-armored god.

No matter how you look at it...

These are all excellent "Roman soldiers".

The requirements for the second stage of the assessment are now in hand!

Bai Zhou blinked and gently licked his dry lips:

"Second stage of the assessment, passed quickly!"

Feeling the burning heat of the God of War mark on his wrist, Bai Zhou was certain he hadn't made a mistake.

"Boom!"

Just as Bai Zhou was pondering this, a deafening roar suddenly rang in his ears.

Then, Bai Zhou looked toward the source of the sound...

The gates of the great city that the undead army was attacking finally collapsed with a crash.

The crimson skull couldn't wait and flew in first.

Under the watchful gaze of the two-faced human figures above their heads, the spirits of the dead filed into the city gate, as if returning in triumph.

The battlefield outside the city was in complete disarray, but it quickly became quiet.

The more intense battleground was moved inside the city.

Looking at the empty city walls, Bai Zhou seemed lost in thought, glancing down at his wristwatch.

35: 49!

"...There's just a little bit of time left."

Bai Zhou took a deep breath, turned back into a black cat, and quietly passed through the swirling yellow sand, climbing up the ravaged walls of Rome.

The minimum passing score for the assessment is already in place.

However, the assessment requirements were clearly stated: the higher the quality of the Roman soldiers, the richer the rewards the White Boat would receive.

A goalkeeper who merely guards the gate obviously doesn't hold a very high position in a city.

With a try-it-and-see attitude, he wanted to see if he could find something better in the last eleven minutes.

—Of course, this is on the premise of hiding and protecting oneself!
Fortunately, the war was raging and the undead army was advancing into the city. There would be no survivors in the places where they fought, so there would be no crisis threatening Bai Zhou.

As Bai Zhou walked along, he saw many more corpses of golden-armored gods. They were all wearing the same type of armor as the original golden-armored god, which showed that the goalkeeper's status was indeed not high.

However, the height of each golden-armored deity varied, with the tallest approaching three meters and the shortest just over two meters.

The taller the figure, the more suffocating the aura emanating from them, and the more parts of their body are covered by armor.

Unfortunately, Bai Zhou hasn't found anyone taller than the goalkeeper yet; at most, they're close or similar in stature.

After finally finding the corpse of a golden-armored god who was over three meters tall, Bai Zhou carefully lifted his mask to examine it.

It was different from what Bai Zhou had imagined—

Hidden beneath the mask was neither a blue-faced, fanged monster nor a decaying, rotting undead.

White skin, a sculpted face with sharp, almost flawless features...

Are these the Romans?

but……

Bai Zhou felt a strange sense of unease.

"Is something wrong?"

As if he had just thought of something, Bai Zhou suddenly froze.

Frowning, he raised a finger and carefully poked the golden-armored god's face.

It is very elastic and the skin is still warm.

Bai Zhou's gaze moved downwards, landing on his fresh flesh and the crimson blood flowing all over the ground.

"..."

The more Bai Zhou looked at it, the more horrified he became, as if a cold wind was blowing ominously from the depths of the dense forest of bones, making his hair stand on end.

This is wrong! It's definitely wrong!
Hot, fresh blood; elastic skin; and flesh that showed absolutely no signs of decay.

This is a——

"A living person?!"

Where did this living person come from? How could it be a living person?

Bai Zhou's eyes were blank, goosebumps suddenly rose all over his arms, and his heart skipped a beat.

He didn’t even know if it was just his imagination, but he began to feel a burning sensation in the place where the “Zhu Luo Ji” golden pass was hidden in his chest, as if he were holding a hot iron.

at this moment.

Bai Zhou's previous understanding of the deep formation of the Void Realm collapsed in an instant.

It was as if the world I had just gotten used to had turned upside down and become completely unfamiliar again.

With his values ​​in disarray and his thoughts in a jumbled mess, the unknown horrors surged like a raging tide, suffocating and engulfing Bai Zhou, who was frowning deeply.

Where is this place?

Deep within the Ruins!

The final gathering place! The place where the dead linger!

How can it be……

Are there other living people like me?!
(End of this chapter)