"I'm in the Dragon Clan, what the heck is the Naruto Counterattack System?"

Chapter 72 "The Land of the Dead" Nibelungen

Kunlun Mountain.

A high mountain range that runs across western China, located on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and south of the Tarim Basin.

In Tibetan, it is called "Amani Muzanmu Song," which means "ancestral mountain," "the ancestor of all mountains," "the ancestor of the dragon vein," and "the mother of the national mountain." These names all highlight its prominent position in cultural history.

Many ancient myths are related to Kunlun Mountain, which is why it is considered the birthplace of the Chinese people.

In this place steeped in mythology, there exists an area called "Death Valley," also known as the "Gate of Hell" of the Kunlun Mountains.

Legend has it that shepherds living in the Kunlun Mountains would rather let their cattle and sheep starve to death on the Gobi Desert because there is no lush grass to eat than let them enter the ancient and silent deep valley of the Kunlun Mountains.

Back in the 1990s, a local geological bureau scientific expedition team ventured into the valley to investigate the mystery of Death Valley. On their way, they encountered a nearby rancher who had lost his herd of horses and entered the canyon.

The research team warned him that the canyon was very dangerous, but the herdsman ignored their warnings and entered the canyon anyway.

A few days later, the expedition team saw the herd of horses on the ranch, but did not see the ranch owner who should have been with them. So they followed the horses' tracks to look for him and found only a charred corpse, in the position of holding a gun and preparing to fire.

His clothes were torn, he lay face up, barefoot, his eyes wide with anger, his mouth agape, gripping a hunting rifle.

His face was no longer visible, but the fear on his face was still clearly visible.

No one knows what happened to him, but it has given the locals more to talk about over tea and added an eerie touch to Death Valley.

At the only pass in the valley, thousands of meters away, a cold wind blew into the guard post of the high tower through the window, and the red flag that was stuck at an angle was blown straight by the wind, while the thick beam of searchlight swept across the distant wilderness.

The wilderness outside the canyon is littered with wolf pelts, bear skeletons, hunters' rifles, and desolate graves, conveying a sinister and terrifying aura of death to every person who tries to enter.

Snap... Snap...

A squad of soldiers was conducting a routine patrol around the perimeter of the outpost. The sound of their combat boots clattering on the gravel ground added a touch of tranquility to the desolate and chilly night.

"Sending a bunch of kids who've barely reached adulthood or are even minors to participate in intensive training, and even having to transfer an elite squad from my hands to serve as instructors for those kids?"

Inside the command post deep within the base, a figure sat at a desk, flipping through documents handed to him. He looked up at the person in front of him and frowned, saying, "Have those old guys finally developed dementia?"

"Ha~ Who knows what they're thinking."

The woman, who was lounging on the sofa, yawned and said, "I heard they've got some kind of exchange program with Kassel College. What if the new recruits from the military region get swept up by the students they selected? Wouldn't that be a huge loss of face?"

"Hey, Colonel Zhou, since we drove them back last time, Death Valley hasn't been making any moves lately. Let's just give the team a short break."

"This is not it."

Zhou An swallowed the word "nonsense" that was on the tip of his tongue, frowned and remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and saying, "Fine, what you said makes sense. Let's let them go back to the military region for a few days."

This proposal must have been made after discussions among the seven families. He might not trust the other families, but he still believed that his great-great-grandfather wouldn't just follow along and would have his own considerations.

As if remembering something, Zhou An looked at the woman in front of him who was stretching lazily and shamelessly displaying her graceful figure, and said ignoring her, "Wan Hong, don't you want to give your second team a break?"

"Um?""

Wan Hong slowly lay back on the sofa, propped her cheek on her hand, turned her head to squint at him, and smiled, "What's wrong?"

Colonel Zhou, you're actually showing chivalry now? You wouldn't happen to have feelings for me, would you?

She was the captain of the second squad of the Inner Guard stationed in Death Valley, and also the eldest daughter of the 83rd generation of the Wan family. She was an A-rank hybrid with the power of the Word of Power: Vortex. She could have chosen not to be stationed in such a dangerous place...

Looking at the woman in the black combat uniform, with an ugly burn scar on her cheek and a hint of expectation in her playful eyes, Zhou An looked away and said indifferently, "I don't want it to be better."

"If you all leave, and something happens in Death Valley, I really won't be able to handle it alone."

As he spoke, he ignored Wan Hong's resentful gaze, picked up the phone beside him, and called the captain of the first squad, relaying the order from above to return to the military region and depart immediately.

"...—Obey orders. Don't ask questions about things you shouldn't know."

Zhou An frowned and said, then paused before softening his tone: "Don't worry, Death Valley was only opened three days ago, and it won't reopen until at least next month. You just need to get back before then."

"Oh, Captain Zhang, don't worry." Wan Hong skipped over and leaned close to the phone, laughing loudly, "I'm still here, aren't I? If any of those Deadpools come, I'll kill them one by one; if two come, I'll kill them both."

After a few laughs and curses, the phone call ended.

"You go out too." Zhou An reached out and pushed Wan Hong's head away. "It's your turn to keep watch tonight."

"Okay, okay~ I won't be in the way anymore, alright?"

Wan Hong rolled her eyes and drawled, glancing warily at his old, brick-like phone, and complained, "Seriously, you should get a new phone. This phone is probably older than you."

Having said that, without waiting for Zhou An to say anything more, he swaggered out.

Woo... howl... —

Death Valley at night is dead. Dust is blown up by the wind from above and flows into the strangely shaped, rugged rock walls on both sides of the canyon, creating eerie and chilling echoes that are even more terrifying than the sound of the wind.

It sounded like the low groans and hisses of humans, like countless voices—men, women, old and young—intertwined like wisps of silk, as if you could hear the resentment and malice hidden in the wind.

Wan Hong turned to look at the night sky behind her, where a helicopter was rising, its rotors whistling through the air, its searchlights piercing the darkness like swords, as it gradually flew away from the Death Valley base.

"Phew, a holiday is great."

Wan Hong tilted her head back and exhaled a long breath, the white mist from her breath drifting away in the night wind.

She has been stationed here for three years and has long been used to it all.

Within this Valley of Death lies a "small world," which the Secret Society refers to as "Nibelungen."

Regardless of its name, it is a fictional space created using alchemy, with folded interior spaces and frozen time. However, this space is real and is modified from a real space.

This Nibelungen is a modified version of "Death Valley".

Each space has its own unique rules, and the magnetic anomaly in this area is extremely obvious. The deeper you go into the canyon, the higher the magnetic anomaly value becomes, with a strong magnetism of at least 1000 to 3000 Gauss.

Under the influence of electromagnetic effects, the atmospheric electric field at the Earth's surface is enhanced, and the charges in the clouds are affected by the magnetic field.

This caused the clouds to discharge electricity, as if the thunderclouds were being drawn into and concentrated in the Valley of the Undying, which is why this area became a frequent lightning zone.

According to their analysis, the "master" who created this space is at least a third-generation species or a prince, most likely from the lineage of the King of Sky and Wind, and is currently in a deep slumber.

However, a hundred years ago, this "interface" of the Nibelungen would only appear once every few decades, and only once a year would the Dead Servants, corrupted by dragon blood, escape.

But as time went on, the "interface" appeared more and more frequently, and more and more Deadpools escaped from it.

This means that the "master" here is gradually awakening.

It's not that they don't want to take the initiative to attack, but that they can't do it right now.

Only by passing through the "interface" can one enter the inner space, but passing through the "interface" is almost impossible unless one receives an invitation and permission from the "master".

Even if you blasted this entire Valley of Death to smithereens, you still wouldn't be able to reach the Nibelungen.

For alchemists both at home and abroad, Nibelungen, the "Land of the Dead," is a sacred place. For thousands of years, they have racked their brains trying to enter, but they cannot enter on their own initiative unless invited by their master.

Therefore, they could only stay here, eliminate the dead servants who escaped from Nibelungen, and quietly wait for the day when the "master" of this place would awaken.

At this rate, that day shouldn't be far off.

The thought that the endless guard duty would eventually end made Wan Hong feel a sense of relief, even though she knew it meant death and sacrifice.

Even the alchemical sword she carried on her back was already scarred after years of relentless killing, let alone her, a living, breathing person.

The scar on her face was a burn mark left by the dragon blood splattered from the dragon-shaped Deadpool's body. This constant vigilance, even if her body could withstand it, her mental state couldn't.

"Then, what reason will that guy have to refuse me?"

A smile appeared on Wan Hong's face as she tilted her head slightly upwards to gaze at the dim moon over Death Valley. The night wind was as still as the moonlight...

silence?