The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

Yonglin took a step back warily and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Joshua, whose side are you on?"

Sensing the menacing hostility emanating from behind, Black Panther did not turn around. Instead, he stared intently at the distant sea beneath the night sky, as if his gaze could pierce through the long distance severed by the darkness and reach the other side.

“Young man of the Yagokoro family, whether you like it or not, the Rosetta people named Joshua would never betray the sea of ​​trees that gave him birth and his people… But before that, the justice he upholds compels him to repay a favor, a favor that belongs to the son of the earth.”

"Then what about your name? I've wanted to ask this from the beginning. There's not a trace of a Tree Sea Clan in your name; instead, it's mostly associated with the Child of Earth." Eirin couldn't convince herself to believe his words, and he persisted.

“This is also why I have no face to return to the Sea of ​​Trees in this life.” Joshua leaped from the balcony onto the roof. “Young man, leave some room for your predecessors to wallow in self-pity. In the Fourth Age, when the Children of Earth have disappeared, the future is destined to belong to you.”

"Where are you going!?"

Yonglin chased after it to the rooftop, only to see the black panther leap into the night. The dazzling light dispelled the darkness of midnight, and wings made of holy light lifted the saint's body and flew away to the other side.

Eirin stood alone atop the small building, seemingly lost in thought, gazing at the radiant light that was rapidly disappearing into the distant sea. She murmured to herself, "Is there anything more ironic than that? A dark species forbidden from boarding the Ark became the last saint of that deity to walk on earth."

"some."

"No."

"How stingy."

“Mr. Hearn, this is indeed the last single-soldier flying vehicle. If you don’t mind, I can hold you by the back of the neck and fly with you.”

Do you take me for some rich lady's pet teddy bear?

Mr. Hearn rolled his eyes.

At the Silver Harbor, atop the lighthouse, the evening wind from the ocean inexplicably grew fierce after that thunderclap, and the large flag atop the tower occasionally emitted a cracking sound that seemed like leather separating and disintegrating.

The Mech Clan lady, draped in a worn gray cloak, stood against the wind, looking like a white-faced owl that had encountered a weakling it could bully, its swelled-up. Feeling uncomfortable, she simply folded up the cloak and put it into what she called the standard Alpha-type individual strategic storage compartment.

After watching with a subtle expression as she skillfully slit a shimmering blue opening in the air and nonchalantly stuffed the cloak inside, Mr. Hearn twitched his lips and slit another blue opening beside him, casually pulling out the cloak.

"You're also an Alpha type?" The machine girl was shocked, then quickly corrected herself, "No, I'm the only successful case of the Alpha type. Although we retrieved subsequent Omega types from the database before completely severing the link with the central system, unlike those general models, the experimental models related to the Fire Stealer project involving the application of Prometheus particles never had a male body design from beginning to end."

As she finished speaking, Pandora's gaze unconsciously began to linger on someone's crotch, and a hidden, pre-existing function began to load in her dim purple eyes...

"There's no need to prove that. Just shut down the process you just started." Mr. Hearn keenly realized what this massive iron beeping machine in front of him had just done. He waved his hand with gentlemanly composure, no longer delving into the topic. "Facing that [Hive Central] is something I'll have to do sooner or later. Let's leave all the problems for when the time comes. By the way, our guest seems to be in trouble."

He looked out to the distant sea, towards the direction where the lightning had struck. There seemed to be fire rising there, which dyed the midnight night sky as red as the evening glow.

“Although I have some ocean aptitude, I am still inefficient for long-distance underwater travel.” Pandora took out a small, dark gray drone from the void, with only a handle for one person at the bottom of the fuselage. “The communication mechanism has been melted down beforehand, so there is no need to worry about the location of the central hub.”

"Get me one too," Mr. Hearn said, his eyes lighting up.

"No, there has always been only one example of an all-terrain accessory that is standard equipment for individual soldiers."

"some."

"No."

"How stingy."

“Mr. Hearn, this is indeed the last single-soldier flying vehicle. If you don’t mind, I can hold you by the back of the neck and fly with you.”

Do you take me for some rich lady's pet teddy bear?

Mr. Hearn rolled his eyes.

"Ok?"

His gaze caught a glimpse of the afterglow, or at least it seemed so to him. The next moment, he leaped into the night, his figure soaring through the night sky in a way that defied common sense, and he himself seemed quite used to it.

“Mr. Hearn, you don’t seem to need that kind of trivial prop.” Pandora said with an expression that seemed to have expected this.

“There is a difference between having fun and instinct. Miss Reinhardt, you go to the scene first. I need to meet with an old friend who has suddenly gone mad and ask him what triggered him. Be quick and don’t let him see you, or things will not end well.”

"learn."

Pandora Reinhardt then activated the small drone, and the ingeniously designed and portable mechanical creation immediately emitted a ghostly blue tail flame, disappearing into the night sky above the near sea with the Mech Lady.

After that wisp of deep blue completely faded into an insignificant dot in her field of vision, the believer Hearn chuckled to herself, "Next time I'll have to teach her how to fly using her own power. What Prometheus particle? If I ever run into that [Central Hub], I'll definitely demand a royalty fee first."

After speaking, his figure vanished from his original spot, and the next instant he directly blocked the path of the dazzling light, forcing it to stop.

“Joshua, although you’ve always planned to cleave me in two with a single sword strike to prevent me from harassing Miss Jiang Xue again, why would you risk your life now, after hiding it so well until now? You’ve always considered yourself an ordinary swordsman, you should know better than me what it means for a living saint to be exposed in Thranheim now.”

“Hearn, don’t block me. We’ve known each other through swords, so you know the origin of my holy light. I never intended to bear this power to slaughter my own people, but my mentor has spent his whole life proving that power restrained by will can be used for the righteous path.”

Black Panther stopped and stared at his best friend, whom he had only known for half a month. He gripped his weapon tightly in his right paw—a weapon wrapped in bandage-like fabric, its true nature unknown.

“First, your mentor is a son of the earth who crossed the sea to the west in his early years; he comes from the Far East. Second, believe me, my friend, your will is worthless before your god.” The believer’s expression was indifferent, as if she had already seen through the black panther’s thoughts.

"So your will is worth a fortune?" Time continued to pass, and Black Panther's patience was nearing its limit. When the other party mentioned his long-deceased mentor, this patience finally succumbed to the wildness in Rosetta's bloodline and turned into rage. "Besides, don't speak of that person in such a flippant tone. He spent his entire life searching for a way for the Children of Earth and the Dark Species to coexist. He was not on the same side as Yale, which ignited the war in the Third Age!"

"Even if he left behind a dying wish, such as to protect the last few strands of bloodline of that mortal empire of the Third Era? That Yale, which you call the place that ignited war, slaughtered your compatriots, and drove them to the underworld to eke out a living for thousands of years. When you realized that its last heir was about to return to this ancestral land, you jumped out without any dignity and willingly served it?"

Hern's lips curled up slightly, his voice sounding both sorrowful and mocking, his words ruthless in both respects.

"Moreover, Joshua, the phrase 'worth a thousand pieces of gold' comes from the Far East, and most of the surface inhabitants living in Thranheim today do not refer to themselves as dark creatures or to certain divinely created species, except for—the Sons of Earth."

“Hearn…you are an outsider, you have no reason to stand here.”

Joshua did not give up; he suppressed his anger and tried to persuade him.

"I was originally lying in my own bed, but now that I'm here, I can't stay out of it."

Hearn's words sounded more like the ravings of a madman, incoherent and incomprehensible.

"So, what do you want in return? The entire port's coastal defense forces have been alarmed by the strange phenomena in the ocean. If we fight, it will only bring unnecessary trouble and bring no benefit whatsoever."

"It's very simple. You know I've dug up quite a few graves in the past two weeks. And because I still have some 'foot strength' left, these dug-up graves are scattered all over the north and south. By chance, there was one that belonged to the tomb of a Son of Earth from the Tertiary Period. The tomb owner once held an important position in the capital of Yale and had close ties with the clergy of the Yale Church. His tomb is inscribed with fragments of the last divine oracle from the Lord of Light before the 'Day of Heaven's Weeping'."

"No, Hearn, you can't do that... Shut up, Hearn!"

The enraged black panther suddenly became fearful. He looked up at the boundless night sky for no reason, as if some indescribable being was hiding in the shadows that even light could not illuminate, listening to their conversation.

"When the stars are in their proper places, the last Rhine will return the crown of the heavens to the land of immortality."

"Enough, Hern! Any soul that has not been cleansed by the Holy Light will be aware of this final divine oracle. This is our sin, the inherent sin of all divinely created beings. Shut up!"

"At that time, the White Moon and the Lord of Ether will regain His divinity, and His light will once again shine in the heavens, just as He once did in..."

The words of the believer Hearn came to an abrupt halt. Less than ten steps in front of him, a dazzling light broke free from the restraints of the hidden holy sword and shot straight into the sky, completely illuminating the sleepless night.

A long howl could be heard hidden within the light, its sound vast and resounding.

"My Lord is here!"

"Old Chen! Old Chen! Wake up! Don't scare me! You're the only reliable person I know on this ship. You can't leave first!"

In his dazed state, someone was pinching his philtrum, but it wasn't as effective as the punch that landed on his abdomen. Driven by a wave of nausea caused by external pressure, he vomited up the seawater that had been choking him for so long and slowly regained consciousness.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw the young Wind Rider who seemed to have just been chatting and joking with him. The young military officer quickly regained his senses.

Then my next thought was to tell the other party to keep it a secret.

He was indeed a first-class military officer. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and was proficient in all kinds of weapons, including swords, fists, and kicks. He also had some knowledge of the methods of controlling qi and cultivating the spirit. No matter how you look at it, he was more than qualified to serve as a first-class military officer in charge of protecting ships.

Except for not being able to swim.

"Pah, little brother Yalan, you must keep my lack of swimming skills a secret, or I'll lose my job..." Old Chen, having regained his senses, grabbed the young man's shoulder and shook him violently.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute! Who cares about this now? The westward fleet is finished. Our priority is to save our lives!" The Wind Rider in front of him seemed to be on a different wavelength, responding incoherently to his question.

"Save my life? Wait, you said the westward-bound fleet has already..."

The dutiful first-class military officer then fell silent. All he could see was a sea of ​​fire. The once enormous fleet was now reduced to a mere tenth of its former size. A nine-headed giant serpent, which appeared out of nowhere, shimmered with a mesmerizing blue and red light. The superstructure of the main ship, which was tens of meters high, was reduced to fragments like a toy beneath the serpent's body, which was more than a hundred feet long, and sank into the cold ocean.

What was most despairing was that there was more than one of those strange nine-headed giant serpents. They slithered in from all four directions and attacked the fleet at the same time!

Even the celestial phenomena changed; the icy seawater was thrown into the sky, then turned into boiling hot soup that fell to the ground, setting the remaining ships ablaze.

For a moment, apart from the pitch-black sky, the burning ocean, and the nine-headed sea monsters whose armor gleamed with strange light, only the inexplicable howling remained in the entire world.

That was a harbinger of an impending storm.

The two stood on a small, still-safe boat. Each ship was equipped with such small boats for emergencies, but their numbers were limited.

Old Chen was grateful for the Wind Warrior's righteous rescue, but after expressing his gratitude, he felt deeply that his fate was bleak and his future was hopeless.

Light……

Almost at the moment when the Dragon Man military officer was disheartened, a vast expanse of light shot into the sky from the deep ocean in front of the small boat, to the spot where the Bifang power ship they had been aboard had sunk to its death.

The next moment, all the remaining fleet members were speechless.

In the light that dispelled the boundless darkness, a colossal god forged of light emerged from the waves, severing the serpent's head with his sword and driving it away. The divine figure was as dazzling as the sun and as majestic as the Eight Sacred Mountains, vanquishing all evil and illuminating all living beings.

"Heavenly soldiers!"

The crowd gasped in astonishment and immediately bowed in reverence.

"Is this the glorious lord you worship?"

Old Chen snapped out of his daze and pointed at the giant god with four wings, asking the Wind Rider a question.

“No, He is just like us, one of the most devout servants of that great Lord.” Aran’s eyes reflected a radiant light. The presence of a being from mythology in the mortal world bestowed upon him, a believer who considered himself not particularly devout, a sense of honor. As a witness to miracles, his heart was pounding with the same fervor, and for a moment he was speechless. “In our doctrine, they are called…”

A declaration that sounded like salvation echoed from the sky above the roaring sea. The voice was as melodious as a nightingale's song to Aran's ears, even though it was extremely solemn at this moment.

"I am Salome Reinhardt, the last heir of the Rhine Dynasty. To all those still alive in the company, I command you to temporarily set aside racial prejudices and do your utmost to help and coexist with one another. All the enemies of all things that invade will be left to us to hold them off. The glory of the Lord will protect you and ensure your safe arrival at the shore..."

"What are you all standing there for, Alan?! Aren't you a Wind Rider? Hurry up and steer the boat towards the shore!"

Old Chen shook the dazed Wind Rider and said anxiously.

“But, but…” Alan’s gaze was fixed on that direction, as if he wanted to imprint the frail figure standing on the giant’s left shoulder into his eyes.

"But what? His Highness is much better than you. You should worry about yourself first. Just sail the boat back to shore and wait for His Highness to return!"

"……I see."

Alan remained silent for a moment. He shook his head, which was flushed with hot blood, and finally managed to regain a bit of calm. After thinking for less than half a breath, he fully understood what he could do and what he was powerless to do, and chose the correct option within his reach.

The small boat, driven by the wind-controlling sorcerer, quickly carried the two of them across the waves, leaving the ocean that had long since turned into a sea of ​​fire, and sailing towards the nearshore waters.

"My Lord is here!"

A faint whistling sound reached his ears. Alan turned and looked into the distance. He saw a storm brewing between heaven and earth. Dozens of unfinished water dragons were being drawn from the sea to the sky. Purple lightning and blue light, along with the furious thunder and fire of heaven, illuminated the eternal night sky with their hideous patterns. As the distance increased, the reassuring holy light flickered like a candle flame in a downpour.

As the lightless sky began to weep, a meteor that stained half the sky red fell from the heavens, plummeting straight towards the center of that holy light. The young Wind Rider felt as insignificant as an ant and ultimately lost the courage to turn back.

……

Chapter 87 Blood Sea Pact

Above the raging sea, a faint blue light vanished in an instant.

That was the exhaust flame of a manned drone. Pandora Reinhardt was hanging from the drone with one hand, flying rapidly toward the center of the storm from a height of several meters above the sea.

Dozens of tornadoes, already formed, connected the dark, cloud-covered sky with the surging, vast ocean. Bottomless whirlpools, like the eyes of the ocean, moved across the iron-gray ocean following the trajectory of the tornadoes. Pale white foam surged and churned with the crashing waves, while in the center of the storm, thunderous roars had never ceased since they began.

The situation was much worse than expected, by more than a thousand times.

Pandora wondered if she had gone mad. She risked crashing and being destroyed to go to the center of a natural disaster just because of a casual remark from a man she had only met less than a week ago. And the cause of the incident was a group of Earth Children whose very existence was uncertain and who had no connection to her.

If it weren't for the occasional small boats, enveloped in a warm, eggshell-like glow, struggling to escape towards the coastline under the influence of some unknown magic, she might have even suspected that the fleet from the Far East was merely a joke, a performance by that man and the local dragon people to secretly kill her, a mechanical creation regarded as the "enemy of all things" by most divine beings.

Pandora never really cared about those divinely created species and the civilizations they rebuilt on the surface after entering the Fourth Age. This was not some unfounded arrogance, but rather stemmed from the stark reality that those civilizations rebuilt by the native inhabitants of the surface had no idea what the apocalyptic catastrophe they were facing was. The gap in information alone had reached such an incurable level that how could they possibly seek any chance of victory in other areas?

Who else can they rely on? Including those sons of the earth.

God?

“It’s no use…” Pandora murmured softly.

"why?"

A voice suddenly came from the blank space beside her. Pandora turned her gun around almost instantly, only to see a somewhat familiar face with a very friendly smile peeking out from the crack.

This crack, flowing with an almost liquid, eerie blue luster, is revealed to the world as a broken scar. Even more miraculously, its true form maintains the same flight speed as Pandora, rapidly tearing apart the world's natural scenery along its path, only to heal itself completely at its tail end.

“Your application of the Prometheus particle…is far more proficient and skillful than mine.” Pandora admitted that the bizarre scene was so horrifying that she fell silent for a moment, but then commented on it.

"If a thief were more familiar with the use of a tool than the original owner, the original owner would probably have been so ashamed that she would have committed suicide." The believer Hearn was quite moved by this. He flew out of the rift and truly became Pandora's equal.

"The thief and the original owner?"

"That question will naturally come to light once I confront your central leadership. However, before we reach our destination, you must first answer the question I just asked."

"About divinely created species?"

"Regarding the gods and your central authority, I know that all the intelligent species currently active on the planet Thranheim are just a bunch of tricks played by a group of unknown beings of higher status. To them, this planet is nothing more than a gladiatorial arena for amusement, and I am just a poor stranger who was unlucky enough to end up in this arena."

"You are very self-aware of your situation."

"Having self-awareness is one of the few strengths I have had since I was a child."