Light Fortress
Chapter 726 - 1: Land of Dreams (1 more update)

Chapter 726: Chapter 1: Land of Dreams (1 more update)

The snowstorm was fierce.

It covered everything.

An elite squad of six members struggled on their journey... Their shoulders adorned with the snowy-white emblem of lizards, the mark beneath the command of General Bai Xi of the North Continent.

All these Transcendents possessed strength of tier three or above, making them the absolute elite within the North Continent Investigation Corps.

The route they were taking was assessed as A-level dangerous by the "Deep Sea," starting from Gu Castle Fortress. After leaving the giant wall of the fortress, they boldly moved northward for twenty kilometers, followed by a fifteen-kilometer treacherous trek. They would encounter a huge Snow Mountain Canyon, shattered and compressed by a Black Hole. In the "Old World," such a collapsed, broken mountain was a natural labyrinth.

The Investigation Corps had discovered thirty-seven wrong paths in the past decade.

North of the fortress, there was not just the collapse of order.

There was also a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps, by traversing this canyon, humanity could see the oasis... At least, it might bring them closer.

The team maintained a winged formation, advancing slowly.

After leaving the giant wall, the air became thin; corrosive forces of collapsing order concealed in the snowstorm made it necessary for less powerful Transcendents to wear Source Energy Armor to move freely... Despite massive investments by the North Continent in researching and developing the latest generation of Source Energy Armor, it still wasn’t enough for the Investigation Corps to proceed recklessly. They had to return within the designated time, and if they encountered a storm during their exploration, the probability of survival was almost zero.

Most importantly, "Deep Sea" could not bridge the giant wall to establish Spiritual Link with these Transcendents.

What they saw and heard could not be transmitted back to the North Continent.

Thus... the most critical mission of the Investigation Corps wasn’t to investigate a safe route deep into the "Old World."

What was more important was to return alive.

Once dead, there would be nothing left.

"Exploration of the thirty-eighth route, the seventeenth attempt... So far, no problems, it’s time to change the source energy fuel," the squad leader, Hong Zhong, whispered in the main control channel, "All members, change your source energy fuel and prepare to return."

This was considered a successful exploration.

The previous thirty-seven routes, upon encountering a "dead-end" and the uncleanable "Black Hole," were deemed so before discovery too. Transcendents who joined the Investigation Corps had to possess strong mental endurance; they bore the most dangerous tasks of the North Continent, with 30% of Transcendents wounded during their missions each year.

The "Old World" hid countless crises, take this canyon for example... Phenomena of collapsing order were like shattered mirrors, hidden in every corner of the snowy mountains. If one tried to see them with the eyes, they would certainly be deceived.

And if one touched the dark spots, even for just a moment, a Transcendent’s body would suffer severe, untreatable damage.

Transcendents able to join the Investigation Corps surely possessed extremely strong spirits and firm mental fortitude.

And North Continent military equipped everyone with devices to check for "free source essence."

The six-member squad paused on the spot to replace their spare source energy fuel.

They were in a fissure of the canyon, yet the place was excessively bright, even somewhat dazzling... Massive amounts of flying snow reflected patches of intense white light.

It looked... as if there was brightness ahead.

The brightness was almost blinding.

In reality, every Transcendent in the squad knew that nearby, with high probability, hid a massive "collapse of order" point, and this bizarre scorching sunlight was its accompanying Extraordinary Rule.

Just as everyone was preparing to return.

The detection device emitted a low hum.

"Free source essence detected ahead."

Someone spoke tensely over the channel.

Hong Zhong immediately issued an order, "Everyone, stand by."

The device’s warning tones... signified the presence of proximate "disperse essence"; he had encountered this situation numerous times on missions northward.

"Black Holes" were certainly terrifying.

But they grew very slowly and lacked consciousness—they wouldn’t initiate an attack, meaning... as long as they weren’t touched, no danger would be encountered.

In such situations, standing by was the best choice.

Observe first, then decide.

The disperse "essence" could be a splitting phenomenon of collapsing order, perhaps a single Black Hole becoming too massive, thus dividing into... two?

The six-member squad instinctively rallied, using the device to look for loose points of the "essence," as a hair-raising phenomenon occurred.

When the device was turned toward the direction of return, the low alarm sound became very sharp.

The device’s alarm explained one thing.

The unordered essence of collapsing order was surging from the direction of return.

The team fell into a dead silence.

Undoubtedly, this was devastating news. There was only one path to return, and according to the alarm’s indication on the detection device... that path had been severed.

The irony was.

Under the massive snow-white blazing light, that narrow path of return, was clearly dazzling.

"Captain..."

A young rookie who had not been part of the team for long instinctively moved closer to Hong Zhong. He stared blankly at the direction indicated by the detection device’s alarm, his voice hoarsely asking, "Are we... unable to go back?"

Hong Zhong silently watched the scorching long path.

Of course... he answered silently within himself.

This entire canyon was full of fragmented dead-end paths.

The correct path was only one, and naturally, so was the path to return.

Whether there was a path out of the canyon, he did not know.

But the one leading back to the North Continent had just been submerged.

The saddest thing was, on the "visual" level of the naked eye, that path still existed... This was simply Destiny’s cruel mockery. If a snow mountain collapse had occurred, at least everyone would know that the path had been cut off, and there was no longer any possibility of going home.

"What do we do now?"

Within the dead silent team, an experienced veteran steadied his breath.

All eyes turned toward the captain.

"Reserve energy... if everything goes smoothly, it should be enough to last another month."

Hong Zhong used great effort to keep himself from looking back in the direction of home. He looked toward the thirty-eighth route that they had halted on and whispered, "Our hope is not lost... There might still be a possibility."

The other five teammates were stunned.

Then they realized what the captain meant...

Yes.

There was another possibility.

That was the Investigation Corps’ thirty-eighth route was viable, they had left the canyon... and beyond that canyon, there supposedly was the legendary "oasis."

"We have no other choice, do we?"

Hong Zhong rubbed his cheeks and whispered, "Either we’re buried under the snow, becoming unmarked bones or we make it out of the Snow Mountain and return as heroes laden with success."

The low morale within the team was swept clean.

Everyone saw "hope," faint as it was... yet in desperate times, that sliver of hope was enough to make a person give their all.

"Now, everyone rest up for three minutes. After three minutes, we will continue to explore the complete thirty-eighth route. If anyone wishes to give up on moving forward, speak now, and I will respect your decision, but the road home has already been thoroughly severed."

Hong Zhong adjusted his wristwatch, setting a countdown for three minutes, then calmly said, "Our source energy fuel is limited, once we start, there’s no stopping. If anyone gives up midway, they will be considered deserters... Gentlemen, the time to make your decision is now."

After saying all this.

Hong Zhong extended his palm, facing upward, silently waiting for a response.

It was a silent three minutes.

Also, three minutes of struggling with one’s inner demons.

Three minutes passed—

A hand landed on Hong Zhong’s, a long-time teammate sighed, smiled, and said, "You’ve always been lucky, I bet you’re still lucky this time."

Hong Zhong silently smiled.

"Cap... count me in too."

The young man took a deep breath and was the second to place his hand on top.

Soon, six hands were all stacked together.

"If so... gentlemen, let’s move forward together."

Everyone held their breath, looking forward, at what should have been the endpoint of their expedition. This time they intended to continue the "journey," either to be buried in the Snow Mountain or to find a new path out.

However.

Nobody expected... that this journey would not last long at all, and no desperate situation of running out of necessities as anticipated ever occurred.

But a few minutes later.

The squad had reached the exit of Snow Mountain Canyon. The thirty-eighth route was correct; this maze that had troubled the Investigation Corps for nearly a decade had at this moment found its correct answer... the fierce sound of wind and snow in the distance was no longer intense.

The equipment’s detection of source energy also gradually ceased.

The pointers on the dials gradually returned to zero, no one dared believe it was real, if there existed a world in the "Old World" where source material no longer dispersed, then this place must be the legendary "oasis."

Six people stood at the grand canyon’s exit, staring blankly at the scene before them.

After leaving the shattered canyon, their view suddenly opened up; before their eyes lay the boundless Gao Tian, swirling white clouds, and the slowly spreading and melting snow.

Hong Zhong looked dazed.

It turned out that only advancing a little bit more... truly just a little bit more, would have brought them to this "land of dreams."

Perhaps, all this was guided by the Goddess of Destiny.

The Goddess of Destiny had once again favored him, severing the path back, only to grant rebirth.

"Hiss..."

A faint whooshing sound came from beside his ear.

Hong Zhong instinctively turned his head to look back, only to discover the road they had come by was, unknowingly, covered in shadows; the brightly dancing snowflakes had lost their luster, falling one by one on both sides of the mountain wall, seemingly slowly wriggling.

It was like... scales?

The next moment...

A massive shadow, with a whoosh, sped overhead at a terrifying speed.

Immersed in the joy of discovering the "oasis," the team members had already noticed the anomaly, a slight and harsh wind caressed their cheeks, carrying a moist, bloody smell.

"Heaven... why has it darkened?"

Someone murmured softly.

The gigantic shadow finally stopped its high-speed motion and slowly began to envelop everyone.

The six people looked up.

The world darkened.

And two streaks of brilliant vertical light burst forth from the shadow, like suns burning in the night, firmly locking onto them.

Those were two gigantic "Snake Eyes."

And the moist, bloody wind was the sound of a snake hissing.

"Hiss..."

"Hiss..."

The thirty-eighth route, made of countless shattered snow, on both sides of the mountain wall at the snow mountain’s exit, began to gradually move, tens of millions of scales collided, like gunpowder ignited the flying snow, burning out blazing and dazzling Holy Light.

A huge snake, hissing with its tongue, just like that, coldly raised its forebody, wrapped its snake body, and passionately embraced the explorers who had glimpsed the light.