MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again
Chapter 281 - 37: Sacrifice

Chapter 281: Chapter 37: Sacrifice

The elf prince looked around at the dense trees, but he didn’t see any trace of the enemy.

He revealed a slight, relaxed smile, "It seems the plan was very successful."

As his words fell, a group of elf elders surrounded the entrance to the ruins and began chanting ancient spells.

As array patterns appeared in the sky, the ground started trembling, and the ancient elf ruins slowly rose from the earth’s depths.

From afar, the ruins resembled a war fortress, equipped with many ancient magical attack devices, and the caliber of the magic cannons was large enough to fit two people inside.

"Activating the ancient ruins requires a great deal of magic power. Elders, for the future of the elves, please sacrifice your lives!" the elf prince called out in a low voice, knelt down, and kowtowed to the elders.

The leading elder nodded with lowered eyes in a calm tone, "We have lived long enough. For the glory of the elves, Lepton, remember, you must lead our royal court to restore its former glory!"

"Lepton will surely fulfill the elders’ will!"

The grand elder nodded, then walked straight to the sacrificial altar. Originally, these altars were not meant for sacrifice but were embedding points providing magic power to the ruins. However, with the passage of time and the extinction of the giant demon crystals from ancient times, the elves had to replace them to provide the necessary magic power. To activate the ruins required an enormous amount of power, and even those at the peak of the Third Transition would be drained, thus it became a de facto sacrifice.

Over a hundred elders at the peak of the Third Transition took their positions, and a massive river of magic power pooled into the magic reservoir at the top of the ruins.

From top to bottom, the ruins were awoken layer by layer by the magic power, and the war machines from ancient times fully awakened.

"The elf ruins have been activated," the King of Shate patted Lu Hong on the shoulder and said, "Once they open the entrance to the ruins, we’ll launch our attack."

Nodding, Lu Hong summoned the Blood Holy Sword, determined to complete his revenge this time.

Elf Prince Lepton took a deep breath and walked up to a giant bronze door, placing his hand on it.

A burst of green light shone, and the door slowly opened. The King of Shate, holding his scepter, roared, "Attack!"

A sea of raging sands surged from all directions towards the ruins. Stimulated by the external threat, the elf ruins autonomously activated their defense skills. Eight wooden shields descended from the sky, suppressing the sandy waves stirred by the King of Shate.

"Kill!"

Lu Hong led the charge, with the elite guards of Black Country and Shate’s ambush troops closely following, rushing towards the elf ruins.

"Damn! How did they find out!" Elf Prince Lepton, furious, quickly pulled Miaomiao into the door.

"Block the gate and buy time for the prince!" The other elves drew their weapons and staunchly defended the entrance.

The elite guards, as the strongest force of Black Country and even Ambra, had a powerful leader from the early stage of the Third Transition for every hundred soldiers. Despite their numbers not exceeding seven thousand, their force was capable of defeating legions.

Little Black descended into the center of a hundred-men formation, summoning a roaring giant ape under the resonation of magic power, swinging its arms to clear the incoming arrows and pave the way for the troops behind.

Lu Hong moved like a specter through the rain of arrows, drawing closer to the bronze door.

"Stop him!" An elf at the early stage of the Third Transition stepped forward, conjuring a wooden mallet from green magic power and smashing it towards Lu Hong.

"Heavenly God Descends!" Lu Hong had no time to delay with these people and activated his powerful skill all in a rush, Blood River swirling, trying to clear a path for himself.

Of course, Lu Hong alone was not enough to overpower the elves. The King of Shate flew into the air, "Baron, I shall lend you a hand!"

As the King of Shate intervened, shapes of ancient sand beasts formed in the Blood River, and together, they finally tore open a rift in the elves’ defenses.

Lu Hong charged into the elf formation, engaging in close combat. The elves were brave, and Lu Hong could barely advance a hundred steps before being overwhelmed. As the saying goes, ’Two fists can’t beat four hands,’ especially against a group of ugly creatures adept with bows and daggers.

Soon, Lu Hong was drenched in blood. Even the defensive power of Heavenly God Descends couldn’t keep him unscathed under the hands of Third Transition powerhouses.

Fortunately, the vast army of Ambra also pressed forward, clashing with the elf formation. The King of Shate fiercely blocked the powerful elves, significantly reducing the pressure in front of Lu Hong.

"Blood Qi Shockwave!" Practical skills were always reused, repelling the encircling enemies, giving Lu Hong a chance to breathe. He tore open a gap and leaped into the bronze gate, with countless sharp arrows whistling behind him.

Ding ding ding~

Despite Lu Hong’s relentless blocking and defense, he was still hit by several arrows.

He had no time to delay. Enduring the pain, Lu Hong pulled out the arrows as a massive amount of Blood Qi instantly suppressed and neutralized the intruding natural forces within his body.

After consuming several Magic Potions, Lu Hong kept moving forward in the dim corridor.

There weren’t many mechanisms or traps inside the relic. The stone walls were carved with murals depicting the elven ancestors’ vast expansion wars and their rule over countless dimensions.

As he ventured deeper, Lu Hong knew each side room could contain ancient treasures of the elven race, but his primary mission was still to kill Miaomiao and avenge the old man.

About ten minutes later, he finally arrived at the core of the relic.

Two ancient tree guards stood in front of the final gate, their spears crossed, "Stop right there!"

"Get out of the way!" Lu Hong shouted as he struck with his sword, clashing fiercely with the tree giants. Perhaps due to the relic’s age and insufficient magic power supply, it took Lu Hong only a moment to defeat the two guards. He then kicked open the great door, finding the elven prince inside, clutching one of Miaomiao’s severed arms, weeping bitterly.

"Where is she?!" Lu Hong barked.

The elven prince didn’t respond to Lu Hong, his expression dim as he muttered, "Dead, all dead, then let all die! Let all die!"

"Damn your nonsense!" Lu Hong stepped forward swiftly and punched the elven prince, sending him flying. He then grabbed him again, "Where is Miaomiao?!"

"She’s dead!" the elven prince roared. "She was sacrificed to the portal!"

Damn it, wasn’t I supposed to take my revenge myself?

At that moment, the elven prince continued on his own, "The King deceived us. To activate the portal, a sacrifice of flesh and blood was needed; it should have been me, it was I!"

By now, the elven prince had finally realized why the King needed to retrieve the lost bloodline of the Emperor Clan, why he had Miaomiao accompany him to Ambra—it was all for the sacrifice.

Not to be outdone, Lu Hong shrewdly guessed some of the truth, "It looks like you were abandoned?"

"The portal requires the absorption of the Emperor Clan’s bloodline to be activated. It should have been me who was sacrificed, but Miaomiao saved me, taking my place in being absorbed by the Array Patterns." Lepton said with a dark expression, "She could have escaped to another realm through this portal, she could have survived."

Lu Hong scoffed, "She wouldn’t have lived, I would have chased her to the ends of the earth!"

"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha!" Suddenly, the elven prince burst into wild laughter, "You know nothing. You seek revenge on my sister? Do you think she wanted to kill her benefactor? Do you know she wakes up from nightmares every deep night? Do you know the enormous guilt she carried?!"

Lu Hong took a deep breath, "I don’t know, but Skyes was killed by her, and I must seek revenge on her."

"She was but a pitiful pawn, too. Do you think your slave mark is real? Do you think you really saved her?" Lepton said bitterly, "My sister was stolen away by human Hunters as a child, subjected to inhuman tortures. A Twin Slave Mark was implanted inside her long ago. The one in your hand was merely a subsidiary mark, while the real primary mark is still in their hands."

Lu Hong let go of Leps, his expression darkening, "Continue."

Leps wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "What good will knowing do? The Eight Great Families have been destroyed, Miaomiao is dead, who are you going to seek revenge from? Ha ha ha, ridiculous, truly ridiculous!"

"At least I now know the truth." Suddenly, Lu Hong felt a trace of pity for Miaomiao. Perhaps she was indeed just a chess piece being manipulated, ready to be sacrificed at any moment.

"What good does knowing the truth do? When I was tasked to bring Miaomiao back, I thought she could live a safe and good life, making up for the years of neglect. I thought the King loved her, but it turned out, she was just being cultivated as a sacrifice," Leps said with deep hatred for the elven King in his tone. "He has always been using her, right from her birth, he has been using her!"

"I know... I know!" Leps suddenly remembered something, his expression turning to panic, "He intentionally sent Miaomiao to the hands of the human Hunters, then framed the Queen Mother, causing her to live in misery and die in self-blame. He did so to easily take control of the clan power, he... he opened the portal at any cost... Number One Portal... Number One Portal..."

The more he talked, the more terrified Leps became, finally looking at Lu Hong with pleading eyes, "The elven King isn’t rebuilding the glory of the elves, he wants to... he wants to..."

Suddenly, the portal erupted in a burst of milky white light with a strange attracting force. Like flowing water, Leps was sucked into it, Lu Hong tried to stop him but couldn’t grasp even a strand of Leps’s hair.

As the light vanished, a complete portal appeared before Lu Hong.

What was on the other side of the door? Cold sweat seeped from Lu Hong’s forehead.

Fear comes from the unknown.

Wait for the King of Shate Kingdom to enter and investigate further? No, if the elven King had already communicated with the forces on the other side of the portal, it might be too late by the time the King of Shate Kingdom arrived.

Biting his teeth, Lu Hong activated his strongest state and charged into the portal, leaving the vast core of the relic once again in silence...