Chapter 21: Battlefield Lingering Soul

Dark cave.

After three consecutive days of direct confrontation, the battle between players and the Cave Dweller race grew ever more intense.

Massive numbers of Iron Shell Beetles surged from the ground under the control of Cave Dweller warriors, endless to kill, making the players grind their teeth in hatred.

The only thing that comforted the players was that this game had no monster respawn mechanism; dead monsters would not revive.

Victory would ultimately belong to them.

During this time, Qi Sheng, who was behind the scenes, also grew curious about the Dark Cave, wanting to know the characteristics of this domain node.

He decided to begin exploration a step ahead of the players.

Just as the players and the Iron Shell Beetle tide erupted in battle once more, a wisp of his consciousness followed the guiding perception tendrils, constantly seeping underground until it reached the fifth layer beneath the earth.

Here, he saw a massive palace surrounded by stone tablets.

In front of the palace stood thousands of soldier statues; most had broken bodies, wore black fragmented armor, held broken weapons, and stood or charged in various postures, lifelike and vivid.

At the western entrance of the palace, he could see massive numbers of Iron Shell Beetles dragging ores into the palace under the drive of Cave Dweller warriors.

Qi Sheng's consciousness also followed the guidance into Rudadian, where a broken statue five meters tall stood in the very center of the hall, coming into view.

The statue's entire body was wrapped in Body Covered in Heavy Weight fragmented armor, holding a blood-colored broken war blade, gazing at the dome in a single-knee kneeling posture.

Behind it was a massive furnace; the Iron Shell Beetles entering the palace, under the control of Cave Dweller warriors, constantly threw ores into the furnace for refining.

【Ice Blade!】

The guide's sudden cry of surprise made Qi Sheng pause:

"Do you know this statue?"

【A war-mad madman; after Beneath Di Zhao fell, he was once a warlord who carved out his own domain.】

"Compared to you?"

【Compared to us four Great Servants, he is of course far inferior, but this fellow's strength cannot be underestimated. I once tried to recruit him, but he believed he too had the qualification to become the new Beneath Di Zhao and refused to serve me.】

"Is he dead?"

【The flame of life has extinguished; he is thoroughly dead... Hmm? It seems a cluster of information energy remains within his body.】

"Try to analyze it."

The guide did not answer; bringing a wisp of his consciousness close to the Ice Blade statue, the analysis ability activated at that moment, and instantly boundless killing intent surged like a mountain's roar and a sea's tsunami.

"We, the warriors of Beneath Di Zhao... do not retreat."

Accompanying the hoarse, firm voice, countless memory images flashed rapidly through Qi Sheng's mind like slides.

He saw the predicament Ice Blade faced as the world was on the verge of collapse.

That was the time node when the four Great Servants had just entered Beneath Di Zhao Village, before he had transmigrated.

At that time, the Monster World was gradually corrupted under the terrifying Black Tide, the ecological environment grew increasingly harsh, and the region Ice Blade commanded was likewise eroded by the terrifying Black Tide.

Facing a desperate situation, Ice Blade began to lay out plans for the future.

He sank his palace underground, then moved non-warrior clansmen into the depths, instructing them to mine and store the spiritual ores beneath the earth, waiting for the future.

Thus, the massive underground construction project began.

The clansmen did not understand why their leader did this, nor did they grasp what he meant by "waiting for the future," but they all chose to carry out his plan and press on.

Before the underground project was completed, the terrifying Black Tide swept down.

Ice Blade chose to lead his warriors to fight the evil tide head-on, defending the pure land beneath their feet.

The memory fragments jumped.

In the scene, the evil forces were like locusts pressing down, dense enough to block the view; Ice Blade, clad in heavy armor, led the black-armored army, drew his blade, pointed at the evil forces, and launched a charge.

The battle was exceptionally fierce; by the time the evil tide was repelled, only half of the warriors survived.

The second wave of evil forces would arrive at any moment; Ice Blade chose not to leave, remaining with his warriors at the entrance of the underground palace, fully prepared.

A new wave of evil forces erupted three days later.

Then came the third wave, the fourth wave; endless evil forces drove Ice Blade to fight until his weapon shattered, and all the warriors who followed him fell, yet he still did not leave.

On the day the underground palace was completed, the clansmen who participated in the construction emerged from the cave, hoping Ice Blade would enter the depths to shelter from the next wave of evil forces.

Facing the clansmen kneeling and begging, Ice Blade swept his emotionless ice-blue eyes over them and said coldly:

"The pure land beneath our feet is a gift from Beneath Di Zhao. I hold my blade and swear to guard it until my life withers; I would rather die than retreat."

After driving the clansmen underground, Ice Blade faced his final battle.

Endless evil forces surrounded him; the flame of life flickered like a candle in the wind during the fight, ready to extinguish at any moment.

When utterly exhausted, Ice Blade knelt on one knee, gazing at the single wisp of "Light of Beneath Di Zhao" remaining in the sky, and in his eyes, boundless war spirit burned with Xiong Xiong.

In his final moments, what filled Ice Blade's mind was the scene of Beneath Di Zhao crowning him and granting him his territory.

Overwhelmed by intense pride and a sense of honor, he struggled to raise his broken war blade, pointing it toward the evil tide, and his hoarse voice echoed overhead:

"Iron-blooded lingering soul, battlefield's remaining courage; even a broken body can slay three million enemies!"

"There are no cowards beneath Beneath Di Zhao; all of you, awaken, and fight with me once more!"

As his words fell, Ice Blade's flame of life extinguished, but his consciousness-less broken body moved; countless fallen warriors' broken bodies also rose under the call of Ice Blade's lingering will, continuing to fight the evil forces alongside him.

The memory fragments ended abruptly here.

【This fellow... even after death, he could imprint a fighting will upon his broken body; truly a thorough madman.】

The scenes in the memory fragments left Qi Sheng stunned.

During the guide's process of analyzing the memories, he could even feel the unyielding will within Ice Blade's heart when facing a desperate situation.

A casually spoken sentence from Beneath Di Zhao was, in Ice Blade's eyes, the proudest moment of his life, and he chose to fight to the death to protect this honor.

【It seems his broken body was sent into the palace by the clansmen.】

"Guide, what does Ice Blade mean by 'waiting for the future'?"

【Unclear. It seems to be some kind of layout for the future. Could he be trying to resurrect through some method?】

Just as the Guide and Qi Sheng felt curious about Ice Blade's future layout, the remnant body of Ice Blade standing in the center of the hall trembled slightly, as if sensing their presence. He raised his head to look at their consciousness clusters, and a scarlet red light suddenly flared in his dim eyes. Immediately after, a stream of information entered the minds of Qi Sheng and the Guide:

"Guide? Nine Yin? Yan Ming? Hyper-Dimensional?... Whoever among you four old fellows inherits the Will of Beneath Di Zhao, carry my glory forward. I am no longer strong enough to fight and can only offer this aid."

As the words fell, the ground behind Ice Blade cracked open, revealing a golden crystal placed upon a formation array.

The ore energy that had been smelted in the furnace was precisely being transmitted here, absorbed by the formation array, and fused into the golden crystal.

Even without touching it, Qi Sheng could clearly perceive the surging, pure energy contained within the crystal.

【This kid, Ice Blade...】

At this moment, the Guide, who had always introduced Ice Blade with a teasing mindset, was also shocked.

Qi Sheng finally understood what Ice Blade meant by "waiting for the future."

Ice Blade believed that one of the Four Attendants would inherit the Will of Beneath Di Zhao and become the new Beneath Di Zhao, so he had prepared a cross-century gift for them in advance.

(End of this chapter)