"..."
Chen Shu looked up at the sky, stunned into silence, a hint of helplessness and mourning in his eyes.
In times of chaos, can legends also fall?
As the two stood there in a daze, Qiao Na, who was unconscious beside them, seemed to sense something. A hint of pain flickered across her peaceful face.
"Mmm..."
Her brows furrowed, and then she forced her eyes open. Her first action was to summon her contracted spirit, while frantically searching for something.
Soon, she became increasingly agitated, failing to see the ancestral guardian who had always protected her.
"Chen Shu..."
Qiao Na's gaze fell upon Chen Shu, as if seeking an answer, yet fearing to know the truth. Her eyes were filled with helplessness and confusion.
"Sigh..."
Chen Shu's lips moved, but no words came out. He remained silent.
Dali, standing beside them, also turned his gaze away. He too disliked delivering bad news...
And at this very moment, the sky changed dramatically!
Unbeknownst to them, the firmament was suddenly dyed a crimson blood-red, appearing eerie and bizarre.
Drip, drip—
At this moment, from the clear blue sky, a light rain began to fall.
But unlike before, the rain today... was blood-red!
Chen Shu's expression froze as he recalled Old Qiao's historical accounts:
During the era of the Ancient Heavenly Mandate Kingdom, a blood rain descended, and the legendary contracted spirits of the ancient kingdom fell one after another...
"Is this an omen of a legend's fall..."
Chen Shu looked up at the sky, his eyes once again growing heavy.
There was no pungent metallic scent in the air; it was like ordinary rainwater, yet it filled one's heart with a sense of oppression, as if shrouded by an unshakeable gloom...
"Wuwu..."
At this moment, the angel beside Qiao Na exhibited human-like emotions.
It looked upon the blood rain in the sky with a mournful expression, remaining silent for a long time, simply standing there.
"Hm?"
Chen Shu blinked in surprise as his own contracted spirit also felt a heavy heart, though its emotions were not as intense as the golden angel's.
"Ancestor..."
Qiao Na's heart trembled. The sorrow emanating from her contracted spirit almost instantly infected her, and in that instant, she understood the truth.
And at this moment, within the dimensional rift below,
The survivors of the Alliance suddenly fell silent. They looked up to see blood rain falling from their sky as well.
"Grand Speaker..."
Some had tears in their eyes, their hearts filled with unease and dread, as if they had suddenly lost something.
Following that, contracted spirits, one by one, instinctively emerged from their beast-taming spaces and appeared beside their masters.
In an instant, tens of thousands of contracted spirits materialized, all gazing at the blood rain in the sky, their eyes filled with sorrow and mourning.
In the blink of an eye, waves of lamentation echoed through the sky, seeming to blend with the blood rain, lingering on without dissipating.
Old Qiao was the guardian of the Free Alliance for a millennium.
His fall brought soul-deep grief to both humans and contracted spirits.
Chen Shu murmured to himself, "This rain falls for the Alliance, and for humanity..."
At this moment,
Above China,
An old man in a long robe sighed, looking at the blood rain in the sky, having already foreseen what had happened.
"Six contracted spirits... all fallen..."
The old man's gaze was heavy as he looked up at the sky, seemingly piercing through the clouds to see a dazzling star, and he said,
"Old Qiao, rest well..."
Concurrently, above the snow country,
An old man gazed at the blood rain in the sky and muttered to himself,
"You old ghost, you always loved to compete with me when you were alive, and now you're leaving before me..."
He grumbled, but then took out a wine cup and poured the wine within it forward.
The wine mixed with the blood rain, vanishing in an instant as it seeped into the earth...
"This cup of wine is for you..."
And at this time, above the Immortal Kingdom, the legend there also wore a heavy expression, remaining silent amidst the blood rain.
The various nations and powers of humanity had their own disputes. Even the four legendary beast tamers were not necessarily on amicable terms.
However, no matter what, they were all guardians of humanity. When great chaos erupted, they would naturally stand on the same front line.
The three legends wore heavy expressions, mourning the fall of the Alliance's legend.
However, other humans wore looks of confusion, instinctively believing the blood rain to be an ominous sign.
It had been over eight hundred years since the last blood rain. Only the legends had witnessed it firsthand; the rest had not even heard of it.
But just as humanity around the globe was in a state of bewilderment,
Their minds suddenly jolted, their eyes filled with terror.
Roar!
A desperate wail echoed, resounding throughout the entire world, as if a terrifying being was about to fall.
In an instant, the expressions of people globally trembled, a vague sense of familiarity washing over them.
The next second,
The sky changed again. A colossal phantom appeared.
It possessed three heads and six arms, enveloped in terrifying black lightning, its gaze filled with venom and unwillingness.
Almost simultaneously, another terrifying phantom appeared.
It had blood-red wings on its back, surrounded by a profound darkness that cast a pall of oppression over the entire globe.
Both figures' gazes were filled with venom and unwillingness as they looked forward in unison, as if seeing something.
The next second, a majestic human phantom emerged. His appearance was aged, his hair completely white, but his eyes shone with an extraordinary brightness, seemingly capable of bringing hope.
The old man smiled faintly, and a longbow appeared in his hand.
The phantom figures of the two terrifying beasts showed expressions of horror, attempting to escape, but they were bound in place, unable to move.
The old man did not hesitate. He instantly drew the bowstring to its fullest extent, and a brilliant arrow shot forth!
Whoosh—
The arrow tore through space, emitting dragon roars that echoed throughout the globe and even into other dimensions!
Both beasts and humans alike watched this scene, each foreseeing what was to come...
In an instant, the arrow descended, piercing the head of the three-headed, six-armed phantom.
It wailed and roared, but was powerless to change anything, only able to await its death...