Chapter 118 The Scene in the Temple

The situation inside the hall was now vaguely visible.

Through a layer of faint green energy curtain at the main entrance of the pyramid palace, Hao Ren could see the brightly lit main hall. Neatly arranged in the wide hall were huge devices, and many figures in robes scurried about. Deeper inside the main hall was a bright glow.

Taking one last look at the old illusion in the plaza that was gradually transforming into a black pine forest, the group quickly slipped into the hall led by Leah.

Leah still kept her eyes closed, only reminding everyone to stay close behind her to avoid tripping over the ruins and debris in the real space. Hao Ren quickly scanned the entire hall.

He saw that there weren't many people in this vast building. The expansive space was actually prepared for some mysterious "equipment" of unknown use. Two rows of tall, slightly glowing silver square pillars were arranged along the main hall. Flowing light and constantly changing rune interfaces could be seen on the pillars. Between the pillars, tall "technicians" in silver robes ran around. Surging energy leaped from the tops of the pillars and converged at the end of the hall—

There, on a platform raised above the ground, stood a woman in gorgeous formal attire with extremely beautiful and dignified features.

This woman seemed to be in charge of everything in the hall. She held a platinum staff tightly in her hand, and her other hand seemed to be holding something, placed beside her. She gazed in the direction of the palace gate, and an incredibly powerful life energy emanated from her body and was released onto the plaza outside the palace.

So the life force released by the "pyramid" came from here—a powerful nature-based spellcaster.

Behind this woman was the source of the glow that Hao Ren had seen earlier: a metal prism filled with energy, embedded in the platform beneath the woman's feet. Countless complex runes flowed around it, and a low buzzing sound emanated from the prism, reverberating throughout the hall.

Vivian suddenly nudged Hao Ren's arm and pointed to the side of the platform where the elaborately dressed woman was standing: "The stench of blood is coming from there."

Before Hao Ren could say anything, Leah nodded slightly, "looking" in that direction with her eyes closed. Immediately, the scene in that area began to waver. A vague figure appeared there between the real and the illusory.

It was a human, lying face down on the ground, seemingly, and his state of life or death couldn't be determined.

The surrounding soldiers breathed a sigh of relief: a human, and seemingly not alive, was better than some indescribable monster.

Hao Ren frowned and strode towards the figure of unknown origin.

Only when he got closer did he see that the human lying on the ground was a warrior clad in armor.

He had brown curly hair and dark skin. The armor he wore was completely different from that of most soldiers in this world. It was a black light armor, seemingly made of a large number of soft metal pieces pieced together. Glimmers of light could be seen flowing in the gaps of the armor. There was no ordinary knight's sword or soldier's sword hanging on his weapon hook at his waist, but a black short rod about a foot long—since no other weapon could be seen, this short rod could only be considered his weapon.

Of course, Hao Ren and his group couldn't identify the origin of a warrior in such attire, but Charlemagne exclaimed in surprise, "This is… a Broken Sword Knight?!"

"This is a Broken Sword Knight?" Hao Ren was immediately shocked. "The Broken Sword Knights Corps under Princess Constance?"

"I have seen the Broken Sword Knights when I was young," Charlemagne nodded. "Their attire is very easy to recognize, there is no mistake."

"How could a Broken Sword Knight be in such a place… how did he get here without being swallowed by the phantoms…" Hao Ren felt astonished, and then quickly checked the Broken Sword Knight's injuries: there was a large amount of blood on the ground nearby, and there was a lot of damage to the knight's armor. Obviously, the other party had escaped to this place in a severely injured state. "He's still breathing—we have to save him!"

"Strange, the wounds have healed…" Vivian was the first to notice something unusual. "A lot of damage can only be seen on the armor, but the limbs under the armor have been restored… Apart from the blood on the scene, no place on his body can be found bleeding…"

"Healed?" Hao Ren frowned. "So he's just unconscious now?"

The data terminal took the initiative to fly down from Hao Ren's shoulder: "Let this machine check it."

Just as the data terminal began to check the Broken Sword Knight's physical condition, Hao Ren's attention returned to the "phantoms" in the hall.

He saw the figures of monsters vaguely appearing outside the palace gate. The guards standing in front of the pyramid, holding the last line of defense, had already engaged in battle. Slightly distorted explosions and shouts of killing were transmitted through the energy curtain at the palace gate, and an oppressive atmosphere of impending doom was spreading throughout the main hall.

However, the tall figures busy between the square pillars were not affected in the slightest. They were still methodically adjusting the state of each pillar and gathering their energy onto the mysterious device behind the elaborately dressed woman.

Hao Ren saw a warrior in silver-white armor come to the high platform and bow to the elaborately dressed woman: "Holy King! The last line of defense is in critical condition."

The tall woman in gorgeous clothes and outstanding appearance was indeed the "Holy King" that the guards on the plaza were trying their best to protect.

"I know," the woman called the Holy King nodded gently. "Step back, everything will pass."

The soldier retreated, and the "Holy King" raised the platinum staff high and placed it down heavily.

With a loud "thump," the sound of the platinum staff hitting the high platform resounded throughout the hall, and the Holy King's voice followed: "People of Helsonjia, the final moment has arrived! We have no retreat, nor do we need to retreat! The continuation of the world lies in this battle. I am with all of you, for the sake of our descendants, for their present life, future life, and eternity—take up arms!"

A powerful life force erupted from her body. This force was unprecedented, so powerful that it was unbelievable. It even formed visible light green ripples, rushing out of the hall like a gust of wind, spreading in all directions with the pyramid building as the center.

On the plaza outside the pyramid, in the city outside the plaza, and even on the plains outside the city that had been turned into scorched earth and swallowed by the black pine forest, countless soldiers who had died in battle and failed to turn into black pine forests actually stood up again…

The warriors who had long been dead beyond revival stepped onto the battlefield again with this powerful external life force, but releasing such a scale of miracles was not without a price.

The "Holy King's" figure began to sway. The arm holding the platinum staff was the first to be unable to withstand the overly powerful magical impact and burst open, flesh and clothing fragments splashing onto the platform at her feet. Then came her body, her body began to fall apart, and terrifying wounds appeared out of nowhere on her skin. The flesh inside seemed unable to withstand the powerful pressure and shattered, and she lost her vitality in a matter of seconds.

However, she did not "die."

The unparalleled life force with strong obsession still occupied the platinum staff. This force had become an uncontrollable storm, and the "Holy King" at the center of the storm was also swept into it. Her fragmented body was forcibly reorganized and re-infused with vitality, but this life force that violated order tore her body apart again, and then reorganized it again… repeating the cycle.

Finally, the Holy King's body was completely annihilated in the life storm, but from the flesh and blood, a plant grew rapidly. It turned from a sapling into a towering tree under Hao Ren's astonished gaze, covering half of the hall in the blink of an eye.

The metal prism behind the Holy King was charged to its limit. With a "buzz," it burst into a strong white light—

All the illusions came to an abrupt end.

Leah did not open her eyes, but everything in the hall vanished into thin air. The magnificent temple, the fighting guards, and the mysterious ancient equipment all disappeared in the white light, replaced by a dark and silent ruin, and some vague fragments of wreckage in the ruins.

The only thing that had not changed was the towering tree in front of Hao Ren—it grew in the center of the ruins, and its laterally growing roots had completely wrapped the platform that was raised above the ground, while its spreading canopy covered most of the main hall.

Between the branches, there was a faint green light slowly flowing.

The scene was eerily quiet, and no one spoke. The scene presented at the last moment of the former illusion greatly shocked everyone's minds. This perspective of being in it but only being able to observe the whole process magnified some of the shocking feelings.

Hao Ren's side was okay, but Charlemagne and his sister, as well as the guards they brought, could be said to have completely lost their ability to speak.

Lili blinked her eyes and was the first to break the silence. She pointed to the giant tree in front of her: "The black pine forest's vitality…"

"That's right," Hao Ren also looked at the giant tree in front of him. Even without using any supernatural observation methods, he could feel a powerful life force permeating from the inside of the giant tree and spreading to every corner of the entire forest. "She is still releasing life force until now… We have finally arrived at the center of the black pine forest, the place where the legendary Fountain of Life and the Holy Temple are located."

"When did this probably happen?" Vivian asked the most critical question.

"There is no way to judge," Leah opened her eyes after the illusion ended, and shook her head gently as she looked at the surrounding ruins and wreckage. "After experiencing the end of the world and reshaping, the timeline has been cut off, and many things no longer have a causal relationship. Everything that happened here is already an unverifiable and unprovable illusion in a lost space-time. Even if we are sure that these things happened, we can't trace the clues."

"But at least one thing can be determined—all of this happened before the formation of the Dark Realm, because the orbital bombardment appeared before," Hao Ren said affirmatively. "I guess this is what the residents of this world looked like when they resisted the encroachment of madness…"

"But if that's the case, the level of this war is too low," Leah shook her head. "Orbital bombardment and ground assault… under normal circumstances, it can still be considered a fierce battle, but relative to the doomsday disaster that is enough to destroy the entire universe, it's a bit lacking."

Vivian guessed: "Maybe this is just a corner of that doomsday."

Leah was noncommittal about this guess.

The things they were talking about were beyond the worldview of the local people of Lahrien, so even if she listened to it completely, Avena was still confused. She looked at Hao Ren and then at Leah, and couldn't help but ask: "What… are you talking about?"

"Some myths and legends recorded in the World Tree Temple," Hao Ren said casually. "After the situation stabilizes, I will tell you about these legends, but now… let's take a look at the situation of this Broken Sword Knight first. Terminal, have you figured out why he is unconscious?"