Chapter 173 Doru River Disaster Zone

After several hours of sailing, fifteen airships finally arrived at the entrance to the "Doru River Disaster Zone" from Central City. This disaster zone was located on the western flank of the Northern Continent defense line, an extremely remote frontier.

Snowflakes fluttered.

The weather was freezing.

All the transcendents were on high alert.

The airships entered the disaster zone and slowly hovered. At this time, Zhongyuan emerged from the gravity chamber, and Gu Shen also ended his mental cultivation.

Looking down from the high altitude, what came into view was an unprecedentedly large river.

Gu Shen was born in the Qinghe District of Eastern Continent. The reason for this district name was that the entire district was built alongside the Qinghe River... That Qinghe River was already a majestic and magnificent natural spectacle, but compared to the Doru River in front of him, it was still somewhat lacking.

A pitch-black river ran through the snowy world!

This river was several kilometers wide and seemed to stretch endlessly... Rather than a river, it was more like a giant lake, or a dead sea. In stark contrast to the turbulent flow of the Qinghe River, the black water of the Doru River did not flow, and it was filled with an aura of annihilation.

Gu Shen silently grasped the pendant.

Now that he had truly arrived at the Doru River, the pendant's warning had disappeared... Presumably, this little trinket knew that persuasion was useless and could only accept the current situation.

A jolt.

On the main control screen linked to the airship, Osmond's face was reflected. The Third Legion's Eye looked serious, and his voice was low and resounding in everyone's ears.

"Captains, we have arrived at the disaster zone. Everything is going smoothly. Proceed according to plan."

The Doru River Disaster Zone had more than a dozen branches.

To find the location of the "Gate," it was necessary to thoroughly investigate the surrounding environment of these river branches... A super-large disaster zone like this, rich in transcendent source matter, must have an entrance for drawing energy from the Old World.

For these elite transcendents carrying out the restart mission, finding the "Gate" should not be difficult.

However, the mental toxin had already begun to spread as soon as they set foot on this disaster zone—

The difficulty lay in how to complete the mission in the fastest and most efficient manner, reducing casualties!

Apart from the command airship, the belly compartments of the fourteen airships opened one after another. Fourteen elite squads were ready to depart at any time. Some impatient individuals... such as Mu Wanqiu of the Investigation Corps' First Squad, who served as captain this time, led her team straight to the Doru River in the depths of the disaster zone at the first moment the airship docked!

……

……

"All team members... put on your source armor, check your energy, prepare to depart!"

The members of Zhongyuan's squad had already completed their preparations, and they immediately formed a formation, ready to leave the belly compartment. The blond man standing at the hatch door took a deep breath.

He glanced back at the team, saw Gu Shen's figure, and was a little surprised.

"Brother Gu, are you going with us?"

For this restart mission, during the training and preparation in the past few days, each captain had received instructions from the commander... They all had their own tasks to complete.

But there were exceptions.

One was Gu Shen.

The other was Duke Zhenyue, Meng Xiao.

These two might have other missions... His Majesty had given them extremely high authority. Meng Xiao and Gu Shen did not have to obey Osmond's arrangements. Of course, this did not mean that they could act arbitrarily in the disaster zone.

Gu Shen smiled and said, "Brother Zhong, you're not welcoming me?"

"That's not it..."

Zhongyuan shook his head, hesitating to speak. "It's just..."

During the airship's voyage, Zhongyuan stayed in the gravity chamber for training the entire time. Gu Shen knew that he had something on his mind.

"You're going to look for the Mountain of Mirror Dreams that you saw earlier, right?" Gu Shen gently stroked his brow with two fingers, igniting a wisp of faint flame. He smiled and said, "Brother Zhongyuan... I'm also very interested in 'Mirror Dreams.' If we can travel together, it will surely be beneficial to both of us."

Seeing the flame at Gu Shen's fingertips.

The team members all felt a sense of warmth in their hearts.

Although this wisp of fire was small, it exuded a reassuring mental aura.

Zhongyuan's originally tense expression relaxed a lot... Indeed, Gu Shen's S-level ability, although its effects were unclear, was of great help in terms of mental dreams. If Gu Shen joined, it would definitely be beneficial.

"Captain... Zhenyue's group hasn't set off yet."

Yuan Yuan glanced at a certain airship not far away and whispered, "Mr. Gu should act with us."

Zhongyuan was so clever that he immediately understood the meaning of Yuan Yuan's voice transmission.

In the past few days of the training camp, each squad was busy with training.

Rumors were flying everywhere, and he had naturally heard some of them... If Gu Shen really walked alone, Zhenyue's group would be waiting to enter the disaster zone and find another opportunity to make trouble for Gu Shen.

Because of the "Mirror Dream" that plagued him, his mind was uneasy, and he had not thought of this before.

"It was my negligence." Zhongyuan looked solemn and said with a slight apology, "If Brother Gu doesn't mind the inconvenience, then travel with us... This time, stepping into the disaster zone is unpredictable. We can take care of each other."

……

……

"Sir, they've set off."

Zhenyue sat in the airship.

Along the way, like Gu Shen, he had been meditating and cultivating, honing his spirit... while resisting the ominous thoughts in his heart.

That bracelet constantly flashed images at the time of departure, sending them to him.

Making him feel uneasy.

Meng Xiao certainly knew that trouble would occur this time when entering the disaster zone.

It was just that so many images... viewing them all, one by one, was very mentally draining. This sealed item was indeed heaven-defying, but it also had its shortcomings. These "Disaster Divinations," if corrected in time, could also prevent them from happening and eliminate them.

In other words, what Meng Xiao had to do was to resolve those ominous things seen in the Disaster Divinations.

Avoid the worst-case scenario from truly appearing!

But if he did so, it would be equivalent to changing "fate"... In the end, the future images provided by this bracelet were just some "possibility" leading to disaster.

Some would happen. Some would not.

"Let's go."

Meng Xiao slowly stood up and said calmly, "Don't rush. Just follow them from a distance and determine their destination."

……

……

"Lord Osmond, all fourteen squads have been dispatched."

Lin Lin looked at the white dots flashing on the main control map, as well as the recording screens on the side.

Since this disaster zone had just been conquered... the "Deep Sea's" mental network had not had time to be laid, so one of the main tasks this time was to form a stable connection in the surrounding area.

Each captain used his own powerful spirit to stabilize the "connection" and establish real-time feedback.

And the other members were responsible for supplementing the surrounding images.

These squads, according to the original plan, should have explored a certain branch of the Doru River separately...

However, on the main control screen, Lin Lin discovered a strange signal.

"What's going on with Meng Xiao's side?"

He narrowed his eyes.

On the map.

The trajectory of Meng Xiao's journey almost overlapped with that of Zhongyuan's squad... As long as one wasn't blind, one could see that they were following Zhongyuan's team!

However, the Zhenyue squad obviously slowed down, and it was clear that this move was to prevent Zhongyuan from discovering them!

"Calm down."

Osmond slowly poured a cup of tea and said slowly, "Meng Xiao is a privileged person with 'freedom of action.' His entire squad was selected internally... We don't need to worry about so much, as long as he doesn't violate military discipline and disrupt the operation."

"What does that mean?"

Lin Lin refused the cup of tea handed over.

"Calm down... How can I calm down?" Lin Lin said coldly, "Can't you see what this guy is going to do?"

Osmond wasn't angry.

He took the tea himself, took a small sip, and laughed heartily, "Heh..."

"Little Lin, you spoke very well about those remarks before landing in the disaster zone."

Osmond raised his single eye and stared slowly and forcefully at the young man in front of him. "You said earlier that many people no longer care about 'reputation,' especially those transcendents outside of the Northern Continent... They only care about 'living.' Although you are stationed at the fortress, you can see the changing trends of the entire world. It's really gratifying, but don't think that I'm really an old blind man."

Lin Lin was stunned.

"Although I am blind, I can see some things clearly."

"Due to the influence of the Divine Seat's will, each continent has different spiritual practices... Just as you said earlier, except for the Northern Continent, many people no longer pursue the names of glorious heroes."

Osmond said lightly, "And Meng Xiao is such a practitioner. His methods are tough, his killings are decisive, his conquest of territories is swift and resolute... Such a person naturally cannot tolerate those who are thorns in his side, and he will try every means to remove them. Although I don't know what contradictions he has with Gu Shen, it seems that he can make such a move. It is already irreconcilable, and there is a hidden murderous intent."

"Since you have already noticed it... why don't you do anything?" Lin Lin said in a deep voice, "Are you going to watch the two squads collide?"

"Little Lin, my task is to ensure the smooth completion of the restart mission... I can issue orders to the squad captains, but I don't have the power to command 'privileged people' like Gu Shen and Meng Xiao." Osmond said leisurely, "Moreover, is there anything wrong with the route he is taking now? There are many river branches, and there are many exploration teams. He will inevitably take a 'similar path'."

Lin Lin suddenly stood up.

"I won't stop you if you want to leave... but you can think carefully about the meaning of what I said earlier."

Osmond said with a smile, "Then think about... Gu Shen's identity."

Lin Lin frowned.

Gu Shen's... identity?

"This Mr. Gu, although he was born in the Eastern Continent, is a distinguished guest of the Northern Continent... He was invited by the Empress to come to the disaster zone." Osmond slowly asked, "Do you know what his purpose is for coming here?"

Lin Lin was silent. He was busy with rehearsals these past few days. Although he and Gu Shen were in the same building, they had no contact.

Since the farewell in the ancient castle.

He really didn't know what Gu Shen and his sister had talked about.

It's just that... what the privileged people want to do is probably completely different from the main body of the restart mission.

Taking a deep breath.

Lin Lin sat back down and said sincerely, "Please explain it more clearly."

"Although I am the commander, I only took over temporarily. I only had one conversation with the General and the Legion Commander, and I didn't go to the ancient castle to see the Empress. So I will definitely not know what you don't know."

Osmond said calmly, "I only know a few things. First, the Empress has always had the ability to foresee the future, can see future events, and can set up a heavenly game. Inviting Mr. Gu to come here will not allow him to be easily threatened with his life."

"Second, we act on orders, and we must not act without reason. We should take the overall situation into account."

"Third, the iron law of the Northern Continent, it is absolutely forbidden to harm comrades-in-arms when going out... Once discovered, they will be executed without mercy."

The Third Legion's Eye lowered his eyes and looked at the slightly old face reflected in the teacup, and asked softly, "If Zhenyue really violates the law, isn't it a good thing at this stage?"

Lin Lin fell into deep thought.

"Taking a step back, if Meng Xiao wants to attack Gu Shen... he won't choose this time. It's a waste of effort for you to rush there now, and it's futile." Osmond said calmly, "Now the mental links are still being established steadily. We can see the vision transmitted by Zhongyuan, and we can also see the pictures on Zhenyue's side..."

"You mean, we have to wait until we go deep into the disaster zone and the link is broken."

Lin Lin looked at the white dots in the main control room that were gradually moving away from the command airship. The range of this disaster zone was extremely large... Some squads had already shown signs of unstable signals.

"But at that time, we won't know what happened."

Lin Lin was still worried.

If Meng Xiao wanted to attack... what should Gu Shen do?

"Little Lin... you are still young."

Osmond smiled slightly. He stretched out a finger and pointed to his head, saying in a deep voice, "To see things, you have to look at the essence more. Who are Meng Xiao and Gu Shen behind them?"

Lin Lin's pupils shrank slightly.

"Gu Shen has the newly promoted Fighting God Seat of Nagano standing behind him."

"Meng Xiao... I can smell the breath of Light City from eight hundred miles away."

Osmond twisted the teacup hard and slowly turned it.

In a trance, his "blind eye" covered in black cloth seemed to see more than one brilliant face, which was a sacred "divine appearance" shrouded in mist or entangled in light.

"If the two of them really fight each other... then it will even stimulate 'Divine Advent'." Osmond said softly, "At this time, who will determine the victory?"

"It's neither the Light nor the Fighting... but our Empress."

Osmond raised his head, and his eyes penetrated the command airship and looked up at the sky.

"You should be very clear... which side will His Majesty stand on? Are you still not at ease now?"

The iron dome above the Doru River Disaster Zone was gray and white.

The sky was full of leaden clouds, which seemed to be dyed by the river, brewing into such a dark ink color.

And this layer of ink color was wrapped in a transparent "crystal ball."

On the second floor of the ancient castle.

The woman sitting on the throne stretched out her palm and gently covered the entire "disaster zone" in her palm.

The sky was full of ink black.

Not as white as the center of the furnace.