Chapter 285 135. River of Time
After saying the harsh words, Malekith pounced on Nurgle's army without thinking, and used the sun sword to cut a deep wound on the piece of meat that was oozing with steaming bile. Gu Junfeng's long-necked head was still dripping bile from its malleable chin, looking at him with fiery eyes.
The next second, the creature's body swelled, and long tentacles covered with jagged teeth burst out from the mass of flesh, trying to wrap around Malekith's waist and throat.
Just when the Edreze trio behind Malekith wanted to rush forward to fight, he stopped them. He knew that these three people were loyal and reliable now, and he didn't want them to lose their lives here in vain. And he was able to deal with the disgusting creature in front of him on his own effortlessly.
Malekith did not hesitate, he cut off the tentacles that rushed towards him as the demon screamed in mad rage, the dirty muscle tentacles parted in the fountain of acidic bile, and the beards bounced wetly on the floor.
At this moment, the creature's entire body seemed to shrink back, then convulsed violently, and pounced on Malekith with its huge mouth like a frog swatting at a fly, intending to swallow Malekith whole.
Malekith ignored the feeble attack of Nurgle's vanguard and continued to chop off the surrounding tentacles, slicing them with his blade as if the tentacles were pliable vines. He clearly saw the skin bulging near the base of the tentacles, and a new head began to emerge from the depths of the neck, with green eyes burning with hatred.
As the head broke free, the gangrenous skin of Nurgle's army stretched out like fetal membranes. Before his head could make the next move, Malekith looked up at him and pounced on him with his penis. The flame sword pierced into his body fiercely.
"Remember! My name is Malekith! I am the Witch King who rules Naggaroth!"
After Malekith finished speaking, the Sun Flame Sword that penetrated the body of Nurgle's army began to vibrate violently, and then let out a terrifying sound. There was a crackling sound, like exploding grease, as Nurgle's body lost its stability and melted into a spreading puddle of bile and rotten flesh. Then a greasy yellow mist rose from Nurgle's body.
"There is no magical wind here to support the demon's existence, but this is a realm in itself, separate from all other realms. Although the demon has died for the second time, he has still not been exiled back to the Chaos Demon Realm, because the pull here makes him There is no way back. There is no doubt that this is why he chose to stay here." Malekith pointed at Drusala with his finger pointed at the yellow smoke that was still drifting.
"Your Majesty, this...means that the demon will continue to resurrect and stay here soon?" Drusala asked in confusion.
Drusala was better. Although she looked confused, she still vaguely understood. Except for Franais, who went back to find Darkus, Baine and Selile who were left behind didn't understand anything at all. .
"Time is a river, Drusala, you have to remember this. This is outside time! It is separated..." Malekith looked at Drusala and continued, but he did not respond directly to Drew. LS, but what he said was undoubtedly responding to Drusala. He paused and then added, "Outside time, of course! Just by the river!"
At this time, Darkus Having already joined Malekith and the others, he heard what Malekith said. This was the third time he heard these words in one day.
"This tower is placed in a world that transcends time and space. Does it still exist in a certain sense?" Darkus came over and asked. He had already figured out that this place also existed similar to the subspace Chaos Demon Realm. As long as this place is still here, this is the Chaos Demon Realm of Nurgle's Army.
"Did you see the red plain when you came in? The tower on the horizon? That may be the earliest appearance of this place, or it may be the scene before the great invasion, or even the appearance before the ancient saints came to this planet."
He finished. Malekith didn't wait for the Druchi to react, and then said, "It's right there, always right in front of us!" Then he looked at Drusala again, and continued, "You must use your magic to kill me. Send him and Darkus to that mezzanine, and only by finding that node can we truly disintegrate this place."
"But...but resonance..." Drusala said hesitantly.
"I have the resonance we need!" After Malekith said that, he handed another part of the skull fragment of the previous skinner to Drusala. After Druzala took the skull fragment, he continued, But this time he laughed, "Although you betrayed my mother, you are worthy of being trusted by me and Darkus, right?"
"No! No! I can't do this! I am worthy of trust. ! But the place you are talking about... does not belong to this world. That place may be outside the plane, not at the other end. I can open a door and send you there, but the door must be open here , you can return. And I don’t know how long I can keep this door open. This burden is too heavy. If you fail, you will be trapped there forever, and I..." Drusala did not panic. He knelt down, bowed his head in salute to His Majesty the Witch King, and then spoke loudly.
Drusala's unfinished words were interrupted by Darkus. Darkus stretched out his hand and caressed her shoulder. After she turned her head and looked at Darkus, Darkus still wanted to He pushed her messy hair behind her long pointed ears, but Darkus noticed that his gloves were dirty and retracted his hand. Darkus smiled softly at her.
"I believe in you! You can do it." Darkus said with a soft smile in front of Drusala's fiery gaze.
Just when Darkus and Drusala were about to kiss each other, Malekith, who couldn't stand it anymore, interrupted them.
"Oh~ before you two get started, I'm sorry to interrupt you two. Our adventure is not over yet. This is not a boring place. Maybe the devil will come back soon."
Maleki Si said with a smile, he knew it would be enough for him to go in alone, but he was still a little worried. He didn't trust him to go in alone and let Dacus stay outside. Although he trusted Dacus, he still didn't want to risk himself. Just like Drusala said, if the door is closed, he He might be trapped in it forever, and he might have to take a way back to the Demonic Chaos Realm to return to the mortal world. He didn't want to take this risk.
The Adreze trio will stay outside and watch Drusala. Malekith clearly knows that Baine was once his old subordinate. Although Baine is now said to be loyal to Darkus, He still remains loyal to him. Franais and his Takaia family are Dacus's loyal supporters, not to mention Selile, who is Dacus's uncle, and they are all from hell. They regard family first as their creed and code of conduct.
"Maybe those Slann Demon Priests?" Drusala was still hesitant.
"This is our adventure, open the door! We will try our luck on the other side. If we succeed, the power that binds the demon will fail, and the demon will be pulled back to the Chaos Demon Realm. This is our only chance! "
Just after finishing speaking, Darkus felt a cold shock and a sense of dislocation all over his body. He knew that he had entered the portal. Obviously this place was too weird, or Drusala's portal did not have Slann Demon. The priest's reliability and capriciousness were as if he had walked into a nightmare.
The earth heaved beneath Darkus' feet, and the sky rolled overhead. The wind whistled and groaned in his ears, but he couldn't feel it on his skin. He looked back and saw an oval pearl floating in the air. A kind of iridescent mist curled out from the edge, allowing him to feel the fragility of the mist, like a bubble that might burst at any time, and he turned his gaze to the dark horizon where the tower was.
The tower was tall and square, and it was obviously not the work of a lizard man. Darkus looked at this building seriously for the first time, and he found that it did not belong to any architectural style he knew. The dark and smooth surface shone in the dim light from the sky. The tower seemed much more solid than the chaotic landscape around it, like an island rising from an angry sea. From where he stood, the tower seemed far away. He took a deep breath and started running.
A raven suddenly appeared from a high altitude in the distance. After circling three times above Darkus' head, it landed firmly on his shoulder.
Darkos did not take the lead in saying hello, but was on guard. Who knew whether the raven that appeared in this strange space was Morayig Heg, or something else, such as the Lord of Change, or someone who knew A two-headed bird from the past and future, or a changeling spirit.
"More French fries." A voice echoed in Darkus' mind.
It wasn't until the code connection was successful that Darkus breathed a sigh of relief. Unless there was a problem with Morayeg Heg, or he was directly confronted by Tzeentch himself and the memory in his mind was read. Under normal circumstances, This secret code is known only to them.
"My dear old grandma, I haven't seen you for a long time, how did you get here?" Darkus said as he stretched out his left hand to try to touch the raven's head that fell on his right shoulder.
The raven or Morayog Heg avoided Darkvus' outstretched hand.
"I felt your arrival. I just came to take a look. It is more convenient to come here than to go to the mortal world." The voice of Morayig Heg appeared in Darkus' mind again.
After saying that, the raven flew away and disappeared into the distant sky.
"Coming here? Is it more convenient than going to the mortal world? Do these elves and gods like to be Riddlers so much?" Darkus did not stop and kept walking forward, thinking as he walked.
Soon, Darkos figured out something. Some elven gods have kingdoms of gods, spaces like subspace and the Chaos Demon Realm. Does that mean that this place is similar to some kind of kingdom of gods or a strange plane? Is Morayig Heggar coming here from her kingdom of God as if she were a guest? I just don’t know if this is the kingdom of the ancient gods before the arrival of the ancient saints, or something else.
Darkus knew clearly that there was a place called the Death Skull of the Fallen God in the Lustria Strait south of Skogi.
There is a series of massive stone heads facing the vast ocean. Like the Easter Island Stones, the heads have not been properly maintained and many of the features have been worn smooth by wind and rain, but they are clearly unlike any other statues created by the Lizardmen.
Some are reptilian shaped, some humanoid, but most are undefinable. The eyes can no longer peek, and the avatar holds a tool that has lost its purpose.
There is great controversy surrounding these monuments, and no one knows when the heads were erected, with most elven scholars believing the heads to be lesser-known members of the lizardfolk's many deities.
But Darkus knew that was not the case. Lizardmen never worshiped heads. He also asked Master Ma. Master Ma said that these heads existed before he appeared, which means that these heads may be from ancient times, that is, It is said that the ancient saints existed before they even came.
"Maybe there is something down there?" Darkus couldn't help but muttered after thinking about this.
Darkus gave up his distracting thoughts and continued to run, just like a good athlete like me.
Soon, Darkus faces a new challenge as monsters claw their way out of the clotted bloody dirt and reach for him with claws, bony hands, waving tentacles or barbed hooks. Some are humans, some are elves, and there are many twisted monsters, as if they were born from a nightmare. Monsters crawled, jumped, swatted and slithered toward him as he ran across the plains.
A skeletal creature with a white parchment skeleton, and what's even more outrageous is that the scalpless creature has snow-white hair on its head. He stretched out his hand and tried to strangle Darkus by the throat.
Darkus swung the scarlet sword through the skull's head, and the figure swayed like smoke. An undulating mass slid on the ground, and a stinging tentacle wrapped around his leg. The needle-like spikes easily pierced the flesh, making his body cold and numb. He roared and slashed downward, the blade passing through the creature with no effect.
"What the hell is this?" Darkus yelled. He felt strange, as if he was the only one who was physical. These strange things were all incorporeal, but they could hurt him, and he could only Can cut air and shadows. His life force is being sucked away continuously, as if these weird things haven't had such sweet and delicious food for a long time.
The skeleton from before reappeared, and his hands grabbed Darkus's throat.
Darkus aimed his sword at the skull's head, but he was grabbed by the sword arm by a withered elf prince. He looked over sharply and found that this elf prince seemed to be the one he met in the dangerous peaks. Bit, what's your name? Hasikong?
Before Darkus had time to think about it, something bit his leg. His teeth bit through the armor and lining, but the strange armor did not make a sour crunching sound. It was like the teeth broke through the body of the armor, directly The bite bit into his flesh, and the cold seeped into his body mercilessly, consuming his strength. He could hear his heartbeat thumping in his chest.
"It's your uncle!" Darkus yelled while struggling. The monster pulled Darkus down. He lost his balance and fell. An octopus-like creature crawled onto his chest and wrapped its tentacles around his face. The octopus's green eyes flashed with eerie wisdom and looked directly at him. Looking into his eyes.
If there were no such things as Crusu in this world, Darkus would have thought that Xelnaga had appeared in front of him. Before he could curse, the octopus's tentacles passed over his lips and crawled over his tongue.
At the critical moment, a force spurted out from Darkus's chest, and then quickly spread to other parts of his body. At that moment, he felt the breath of the sea, as if the evaporated steam from the sea was rising from his skin. From there, frost spread along his scarlet sword.
The monsters all flinched, except for the strange octopus creature, which was stuck to Darkus and could not be freed quickly. Its skin turned black and its eyes turned light blue. It let out a scream and was then killed by Darkus. Crush it into pieces with a single blow of your hand.
The white-haired skeleton stepped away from Darkus, raising his arms as if to protect himself from harm and to beg for mercy.
Darkus roared and jumped up, mercilessly piercing the scarlet sword's blade into the skull's chest. The skeleton's body instantly turned black and shattered on the ground. Then he yelled and kicked while running at full speed. He kicked the Elf Prince down. After giving out a charming smile, he stabbed the Elf Prince on the back of his neck.
The monster retreated in all directions, away from Darkus like ripples in a pond.
Darkus killed a one-eyed giant wolf. The strange thing is that this wolf seemed to be the same one he killed in the dangerous peaks. He stabbed the sword deeply into the side of the giant wolf, and then knocked down two people wearing clothes. A human sailor in Bretonnian clothing, the sailor cried out for mercy in a weak and pitiful voice, but he ignored it and chopped off the sailor's head with his sword.
But the strange thing is that Darkus feels that there are endless monsters in front of him. After he kills one, another one immediately appears, as if this place is like a training ground, but he has no interest in being like in the novel. He has been practicing here for 180 years. Although it is said that time here is frozen, he does not dare to bet.
Immediately afterwards, Darkus, who was about to raise the scarlet sword to pursue him, suddenly froze. An even more outrageous scene appeared in front of him. A Druchi plundering ship sailed towards him like a boat on dry land. His pupils With his eyes wide open, he didn't take a closer look at what the swarms of monsters on the ship were, and he didn't think that the ship was here to help him. He yelled and cursed and turned around and ran away, even faster than before. Run towards the tower.
On the other side, Malekith's experience was different from that of Darkus. There was only darkness in the distance, and a deep emptiness attacked him, pulling him into his arms. He felt as if the Midnight Armor didn't exist, and a gust of cold wind blew on his face, plunging him into darkness.
When Malekith regained his vision again, he saw Darkus standing next to him. He was not in a hurry to ask Darkeus where it was because he saw the large whirlpool still spinning in the distance. Even closer than the maelstrom was the Asuryan Temple in front of him. He knew it. He knew that although he didn't know how he came here suddenly. Maybe it was an illusion, but everything he saw before him was too familiar, because He had been here before, and this was one of his oldest and most painful memories!
Malekith wanted to speak and control his body, but he suddenly found that he couldn't. Everything in front of him was a real illusion, and he seemed to be in a projection. He gradually calmed down, and found that he seemed to be on a black ark in the projection. Darkus stood next to him with a pipe in his mouth, and kept explaining to the Druchis around him. What, those Druchi were listening to Darkus's words and nodding from time to time.
"Before all the supplies are transferred to Lothern, the defense of the Tower of Doom must be strengthened. Likewise, the northwest area of Lothern must be strictly guarded to prevent possible harassment by small forces from the direction of the Kingdom of Caledor." Dark Us exhaled the smoke from his mouth and ordered slowly.
"Where are Ms. Vienna's troops now?" Darkus asked after giving his instructions.
"Sir, Loxia's Black Ark Fleet encountered a man-made storm. They just crossed the strait of the Drift Islands this morning." Ren replied with his head lowered.
"Too slow! Tell her that if she doesn't capture Elsali (located off the southern coast of Yres) tomorrow, I will give her dignity!" Before Darkus could say anything, Malekith in the illusion Just said.
Darkus didn't say anything. After Ren and all the Druchi followers expressed their understanding, he waved his hand to signal the followers to get down.
Although Malekith outside the illusion could only watch at this time, he knew from the limited information that had just come out that Lothern, the capital of the Kingdom of Etain, had been occupied, otherwise he would not have been able to ride on the Black Ark in the illusion. Enter the inner seas of Ulthuan. It seemed that it was indeed what he and Darkus had planned before, to have a black ark wash up directly on the coast. And judging from the name, this black ark should have been built later, because he had never heard of it. , there is such a ship as the Tower of Doom in Druch's black ark.
There was another long period of calm. Malekith and Darkus stood there looking at the Asuryan Temple not far away.
Hidden in the depths of the shrine, it is said that what is carved on the ancient wall is the history of the past, present and future, carved on it in the form of flame script. Legend has it that any visitor who understands the meaning of the inscriptions on the wall will be eternally cursed, knowing the time of his or her death.
The Temple of Asuryan itself is in the shape of a tall pyramid, built above the burning fire of the King of Gods. The flame swayed in the center of the temple, three times taller than an elf, and burned without sound or heat. Golden runes were embedded in the marble tiles, surrounding the central flame, and they burned with a light that was not entirely derived from the flames. A phoenix-shaped brazier hangs on the white wall, its wings are folded, and more magical flames are burning inside, filling the entire temple with golden brilliance.
"My Majesty, before we march to the White Tower of Hoth, we should go to the Asuryan Temple?" Darkus looked at the Asuryan Temple getting closer and closer in front of him, and put the burned out pipe in his arms. , turned his head to Malekith and said thoughtfully.
"Why!" Malekith in the illusion asked without knowing why.
"Because your father once begged Him to protect his people at the cost of his life!"
"Asuryan? The thing that turned me... into this ghost?" Malekith said angrily in the illusion. .
"You must repeat what your father did, and you know it! The other false kings, protected by magic and fire-avoidance spells, came to tease Asuryan, and you must die and live again!" "No!
Your words are only One thing is real, that is, I will die. Give me..." Malekith in the illusion said with a trembling tone.
"I know the shadows and fears in your heart! But as the second Phoenix King after Aenarion, you must overcome it! This is what you should do!" The word "roll" in Malekith's mouth was still out, Da Keus interrupted Malekith and continued.
The scene was repeated again. Malekith in the illusion pulled out the Sun Flame Sword and pointed the tip of the Sun Flame Sword at Darkus's throat, but Darkus was still like the Nurgle they had met before. It's the same as acting in front of Jun Feng.
Darkus took a step towards Malekith. He stared into Malekith's orange eyes. The blade of Malekith's Sun Flame Sword was shaking violently in his hand. Keith's body and arms were shaking violently.
"I can feel the pain in your heart, my Majesty the Phoenix King! What a glorious Phoenix King, instead of struggling like this in pain for thousands of years." Darkus closed his eyes and shook his head. He said with emotion.
"You! You! You! Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?" Malekith was so angry that he couldn't speak. Finally, he roared and asked.
"You won't kill me, Malekith! Although we are kings and subjects, I am also your only friend! Do you remember what I said? It is harder to govern this land than to conquer it!" Darkus opened his eyes and looked at Malekith and said calmly.
"My Majesty the Phoenix King, this is not some kind of omen! It is not a prophecy! How long do you want to wear this stuffy armor? Don't you understand yet? There has never been any Druchi warlock or Assur's The Archmage can kill you! The one who really kills you is yourself! Because that warlock is you!"
In the illusion, Malekith's hand loosened his grip on the Sun Flame Sword, and his whole body was shaking violently. He took a few steps back in disbelief.
Malekith, who was also watching everything, expressed disbelief. He didn't know whether this illusion was the other end of the river of time, or whether some strange existence was fooling him and trying to sow discord between him and Darkus. , give him such a drama.
Malekith outside the illusion wanted to struggle, he wanted to make a sound. Like him in the illusion, he couldn't accept the facts told by Darkus, but he couldn't do anything. He could only watch the illusion quietly. of all this.
Darkus didn't say anything else. He stood there quietly, threw the Sun Flame Sword into the air, then held the hilt of the Sun Flame Sword behind his back, and tried to hand it to Malekith. He ignored Malekith. He looked at Malekith seriously with murderous eyes.
"The people! They are the foundation of the country! Those who kill and those who are killed are your people! Complete your rebirth before the next battle comes! Don't let our soldiers and soldiers suffer because of your pride, arrogance and inner pain. The people have paid unnecessary sacrifices!" Seeing that Malekith did not move, Darkus continued.
"Asuryan's fire rejected me the first time, and it will reject me the second time!" At this time, Malekith in the illusion no longer had anger, but was replaced by pain.
"Fart! You're scared! There was a ghost in your heart at that time. You shouldn't have crawled out of the holy fire. Instead, you were burned to death and reborn in Nirvana! What kind of Phoenix King is a Phoenix King who can't be reborn in Nirvana!?" Da Keus suddenly roared loudly and questioned.
But Malekith in the illusion no longer responded to Darkus, but turned around and left quickly, without even taking the Sun Flame Sword.
Darkus was standing there suddenly stunned. He didn't seem to expect that Malekith would abandon the Sun Flame Sword and turn around and leave. Helpless, he could only sigh, take off his cloak and wrap the Sun Flame Sword in it. .
As Malekith in the illusion left, Malekith outside the illusion stared blankly as the illusion in front of him gradually disappeared, and his eyes fell into the depths of darkness again, but he did not emerge from the illusion. After breaking free, another illusion appeared in front of him.
"Look, my Majesty the Phoenix King, they are already welcoming you." Before the ship could dock, Darkus, who was standing by the fence, jumped in first after saying this.
A large number of Phoenix Guards were arranged in neat formations, holding halberds and displayed on the grass surrounding the Asuryan Temple. Kadroin, the anointed one of Asuryan and the captain of the Phoenix Guard, was standing on the dock, seemingly waiting. What.
Outside the gate of Asuryan's temple are rows of pillars engraved with reliefs of different patterns. Those reliefs are all different images of Asuryan, or a kind-faced elf father, or a swooping falcon, or It is a flying phoenix. There are also many phoenix guards standing around these pillars. As Asuryan warriors, they all hold halberds, wear golden helmets on their heads, and wear shining silver scales. Their snow-white cloaks are decorated with red and blue Embroidered with sea water and flame patterns.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am Darkus, the Scourge of Hell, the future Hand of the Phoenix King." After speaking, Darkus took a few steps forward. He stretched out his hand and said with a smile, "I know. You can't speak, and I don't need you to nod or shake your head, but we can always shake hands in a friendly way, right?"
Kadron looked at Jilaisu Dakous walking towards him and was stunned for a moment, then After reacting, he also took steps forward, met Darkus' right hand that he stretched out, and held it tightly, holding it on the inside of Darkus' forearm.
Malekith, who was in the illusion, and Malekith, who was looking at the illusion, saw the scene of Darkus and Kadron shaking hands on the dock of Asuryan Temple.
Outside the hallucination, Malekith had an indescribable feeling. He felt that it was both absurd and unexpected?
There should be high energy tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. .
(End of chapter)