Chapter 3044: The Star Traces Back to Its Master! The Smoke of Battlefields from the Past...
Over three thousand years ago, during the first era of spiritual energy revival on Lan Xing, the Great Northern Wilderness, at the Horizon-Breaking Cliff...
This was an ancient battlefield filled with smoke. What had once been a city was now reduced to rubble!
The ground was awash with blood, with the corpses of enormous beasts and broken human bodies scattered everywhere. The air was thick with the stench of burning!
Below the Horizon-Breaking Cliff!
The Xiaolong Cavalry was massing on a grand scale. Each armored Xiaolong beast was mounted by a human rider gripping a long spear.
They formed battle formations!
The Xiaolong beasts neighed restlessly, pawing the ground and snorting.
Before the Xiaolong Cavalry, the warriors of the Golden Spear Battalion gazed into the distance at the crazily gathering beast horde.
"Tsk tsk~ This is going to be quite a fight. I wonder if the natural barrier of the Horizon-Breaking Cliff can hold."
"Heh~ With General Long Chen around, what's there to fear? No matter how many beasts come, they'll only be torn apart!"
"But the beast tides have been attacking too frequently lately. I wonder when this will ever end..."
On a jet-black Xiaolong sat a general clad in red armor.
He was eight feet tall, with an imposing appearance. His face bore stubble, his bronze skin gleaming under the sunlight.
Gripping a large spear in hand, he stood poised at the front of the army.
Countless riders looked upon this figure with fervent admiration in their eyes.
He was Long Chen, the commander of the garrison at the Horizon-Breaking Cliff.
Long Chen turned and raised an eyebrow. "Yue Lan, have you brought that little brat?"
From within the ranks, a woman in a simple white dress stepped forward. Though unadorned, her beauty was unparalleled. Her golden hair was casually pinned up at the nape of her neck, radiating a gentle and graceful aura.
Yue Lan scolded him, "Long Chen! If you keep calling him that, I'll get angry! He has a name—it's Jiang Fan!"
As she spoke, she pulled Jiang Fan over and patted his shoulder with a smile.
"Someday, he's going to surpass you. Who knows? He might even squeeze you out of your general's position one day~"
"You old fellow better be ready to step aside and let the worthy take over!"
At this moment, Jiang Fan was dressed in military armor, a sword hanging at his waist. He looked just like a common soldier, but his youthful face carried a spirited air, and he glared defiantly at Long Chen.
Long Chen burst into laughter. "I'm begging him to surpass me quickly! Yue Lan, you've really poured all your heart into this little brat!"
"If the brothers from the southern frontier find out that the number one beauty of the Central Plains, Yue Lan, has already given her heart to someone, they'll be crying themselves to sleep in the middle of the night!"
Yue Lan smiled generously, her eyes teasing. "So... are you one of those secretly crying as well, huh?"
Long Chen's face flushed with embarrassment. He rolled his eyes and waved his hand, ignoring Yue Lan.
As for Jiang Fan, he was a little red in the face.
Among the ranks, many soldiers looked at Jiang Fan with envy, jealousy, or even disgust.
The order had been given: on the battlefield, anyone who knew they were about to die was to entrust all their power to this young man named Jiang Fan.
To transform into stars for him.
His ability was special—he was humanity's hope.
Jiang Fan had already passed through many battlefields, absorbing the abilities of countless people. But time was too short; he was far from fully grown.
For now, on the battlefield, he was just a corpse-collector.
Of course, some resented him. After all, many of their comrades had laid down their lives for his sake.
And on top of that, he was with Yue Lan...
The thought alone was infuriating!
Quite a few soldiers glared at Jiang Fan with gritted teeth.
But Yue Lan wouldn't back down an inch. She glared right back, and those soldiers immediately flinched, not daring to meet her eyes.
Yue Lan chuckled and ruffled Jiang Fan's hair. "When the fighting starts, remember to stay close to me! Big sister will protect you!"
"Absorb the abilities well and turn them into stars. Everyone is counting on you in the future—defeat the Holy Star, clear the beast tides, drive back the invaders! Lead humanity to win this war!"
"Don't feel pressured. They may look fierce, but they're actually good people~"
Jiang Fan dodged her hand reluctantly. "I... I don't need Sister Lan's protection. I can protect myself!"
Yue Lan laughed heartily. "Alright, alright~ Then after this, you'll protect me, okay?"
Jiang Fan gazed seriously at Yue Lan's face and nodded emphatically.
"Mm!"
But just then, a golden star suddenly appeared within the battle formation!
It began to circle Yue Lan unceasingly, and within it was wrapped the will-body of Future Jiang Fan!
Future Jiang Fan's expression froze as he looked at the battlefield beneath the Horizon-Breaking Cliff, at the familiar figure before him.
His face turned pale.
"Sister Lan..."
Why had he come back to this point in the past?
Why was this happening?
Although he had lost all his memories, Jiang Fan had seen these events in the pages of the past. He knew how this battle would go. He didn't want to watch it again!
He didn't want to!
Every moment spent lingering in the past drained the power of the golden star.
Jiang Fan didn't want to waste his chance here.
He tried to control the Time Star, willing it to take him to the node where he needed to be.
But the Time Star was completely unresponsive—it only kept circling Yue Lan.
Jiang Fan smiled bitterly. Perhaps... he already knew the reason.
Because his Time Star originated from Yue Lan itself.
Once it had entered the River of Time, it uncontrollably traced back to its master?
At this very moment, Yue Lan stood before him, alive and real.
She still lived, still had her own warmth...
This dreamlike sight stunned Jiang Fan, and he couldn't help reaching out to touch Yue Lan's face.
But his hand passed through her body like an illusory bubble.
No one could see Future Jiang Fan, because they did not exist in the same time and space.
Future Jiang Fan could do nothing—only watch as a bystander, existing within the Time Star.
Because the Time Star was completely out of control, refusing to obey him.
At that moment, Yue Lan seemed to sense something. She looked vaguely into the void, frowning slightly.
Future Jiang Fan's heart tightened. Could... could she see him?
Past Jiang Fan tilted his head. "What's wrong, Sister Lan?"
Yue Lan smiled and shook her head. "Nothing... Women get a little twitchy sometimes, you know~"
Then her expression hardened. "It's about to start. Stay close to me!"
The entire battle formation turned deathly solemn.
Beyond the Horizon-Breaking Cliff, countless spirit beasts had gathered, including many high-level ones.
Looking out, there was a dark, seething mass, and from time to time, beast roars tore through the clouds.
At that moment, Long Chen leveled his spear.
Staring at the endless beast tide, his eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
"Xiaolong Cavalry! Golden Spear Battalion!"
"Here!"
Roaring war cries echoed across the battlefield.
"Behind the Horizon-Breaking Cliff, there are forty-eight cities and countless fertile farmlands. This land is known as the granary of the world! The harvest is near!"
"Don't let your wives and children go hungry! The cliff must not fall! The cities must not fall!"
"My Xiaolong Cavalry and Golden Spear Battalion stand with the Horizon-Breaking Cliff! Let these beasts taste the mettle of our men!"
"Tell them! Who is the true master of this land! I, Long Chen, will charge at the forefront!"
"Watch my back! While I stand, this natural barrier stands! The Xiaolong Cavalry stands! The Golden Spear Battalion stands!"
"ROAR!!!"
Countless soldiers raised their spears and roared at the sky, their morale blazing!
Long Chen swung his spear.
"Beat the war drums!"
The heart-pounding drums sounded, and the charge bugle sang out!
Countless riders charged directly at the beast tide!
And the dark mass of beasts surged forward as well, cramming against one another toward the Horizon-Breaking Cliff!
Long Chen grinned savagely, intense spatial fluctuations rippling across his body.
His figure vanished instantly!
"Meteor Spear!"
A blazing, fiery meteor pierced the clouds, dropping from the sky with a thunderous sonic boom!
"BOOM!" It slammed into the beast tide, sending dirt and rocks flying, along with countless beast carcasses.
In a single strike, Long Chen blasted a massive crater into the ground, even leveling a small hill!
Centered on him, a violent spatial storm erupted, shredding countless spirit beasts. Severed limbs and broken bodies flew everywhere. The blood dyed the spatial storm red.
From the force of that one blow, a torrential rain of blood fell across the entire battlefield.
"Void Suppression • Iron Bridge Crossing the River!"
Space suddenly froze, becoming harder than metal, immobilizing vast swaths of spirit beasts!
Long Chen swept his spear horizontally, shattering the bodies of countless spirit beasts.
His moves were bold and sweeping, devastating in power. He was like a meat grinder on the battlefield, mercilessly reaping beasts.
But the number of beasts was too great. How could Long Chen alone kill them all?
As both sides charged, the beast tide collided fiercely with the Xiaolong Cavalry!
The scene was brutally violent.
Some beasts were slaughtered and fell; some soldiers were torn apart.
Roars, screams, and shouts filled the sky.
Severed limbs and splattered blood flew everywhere. At every moment, countless soldiers fell.
But when one fell, another took their place. This was the truest face of battle.
Bloody and cruel.
At that moment, Yue Lan was enveloped in a golden orb of light, pulling Jiang Fan's arm as they moved across the battlefield.
From time to time, pillars of Regression light fell, saving some of the wounded.
But Yue Lan couldn't save everyone. Her level wasn't especially high, far from humanity's racial limit.
Even though Yue Lan was doing her utmost, more and more people kept falling.
At this moment, Jiang Fan pursed his lips tightly. He unfurled his Starry Sky Night, which already contained hundreds of stars.
From time to time, new stars would coalesce and light up.
Across the gruesome battlefield, shouts rang out now and then.
"Kid! Take it! I can't make it! It's yours! Don't you... *pfft*..."
"Everything I have! Take it! Don't let this Horizon-Breaking Cliff fall!"
"Brother! Brother Jin! Dammit!!! Avenge me! Avenge my brother! Jiang Fan! Take it!"
"Damn Holy Star! I hate this! We have to win! Win! Walk the rest of the road for me!"
Too many voices were drowned out by the chaos of the battlefield. Jiang Fan didn't know them, didn't know their names, didn't even know what they looked like.
But his Starry Sky Night bore the stars they had coalesced into—their hopes, their everything.
These soldiers sometimes resented Jiang Fan's existence, but when they were about to die, they still unhesitatingly entrusted everything to him.
Perhaps... that was their hope for the future.
We can't see it anymore. The future doesn't belong to us. But our stars... maybe they can follow him, win the war, and step into that future...
Above Jiang Fan's Starry Sky Night, more and more ability stars appeared.
From the initial few hundred, they grew to over a thousand.
Jiang Fan's eyes were red, tears brimming at the edges. But he clenched his fists tightly, not uttering a word.
Silently, he followed behind Yue Lan, walking across the battlefield, bearing the stars and hopes of the fallen soldiers.
And inside the Time Star, Future Jiang Fan watched all this... and fell silent.