Chapter 65: The Tide Recedes
The black dragon fell into chaos, spreading the Mad Dragon Plague and stirring the Black Tide as it rampaged, causing turmoil across the entire empire... And upon arriving in the Northern Lands, chaos guided it to open a hidden spatial gate that had never been discovered before. Wild Gods surged forth, attempting to turn this land covered in frost into a domain of chaos.
This was not surprising. It was all a very standard process for a chaos invasion event. Even in folk tales and biographies, one could see several plots with similar patterns. But somehow, there was a faint feeling that something was off.
Everything was too deliberate, as if some unseen existence was guiding these events to unfold.
Watching the nodes of the spatial gate being destroyed one after another, shattered, the invisible gathering place of mana was eroded by black killing intent. The Ultimate Wild God, massive as a mountain, sensed that the originally stable spatial passage was wavering. It struggled violently, attempting to use its overwhelmingly powerful strength to completely crush this little black bug to death.
However, with most of its body still on the other side of the spatial passage, it simply couldn't move freely. Opening its enormous maw in anger, the Wild God let out a silent roar. Countless compound eyes on its head immediately fired a variety of turbid rays. These mana beams, clearly extremely dangerous, tore through the atmosphere and flew rapidly toward the warrior.
If everything happening in the Northern Lands was part of an enormous conspiracy, then behind the Wild God in this spatial gate, there must be countless secrets and clues.
But so what?
Now was not the time to think about such things.
His form flickered like a teleport, dodging the rain of magical rays behind him. With a single sword strike, Joshua shattered another node of the spatial gate.
One-third left.
Not paying attention to the remaining Wild God's attacks on him—such simple magical rays he could dodge even with his eyes closed—the warrior silently counted the number of nodes he had already destroyed in his mind.
Now, the power of order brought forth by Brandon unleashing the true name of the sacred artifact in his hands was gradually fading. The chaotic mana tide began to surge violently again, wave after wave of repulsive force pressing down on the warrior, making his movements increasingly difficult. But Joshua did not hesitate. He burned his battle qi, forcing his way forward.
Ying also dared not disturb her master's rest. She simply sat quietly beside Joshua, vigilantly observing the surroundings.
In the sky, a deep cyan light fell from above, then crashed into the Black Forest not far away, kicking up a cloud of gray dust.
That should be Brandon overloading himself after channeling the power of the Order Twin Blades, temporarily losing his strength... But who cares about that annoying guy? Besides, the silver-haired girl had already scouted the area. Because of the mana tide, there wasn't a single Wild God or magical beast near the spatial gate—it was very safe.
Time passed bit by bit. Beside her, Joshua's breathing grew steadier, and the wounds on his body slowly healed. At the edge of the sky, a glow of mana light appeared, as if someone was rushing over from the direction of the fortress.
"It should be that woman..."
Muttering softly to herself, Ying looked up at the sky, gazing at the blazing noonday sun. A trace of golden light flickered in her silver eyes. Then she shifted her gaze to the large pit where the spatial gate had once been.
"Huh?"
Suddenly letting out a surprised cry, the Divine Mechanism Girl stood up, as if she had discovered something.
Beside the large pit, not far away, something was flickering with faint light.
Turning back to look at the resting Joshua, Ying blinked. After confirming that her master was in good condition, she trotted over to the spot of light.
Bending down, extending a fair and slender wrist, the Divine Mechanism Girl picked up the object.
A black-red light swirled within a thumb-sized, translucent crystal. A faint glow flickered, like a star.