Chapter 54: Lighting This Campfire
The terrifying landslide brought the surrounding mountains crashing down together. Gray stone flows covered a vast area in an instant, transforming the entire mountain range into a plateau of rubble and gravel, while the shockwaves continued to spread outward, kicking up dust and forming a hurricane that swept across heaven and earth.
"Damn it!"
Just before the stone flow engulfed the fortress, Moria and Claire barely managed to react from the shocking scene before them. In an instant, they both erupted with full power, joining forces to withstand the mighty impact. The steel magic tree, under the green force of nature, coiled its roots and branches, wrapping its master and her companions together within itself. Outside its silvery-white spherical branches, layers upon layers of mountain-like golden battle qi phantom images had already formed a protective barrier.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A sound that drowned out everything echoed for ten thousand miles. The surrounding mountains collapsed like dominoes one after another, and the gray mist surging into the sky spread without end.
However, as time passed, this seemingly endless thunderous roar began to fade, and everything gradually returned to silence.
...
After who knows how long.
"Crack."
A faint sound rang out on the highland covered in rubble and dust. In the nearly stagnant world, a trace of movement suddenly appeared.
"Creak, creak..."
Accompanied by a rustling, stirring noise, a small mound suddenly bulged on the flat ground, as if something was crawling out from beneath the earth.
"Boom!"
With a dull thud, a sudden, immense force blasted the mound apart from within. A fist wrapped in iron armor emerged, and amidst the flying gravel and sand, a figure in black armor, gripping a giant axe, slowly walked out from the rubble and debris.
The blood on the armor had long since dried, forming black scabs. The V-shaped visor on the helmet was obscured by thick dust, and a hand clad in steel wiped it clean. The warrior looked around with some confusion.
Behind the transparent steel crystal of the helmet, two points of crimson light flickered. Joshua, now gradually regaining his senses, stood upright on the ground, leaning on his giant axe, and looked up at everything before him.
He saw the harsh, knife-like wind blowing across the flat land before him. The drifting gray smoke slanted past like a black straight line, splitting heaven and earth in two. The distant earth rumbled with a deep roar, and countless stones and sand lay at his feet, covering everything that had once been.
Above, the already dim sky had grown even darker. A black canopy, mixed with countless swirling dust particles, formed a vortex, devouring all light.
"...Sigh."
Letting out a long sigh, exhaling air tinged with the smell of blood, the warrior lifted his helmet and tucked it under his arm. His expression was weary, and his long black hair fluttered in the wind, brushing against his cheeks. Joshua, having recalled what had just happened, looked down at himself with a complex expression.
"To just ram straight in like that... what the hell was she thinking?!"
Regardless of what she was thinking, Joshua no longer had the energy to ponder the reason behind Number 3's actions.
Because he was about to die.
During the battle with the Wild God, he had used over fifteen types of buffs, plus the strain of Divine Mechanization. Joshua had been completely pushing his body to its limits. Originally, he could have relied on the Azure Orb to burn the Wild God's blood for repair, but in the final clash, his body had been severely damaged. Although the Ultimate Wild God had been heavily wounded and even killed by Number 3's desperate last stand, Joshua had also completely shattered the limits of what his body could bear. Now, all his organs were failing.
"Hahahaha!"
Even with injuries this severe, just thinking about how that terrifying monster, which seemed to devour heaven and earth, had been entangled by him and then pitifully rammed head-on by the mobile fortress, Joshua couldn't help but burst into laughter. Even if his lungs ached as if they were cramping, he had to laugh!
Beside him, amidst a brilliant surge of mana, the black giant axe deactivated its Divine Mechanization. The black-haired, golden-eyed Divine Mechanism boy nervously supported his master, but Joshua gently pushed him away. Lin couldn't help but anxiously say, "Master, you need to conserve your strength. Let me help you..."
"Don't panic."
Shaking his head with a smile, Joshua, still mentally lingering in the battle, said nonchalantly to his weapon, "I'm about to die, but I'm not dead yet."
He didn't seem at all worried about his critically fatal injuries. Even though he would truly suffocate and die in just over ten minutes, he somehow maintained a strange composure. The crimson light in the warrior's eyes still flickered with excitement. "Lin, I have a task for you now."
Pausing, Joshua continued, "Find where that Ultimate Wild God is."
Earlier, when Number 3 drove the fortress, charging in with the momentum to crush all things between heaven and earth, he had let go to avoid becoming a casualty of the Wild God's death. He was then blown away by the shockwave from the collision of the two behemoths. Now, with his severe injuries, he urgently needed the Chaos Monster for healing.
Lin, true to his nature as a Divine Mechanism who had undergone elite education, had been tense at first because of Joshua's injuries, but had now calmed down under the warrior's composed demeanor. Hearing Joshua's words, Lin immediately understood why his master wanted him to do this, and he gave a heavy "Mm" in response.
Under Joshua's guidance, he closed his eyes and sensed the location of the Chaos power.
Not long after, the Divine Mechanism boy opened his golden eyes and said joyfully, "Found it, Master. It's over there. The Chaos aura is very strong, and it's not buried too deep!"
"So close?"
Somewhat surprised, Joshua looked in the direction Lin pointed and nodded. "Then help me dig it out."
Joshua wasn't trying to push his weapon to its limits; it was simply that his physical condition was truly poor. Now, every step he took was destroying his body and accelerating his death. Digging himself out from underground earlier had been a necessity. Now, it was best to move as little as possible.
Lin naturally didn't hesitate and went to dig. Although he looked young and wasn't tall, as Joshua's Divine Mechanism, the boy still possessed the strength of a Silver High-rank. He dug very quickly, even without tools, surpassing the work speed of a dozen ordinary people. Before long, a large pit and a pile of dirt appeared before the warrior.
After a while longer, Lin's voice came from deep underground: "Master, I found it!"
Hearing this, Joshua, who had been standing still to conserve his strength, immediately moved toward Lin's location. He didn't hesitate to enter the deep pit.
Inside the cave, there was no light. Relying on his dark vision, Joshua walked to the end of the cave. In the center of this deep pit, he saw a patch of white bone. Lin stood nearby with a joyful expression, looking somewhat tired.
After praising Lin a few times, Joshua stepped forward, crouched down, and touched it. Although he couldn't see the full shape of the bone, he could still identify which part of the Ultimate Wild God it was.
It was the Sky-Piercing Giant Horn of the Ultimate Wild God.
The blue-white lightning that had once swirled around it was gone. The terrifying Chaos aura had completely vanished. In the gaps of the surrounding sand and gravel, faint black mist even rose, carrying a trace of deathly stillness.
"Dead, as expected. The corpse doesn't seem to have started decomposing yet. Should be in time."
Struggling to take the Azure Orb hanging on his chest from his armor, Joshua glanced at this unremarkable Order relic, which looked like a glass bead, and then pressed it solemnly against the Ultimate Wild God's horn.
"Whoosh—"
It sounded like something being ignited, echoing in the dark cave.
Then, a ball of light flared up.
The Azure Orb, which had shown no special characteristics before, immediately began to radiate infinite brilliance upon contact with the Ultimate Wild God's body. The vast Order power, like fire meeting dry wood, spread rapidly and blazed fiercely! In an instant, the intensely bright light illuminated the entire cave and even shot out, forming a white pillar of light that pierced the sky!
The Azure Orb began to release intense heat rapidly. Joshua felt as if he were holding a ball of fire in his palm, and streams of pure life force, accompanied by this heat, were transmitted into his body. Every minute corner of his being was filled. His originally severe injuries began to heal quickly, and his internal organs and spirit gradually recovered to perfection, even growing stronger!
Immersed in the pleasure of healing his injuries, Joshua did not notice that his Chaos Warden talent and the Azure Orb's properties were gradually being altered during this burning process.
[Chaos Warden], [Order Purification]—these two seemingly complementary abilities were slowly blurring and then merging, beginning to transform into another ability!
To be continued.