Chapter 22: The God of Despair and Fortune
The black sea of mist was no longer as turbulent as before. Now it was as calm as a polished mirror, without a single ripple or undulation.
The accidental entrapment of Robzek, Muir, and the others within it seemed to be a great gain for the Box of Erebos. It was now temporarily satisfied, so it no longer expanded, allowing the other mages and church personnel to set up magical arrays around it to restrict its movements.
But even so, no one dared to approach this terrifying existence. Having witnessed Gold-rank and Ultimate-rank experts being swallowed without any resistance, everyone was filled with fear of this black mist. Even when setting up the arrays at a distance, they wore expressions of tragic resolve, as if they were about to sacrifice themselves at any moment.
But one person was different.
A clear, rhythmic sound of footsteps rang out. A black-haired man walked calmly toward the black mist, as if the danger it contained did not exist at all.
"Ah?! Wait, hold on!"
A young mage noticed the man's movement and panicked, trying to stop him. But suddenly, the black sea of mist seemed to sense someone approaching it voluntarily. Layers of mist surged toward the man, which frightened the mage into wanting to turn and run, shouting loudly to warn those around him that the strange black mist was expanding again.
But then, the sight that met the mage's eyes made him shut his mouth in astonishment. He could only stare dumbfounded at what was happening.
The black waves surged, forming a towering wave nearly twenty meters high, crashing down menacingly toward the black-haired man. But for some unknown reason, it quickly flattened before the warrior, becoming as smooth as a mirror. Then, the turbulent sea of mist parted naturally, like Moses parting the sea, creating a passage wide enough for one person to walk through.
The black-haired man naturally followed the passage forward. The mist slowly closed behind him, and the rhythmic, clear footsteps gradually faded into the sea of mist.
Everything returned to calm.
Within the black sea of mist, Joshua looked with interest at the churning darkness around him. He even deliberately reached out, intending to touch the mist. But the warrior's body seemed to possess a repulsive force. No matter how fast he moved his hand, the spiritual mist retreated at the same speed.
"The repulsion between divine natures is this strong, huh."
After pondering for a moment, Joshua hadn't expected things to turn out this way. His original plan was to actively enter this Divine Calamity Mist and then clear it—that is, to break its dream.
In doing so, those who had fallen into the mist would also awaken. The warrior himself would gain some benefit and could even stretch his limbs. Wouldn't that be wonderful? But now, not only did the mist fail to put him to sleep, it couldn't even get close to him.
"To be honest, in my past life, there were quite a few people who accidentally obtained divine nature. But they had no trouble entering the Divine Calamity Mist instances. It must be that the divine imprint in this Box of Erebos is simply too weak, unable to even pull in someone like me, who only has a sliver of divine nature."
Since that was the case, this was the only explanation. Joshua stopped thinking about the reason. Since the situation had changed, the plan naturally needed to be adjusted. Now, he simply wandered through the mist, searching for those unfortunate souls trapped in dreams. After all, the black mist was different from the harmless thought-mist of his past life. It carried a trace of eerie negative energy and was highly corrosive.
Robzek, the paladin, could hold out for a while, but mages like Muir and Hasu couldn't withstand it for long.
Now, Joshua was like a... "Just now, was that his dream?"
Earlier, just as the warrior grabbed the old mage and unceremoniously threw him out of the black mist, a series of blurry illusions began to flow before his eyes. Light and shadow intertwined, as if he had fallen into a dream.
It was a vast plain. Knee-high pasture grass swayed in the fierce wind. The gloomy sky was covered with dark clouds, and the air was thick with moisture. A few raindrops scattered in the wind before finally falling to the ground.
Two armies were facing off on this plain. One side was well-equipped, their formations precise and orderly, like a well-oiled machine. The other side had scattered formations and uneven equipment, with only their fierce fighting spirit worth mentioning.
Without needing to think, the warrior knew this was the army of the Northern Empire against the orcs.
Without leaving a moment for thought, the two armies began to move. They charged at each other, their steps either perfectly synchronized or wildly chaotic. In just a few minutes, the orc formation was completely shattered, while the human army, under the precise command of their leader, slowly began to devour the orc forces.
One side was an elite human force with an excellent commander; the other was an orc rabble that might not even have a leader. Even someone completely ignorant of military affairs could see that the outcome of this battle was already decided.
But the orcs were unexpectedly tenacious. Although their formation was a mess and they were practically fighting individually, relying on their robust physiques and endurance, this ragtag army managed to hold the human forces in place. They used their lives to delay the human army's attempts to reorganize, until a heavily armored cavalry unit thundered in from afar.
This was a terrifying orc cavalry unit, all mounted on unicorn stone rhinos. Unlike their brethren, their formation was perfectly orderly and rhythmic. Silently and swiftly, they crossed the vast grassland, charging straight toward the battlefield. Clouds gathered above their heads, and as the sky darkened, lightning and wind howled across the sky.
With the stone rhinos' synchronized steps, the human army could already feel the violent tremors of the earth. But their formation had not yet recovered. The remaining orc forces were still stubbornly holding them back. They seemed to know they were doomed, so they unhesitatingly gave their lives.
As thunder and lightning flashed across the sky, a cold rain began to fall. The sky grew completely dark, and visibility on the battlefield plummeted. Reorganizing the human army's formation became impossible. At the same time, the thunderous roar of the stone rhinos' charge rolled in from afar like genuine thunder.
A massacre.
An army that hadn't formed ranks or established a position was completely helpless against the charge of beasts like the unicorn stone rhino, comparable to a ground dragon. Not to mention that the orc warriors riding these beasts were generally at least Mid-Silver rank, wielding Battle Qi to make their mounts charge even more ferociously.
In just a few dozen minutes, the entire human army's formation was scattered like the orc rabble they had previously broken. Even their banners were snapped. In the pouring rain, it seemed the commander had fallen. The remaining human soldiers, without orders, could only panic and scatter in all directions. The result was predictable: the orc cavalry leisurely chased them down, caught them, and killed them.
Only a handful of people, incredibly lucky, managed to escape due to the chaotic conditions caused by the storm.
Among them was a young mage in a gray robe, his expression dazed and confused.
Just by looking at his face, one could tell he wasn't actually tense. Neither the war against the orc army nor the sudden cavalry charge instilled any fear in him. He was merely lost, wondering why he was here.
Wondering why he had crossed decades of time to return to this battlefield—the one that had made him despair, the one that had made him resolve to become someone who could "survive under any circumstances."
And now, Joshua vaguely understood the reason.
"The God of Despair and Fortune."
Muttering the name he had vaguely learned from those blurry illusions, the warrior narrowed his eyes, then curled his lips into a silent laugh.
"Interesting."
"This is a divine name I've never heard of in my past life."