The Creators: From Night City

Page 273

Of course, the most eye-catching is that apocalyptic era where everything is burned to ashes, the world is turned into a desolate wasteland, devoid of life and form.

The 'craftsman' felt as if he were a higher-dimensional being standing in a higher-dimensional space, examining the broken lower-dimensional world in front of him.

In fact, he is indeed in a state of dimensional ascension, but this is due to the combination of the [Key] and the special nature of this world. He just accidentally pushed open the door to dimensional ascension and peeked into the world behind the door through the thin, cicada-wing-like crack.

The clear evidence is that he can only watch helplessly now, unable to see and modify all the spaces and points in time of this three-dimensional world simultaneously, like a true higher-dimensional being.

The young 'craftsman' was unaware of the great opportunity that his chance encounter had created. He was experiencing this pseudo-omniscience with great curiosity when he suddenly found himself falling rapidly into the infinitely overlapping spacetime before him.

The situation was urgent, and Jiang Bing was powerless to change his 'falling' direction, but he still tried his best to twist to the side, to get as far away as possible from that apocalyptic era where everything was burned to ashes.

He fell from the cracks of higher dimensions and was captured by the timeline of a decadent era with the setting sun like blood. Then, the loose spatial rules, like an old woman's dentures, finally wrapped him up as well.

Jiang Bing felt a blur before his eyes, and when his vision cleared again, his body was already gripped by the familiar gravity, he could hear the wind in his ears, and the twilight sun hung high in the sky before him.

He came in.

However, the downside is that this time, the coordinateless wishing journey is the same as always, and the [Key] has prepared his favorite high-altitude descent segment for him again.

Below them was a swampy forest. The water wasn't deep, but the area was vast. A magnificent circular building, resembling an abandoned fortress, was nestled among the trees.

Jiang Bing raised his hand, preparing to manipulate the airflow as usual, but suddenly found that his usually reliable airflow manipulation had become somewhat sluggish in this world, as if he had entered a completely unfamiliar framework of rules and needed time to recalibrate and fit.

When Jiang Bing followed his 'craftsman's' intuition and manipulated the airflow to stabilize his figure, he had already descended to the height above the treetop.

He wanted to fly higher into the sky, but a long-dormant sense of danger suddenly stirred within him, allowing him to deflect an unexpected attack in mid-air.

However, the immense force sent Jiang Bing flying through the air, breaking the branches of dozens of trees along the way, before he crashed to the ground in a somewhat disheveled state.

Jiang Bing's weight was astonishing. This forced landing was basically equivalent to a meteorite falling from the sky. It not only smashed a section of obviously man-made gravel road into a shallow pit, but also stirred up clouds of dust.

Before the smoke and dust had cleared, a magnificent black figure emerged from within.

The figure had a pair of spiraling, twisted, black and red giant horns on its head, with numerous Nergigante spikes embedded at the base of the horns, forming the shape of a crown.

The mask is a jet-black skeletal mask, with two narrow red crystal windows for the eyes, completely covering the wearer.

The most eye-catching feature is the blue ring-shaped furnace-like structure located in the center of the chest cavity. This power supply device, formed by the fusion of the dragon jade of the Netherworld Dragon and [Power-Chi You], resembles a miniature heart that is still beating. Its surface is covered with glowing veins, and it transmits the dark blue energy to the whole body through blood vessel-like red patterns in rhythm with breathing.

The immense energy within the Netherworld Dragon Jade provides this armor with an almost inexhaustible supply of power. With the support of this energy, the Nergigante's body tissues can essentially proliferate and repair themselves indefinitely, making the armor virtually indestructible.

The shoulder armor is covered with layers of small, bony spikes. These spikes stand up slightly and can effectively protect the neck from weapons. If any monster hunters who have faced Nergigante are here, they will definitely recognize that these spikes are very similar to those on Nergigante.

That is indeed the case.

The original goat hoof boot shape has been changed to a more refined split-toe hoof structure, which provides better grip and further enhances mobility and foot destructive power.

The thighs to the knees are covered with a thick layer of biomass plates, but upon closer inspection, the leg armor is identical to the entire suit of armor, as if it were composed of fine and delicate dragon-scale-like plates.

From a distance, the entire suit of armor was covered with dark red biomass textures, and the joints and energy channels throughout the body emitted a faint blue energy glow.

The entire suit of armor showed no signs of splicing or wearing, and there were no gaps at all; it was so exquisite that it resembled a living, breathing ferocious beast.

【Power - Taotie】, the new name for this reforged armor that looks more like a beast than a human.

Equally striking as the menacing armor was the arrow that Jiang Bing gripped tightly in his hand.

However, calling it an arrow is not accurate. After all, the culprit that attacked Jiang Bing was more than three meters long and as thick as a bowl. Generally speaking, it is hard to associate it with an arrow. Calling it a crossbow bolt would be more reasonable.

However, it was indeed an arrow, and Jiang Bing dared to swear on his reputation as a 'craftsman'.

After brandishing the hundred-pound arrow 'spear', Jiang Bing removed his armor, casually hoisted it onto his shoulder, and did not choose to fly into the air again.

After all, someone who can use this thing as a weapon doesn't seem like someone easy to deal with.

More importantly, Jiang Bingfang had caught a glimpse of an abandoned fortress in the distance during the landing, but now it seemed that the fortress might not have been abandoned, and the airspace above this forest might be the other side's 'air traffic control zone'.

Jiang Bing wasn't afraid of causing conflict; it was just that, having just arrived in this place, playing it safe was the wisest choice at the moment.

Of course, the main reason was that Jiang Bing was unsure whether the arrow was a warning or an attack. He didn't want it to fly up and attract a barrage of arrows, since he wasn't Zhuge Liang's straw boat.

It's okay if I don't have this quirk.

The most urgent task is to figure out what kind of territory this is.

Although the exact date and location are unknown, this is definitely not some deserted wasteland or forbidden zone, since Jiang Bing is currently standing on a man-made stone path.

The existence of roads signifies the presence of civilization.

Chapter 532 The Enormous Coffin

Jiang Bing, carrying a gun, staggered along the road aimlessly, looking around at his surroundings as he went.

Aside from the fact that the fundamental laws governing the world are on the verge of collapse, this world has many other unique aspects.

First of all, there is probably no night in this world, because Jiang Bing has been walking for almost half an hour, and the sun in the sky is still half dead, without any trace of movement.

Thinking of this, Jiang Bing looked up at the sun overhead, which was radiating endless light and heat, and found that it was still the same as before, fixed in place, like a game icon.

Secondly, his first impression of the world was one of decay and ruin.

Although the plants around the road were still alive, they were listless and weak. The trees were either withered and brittle or drooping and lifeless.

Even the air seemed to be filled with the smell of decay and rot.

But soon, Jiang Bing realized that the rotten and foul smell was not just a mirage, but a real presence.

Following the stench, he successfully found the muddy swamp he had seen from the sky.

There is also a magnificent fortress ruin, deep in the swamp.

In addition, Jiang Bing also found a group of ragged humans, a group of lumberjacks, on the edge of the swamp.

These people are very strange.

They gathered in small groups, dressed in tattered, coarse cloth clothing, some with black cloth hats shaped like straw hats to shield themselves from the sun.

The reason they were considered strange was that every single one of them was extremely thin, almost skin and bones. The rest of them stood there blankly, lost in thought. The few who could move were mechanically using their long-rotten, dull knives and axes to cut down trees, making sharp stakes, which they then piled up to the side to await transport.

However, there were already a large number of wooden stakes piled up there, and the bottommost stakes were completely rotten and weathered, indicating that a long time had passed.

Jiang Bing slowly approached, but these people seemed completely absorbed in their own lives and did not react at all to Jiang Bing's approach.

Jiang Bing had no choice but to move closer. Just as he was about to use telepathy to communicate with a lumberjack curled up on the ground, the lumberjack suddenly raised his head like a dog smelling excrement and stared at Jiang Bing from below.

What a face!

His face was so dry that it had no moisture left, and his flesh was shrunken like tattered leather, so that his face was pressed tightly against his skull.

His entire face resembled a dried-up, shrunken orange peel, devoid of any elasticity. The skin's contraction revealed dark, gaping gums and equally sunken eye sockets, filling his face with madness and despair.

This face is like a real-life replica of Edvard Munch's "The Scream," practically a mummified corpse.

But even this desiccated corpse could struggle to get up from the ground and stagger toward Jiang Bing.

Looking at the obviously malevolent corpse, Jiang Bing called out twice, but seeing no response, he had no choice but to kick it again, sending it back to where it came from.

However, this attack, powerful enough to smash a brick wall, did not affect the opponent's mobility. Despite the obvious dent in his chest, the opponent still let out a shrill roar, startling more stunned lumberjacks. He also picked up a sharp wooden stake from the side and charged towards Jiang Bing with a roar.

Surprisingly, although the other party did not utter any syllables, Jiang Bing understood that the other party's roar came from the depths of their soul.

'soul!'

Although the wooden stakes were rough and unsightly, their tips were cut very sharp, and the wood used to make them was of good quality. If they were to be driven into a person, they could easily kill them.

This indicates that the zombie charging with the wooden stake had a clear objective from the moment it discovered him: to kill him and take his soul.

Jiang Bing definitely wouldn't want this.

So the giant arrow on his shoulder struck first, piercing the opponent's chest and pinning him to the ground. The wooden stake in the opponent's arms was then transferred to Jiang Bing's hands, and he quickly skewered it like lamb skewers onto several other lumberjacks.

When these undead lumberjacks saw Jiang Bing, they acted like zombies seeing a living person, rushing towards him with fanaticism and recklessness, wanting to kill him.

Then Jiang Bing strung them together like candied hawthorns and nailed them to the ground.

Of course, what is surprising is that even though these mummies suffered fatal wounds from wooden stakes piercing their chests, they did not show any signs of the injury they should have. Instead, they slowly waved their hands and feet, trying to pull themselves out of the stakes.

The mummified corpses closer to Jiang Bing ignored the wooden stake and futilely reached out to scratch at him.

It was as if it were greeting someone, saying, "It's just a minor fatal wound."

Is this a living corpse or a zombie?

Jiang Bing then used telepathic magic to communicate with each of them one by one. After confirming that he could only hear meaningless roars and howls, he finally concluded that he could not get any more information from this group of creatures that seemed more like mindless beasts than intelligent beings.

So he had no choice but to keep going.

Jiang Bing walked along the edge of the swamp for another ten minutes or so before finally unable to resist leaping into the air, trying to use the height difference to get a better understanding of his surroundings.

He succeeded. Before the attack of the giant arrows arrived, he successfully found a well-dressed, orderly procession on a wide and clean stone road on the other side of the forest.

Propelled by the airflow, he swooped down toward the direction of the group.

Perhaps because he wasn't close to the abandoned fortress, Jiang Bing wasn't attacked along the way, allowing him to reach his destination smoothly, but also shattering his idea of ​​investigating the source of the attacks.

Fortunately, he is finally going to make contact with normal humans in this world.

The composition of this team is quite strange.

In the very center of the procession was a huge coffin, over ten meters long and six or seven meters wide, so large it resembled a small hill.

The enormous coffin was not pulled by horses, but by several 'giants' who were three or four meters tall and chained.

Surrounding the coffin were twenty or thirty clergymen dressed in wide-sleeved religious robes, and further out were eight unusually large 'security personnel'.

Through them, Jiang Bing deduced that although this world was dilapidated, the martial prowess of the native inhabitants was not low.

These eight 'Guardians of the Faith' were all over two meters tall, wearing full sets of thick heavy armor and canister-shaped steel helmets. The four 'Guardians of the Faith' at the front, back, left, and right corners carried square solid metal shields nearly as tall as a person and fist-sized spear hammers in their right hands, while the remaining four 'Guardians of the Faith' simply carried a metal greatsword that was only slightly smaller than Jiang Bing's [Negotiation] sword.

Leading the way at the front of the procession was an armed force with a completely different style.

Chapter 533 The Profound Saint

Leading the way were two tall, slender armored warriors. She was a head taller than the burly 'Crusaders' and wore bright silver metal armor. She held aloft a metal staff shaped like the Chinese character '米' (rice) and acted as the vanguard.

Behind them were several rows of religious knights wielding medium-sized diamond-shaped shields and slender curved swords. Each knight wore a religious crown resembling a bishop's tiara and a veil, clearly indicating that they were the armed forces of a certain religion.

However, compared to the blue-clad bishops behind them, their distinct styles clearly suggest they are not from the same family.

Looking at this large group of religious figures, Jiang Bing's desire to greet them vanished. The reason was simple: these people didn't seem easy to get along with at all; they all looked like religious fanatics. In addition, their actions clearly resembled that of escorting the corpse of some important person. He was afraid that if he went up to them, he might be treated as some kind of heretic with ulterior motives before he could even finish speaking.

Jiang Bing immediately changed his plan, intending to follow the group and see if he could find a human settlement through them.

This led him to discover something quite interesting.

Behind this massive funeral procession, a 'tail' trailed far behind.

Compared to the eerie escort team, this spy was clearly much more normal.

He was of normal build, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, and dressed normally. He carried a sword and shield, wore leather armor, and behaved normally. He crept furtively to the side of the road, peering suspiciously at the massive transport convoy.

So Jiang Bing touched it.

The opponent was clearly a powerful warrior; before he could get very close, the opponent had already noticed his presence.

However, after examining his face, the other party did not immediately draw his sword. Instead, he gestured for him not to come any closer and to lower his body to avoid the gaze of the transport convoy traveling on the road.

A low voice came from behind, but the language barrier left Jiang Bing completely confused. So, he habitually released his mental energy and tried to establish a connection with the other party using telepathy.

In this world, the existence of souls and the use of related abilities seem to be commonplace and ubiquitous. The other party was no stranger to communicating with Jiang Bing at the soul level, and the connection was completed smoothly.

However, the first words from the other party surprised Jiang Bing greatly.

"Are you insane? How dare you unleash your soul before the 'Lord of the Deep'!"

The Profound Saint Lord? Jiang Bing savored this very familiar term, feeling as if he had heard it somewhere before. But before he could recall, Gao Jue's sharp eyesight allowed Jiang Bing to see the giant coffin in the middle of the procession suddenly sway slightly.

'What's going on? The person isn't dead yet!' Jiang Bing thought to himself.

However, a putrid stench, like that of fermented herring mixed with dead pigs, cows, and sheep in a sealed environment, suddenly spread out.

Along with it spread a chilling sense of panic that sent shivers down one's spine and made the hairs on one's head stand on end. It was a strange feeling, like standing in front of a bottomless abyss and peering down into the endless darkness.

Jiang Bing's expression changed slightly, and a question involuntarily popped into his mind: "Is the coffin containing the Lord of the Deepest Abyss? And what exactly is the Lord of the Deepest Abyss?"

He soon found out the answer.

"I want him! What a pure, vast, and sweet soul, what a delicious body! I want him, to eat, to eat!!"

A corner of the coffin was lifted, and a pool of flowing black mud gushed out, accompanied by the silent whispers of the soul that spread throughout the area.

A portly old man, clearly an archbishop, in the group of blue-robed clergymen looked at Jiang Bing at the back of the group as if he had received a divine revelation.

Immediately following a series of words Jiang Bing didn't understand, the entire escort team stopped, and several 'guardians of the faith' began to press towards Jiang Bing.