NEC Chapter 127: Earthbound Undead, Pursuit with a Cart on One's Back

The Blood Fortress, which was formerly known as Razor Fortress, was built with its back against the most treacherous section of Flag Mountain.

The fortress designer must have fully considered the prospect of facing prolonged orc sieges and the possibility of the outer city falling. Therefore, within the outer city, near the deep Flag Mountain ridge, they erected an inner city.

The inner city's building materials were quarried from the Dark Steel Valley to the south. This dark steel rock was dense and hard, as solid as refined steel. Conventional metal swords could at most leave a scratch when striking it.

On the Starry Continent, it was generally used for the shells of large magical arrays or the outer walls of super noble residences.

Using it to build a city was equivalent to using golden nanmu wood for courtyard fencing on Blue Star, truly wasteful.

But back then, in that glorious era when the Resting Moon Dynasty's power was at its zenith and they fully supported their allies, the spirited founding Grand Duke of the Emerald Duchy conquered the great desert to the east, took the plains to the south, conquered Iron Ridge Valley to the west, and watered his horses at Crystal River's banks...

At the same time, he spared no expense in transporting the costly dark steel rock across hundreds of kilometers to Razor Corridor, forcibly constructing the framework of Razor Fortress.

Of course, the cost was too great. They could only erect an inner city, while the outer city was slowly built using traditional stone materials quarried locally around Flag Mountain.

At that time, although the White Deer Plains north of Flag Mountain were still under human control, all nations knew that completely abandoning the regions north of Flag Mountain was only a matter of time.

The civil war flames that swept across the entire human world had burned across the continent for thirty years, with southern nations even lowering their conscription age below ten years old.

No nation could continue to mobilize their entire national strength to block the rolling torrent of orcs advancing south while trapped in their own precarious internal struggles.

Building such a majestic fortress precisely to abandon the northern human territories was somewhat absurd in itself.

As events proved, the Razor Fortress that the Emerald Duchy had built in advance became humanity's northernmost and the duchy's most solid barrier after the northern lands completely fell.

Of course, even the most solid inner city, without provisions inside or reinforcements outside, ultimately could not escape the fate of falling.

To eliminate future troubles permanently, after toppling the outer city, the orcs mobilized massive numbers of beast race laborers to completely dismantle this inner city's walls bit by bit.

While the outer city still had some scattered remnants of walls, the inner city here was truly an open field, with only a few foundation stumps remaining where the inner city entrance had been.

During the first three days, the outer city area of Blood Fortress had been repeatedly swept, and guards had entered multiple times at different periods to confirm safety.

Therefore, the Vast Sea expedition force placed their advance camp on an open area two kilometers from the inner city and launched a new round of advancement from there.

Unlike the heavy black fog of the outer city, the mist in the inner city area appeared quite thin, with much improved visibility.

The reconnaissance drone looked down from above, giving a clear view of the entire inner city area.

Behind it rose the towering Flag Mountain, its gray-brown rock layers cut as if by knives and axes into steep cliffs from top to bottom. Only at heights of several hundred meters above could one vaguely see some scattered green dots.

At Flag Mountain's peak, the mountain's color suddenly changed, showing bright red through the yellow. This was the unique red rock of Flag Mountain's summit, as if dyed by ten thousand rays of sunlight.

The fortress ruins nestled closely beneath this peak also seemed to brighten in the camera lens, radiating a wild, natural magnificence that lifted one's spirits.

Looking at the magical scene on the large screen, veteran Geddy quietly recounted the fortress's history to the lord.

"Look, Lord," Geddy pointed at the steep mirror-like cliff face of Flag Mountain on the screen. "This main peak section was forcibly transformed by the duchy's great mages working together. Forget orcs, even real wild beasts couldn't climb up there!"

Chen Mo had limited experience and didn't understand this logic. Wild beasts had better climbing ability than orcs?

Never mind, he'd quietly research such minor questions later rather than expose his ignorance here.

"You mentioned attacking the fortress from the peak earlier... theoretically feasible, but the cost, well, that cost was too great! You simply couldn't get many people up there!"

"The orcs did try it! They once used their air force to forcibly hoist elite warriors up to Flag Mountain's peak."

"Then what? They threw stones, hurled war spears, even had those madmen dive straight down to attack the fortress from above!"

"The result? Completely useless! The city had elite warriors and large protective magical arrays. Even if you survived jumping from the peak, you'd face the inner city's rear wall, which was full of pit traps!"

Speaking of this, Geddy seemed somewhat emotional, his voice carrying a hint of gritted teeth. "The most dangerous time, the orcs bought many dwarven thunder jars from some despicable northern nation, threw them down from the peak while coordinating with frontal attacks, and nearly broke through the fortress."

"But at that time, everyone in the fortress, from top to bottom, were the duchy's bravest warriors. They literally filled the gaps with their lives and finally held the line. That battle produced over ten barons, six viscounts, and even one marquis!"

"Tsk tsk, that truly was..."

"Something bards sang about for many years!"

As they spoke, the mercenaries' eyes took on a hint of yearning admiration.

The drone's lens continued forward. The inner city appeared somewhat empty. Besides the scattered wandering ruin guards, the most eye-catching feature was the half-collapsed building at the end of the central axis.

Chen Mo, now dignified as a city lord, immediately recognized it as the former lord's mansion.

Just as the drone prepared to zoom in closer, a high-level ruin guard threw a short spear.

Unsurprisingly, another drone was lost.

Chen Mo deeply hated this, but there was no help for it.

Drones were convenient and easy to operate, but simply too fragile.

They didn't even need mages. Any slightly higher-level warrior could bring them down with bows, throwing spears, or even picked-up stones.

Compared to the armored griffon knights covered in hard feathers and sometimes magical protection on kingdom battlefields, they could only be described as utterly vulnerable.

Originally, cost was the drone's greatest advantage, but since Vast Sea Territory couldn't produce them domestically and needed to transport them through Sacrificial Altars, the comprehensive cost calculation became quite high, making the lord unable to not feel the pain.

No choice but to have backup drones continue reconnaissance from far distances while the vanguard forces directly pushed magnetic combat vehicles into the inner city.

Clear the area first.

The moment the combat vehicles crossed that broken wall foundation line, the entire inner area seemed to sound some kind of assembly horn, instantly activated.

The originally wandering ruin guards all turned their heads in unison toward the intruders' direction.

After a brief pause, the ruin guards wielded their spears and great shields, charging toward the Vast Sea assault team.

Then they were promptly stuck to that sturdy magnetic disc.

Although the inner city mostly contained high-level ruin guards, after being firmly deprived of their weapons, they were like top fighters strapped to the front of an armored vehicle.

No matter how hard your fists or how strong your striking power, you couldn't exert any effect.

Vice-captain Geddy, who had watched this scene for several days, still couldn't help but exclaim sincerely, "This, this is truly magical!"

"This reminds me of mages' wind binding. But even incarnation-level elemental mages could only restrain a few opponents at once with wind binding, and absolutely couldn't sustain it for so long..."

As the inner city's ruin guards successively lost combat capability, the tense Vast Sea assault team could finally relax.

Once they found a targeted method, this large relic manifested with iron and blood elements seemed no different from collecting scrap iron from a junkyard.

The inner city's range wasn't large, and the number of guardians was relatively limited. It took only about ten minutes total. Except for the final lord's mansion area, all ruin guards had been completely "kidnapped" onto the magnetic combat vehicles.

Over ten observation lenses of various sizes aimed at the lord's mansion from several directions.

There had been no movement there, only ruins and a motionless figure.

The assault team's searchlights focused on this area, completely illuminating those architectural remains that still vaguely retained hints of their former glory.

The former center of power had completely collapsed into a vast, menacing field of rubble.

Several broken massive stone pillars tilted crookedly toward the gray sky like snapped giant ribs, barely supporting the overhead dome remains that had long since shattered beyond recognition and hung precariously.

Because the walls and dome had mostly collapsed, the lord's mansion was like having a huge wound torn open, allowing light to pour in unrestrainedly and illuminate the internal decay and desolation.

The great hall was deathly silent, as if time had frozen here.

Broken beams supported tottering architectural remains. Several rafters hung down from above, their ends apparently fire-scorched, leaving long charcoal-black marks on the ground.

The floor was scattered with broken porcelain shards, rotted wood, fragments of shattered weapons, and several faded torn pages with blurred writing that could no longer be deciphered.

Most eye-catching was the motionless silhouette in the center.

It was a warrior.

Or rather, had once been a warrior.

He sat on the stone steps beside a stone seat, his tall frame wrapped in broken armor. From afar, both the armor and the steps beneath him were painted gray by dust.

The warrior's sitting posture had become one with the surrounding desolate ruins.

The drone attempted to zoom in closer again.

The armor's design was exquisite and magnificent. Even covered in thick grime, the delicate intricate patterns and carefully carved reliefs on its surface showed it must have been a master's handiwork.

However, the entire suit of armor was covered with wounds large and small. A huge dent in the chest had sunk deep with twisted, curled edges, as if hammered by some terrifying force. The joints at plate connections had long since broken. Several vicious cracks on the arm armor snaked upward like serpents, exposing sharp, curled edges. The right shoulder guard was missing entirely, leaving a jagged break that revealed dark inner lining beneath. The exposed leather had withered and curled like autumn leaves, seemingly ready to crumble at the slightest touch.

A helmet pressed down on his head with the face plate completely lowered, shutting off everything within and leaving only two deep eye slits that reflected faintly in the light.

This warrior just sat there motionless, a two-handed sword thrust point-down into the ground beside him, its hilt slightly tilted.

Around him on the ground lay scattered mottled emblems, rusted weapon cases, broken small round shields, and various debris whose purposes could no longer be identified.

This scene seemed to transport everyone back to that era of war and iron-blooded passion, as if glimpsing the final warrior who fought with all his might to write a heroic epic's conclusion.

Then he grew tired and simply sat down.

One sitting, and a hundred years passed!

"Something's wrong!"

Just as the assault team warriors were somewhat infected by this tragic atmosphere, Doyle issued a warning.

"Captain Kaga, Razor Fortress was completely destroyed by orcs, and the inner city was swept countless times. How could such a complete warrior's remains still be left, complete with armor?"

"There's a problem!"

Kaga's heart tightened, and he immediately requested instructions from Chen Mo in the rear through communications equipment.

The lord's reply was very clear: Safety first!

First dispose of those ruin guards stuck to the magnetic combat vehicle, then push this "magnetic" vehicle closer to "invite" that "hero" over too!

As for what kind of "goods" he really was, knock him down first and study slowly!

Kaga quickly relayed the orders. Everyone began to spread out, expertly powering down, igniting, disposing of ruin guards, finishing them off, and clearing the battlefield...

Throughout this entire process, that "armored warrior" remained motionless, indifferent to the destruction of these "companions" or "subordinates," seeming truly dead.

Until Liu Zaiyue, who had been responsible for providing bull power to push the cart behind the combat vehicle, curiously poked his head out for a look while pushing the magnetic combat vehicle to turn and avoid metal debris ahead, preparing to advance toward the lord's mansion.

Just this one glance!

"Click... click..."

An extremely faint sound like rusted joints grinding against each other rang out.

On the stone steps, that helmet that had hung low for a hundred years suddenly lifted! In the deep eye slits behind the face mask, two points of crimson light blazed!

"Beast... man..."

"Die!!!"

A wave of violent black mist expanded outward with this nameless warrior at its core, like ink dropped into clear water instantly spreading, like a great stone falling into water and splashing ripples, sweeping outward!

The two-handed sword thrust into the ground let out a clear hum, instantly flying up and landing steadily in the warrior's gauntleted hand!

Immediately after came a black shadow, closely following the circular trajectory of the black mist, pointing directly at the magnetic combat vehicle.

The armored warrior charged out!

The moment this warrior raised his head, the human warriors and centaur warriors who had been closely watching the scene simultaneously issued warnings.

"Enemy contact front!"

"Open fire! Open fire!"

The assault team responded extremely quickly. Over ten automatic rifles opened fire simultaneously, with dense crisscrossing fire lines locking onto the armored warrior's charge route.

However, in that split second, the armored warrior completely ignored all attacks, charging straight through the barrage and even slightly sidestepping to bypass the roaring Kaga, bringing his two-handed sword down heavily toward Simple Bull.

Liu Zaiyue's reaction was already quite fast. The moment this unknown enemy charged over, Simple Bull had already tensed all his muscles, filled with spiritual battle qi, while lowering his body slightly and advancing instead of retreating, directly meeting the charge head-on.

Violence against violence.

But the gap was simply too great.

In one exchange, Liu Zaiyue was not only stopped cold in his savage charge but also caught by his opponent's combination of charge, power gathering, and furious slash, torn with a shocking wound from shoulder blade to chest.

Between ramming and slashing, he was sent flying far away.

"Stop him!" Little Kaga let out an angry roar, his assault rifle spraying wildly while he recklessly charged again, trying to use his body to block the opponent's pursuit!

The armored warrior made another agile sidestep, as if that seemingly cumbersome armor was merely a bundle of light feathers, lightly avoiding Kaga's charge and continuing relentlessly to pursue Simple Bull.

"He's not attacking me?"

No time to think further. Kaga exerted force with his legs, caught up from behind, and again used his body to ram toward the opponent's path while shouting sternly, "Baoguo, drag Simple Bull away, quick! Everyone else come stop him!"

"Power up quickly, power up now!!!"

A group of centaurs and human warriors swarmed forward, desperately pulling and grabbing, trying to stop the armored warrior.

But this guy charged left and right, not letting anyone touch even a corner of his clothing. However, the armored warrior's movement was greatly delayed, forcing him to take a wide detour to avoid interception and continue his pursuit.

The magnetic combat vehicle operator pressed the power button in time.

The recently cleared battlefield's scattered metal fragments and broken weapon remains were seized by invisible giant hands, emitting sharp whistling sounds as they flew rapidly toward the magnetic disc!

The assault team members near the vehicle felt their hands lighten as their only metal items, their firearms, also instantly flew from their hands!

As for that armored warrior, he ultimately couldn't resist such close-range, ultra-high magnetic field strength magnetism and was involuntarily stuck to the front armor of the magnetic storm vehicle.

Then, a scene that left everyone dumbfounded occurred.

Although this armored warrior couldn't break free from magnetic restraint, he didn't give up!

Suddenly sinking his waist and bending his knees, the armored warrior let out a muffled roar, then exerted force, actually lifting the vehicle body while planting his feet on the ground, as if carrying the magnetic combat vehicle on his back.

He forcibly carried this behemoth of steel that originally weighed 1.6 tons but now, loaded with additional armor plating and stone weights on the front armor, exceeded seven tons total weight, on his back covered in broken armor!

Oh right, there was still a driver in the cockpit.

Under the gaze of over a hundred eyes, this armored warrior, with some apparent difficulty, step by step, half-dragging and half-carrying the combat vehicle, scraping a deep groove in the ground, pursued in Simple Bull's direction.

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