Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 554: The Final Path (Part )

"You mean, threatening me?" Light cast a disdainful look at Yaroslav, and in front of him, he poured the red magic power into the seven "Dark Touches" behind him.

boom!
The sound of magic colliding with the air was mixed with a burst of brilliant light spots like New Year's fireworks. Wright's "Dark Touch" suddenly opened, like a blooming flower of flesh and blood, or like an "alien monster" wandering between continents that would devour people in an instant, showing his power to Yaroslav.

But it seemed that Yaroslav had a backup plan. Facing Wright's threat, his facial expression did not fluctuate at all, and even the corners of his mouth slightly raised, showing his contempt and disdain for Wright's childish behavior.

"There is no threat in this world." Yaroslav said in the unquestionable tone of a leader:
"It's just a helpless choice made after weighing the pros and cons. Sometimes, you have the power to choose, but most Cruz people, even those who live in this world, don't have the power to choose. But humans are not limited to running like clowns in the program pre-set by the Creator, but can create any valuable thinking products in the 'paradise', and then make them with machines that have reached the extreme 'freedom'.

"It can be said that humans may be tools created by the Creator to spy on itself, but humans also have the potential to become the Creator. Humans... are the only 'divine' race with 'complete wisdom' among the 18 ancient races. This is also the main reason why we were able to defeat the dragons and the 'Lord of Darkness' and achieve the final victory in the ancient human-dragon war."

"What if I refuse? Commander Yaroslav." Light looked up and stared at Yaroslav with his eyes that had turned red. He was very angry. This extreme anger was enough to transform into a destructive fire force under the blessing of the red magic power. But in fact, his mental strength allowed him to still maintain complete and extremely controllable rationality.

"Death, disappearance." Yaroslav said two extremely lethal words in Cruz German. He paused, turned the "Vassily Pistol" to Wright's heart, and said sternly:

"You don't have the power to choose, and neither do I! When we appeared in this world, we were wrong! There is no 'savior' in Cruzde, and there is even less 'savior' in the Rinie Empire. Perhaps there is no 'savior' in Chitanris either. Their 'immortals' are just a group of despicable humans who are greedy for honor. If the 'paradise' fails to appear, humans will be surrounded by the waves of the 'Ancient Sea' and head towards the 'place of annihilation' beyond majesty and holiness."

"You are a man who is not afraid of death, Yaroslav. I can feel that you are actually very loyal. I guess there must be an event that made you feel 'betrayed', so you became extreme and fanatical, extremely and fanatical against the things you once believed in and were extremely loyal to. Am I right, commander of the Cruz soldiers, commander-in-chief of the 'Red Fantasy Ruins' campaign?" Wright chuckled and stroked his wounded "Dark Mystery Touch" with his hand.

"Shut up!" Yaroslav was obviously a little annoyed. "I order you to shut up!"

"Shut up?" Wright was secretly pleased that he had managed to break down a high-ranking federal officer with just a few words. If he had tried harder, perhaps Yaroslav would have revealed his flaws in his anger.

"Commander Yaroslav, the reason you didn't let me speak is precisely because I really touched your sore spot, or rather, I guessed the real reason why you wanted to adopt the 'Paradise Plan'. Everyone hates to be betrayed, and it is not a shameful thing. Since Chief Executive Vasily is the supreme leader of Cruzde, then, from any perspective, you are his subordinate." Wright deliberately added a hint of provocation in his tone.

"So what?" Yaroslav asked gloomily.

"Your actions, which were taken because you felt 'betrayed', are precisely another kind of 'betrayal'. Since you are an officer of Cruzde and the chief executive has appointed you, you have destroyed his plot... or plan, and openly acted in opposition. This is not only 'betrayal', but from a federal perspective, it is called 'rebellion'." Wright almost put his head close to Yaroslav's ear, and spoke in a low voice with a smile that anyone could easily detect.

"what!"

After standing there in a daze for a few seconds, Yaroslav suddenly broke down his defense. He roared at Wright, but his twisted, wrinkled face revealed the ridiculousness of a circus clown.

In front of Wright, he removed the safety of the "Vasily" pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger towards Wright's "Dark Touch".

boom!
Although Wright's "Dark Touch" is a pure biological organism composed of flesh and blood, with the blessing of "antiquity" and red magic power, its hardness is no less than that of diamonds for cutting glass, or the special alloy used to cast the old empire's aerospace equipment.

The Vasili Pistol is only slightly larger than a palm. Its production style is based on the low-key and frugal style advocated by the Cruz Federation, highlighting the special status of the holder. In addition to the special silver bullets inside that have enhanced killing effects on "alien monsters" and the Lost, in most aspects, the Vasili Pistol is far inferior to the rifles equipped by grassroots soldiers, and even inferior to the "Bosiliya" pistols equipped to the middle and lower-level squad leaders. The silver bullets fired from Yaroslav's pistol turned into countless fragments and scattered after a slight contact with the "Dark Mystery Touch". Even if he fired several more shots, the bullets could not cause any substantial damage to Wright without exception.

Perhaps it was this outburst that helped Yaroslav to relieve much of the anger in his heart, or perhaps it was his rational instinct as a Crusad officer that came into play.

Yaroslav, who had originally planned to threaten Wright with a pistol, actually took out the magazine of the pistol and handed it to Wright, but instead threw the pistol itself on the brick road covered with strange green plants under his feet.

"In short, Light, you don't have any choice. If you refuse to cooperate with me, none of us will be able to leave this 'Red Fantasy Ruins'. What will greet us will be hunger, pain, confusion and collapse, even though I and the psychics behind me are the people of Crusad and the descendants of Ivan XXII." Yaroslav turned his back, stared at the ruined palace in front of him, and said in a deep voice.

"Please explain it clearly." Wright felt a strange chill on his back, which made him feel as if he was trapped in an invisible giant hand and he was terrified that he would never be able to escape no matter how hard he tried.

"Back then." Yaroslav cleared his throat and introduced to Wright as if giving a lecture:
"When Ivan XXII deployed the 'Fire of Heavenly Punishment' to the 'Red Fantasy Ruins', there was no such diverse and complex 'Non-Euclidean Space'. All entrances and exits were one-way and linear. The Emperor even had the leisure to build a palace here for vacation.

"The so-called 'wind wall', as shown in the secret documents of the old empire that we have deciphered, is just an expensive security measure 'purchased' from the gods. The god who sold the 'wind wall' to the emperor is the controller of 'Pramini', the Lord of Eternal Red."

"It's unbelievable that the two of them would have such a deal. I thought that the gods all had a natural contempt for humans and simply didn't bother to trade with them." Wright complained.

"In short, after gaining control of the 'Wind Wall', the Old Empire used the 'Ivanka's Scythe' to test it many times. As long as it is turned on, it is indestructible, but as long as it is closed, anyone can enter and exit without any harm." Yaroslav narrated:
"Humans are always caught up in one kind of fear or another, whether it's the fear of death or the fear of the empire's collapse. In short, as a supplement to the 'New Construction Plan', after the 'main control' of the 'Red Fantasy Ruins Destruction Plan', the Fire of Heavenly Punishment and related link systems were built, Ivan XXII borrowed the power of the Frozen God Winterkeller to summon the 'Ancient Gods', and with their combined power, completely disrupted the internal structure. And..."

"And what?" Wright asked, his tone sounding a little anxious.

"Not every independent space has a path to the outside world," Yaroslav replied:
"Moreover, even if the entire space is in a state of random scrambling at all times, there is only one path leading to the 'Final Laboratory' where the 'Master' Heavenly Punishment Fire is stored."

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"You don't mean to say that this is the place where we are?" Wright's expression has changed from the previous mockery, disdain, and smirk to the seriousness of being uneasy about the reality. If he is really trapped here forever, "Pramini's Sorrow"... the Lord of Eternal Red's yesterday is his tomorrow.

"You guessed right." Yaroslav gave the answer that Wright didn't want to hear the most, "It's this 'Ancient Temple Path'. You must be very curious why the best soldiers of our Federation gathered here without any traces of battle, let alone any blood or wounds.

"That's because, according to the time flow rate of the outside world, we have been resting here for three days. The battles we federal soldiers experienced after entering this ruins were no easier than yours. In addition, the rules of the 'Ancient God' and 'Sorrow' will cause the injured people who stay here to gradually wither and rot. Originally, there were nearly four thousand people who entered the ruins with me. Now, we only have the last 53 people left."

"Then, since the 'Ancient Temple Path' can lead to the 'Final Laboratory', why were you trapped here for three days?" Wright asked puzzledly.

"That's because we really can't go any further. In order to prevent anyone from destroying his 'master control' Fire of Heavenly Punishment, Ivan XXII set up a mechanical door in the palace leading to the 'Final Laboratory'. It cannot be destroyed or bypassed. Only the professional power of the [Orderer] can open it." Yaroslav looked at Wright for help and said:
"Before you woke up in this world by mistake, for a thousand years, there was only one [Orderer], Ivan XXII."

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(End of this chapter)