Chapter 154: Section 156: Setting Sail


    Caught in a desperate situation, Lord Zhenjin’s heart was still filled with doubts.


    “They don’t have a Heart Core, yet I do, why? What caused this?”


    “What exactly causes a Heart Core to form? Is it due to poisoning? Is it because I was more severely injured and my body contains a lot of Fire Poison? Or is it luck, will, or a combination of strength, luck, and the extent of my injuries?”


    Beyond his doubts, Lord Zhenjin harbored many fears: “Will I one day become like these Beastification People? Fall into utter rage and madness, devoid of any reason, even killing my companions?”


    “Has my temperament really not been affected by the Heart Core?”


    As Lord Zhenjin continued to reflect, his fear deepened.


    ...


    “No, I fear I am deeply affected!”


    “How worried and wary I was about the Heart Core earlier, but forced by circumstances, I started using it more often and began to unconsciously accept it. Now, I have come to rely heavily on it. If it weren’t for my self-reflection along the way, I might have already become infatuated with it.”


    “Whenever I use the Heart Core, transforming into a monster, my disposition seems to become wild, disdainfully looking down on all lives weaker than mine from the bottom of my heart. Absorbing, transforming. I have been immersed in this power, gradually unable to control myself.”


    “My actions, my thoughts, have actually strayed more and more from the path of the Holy Temple Knight!”


    “I seem to be… constantly… falling?!”


    “God, my Lord, Great Holy Emperor. I pray for your response, your mercy, your salvation. Here lies your straying lamb…”


    Once more, Lord Zhenjin knelt on the deck, facing the direction of the Holy Bright Continent, bowing his head in prayer.


    Like all previous prayers, there was still no response.


    And this prayer was different from the nighttime prayers of recent times.


    No longer could Lord Zhenjin find even a trace of peace or consolation in his heart.


    For he realized his own fall, and also realized a possibility—could it be that the Holy Emperor does not respond because I have already fallen?


    “Could it be that I am a despised Fallen Knight?”


    “What should I do?”


    “Should I confess? Tell my comrades that I too am mutated, that I am also… a beast-like monster?”


    “No, I can’t do that.”


    As a leader, Lord Zhenjin was very clear—his group’s situation was extremely dangerous, on the verge of collapse. Once there was hope for a new ship to go to sea, now everyone is caught in a desperate situation.


    “Even if I have fallen, am no longer a Holy Temple Knight, even if I am actually a transformed magical beast, I should still play the leader well.”


    They need a leader, need Holy Temple Knights, need reliance, need new hope.


    Even if Lord Zhenjin himself has no reliance, no hope.


    This is the heavy burden a leader must bear!


    Lord Zhenjin gradually felt like he was suffocating.


    Having undergone various hardships, his mentality had transformed many times, far different from before. Yet, this heavy feeling that left him breathless came over him once again.


    He once again realized his naivety.


    His fear came not only from the environment but also from concerns about his companions’ safety and his own future.


    Now… he feared himself too!


    “What if, at some moment, I completely become beast-like, lose my reasoning, and harm others, what should I do?”


    “I might even end up killing Cang Xu, Lan Zao, or even Zi Di with my own hands. If such a thing happens, what should I do?”


    “Can I control all sorts of mutations?”


    “In the short term, it seems so. It seems like I have a Heart Core, a Heart Core should be able to let me perfectly control the mutations… right?”


    Zhenjin couldn’t guarantee it, he couldn’t even be sure how the Heart Core was formed.


    Perhaps, he was not far from a complete frenzied beastification, not far from utter madness. Maybe in a few days, or perhaps the next time?


    “Perhaps, I’m not the only one with such hidden dangers.”


    “Others have them too! Those comrades who died violently due to beastification were just the first batch. Next, there will be a second batch, a third batch… and even the last survivors will become one of the demon beasts seen on this island. They will hate all outsiders, considering themselves mere demon beasts, with their humanity dissipated, memories all gone.”


    How cruel this future vision was, making Zhenjin shiver every time he thought about it.


    He suddenly thought again, “Wait, could it be because of my amnesia?”


    “Why do the beastified comrades fall into madness? Perhaps it’s due to the severe conflict and contradiction between their inherent memories and their current forms of life, unable to accept it, thus becoming mad.”


    “Why am I the only one able to control the mutations? Am I the only one who has a Heart Core? Perhaps amnesia is the main factor.”


    “It’s precisely because I have amnesia, but still adhere to the faith, sticking to the way of the Knight, that I haven’t been overwhelmed by the intense conflict, and thus retained my humanity to the greatest extent.”


    “How does the Island Master cause human-beast transformation? Perhaps the environment he altered is making people continuously lose their humanity. Staying here for a long time, our humanity will be eroded by our beast instincts, gradually devoured. The higher the degree of devouring, the deeper the beast instincts. Eventually losing humanity completely, being fully covered by beast instincts, thereby becoming utterly insane?”


    “And every time, my insistence on my own principles and bottom lines represents humanity’s victory over beast instincts. These victories, accumulated, have given me a Heart Core, letting me rationally control mutations, whereas others can’t.”


    “If this guess is true, then using my Heart Core to absorb the beast nature of my transformed comrades, could I possibly draw out their beast instincts, allowing them to regain reason?”


    “No, my Heart Core absorbs bloodline. The comrades after the beastification have a mix of Magic Beast bloodline and Human Race bloodline. I will absorb all these bloodlines!”


    “Those Magic Beast bloodlines, I already possess them now. But not the human ones. Adding these bloodlines, wouldn’t it stabilize my Human Race’s nature? Could it possibly prolong the time before I go completely mad?”


    Thinking this, Zhenjin’s body violently trembled, his complexion turning pale.


    “Damn it!”


    “What’s happening to me?”


    “Do I really intend to harm my comrades, attack the Human Race?!”


    However, another voice rose in Zhenjin’s heart.


    “Don’t restrain your actions anymore. You should be bolder. We are now in a desperate situation, by tying yourself down, waiting for death to come is too late! You can’t start over, can you?”


    “After all, it’s not like you’re being asked to kill living people. You’re just absorbing those that have died, and they were going to be buried anyway without any other value, totally a waste utilization!”


    “Act quickly, if you don’t act now it will be too late. These people just died not long ago, absorbing and transforming now will yield much more than doing so later!”


    “Don’t forget your family, you are considering others too. If it wasn’t for these people dragging you down, you could mutate and then escape this island by yourself.”


    “It’s because of them that you’re staying here, isn’t it?”


    “Stop rigidly sticking to some unnecessary things. Think carefully, how many times have you regretted? That time you were nearly killed by the gun scorpion, what were you thinking? Just now, don’t you regret it?”


    “Do you want a tragedy to happen again?”


    “Next time will it be the old shipwright, Lan Zao? Cang Xu? Or Zi Di!?”


    “No, stop talking! Stop talking!!” Zhenjin was in unbearable agony, going from kneeling on one knee to both knees on the ground, he bowed his head deeply, burying his face in his palms.


    His thoughts overflowed too fiercely, he suspected he had fallen, his confidence that had supported him all along had dissipated considerably.


    He began to lose clarity.


    He couldn’t tell which of his thoughts were rational advice and which were the temptations of corruption!


    Zhenjin was plunged into an unprecedented wavering and chaos.


    The next moment, it really wavered.


    Boom!


    Amid the enormous roaring, the earth shook.


    Once again, the earth quaked violently!


    The sleeping survivors all screamed in terror, desperately fleeing from the cabins.


    Another earthquake had come, and it was even larger than the last!


    Right before their eyes, the ground split open thunderously.


    The island shifted, the crack widened, stretching from the direction of the volcano, splitting the beach open and forming an estuary.


    Seawater backflooded, the waves surged violently.


    It lasted for about twenty breaths before the earthquake slowly subsided.


    A new river appeared before everyone’s eyes, leaving them speechless with shock.


    After a long while, the unnerved people gradually snapped back to reality.


    Queshan knelt on the ground and began to cry, “Can we really survive? Can we really escape from here?”


    No one could answer her, not even Zhenjin.


    “Even if we can hold on, I’m afraid this island cannot last much longer!” Hei Juan sighed deeply.


    The survivors were in despair, their faces filled with gloom.


    “Perhaps, I still have a way,” Zi Di suddenly said.


    Her words instantly drew everyone’s attention.


    Yet, hesitation was clear on Zi Di’s face.


    “Come on, what are you hesitating for at a time like this?” Hei Juan urged.


    Taking a deep breath, Zi Di suddenly pointed towards the volcano, “We can go to the most central area, there might be a chance of survival there!”


    Almost everyone gaped, doubting what they had heard.


    Cang Xu, Zhenjin, Zong Ge paused for a moment before they all caught on, falling silent in contemplation.


    Zi Di continued, “Do you remember our analysis? This island has a master, he must be a powerful being! He has transformed the island, the magical beasts, and even controls the weather. It seems he is cultivating biological weapons here, but whether it is the Magic Ban environment, controlling the weather, or forced teleportation, all require a Magic Array.”


    “On this island, there must be a central hub to the Magic Array, or it might simply be a Mage Tower.”


    “If we can seize that hub, then there may be hope for escape.”


    “Please, how could we possibly match the Island Master?” Xi Suo shouted, only to stun himself. He stared blankly at the river created by the crack, gazed at the erupting volcano, and then looked up at the heavy volcanic clouds overhead.


    Xi Suo suddenly yelled, “Something must have happened to the Island Master! The Magic Array has clearly gone out of control, the volcano is erupting, the earth has split open! No, wait, even when we first got back to the beach, the weather was very abnormal, constantly raining heavily or drizzling; we’ve never experienced this before. It might have been out of control even then.”


    “Perhaps even earlier,” Zhenjin spoke up, “At the very beginning, we encountered the Blue Dog Fox Wolf, these magical beasts typically act alone. But when we met them in the forest, they had already formed a Demon Beast Army.”


    “Controlling the Demon Beast Army puts significant strain on the Blue Dog Fox Wolves,” Zi Di explained. “Creating strange fragrances requires the consumption of magic power. To control the Demon Beast Army for long periods, the Blue Dog Fox Wolves must devour other magic beasts to replenish their demon energy and continue creating these fragrances.”


    Cang Xu nodded and added, “The larger the scale of the Demon Beast Army, the greater the burden on the surrounding environment. These magic beasts need to eat! Thus, it’s clear that the gathering of the Demon Beast Army by the Blue Dog Fox Wolves is not normal.”


    “We are guarding the small valley,” Zi Di continued, “and the Demon Beast Army keeps attacking and reinforcing itself. This stance obviously aims at eliminating enemies. It’s a reasonable guess that the Island Master might have issued orders controlling the Blue Dog Fox Wolves to eradicate all outsiders.”


    “If he were in good condition, he could have eliminated us with merely a breath and wouldn’t have let the island be so unstable.”


    “But he didn’t do that; he neglected the island and only commanded the Demon Beast Armies to deal with us.”


    “This clearly shows he is very weak and can only let the Blue Dog Fox Wolves fight; he also fears us escaping, which would expose this place.”


    “Indeed, he might even be dead.”


    “Or perhaps, he is entangled by some matters outside and cannot return in time!”


    Zong Ge nodded, “That’s exactly right. Now is the best opportunity to strike at the core! Any delay would lead us to a dead end.”


    Everyone was momentarily stunned.


    Hei Juan swallowed his saliva, “Then why should we rush to the center? There’s a volcano erupting there; can you be sure that the core is there?”


    Cang Xu took out a map from his bosom. “Based on our current exploration, the central area is indeed volcanic. Typically, the core of the array, or rather, the Magic Tower, is located in the central areas.”


    Zi Di added, “The operation of a magic array requires a huge amount of energy. The Island Master might be extracting the surrounding elements or possibly using the mana pool in the Mage Tower. After a problem arises, the most turbulent place is likely where the core or Mage Tower is located.”


    Hei Juan frowned. “All of this is speculation; you have no evidence!”


    Zong Ge nodded with a slight smile, “No evidence, who could present any? But this is enough to take a gamble; do we have any other paths to take?”


    Silence fell once again.


    “No,” said Hei Juan. “We can wait for rescue. Attacking toward the center of the island is madness! There’s a volcanic eruption there, and the Demon Beast Armies along the way; we might even die en route.”


    “No, we use a boat,” Zhenjin’s voice came through. “This will save us a great deal of journey and time.”


    Hei Juan was taken aback.


    Xi Suo’s eyes lit up as he shouted, “That’s right, we can build a boat. Though we can’t sail the seas, right in front of us is an inland river without any waves. The volcanic ash even covers our skies; it’s not even raining!”


    Zhenjin continued, “In fact, even if rescue comes, risks will remain. Don’t forget, those companions who died from beastification. The environment has likely eroded us too, affected by the Island Master’s schemes. Can such a powerful being’s schemes be easily resolved? Can a priest simply purify us?”


    “Also, could we simply forget the way he wantonly played with us and humiliated us?”


    “Just now, the Holy Emperor sent me a revelation!” Zhenjin pointed at the river.


    Everyone was momentarily stunned again.


    “Could it be that this river was created by the Holy Emperor?”


    “No wonder none of us have died.” Sёar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “The will of the gods is unfathomable!”


    “Divine Favored Knight…” Cang Xu bowed deeply to Zhenjin, his admiration palpable. “This might just be the path of your heroism. My Lord Zhenjin!”


    Nearly everyone present felt a chill run through their scalps.


    It seemed as though they were witnessing history in the making.


    If the epic of a hero were to be sung in the future, would they also have a role in it?


    Zhenjin looked around, confidence unyielding as he loudly commanded, “It’s decided then. We’ll fully repair the sea ship, cremate our companions, and gather as much food, water, and weapons as possible. We will set sail; we will head to… the very center of the island!”