Chapter 162: Section 163: Magma Battlefield
Marching toward the center of the sea island, that was Lord Zhenjin and the others’ final gamble, given their new ship couldn’t sail.
Feeling extremely fortunate to have met someone like Jia Sha who could use Divine Arts, Lord Zhenjin treasured this chance.
Over the past days, Jia Sha naturally had learned that Lord Zhenjin was a Divine Favored Knight and that a companion had gone berserk through beastification.
But Jia Sha had never inquired about anything regarding Lord Zhenjin as a Divine Favored Knight.
This seemed like a benevolent signal.
And as for the berserk beastification, since the catastrophic battle at the ruins, it had become a huge hidden worry in everyone’s hearts.
...
Jia Sha’s role was too critical; without him, they wouldn’t have been able to even enter the underground alchemy factory!
Lord Zhenjin knew he had to explain the situation to Jia Sha in advance, otherwise, should the moment come when he was forced to mutate, and the others mistook him for a beast and attacked him, that would be disastrous.
Even without being attacked, if Lord Zhenjin suddenly mutated, it could inevitably lead to suspicion and mistrust from Jia Sha and the others.
“Our biggest enemy at present is the War Merchant.”
“If we don’t cooperate completely, if there are doubts and hesitations within us, making us unable to give our all, that would be extremely foolish.”
“I don’t want to see any of my companions being hurt without having given my full effort.”
“I don’t want to have regrets…”
With such thoughts and emotions, Lord Zhenjin sought out Jia Sha alone and said in a heavy tone, “Priest, I need to confess.”
Jia Sha smiled at him, a smile fraught with deep meaning, “Young Holy Temple Knight, do you know? I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
“Father, I am a sinner!” Lord Zhenjin furrowed his brow, his expression one of agony.
“All people are sinners,” Jia Sha shook his head, comforting and encouraging him with a gentle and inclusive tone, “And being able to face your own sins, that’s your courage, and it’s also your path to becoming a saint. Please allow me to pray to my Lord first.”
Lord Zhenjin nodded.
The confession began.
The young knight knelt on the ground, his mood somber, facing Jia Sha.
Lord Zhenjin said, “Ever since waking up on this island, my prayers have never been answered by my Lord. I have no Fighting Energy; I only rely on my Lord.”
“But my Lord has never responded, and I inevitably feel lost, disappointed, and even resentful.”
“I am a sinner!”
Jia Sha nodded.
Lord Zhenjin continued, “I thought none of it was my problem, that the unique environment of the island or the War Merchant’s schemes were what severed my connection with my Lord.”
“I underestimated my Lord’s mighty power, even thinking my Lord was frail.”
“I blamed the outside world, without true self-reflection.”
“I am a sinner!”
Jia Sha sighed, “Child, you’ve recognized and repented at this moment; half of your sins have already been dispelled.”
Lord Zhenjin’s eyebrows were tightly knit, his teeth clenched in pain, “When I saw you, Father, receive responses and Divine Power infusion in your daily prayers, only then did I realize the island does not forbid Divine Arts.” S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
“But I dare not face such truth; I am cowardly, allowing myself to escape, afraid to think deeply or investigate further.”
“I misunderstood the Lord, underestimated Him, and even deceived Him!”
“Many times, to raise the team’s morale, I had to pretend to be a Divine Favored Knight in my Lord’s name. But I am not, in fact, I have never received a response from my Lord from the beginning.”
“I am a sinner most grievous!”
Jia Sha nodded, his expression unsurprised, “Child, my Lord’s lost lamb, pitiful yet respectable person. Seeing you brings me joy and comfort because you are finding your way back.”
“Is there more? Continue, good child.”
“My Lord’s gaze is omnipresent; perhaps He has always been watching you, but you have not understood the gaze He longs for.”
Jia Sha gently stroked Lord Zhenjin’s hair, casting Divine Arts to soothe his painfully burdened emotions.
Lord Zhenjin felt a warmth in his soul.
He was bathed in a layer of pure Holy Light, which made him feel like a weary traveler returning home.
The young knight took a deep breath, about to reveal the secret of his ability to control his Mutation voluntarily, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat.
He took another deep breath and tried again, but still couldn’t speak.
Lord Zhenjin’s breathing became rapid and slightly disordered, feeling as if a mountain was pressing down on his chest, and the encompassing Holy Light seemed fragile.
“Something urgent has come up!” At that moment, Zi Di’s voice suddenly came from afar.
Following that, Guardian Knight Xiong Dun replied, “Please halt, Chairman Zi Di. Father is presiding over Lord Zhenjin’s confession.”
The interruption dissipated the hard-earned courage that Lord Zhenjin had mustered.
Crushed by the pressure in his heart, he could only sigh deeply, “No more, Father. That is my entire confession.”
Jia Sha stood still, looking down at the kneeling Lord Zhenjin, silent for a moment, “Alright, I understand.”
Then he bowed his head, clasping the Holy Emblem over his chest with both hands, and intoned in a deep voice,
“Lord, the Great Holy Emperor, my God.”
“You are the God of Hope, the God of Victory, the God of Light.”
“Now, I bring before You the Holy Temple Knight Lord Zhenjin, for only You know his heart. I cannot change Lord Zhenjin; only You can. I beseech You to open Lord Zhenjin up, to help him understand what made him turn away from You. I pray that You cause Lord Zhenjin to repent, to rekindle his desire for reconciliation with You, to cause him to loathe sin. Do all that is necessary to shatter his cowardice and prejudice, but I beg You to do it gently, and bring experiences into Lord Zhenjin’s life to encourage him to return to Your side.”
After saying all this, Jia Sha bent down, reached out, and helped Lord Zhenjin to his feet.
“Child, you must have confidence in yourself,”
“And have even more confidence in our Lord.”
“He is tolerant and merciful; He can encompass the vast ocean and embrace the Cang Qiong.”
Jia Sha remained ever gentle, like a kind father, his words carrying deeper meaning. The hesitance that had just shown on Zhenjin’s face was very obvious.
Zhenjin nodded, and the two of them left the corner side by side.
Zi Di was stopped by Guardian Knight Xiong Dun. Seeing Zhenjin and Jia Sha emerge, she had a grave look on her face, “Xi Suo, who was responsible for reconnaissance, has returned. The situation ahead is highly unusual!”
Zi Di then detailed the intelligence, shocking both Jia Sha and Zhenjin, who exchanged looks of disbelief.
Not long afterward, the group arrived at the entrance of a ruin.
Clearly, a significant battle had taken place here, and the fighting was exceedingly fierce.
Earlier, Zhenjin and the others had passed through several workshops, with the destruction worsening progressively until they reached this point, where the original metal corridors had completely vanished, replaced by a massive gaping hole.
Before even entering the hole, the astonishing heat from within hit them squarely in the face.
The previous scouts, out of caution, did not rashly enter.
After deliberating for a while, Jia Sha and Zhenjin cast Divine Arts. When the reconnoitering returned and recounted their findings, they were so overwhelmed that their words tumbled out incoherently.
The group stealthily entered the hole to find an enormous battlefield, nearly the size of a town.
Dark red light filled everything. The ground and dome were pitted and uneven, hardly level, littered with fragments of war golems, alongside bloodstains from the wounded powerhouses of the Holy Domain.
Signs of battle were everywhere.
Nearly half of the battlefield had turned into magma. It was the shifting magma that created the dark red glow and the terrifying heat.
Without Divine Arts—Elemental Tolerance, it would be nearly impossible for ordinary people to breathe normally here.
On the other half of the battlefield, which was still walkable, a large number of war golems were active.
“There are many defensive war golems!”
“And one big fellow…”
Behind a massive boulder, protected and temporarily concealed by Divine Arts, everyone scrutinized the scene with a serious demeanor.
After the first factory, the survivors had encountered defensive war golems.
These golems were at least twice as strong as the transport golems!
Defeating a single defensive war golem required the entire team to exert their utmost effort.
At first glance on the battlefield, it was clear there were more than ten of these golems!
But what attracted everyone’s attention the most was a gigantic Monster. It too was a war golem, not humanoid in form, possessing a dragon’s head, a pig’s body, elephant legs, and a python’s tail.
Some defensive golems stood still, while others patrolled, their routes appearing to lack any specific pattern.
This Monster golem stood six meters tall and continually opened its massive maw to devour fragments of other golems on the ground, crushing the tough fragments into even more ragged pieces within its jaws.
“This was the site of a tremendous battle, intense beyond our wildest imaginations! This place was supposed to be a strategic defense area for the alchemy factory, but all the facilities are destroyed, and the fight reached deep underground, even unleashing magma!”
“It’s terrifying; nearly everywhere you look there are fragments of golems, thousands of them destroyed!”
“Have you noticed? Some of the fragments are particularly unique, looking like they’re made of Refined Gold. These must be from golems more powerful than the defensive ones, which we haven’t yet encountered.”
“Who ended up winning?”
“I think it was the Holy Domain powerhouses.”
“It’s also possible they all perished, and their bodies have been taken away. These active defensive golems, and the big fellow, are clearly cleaning up the battlefield.”
The War Merchants could create and sell Alchemy Cannons, which suggests that mass-producing Gold-level equipment is entirely within their capabilities. Consequently, it is highly probable that they also mass-produced Gold-level alchemy war golems.
Although the Holy Domain is formidable, an enemy at the Gold level in sufficient numbers could still represent a significant threat.
“How do we get past? The defensive golems all have True Vision.”
The group was at an impasse.
“It’s impossible to get through. Merely three defensive golems could plunge us into crisis.”
“Let’s go back the way we came and find another path.”
This suggestion was accepted by the vast majority.
Yet, Jia Sha, Zhenjin, Zong Ge, and others hesitated.
“Something’s strange,” Zong Ge remarked. “With so many defenses here, why not divert some to eliminate us? The Tower Spirit has long been aware of our incursion.”
“What’s so strange about that?” Guardian Knight Xiong Dun scoffed. “Everyone knows the Tower Spirit is already halfway to ruin.”
“Father, shall we use Extreme Vision again?” Zhenjin suggested.
Jia Sha nodded and quietly started the Divine Arts.
Moments later, his face turned ashen, “All I saw was magma, dark red magma rushing at me.”
“We should retreat and take another path,” Xiong Dun also proposed.
Just as Jia Sha was about to agree, a thunderous roar exploded by his ear.
Roar!
A blast of incomparably fierce Dragon Roar came up from the magma, and simultaneously, hundreds, thousands of majestic golden beams pierced through the magma.
The apparition of an immense dragon materialized within the magma.
“It’s…the King of Flame Dragons!” the hearts of Zhenjin and the others trembled fiercely.