Chapter 2382: The Third Emblem
Chapter 2382: The Third Emblem
The sound moved closer and closer, and the shouts echoed across the entire Cosmic Sea.
Once again, Lu Yin laid eyes on the members of the Soldier Crew. He looked into their eyes and saw their determination, their unwavering will, and their bloodthirst. Every single soldier had been tempered. It was also clear that, as time passed, Hua Wu's demeanor was growing more and more similar to that of the other soldiers.
From the current distance, Lu Yin could see Hua Wu, but Hua Wu could not see Lu Yin. However, Hua Wu was also shouting “kill” with the rest of the soldiers, and he clasped a spear before his body in the same threatening manner.
Lu Yin stood atop the sea, quietly waiting for the warship to arrive.
Other ships were passing by in the distance, but not one of them dared to approach the Soldier Crew’s territory. Only a thin line separated those ships from the restricted territory, but no one dared to cross it.
"Captain! There’s a person out there!" someone shouted.
On one of the ships, everyone looked over and saw Lu Yin quietly standing atop the Cosmic Sea with his hands clasped behind his back. In front of him was a warship from the Soldier Crew that was emerging from the darkness.
The ship’s captain's face turned pale. "Go! Go, go, go! That man is seeking death! We need to get away."
"Wait! Captain, why does that person look so familiar?" someone asked in surprise.
The captain yelled, "Familiar my ass! No one can do anything right now. We need to hurry up and get away so that we aren’t affected by whatever happens. I’m not going to let that guy hurt us with his suicide. Send a message to the ships behind us. Tell them to stay far away from the Soldier Crew’s territory."
"I remember now! That’s Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance and the founder of the Tower of the Fifth! That’s the ruler of the Fifth Mainland!" the man shouted in an excited tone.
The rest of the people continued to stare at Lu Yin as well. "You’re right, that’s him! That’s Lu Yin! Dao Chosen Lu!"
"I also recognize him, I saw him during ZENITH!"
"I watched the Astral Combat Tournament that he participated in decades ago."
"Captain, we don't need to escape! That’s Dao Chosen Lu! This time, the Soldier Crew’s going to be the one with the problem."
The captain stared on in a daze, feeling very relieved. "That's good. No wonder that person has the courage to face the Soldier Crew. So it’s actually him."
"The Soldier Crew keeps to their own area, but they have never allowed anyone to enter their territory. Not even Leon’s Armada has ever dared to push past the line, but now, someone who can push them around has finally appeared." Some of the people on the ship grew excited.
"As long as this area of the Cosmic Sea can be opened to the rest of us, our travel time will be cut down by at least a third."
The captain grinned. He might not believe that anyone else could deal with the Soldier Crew, but if it was Lu Yin facing them, there was no way that there would be any issue. "Brothers, let’s just wait here then. That area will soon be opened up to outsiders."
"Long live Dao Chosen Lu!"
"Dao Chosen Lu, slaughter the Soldier Crew!"
...
Far away, Lu Yin glanced back at the ships behind him. Just what were those people getting all excited about?
"Kill!" With a unified voice, thousands of spears struck the deck of the warship at the same instance. The incredible coordination meant that all of the soldiers’ killing intent and attack power exploded as one, unleashing a single attack with a power level of a million at Lu Yin.
The sky above the Cosmos Sea collapsed, and the sea started trembling. Regardless of how far away or how close to the epicenter one was, regardless of if they stood on a ship or on an island, at this moment, everyone in the entire Cosmic Sea could feel a powerful force that was about to erupt from the depths of the Cosmic Sea.
Everyone from Leon’s Armada grew solemn, and they turned to look towards the Soldier Crew’s territory.
Highsage Leon stepped out and stared over as well. "Why are they going nuts? Is someone messing with them?"
"Captain, the seafloor is about to rise," Ghost Doc warned, still as hunched over as ever.
Highsage Leon pulled out his war blade. "They can't raise it."
As soon as he finished speaking, and even before he was able to release his attack, the oppressive power that everyone felt simply disappeared, and peace returned to the Cosmic Sea.
The members of Leon’s Armada looked back towards the Soldier Crew’s territory in amazement.
Highsage Leon frowned. Even he was helpless against the power that had just risen from the Soldier Crew. Who was antagonizing them?
In the Soldier Crew’s territory, Lu Yin had not attacked; he had simply suppressed the Soldier Crew’s attack.
The Cosmic Sea could not be allowed to be overturned, as there was no telling how many people would die from such a disaster.
In front of Lu Yin, the united attack from the thousands of spears disintegrated, but a single spear still remained. All of the power of the spear was concentrated at the tip, and it thrust at Lu Yin. This spear seemed to have emerged from the river of time, and Lu Yin heard the same phrase again: Supreme Spear - Deathseeker.
This attack carried the strength of a Progenitor.
Throughout the entire Fifth Mainland, there were very, very few people who could survive such an attack, but it could do nothing to Lu Yin. Forget an attack that had the strength of a Progenitor, even a genuine Progenitor might not be able to deal with Lu Yin if they were present.
Lu Yin did not touch the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind. Instead, he borrowed the runes from the Champions’ Stage and used them to weaken the power of the approaching spear.
Once the spear finally drew close to Lu Yin’s face, only the spear itself was left. None of the Progenitor’s power remained. There was nothing in this spear that posed even the slightest threat.
On the warship, Hua Wu stared blankly at Lu Yin. Is that really him?
Lu Yin raised his hand and grabbed hold of the spear. It was cold and hard in his grip, and it reeked of blood. He had no idea just how many people this spear had slaughtered.
He simply held the spear as he stepped onto the warship and confronted the soldiers.
All of the soldiers were staring at Lu Yin, and it was at this moment that Lu Yin realized that there was no light or spirit in most of the soldiers’ eyes. Only the soldiers at the front had any. They seemed to be the only ones actually aware of anything, while the rest seemed to practically be puppets.
"You have crossed the line," a hoarse voice stated.
Lu Yin looked over. "No. 0007, you participated in ZENITH, and you’re clearly in control of yourself. Tell me, just what's going on here?"
It was indeed No. 0007 who had spoken up. During ZENITH, the man had been an eight-cycle Hunter, and as Lu Yin looked at the man, he saw the exact same cultivation level. There had been absolutely no change whatsoever. "We are the remnants of the garrison army who have been ordered to protect this place. No one is allowed to enter. If you try to force your way in, we will protect this place with our lives."
Lu Yin stared at the man. "Whose garrison army?"
No. 0007 did not respond.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. "What are you protecting? Just this region?"
No. 0007 still did not respond.
Lu Yin looked over at Hua Wu. "Why are you here?"
Hua Wu lifted his head high. "The garrison army’s new recruits will inherit the will of the garrison army! We will protect this place and swear to fight against all outside enemies!"
"Cut the bullshit," Lu Yin ordered.
Hua Wu's entire demeanor changed, and he quickly put on a smile and approached Lu Yin in a flattering manner. "Brother Lu, it’s been a long time."
Lu Yin stared at the man. "Why did you join the Soldier Crew?"
Hua Wu could only respond with a single answer. "It certainly wasn’t by choice. I was being chased and pursued, and I stumbled into this area. If I didn’t agree to join, they would have killed me. I didn’t have a choice."
"So you used your secret technique Man of My Word to join the Soldier Crew?" Lu Yin felt that this was a bit strange.
Hua Wu’s face twitched. "I truly joined them. I meant it."
"What's going on here?" Lu Yin asked.
Hua Wu shrugged. "I have no clue."
He noticed the coldness entering Lu Yin’s eyes, and he quickly said, "Brother Lu, I really don't know! I wouldn't lie to you! You’re strong enough to easily suppress the entire Soldier Crew, so I don’t have any reason to lie to you! I’ve been on this same warship from the moment I joined them, and I’ve never left. It’s a hard life, and if I’d known what kind of suffering I’d have to endure, I would have led my enemies in here with me. That way, at least I would have had someone to talk to.”
"So you're completely useless? Then just stay here," Lu Yin commented casually.
Hua Wu quickly spoke up again, "Don't worry, Brother Lu. Even if I don’t know any of their secrets, I’ve been able to figure some things out for myself."
He then crouched down and started sketching out some images on the deck.
Suddenly, No. 0007 attacked, stabbing his spear at Hua Wu. "Die, traitor!"
A wave of Lu Yin's hand sent No. 0007 flying backwards. At the same time, thousands of soldiers released another attack. Just like before, Lu Yin used the runes of the Champions’ stage to sweep away the warship’s unified attack. "If you all die, you won’t be able to complete your mission."
No. 0007 stared at Hua Wu. "We will destroy all who betray us!"
The statement terrified Hua Wu, and given the odd coordination that all the members of the Soldier Crew exhibited, he did not dare to move.
Lu Yin spoke up in a calm tone. "You’ve already betrayed them, so what are you waiting for? Hurry up."
Hua Wu thought for a bit and resumed drawing his pictures with a bitter expression.
He drew a map of the Soldier Crew’s region of the Cosmic Sea, and then pointed at a very specific location. "Brother Lu, no matter where this warship roams, it always ends up circling this exact spot, almost as if it’s tethered to that place. There has to be something weird about that place."
Lu Yin instantly released his domain so that he could examine the location.
No. 0007 suddenly screamed, "Kill!"
The moment the shout rang out, thousands of spears dropped into an attack position as one. The same overwhelmingly powerful spear appeared again, and it stabbed at Lu Yin, but he had already disappeared.
The power that the Soldier Crew could summon was incredibly powerful. They were able to unleash an attack with the strength of a Progenitor, but such things were useless against Lu Yin’s current abilities.
Lu Yin was already at the location that Hua Wu had pointed out, and he was examining the bottom of the Cosmic Sea.
Hua Wu shrieked, "Brother Lu, I won't go! Toss me away, Brother Lu–!"
Plop!
Hua Wu choked on the sea water that suddenly filled his mouth.
Lu Yin's domain continued to spread out, though he had already discovered something. When he stopped and looked down at what he had found, shock filled his eyes. He was staring at Progenitor Hui’s symbol.
Lu Yin had discovered a sourcebox array beneath the Cosmic Sea. It was not even a single sourcebox array, but rather a combination of several of them, possibly as many as a dozen. The combined sourcebox arrays created a seal that was almost perfectly identical to the seals that Lu Yin had already seen on the Royal Frost Continent and in the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. Once again, the seal bore Progenitor Hui’s symbol, indicating that Progenitor Hui had left this seal in place.
Lu Yin had not expected to discover that the Soldier Crew was protecting one of these seals.
"Brother Lu, what did you find?" Hua Wu asked curiously.
Most people could not see the seal, and if not for what Lu Yin had learned from Geoffrey, he would not have been able to see Progenitor Hui’s symbol either.
"Nothing," Lu Yin casually replied.
He then shot back into the sky above the Cosmic Sea. Already, the warship was approaching from the distance. "Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Thousands of spears released an explosion of killing intent once again. Thousands of soldiers were glaring at Lu Yin, clearly aware and no longer in a fugue state. Lu Yin saw the animosity in the soldiers’ eyes.
Lu Yin sighed, turned around, and simply left.
His actions completely took Hua Wu by surprise. He had expected to see the end of the Soldier Crew.
"Brother Lu, why aren’t you fighting them anymore?" Hua Wu asked. He had hoped to see the Soldier Crew be destroyed, as if they were not, then given what No. 0007 had said so far, Hua Wu was terrified of the consequences that he would face. The Soldier Crew was far, far more powerful than any enemies that Hua Wu had faced in the past.
But how could Lu Yin fight against the Soldier Crew? Not only could he not fight them, but he instead felt the need to help them protect their region of the Cosmic Sea.
They were protecting a seal that Progenitor Hui had left behind, which meant that the Soldier Crew was Progenitor Hui's garrison army. In that case, what about the people of Subzero City? Were they also following Progenitor Hui’s orders?
According to Lu Yin’s knowledge, Progenitor Hui had left behind three seals in the Fifth Mainland. The first that he had found was in the Royal Frost Continent, protected by the army in Subzero City. The second was in the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect, which had been protected by the remnant spiritual forces that existed in that pocket dimension, one of which even possessed the power of a Progenitor. Furthermore, the Second Nightking had been training in seclusion in that place, making it incredibly secure even without any official protectors. As for the third seal, it was protected by the Soldier Crew.
Why had Progenitor Hui left the three seals in the Fifth Mainland? What was beneath the seals? Lu Yin did not know, but he was absolutely certain that since Progenitor Hui had sealed something away, it could not be good for humanity as a whole. Thus, those seals could never be opened.