74. Cruel Reality, the Fire Still Burns
Ishtar's cheek pressed against the cold, damp earth, the fishy smell of the earth filling her nostrils.
Xiling's airy "Sorry, my hand slipped" was like a spark that lit a fuse, instantly igniting the volcano of goddess dignity within her!
Feeling confused? In a moment! Rage ignited within her! This ignorant fellow! Not only had he dared to refuse the great goddess Venus's condescending gift, he had even dared to commit such a blasphemous act against her—sticking her upside down in the earth like a radish?! It was simply incomprehensible! A heinous crime!
A terrifying explosion of magical power shattered the ground that held the goddess like a fragile biscuit! Countless pieces of rubble and earth, swept up by the raging magic, were hurled in all directions like cannonballs, creating a massive crater!
Ishtar's figure shot skyward like an arrow from a bow! She shook the dirt and debris from her hair, her chest heaving violently—not from fatigue, but pure anger. She needed to open her eyes and take a good look. Was she being so accommodating lately, causing these ant-like creatures to lose track of who was truly in control and who should be the one to crawl on the ground?!
Her eyes, blazing with rage, suddenly opened, a sharp gaze sweeping downward—
And yet...
A cold touch pressed against her neck.
A sword was pressed against her neck.
Xiling had somehow hovered before her, at her level, and the holy sword in his hand was the source of the chill on Ishtar's neck.
"Huh?" Ishtar's mind buzzed, a blank.
No... this script is wrong! Shouldn't her power be like a prison, shocking the entire crowd, leaving those below horrified, sweating profusely, and practically begging for mercy on their knees? Even if the opponent was a bit tougher, at most, they would just adopt a defensive stance and prepare for battle.
How could a boss, just as she was posing for her ultimate attack, be instantly confronted with a sword to her neck?
How could that be justified?
Is this real?
Watching Xiling's gradually softening expression.
"Hiss—" Ishtar forced a smile, uglier than tears, her voice trembling.
"Um... can we... reconcile?"
The puzzlement on Xiling's face deepened.
"Oh?" The corners of Xiling's mouth curved upwards, making Ishtar feel as if she were sinking into an icy cave.
"Right now..."
"Are you... joking?"
Looking at Xiling's brilliant smile, Ishtar's last bit of stubbornness made her struggle faintly:
"Then... then at least... be gentle?"
"Hehe"
...
The team set out again. The atmosphere was a bit eerie.
Leading the way was the dejected Venus goddess Ishtar, whose face had a look of profound resentment. From time to time, she would steal a glance back at Xiling, who was walking behind her, her eyes filled with unspoken anger and frustration.
Houraiji Kyuushou looked at Ishtar, walking ahead with a look of resentment, without a trace of sympathy. Instead, she asked Luo Tianyi with some confusion, "I thought we'd see rivers of blood."
She was quite expecting Xiling to teach this arrogant goddess a lesson.
"Ah? Not really." Luo Tianyi felt Xiling wouldn't do that.
Elaina looked around, her brow furrowing ever deeper.
"This area... is too desolate and dilapidated, isn't it?" As she walked, the sight that greeted her was shocking: vast expanses of cracked, dry, lifeless brown earth; abandoned, collapsed houses, only broken walls and rubble, their blackened doors and windows like the eye sockets of skulls; broken pottery jars, half-obscured by the wind and sand, scattered everywhere... Forget human figures, not even a hint of life; only deathly silence and desolation pervaded.
Ishtar, walking ahead, lost in her grievances, heard Elaina's question and, without turning, replied matter-of-factly, "Isn't this perfectly normal? All of Uruk is now under the combined ravages of the Three Goddesses and the overwhelming swarm of Demonic Beasts. It's long been on the brink of destruction! Almost everyone alive is probably dead now. Only that awful, glittering, ruined city still has some people huddled around. Everywhere else? Humph, they've all been wiped out!"
As soon as Ishtar finished her words, it was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake! The expressions on the chattering crowd froze, then were replaced by awe, shock, and disbelief!
They hadn't seen anyone along the way, but they had seen endless abandoned villages and collapsed houses... every ruin had once been a home.
They had assumed the residents had fled, perhaps hoping for a glimmer of hope... but they had never imagined the truth would be so cruel—extinction! Ishtar sensed something was amiss. She paused in confusion and turned. "What...what's going on?" Her eyes scanned the grim expressions of the group, a look of bewilderment and innocence filling her face.
"Did I say something wrong?" She felt it was just a statement of fact, so what was the big deal?
Xiling had been walking ahead of the group, naturally observing everyone's reactions. He understood the tragedy hidden within those ruins earlier and more deeply than anyone else.
Tragedy strikes all the time, and he wasn't indifferent. It's just that...all he could protect was what lay before him and the unextinguished hope for the future.
Revealing this heavy truth to his companions was not his wish, but facing reality was necessary for moving forward.
"By the way, why hasn't that guy appeared?" Xiling's senses hadn't found the person he was looking for. He and the others had been walking for a long time. Logically, Enkidu or Kingu should have appeared long ago.
However, not only had he not appeared, but neither had the other two. Merlin and Anna.
Xiling had no idea that the person he was looking for had actually been there, but they had only glanced here and then turned and left.
To have so many people around was either stupid or foolish.
Just as Xiling was contemplating the butterfly effect, he felt a gentle, cautious tug at the hem of his clothes. He turned around and saw Luo Tianyi's expression, somewhat sad.
"Xiling..." Luo Tianyi's voice was choked with a barely perceptible sob.
"Are all the people here... really... gone... as she said?"
Unlike the Lands Between, the dead in the Elden Ring still had a place to return to, the possibility of reincarnation.
But here... the scattered bones and empty villages on the Uruk Plains represented complete and irreversible extinction. A true extinction.
Everyone knew this, which was why their expressions were so heavy.
Faced with Luo Tianyi's sorrowful question, Xiling didn't evade her question, but nodded affirmatively.
"Yes," Xiling's voice was deep and clear, like a bell striking through everyone's hearts.
"Everything... is over."
Xiling's gaze swept across the heavy-hearted or bewildered faces.
"And we... can't undo it, but..."
Xiling looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka seriously and said, "The flame is still there."
"The flame?" Fujimaru Ritsuka was startled by the sudden name-calling and the serious look, and repeated it subconsciously.
Mash also subconsciously took a step closer to the Master.
Xiling didn't immediately explain, but simply smiled at Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Xiling turned, took a step forward, and continued walking. His voice was not loud, but it was clear to everyone's ears: "We can't undo the past, we can't bring the dead back to life, but... we can create the future. Let's go, people are waiting for us."
Looking at the figure walking in front.
Everyone looked at each other, their initially heavy expressions finally relaxed, and they smiled helplessly. That's exactly the truth.
Isn't it?
Even if we're sad, we still have to move forward, because there are still people waiting for us ahead.
"He installed it again," Kevin laughed, and was the first to catch up with Xiling.
Followed by the Tarnished, Lemuen, Dan Heng, Houraiji Kyuushou, and Luo Tianyi.
Finally, only Elaina remained, lingering in silence. She mourned the lives lost on this land, a fundamental human empathy.
However, the "sense of mission" and "responsibility" that suddenly ignited among her group members, as if they were shouldering some grand mission, felt deeply unfamiliar and alienating to her.
Spark?
The future?
These words were too heavy for her, too far away.
She was just a traveler, a witch on a broom.
She was a witness to the story, a spectator of history, not a participant. She had solemnly promised her mother this. Elaina looked ahead, puzzled. She hadn't caught up, so she stood back, watching her group members.
Luo Tianyi and Houraiji Kyuushou, walking at the back, were still waving at her.
Watching this scene...
"Heh..." Elaina suddenly chuckled and shook her head. She stepped onto her floating broom, her gray hair fluttering in the wind.
"Never mind. Never mind. We'll talk about it later..."
...
Far from the barren plain where Xiling and his group had been, they journeyed deep into a dense forest equally filled with an ominous aura.
Here, there was no dead silence or desolation, but rather a suffocating, murderous intent.
"Swish, swish, swish—!" Countless silver chains, like venomous snakes possessing their own consciousness, tore through the air, emitting sharp, piercing screams! They easily pierced through trees that required several people to hug. The tough trunks were as fragile as tofu before the chains, leaving hideous holes. These deadly silver snakes ignored all obstacles, their single target: the two swiftly fleeing figures ahead!
"Oh my, this is truly... utterly troublesome!" a voice grumbled, its tone oddly casual, as if it had nothing to do with them, yet a hint of urgency could not be concealed.
The speaker was a tall, almost bewitchingly handsome man—Merlin, the Flower Magician.
Originally, his plan was quite simple: proceed to the designated route and meet Fujimaru Ritsuka and his group from Chaldea.
This was supposed to be his duty as a guide and a truly fascinating encounter.
Who could have foreseen such a sudden accident? While leisurely strolling through the woods, humming a little tune, he ran headfirst into Kingu, who had returned empty-handed and exuding a cold, unapproachable aura!
The moment their eyes met, Merlin knew things were about to get serious. Trouble was brewing!
The result was that not only did he fail to reach the targeted person, but he became the hunted, forced to flee the land with a small burden in his arms. Under his sturdy arms, he held a petite figure securely: Anna, a little girl wearing a deep hood that almost completely obscured her face.
Anna's lips were tightly pursed, her eyes from beneath the hood fixed intently on the silver light pursuing her.
Merlin's movements seemed to be distracted by either thinking of an escape route or complaining about Kingu's persistence, and there was a slight delay. That moment was his weakness! As if anticipating his hesitation, several cunning silver chains had mysteriously circumvented the trees ahead, suddenly appearing less than three feet in front of him like a lurking venomous snake!
A deadly cold light tore through the air, carrying a piercing aura, and pierced him and Anna in his arms! The angle was tricky, the speed was swift, and it practically blocked any room for evasion!
The chains pierced through both of them as expected, but Merlin and Anna didn't bleed, not even a grunt of pain was heard.
Their figures, like popped soap bubbles, transformed into countless fluttering, pale pink petals the moment the chains touched them, vanishing into the icy air.
The real Merlin and Anna had already materialized from thin air in another forest several kilometers away! As soon as they appeared, Merlin rushed forward without pause!
"BOOM!!!"
Almost as he left his spot, dozens of chains shot out from the void, driving fiercely into the ground where he had just landed! Dirt and rubble were blasted everywhere!
"Hmph!" A cold snort echoed in the air.
A figure condensed from pure light particles materialized from thin air! Long, emerald green hair blew in the wind, and its eyes fixed coldly on the fleeing Merlin. Kingu raised a hand expressionlessly and pressed it toward the void ahead of Merlin's escape route!
"Boom!"
A wall several meters thick, studded with sharp rock spikes, rose from the ground like the back of a giant beast, blocking Merlin's path completely!
However, Merlin didn't slow down! He even flirted with a smile as he slammed Anna headfirst into the wall... Countless dreamy pale pink petals drifted out, gently brushing against the cold rock spikes.
"Tsk!" The pursuer's rage was like a tangible shockwave, shaking the surrounding leaves!
Kingu was clearly enraged by Merlin's incredibly slippery, almost playful, escape.
"A troublesome magician who can only run like a rat!"
A cold voice echoed through the forest, filled with contempt and murderous intent.
"Is this all you're capable of?!"
Perception, like invisible roots, centered around him, captured every subtle fluctuation and vibration of magical energy. Sensing the earth's emanations, Kingu's figure instantly vanished.
These were the three Xiling had been searching for.
At this moment, the three were engaged in a chase.