MM Racing Chapter 316 Anomalies in China, Embers and Scorched Earth
Chapter 316 Anomalies in China, Embers and Scorched Earth
Chapter 316 Anomalies in China, Embers and Scorched Earth
The intensity of the battle near the Acheron River did not decrease despite the withdrawal of the Fingers.
On the contrary, due to the arrival of church reinforcements and the addition of the Blood God Cult army, the battle intensified, and the surface soil of the battlefield was plowed away.
The blood of the warriors on both sides seeped into the ground, and the rising blood vapor merged into the blood mist, giving rise to even more blood-soaked monstrosities. Their appearance dealt a second blow to the church.
The enemy's figures were obscured by the blood mist, and their shapes and sounds were distorted to varying degrees. It was impossible to discern their location and number by sight and hearing alone.
This created a false impression for the church, an illusion that the enemy was endless.
The soldiers knew it was an illusion, but in the high-pressure, extreme blood mist environment, they inevitably had similar thoughts, which was a mental invasion from the blood mist.
"Your Excellencies, the enemy's offensive is too fierce, and we have suffered heavy casualties. I'm afraid we can no longer continue with the original plan."
Relying on the weak signal provided by the teleportation channel, the knight managed to contact the church behind him. He was currently speaking with the popes, trying to persuade them to change their minds.
"Our defeat is inevitable. Continuing will only increase casualties. It would be better to retreat as soon as possible and preserve the lives of our soldiers."
The Pope of Life did not speak immediately, falling into a hesitant silence.
Instead, it was Modi, the mole, who chimed in, saying, "I think he's right. Defeat is inevitable; we might as well retreat now."
He had already given orders to the Embers warriors to stay as far away from the front lines as possible, preferably near the teleportation portals, so they could evacuate at any time.
The Black Moon Pope is similar; with these two teammates who are trying to muddy the waters, how could the Church possibly win?
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"..." After a long silence, the Pope of Life said hoarsely, "This is our only chance. If we miss it, once the Blood God Cult stabilizes its Holy Domain, even if we destroy Ipiru, we will not be able to shake it."
"Before giving up, you should carefully consider whether this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Even if you say that, they still can't possibly reach Epiru." Pope Black Moon spoke up at the right time. "Five Fingers alone dragged the expeditionary force into a quagmire, let alone the regular army, which is stronger than Five Fingers."
The other popes also wavered, agreeing with this view and offering their own advice.
They have deployed a considerable number of elite troops for this expedition. If they can achieve their objective, all will be well. But if they cannot, they will have no choice but to settle for second best and withdraw their elite troops if possible.
"You guys, sigh, you'll regret this sooner or later."
Seeing that most people disagreed, the Pope sighed and said nothing more.
"Then, Dicas, retreat," Mordy kindly ordered on his behalf.
"Yes, Your Majesty Yu Huo."
On the other side, the knight named Dicas also breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the popes were like his superiors, only focused on taking over Ipiru City without considering whether they could succeed.
In retrospect, the other popes were at least somewhat rational.
"Let's retreat."
He glanced at the battlefield, assessed the situation, and commanded, "Second and Fifth Legions, stay behind to cover the rear. Everyone else, evacuate through the passage! Quickly, get moving!"
After the order was given, the entire church legion sprang into action and retreated toward the teleportation portal.
The members of the Ember and Black Moon cults, who were closest to the passage, couldn't wait to cross it the moment the order was given, hoping to escape with minimal losses for the majority of their members.
Seeing this, Dickas couldn't help but feel puzzled. Why did these two groups retreat so quickly? It was as if they had practiced it.
With a formidable enemy at hand, he had no time to think and immediately focused on directing the retreat.
After a bloody battle, the church lost many lives before finally completing its evacuation.
For them, this was an undeniable disgrace.
Because it took place near the Acheron River, a tributary of the River Styx, this battle is also known as the Battle of the Acheron.
Despite the Church's best efforts to cover up the war's defeat, the outcome of the battle was still made public under the instigation of the Blood God Cult.
In the Battle of the Acheron, the Church suffered heavy losses, and in order to rescue the expeditionary force, the Church sent an additional batch of reinforcements.
To this day, the mound of corpses remains standing on the side of the Acheron River, deterring the church and nearby forces.
The mountain kingdoms of the west, fearing the power of the Blood God Cult, seem to be planning to unite recently.
Meanwhile, in the east, the ancient Cinnamon Empire was also showing signs of activity.
For the first time, the officials in the imperial court turned their attention beyond the country and noticed this newly rising power.
Prior to this, they had always strictly followed the Dragon Emperor's dying wish, focusing on cultivating their own land rather than using their vast national strength to expand their territory.
Otherwise, they would have established a protectorate long ago.
As for the specific reason that caused their unusual behavior, Modi was not clear.
His five fingers did not reach towards Zhen Dan, not because he did not want to, but because that ancient empire had a profound foundation, and even if he sent spies there, they would easily be caught by Zhen Dan's Imperial Observatory.
That closed-off empire was not backward or weak. The first and only monarch of China, the Dragon Emperor who had long since perished, left behind too many legacies for this country.
It is so abundant that it still stands in the easternmost part of the world, commanding the submission of a host of neighboring countries.
"Recently, several spies from Aurora have been discovered at the border. Their identities and purposes are unknown, and they often flee quickly after being discovered."
As Modi looked at the report provided by his subordinates, he pondered the possible purpose of Zhen Dan.
"The unusual activity in China—we don't know whether this news is good or bad for us."
Those spies from Zhen Dan were very prudent and did not venture too deep into the Holy Domain. Even if the Blood God Cult went out to hunt them down, it would be difficult to catch them.
They were very sensitive to the Sanctuary, and seemed to know what it was.
"Could it be that this ancient empire is finally breaking free from its isolation and expanding its territory?"
He stroked his chin and asked Elena beside him, "Elena, what do you think?"
"I don't know." Elena rolled her eyes at him. "There's too little information, and there's an anti-prophecy barrier on Cinnabar. Even if I were a supercomputer, I couldn't figure anything out."
"That's true, I was too hasty... By the way, has You Li already started her seclusion?"
Modi suddenly remembered this and asked Elena, receiving an affirmative answer.
"My other half... She has already used that simulator to split her soul and travel to multiple worlds simultaneously. According to her, this can greatly increase her progress towards immortality," Elena said.
"That's true." Mordy pondered the connection between the two and nodded in agreement. "For the immortals, whether it's the past, the future, or other timelines, they are all part of the self."
"Her early exposure to this point did indeed help her advance to immortality."
At this point, he suddenly remembered that Su Youli's simulation anchor point was only him. In other words, he could probably witness different worlds with her at the same time.
"Wait a moment, let me see what she's doing."
After embarking on the path to immortality, he had already unified all of himself and others, transforming them all into the Blood God Child, which is a part of the Blood Sea.
Naturally, he knew exactly which worlds Su Youli had visited.
After a long pause, Modi raised his head and looked at Elena again, asking, "Youli has found her path, and what about you? Have you found yours?"
After a moment of silence, Elena slowly shook her head. "No, in this respect, I am not as good as her."
She paused, gazed at Mo Di, and hesitated before saying, "However, I feel that my path ahead might be related to Aurora."
"Zhendan? Why?" Mo Di had barely uttered the question when he immediately knew the answer, "It's because of the Dragon Emperor, right?"
The Dragon Emperor was the ruler of the entire Zhen Dan realm and the founding emperor of Zhen Dan. He perished during the transition period between the Second and Third Eras.
Having no sons, after the empire's demise, power fell into the hands of the court officials.
Perhaps it was because the Dragon Emperor had left behind some methods, or perhaps it was because his influence still lingered, but in any case, none of the officials in the court dared to claim the title of emperor. Instead, they diligently followed the Dragon Emperor's last wishes.
Under their rule, Aurora enjoyed a long period of peace and stability, but also fell into a long period of isolation.
For other countries on the mainland, Aurora is undoubtedly a mysterious and ancient land.
Modi's association with the Dragon Emperor stemmed from a rumor.
"What's that rumor again? Oh, the Dragon Emperor, one of the nine faces of the Time-Space Dragon God Aktosh. If that rumor is true, then you... might be the Dragon Emperor's only remaining offspring?"
Modi's tone carried a hint of teasing.
"Think about it. First of all, the Zhen Dan lineage does not recognize dragons, although the reason is unknown. Secondly, you possess a dragon soul, which can be seen as a creation of the Dragon God. As long as it is confirmed that the Dragon Emperor is the Dragon God, then your identity as the Dragon Emperor's descendant can be basically confirmed."
"You wouldn't be thinking of me taking over Aurora, then marrying into our family to gain Aurora's support or even claim power, would you?"
Elena smiled faintly and asked in return, "But this is ultimately based on speculation. If the claim that the Dragon Emperor is the Dragon God is not true, or if China does not agree with this view, then none of this will be possible."
"So, I was just thinking about it," Modi shrugged. "But since you believe the road is related to Zhen Dan, it must be based on some kind of intuition. Anyway, is there anything I can help with?"
"No, not yet. I don't have any clue either. I'll let you know when I think of something."
Elena wasn't being polite to him; given their current relationship, there was no need for politeness.
After all, they are a community with a shared destiny, where one prospers and the other suffers.
Looking away from the report, Mordy, in front of Elena, sent a communication request to the Candlelight Vigil in the scorched earth of the south.
A moment later, the communication was connected, and the voice of Lightbringer came from the other end.
"Ahem, Your Excellency, what are your orders?"
His voice was slightly distorted, with faint sounds of artillery fire and shouts of battle mixed in, as if a fierce battle was taking place over there.
"What are you fighting with?" Mordy asked.
"These are some insignificant ancient autonomous weapons left over from the Second Era. They are nothing to worry about, and we will be able to deal with them soon."
The land of Embers and Scorched Earth, or rather the entire Southern Territory, was turned into wasteland at the end of the Second Era.
The harsh environment and the ancient machines roaming the ground mean that, apart from some oases, there is almost nowhere in the Southern Territory suitable for ordinary people to live.
Wright's tone was calm, suggesting he didn't take the enemy seriously, so Mordy didn't press further and returned to the main topic: "How's the Candlelight Society doing lately? Have you taken over that large oasis I arranged for you?"
"We've taken it. The local warlords and vagrants can't do anything to us. Now we're spreading our faith and opening up new oases."
As he was speaking, a sharp shriek came from the other end, followed by a loud crash, as if some huge object had collapsed to the ground.
"Please don't mind it, it's just the sound of an ancient, huge weapon falling to the ground. These things are everywhere."
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"That land is quite, well, quite vibrant with life and everything is thriving. I should go there and take a look sometime."
Modi had never been to the Scorched Earth, but he had heard of its great reputation and knew that it was a very free place.
The freedom of birth and the randomness of death evoke a kind of beauty reminiscent of the war-torn, war-ridden regions of Africa.
"By the way, has the church contacted you recently?" he suddenly asked.
"The church? No, they're all too busy taking care of themselves to have time for us."
Wright's words carried a hint of schadenfreude, showing little sympathy for the church's plight.
He was grateful for Mordy's reminder, but at the same time, he began to suspect the relationship between His Excellency the Apostle and the Blood God Cult.
If it weren't for the apostle's reminder, the Candlelight Church would probably be the next one being utterly crushed by the Blood God Cult.
But then another question arises: where did their apostle learn about the Blood God Cult's plan?
A glint flashed in Wright's eyes as he vaguely grasped a certain clue.
"It's all thanks to you, Your Excellency Apostle. If it weren't for your reminder, we would probably have been dragged into the vortex of war."
He offered a subtle compliment, choosing to keep his suspicions to himself and determined to follow the apostle to the bitter end.
"Hehe, just do your job well. If the church contacts you, you might as well make contact with them. It would be best to gain the church's trust," Modi said.
"I understand. I will obey your will."
So that's how it is. Presumably, the Candlelight Vigil was meant to provide timely assistance to gain the church's trust, and then find a suitable opportunity to betray it.
Wright believed that he had fully understood the Apostle's profound meaning, and he would never let the Apostle down.
After the call ended, Wright turned to his attendant and instructed, "If the church contacts us later, remember not to refuse immediately, but to let me know right away."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Radiant One," the attendant replied.
Not far from the two, on the yellow sand, was a giant mechanical structure lying on the ground, unable to move.
Its size is comparable to a large landship of the Blood God Cult, and its every move can cause enormous destruction. It is revered as a god by local warlords and wanderers.
But today, their god has fallen into the hands of the Candlelight Church, the old faith has collapsed, and a new faith has taken its place.
From this day forward, the dozens of oases, large and small, around the area will undergo a reshuffling, and a new order led by the Candlelight Society will soon be established on this land.
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