Chapter 28: Exploring the Ancient Battlefield Together

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Exploring the Ancient Battlefield Together

Shen Ce and Celos spent nearly half an hour eating. Although “Heaven’s Dominion” boasted an exceptional dining experience, Shen Ce usually preferred simple fare like bread to fill his stomach. Moments like this, indulging in fine food and wine, were indeed rare.

When two young maids came forward to clear their plates, Shen Ce glanced at Celos, his narrow eyes narrowing slightly. “Celos, why did you appear at the Divine Guild’s headquarters earlier?”

“To find you. Is that not allowed?” Celos set down his cutlery with elegance, his pupils as dark as endless night—distant and solitary.

Shen Ce paused, locking eyes with Celos for a moment before replying coolly, “I distinctly remember telling you I’d be defending the city today. Tomorrow was supposed to be the day we explored the ancient battlefield together.”

Celos looked at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he actually chuckled softly. “What does it matter? Watching you participate in the city defense was entertaining enough.”

Shen Ce was left a bit stiff by that answer. Why was it that Celos’s words always sounded so peculiar? Seeing Celos’s nonchalant demeanor, Shen Ce hesitated for a moment before asking, “Celos, do you have nothing to do most days? Then how did you level up so quickly?” This was the real question that had always puzzled Shen Ce.

Celos’s expression remained calm, his tone as indifferent as ever. “Do you really think leveling up is difficult?”

A brief silence followed.

For a player like Shen Ce, whose strength lay in skill, leveling up was certainly easier than for most people, but it was by no means as effortless as Celos implied.

After a moment’s thought, realizing he would never get the answer he wanted, Shen Ce decisively changed the topic to something more practical. “Since we’re both free today, why not explore the ancient battlefield now?”

Celos nodded. “Alright.” As he spoke, he walked over to Shen Ce, took his hand, and in an instant, their figures blurred and vanished.

A new scene appeared before them: city walls encircled by water, but only a handful of people atop them. This was the west side of Ling Shui City, the least populated area. Shen Ce scanned the surroundings. After his previous experiences, he was no longer surprised by such teleportation.

He opened his quest panel and located the entry “Successfully obtain the Divine Heritage from the Ancient Battlefield.” Carefully following the quest instructions, he searched for a way to enter.

Once finished, Shen Ce turned to Celos. “Celos, the quest says the entrance to the ancient battlefield is just outside the west gate. There’s a Seal of the Light Priest there. We only need to temporarily break it to go in.”

Together, they stepped out of the west gate. As a Light Priest, Shen Ce was especially sensitive to the element of light. He quickly noticed a corner where the concentration of light was far greater than elsewhere.

Delighted, Shen Ce pointed to the spot, excitement in his voice. “Celos, look! It’s right here.”

As soon as he spoke, Shen Ce’s hands began weaving intricate signs in the air, following the quest’s instructions. In just two or three seconds, a circle of pure white light appeared out of thin air. Exchanging a glance with Celos, Shen Ce gripped his deep violet staff, and together they stepped into the white halo.

Ripples like water shimmered across the halo, and in the blink of an eye, Shen Ce and Celos were swallowed by its light.

The sky darkened abruptly, and an uncanny silence fell—so deep, not a single sound could be heard.

Where moments ago there had been clear blue sky, there was now only deathly stillness and gloom. Then, from nowhere, a piercing, mournful shriek shattered the silence. A wave of terrifying energy erupted from all directions, heralding a cataclysmic explosion.

Who is weeping?

Everything began to collapse. Countless images flashed before their eyes, overlapping and interweaving—a spectacle as grand as the birth and death of the universe itself.

There were dragons with sinuous bodies, six-winged angels gleaming white, demons with wings dark as night, savage and brutal behemoths, enchanting elves, and countless other races beyond number. Some were mighty, some weak, but all without exception were roaring, battling, and perishing.

Shen Ce’s attention was gradually drawn to a six-winged angel fighting an undead army. The angel’s face was flawless, so perfect it was impossible to tell if they were male or female. With a sudden motion of their hands, countless whorls of white mist unfurled, enveloping the undead horde, causing them to thrash in mindless confusion. Just as Shen Ce thought the angel would triumph, a demon burst forth from nowhere.

That demon, cloaked in black, seemed all the more ruthless, his hood concealing his features so that all eyes were drawn to his blood-dripping right hand.

He let out a cold snort. Despite his wounds, he radiated an aura of invincibility.

He and the six-winged angel quickly engaged, abandoning magic and spells for a direct clash of bodies. Their movements were so swift and fierce as to be beyond mortal reach.

The spectacle of such masterful combat held Shen Ce spellbound. His brows furrowed tightly, for he couldn’t tell—no, no one could tell—which of these godlike beings would win.

After an unknown span of time, the six-winged angel was struck down by the demon. Once immaculate wings were now bloodied and torn, covered in wounds. As he fell, his face remained serene and dignified, but the once-brilliant golden eyes faded into empty hollows. The body of this deity descended, trailing bloody feathers that turned into endless starlight, illuminating the surrounding darkness. But in mere moments, the gloom closed in again.

Heaven was merciless, and the wars between races raged on. The dragons’ stirring roars mingled with the lonely songs of sea sirens. Gods fell in battle, demons perished, and countless lives faded into oblivion.

The cycle of all things turned unending, millennia rose and fell, seas turned to fields. The visions finally ended. Unconsciously, a single tear slid from Shen Ce’s eye—the oppressive weight of cosmic upheaval pressed upon his heart, momentarily wrenching his soul away.

It took him several minutes to break free from the illusion. He started awake, finding himself in a landscape of death and desolation. Endless dunes had piled up, ruins buried shattered bones, and some bones even lay exposed on the sand—varying in size and degree of fragmentation, clearly belonging to different races.

Suddenly, Shen Ce realized something grave—where was Celos?

His face changed drastically. Had Celos not been transported to the same place as him? If so, wouldn’t that make the quest far more difficult to complete?

For a moment, Shen Ce stood frozen. Forcing down his anxiety, he opened his message panel—only to catch sight of a tall, solitary figure standing on a nearby dune, his long silver cloak nearly blending into the barren world.

The scene was like a frame from a film—endless desolation and solitude, all condensed in the figure of one man.

Relief washed over Shen Ce. He walked towards the lone figure, about to speak, when Celos spoke first. “Zero, what are your thoughts seeing this place?”

Celos’s voice was as beautiful as ever, low and cool, as if drifting from some unreachable distance, carrying an almost dreamlike quality.

Shen Ce was stunned for half a second. He glanced around at the bleak landscape and finally uttered a single word: “Desolation.”

Especially after experiencing the earlier vision, Shen Ce deeply understood the heaviness that clung to Celos. The visual effects of “Heaven’s Dominion” were simply too powerful, striking straight at the heart. After such an illusion, no one could look upon such emptiness without feeling oppressed.

Almost as if in response to Shen Ce’s word, a strange wind rose from nowhere, swirling sand and mist into the air. Suddenly, Shen Ce sensed a surge of violent energy.

A warning of danger!

The magical elements in the air began to vibrate ever more intensely, radiating outward from a certain dune.

With a roar, a massive, unknown creature burst from the dune, shattering it with a deafening crack.

Shen Ce regarded the fleshless skeletal creature in the distance, a chill running down his spine. Its form was tall, obviously humanoid, but as he looked closer, he saw something growing from its back.

What was that?

Though the creature had no flesh, the outline of its bones became clearer and grew at a startling pace. When the process was complete, Shen Ce was left speechless—it had six wings.

Could this be the six-winged angel from the vision?

Shen Ce dared not assume. Though that angel had been struck down by the demon, the memory of that terrifying power was indelibly etched in Shen Ce’s mind. He raised his staff, and the surrounding light elements immediately gathered upon it. His lips moved in a silent incantation, and he pointed the staff at both himself and Celos, granting them each a “Blessing of the Goddess of Light.”

“Ah, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way,” Celos murmured, eyes half-closed, his expression a mixture of pain and pleasure.

“Hm?” Shen Ce didn’t catch what Celos had said. He turned, puzzled, hoping Celos would repeat himself.

Celos shook his head slowly, his gaze fixed coldly on the formidable creature before them. “Nothing. Let’s just focus on how to deal with this six-winged revenant.”

Author’s note: This is the first update~~
Special thanks to Xiao Xuanyu and Ji Ye for throwing grenades—love you all.