Chapter 20

The sky and the earth were dim, the blue light flickered, and the thunder was tangled. A building appeared from mid-air, hit the mountain, made a loud noise, and fell apart.

"Ah -" Joyce yelled while protecting his head and bumping into a pole. Then, the shattered stones rolled down from the top of the mountain, and Joyce reached out his hand to grab and hug a big tree. The sky was shaking, and the falling rocks were rolling down from the cliff. Joyce was like a falling leaf in the squally wind. He can't see which side was the sky or the ground. He hug the tree tightly, closed his eyes, and scream...

The last piece of marble hit the mountain, the tree was uprooted with soil, and Joyce rolled down the woods.

Joyce's headache was about to split. He fell to the ground and was swept into the woods by the wind. His whole body was scratched by branches and his face was bleeding. When he fell to the ground, he instinctively struggled to get up. , Staggering to escape without knowing the direction.

The next moment, the mountain made a loud noise, and was destroyed by the final explosion of the teleportation array, and collapsed. Joyce kept running like hell. At this time, Alex's training helped Joyce escape the disaster. If he fell halfway, or a few seconds later, he would be buried underneath by the collapsed mud.

He finally escaped from the most dangerous area at the last moment. However, the fall of the mountain caused a strong impact, shaking him with great force, and he was thrown away. Joyce fell to the ground, his vision became dizzy, looking at the pale sunlight above his head. , and fainted again.

There was a bucket of rain, and Joyce's face was hit by the rain, and he woke up.

"Teacher...Teacher..." Joyce's head buzzed with a slight movement.

He struggled to get up, his body was muddy, and the priest's robe was covered with mud.

"This is...where...am I..." Joyce stood frozen, looking around, the world was full of corpses, as if after a great battle. Ghouls were squatting on the ground in the distance, eating the dead bodies.

Joyce trembled, feeling the location of Alex, but the world was enveloped in a mist, the black mist filled the sky, the earth, and the holy light could not help him to locate Alex.

The undead disaster has come, Joyce remembered the scene described in the ancient book: It was this scene in front of him. Thousands of years ago, the undead army captured the entire continent, the plague spread across the world, and all places were full of walking corpses and hungry ghosts. The holy light was dim until the King of Heroes descended on this land while riding a giant dragon and holding a giant sword.

Joyce stepped back without making any sound. He didn't have any weapons in his hands, and he didn't have a guardian knight by his side. A fragile priest could easily become a dead soul under the claws of a ghoul in minutes. He calmed his breath and suppressed the fear in his heart. Slow down his heartbeat, and walked away silently along the mountains.

Not far away, a man staggered to his feet, and Joyce ran to him immediately, whispering: "Be careful..."

"Be careful..." Joyce looked at the man. The man who stood up had muddy eyes, his face was gray, his body was broken, and the ribs that pierced his body appeared. He was wearing combat leather armor, a long sword tied to his waist, a spear nailed to his chest, a scorpion pattern printed on the leather armor, and a certain army tattoo on his cyan-colored arm.

Joyce took a step back in fear and found that the man had become a walking corpse.

The walking corpse ignored Joyce, took a staggering step, and then headed west.

Joyce's blood seemed to solidify, and a group of ghouls climbed from the mountain, leaping over, passing by the side of the big tree behind him.

Joyce was taken aback and hid behind the boulder. Fortunately, the group of ghouls turned their backs to him. They ran to the center of the battlefield, began to eat the corpses on the ground, and tore their broken arms out of the corpse.

"Ah -" someone screamed in pain.

Joyce was shocked again. Several ghouls heard the sound and raised their heads, looking into the distance, turning their heads sideways, as if determining their position.

Many ghouls looked up, but this undead creature had very poor hearing and very good eyesight. Joyce secretly prayed that his noise would not be heard in the distance, and the ghouls would miss him.

After half a minute, the ground was quiet, and the ghouls bowed their heads again and enjoyed the meal. Hundreds of ghouls seized the battlefield, pushing each other and vying for food from time to time. Joyce walked carefully along the edge of the battlefield, hearing the sound of chewing in the distance.

The cold wind blew his teeth and he couldn't help shaking his teeth. He tried his best to control his trembling and recited Alex's name silently. However, the mist was so heavy that it cut off all the connections between them, and there was only a beam of light in the distance leading to the sky. The whole world has undergone earth-shaking changes, making him totally at a loss, not knowing what to do next.

Everyone was dead, and there were a lot of bones piled in the distance. Joyce carefully walked through the bones of the corpse field. When the wind blew, he wrapped his robe tightly, stepped barefoot in the mud, and walked to the place where he heard the scream.

There was a large dark pit, which was obviously detonated by an extremely tragic magical force. The crater was centered in a radioactive terrain. There were hardly any corpses left one kilometer away. The edge of the large pit was covered with fragments and magical powers. Detonated scorched severed limbs rushed out.

To the outer layer, there are mountains of corpses.

With a cry not far away, Joyce went barefoot and saw the man who was still alive.

The man's face was dark, with blood in his mouth, and a lot of blood pouring from his mouth and nostrils. The armor in front of him was grabbed, and there was a bloody hole in his abdomen.

Joyce stood in the dim sky, knelt on one knee, and finally saw a living person.

"Are you okay..." Joyce didn't dare to use the Holy Light rashly, for fear of drawing the ghouls over. He remembered the way Alex had taught him, took off his robe, rolled it up and pressed the wound on the man's abdomen to stop the bleeding.

"Kill me." The man whispered.

"Don't give up." Joyce hurriedly said, "As long as you have herbs, you can be saved. Can you move? Have you broken a bone? Try sitting up?"

The man grabbed Joyce's arm abruptly with his hand, shaking all over.

"Now." The man said: "I am infected by the undead plague, do it now, hurry up."

"No!" Joyce said: "Not now! There must be a cure! Holy water can save you."

He stared at the man, whose eyes were like a deep spring of indifference, as cold as the water at the bottom of the lake.

At that moment, Joyce felt extremely sad. He couldn't move his hands anyway. How could he live up after killing the wounded soldier?

There was no longer survivorship in his eyes. He looked at Joyce as if he knew that Joyce would do it.

With tears in his eyes, Joyce whispered, "Please save me."

The man's face changed. Joyce shook his hand and pleaded: "I'm in the middle of the battlefield, you see, there are ghouls and undead everywhere, I can't get out...you must survive, this way I will have the hope of survival...Don't give up, okay? Take me away..."

He knew that only by saying that, this soldier would temporarily give up the idea of ​​begging for death. Sure enough, the man was silent for a long time. Joyce said again: "I will definitely try to save you. As long as there is holy water, I will temporarily suppress your condition with herbs. but only if I can found some herb medicines..."

"No need." When the man said these three words, Joyce's voice trembled.

"Help me...get up." The soldier said.

Knowing that Joyce had finally succeeded in persuading him, he hurriedly put his arm under his body, the man's whole body weight was on his shoulders, his head was buried on his neck, and his breathing was hot.

Both were in a panic and muddy, and the man kept pressing Joyce's robe on his wounds.

"Find my sword." The man said very quietly.

Joyce picked up a spear and let him stalk it, looking for the warrior's sword nearby.

He turned his head, and the soldier's lips moved, motioning him to look into the distance, with a big sword stuck in the ground.

Joyce exerted all his strength to pull the sword out, and handed the sword to the man's hand. The man staggered, slammed his sword on the ground, placed Joyce's shoulders, and left with a deep kick and a shallow kick.

"Where to go?" Joyce whispered, "I don't know the way."

The soldier said: "Face east."

Don't know if it was Joyce who gave him the strength, or the soldier exploded with all his strength, and they fled all the way to the edge of the battlefield. The soldier couldn't help breathing and lay on the ground.

"Are you all right?" Joyce said.

"Looking for... medicine." The warrior said: "Look for someone in white armor. This...symbol is painted on the armor..."

The soldier couldn't help gasping, raised his head, his pupils dilated slightly, and Joyce said anxiously, "Hold it up!"

"Red... the medicine bottle is red... after you find it, give it to me..."

Joyce looked down, and saw that the priest's robe was stained purple-black with blood.

He lost too much blood, Joyce was afraid that he could not support it... Joyce immediately let him lie down under the big tree and turned to look for medicine. Thunder and lightning flashed across the sky, thunder blasted loudly, and the rain was getting heavier. This heavy rain came at the right time and effectively concealed Joyce's footsteps. The rain washed down the armor of the sacrificed soldiers. Joyce looked around for the corpse in the white armor and the living soldiers, but there were no survivors.

The rain drained towards the huge pit formed by the detonation of magical power, and Joyce finally found the corpse the soldier said in one place.

It was a young man with his eyes open, apparently dead for a long time. Joyce found out the medicine bottle the soldier said from his body, but at this moment, the corpse grabbed Joyce with his hand.

Joyce almost yelled out, he fell to the ground, muffled the yelling in his throat, and kicked the corpse with his feet.

The living corpse let out a vague roar and rushed towards Joyce. Joyce reached out and grabbed him. He suddenly caught the dagger that Alex had given him. He drew it decisively and swung it out. However, he was not strong enough and only slashed the body. The dagger cut out the meat on the corpse's arm, but cannot break his bones. Joyce was going crazy, and the living corpse rushed towards him.

"Ah -" Joyce finally couldn't help but yell out. At this moment, thunder and lightning pierced through the sky, covering up his yelling.

Joyce stabbed the dagger into the throat of the living corpse, and slit it, blood exploded from the neck of the living corpse, sprayed his head and face, his fingers were slightly loose, Joyce immediately pulled the dagger back, fell to the ground, and then rolled. Flee the battlefield with crawling on the ground. But the ghoul in the distance already noticed him.

"Huh...huh..." Joyce's heart was about to jump out of his throat and rushed to the side of the soldier under the tree. The soldier closed his eyes. Joyce shook him and said, "Wake up!"

The soldier didn't answer, he seemed to be dead, and Joyce only felt a chill behind his back. What should I do?

He peeled off the cork of the bottle cap, pried open the soldier's mouth, and poured the medicine in. The soldier coughed violently. Joyce was relieved thank goodness.

"External...external use only..." the soldier said: "You will poison me..."

"I'm sorry!" Joyce hurriedly removed the priest's robe. The soldier's abdomen had become a pale blood hole, his intestines had been caught, and a stench came out of his body.

Joyce: "..."

The intestines are broken and He won't last long... Joyce was trembling with his breathing.

"What?" The soldier opened his eyes weakly and said, "Pour the medicine... on top."

Joyce tremblingly poured the remaining medicine onto the wound on his abdomen. The wound gave off an unpleasant smell and white smoke came out. As soon as the stench of the medicine merged with the blood, it immediately cauterized the wound and the soldiers bite tightly. He clenched his teeth and tried not to make any noise.

"Is this... wound medicine?" Joyce said.

"The blood of the scorpion god." The soldier sighed and replied: "It will last twelve hours to activate the body."

"Then...?" Joyce looked at the soldier's eyes.

"The whole body rotted and died." The soldier replied, "Go..."

He stood up again, this time as if he had enough strength, Joyce couldn't believe it, but the warrior staggered a step, supported his body with a big sword, and turned around and said, "Don't you want me to save you? Go!"

Joyce caught up with the soldier, and the soldier led him slowly along the edge of the battlefield.

"What's your name?" Joyce asked.

"For a dead person." The soldier replied indifferently: "What's the meaning of the name?"

Joyce could hardly calm the tremor in his heart. He begged the soldier one thing, so he did it. He used the last twelve hours to protect him. Joyce only felt his nose sour, tears gushing out uncontrollably, and heavy rain pouring on their heads, both of them were bruised and exhausted.

"Don't cry." The soldier said, "I hate people crying the most, especially when it comes to things that cannot be changed.

Joyce stopped his tears, and the soldier's footsteps stopped. A group of ghouls in the distance finally found them. They all turned around. The soldier said solemnly, "My comrades in arms are dead...dead to these ugly creatures, by their claws..."

The warrior bowed, and struck, holding a large sword diagonally in both hands, he roared, "Take it as the will of the true God, and send you back, dust to dust and dirt to dirt!"

Joyce's heart shuddered, and the big sword in the warrior's hand burst into red flames, his eyes were blood-red, and his anger almost burned the entire battlefield. Several ghouls rushed towards them, and the big sword burst out. The raging fire swallowed them all!

More and more ghouls rushed towards them, and the firelight alarmed the hungry ghosts, living corpses, and ghouls on the entire battlefield.

"Go!" The warrior returned his sword to his back, pulled up Joyce, held him in one hand, jumped up the hill, and rushed down the slope!

Joyce said: "Be careful!"

The warrior used his arms to protect the heads of the two of them and rolled into the woods. Joyce only felt cold to the bones. He drank and fell into a river. Then the warriors tried their best to lift Joyce up.

"Hold me tightly." The soldier said.

The torrent of water sent them downstream. Joyce hugged the swordsman's neck tightly. He blew his head out of the water and gasped for breath. He was about to freeze, and the water rushed too fast, making him dizzy. There was a tree on the bank. After a flash, the group of ghouls still chased downstream with perseverance.

"Hold your breath." The soldier said.

Joyce held his breath and felt weightlessness. They were rushed out of the waterfall and flew down from a high altitude. The moment they fell into the pool, they were separated by the momentum. Joyce choked on his mouth. Alex taught him how to swim in the summer, but Joyce could barely move in the icy waters in the winter.

He choked again, feeling like he was dying, but a strong arm caught him, Grabbed him out of the water.

"I'm here." The soldier said.

Then the warrior dragged him, carried him out of the water, returned his sword, and knocked towards the lake.

The lake turned into ice instantly! A series of ghouls jumped down from a high place, banged banging loudly, and all fell on the ice, smashed into meat sauce, and a rotting aura exuded. The soldier stopped talking and dragged Joyce into the woods.

As night fell, Joyce was trembling, sitting in front of the campfire in the cave, the soldier's face was already pale as death.

"I can only take you here." The soldier said.

"No." Joyce replied, "I don't want to die, and I don't want you to die either."

He looked up at the soldier, tears rolling in his eyes.

The soldier said: "Death is the destiny that everyone has to face."

The dark mist enveloped the whole world, and in the long night, it seemed that something was silently hiding from them. Joyce's eyes were flushed and he looked at the soldier.

He was still young, and the rain washed away his dark face, showing his handsome appearance.

He has beautiful black hair, his eyes are like obsidian, the bridge of his nose is high, his eyebrows are like untrimmed eagle feathers, his face is pale due to blood loss, he wears leather armor, and his arms are strong and powerful, with tattoos on his arms.

Joyce looked at him, and he looked at Joyce too.

"Your eyes are also black." Joyce suddenly turned his mind away and said, "Hair is also black."

The black-haired soldier was silent and filled the bonfire with firewood.

He can still live for less than six hours, and maybe he won't see the time for the sun to rise.

Joyce sat down and said, "Let me look at your wound."

The black-haired warrior replied: "At twelve o'clock, you must kill me yourself, otherwise I will undergo a corpse transformation."

Joyce did not answer, took off his armor, knelt in front of him, inspected his wound, the wound on his abdomen no longer rotted, showing a grayish color. A section of the small intestine was exposed, showing a contaminated moldy green color.

"Don't look." The soldier said.

Joyce pulled his big hand away, tried to put his intestines hanging out back to the body, and said, "It doesn't matter."

The black-haired warrior was sitting on the rock, Joyce knelt between his legs, hugged his waist, and leaned his head on his chest.

"Thank you," Joyce said.

Because of his plea, this stranger saved his life at the last moment of death and brought him here. If it weren't for him, he might have died on the abandoned battlefield.

"In my hometown." The soldier said solemnly: "A child with black eyes is a person cursed by the devil."

Joyce smiled and said, "There is no such thing, no one has ever said that to me."

"Come here." The black-haired soldier said, "Before I am dying, accompany me through the last part of the road."

Joyce got up and sat beside him.

The black-haired warrior looked at him, and Joyce said, "Can I hug you?"

The black-haired warrior shifted his position and leaned his back against the cave wall. He stretched out his arm and let Joyce lean in his arms. Joyce hugged his waist, and the two cuddled together.

"How old are you?" the black-haired soldier asked.

"Eighteen years old, how about you?" Joyce asked.

"Twenty-two," the black-haired soldier replied.

Joyce leaned on his shoulder, the body of the black-haired warrior smelled of blood, and his powerful heartbeat reminded Joyce of Alex. He does not know where Alex is at the moment, the last scene of the Golden City, still remembered in Joyce's heart.

The pope sealed the entire city and suppressed the demons in the ground. No one in the Holy See could enter. Is Alex still alive? Although he cannot feel the Holy light echo with Alex, he firmly believed that Alex was still there and tried to find his whereabouts.

"Boy, why are you so obsessed with alive?" the black-haired soldier said.

"Because I believe someone will come to rescue me," Joyce replied calmly.

The black-haired soldier said coldly: "They have found us."

"Who?" Joyce looked up alertly.

"The Lich." The handsome black-haired warrior closed his eyes and replied, "The mist is its consciousness."

Joyce was quiet for a while, then smiled and said, "It's okay."

He opened his eyes and looked at Joyce.

"Are you a mercenary?" Joyce asked, looking at his tattoo.

The black-haired soldier hummed, and said, "What about you? Why you come to the battlefield?"

Joyce said, "The teleportation array exploded, and the aftermath wave sent me there."

"You got your life back." The black-haired soldier whispered: "Do you have a lover? Kid?"

He stretched out his finger, hooked Joyce's chin, and made him to look up.

Joyce replied: "Yes."

"Your lover must love you very much." The soldier said, "Because you are so beautiful which is not just your appearance but also your brave, your spirit, your soul. I used to have a lover."

"What happened later?" Joyce asked.

"Then," The black-haired warrior replied, "Destiny gave him to my good friend."

"Don't give up." Joyce whispered: "For your family, live on."

The black-haired soldier replied indifferently: "I have no family."

Joyce said: "Then for your comrades and friends."

"I deserve to die." The black-haired soldier said, "Otherwise, I'm failed to the mercenary king and my sacrificed comrades. We should live and die together. On the battlefield, if it were not for your request, I would not live anymore. Speaking of this, if you feel grateful to me, tell me a story or sing me a song before I finished."

Joyce knew that this man had no intention of surviving anymore, and he felt sad again.

"What kind of story do you want to hear?" Joyce said.

"Whatever," the black-haired soldier replied.

His eyes looked out of the cave. Joyce followed his gaze, and saw that it was dark outside the cave, the sound of rain stopped, the rustle of leaves disappeared, and the cave seemed to be affected by an evil force. Besieged and isolated it from the outside world, only the bonfire in front of the two of them still exudes a warm yellow light.

There was a wave of fear in Joyce's heart. He tried to calm himself down. The black-haired warrior seemed to feel the trembling from his heart. He stretched out his hand and stroked Joyce's semi-wet hair. This action calmed the anxiety in his heart.

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