Chapter 437 That is God’s Will

"MMP... finally got out!"

Panting heavily, the construction site boy and Zhuan wiped the sand and sweat off his face, looking at the mountains in front of him, and couldn't help but feel happy.

Not just him.

When the Death Corps' power players saw the desert border, they couldn't help but cheer.

They had been pedaling the tricycle all the way, and they were almost upgraded. Finally, they saw the mountains of the River Valley Province.

If they didn't feel sorry for the little experience and hard-earned equipment on their bodies, they would have used the "last hit TP" method to return to the city!

Kakarot couldn't help but complain.

"Damn, it's still the mole brother who is comfortable. He just came back from vacation in Ideal City and took a big job."

The debt-ridden big-eyed man sitting on the tricycle nodded in agreement.

"But that's 900 kilometers... How is he going to get there?"

The construction site boy and the brick interrupted and complained.

"Who knows, we three-wheelers worry about people driving cars?"

Hearing the sarcasm of his teammates, the edge paddler smiled embarrassedly and patted the shoulder of his mount.

"Hehe... I'm sorry, brother, I've wronged you."

The construction site boy and the brick rolled his eyes.

"It's good that you know you're sorry!"

It's basic to scold the team leader for being a rude person.

Most people are not so petty. The conditions when the server was first opened were much better than those of cattle and horses now.

At least there are tricycles now.

At that time, even bicycles were as precious as giant pandas. Even T0 and T1 players mostly rely on their own legs to run maps.

Anyway, although there were many bumps along the way, they still broke through the encirclement of the legion and completed the miracle of a thousand-mile raid and a thousand-mile transfer.

Everyone's face was filled with joyful smiles.

Even the captured Piman and Antoinette.

The two of them were tied up like dumplings and thrown on the tricycle, and they were almost baked dry by the sun.

No matter how these people planned to deal with them, the torture of wind and sun was finally over.

"The map of this game is really big..." Debt raised the telescope and looked towards the north, but still couldn't see the edge of the map, as if this setting didn't exist in this game.

This was probably the first time that the players of the Alliance set foot in the northern border of the River Valley Province.

Although this is also a plain belt, the plain here feels completely different from the south.

There are no green forests and grasslands all over the mountains here, but instead there are bare yellow land and sea buckthorn grass swaying on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

There was a forest in the distance, but the straight pine trees were bare, with no leaves on the branches, and the vegetation was withered in patches.

A river seemed to divide the entire province into two completely different worlds.

If the modeling of the Qingquan City area was gray-green, then this place was more like being splashed with a basin of shit-yellow paint.

Not only that.

The aliens wandering around were also uglier. The mutant hounds with thick hair in the south had only a few sparse hairs on their foreheads here.

However, in contrast, the aliens here were obviously more robust, not only were their skeletons bigger, but their gnarled muscles even squeezed onto their faces.

But it might be because of this that the twisted muscles compressed their eyeballs, causing them to have poor eyesight and offend people they shouldn't have offended.

More than 30 mutant hounds surrounded them in a crowd, baring their teeth and growling fiercely.

Sitting on the edge of the construction site, the old man was not panicking at all. He held the machine gun and swept over with a burst of bullets. Half of the mutant hounds that rushed up were killed instantly.

The remaining half were easily dealt with by several players who got off the car with engineer shovels and bayonets without any delay.

"It's slightly stronger than the mutant hyena and the gnawer... It should be about level five or six."

The edge of the shovel shook the blood on the shovel, and suddenly noticed that there was movement in the distance, so he gave a look to his teammates beside him, put down the shovel and picked up the rifle hanging on his chest again.

The four people approached carefully, but saw a humanoid monster squatting on the ground with its back to them, and its hands covered with mud were constantly digging on the ground.

It was thin, its skin was sickly gray, and its wrinkled skin was full of pus and sores, like a corpse that had been soaked in the lake, as if it was looking for something in the soil.

Finally, it seemed to have found something, and excitedly pulled something out of the soil, then stuffed it into its mouth, greedily devouring it, accompanied by a crunching sound.

Edge Paddling and the construction site boy and brick exchanged glances, all with a bit of confusion on their faces, unsure of what it was.

As if noticing the movement behind him, the monster stopped his hand, glanced at the four people alertly, began to retreat to the side, and then ran into the nearby forest with his hands and feet.

Debt Big Eyes raised his rifle and aimed at its back, but in the end he did not waste the bullet and pressed the muzzle down.

"...What is that thing?"

"I'm more curious about what he's eating..."

The construction site boy and brick walked forward curiously, but soon saw half of his brain buried in the soil.

His face suddenly turned pale, and he stopped talking with a dry heave.

"Navy blue... military uniforms," ​​Bianbianhuashui went to take a look in the morning, dug a few times on the ground with an engineer shovel, and frowned slightly, "It's a member of the Legion."

And it's most likely a centurion!

In an instant, Bianbianhuashui suddenly seemed to understand something, and glanced at the surrounding potholes and muddy wilderness.

This should have been a battlefield before!

It was here that the Legion's expeditionary force fought with the army of the Great Rift Valley.

And the endless ups and downs and deep pits on the plain might have been plowed out by artillery fire...

Although they were curious about the alien species they had never seen before, no player chased after it.

That leafless forest always made people cautious, and no one knew what strange things were hidden in it.

They still had a mission to do, so it was best not to cause trouble.

The group continued to move forward and soon encountered a large-scale survivor settlement.

Seeing a place with people, the players all showed joy on their faces.

Their supplies were almost exhausted along the way, and they were finally able to replenish them.

Signaling the main force to wait in the distance, Bian Paoshui took a few familiar teammates forward, stopped a scavenger and asked.

"Where is this place?"

The scavenger glanced at the exoskeleton on his body, then glanced at his rifle, and said vigilantly.

"There is no name for this place, we all call it the recycling station."

"Recycling station?" Debt Big Eyes interrupted and asked curiously.

"Yes, do you see the plain in the distance?" The man pointed to the endless muddy land in the distance, "Over there are the trenches dug by the Legion Expeditionary Force. Later, they were beaten and abandoned their armor, some died, some fled... All the equipment was thrown there."

Bian Paoshui looked in the direction he pointed, and vaguely saw two trenches in the crater stage.

"Are you here to scavenge?"

"Yes," the man glanced at the camp behind him, and said in a voice like Han Hu, "Everyone is here to pick up garbage. Some pick up garbage, some collect garbage, and some sell shovels... Although the legion didn't do anything good, their bodies can feed a lot of people."

Bianbianhuashui nodded.

It seems that this is not a fixed camp, but a "nomadic group" composed of scavengers.

Maybe when the nearby garbage is dug up, the scavengers will move away one after another, and the camp will move to other places.

As for who is collecting these garbage, there is no doubt that it is people from the Bugera Free State.

"Can we replenish supplies here?"

"Why not? You can go to the camp to find those merchants. They are willing to sell anything as long as you are willing to pay. But... it's best not to make trouble, unless you plan to be enemies with everyone here."

The scavenger reminded him vaguely, and without wasting any more time, he picked up the sack and walked towards the muddy land.

Big Eyes looked at Edgewater.

"What do you mean?"

Bianhuashui thought for a moment and quickly made a judgment.

"Replenish supplies and continue on the road."

"Why not camp here?" The construction site owner asked curiously.

"The prisoners have special identities, and these people are all doing business with the Bugera Free State. There is no guarantee that there are no spies among them."

Bianhuashui glanced at the back of the scavenger and moved his chin.

"Let's go."

"After replenishing supplies, we have to get on the road as soon as possible."

...

The exoskeleton was replaced.

Edgewater took Big Eyes and the construction site owner into the camp called the recycling station.

Although it looked shabby from the outside, there was a different kind of bustle inside the camp.

Merchants leading two-headed cows set up stalls on both sides of the road. They sold not only junk such as bottles and cans, but also some unusual high-tech products occasionally.

Including security robots with iron pipe rifles welded on them, and android coolies modified with garbage and intelligent cores picked up.

There were even people selling power armor.

However, when Bianhuashui walked up to take a look, he found that except for a fuel rod that was almost out of power stuck in its chest, there was no part of the thing that had anything to do with power armor.

The construction site boy and Zhuan curiously went up to take a look at the label, and saw that it actually cost 600,000 Cr, and their eyes widened immediately.

"Fuck! They are robbing money!"

If I remember correctly, the current exchange rate between Cr and silver coins is 1:3, which is 1.8 million silver coins!

The merchant who was selling things glanced at him, and seeing his ignorant and poor look, he was too lazy to pay attention to him.

"We are not here to buy equipment." Bianhuashui patted the construction site old man on the shoulder and pulled him back.

Most of the equipment here is DIY by scavengers, and the failure rate is probably quite touching.

He didn't even have the interest to bargain.

"How much is the power armor that Lao Bai bought?" Debt Eyes suddenly asked.

Edge Pashui thought for a while and said.

"I remember... it was 1 million silver coins?"

When they heard that it was only 1 million silver coins, the players were immediately moved.

Sure enough, the manager is still conscientious.

These wastelanders are really cunning!

After walking around the market, they finally found a merchant selling food.

The old man selling goods is not young, about 40 years old, and he looks like he is from Luoxia Province. No matter what color the skin is, the people there have deep eye sockets.

What surprised the players was that this merchant actually accepted silver coins!

According to the old man, he was planning to go to the south next time, so he wanted both dinars and silver coins.

"4,000 kilograms of dry bread, 300 kilograms of beef jerky... Let me calculate, well, I have to charge you 10,000 silver coins."

Hearing the old man's offer, Da Yan couldn't help but complain.

"Damn! So expensive!"

The old man on the construction site also swallowed his saliva.

"Ten thousand silver coins... are enough to buy a set of light cavalry exoskeleton."

Edgewater smiled indifferently.

"Think about it from another angle. I think it's a good deal to be able to solve the supply of five hundred-man teams with the price of a set of light cavalry exoskeleton."

Warfare is not free.

Problems that can be solved with money are not problems, not to mention that the logistics expenses are reimbursed by managers.

He took out 100 bills from his pocket and handed them to the old man.

"Deal."

The old man took the money with a smile, and called the young men beside him to help weigh the supplies, pack them and send them outside the camp.

Edge paddling let the construction site owner follow them, and he and Big Eyes stayed in the camp.

When the construction site owner came back, Big Eyes suddenly thought of the corpse-like monster he saw on the journey, so he looked at the old man and asked.

"Have you ever seen a kind of... monster whose skin looks like it was rotten by blisters, like a zombie."

"Rotten by blisters? Zombies?" The old man thought for a while, and suddenly a smile squeezed out of his wrinkled face

"You should have encountered a ghoul."

Big Eyes was stunned.

"Ghouls?"

"Well, there is a nuclear bomb crater that stretches for hundreds of kilometers to the west of the Great Rift Valley. They probably crawled out from there. They generally don't eat living things, but they don't mind eating dead things. They regard plague and decay as delicacies."

The old man who sells goods brushed off the ash in his pipe, squinted his eyes and looked at the scavengers in the distance, holding the mouthpiece and taking a puff.

"...Don't worry about those guys, they are just a group of poor people."

...

On the other side, at the foot of the double-headed peak of the Zhuobar Mountains in the distant southern part of Luoxia Province.

With the help of some people, the news that the legion was approaching the city quickly spread in Petra Fortress.

However, what everyone did not expect was that the news went awry as it spread, and became more and more outrageous...

Another dusk.

Old Bulma handed the account book to Sis, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Miss... Petra Fortress can no longer stay here. You'd better go to the southern dock to buy a boat while it's still not too late."

Looking at Bulma with a sad face, Sisi, who took over the account book, was stunned for a moment, and her expression was a little weird.

"Didn't you say... Petra Fortress is impossible to fall?"

If I remember correctly, she should have heard this sentence three days ago.

"That's right, the fortress built by the gods cannot be captured by mortals. If it's a legion, no matter how many people they come, Petra Fortress will make them pay for it..."

Old Bulma still had a firm expression on her face, but as she spoke, her voice became guilty.

"...But if it's the evil god, everything will be hard to say."

"Evil god?!" Tail opened his eyes wide in surprise, and came up to watch the fun, asking excitedly, "What does he look like?"

"He is ugly in every way. No one knows where he comes from. It may be the sky or the deep sea. When he descended, his body filled the entire river bank, and tens of thousands of tentacles tore apart the clouds in the sky. Even the god of the sky is no match for him..."

Tail's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Oversized tentacles!"

Old Buma's Tong Kong was covered with a layer of turbidity, trying to describe something he had never seen in words.

But at present, it seems that only Tail dares to believe it, and even Rourou shook his head after hearing it.

"...Such a large desert, but the Legion chose it. No doubt, they know they can't defeat us with their own strength, so they plan to use evil sacrifices to awaken the demons suppressed by the Sky Scepter."

"This desert is finished... The Twilight of the Gods will come again, and this time, there will be no gods who can stop him."

The old man muttered, his turbid eyes were full of despair, and the low voice became smaller and smaller until it was completely inaudible and blended into the distant dimness outside the window.

Holding the snoring cat in his arms, Zhimahu quietly looked at Sisi beside him and asked in a low voice.

"Is this part of the plan?"

Sisi, who was lost in thought, shook his head.

"I just asked the mercenary to spread the news of the Lost Valley where the Legion is stationed. I didn't expect the people here... to have such a big imagination."

The Legion stationed in the Lost Valley is holding an evil ceremony, trying to awaken the evil god who has been sleeping for 200 years, and use the power of the devil to conquer the insurmountable Petra...

The plan exceeded expectations, and even a firm believer like old Bulma began to waver.

Looking at the old face full of sorrow, Sisi couldn't help but worry.

Will she use too much force...

Just when she was worried, there was a heavy knock on the door.

Zhimahu, who was standing by the door, heard it and walked up to open the door.

"Sorry, we are closed today--"

She was halfway through her words, and she was stunned when she saw the man at the door.

There was a team of armed guards standing at the door, about thirty of them.

They had submachine guns on their waists and were already holding them in their hands.

The leader was the captain of the nearby patrol team.

Old Bulma recognized the face at a glance, and hurried forward with a smile.

"Captain Ciandis? What do you want?"

Ignoring the old man, Ciandis looked around the room expressionlessly, including the talking bear.

"Who is the boss here?"

Rou Rou was about to raise her hand hesitantly, but Tail next to her was one step faster than her-

However, before Tail's arm was raised, it was pressed back by Sisi standing next to her.

'Leave it to me'

Giving Tail a reassuring look, Sisi walked to the side of Sesame Lake.

Glancing at the mercenary who had been controlled, she looked at the captain of the patrol team and said calmly.

"It's me."

Seeing that she had no intention of resisting arrest violently, the patrol captain waved his hand without any nonsense.

"Come with us."

...

The castle shrouded in dusk.

The palace of the Lord of Petra Fortress was crowded with anxious ministers.

A man in luxurious clothes sat on a stone chair, looking down at the people under the steps expressionlessly.

His right elbow rested on the cold handrail, and his left index finger tapped on the handrail again and again. He looked like he was lost in thought, or just impatient.

His name was Sean, the Lord of Petra Fortress. His family was a prominent family in the Hump Kingdom, guarding the northern border of the kingdom for generations.

The Hump Kingdom declared war on the Falcon Kingdom a long time ago, but it has not sent troops yet.

Although many people think this is the weakness of the royal family, he knows that it is not the case.

No one in this kingdom is more pious and brave than His Majesty.

How could that respected lord not know that the consequence of appeasement can only be an inch further.

In fact, the royal family has always wanted to gather troops to rush north to help, but the city lords, including the Lord of Silver Moon City, only want to contribute money, not people.

These profit-seeking merchants are still hoping to kill the legion with money bags.

This is not a problem that can be solved by money at all.

Sean is of course on the side of the king.

The reason why Petra Fortress and his family have survived to this day is due to the grace of the royal family.

They eat food transported from the oasis and drink water from the oasis. They are the most loyal garrison states, which are fundamentally different from those city-states governed by nobles and merchants relying on corruption.

However, he alone is not enough.

In this kingdom corrupted by money, cowards are everywhere, and brave people are rare.

This is true for both His Majesty's court and his court...

"...We should negotiate with the Legion. There is nothing that cannot be solved by sitting down and talking."

"The Lion Royal Family is too rude. If they hadn't taken in the descendants of the Honey Badger Royal Family, they wouldn't have been targeted by the Falcon Kingdom!"

"In fact, I think... it's not bad to be like the Falcon Kingdom. The Legion has given them a lot of assistance. The reason why the oasis has not been abandoned is that the Legion has helped them."

"There is really nothing to say about this. Although the Willant people have a bad temper and their attitude towards slaves is a bit scary, they are still good to their vassals. They give whatever they need."

"No matter what, don't fight. The soil of Petra Fortress can't grow food. Once the war affects trade, those poor people will starve."

The ministers in the court talked a lot.

Including those nobles, wealthy businessmen and guests who have no real power.

Someone proposed to negotiate with the Legion.

Some people even hinted that the Falcon Kingdom seemed to be doing well. Not only was the Falcon royal family sitting on the throne, but the national strength had increased several times compared to ten years ago.

Sean was very annoyed when he heard this, but he couldn't get angry with these people. After all, Petra Fortress couldn't do without them.

He was about to wave his hand to drive these people away, but at this moment, footsteps came from the door of the hall.

The heavy wooden door opened.

The captain of the guard stood in front of the door and saluted.

"My lord, I brought that person."

The ministers and nobles in the hall stopped talking and looked at the door curiously.

Sean waved his hand, signaling him to bring the person up.

The captain of the guard bowed and accepted the order, and walked out of the door neatly.

Not long after, he brought a foreign woman.

Seeing this scene, everyone in the hall whispered, curious about what the city lord was going to do.

Ignoring the noisy voice.

Sitting on the stone chair, Sean stared at the woman at the bottom of the steps and looked at her.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

Knowing that it was useless to act crazy, Sis simply nodded and admitted.

"I know."

Seeing the expression on that face without changing his expression, Sean's eyes floated with admiration.

Those cowards who wanted to kneel down to the legion should really be ashamed of what they said. They didn't even have the courage of a little girl.

But——

Appreciation is appreciation.

The law is the law.

Looking down at the person at the bottom of the steps, he said with a hint of coldness in his eyes, smiling.

"In the Camelback Kingdom, people who spread rumors and cause chaos will have their tongues cut off."

"Those who cheat in the name of God will be punished by being buried in the yellow sand and exposed to the sun for ten days. No one except the gods can give them food and fresh water."

"Donations to the suffering can exempt three days of punishment. You can choose the order of punishment."

"Do you plead guilty?"

The solemn and cold voice echoed in the empty hall.

Everyone's eyes were focused on her, some were surprised, some were as expected, and some were expressionless.

I didn't expect that the thing that was spreading in the city was actually caused by a little girl... This sounds a bit incredible.

But looking at the expression of the city lord, it seems that he is not joking.

A hint of interest gradually appeared in everyone's eyes.

Regardless of whether she was pushed out to take the blame, they were very curious about how this alien girl was going to answer.

Sissi was silent.

She knew that whether she nodded or shook her head at this time, the outcome would not be good.

Then again, does alms refer to exchanging those "junk" with gold camel coins?

She didn't think it was alms, at most it was a mutually beneficial deal.

However, the city lord's understanding of what happened in the city was so good that she was a little surprised.

It seems that she still underestimated the wisdom of NPCs.

After finishing that matter, she should have given those mercenaries a sum of money immediately and asked them to leave here quickly.

The only thing to be thankful for now is that she did not implicate other people in the Knights.

The city lord seemed to look down on their little property, or he might be disdainful of plundering in this way.

Sis, who had calmed down, thought quickly in his mind, thinking about how to break the situation.

Deny that those rumors were made up by himself?

This is the fact.

She really didn't make up the part about the gods. Those exaggerated rumors were born out of rumors.

However, this kind of sophistry is obviously useless. The other party will not play word games with her. As long as the mercenary pleads guilty, it is meaningless for her to deny it.

As for leaving the alliance, that is even more undesirable.

If the Hump Kingdom regards her as a spy instructed by the alliance, the result will probably be worse.

Not to mention whether it will reduce the administrator's favorability, if it does so, it will turn a general case into a diplomatic dispute. The Hump Kingdom, which declares war but does not fight, is like a fence-sitter. If this happens, it may directly fall to the other side.

Their beliefs are not that firm...

Wait, belief!

In an instant, Sisi caught the clue to the breakthrough, her eyes lit up slightly, and her boiling brain quickly cooled down.

Recalling the content she had read in the two books, she sorted out her thoughts for a moment and looked up at the city lord sitting on the stone chair.

"Respected Lord Mayor, those rumors in the city are indeed related to me, but I don't think I am guilty."

Whispers spread in the hall.

The Lord Mayor narrowed his eyes slightly and changed his left arm to support his chin.

"Oh?"

Although this pale sophistry could not change her fate, he still wanted to hear what this person was going to say to exonerate himself.

"Those rumors are indeed caused by me, but they are not rumors."

She raised her head.

She could feel the pairs of eyes falling on her, most of which were malicious, and the rest were mostly in the mood to watch the fun.

However, she was not timid at all.

She knew very well that if she showed any fear at this time, even if she showed a little hesitation, it would mean that all her previous efforts would be wasted.

The calm expression did not change at all, she raised her voice, and her voice was a little pious - or justified.

The confidence did not only come from the fact that what she said was true.

Moreover, because——

"That is God's will."