Ōtsutsuki Isshiki
The next day, before dawn, the air raid siren went off.
The piercing sound of the sirens echoed through the ruins, eliciting countless panicked screams.
"They're here! They're here!"
"Run! Hide!"
"My child! My child!"
Confusion.
Chaos was everywhere.
Uchiha Kei stepped out of the shack and saw countless people fleeing frantically, pushing, trampling, and crying out.
They didn't go to fight; they went to hide.
Because they lack combat capability.
Of the more than 30,000 people, fewer than 1,000 were capable of fighting.
These thousand people have now gathered in front of the wall.
They carried various weapons—homemade spears, machetes, bows and arrows, and even a few old rifles.
The general stood at the front, gripping a cleaver with one arm, his gaze cold and stern.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Today, we must survive!"
A thousand people roared in unison.
But Uchiha Kei could hear fear in that roar.
In the distance, a black tide surged in.
Creatures of darkness.
At least 100,000.
This wave was a hundred times larger than the one he encountered yesterday.
"Release the arrows!"
The archers fired sparse arrows, which landed in the black tide, creating only a few small ripples.
"Spearmen! Prepare to engage!"
The first dark creature leaped onto the wall, only to be pierced through the chest by a spearman.
More dark creatures surged up.
Screams, roars, and the clanging of metal blended together.
Uchiha Kei did not move.
He's waiting.
Waiting for that "Jiang Hao".
The battle lasted for half an hour.
The wall was breached three times, and then recaptured three times.
Of the thousand people, more than two hundred died.
The general was covered in blood, with a large chunk of flesh torn from his left shoulder, yet he continued to fight.
Finally.
A dark figure descended from the sky.
He wore a black robe and a mask, his entire body shrouded in black mist.
He landed where the dark creatures were most concentrated.
Raise your hand.
Press down gently.
Boom--
Centered on him, all the dark creatures within a hundred-meter radius instantly turned to ashes.
He raised his hand again.
Press it again.
Boom--
It was another empty space.
He was like a harvester; with each swing of his hand, he took away thousands of lives.
The dark creatures began to feel fear, they began to retreat, they began to flee.
Ten minutes later, the tide receded.
The man in black robes turned around and looked at the survivors behind the wall.
No one cheered.
Everyone knelt down.
Including generals.
Only Uchiha Kei stood still, meeting the gaze from behind the mask.
The man in black robes looked at him.
Long time.
Then, the man in black robes spoke.
His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded with sandpaper.
"You... have come."
Uchiha Kei's pupils contracted slightly.
That sound.
He had heard of it.
In the memories of the long river of time, in the images of 379 failures.
Jiang Hao.
It really is Jiang Hao.
He took a step forward and instantly appeared in front of the man in black robes.
"You..."
Before he could finish speaking, the man in black robes suddenly grabbed his wrist.
A surge of immense power flowed into his body.
That was... the resonance of Ancestor Fragment.
"Hurry up!"
The man in black robes suddenly became urgent.
"He is looking for me... He will find you soon..."
"Walk!"
He shoved Uchiha Kei aside, and the black mist around him surged, transforming into a black pillar of light that shot into the sky.
The crack reappeared in the sky.
The illusory image of red and black eyes slowly emerged.
This time, it opened its eyes.
The moment the illusory image in his eyes opened, Uchiha Kei felt himself frozen in place.
It's not the body that's frozen in place, but the soul.
The feeling was as if countless invisible threads pierced his body, from his three souls and seven spirits to the three worlds, from the past to the present to the future; everything was turned upside down, laid out, and exposed to those eyes.
There are no secrets.
There was no attempt to conceal anything.
Just like...
An ant looked down upon by God.
"Found you."
A deep voice came from within the blurry image of the eyes.
It wasn't anger, it wasn't indifference, it was just... indifference.
It's like stating a fact.
"The three hundred and eightieth time."
As soon as he finished speaking, light began to gather within the illusory figure.
That was a ray of light.
A dark red light.
With just one glance, Uchiha Kei knew--
It's unstoppable.
Absolutely unstoppable.
That is power surpassing that of a true immortal.
That's close to...
No, that is the power of God.
Just as the light was about to fade, the man in black robes blocked his way.
"Walk."
The hoarse voice uttered the same word.
He spread his arms, and the black mist surged wildly, condensing into a barrier above his head.
The light fell.
Boom--
The barrier shattered.
The man in the black robe coughed up blood, flew backward, and crashed into the depths of the ruins.
"Jiang Hao!"
Uchiha Kei wanted to rush over, but found that his body still couldn't move.
"Leave me alone."
Jiang Hao's voice came from the ruins, weak but firm.
"His target isn't me... it's you..."
"You are our last hope... you can't die here..."
"Walk..."
The illusory figure ignored Jiang Hao, its gaze remaining fixed on Uchiha Kei.
A second ray of light began to gather.
This time, it's brighter, bigger, and stronger than last time.
Uchiha Kei struggled frantically, trying to break free of the invisible restraints.
But it didn't work.
The power of a peak True Immortal is like an ant trying to shake a tree before Him.
"The 380th time, over."
The light fell.
Just as he was about to be hit--
Something inside him shattered.
Those were A-Yi's tears.
Shock System.
It broke.
It transformed into countless shimmering points of light, surging out from his body and coalescing into a barrier in front of him.
The light collided with the barrier.
Boom--
The terrifying aftershocks of energy spread in all directions, reducing all buildings within a radius of a thousand miles to dust.
Hope Fortress is gone.
Those 30,000 survivors are gone.
The general is gone.
The barrier shattered.
The light faded.
Uchiha Kei stood unharmed.
But standing in front of him was a person.
No, it's not human.
It's a little girl.
A-Yi.
She was still the same as before, wearing a floral dress, sucking on a lollipop, tilting her head as she looked at him.
"A-Yi..."
A-Yi smiled.
She had a very sweet smile.
"Idiot, who told you to come so early?"
"I'm still sleeping."
She turned around and looked up at the illusory eye shape in the sky.
"Hey, you ugly freak."
You disturbed my sleep.
The illusory image of his eyes shifted slightly, as if he were watching her.
"A-Yi," a deep voice sounded, "Your power is almost gone."
"So what?"
A-Yi chewed on a lollipop, looking completely indifferent.
"There's still a little left, enough to beat you up."
She raised her little hand.
With a gentle wave.
Boom--
The sky cracked open.
The illusory eye shape was shattered by this single wave of his hand.
Uchiha Kei widened.
A-Yi turned around and looked at him.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot."
"Jiang Hao's refuge is to the north; it's a three-day walk away."
"But be careful, there are twelve guys waiting for you on the way."
"They are apostles of the Old Gods, each possessing strength surpassing that of a true immortal."
"Especially the one in the lead..."
She paused, her smile turning somewhat strange.
"Someone you know."
"Who?"
A-Yi didn't answer, but simply pointed behind him.
Uchiha Kei turned around.
A person emerged from the depths of the ruins.
Dressed in white, with long hair, a pale face, and a faint smile on her lips.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
Uchiha Kei's pupils contracted sharply.
"How is this possible... You're dead..."