Chapter 194 The Awakening Calamity (Next chapter will be released later)
Deep within Ruins No. 3.
Steam filled the entire mine shaft, and the stark white emergency lights still faithfully emitted their light, only making the place seem even more eerie.
Every Pejite soldier who remained there was deathly pale and had vacant eyes, as if they had just experienced something incredibly terrifying.
When Nausicaä and her people arrived deep inside the mine, the sight before her made even her stop in her tracks.
Originally, this should have been a lifeless skeleton of Giant God Warrior embedded in the rock strata.
But at this moment, a thin layer of flesh grew on the surface of the skeleton, with dark red muscle fibers and blood vessels climbing and spreading along the skeleton, covering the entire skeleton and even the surrounding rock layers.
Beneath the massive heartbeat deep within the chest cavity, transparent mucus flows continuously through newly formed tissues and blood vessels, eventually transforming into high-temperature steam that seeps out from the body surface.
The whole scene was as horrifying as a bloodied, skinless Giant that had just crawled out of hell.
(The growing Giant God Warrior can be activated by placing Giant God Warrior Secret Stone in the device on its abdomen; even if the Secret Stone is removed immediately, it will not die.)
Even more terrifying, the rock walls surrounding the Giant God Warrior were riddled with bullet holes and charred marks, and the remnants of explosives were still burning, suggesting that someone had once attempted to destroy this "creature."
But apart from widening the mine shaft by a dozen centimeters, those attacks did not harm the seemingly fragile flesh and blood in the slightest.
Yupa, who had arrived earlier, stood not far away, his face ashen.
" Giant God Warrior —Legend has it that each of them possesses world-destroying power; in ancient times, one of these things could flatten an entire city with a single blow."
"These godlike beings should have died long ago, but this one is gradually coming back to life."
Then, he turned angrily to the crowd and shouted, " Asumo! Tell me, what have you done! Why did you awaken this ominous calamity!"
Across from him, King Asumo of Pejite sat slumped in a corner, his hands covering his head, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
The ministers and soldiers surrounding them were equally pale, and one of them stepped forward half a step to block Yupa's way.
"Yes—it was we who took it upon ourselves to awaken it, Your Majesty—His Majesty—"
Asumo suddenly interrupted his subordinate with a hoarse roar, "Stop talking! I personally pressed the Secret Stone to control it and activated that thing!"
"I thought the Dorok would wipe us all out. I thought the swarm of insects would rush in immediately. I—I just wanted to save my people!"
"I've tried my best to salvage it; I even pulled out the Secret Stone, but I can't put it back into its slumber—"
He grabbed his hair with both hands, his nails digging deep into his scalp.
Nausicaä went straight to the Giant God Warrior. She first used her telekinesis to examine it, and then carefully touched the giant hand hanging by its side through her gloves. The blue gloves immediately wrinkled from the high temperature of the giant's body.
Nausicaä frowned and conjured a dazzling golden blade in her hand.
"Wait! Nausicaä!"
Yupa tried to stop her, but she slashed down suddenly amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd!
bite!
After a sharp crack, something surprising happened.
To Asumo and the others' surprise, Nausicaä managed to cut a deep gash in the Giant God Warrior's skin.
Although the wound healed quickly, it had previously been so tough that even high explosives couldn't cause any damage.
To the surprise of Yupa and the others, the Order's Blade, which could easily cut through Ceramic Steel and was even sharper than the weapons on the shells of the Ohmu, shattered directly into specks of light.
Moreover, it was a holy sword personally condensed by Nausicaä, which should theoretically be much more powerful than an ordinary Blessed.
This shows that the defensive capabilities of the Giant God Warrior's body have far exceeded the limits they could imagine.
The entire cave was completely silent, as if everyone feared that the ominous creature might awaken, but in reality, nothing happened.
Nausicaä silently asked Mu En, " Mr. Tree, this thing—"
"Yes, you're not mistaken, this thing has no soul."
Indeed, from the moment Nausicaä saw the Giant God Warrior, she realized that this giant creature was devoid of consciousness.
However, this is not good news.
Mu En had tested it before; the Erdtree Blessing could only work on beings that possessed all three qualities: self-awareness, a soul, and a physical body. Without a soul, he couldn't control this world-destroying weapon.
"There's no need to worry for now. It might just be because it's only just started hatching, and its development cycle is probably quite long."
"As long as we control that so-called ' Secret Stone ' that controls the Giant God Warrior, we don't need to worry about it suddenly waking up in the short term."
Mu En comforted Nausicaä, saying that even Tolmekia had tried his best to nurture her in the movie, she still couldn't develop quickly. If she were left to grow on her own, it would only take longer.
Then, Nausicaä approached Asumo.
"King Pejite, where is the Secret Stone you spoke of?"
Asumo remained silent, then used the rock wall to stand up. Several ministers rushed forward to help him, but he pushed them away.
"Don't help me up. Tell me, how is Pejite now?"
Nausicaä answered truthfully, "The entire city has been taken over by the Allied forces. Almost all the enemies have been annihilated or captured, but civilian casualties have been heavy. Many neighborhoods have been razed to the ground. The exact number is still being tallied."
"Without outside help, Pejite would likely be plunged into famine and plague very soon."
Asumo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, he reached into his robes and pulled out the small golden ball.
"As the ruler of a nation, I should have protected my people, but I failed to stop the Dorok, failed to protect the city, fled first, and even awakened this thing with my own hands—I am no longer worthy to be this king."
The ministers' expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't! Pejite needs you to take charge now!"
This is not your fault!
"Yes! You did it to protect Pejite, that's why—"
Asumo shook his head and raised his hand to stop them from making excuses for him.
"With Haideng's assistance, Asbel far stronger and more decisive than I am. Once this matter is over, I will hand over the throne to him."
"I know that you, the Valley of the Wind, made a pact with them, and the only request I can make is to protect the people of this country and prevent them from suffering any longer."
"This is not a condition, but a request from me as a monarch and a father."
As he spoke, Asumo raised his hand and handed the Secret Stone to Nausicaä.
As a king, Asumo was not qualified, but he was not the kind of arrogant and incompetent fool.
He has his own intelligence channels and is able to see the situation clearly.
The Valley of the Wind possesses power that even the Endure Battleship cannot match.
Compared to the royal family, who were utterly defeated in the first instance, these divine soldiers who descended from the sky would probably win the hearts of the people more. Not to mention that those wealthy merchants have already defected to the Valley of the Wind, Pejite is actually already under their control.
Furthermore, given that Pejite is currently powerless to protect himself, it's better for him to take the initiative than to wait for the other party to make demands; the two situations are fundamentally different.
Asumo even had a premonition that if he handed Pejite over to this kind-hearted princess, she might be better off than before.
Nausicaä lowered her eyes and quickly understood what the other person meant.
She reached out and took the Secret Stone, solemnly promising the king, "Rest assured, I will help the Pejite protect their homeland."
Upon hearing this, Asumo relaxed completely. He had finally released the burden that had weighed on him for decades. Instead of feeling lost, he felt a sense of relief.
In fact, he was never happy because he was king.
"That's good. As for the specifics, let so-and-so discuss them with you. He's the minister who understands me best; he—"
Huh? Where did he go?
Faced with Asumo's question, the group exchanged bewildered glances; there shouldn't be too few people here.
" Asumo, are you talking about that blond young man?" Yupa, who was listening in, suddenly frowned and asked.
A minister hesitated before speaking, "The blond young man? He's one of His Majesty's closest confidants, his name is—what's his name again?"
Another minister frowned as well. "I vaguely remember someone like that, but I can't recall his name."
"What blond hair?" the third minister interjected. "We don't seem to have any blond people among us."
Asumo looked around blankly, trying to recall, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Blonde hair? No, it could be brown hair. I—I can't remember. I only remember a young minister who was very clever and could always see through my thoughts, but—I don't seem to remember what he looked like?"
Suddenly, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
There was always someone around them, someone everyone knew, yet no one remembered by name or face—someone like that?