Chapter 1156 - The Forgotten Land (1) (1/2)

It could be seen that the battle had ended and one party was being chased by the other. The party upfront attempted to escape from the death threats in a fluster, while the party at the rear yelled, waved their weapons, and gave chase. As if the fleeing party weren’t unfortunate enough, Rhode’s group was blocking their path ahead.

The fleeing party climbed over the hill and witnessed the ‘unexpected guests’ ahead. After taking a close look at one another, both sides were surprised. Rhode stared in astonishment at the group of…. Humans.

That’s right. Rhode suspected if they were even humans.

Even though they resembled humans with their arms, legs, and heads, there was nothing else similar between them apart from those features. They were tall and burly, and the shortest one amongst them was at least two meters in height. Moreover, their arms were so long that they had extended to their knees. They gave Rhode an impression that they were as though hairless gibbons. Not only that, but the clothes that these ‘people’ wore also seemed really odd, and could even be said to look somewhat primitive. The clothes seemed to serve as armor made from some unknown animal skins and the ‘people’ wielded thick wooden clubs. There was an instant when Rhode thought he had transmigrated to a primitive society…

Not only that, but the skin color of these people was also odd. Unlike the skin of colored races on Earth that had a luster to them, their skin color was turbid and bizarre as though it were a layer of transparent skin wrapped around pitch-black liquid, leaving one incapable of looking straight at it.

Furthermore, after taking a closer look, Rhode discovered that their facial features also looked peculiar. Most of them had horns on their heads, but unlike the horns of demons and devils, they seemed more like animal bones instead. Besides, their ears were also in odd shapes like irregular humans transformed from inexperienced evil spirits mentioned in legends and folklores in Rhode’s country.

Even though Rhode knew that he might not meet ordinary people in this place, it still exceeded his surprise that things were this bizarre. That was also why both parties were instantly taken aback. But shortly after, the ‘people’ being chased reacted instantly. A man who seemed like their leader yelled and almost immediately, his dozen men riddled with scars scattered in panic and in all directions.

Meanwhile, the pursuing troops at the rear stopped giving chase. On the contrary, Rhode witnessed the leader raising what seemed to be a stone-made sword, screamed some unrecognizable commands, and his men surrounded Rhode’s group immediately!

As the ‘strange people’ encircled his group, Rhode let out a snort before turning around to give a hand gesture to the two Canarys. Upon witnessing his intention, the two young ladies nodded and raised their arms like a mirror reflection of each other’s. Along with this action, a blazing flame wall burst out of the ground, twisting and spreading across the land to stop the group of people. As soon as they witnessed the flame wall that suddenly emerged out of the ground, they shrieked and retreated in a fluster. But shortly after, their leader yelled once again and the panicky soldiers came to a halt immediately. But even so, they gazed at the flame wall in terror and were afraid to get too close to it. This apparently enraged the leader. The leader raised the stone sword in his hand and commanded in a rage. Shortly after, some tall and sturdy figures strolled out from the back.

No, it wouldn’t be right to consider them as people at all. No matter how Rhode looked at them, they seemed just King Kong from the movie! They were four to five meters tall, covered in tough muscles, and held enormous rocks in their hands. Then, they raised their arms at the command of their leader and hurled rocks at Rhode’s group!

The rocks, in the size of millstones, were tossed at extreme speed, so Rhode even heard the whistling winds. Perhaps one wouldn’t be able to escape and would be smashed into minced meat by them, but this ‘rough’ attack wasn’t effective to Rhode’s group. Before Rhode gave a command, Mini Bubble Gum had already snorted and pointed a finger forward. Then, a golden radiance flickered and transformed into a solid barrier above everyone.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The huge rocks crashed into the barrier and didn’t leave a single scratch on Rhode’s group.

Looking at this scene, the soldiers apparently became even more frightened as they retreated gradually. The man in the middle who seemed like their leader extended his hand and pointed at Rhode’s group. Even though Rhode couldn’t understand what he was blabbering about, it was obvious from his expression that it wasn’t anything nice.

“Hmph.”

Rhode snorted. At the next moment, he slashed the sword in his hand abruptly and a dazzling blade ray erupted forward. Shortly after, in a series of horrified screeches, the high and mighty leader covered his face with his hands and collapsed to the ground. He struggled and his body wrung constantly as pitch-black blood spurted out of his wounds, splashing all over the ground. Looking at this scene, Rhode twitched his brows in surprise. Even though he didn’t go all-out in this attack, no one should be able to survive this attack without a defensive barrier in the Dragon Soul Continent. This assault was definitely sufficient to split the man into two and yet, Rhode didn’t expect him to have such a thick layer of skin to actually defy it forcibly.

Who exactly are they?

Although Rhode was dubious, the ‘strange people’ didn’t give as much thought. On the contrary, as soon as they witnessed their leader crumbling to the attack, they broke out into chaos, turning around to escape as quickly as possible. In just a few moments, none of them remained on the scene, not even that unfortunate fellow who was slashed by Rhode. The wilderness restored its earlier peace. There was nothing else except for dust, sand, and gentle winds blowing across the plain. One would even be suspicious whether what one had witnessed was just an illusion.

“What was that all about?”

After a few moments, Mini Bubble Gum widened her eyes and asked. Well, she couldn’t be blamed since most people hadn’t even reacted to what just happened! The entire process from when those ‘people’ met Rhode to after Rhode attacked and scared them away only took a few minutes. In the blink of an eye, the wilderness recovered its tranquility. It was as though a bunch of fools had run up to the stage, kicked up a racket, and got off the stage one after another. Before the audience figured out what happened, the performers on the stage were already gone. That felt… ridiculous and fascinating.

“They’re probably natives of this place and have nothing to do with us. Let’s move on, we have a long journey ahead.”

Rhode shook his head. If they looked like ordinary people, perhaps he might be interested in interacting with them. However, they seemed like unevolved primates, so he couldn’t care less about paying any attention to them. Rhode wasn’t a biologist or historian and had no interest in these creatures that couldn’t speak in complete sentences and were ugly beyond imagination. Shortly after, he threw this matter to the back of his head and continued to lead his group toward the tower.

Even though this was nothing more than a random episode which proved to Rhode that there were forms of life on this land, it was a pity that not everyone had the same thought as him.

Rhode discovered that they were being tailed.

But ‘being tailed’ was kind of speaking too highly of the stalker because that fellow was following far behind and had no special intention to conceal himself. Even though the distance between them was far, Rhode recognized that man as one of the ‘primitive men’ who had covered his head and sneaked away like a rat after the defeat earlier. But Rhode had no intention of dealing with him. No matter what intention he had, Rhode wasn’t mindful at all. Right now, his priority was to search for the path that led to the Seven Fantasy Boundaries and return to the Dragon Soul Continent as soon as possible. Those bizarre primitive men were entirely out of his considerations.

The journey wasn’t smooth, but was considered rather successful. Apart from the incident earlier, Rhode’s group didn’t meet any forms of life such as animals, plants, or even any lakes or rivers in this world. What left Rhode helpless was that even though they spent almost an entire day walking toward the white, cylindrical tower, the distance between them only shrank a little. Rhode couldn’t help but suspect if he had made a wrong choice.

Although Erin mentioned she could transform into her enormous dragon form and transport everyone, Marybelle objected to her suggestion. Not only that, but she also warned Erin and Lydia not to expend too much of their powers. Even though they were situated in the gap between Order and Chaos now, the balance of forces in this place had been destroyed entirely after the five Creator Dragons left. If Erin and Lydia were to display their aura and strength of Order, it might attract the attention of Chaos immediately. It would be a disaster for that to happen to them in a place far away from the Dragon Soul Continent. Therefore, apart from continuing their journey on foot, they didn’t have other choice.