Chapter 1374
Chapter 1374 - 1370: Chaos
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8 min read
"Ugh, have I time-traveled again?"
As Lu Ping’an emerged from the Secret Realm, he saw the burning skies to the north and heard the cacophony of explosions and cannon fire, making him wonder if he had spent too much time in the "Exotic Realm."
"What’s happened?"
More than one battlefield was ablaze with activity, and the closest was perhaps only about seven or eight kilometers away.
With Lu Ping’an’s speed, it would probably just be a matter of pressing the accelerator... but he had an uncanny feeling that something was amiss. The air was thick with the scent of flames and hatred, indicative of a genuine war.
Lu Ping’an’s Soldier Decree-level ability, "Battlefield Intuition," had been fully activated, informing him that the region was a crucible of life and death, with new possibilities for death continually unfolding.
As a true Sixth-tier Soldier, who should have long become a legendary Extraordinary Battlefield Commander, he could sense the deadly battle spaces that beckon with death the instant they arose.
"What on Earth is going on?"
Lu Ping’an was perplexed, but in the next moment, he vanished into the snowy landscape.
It seemed as though something was watching from the skies.
Some fifteen minutes later, through the tongue of a mercenary he had just accosted, Lu Ping’an had almost grasped the situation.
"An invasion by outsiders and local military clashing over a God’s Relic?!"
Although he couldn’t understand why it was happening now, it seemed normal enough... Wars over "resources," "treasures," and "politics" that were neither large nor small actually occurred often, they just generally didn’t make the news.
Especially in this timeline, In an era where modern weapons were insufficient and individual combat prowess reigned supreme, "opening a battle" was practically a daily occurrence.
But this time, it seemed a bit overkill.
"All for the Moon God’s Divine Heritage... just some remnants, is it worth it?"
Even an "accustomed-to-poverty" Earthling like himself struggled to comprehend... but he could only try to adapt.
"Looking for logic? There’s no logic to speak of; the victor takes everything, then burns the battlefield to the ground, fabricates a reason, and pins the cause of the conflict on the opponent."
Lu Ping’an knew that in this world, because of continuous skirmishes in the Foreign Domain, relations between nations, especially those with colonial planets, were far tenser than in the other timeline.
Limit the war to the Exotic Realm? One might say so in word, but how could that be achievable in reality? Otherwise, Lu Ping’an wouldn’t be sporting so many bounties from the west.
"Should I help out?"
"Don’t be foolish; once you get involved, both sides will treat you like the bitterest enemy. Besides, you turning up here is inexplicable."
It was then Lu Ping’an remembered he seemed to be an illegal entrant himself... was he supposed to go through Customs with a Shard of God?
He took in the chaos around him—the exact chaos that saw outsiders being hunted down by more and more regular army forces; Lu Ping’an sobered up quite a bit.
Allies? There were no such things at this time.
It was normal to first kill anyone who reached into your plate before asking questions, let alone these Red Star people... Had their industries not been so grotesquely shaped and heavily lagging behind in light industry and market systems, they wouldn’t have lost the leading position in the Nirvana Alliance and become what they unofficially denied as the so-called second-in-command.
The pride was always there, along with a subtly manifest enmity and perspective. Lu Ping’an didn’t believe his presence in front of their military would be good news.
"Better get a hold of the item first..."
At that moment, Lu Ping’an quietly disappeared into the snowstorm.
The bad news was that since the "Divine Treasure" had not been retrieved by now, it most likely fell into the deepest part of Crow Mountain’s range, where the climate and environment would be even more lethal.
The good news, however, was that no matter how crazed the local military forces were, they could not possibly penetrate the deepest parts of the range with their mostly Mortal-composed Legion structure, unless they were looking to enjoy a ninety-nine percent rate of non-combat attrition.
"Perhaps, for me, this is good news,"
Having taken out another outsider mercenary, Lu Ping’an nibbled on a pre-packaged lunch and some candy while observing the nearby battlefield.
He squatted on a tree, his wide-open eyes glowing as if he were a giant snowy owl.
The local military’s notorious temper was well-deserved; they had thrown significant forces into a region of little strategic value with such disregard for cost-effectiveness that the ragtag invaders from the Foreign Domain had spilled much blood in vain.
The individual strength of mercenaries, assassins, and lone strongmen was clearly superior, but in such an environment, resistance and killing the Red Star people would only bring more malice and hunting.
To flee? Ordinary professionals, even those of Decree-level power, could not possibly run amok in such low temperatures—it would be suicide.
All they could do was to resist while retreating, trying to find a way out while being gradually herded into the Snow Mountain.
But for someone like Lu Ping’an, a "lone wolf," the chaos might not necessarily be a bad thing.
His eyes could help him see through the battlefield’s dangers, avoid overly dangerous War Zones, and give him the upper hand on battlefields where avoidance was impossible.
As these Legions entered, it directly caused the hunters tracking Lu Ping’an to be too busy to care, and at least they could no longer treat hunting down Lu Ping’an as their top priority.
".....How come there are Easterners!"
"The Divine Heritage, our country’s assets! Take them down."
Obviously, in such an environment, the treatment was roughly the same, no matter who appeared.
"We’ve been ambushed by high-tier professionals..." the Red Star people were also having a tough time. Strong, cornered Solo Travelers were starting to act regardless of the consequences.
The "radio" was in chaos, and Fang Wen, who was adjusting the equipment, helped Lu Ping’an gradually gain the advantage in intelligence.
Lu Ping’an took the time to return to the temporary camp, took all of his "assets" with him, and then chose to go deeper into the Snow Mountain.
Whether it was intelligence intercepted from the military network or from what his own eyes had seen on the battlefield, Lu Ping’an saw the enraged Red Star people sending out even more troops.
These seemed to be troops from the South Siberia Long-Arm Tribe Military Region (stationed in the mining area), mainly proficient in snow warfare and frontier defense battles, with equipment and armament well-suited to the local environment... but only to the perimeter.
But more strongmen were being sent south to join the battle... Considering the Red Star Republic’s government agencies, the number and loyalty of their strongmen were rather high, really entering the fray on a large scale would mean doom for all the mercenaries.
"Is it worth it?"
Lu Ping’an sighed. He wasn’t worried about himself at all.
The peripheral encirclement might stop ordinary mercenaries, but it certainly couldn’t stop top combat power... Heading south towards a certain mountain range in the Great Eastern Nation was a Life forbidden zone, with only a few openings and specific directions to exit. But for that top combat power, there really weren’t many environments on Earth that could restrain them. Forcing their way over was just a bit of a hardship.
Even at this moment, Lu Ping’an had no intention of giving up on the Divine Treasure.
"My body is craving..."
If it had been two days earlier, Lu Ping’an still had the attitude that getting it would be best, and if he couldn’t, giving up wasn’t a big deal, but now, he truly couldn’t let go.
Having just acquired a new Profession and filled in some of the rules, he had fallen into a sort of "thirst."
His Profession Module could be stronger and more complete, and the direction of his evolution had already been determined, yet he lacked the necessary materials... His evolutionary instinct was reminding him that the "God of Mirror’s" power, as well as the "Moon God’s" rule fragments belonging to the native land, might be quite important for him to perfect this newly created Profession.
— End of Chapter 1374 —