Chapter 627
Chapter 627 - 607: Land of Warriors
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6 min read
Among professionals, there has always been an unverifiable legend.
"The Secret Realms controlled by the Proper Gods can somehow be considered as their Earthly Divine Kingdoms."
For Lu Ping’an, this has never been a legend, but rather a fact.
From his first exploration of the Secret Realm, he encountered the "Virtual Personas of Deities" and confirmed that the seemingly wild and dangerous "Order Secret Realms" were indeed the Earthly Divine Kingdoms of those Proper Gods, controlled by their will.
This is also why he has always believed that the "Order Secret Realms" are a temporary solution, uncertain whether the expanding "miniature Earthly Divine Kingdoms" will truly belong to the Eastern Country officials in the future and if the current Proper Gods will still be subservient to their side.
If they were to make a different choice, these Earthly Divine Kingdoms would probably be more terrifying and dangerous than the wild Secret Realms.
After all, the threats between wild Magic Monster groups and organized legions are incomparable.
Just like when Lu Ping’an was in the Fishman Secret Realm, he observed that not all areas were accessible in those realms.
Each Earthly Divine Kingdom can be seen as a derivative of a Deity’s Earthly Divine Kingdom, but due to certain spatial constraints, it often requires a "Virtual Godhood" to manage it.
Just like the Exotic Realms, which are frequently connected to spaces from their native realms, these fragmented Earthly Divine Kingdoms are subtly connected to each other as well.
At the moment, Lu Ping’an doesn’t know where he is or even if he’s still within the Ancient City’s Secret Realm.....
"This is Anklis or the Land of Warriors, the largest Earthly Divine Kingdom of the Rust Knight in Changping State. I can’t possibly know the exact location... but it should be outside the material plane. Most people come and go from their original locations, and there is no direct drop-anchor point to Earth."
Lu Ping’an casually asked a muscular passer-by and naturally received a response.
"We? We are the deceased brave souls collected by Mr. Rust Knight. Yes, we’re all dead. If we weren’t, the Secret Realm wouldn’t be able to accommodate so many souls..."
The reckless warrior didn’t hide anything.
The Rust Knight is a Knight and the God of Justice... but its true essence is the Deity that pursues justice and revenge for fallen warriors and knights.
Though Death is not part of their divine status, the Rust Knight does have "Undead Warriors" and "Eternal Warriors", and in its Divine Kingdom, the chosen warriors are considered immortal.
"Come on, stranger warrior, since you are here, you must be a warrior favored by Mr. Rust Knight, right? Let’s go to the tavern, it’s my treat, as long as you’re willing to share your past battle experiences."
These warriors from the past resemble Valhalla’s warriors; even after death, they still revel in meat and alcohol daily, while enjoying the excitement of fighting and combat.
What makes them the happiest is probably the arrival of new visitors, new stories to hear, and new battles to fight...
"...So, we still have to fight?"
"Of course! Otherwise, why would you come here? You should have been invited, right? Wait, the warrior who invited you will come to pick you up. You can call me the Bear King. My real name is difficult for you to pronounce."
This self-proclaimed "Bear King" is a two-meter-tall warrior with four eyes and four arms who is clearly not of human origins.
Not only human souls are taken by the Rust Knight; there are countless races in his Divine Kingdom, having experienced several exotic realms.
But what if these warriors left the Divine Kingdom? Unless they have a host body such as Animated Armor, Stone-statues, etc., the dead would simply go where they should.
The Rust Knight’s true essence is not a secret among Earth’s higher-ups, as the Divine Kingdom, Divine Position, and other matters are well-known. As managers, the officials simply couldn’t ignore them even if they wanted to.
"Hahaha, young man, your alcohol tolerance is quite good! Come on, continue."
Looking at the Bear King chugging straight from a canister labeled "medical alcohol", Lu Ping’an frowned and abandoned his plan to consume more liquor in installments.
Even if his own Physique attribute is not low, it should still be incomparable to this muscle tank before him.
This is a small tavern... In this city, there are various theme taverns everywhere. As one approached, the pungent smell of liquor and the noise of fighting and scuffling filled the air.
Compared to other taverns, this one is quite ordinary.
Laughing and drinking with the others, Lu Ping’an shared some of his own experiences in the Exotic Realms, soon leading to a challenge from the others...
"How about we spar first? Don’t worry, I know the rules and I won’t hurt you badly since someone is waiting for you."
As Lu Ping’an picked up his drink, he realized that he was surrounded by hulking men. A group of barbarians around him forced out awkward grins at him.
For the dead spirits who have lost their bodies and lives, time is unbearable, and progress becomes unrealistic. Fighting with the same people every day makes it dull and even uninteresting.
The inability to truly die takes away the most important "thrill" of their battles.
In the past, when an occasional newcomer entered the arena, even if their skills were not outstanding, the "novelty" and the tenacity of a living person struggling for survival and fighting to win would attract many spectators.’
Unfortunately, aside from the chosen opponents, others could only watch the show for fun.
Now, a rare "newcomer" has arrived, a living person, a young-looking outsider...
"Come on, if you’re a man, get on stage!"
The bar counter of the tavern was quickly transformed into a makeshift stage, and the Bear King hopped onto the stage.
Looking at the eager yet pitiful barbarians around him, Lu Ping’an sighed in resignation.
"... I may not be able to hold back."
The people around him couldn’t be happier, as they cheered in unison, causing Lu Ping’an to laugh.
Five minutes later, the once-intact tavern had lost two walls and its ceiling had flown away.
The Bear King and a group of large men were thrown out of the tavern through a large hole in the wall.
At the same time, an equally tall figure entered through the hole.
The challenger, who had gone through half of the city, finally found his target.
"Lu Ping’an? Don’t run around, I had so much trouble finding you..."
His name was called, which should mean his opponent had arrived.
But looking up, Lu Ping’an felt a bit confused with just one glance.
— End of Chapter 627 —