LRAB Chapter 40 Legend of Gods and Demons
Chapter 40 Legend of Gods and Demons
The violent tremors during the trial seemed to be the furious roar of the entire Hamunaptrat, the culmination of three thousand years of death and resentment. The gems simulating the evil starry sky atop the dome flashed and shattered wildly, fragments raining down, scattering sparks across the cold metal cover of the Book of the Dead. The stone platform beneath their feet trembled, and the dark brown substance in the dried-up blood pool boiled completely, transforming into a viscous blood mist that rose up, within which countless twisted, tormented faces of the dead flickered, emitting silent shrieks.
Imhotep's will, like an ancient behemoth awakened, carried overwhelming resentment and majesty, crushing over everyone's soul. The voice echoed directly in the depths of consciousness, carrying the texture of rubbing sand and the overlapping wails of countless departed souls:
"Your slumber is profaned...Your holiness is stolen...Your souls...will become my eternal nourishment...Your flesh and blood...will nourish this sea of death..."
"Chu Xuan! The Scripture!" Wang Lin roared. His mental strength was like a candle flickering in the wind under the onslaught of Imhotep's will, but his 30 points of unwavering willpower held him fast to his last shred of clarity. He knew that the Necronomicon was their only chance to fight against, or at least understand, Imhotep's power! They couldn't let go!
Chu Xuan steadied himself amidst the violent tremor. His hands, encased in insulating material, remained completely still as he firmly grasped the cold, heavy metal cover of the Necronomicon. The moment the book touched his hand, an even more chilling, alluring yet destructive force surged wildly into him through the point of contact! Chu Xuan's face instantly turned pale, and the pupils behind his glasses contracted sharply. But he didn't let go; instead, he exerted tremendous force, lifting the heavy book completely!
"Go! Leave the platform! Go to the right passage and meet up with Zheng Zha!" Chu Xuan shouted sharply, his voice distorted by the corrosive influence of the scriptures. Clutching the scriptures, he turned and rushed back towards the narrow crevice he had come from! The Black Scripture of the Dead in his arms was like a piece of ancient ice that constantly emitted the chill of death, or a hole connecting to a bottomless abyss, frantically drawing away his body heat and life force. Moreover, a chaotic fragment of ancient knowledge, filled with malice, was trying to forcefully infuse his mind.
"Cover!" Zero and Mingyanwei opened fire almost simultaneously! Zero's sniper rifle bullets accurately struck the roots of several massive stalagmites in the dome that were about to fall and could block the entrance to the crack, severing them in advance. Mingyanwei's energy arrows transformed into pale blue wind blades, cutting and stirring the viscous blood mist and undead souls rising from the blood pool and trying to entangle the group, clearing a path for the team.
Wang Lin and Zhan Lan, supporting each other, endured the intense discomfort on a spiritual level and followed closely behind Chu Xuan. The three newcomers were already terrified, scrambling to keep up. Guide 7341-ZJ brought up the rear, its crimson electronic eyes constantly scanning the boiling blood pool and trembling spatial structure behind them, coldly reporting data: "Energy storm intensifies… spatial stability decreases by 13%… high concentration of undead biomass polymerization detected… maximum speed evacuation recommended…"
Like stray dogs, the crowd rushed back into the narrow, slippery crevice. Behind them, an even more terrifying sound came from within the Judgment Chamber—rocks collapsed, the shrieks of the dead gathered into a tide, and the blood pool exploded. A blurry, towering humanoid silhouette, entirely formed from bones, sand, and the souls of the dead, slowly rose from the blood mist! It was a partial manifestation of Imhotep's power! Although not yet complete, the oppressive aura it exuded was enough to terrify any living being!
The cracks collapsed and closed behind him, but Imhotep's will and that terrifying aura of death, like a leech, clung tightly to Chu Xuan, who possessed the Book of the Dead, penetrating the rock layers and permeating every inch of air.
"Zheng Zha! Report your location and situation! Imhotep has awakened! We obtained the Book of the Dead and are approaching you!" Wang Lin roared hoarsely, barely maintaining the mental connection despite a severe headache.
"We're outside the main burial chamber passage! Those two Indians finished their sacrifice before they died, damn it, the whole passage is crawling with scarabs! That smoke assassin rushed into the main burial chamber, there's a strong golden light inside, he's trying to get the Book of the Sun! Imhotep's coffin is inside, it's already starting to emit black smoke! We're blocked outside by insects and mummies!" Zheng Zha's voice came, with intense gunfire, explosions, the rustling of beetles, and the roars of mummies in the background, clearly indicating that the battle was extremely fierce.
"Reunite! We must obtain the Book of the Sun! It's the only thing that can counter Imhotep and the backlash from the Book of the Dead!" Chu Xuan's voice came, more urgent than usual, filled with suppressed pain. "Wang Lin, can we still use our mental power to interfere with those scarabs? Or try to communicate with the power of the Book of the Sun?"
"I'll try..." Wang Lin gritted his teeth, squeezing out his last remaining mental energy. His brain felt like it was being pierced and stirred by countless red-hot iron rods, but he forced himself to concentrate. His psionic vision opened with difficulty, penetrating the rock wall, and he vaguely "saw" the scene in the passage ahead—golden scarabs covered every inch of the ground and walls like a tide. They were not purely living beings; each one burned a faint golden flame representing "purification" and "punishment," but for unauthorized intruders, this flame was the most deadly weapon. In the midst of the swarm, dozens of stiff, but heavily armored, red-eyed, enhanced mummy warriors were engaged in fierce combat with Zheng Zha's group. Further away, a heavy stone door was ajar, and a warm, majestic golden light, incongruous with the surrounding deathly aura, shone through the crack—the light of the Golden Book of the Sun! Inside the door, a fleeting, smoky figure was struggling to move amidst the golden light, attempting to approach the object in the center of the stone chamber that emitted an even stronger golden light.
"The scarab beetles are influenced by the Pharaoh's will and the power of the Book of the Sun... They are extremely aggressive towards the undead and blasphemers... But their 'identification' may be based on energy characteristics..." Wang Lin thought rapidly, while simultaneously sharing what he "saw" with Chu Xuan and Zheng Zha through their mental link. "Chu Xuan, you have the Book of the Undead, which has the strongest aura of death, making you the primary target! Give me the book! I'll try to envelop and shield its aura with my mental power and the power of the warm jade! Zheng Zha, you two try to clear the beetles with fire and area-of-effect attacks to clear a path for us! Objective: Charge into the main tomb chamber and get the Book of the Sun before the smoke assassins!"
"No! The corruption of the Necronomicon is too strong. Your mental strength has not recovered, and you cannot withstand it!" Chu Xuan immediately objected.
"We're out of time! If we drag this out any longer, we'll either be eaten alive by the bugs or crushed to death by the fully awakened Imhotep!" Wang Lin roared, reaching out to grab the scriptures from Chu Xuan's arms.
The moment the two made contact, another unexpected event occurred!
The yellow gem "Tear of the Sun" in Wang Lin's arms seemed to sense the opposing yet shared power of the Necronomicon, which was close at hand, or perhaps it was because it was near the radiance of the Sun Scripture. Suddenly, it burst forth with an unprecedented, dazzling milky-white radiance! This light was warm and firm, instantly enveloping Wang Lin and Chu Xuan, along with the Necronomicon in their hands!
The deathly chill and corrosive intent that overflowed from the Necronomicon were forced back by the milky white light, like snow melting in spring sunshine, and were firmly locked inside the scripture! Chu Xuan felt the chilling cold and chaotic knowledge that almost froze his soul suddenly weaken by more than half. Although the weight and coldness of the scripture itself remained, it no longer frantically devoured his life force.
Wang Lin, on the other hand, felt a strange resonance between the light of the "Tears of the Sun," the nourishing power of his own warm jade, and the meager spiritual energy he had managed to muster. This resonance did not enhance his power, but rather formed an extremely subtle and resilient "filtering field" and "guiding field," subtly connecting him, the Necronomicon, and the light of the Golden Sun Scripture ahead. He seemed to "hear" the silent resonance and confrontation between the two scriptures, transcending life, death, and time, and he also vaguely grasped a possibility of using the "Tears of the Sun" as a bridge to temporarily balance or even guide these two opposing forces.
"This gem... is the key!" Wang Lin instantly realized. "It can temporarily neutralize the corruption of the Necronomicon, and it can also... resonate with the power of the Sun Scripture! Chu Xuan, you hold the scripture and protect it with this light! Let's charge!"
Without time to hesitate, the team unleashed their last potential and launched a desperate charge toward the main tomb passage!
The moment they burst through the crevice and entered the main passage, a ferocious attack overwhelmed them! Golden scarabs surged forth like a tide, spewing tiny, yet powerful, golden flames capable of melting metal and fossilizing it. Black sand mummies let out low growls, brandishing their rusted weapons, and closing in with an aura of death. The air was a cacophony of scorching heat and chilling cold, the wails of the dead mingling with the flapping of the scarabs' wings, creating a symphony of hell.
"Flame Thrower! Maximum Power!" Overlord roared, unleashing a torrent of scorching fire that incinerated swarms of scarabs, but more insects fearlessly surged forward. Li Shuaixi's blade flashed like snow, while Zhao Yingkong moved with ghostly grace, weaving and slashing through the gaps between the insect swarm and the mummies. Zero and Ming Yanwei's ranged attacks precisely targeted the most threatening mummies and the "commanders" within the swarm. Zheng Zha unleashed his red and white energy to its fullest extent, transforming into a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex, tearing a gap in the insect swarm. Wherever his fist passed, mummies shattered and beetles turned to dust.
Wang Lin unleashed the full power of the "Tears of the Sun," a milky-white halo enveloping Chu Xuan and the Necronomicon in his arms. Like a lighthouse in the darkness, it attracted the "attention" of most of the scarabs. However, the golden flames representing "purification," upon contact with this milky-white light, were greatly diminished, as if encountering a higher-level being of the same origin. Some scarabs even hesitated for a moment. Zhan Lan, barely holding on, used her last bit of mental energy to form a thin but resilient shield, protecting everyone from the direct impact of the howling of the undead. The three newcomers huddled in the middle of the group, already too terrified to think. The guide, 7341-ZJ, was like a highly precise killing machine. Each strike precisely destroyed a mummy about to break through the defenses or detonated the most threatening swarm of insects. Its scarlet electronic eyes constantly analyzed the battlefield but no longer reported cold data, as if all computing resources were being devoted to combat support.
Every step was teetering on the edge of death, every second unleashed countless attacks upon their shields and bodies. Blood splattered, wounds multiplied, and ammunition was rapidly depleted. But the team's will to survive and their unwavering teamwork in this desperate situation carved a bloody path through the tide of death, bringing them closer to the heavy stone door that radiated golden light!
The stone door was ajar, and a brilliant golden light shone from within. At the same time, the sounds of fierce fighting and the angry roars of the smoke assassin could be heard. It seemed that his process of seizing the Book of the Sun was not going smoothly, and he had triggered some kind of protective mechanism, or... he was fighting against Imhotep's main body, which had just begun to recover.
"Charge in!" Zheng Zha slammed his fist into the stone door! The already half-closed stone door burst open!
The sight inside the door made everyone gasp in shock.
This was a tomb more magnificent and eerie than the Chamber of Judgments. The dome soared to an unfathomable height, seemingly connecting to the starry sky. In the center of the tomb was a massive, obsidian pyramid-shaped altar. At the top of the altar lay an open, ornate coffin made of pure gold. The coffin was empty, but thick, inky black mist and fine sand continuously poured out, condensing and twisting in the air, gradually forming a terrifying humanoid silhouette five meters tall, composed of black sand, bones, and tattered bandages, wearing a golden pharaoh's crown—Imhotep was emerging from the coffin, returning from death! His face was blurred, with only two crimson lights burning where they should have been eyes, filled with endless resentment and hunger for the living.
In the diagonal foreground of the altar, there was a smaller, white jade platform. On the platform lay a huge, heavy book, its cover made of pure gold and inlaid with countless gemstones, radiating a warm, majestic, and dazzling golden light that dispelled all darkness and evil—the Golden Book of the Sun!
A fleeting, smoky figure was engaged in fierce combat beside the stone platform with several golden, seemingly luminous light-forged guards wielding spears! It was the Smoke Assassin from the Indian Team! His movements were unpredictable, his speed as swift as a ghost, and each swing of his two dark blue short blades carried a chilling poison. However, the light-forged guards seemed to have a strong resistance to his attacks. As their spears swung, golden light crisscrossed, tightly binding him and preventing him from touching the scriptures.
The tomb floor was inscribed with even more complex magic arrays, brimming with immense positive energy. The light from these arrays intertwined with the Book of the Sun, suppressing Imhotep's deathly aura on the altar and creating an absolute repulsion against the power of the Book of the Dead. The moment Chu Xuan stepped into the tomb, the deathly fluctuations of the Book of the Dead in his arms clashed violently with the positive energy field, emitting a hissing sound, and the milky-white light of the "Tears of the Sun" fluctuated wildly. Imhotep's condensing silhouette suddenly turned towards Chu Xuan (or rather, the Book of the Dead), and two points of crimson light erupted with flames of greed and rage!
"Insects... thieves... return... the sacred texts!"
Imhotep let out a superhuman roar, and his still-unformed arm swung wildly! On the tomb floor, countless scarab shell fragments, fine sand, and bones instantly coalesced into dozens of enormous, barbed sandworm whips, which, like a swarm of snakes, lashed out at the Middle Continent team, especially Chu Xuan who held the Book of the Dead! At the same time, from the shadows around the altar, more and more powerful black sand mummies rose up, their eyes glowing red, and joined the attack.
"Zheng Zha! Hold off Imhotep and the Mummy! Zero, Ming Yanwei, support the Smoke Assassins' fight. Don't let him get the Book of the Sun, but also don't let the Lightforged Guardians kill him. We need him to hold them off!" Chu Xuan roared fiercely amidst the whistling of sand whips, his words incredibly fast. "Wang Lin! Use the 'Tears of the Sun' to try and resonate with the Book of the Sun! We need its power to fight Imhotep, at least to open a path to survival! Zhan Lan, protect Wang Lin! Guide, analyze Imhotep's energy structure weaknesses!"
The battle reached its most intense, chaotic, and ultimately fiercest point the moment they entered the main burial chamber!
Zheng Zha roared, compressing his red and white energy to its limit, and then—exploded! He transformed into a streak of light that tore through space, crashing headlong into the thickest sand worm whips that Imhotep had swung out! With a deafening roar, the sand whips shattered, and Zheng Zha was also thrown back, coughing up blood. But he didn't retreat an inch, his fists and feet raining down like a storm, slamming into Imhotep's condensing body, trying to interrupt his resurrection process!
Ba Wang, Li Shuaixi, Zhao Yingkong, and O'Connor, who had just joined them (he picked up a scimitar and even managed to cut down a mummy), fought against the surging tide of black sand mummies and scattered sand whips. Each of them instantly gained countless wounds, and blood stained the sand red.
Zero and Mingyanwei turned their guns and arrows, precisely targeting the gaps between the Lightforged Guardians and the Smoke Assassins. Their attack wasn't intended to kill, but to create chaos, disrupt the Lightforged Guardians' siege rhythm, and prevent the Smoke Assassins from easily escaping. The Smoke Assassins clearly understood their intentions, letting out an angry shriek and becoming even more elusive, attempting to divert the Lightforged Guardians' attention to the Central Continent Team. However, Zero and Mingyanwei's ranged interference was ever-present, making it difficult for him to succeed.
Under Zhan Lan's desperate protection, Wang Lin stumbled and rushed towards the white jade platform. As the "Tear of the Sun" gem in his hand approached the Golden Sutra of the Sun, its light grew brighter and hotter, as if it were about to burst into flames! He could clearly feel the compressed "order" and "purification" power within the gem resonating strongly with and attracting the same, yet vast and unparalleled power emanating from the Golden Sutra of the Sun on the platform.
But at the same time, Imhotep's will, like the most vicious curse, locked onto him. Several sand whips bypassed Zheng Zha and the others' interception, and like venomous dragons, they lashed out at Wang Lin's back! Zhan Lan screamed, shielding Wang Lin with her body. Her mental shield shattered like an eggshell, and the sand whips lashed her back, instantly tearing her skin and exposing the bone! She groaned and collapsed limply.
"Zhan Lan!" Wang Lin's eyes were bloodshot, but he didn't stop walking. He knew that stopping meant death; only by obtaining the Golden Scripture of the Sun would he have a glimmer of hope!
He lunged at the edge of the white jade platform and, disregarding everything, slammed the dazzling "Tear of the Sun" gem in his hand into the center of the pure gold cover of the Sun Sutra, into a sun-shaped groove!
The gemstone and the groove fit together perfectly!
Om-! ! !
A grand, solemn hum, seemingly from the very beginning of creation, resounded throughout the entire tomb, even drowning out Imhotep's roar and all the sounds of battle! The Book of the Sun burst forth with an unprecedented, intense golden light, like a miniature sun! This golden light was warm, majestic, and filled with the absolute power to purify all evil and dispel all darkness!
Centered on the scriptures, golden light, like a shockwave from an explosion, instantly swept across the entire tomb! The sand whips that were coiling around Wang Lin melted away instantly in the golden light, like ice and snow under the sun! The black sand mummies that were attacking the group let out mournful howls, their black sand peeling away to reveal the dried bones inside, which then turned to ashes in the golden light! Even Imhotep's terrifying, five-meter-tall body, which was still forming, fluctuated violently under the golden light, its black sand and bones constantly disintegrating, emitting painful and angry roars, and the two points of scarlet light dimmed considerably!
The Smoke Assassin screamed as the smoke around him dissipated rapidly under the golden light, revealing a gaunt, dark-skinned figure covered in bizarre tattoos. He glanced at the Sun Gold Scripture in terror, then glared venomously at the Central Continent Team, before transforming into a wisp of black smoke and fleeing into an inconspicuous crack in the tomb—escaping without hesitation! The Lightforged Guardians did not pursue him. Bathed in golden light, their figures seemed to become even more solid and majestic, like loyal guardians surrounding the stone platform.
"Now! Chu Xuan! Use the Book of the Dead! To Imhotep! Recite the incantation I gave you!" Wang Lin roared in the golden light. He felt as if his spirit had formed a brief connection with the Book of the Sun and the "Tears of the Sun." A fragment of an ancient, difficult-to-pronounce incantation, yet containing absolute purifying power against "illegal resurrection" and "blasphemy," surged from the "Tears of the Sun." Through this strange connection, it was directly transmitted to his consciousness, and then he urgently shared it with Chu Xuan through the remaining spiritual connection!
Under the protection of the golden light, Chu Xuan's corruption from the Necronomicon was suppressed to a minimum. Without any hesitation, he abruptly opened the cold, heavy black scripture in his hand! The pages were not paper, but some kind of thin black metal sheet, covered with necromantic characters flowing with dark red light. His gaze was like lightning as he scanned the corresponding positions of the incantation sent by Wang Lin, and then, in a cold, murderous tone as if from the depths of the underworld, he began to loudly recite the difficult and ancient incantation!
That was one of the most vicious and powerful spells recorded in the Book of the Dead, specifically used to "end the unlawful existence of the dead," "return their souls to primordial darkness," and "never be reborn"! Originally a means Imhotep used against his enemies, it was now being used against himself!
As Chu Xuan chanted, the dark red light on the Book of the Dead intensified, creating a strange clash and intertwining with the golden light of the Book of the Sun. A cold, deathly, and all-encompassing force of rules locked onto Imhotep, who was struggling within the golden light, his body constantly disintegrating and attempting to reform!
"No—!!! I am... High Priest... Imhotep... Immortal... Undying... Undying..." Imhotep roared in despair and resentment. He stretched out his giant claws made of black sand and bones, trying to grab Chu Xuan, but his body disintegrated faster and faster under the illumination of the dual scriptures' power and the lock-on of the incantations! The black sand turned into ordinary dust, the bones turned into ashes, and the two scarlet soul flames also quickly dimmed and flickered under the purification of the golden light and the ending power of the black scripture incantations.
"In the name of the sun...purify the falsehood..." Wang Lin also had a sudden inspiration. Enduring the excruciating pain in his mind, he used his last bit of spiritual power, combined with the resonance of "Tears of the Sun" and the Golden Scripture of the Sun, to try to guide a wisp of the purest purifying golden light into the rule chain formed by the Black Scripture of the Dead chanted by Chu Xuan!
The golden and dark red chains of rules intertwined, transforming into an even more bizarre and irresistible force of annihilation, which pierced fiercely into Imhotep's soul core, which was about to completely dissipate!
"I... curse... you... to eternal... damnation..."
With a final, venomous screech, Imhotep's massive body disintegrated completely, turning into a shower of black ash that fell to the ground. The two crimson flames of his soul, like candles flickering in the wind, were extinguished with a soft "poof."
Within Hamunaptra's Valley of Death, the omnipresent, oppressive aura of death receded rapidly like a tide. The wails of the dead gradually subsided. The scarabs ceased their attack, crawling aimlessly. The figures of the Lightforged Guardians slowly vanished into golden light.
All that remained was a scene of utter devastation inside the tomb, filled with the pungent stench of blood, burnt remains, and the faint scent of dust that lingered after death.
And then there were Wang Lin and Chu Xuan, standing beside the white jade platform, each holding the Golden Book of the Sun and the Black Book of the Dead respectively, covered in blood and swaying precariously.
There was also Zhan Lan, who lay paralyzed in a pool of blood, her fate unknown, and Zheng Zha and the others around her, who were covered in wounds and almost exhausted.
The Supreme God's notification, cold and precise, rang in the minds of all survivors:
[Defeat the fully-formed Imhotep to complete the hidden quest.]
[Seize/secure the Book of the Sun and the Book of the Dead to complete Main Quest Two.]
[Ensure the survival of the main characters O'Connor, Evelyn, and Jonathan to complete Main Mission 1. (Jonathan was rescued by Zheng Zha's team during the chaos in Cairo and has been following them ever since.)]
[Team Battle Result: With more than two-thirds of the Indian team members killed, and the Central Continent team having completed its main mission objective, the Central Continent team wins.]
[Mission complete, proceeding with reward calculation...]
The notification sound continued, but Wang Lin could no longer hear it clearly. His vision blurred, and clutching the heavy Golden Book of the Sun, he slowly sat down on the ground. He looked at the unconscious Zhan Lan not far away, then at his teammates who were equally exhausted but had bright eyes, and finally, his gaze fell on the Black Book of the Dead in Chu Xuan's hand, which had become cold and silent again.
Won.
A Pyrrhic victory.
But once again, they crawled back from the brink of hell.
The white light of the supreme god began to fall, enveloping the survivors in the tomb.
In the last moment before his consciousness was withdrawn, Wang Lin seemed to see the scarlet electronic eyes of Guide 7341-ZJ quietly watching him, the data stream flickering silently, as if recording something... unusual.