Chapter 21: Battlefield Remnants

Chapter 21: Battlefield Remnants

Gloomspire Caverns.

After three consecutive days of brutal frontal combat, the battle between players and Dungeonkin had escalated into a frenzied bloodbath.

Scores of Iron Shellworms surged from the earth under the Dungeonkin warriors’ control, their endless waves maddeningly resilient and impossible to eradicate. The players seethed in frustration.

The only solace for the players was the game’s lack of monster respawning mechanics—once slain, creatures stayed dead.

Victory, eventually, would be theirs.

Yet behind the scenes, Qi Sheng had grown curious about Gloomspire Caverns. He wanted to uncover the unique properties of this domain node.

He decided to explore ahead of the players.

As the players clashed once more with the Shellworm tide, Qi Sheng’s consciousness followed Guide’s sensing tendrils deep into the earth, penetrating to the fifth subterranean layer.

There, he discovered a colossal palace encircled by stone tablets.

Before the palace stood thousands of soldier statues—most were fractured, clad in tattered black armor, gripping broken weapons. Some stood motionless, others mid-charge, their postures eerily lifelike.

At the western entrance, countless Iron Shellworms dragged ore into the palace under the Dungeonkin warriors’ command.

Guided by Guide’s perception, Qi Sheng’s consciousness entered the grand hall. At its center loomed a five-meter-tall, shattered statue. Clad in heavy, fragmented armor, it knelt on one knee, gripping a blood-red, broken greatsword as it gazed upward toward the vaulted ceiling.

Behind it burned a massive furnace. The Shellworms, under the warriors’ control, fed ore into the flames.

"Iceblade!"

Guide’s sudden exclamation snapped Qi Sheng’s focus.

"You know this statue?"

"A war-obsessed madman. After Imperial Omen’s fall, he became a regional overlord."

"Compared to you four?"

"Compared to the Four Great Servants? Nowhere near us, obviously. But the fool’s strength was no joke. I once tried recruiting him, but he insisted he had the right to become the new Imperial Omen himself. Refused to pledge to me."

"Is he dead?"

"His life flame has extinguished. Definitely. …Hmm? There’s residual data energy within his remains."

"Analyze it."

Guide didn’t reply. Instead, Qi Sheng’s consciousness drifted closer to Iceblade’s statue as the analysis ability activated.

Then, an endless surge of killing intent crashed over them like a tidal wave.

"We… Imperial Omen’s warriors… will not retreat."

A hoarse, resolute voice echoed. Countless memory fragments flashed through Qi Sheng’s mind like a rapid slideshow.

He saw Iceblade’s dilemma as the world faced collapse.

This was the period when the Four Great Servants first arrived at Dizhong Village—before Qi Sheng’s own arrival.

At the time, Monster World had been ravaged by the terrifying Black Tide, its ecosystem deteriorating. Iceblade’s territory had fallen to the same corruption.

Faced with annihilation, Iceblade began preparing contingencies.

He sank his palace into the earth, ordered non-combatants to relocate underground, and commanded them to mine subterranean spirit ore for future use.

Massive underground construction began.

His people never understood why, nor what "awaiting the future" meant. But they obeyed.

Before the project’s completion, the Black Tide arrived.

Iceblade chose to lead his warriors in defending their land.

The memory shifted.

The enemy surged like locusts, swarming the horizon. Clad in heavy armor, Iceblade rode at the forefront, his black-armored legion raising blades and charging into the horde.

The battle was catastrophic. When the tide receded, half his warriors lay dead.

A second wave loomed. Iceblade refused to retreat, holding the palace entrance with his surviving soldiers.

Three days later, the next Black Tide struck. Then the third, the fourth—relentless waves. Iceblade fought until his weapon shattered. His warriors fell, yet he stood.

On the day the underground construction finished, his people emerged, begging him to retreat underground for safety.

He met their kneeling forms with emotionless, icy-blue eyes.

"This land is Imperial Omen’s gift. I will wield my blade to protect it until my life fades. I will not flee. I will die here."

He drove them underground and faced his final battle.

The Black Tide engulfed him. His life flame flickered like a dying candle.

Exhausted, he knelt, gazing at the last sliver of "Imperial Omen’s Light" in the sky. His eyes still burned with unyielding battle-lust.

In his final moments, he recalled Imperial Omen’s coronation—the moment he’d been granted his land.

A surge of pride and honor surged within. He raised his broken blade with great difficulty, pointed it at the horde, and roared:

"My shattered body will slay three million foes!"

"No cowards exist under Imperial Omen! Rise, my brothers, and fight again!"

As his voice faded, his life flame extinguished. But his corpse stirred. The fallen soldiers’ remains, stirred by Iceblade’s lingering will, rose beside him to keep fighting.

The memory shattered.

"Even in death… he imprinted his corpse with battle resolve. A complete madman."

Qi Sheng stood stunned.

During Guide’s analysis, he’d felt Iceblade’s unyielding resolve in the face of certain doom.

Imperial Omen’s passing words had ignited in Iceblade a lifelong pride—a pride he’d chosen to defend with his life.

"So his corpse was brought here by his people?"

"Guide, what did Iceblade mean by ‘awaiting the future’?"

"Unclear. Perhaps some contingency plan? Could he have intended resurrection?"

As Guide and Qi Sheng speculated, the Iceblade statue at the hall’s center trembled. It turned its hollow gaze toward their consciousness, its dim eyes blazing crimson. A message flooded their minds:

"Guide? Nine Shadows? Yan Ming? Hyperdimension? …Whichever of you four inherited Imperial Omen’s will, carry forward my share of glory. I can fight no longer. But I offer this aid."

As the voice faded, the ground split behind Iceblade. From a ritual array emerged a golden crystal.

The ore fed into the furnace flowed its energy here, absorbed by the formation and infusing the crystal.

Qi Sheng instantly sensed the crystal’s immense, pure power.

"Iceblade… the brat."

For the first time, Guide’s usual teasing tone gave way to awe.

Qi Sheng now understood Iceblade’s "awaiting the future."

Iceblade had believed one of the Four Great Servants would inherit Imperial Omen’s will, becoming the new Overlord. And he had prepared this gift—a thousand-year offering—for them.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end