Iron Bull taucht wieder auf

Kapitel 40

With a snap, Suren had already drawn a knife from his waist, but it was only half a foot long, including the handle and blade, much like the dinner knife on a Western dining table.

Suren didn't give me a detailed account of her last encounter with the One-Sword Style ninja. Given the ineffectiveness of firearms, it was truly remarkable that she managed to escape from a group attack using only melee weapons.

"Brother Feng, be careful!" Su Lun bent his knees and sprang forward, lunging towards the incoming slash. His silver dagger flashed and slashed horizontally at the opponent's long sword, a masterful move of "using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds".

With a katana over a meter long, she was clearly at a complete disadvantage against six masters of long swords, using a dagger less than twenty centimeters long.

Suddenly, I felt a strange loosening under my feet, as if the stone slabs I was stepping on had all turned into soft sand, and then the sand turned into soft mud, so that my feet were slowly sinking in.

I was standing atop the pyramid; if I were to sink, I would surely be swallowed by its walls. I looked down at my feet. The sounds of fighting around me had faded into the distance, and I felt as if I had entered a silent vacuum. My black combat boots were already halfway embedded in the stone slabs, and a strange golden mist was thickening, threatening to envelop my feet and legs.

Such changes are indeed baffling. Fortunately, I had already entered the tomb chamber and had a general understanding of the structure beneath the tower; otherwise, I would have been even more horrified.

"Is it an illusion? When Youlian landed here that night, a white light emanated from the top of the tower. Why is it that when it was my turn, I turned into this mist, the exact same mist as when I first entered the tomb?"

At this point, I became increasingly convinced that there was an "entrance" at the top of the tower, although I didn't know where it led.

"Suren—" I shouted, but my voice seemed to be stolen away by the finest sound-absorbing cotton; I couldn't hear anything. The sinking speed increased, reaching my knees in just a few seconds. Now, the rocks felt like a vast expanse of buoyant seawater, gently supporting my body.

"Where will I end up?" In an instant, I thought of Bancha and Master Kudie's disappearance—if I were to enter some mysterious space "wormhole" right now, I fear that once I fell in, I would end up like them. I didn't want to disappear inexplicably in the Egyptian desert of the 21st century, after all, my purpose in coming here was to decipher those two strange entries in my elder brother's diary.

"I can't die, I don't want to enter the wormhole, let me go back—"

Subconsciously, I began to suspect that inside the pyramids, there was some all-powerful "god" manipulating us, the people who were so close to the Pyramid of Tulku.

With a thought, the sinking speed stopped, and the stone slab surface reached my belt.

The gun was in my right hand, and with a haphazard swing of my left, I bumped into something cold and hard under the stone slab. Based on my childhood experience with cold weapons, I instantly recognized it as a ring-shaped hilt, similar to the sabers used by cavalry units during World War II. With a quick flip, my fingers gripped the hilt firmly, and simultaneously, I bent my right elbow, pressing down on the stone surface, using the momentum to propel myself upwards.

It felt like a drowning person breaking through the water's surface. When my body bounced more than four feet high, I was fully conscious.

In my line of sight, Suren, wielding a short knife, flitted about like a butterfly amidst the attacks of six men, barely able to defend herself; the situation was extremely precarious.

As my feet touched the ground, I felt the cold, hard stone slab again. With a flick of my left hand, a myriad of golden rays burst forth. What I had brought out of my predicament was a three-foot-long, straight, single-edged sword, its tip and ring-shaped hilt radiating golden light.

The blade was cold and had a grayish-white, icy sheen. It was likely a gold sword with other metals incorporated into it, and judging by the sharpness of the blade, it was no less than the "M9" tactical knife once highly regarded by US special forces.

The strangest thing was that when I raised that golden sword, the one-sword style ninja suddenly stopped, sheathed his sword, and ceased his attack on Suren.

Suren retreated, panting, and whispered, "Brother Feng, what...what is that?"

I don't know either. I just know that I almost fell into the wormhole at the top of the tower, and then I reached out and touched this thing to get up.

"Kassenyi! Kassenyi! Kassenyi!" Six men in gray, their left hands gripping the hilts of their knives and dragging them behind their backs, their right hands held horizontally in front of their chests, bowed to me. Their lightness skill was superb; on the slope of the pyramid, they tiptoed as if walking on flat ground.

These four simple syllables are neither Japanese nor the language commonly used by Egyptians today. Judging from their tone, they seem to be some kind of "slogan".

I swung the golden sword twice with force, producing a hissing sound in mid-air. Anyone who practices martial arts knows that the sharper the sound a sword makes when it cuts through the air, the sharper its blade. My judgment was correct; this was a rare sword capable of cutting through iron like mud.

The man in gray slowly walked up to the top of the tower, still maintaining his bent-over posture.

I shouted, "Get back! Get back down from the tower!"

I continued speaking in Japanese, and Suren repeated my words to them in fluent Japanese, using various Japanese dialects over and over again, more than a dozen times. If they were truly from Japan, they would surely have understood Suren to some extent. But the six men kept moving forward until they were six steps away from me, forming a crescent shape around me.

In this state, if all six of them attacked at the same time, I would have absolutely no chance of resisting.

"Retreat! Retreat! Stop!" I swung my left arm sharply, executing the "Night Battle Eight Directions Hidden Knife Style," the signature sword technique of the Bajiquan School in Cangzhou, Hebei Province. It's the best move for self-defense and survival when outnumbered. The single-edged sword is a unique variant of Western weaponry, an anomaly that is neither a knife nor a sword. It can be used to thrust straight like a sword, or to slash horizontally like a single-edged saber.

Unexpectedly, as the golden sword was swung rapidly, the golden light it generated struck the gray-clad men, who were struck as if by lightning and fell backward onto the makeshift plaza in front of the pyramid.

Suren exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? That's amazing?"

Part 4: The Battle Between Heaven and Man

— Chapter 6 - The Blade of Salvation —

Suren had witnessed the power of the One-Sword Style's siege and refused to believe that a single swing of this golden sword could take the lives of six people.

I smiled wryly: "How strange! I don't even know where this sword came from, but I never expected it to be so powerful."

The six people who fell from the tower have disappeared without a trace; it seems their chances of survival are slim.

I stared down at my feet, crouching down again, hoping to find something. The stone was still stone; it seemed impossible for it to instantly transform into sand or soft soil. But where did this sword come from? If it was taken from some mysterious world, I hoped to return to that place—

Suren took the sword from my hand, flicked it lightly, producing a crisp "ding" sound that lingered for a long time, and couldn't help but exclaim in praise: "What a fine sword! To be able to forge soft gold into a sword that can cut through iron like mud, this forging technique is truly remarkable!" The cold light on the blade seemed to have diminished a bit, but the chilling aura remained undiminished.

I pointed to my feet, slightly bewildered: "Suren, you might not believe it, but the moment you attacked, I felt myself sinking, as if stepping into warm seawater. If I hadn't suddenly realized I needed to escape, I'm afraid I would be..."

What might happen? Could they be forever trapped in another dimension, and by the time they are finally discovered, they have become a monster like Fujika, trapped in a jade coffin?

"Haha, Brother Feng, I'm numb to all these strange things. Let's go down the tower and see what's going on with those six people!"

There was nothing to be found at the top of the tower; it was as if the strange hole that had mysteriously opened had been closed forever after I fled with my knife.

Suren slid down the tower first, while I looked around alone. To the west and south stretched endless yellow sand deserts, to the east were shadowy camps, and to the north stood the ancient Great Pyramid of Giza. The view was wide enough, but it was empty everywhere, and I couldn't find any valuable clues.

"Huh?" Suren suddenly cried out, abruptly jumping away from a dead gray-clad man, and shouting back, "Brother Feng, come down and see! Come down quickly!"

When I came down from the tower, I noticed that Suren's face had turned strangely pale. He was rubbing two handfuls of sand together rapidly, as if his hands were covered in something dirty.

"how?"

She didn't answer, but simply raised her chin in disgust at the gray-clad man's corpse.

The gray-clad man lay sprawled on his back, his long sword having fallen several meters away. A gust of wind blew by, lifting the gray cloth covering his face, and I was horrified to discover that it wasn't a human face at all; there wasn't a single muscle, only a skull with a deathly gray hue. The skull's mouth was half-open, as if it were letting out the strangest laugh before death.

Suren leaned closer to me, her voice trembling slightly as she whispered, "Brother Feng, did you see that? They're not people, they're strange skeletons. Just now... what did we do? How could they turn into skeletons in an instant..."

I smiled dismissively, "So what? As a skilled tomb raider, dealing with all sorts of skeletons is just routine for me."

With my golden sword, I swiftly removed the veils from the remaining five men, and in the process, slashed their clothing above their belts four or five times. Without a doubt, the six men had become veritable skeletons. This transformation likely began when I swung the golden sword, because at least before the golden light struck them, their exposed eyes shone with a sharp, piercing light—the kind of fierce gaze only a master of internal energy could possess.

"It seems the whole mystery lies with this sword?"

The thought that a single-edged sword from another dimension could possess such magical power made my hand holding the sword tremble involuntarily. I quickly placed it flat on the concrete ground next to the tower.

The ring-shaped hilt was sparsely engraved with cloud patterns, interspersed with a dozen or so hexagonal stars. A thin, winding line was engraved on the straight blade, somewhat resembling the symbol for a city wall in a standard map. Overall, there was nothing suspicious about the sword, and the other side was the same.

“Oh, if only we had a metal analyzer, we could check if there were any radioactive materials in the composition of this sword. At least I think that if a human body could be turned into a skeleton instantly, no other force could achieve that except for extremely high-intensity radiation.” Suren’s conclusion reminded me, because Dr. Tang had said the same thing in the tomb, after discovering that Oru and Bawan had been mysteriously weathered.

Based on Earthlings' understanding of physics, this is the only explanation possible. In the field of "radiation and rays," Earthlings' knowledge is so lacking that even they are ashamed of themselves.

From the direction of the camp, another car sped by, kicking up dust. It must be Tina sending someone to pick us up.

I took off my outer garment and wrapped the golden sword inside.

Suren frowned, hesitating to speak, perhaps fearing that the powerful, unknown force contained within the sword might cause us immeasurable harm. In truth, the force of a ray can often kill all living cells in a fraction of a second; if we were in danger, we would have died long ago, not after descending the tower and having this conversation.

After examining the six skeletons once more, I raised a new question: "Surren, can we really determine that they are one-sword style assassins just by looking at their samurai swords and swordsmanship? Think about it, it seems unnecessary for Japanese ninjas to travel thousands of miles to infiltrate the desert. If they were subordinates of Tano and Bancha, they would have already jumped out to participate in the operation. How could we not have noticed at all?"

In the camp, Tano had begun to completely obey the commands of Scalpel and Natura, and he must have reached the end of his rope. Bancha had mysteriously disappeared again. I always felt that as a famous ninja sect on the Japanese island, the Ittō-ryū ninja would not be easily swayed by the two above.

Even if it's for money, a master of the One-Sword Style should be doing more sophisticated and faster-profitable work, and would never languish in the desert for a long time.

Suren smiled and said, "Brother Feng, you're not going to put all the blame on the mysterious Earth God, are you?"

I do indeed mean that. All the mysterious events and people that have appeared must revolve around the pyramids, including the elusive Sahan and Youlian. Conversely, I could even consider these six people as Youlian's people. Since she can destroy my memories and stand in the white light at the top of the pyramid, who knows if she can't enter the mysterious alternate dimension like I just did?

All the confusion and mystery stems from the Pyramid of Turkham, yet it stands here in a strange silence.

I went around to the north side of the pyramid and kicked up the yellow sand with my feet, letting the sand grains fly everywhere.

If the line of sight extends northward, we should be able to see the first excavation site that Yelan has ambitiously chosen. Of course, I don't believe the dragon's nonsense about "indestructible below 25 meters." So, what might be buried beneath the ground between the two pyramids?

Bawan and Oulu were mysteriously "weathered," but where did the strange power come from?

Suren followed, suddenly lost in thought: "What did Tengjia comprehend before she disappeared? What exactly is recorded in that 'Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture'? Brother Feng, I even suspect that Tengjia's entry into a prestigious Chinese university for further studies was something of profound significance. Could it be that her studies were merely to understand the ancient characters in the scripture..."

She also noticed the ancient scripture's crucial role in the whole affair. However, I suspect that if Tiger had already succeeded, the scripture would belong to the Tang Clan of Sichuan for generations to come. Since it belongs to the Chinese, it should naturally return to the Chinese, whether it's handed over to the government or a private gang. Morally, I support Tiger's actions.

In the blink of an eye, the Mitsubishi car had arrived in front of the pyramids. With a sharp "screech" of brakes, it came to a sudden stop, and Tina jumped out of the driver's seat, her expression solemn and strange.

From the camp, three muffled "poof, poof, poof" sounds suddenly rang out, followed by three dazzling fireballs—red, green, and blue—exploding in mid-air, trailing billowing smoke as they slowly fell. It was a military signal; although I didn't understand their meaning, I knew something major had definitely happened at the camp.

"Mr. Feng, there is something I must solemnly inform you: Tiger is dead. He died in a sand pit seventy meters northeast of the camp. Mr. Scalpel said he is your best friend, and perhaps we need your help to conduct a thorough investigation."

Tina spoke in a serious, businesslike tone, every word she uttered was true. "I am indeed Tiger's good friend, there's no need to hide that." However, Tina should know that if Tiger were in trouble, the first people she should notify would be Tang Xin and Song Jiu of the Tang Clan in Sichuan, since the three of them are the ones who spend every day together and are inseparable.

As Suren and I approached the car, I made no attempt to hide the fact that I was already mentally prepared.

As it turned out, Suren and I had very similar premonitions; we both knew the whole thing was related to the tiger the moment Tina answered the phone.

"What? Mr. Feng isn't surprised at all? Perhaps you can tell me some inside story about the tiger's death?" Tina pressed.

I tossed the golden sword, which was wrapped tightly in my clothes, onto the back seat, leaned against the car door, and lazily replied, "No inside story. I'm too tired. I just had a fierce battle with these people and almost died in the desert. General Tina, now that the Rainbow Warriors have taken control of the area near the Tu Liehan Pyramid, I hope they can further improve their efficiency to protect the camp's security..."

The six skeletons exposed to the twilight sandstorm didn't give Tina much of a shock. As she walked over, she casually kicked one of the skulls, sending it flying five meters into a sandpit. Then, she picked up a samurai sword from the ground, examined the engravings on its blade, coldly tossed it aside, and abruptly turned to me: "Feng, Mr. Tanino's *The Yellow Springs Sutra* is missing. What's your opinion on this?"

I feigned surprise and smiled: "What? Such precious scriptures, just vanished like that?"

Tina arrogantly waved her right arm, as if to embrace the entire vast desert, and shouted, "As long as the thief of the scriptures is still in this desert, I am confident that I can find him. And I will definitely find the scriptures and return them to their rightful owner."

She is very skilled in using Chinese idioms and can be considered a semi-expert on China.

Suren picked up where she left off, smiling teasingly: "Returning the jade intact to Zhao? Well said! As far as I know, this scripture comes from the distant ancient India. I wonder if General Tina has any way to travel through time and space to send it back to the holy land of India?"

Tina was speechless for a moment, glared fiercely at Suren, and sullenly returned to the car door.

I was hesitating whether or not to take the skeleton back to the camp for a closer look, when Tina had already taken the electronic notebook from the control panel in the driver's cab, opened the lid, and quickly pressed two buttons, seemingly searching for some information.

Suren silently picked up the six samurai swords from the ground and put them in the trunk of the SUV. She had a very deep understanding of the structure of Japanese martial arts schools, because her mentor was truly an extraordinary figure. If there were a selection of the "100 Most Outstanding People of the Century," Goro Kanan would definitely be among the top.

Perhaps Suren can find some useful clues from those knives?

Suddenly, Tina murmured to herself, "The Blade of Salvation... The Blade of Salvation? A weapon of the gods, it will use the light of certain death to harness the power of the sun, instantly turning sinners into skeletons, while all their flesh and essence will be absorbed by the great god Tu Liehan, and transported to... to..."

I listened quietly, knowing that this conversation was closely related to the extraordinary experience I had just had.

Tina looked up at the skeletons, pressed the button a few more times, but didn't make a sound.

The information stored in her notebook was extremely useful; almost all the entries were related to the Pyramid of Tulku. For example, the "Blade of Salvation" mentioned earlier had the peculiar ability to "turn flesh into a skeleton," which was exactly what the golden sword I had obtained was like.

“Mr. Feng, could you give me some explanation about these skeletons… or perhaps offer me a little help?” Tina’s tone softened and became earnest again. Her attitude towards people changed so quickly, much like a skilled theatrical actor, effortlessly switching between joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

Surenmai walked towards the west side of the pyramid, his expression calm, as if deliberately giving Tina and me a chance to have a heart-to-heart talk.

I spread my hands, making a "no comment" gesture.

Tina smiled slightly awkwardly, then winked at me flirtatiously: "Mr. Feng, I was actually too anxious just now, I'm really sorry. The ancient scriptures are a treasure of the Japanese. Within ten minutes of their theft, I received a fax from the Japanese government requesting that the Egyptian government do everything in its power to recover the scriptures—"

At this point, she blinked several times, then gave a bitter laugh: "You know what? Taniguchi said there were only ten stolen scriptures. Globally, the only record of these scriptures is 'twelve,' there's no other version. Why do the Japanese say there are ten? I really...I really don't understand. Could it be that the thieves forgot two in their haste? Shit—"

In her anxiety and impatience, she couldn't help but blurt out a curse.

I replied coldly, "That's more in line with General Tina's personality!"

As a powerful and influential figure in the Egyptian army, swearing should be an indispensable characteristic of hers. Why bother pretending in front of an outsider like me?