King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 266

I suddenly realized that the ones who actually fell for the trap were the ones who set it up. With the wisdom of the Saturnians, they would never be so foolish as to charge recklessly and deliberately walk into a trap. The great god Tu Liehan once said that Saturn's technological development level far surpasses that of Earth.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, another man in black silently leaped out of the well. He held a yellowish-brown box in his hands and quickly sprinkled a ring of brown powder around the edge of the well, about five meters away. The air was filled with the pungent smell of high-purity sulfur. He dropped the box, rubbed his palms together, and a fire was lit, igniting the ring of sulfur powder.

Poisonous insects and ants fear sulfur the most, and he appeared just when all the poisonous insects were attracted by the lotus, so that they didn't have time to turn around and attack him, and the circle was already set up.

Using this mundane, earthy method to fight off venomous insects was both unexpected and simple yet effective.

Youlian flipped sideways into the circle, landing awkwardly and looking quite disheveled.

"If this counts as breaking the formation, it seems far too easy, don't you think, Miss Tang?" I breathed a sigh of relief, finally having a chance to joke with Tang Xin.

"She's been poisoned, with at least eleven wounds on her body. I don't believe the formation has broken; this is just the first round of the battle. Once the sulfur burns away, the poisonous insects will launch a second, frenzied attack. By then, they'll probably be back to where they came from."

Tang Xin astutely pointed out the gains and losses of both sides, but she didn't know that the Saturnians were also very skilled at raising and driving away venomous snakes. For example, the snake pit under the pyramid, composed of Bengal golden-line vipers, was no less impressive than Tang Qing's snake formation.

"She won't die; there's a more cunning commander behind her." I only believe my own opinion.

Even a centipede, though dead, does not fall down. Even though the Earth God's energy has been largely depleted, he will still have enough strength to break through the formation and land in this world. I still feel pity for that alien with a human body and a crocodile head. Being a wandering alien is pitiful enough; he has also lost his original form, becoming a half-human, half-beast monster.

Tang Xin glanced to the east and west again, then muttered to herself, "Something seems off?"

Compared to the continuous drumbeats, her voice seemed insignificant, but I had a premonition. The small buildings on the east and west sides were the "eyes" of the Dragon Control Formation. If the enemy wanted to break the formation, they would not be able to succeed without destroying the dozen or so buildings on these two sides.

"Boom, boom boom boom, boom--" Several loud noises rang out in succession, and seven small buildings on the east and west sides flew into the air. Then, the blue bricks and gray tiles turned into dust and fell down in a flurry.

Tang Xin covered her mouth, frowning and forcing a bitter smile: "So the enemy had another ambush? Could that 'ley line' have another exit? Is that even possible?"

With the "array eye" destroyed, the Dragon Control Array immediately showed a flaw, and the four gates in the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest directions were wide open. Four muscular men with gray cloth covering their faces rushed in and joined Youlian.

The African drumming stopped, and only the endless falling snow seemed to bury everyone and every poisonous insect in the empty courtyard. The fire around Youlian was gradually dying down, and the poisonous insects stirred once more, approaching the heart of the empty courtyard.

"Clap, clap," the four burly men who appeared later clapped their hands simultaneously, and a fire suddenly broke out in the path they had crossed. The air was once again filled with the strong smell of sulfur, dividing the poisonous insects into four groups, preventing them from helping each other. The fire spread with extreme ferocity and suddenness, and about a third of the poisonous insects were instantly engulfed in flames, emitting strange "hissing" sounds.

"Whoo--" A whistling sound rang out, and Tang Qing, dressed entirely in black, came from the east through the snow, her hands behind her back, her disheveled hair flying in the wind. Her face was completely unmasked, revealing a bluish-green hue colder than ice.

"They came prepared, and those four are clearly top-tier Earthlings. Tang Qing has no chance of winning." I couldn't tell who I was worried about.

"Mr. Feng, if I were to intervene, whose side would you be on?" Tang Xin chuckled coldly, grabbing a handful of snow and slowly rubbing it in her palm. "The skill of those four men reminded me of an old tale from the martial arts world. When the Mongol cavalry swept across Europe, it was said that four fierce generals—Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning—were at the forefront. These four were raised by mountain demons on the Mongol-Russian border, fluent in animal language, and immune to all poisons; they were essentially half-human, half-beast monsters. It was precisely because of such vanguard figures that the Yuan Dynasty achieved the most magnificent territorial expansion in Chinese history."

I nodded without offering any opinion.

She could think this way because when the four burly men barged in, they casually grabbed poisonous insects from the ground, lifted the gray cloth covering their faces, threw them into their mouths, and chewed them without a care. Eating poisonous insects and drinking poisonous blood was the signature move of the four extraordinary figures known in the martial arts world as "Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning."

"But those were people from hundreds of years ago, how could they be here?" Her brows furrowed even more, completely baffled.

The "earth vein" was quiet. Youlian and the other six people were scattered around the well opening, ignoring Tang Qing who was rushing towards them.

I suddenly remembered the alienated "people" in the Tulihan Pyramid. I recalled that Youlian had said that many extremely intelligent people, whose thirst for knowledge could no longer be satisfied on Earth, voluntarily joined the ranks of the Saturnians and underwent that bizarre "alienation" process, hoping to eventually become members of the alien world.

One can imagine that the four beings—Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning—are also among those "alienated," willingly submitting to the arbitrary control of the Earth God. This inexplicable war will soon escalate into a bloodbath among Earthlings.

I stepped forward: "Miss Tang, let's go down and stop them. Tang Qing is no match for them."

Tang Xin shook her head: "No, that was just a trigger, she won't die—"

Before he finished speaking, Tang Qing bent down on the ground, and with a wave of his arms, tens of thousands of poisonous insects in front of and behind him rushed out like a dense rain of arrows, instantly covering the person in the center of the formation.

"Wind, we meet again? How have you been?" A gentle voice sounded in my ear. Without thinking, I knew it was the great god Tu Liehan speaking. From the first sound of African drums, I had a premonition that he would come to this world, and now, my prediction had finally become a reality.

"Where are you? In the ley lines?" I asked bluntly.

In the heat of battle, all formalities and pleasantries are skipped.

"Yes, about eleven kilometers below the surface. I never expected to run into you again. Wind, do you leave your footprints in all the mysterious places on Earth? Or did you know I would appear and wait for me here in advance?" The great god Tu Liehan was in a good mood and actually knew how to joke with me.

I shook my head wearily: "How could I have the ability to foresee the future? It just happened to happen. Weren't you already safely submerged underground? How did you come up again?"

The last collapse of the Pyramid of Tsar nearly killed Tina and all of Egypt's political leaders; the thought of that moment is terrifying. I can foresee that when he reappears, it will likely trigger another extraordinary conflict.

"Haha, I have what I need here, of course I can't miss it." He laughed again.

"What do you need?" In my memory, his spacecraft had run out of energy and was about to perish on its own.

"Wind, you should know what I need, why ask when you already know—energy, I need tons of energy. With it, spacecraft can successfully escape Earth's gravity and enter the normal orbit of space travel. There is inexhaustible energy here, of course I have to come, right?" He laughed heartily, a world apart from his pitiful, dying appearance when he went underground before.

Tang Xin exclaimed, "Mr. Feng, who are you talking to? Are you alright?"

Her expression gradually relaxed. The spectacular sight of poisonous insects covering the sky was not over yet, and Tang Qing seemed to have the victory in his grasp without having to take action himself.

I waved my hand, signaling her not to bother me.

"Wind, I want to give you a surprise gift, but before you accept it, please promise me one thing, okay?" The great god Tu Liehan spoke in a very humble tone, just as the old saying goes, "When a gift is given, there must be an ulterior motive."

I hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, as long as it doesn't harm the safety of Earthlings, I agree."

He drawled, "I'm returning your beloved girl to you. Don't interfere in my affairs with 'Asian Gear,' okay? Those complicated power struggles are none of Earthlings' business. If you agree, take fifty steps back, turn thirty steps to the right, and we can talk slowly."

My heart skipped a beat: "Who? You saw Suren? Suren is with you?"

He laughed out loud, without giving a further, definitive answer.

I turned around and looked back, and all I could see was a vast expanse of white snow and rows of small buildings covered in snowflakes.

"Feng, our last collaboration was very successful, and this time will be no exception. She's waiting for you, I know, and you're anxiously thinking of her too. Come on, I'm waiting for you..." His voice suddenly disappeared, leaving only a smiling trailing tone in the sky.

My heart is with Suren, and the great god Tuliqan must know this. So, should I believe him and go to keep the appointment?

The battle in the empty courtyard took another turn; the net of poisonous insects was instantly torn open. If those four people were indeed the four extraordinary figures of "Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning" from history, Tang Qing's insect array would likely be ineffective. However, the power of the Dragon Control Array lies in the transformation of Yin and Yang, not merely in the strength of the ambush troops.

"Miss Tang, I have to leave for a bit. Take care." I finally made a decision. The one who really needed help was Suren, who was in a predicament, not the battle situation that was still under Alpha's control.

Tang Xin raised an eyebrow in surprise: "What? Where are you going?"

"Going to see an old friend." I didn't have time to explain in detail. I brushed the snow off my shoulders, took a deep breath, and walked towards the edge of the rooftop.

"Hey, Mr. Feng, please wait—" She tried to raise her hand to stop me, but then gave up, only lowering her lips in a bitter smile. "Take care too. When the Dragon Control Array unleashes its full power, the energy balance in this world will be completely shattered, and the sealing gate might even undergo a sudden change. So, be careful; there's a bigger picture that needs your return to maintain order..."

The snow downstairs was already quite deep. I sprinted eastward for fifty steps, then turned north and hurried along the path between the two rows of small buildings. After thirty steps, my path was blocked by a small, square building.

I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Great God Tu Liehan, I'm here! Where are you?" Snowflakes filled my mouth, carrying a biting chill, and instantly turned into ice water. Standing under the small building and looking up, the white walls led to high eaves, and the bronze bells, iron horses, clay sparrows, and tile dogs were lifelike, faintly exuding a solemn and endless ancient atmosphere amidst the falling snow.

Part Two: Asian Gears, Chapter Eight: The Crystal Window Beneath the Earth's Veins

It's unimaginable how the Earth God could appear in this location, since the exit of the "Earth Vein" is in that empty courtyard; otherwise, Alpha's "Heavenly Spinning Dragon Control Array" wouldn't have been placed there.

"Would the Great God Tu Liehan be with Suren? Suren was clearly on the other side of the sealed gate, could he have also reached the 'Asian Gear'?" My mind was filled with tangled and unresolved questions.

The small buildings on both sides are arranged in a haphazard manner, with no obvious passageway. Walking here is equivalent to entering a dead end.

"Suren--" Knowing full well that she was still blocked at the other end of the cave, I was filled with rage and had nowhere to vent it. I could only roar to the sky and charge forward, slamming my fists hard against the white wall of the small building. I had no intention of disrupting the magical formation that Alpha had set up to seal the six-armed monster, but the force of my punches was extremely fierce. A hole more than two meters high appeared in the wall, bricks and stones collapsed, and dust flew everywhere.

Ten steps away, a person wearing a gray robe and a hood stood silently in front of a three-meter-diameter black hole in the center of the room.

"You're here? Let's go." It was a middle-aged woman's voice. She waved away the dust with her sleeve and gently beckoned to me.

The room was empty, with only her there. What caught my eye was a strange longsword strapped to her shoulder, hanging down from her right shoulder to her heels, a full five feet long.

"Where to? Where is Suren?" I stepped over the broken wall, fully alert. There wasn't even a table or a chair in this room; the walls were just bare white walls, devoid of any life.

She stepped into the black hole, descending step by step, only to find a similarly dark spiral staircase hidden inside.

"If you want the answer, come with me." The ladder was very steep; she only took seven or eight steps before it reached her shoulders.

I strode over and looked down. In the endless darkness, a few dim yellow lights shone, gradually extending into the infinite depths of the earth. I glanced back at the white snow world outside the hole, and without hesitation, I followed down, the iron ladder creaking under my feet.

After descending eight circles, they arrived at another quiet, dark room. A thin, gray-robed man, as thin as a bamboo pole, stood motionless beside the iron ladder, his left hand raised high, holding a glowing pearl in his palm. Beneath his feet was another dark hole, and the iron ladder continued downwards.

"Let's go," the woman said briefly.

The gray-robed man immediately turned around and led the way down the ladder, with the two of us following closely behind. After descending eight more times, another taciturn gray-robed man stood by the ladder, leading the three of us down.

If Alpha's world is already beneath the mountainside, beneath the cliff, then we are now entering an even deeper, more mysterious underground realm, beyond the reach of apt description. In mythology, Yama, the King of Hell, has eighteen levels, and below those eighteen levels lies the unmarkable Yellow Springs of the Earth's core. As the group silently and heavily filed down, I truly wondered if we had arrived at the Yellow Springs.

"Tell me, where is the God of Earthly Cracks?" I stopped, gripped the railing tightly with my left hand, and looked back up. The entrance to the black hole was long gone.

"Ahead." The woman also stopped.

"Who are you?" I pressed. The more cautious a person is in their speech, the more secrets they can keep hidden in their heart. It was clear that she was the leader of this group.

"That's not important, let's go." She didn't even turn her head.

"I suddenly changed my mind and don't want to see him anymore." I glanced at the hilt of the sword on her shoulder and felt a little suffocated. I wanted to break free from the darkness immediately and breathe a few fresh breaths on the snow outside.

"You have to go. There is no other way." Her tone was calm, without a hint of intimidation.

"I want to forge my own path, is that not allowed?" *I laughed silently in the darkness* (banned book, please delete). Now I didn't seem like a guest of the great god Tu Liehan, but rather like a prisoner with a serious crime on his hands.

"No." She twisted her shoulder, and the longsword was drawn with a "snap," flashing a cold, azure light. But I was prepared. I ducked, dodging the sword, and grabbed her wrist. The blade was engraved with a peacock spreading its tail feathers, each feather depicted with lifelike detail.

"Young man, it is an immense honor for you to be received by the great master. Our time is precious; if you miss this opportunity, who knows when you will be able to ascend and transform." She pulled her hand away and sheathed her sword with a backhand.

Neither of us went all out, but I still recognized her name from the special markings on the sword: "Peacock Consort" Mei Yingxue, a female thief almost forgotten by even the old hands of the underworld. She was a famous figure in the underworld during the 1920s in Shanghai, and no fewer than five hundred military and political figures, tycoons and wealthy businessmen had died at her hands. But when she had amassed a fortune of over nine hundred million US dollars and her fame was at its peak, she suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"You need his help, and he needs yours, please?" She continued walking forward.

"I know who you are. 'Peacock Consort' Mei Yingxue." I called out her name.

"Those things are all in the past. I have no name now, so there's no need to call me by any code. Everyone here has no name and no past, and I hope you will be the same in the future." She maintained her indifference.

I weighed it in my mind for a moment and finally followed. Since the great god Tu Liehan could gather so many historical figures in his spacecraft, and these people followed him wholeheartedly, it is clear that the idea of "becoming a Saturnian" is still very attractive to a certain group of people.

When they reached the fourteenth floor, the lights suddenly blazed on, and a wheelchair made of gold appeared in the dazzling light. The man sitting in it had broad shoulders, thick eyebrows, and fierce eyes, and was reading a book bound with gold sheets.

Mei Yingxue and the others immediately parted to the left and right to make way for me.

"Feng, I've been waiting for you for a long time." He raised his hand, tossed aside his book, and stared at me with bright, piercing eyes.

His voice was similar to that of the god Tu Liehan, but his appearance had changed considerably; he was no longer a monster with a human body and a crocodile head.

"Wait for me? It's never a good thing when I see you. What will it be this time?" I said worriedly. I had been in the dark for too long and my eyes were still adjusting to the bright light in the hall. But I could clearly tell that this was no longer the core of the Turkic Pyramid that I had visited last time.

He made a gesture, and the lights immediately dimmed.

"Feng, there are priorities. Come with me, I'll take you to see someone." The wheelchair silently turned to the right, a faint smile playing on his lips. Now, he appeared to be a standard Earthling, without a trace of the monster he once was. Among everyone, I didn't spot Elder Sahan's familiar figure; he was probably at the exit of the "Earth Vein" directing Youlian to break the Dragon Control Array.

I followed the great god Tu Liehan in silence, keeping all my questions to myself.

"Feng, what do you think of 'Asian Gear'?" He turned his head and stared at me with great interest.

A silver metal door slid open silently, revealing a straight, blue corridor. The wind that came towards us carried a damp chill.

I shook my head. In the face of the Saturnians, human knowledge is nothing to boast about, and besides, I have no ambition for the "Asian Gear".

"Feng, why be so modest? The last time I saw you, you repelled the illusion demon's shadow with a mere wave of your hand, how spirited you were." He patted the golden armrest, his smile growing deeper.

"And you?" I replied with only two words. Water droplets dripping from the top of the tunnel fell into my neck, chilling me to the bone. Despite having gone through more than a hundred rotations and descents, my sense of direction was still excellent. I could tell that the tunnel led due east and stretched outwards, which should be the other side of the sealed gate.

"Me? It's simple. I'll acquire enough energy, leave Earth, and go back to Saturn. My large spacecraft—what Earthlings call the 'Earth Pyramid'—has run out of energy and is now abandoned in the water layer near the Earth's core. I can only rely on the small spacecraft we just saw to get around. I believe the 'Asian Gear' will bring me new hope, it definitely will." His emotions became visibly heightened at the mention of the "Asian Gear," and his wheelchair sped up accordingly.