Chapter 0754: Sky Crack

Where there is war, there is death, and where there is death, there is sadness. When sadness becomes commonplace, veterans will indulge in drinking and revelry, and temporarily forget the death of their comrades in the clamor of competing for military merits. There are no veterans in the great illusion of Zhibubang. This is the first day that more than 3,000 humans and monsters have become warriors. Therefore, the atmosphere of sadness after the war has lasted for a long time, as thick as a ball of ink that cannot be dissolved.

Hundreds of flesh and blood bodies fell in the barren mountains, and there were countless wounded. The enemy they defeated was just a pile of wood and stone. The residents piled the wood together and lit it, and knocked the stones into pieces, but this still could not dispel the sadness in their hearts.

Lei Chi stood on the side of the road. In addition to sadness, there was also a trace of panic in his heart. He was the first to call on the residents of Zhibubang to fight, and he led everyone to the mountains in the north. Until now, he could not tell the origins of these enemies, let alone whether the war ended here. Therefore, he felt that he had an unshirkable responsibility for the casualties.

Especially, although he and his two sons were injured, it was not fatal. They charged forward and their brave performance was obvious to all. They were just lucky.

A group of residents came down from the mountain. There were many old, weak, women and children. They were going to send the dead and the wounded home. When they passed by Lei Chi, some nodded to him, while others ignored him because they were too sad.

A small group of humans in the team stopped and gave way to the roadside. Lei Chi walked over a few steps. He recognized this family and the wounded on the stretcher. It was Lei Jing, one of the elders of the Lei tribe.

The life span of a demon slave is nearly 200 years old. Lei Jing has just passed middle age. His face is full of wrinkles, but his body is still strong. However, the injury is too severe. A stone axe chopped down his left chest diagonally, leaving a cut more than two feet long. No matter how many bandages are applied, it can't stop the blood from gushing out. It is a miracle that he can still stay awake.

Miracles won't last forever. Lei Jing asked his family to lift him in front of Lei Chi, looked at him, slowly raised one hand, fumbled under his body for a while, and took out half of the statue. It was originally hidden in his arms, and now only the upper body is left.

"Do you remember our dreams?" Lei Jing asked with difficulty.

Lei Chi nodded. Of course he remembered that they were still a group of enthusiastic demon slaves at that time. They were tired of endless tree planting and hated the Fire Tree King and officials on the other side. They dreamed of becoming warriors, but the fall of the Fire Tree King was so abrupt that no battle took place.

"It's done." Lei Jing exhaled lightly. He was the oldest and most passionate among the demon slaves who joined the Lei tribe. Decades later, this has not changed. "Mr. Tie said that stability is only temporary. We will eventually fight for survival. Look, he was right."

Lei Jing coughed and a little blood flowed from his mouth. The family members around him all stretched out their arms, but he shook his head and refused anyone's help. He just looked at Lei Chi, "Mr. Tie also said that war needs a leader. The leader is elected and stands up by himself. Today, you stand up. Please hold on and don't fall down."

Lei Jing handed over the half statue. Lei Chi took it in his hand, held it tightly, and nodded again, unable to say anything.

Lei Jing's family bowed to Lei Chi, then carried the stretcher and left. When they reached the foot of the mountain, the crying suddenly became louder.

Lei Chi returned to the roadside, and the panic in his heart disappeared. He knew what he wanted to do and what he should do. Even if someone didn't understand or even misunderstood him, he would stick to it.

The last group of residents came down the mountain, all of them were warriors, and their blood was a sign. A dozen people carried a particularly large stretcher, walking slowly to ensure the stretcher was stable. More warriors were guarding in front and behind, and replacing the people carrying the stretcher at any time.

The big man of the Shen family lay on it, holding a black wooden spear in both hands. He was confused in the first half of his life, and only knew how to plant trees in the second half of his life. He never had the dream of becoming a warrior, but he rushed into the battlefield at the last moment and inspired everyone's fighting spirit.

No one knew what the big man was thinking. Was he moved by the battle scene, or was he angry when he saw the trees he had worked so hard to plant were destroyed? No one knew, and he himself couldn't tell, he was dead.

The warriors stopped in front of Lei Chi. Like Lei Jing, they were willing to regard the man in front of them as their leader.

Lei Chi walked to the stretcher, looked down for a while, stepped back a few steps, pointed his finger to the sky, and said to everyone: "Maybe there are gods outside the sky, maybe in the eyes of the gods we are just a group of ants, but ants know their own importance, and the lives of ants are not inferior to those of gods. I picked up the weapon, so I will fight to the end. Some people died, some survived, but I will never accept the arrangement of the gods without moving."

These humans and monsters became warriors for the first time, and they didn't know what to say in such an occasion, so they said nothing, kept their mouths shut, raised their weapons, and raised their fists if they were empty-handed.

Lei Chi replaced a stretcher bearer and went down the mountain with everyone. They had to send the big guy home.

The flames on the battlefield were still burning, and the thick smoke covered half of the sky. Old Man Shen sat in his yard, holding a cane in one hand and holding grains in the other. A few chickens came to peck from time to time.

His dim eyes could no longer see anything, but his ears could hear the cries that came and went. Sometimes he could even tell who the cry came from, and guess whose husband or son died in the war.

He listened quietly, but his thoughts did not linger on the various sounds passing by the door. Wildwood Town was like a hitching post. No matter how his thoughts ran and jumped, they would always return here in the end.

He missed his big house, the endless stream of guests and servants coming in and out, the neighbors who came up to greet him, the worn bluestone road under his feet, and the small river outside the town. Even the rich drank the water there every day like the farmers.

He still remembered that he went to Xiaoerbao for public affairs one year and drank the well water there, which caused him to vomit and have diarrhea. He didn't survive until he went home and drank the water from Yelin Town again.

A smile appeared on the old face, and it froze. The grains in his palms were gone, the chickens were still pecking, and Old Man Shen didn't move.

The funerals of the Shen family father and son were held at the same time.

According to the tradition of the demon slaves, the bodies were burned in public. Most of the residents who could still walk came and temporarily put aside their own injured and deceased to see off the first hero of Zhibubang. There were countless casualties in this battle, but everyone recognized that Shen Da Ge was the only hero - he did not join the battle when the two sides were evenly matched, but rushed into the battlefield when morale collapsed, so he was braver than other warriors.

Lei Chi also looked up at the sky, and until the flames of burning the bodies gradually disappeared, he shouted: "Pick up your weapons, the battle of Zhibubang is not over yet."

"It's useless." A desolate and disdainful voice sounded in the crowd. Lei Chi looked over and recognized that it was one of the talisman teachers.

There were originally four talisman teachers in Zhibubang, who aged faster than ordinary humans and monsters. Three of them have passed away, leaving only one, who is also very old, but his voice is still loud.

"I know what's going on." The talisman teacher raised his voice. He hated this old body, and he hated Zhibubang and its residents even more. "I've said it before, the entire Zhibubang is an illusion. Now the illusion is going to be shattered, and everyone will die. So, go home, say goodbye to your family, kneel down and cry, and wait for death. If you want to blame someone, blame you all for being born weak and unable to protect yourself. Blame a Taoist priest named Mu Xingqiu, who left you in the illusion. The destruction of the illusion must be related to him."

The talisman teacher's words had the desired effect. The residents fell into panic, and cries came one after another. He was satisfied and squeezed out of the crowd with a cane. He wanted to find a hidden place to wait for death, rather than staying with a group of ignorant people.

Not all residents gave up hope. Some warriors still held weapons in their hands, and their wives and children looked at Lei Chi at this time, hoping to hear a rebuttal from him.

The name Mu Xingqiu made Lei Chi's heart tremble. It was like this every time. He couldn't remember that he had a brother, but these three words always made him feel lost.

The talisman teacher had gone far away, and more and more eyes were looking at him. Lei Chi spoke, without passion and generosity, nor angry roars, "As long as I can still stand, I will not kneel down and cry. As long as I can still fight, I will not blame anyone. Zhibubang may be just an illusion, but it is all real to me."

Such words are difficult to inspire morale, but they dispel the despair in the hearts of the residents.

The earth shook at this time, a harsh sound came from the sky, and huge cracks could be seen with the naked eye. The air became hotter and hotter, and from time to time there were strange lights or smoke passing over the heads of the residents.

This is an extremely powerful destructive force. The residents of Zhibubang can't even see where the enemy is. Whether it is human or demon, whether it is a demon slave or an ordinary person, they all tremble from the deepest part of their hearts. Only when facing floods or landslides, people's hearts will tremble so much.

Lei Chi was no exception, and even felt his legs go weak, but he kept his oath, did not kneel down, did not cry, held the black wooden spear tightly in both hands, bent his knees slightly, and made a posture to fight against the sky.

Countless black wooden weapons pointed to the sky, the old man raised his crutches, the women took off their hairpins, and the children grabbed stones... They were terrified but not panicked, they were afraid but not cowardly, they looked forward to fighting with the "gods".

With a loud bang, a hole appeared in the sky, and a lot of lightning, flames, smoke, and strong light swarmed in. After a while, the hole closed. In a strange scene, two people were entangled and fighting each other, their fists were like thunder, their feet were like earthquakes, and the blood splashed across the sky like a rainbow...

Then the residents of Zhibubang understood that they were not fighting alone.