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Chapter 1656 Twilight Wasteland (Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

The light of dusk spilled from the sky onto the ground, illuminating He'ao's serene face.

He stood in the quiet alley, holding a black feather dagger in his hand. Upon closer inspection, the gray feather blade reflected a faint, colorful light.

This place is two or three blocks away from the coffee shop where He Ao just was, and further down this alley is a secluded little square.

Denon is there with the Anomalous Association's combat team, making preparations.

This location was sent by Denon, who 'suggested' that Heo enter the Twilight Wasteland in this area.

Denon did not explain the reason, but Heo knew it was most likely due to some kind of special access restriction.

However, since the other party didn't say anything, He Ao didn't ask any further questions.

He lowered his head and looked at the dagger in his hand.

It's almost 5 p.m. now. In December, the days are short in Velens, and the light of dusk is about to completely fade away.

Heo brought the feather blade close to his fingers and waited quietly.

Time, like a gentle breeze, swept through the secluded alleyway, where faint sounds of commotion could be heard at the end of the alley, only to quickly fade into silence.

It appears that Denon's pre-war mobilization has ended.

hum-

Just then, He Ao's bracelet vibrated.

He Ao glanced at the information that popped up on the bracelet, then pressed the blade to his fingertip and made a light cut.

Blood, glowing with a purple light, instantly spilled out, dripping onto the blade adorned with iridescent feathers.

Even the wind seemed to quiet down at this moment, and some invisible aura that existed in the void rose from the deepest part of the world.

He Ao vaguely sensed something wriggling in the void, tentacles rippling in the dim depths of the void, trying to caress his soul.

This time, his perception of the anomalies around him was so strong that it was even stronger than when he first saw the Sky City.

However, the sensation from this thing was so illusory and faint that he could not actively respond to it.

Even this power itself carries a certain illusory quality, like flickering lights, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

As dusk faded, the dark night descended at the edge of the sky.

The illusory and shimmering aura and power seemed to be rapidly disappearing into the depths of darkness.

He Ao took out the blue test tube and quietly stared at the dark, wriggling liquid inside.

According to Denon's explanation, if he were to drink the blood of the giant serpent of Midgard at this moment, he could place his consciousness in a state of chaos, thereby touching the Twilight Wasteland.

He uncorked the test tube and quietly gazed at the blue blood inside.

After a very brief pause, he closed his eyes and sensed the power around him.

Deep within the surrounding dim, writhing, invisible power, another aura faintly exists, intertwining with this power.

The aura emanated from the Spear of Vestalla that he carried on his back, which had always been with him.

It seems that it was precisely because of the Spear of Vistara that he was able to so clearly sense the existence of this invisible force.

He took a small, deep breath.
'strengthen'

The power of the Spear of Vestas erupted at this moment, and the surrounding void began to writhe in an instant.

The dim twilight seemed to have been paused, its dimness halted, and even the light seemed to have fine lines appearing, frozen in that moment.

He looked up at everything around him, everything shrouded in twilight—the walls, the city, even the sky—all seemed to crumble in his vision like castles built of fine sand.

The howling wind swept away the sand and dust between heaven and earth, and in this vast expanse of sand, a dark and boundless wasteland appeared before his eyes.

The light of dusk still shone on the sky and the earth.

But when you look up, you can't see the sun, moon, or stars; there's only the blowing, howling sand and dust, and the vast, blood-red sky behind it.

The light of dusk had no apparent source, yet it enveloped the land as if it were a fixed scene.

He looked into the distance and saw only a vast expanse of land covered with reddish-brown gravel and dust.

A towering stone tablet stood at the edge of his vision, its surface engraved with dense patterns. As he gazed at it, these patterns quickly converged to form a 'text'.

Although He Ao didn't recognize the characters, he clearly understood their meaning.
[This is the battlefield of the gods' end, the frontier between chaos and reason; beyond this place lies twilight.]
Judging from the strokes and features, it appears to be Denis script.

This stone tablet seems to be specifically for 'outsiders' who enter this wasteland.

He Ao raised his hand, put the cork back into the test tube, and collected the blood from the giant serpent in the courtyard.

Then, he looked down at the other side of the dense sandstorm, where several figures were emerging on the side of the stone tablet.

Their bodies were shrouded in sand and dust, trembling and swaying involuntarily, as if they had fallen into some kind of trance.

However, the leader quickly recovered. He looked up and around, and soon locked onto He Ao's direction, seeing He Ao's figure.

That was Denon, who led the fighting force in.

More and more figures emerged from the sandstorm, clearly indicating that Denon had gathered enough men and was determined to fight this battle.

He Ao nodded slightly to De Nuoen, then gradually moved away until his figure disappeared into the sand.

The surrounding dust seemed to possess some ability to isolate supernatural powers, even restricting the transmission of supernatural memories, preventing it from breaking through.

The scope that divine sense can perceive is also limited.

Even under such restrictions, He Ao's strength was still enough to keep a sufficient distance and keep a close watch on that team.

Denon glanced in the direction where Heo had disappeared, then looked away and began to wake up the members of the combat squads who were still in a state of chaos.

The flying sand in the sky gradually thinned out, and the blood-red sky, the light of dusk, and the reddish-brown earth gradually revealed their complete form.

Denon had already awakened all his subordinates, but he did not immediately take action. Instead, he stood there, waiting for the entire combat team to fully regain their senses, while also seemingly waiting for something else.

Soon, He Ao knew what he was waiting for.

When the dust in the sky thinned to a certain extent, a shimmering 'rain' began to fall from the blood-red sky.

But what makes up this 'rain' is not water droplets, but rather gray feathers that accumulate together, reflecting a variety of colors, and fall from the sky like a magnificent downpour.

Raven's feather.

These feathers did not fall to the ground, but completely dissipated in the air, as if they were just a phantom projection.

He Ao's gaze was fixed on the feathers. Although these feathers seemed to have fallen randomly from the sky, their tails all pointed in one direction.

Below, upon seeing the feathers, Denon immediately led his men in the direction the feathers indicated.

He lowered his head and followed the combat squad forward.

Soon, their figures swiftly traversed the vast wilderness, passing through the reddish-brown rocks.

As the group moved forward, towering, withered, columnar mountains began to appear around them.

These high mountains, with their massive, tree-bark-like folds, stand haphazardly across the wasteland, forming a continuous mountain range.

Once inside these mountains, the combat team ahead became visibly more cautious.

He Ao followed behind the team, watching the mountains and observing their contours.

Perhaps these 'mountains' don't have tree-like veins, but rather the mountains themselves are fragments of broken branches.

He Ao raised his head and looked at the densely packed mountains.

The more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was a small section of a broken tree branch that had shattered and scattered into fragments.

But if even a small fragment of a broken branch can form such a dense and majestic mountain range, just how big must that tree be?

Ouch——

Just as He Ao was pondering, a slightly rough and mournful wolf howl resounded between heaven and earth.

The combat troops at the front fell silent the moment they heard the sound.

The movements and sounds were further reduced, while the speed was increased.

Awoo awoo awoo awoo—

At that moment, a dense cacophony of wolf howls erupted simultaneously from all directions.

And in an instant, they drew closer and closer, as if appearing in a flash, instantly tightening the encirclement.

At this moment, the combat team at the front slowed down rapidly.

He only saw Denor raise his hand, seemingly making a gesture, and say something to the people around him.

The next instant, everyone in the entire combat team picked up a silver plate.

They held the silver plate high above their heads, then tapped it with their knuckles, producing a clear, resonant sound like striking a gong.

After the knocking sound, the howling of wolves rang out again from all around.

Awoo awoo awoo awoo—

But their howls did not get any closer, remaining at their original level.

It's as if they mistook the people banging on the silver plate for their own kind, howling wolves.

After the gong sounds subsided, the fighting troops at the front began to advance at an orderly pace.

It looks like there are obvious signs of training.

According to Denon, he did not announce the operation plan at the beginning, and no one knew his plans. Therefore, he may have integrated this training into some kind of basic training beforehand.

Although it was a 'surprise attack,' it wasn't an unprepared, impulsive decision.

Denor has probably been preparing for this day for a very, very long time.

He Ao took out a silver plate from his pocket.

Denon also gave him one of these things and told him how to use it.

He Ao gently tapped the silver plate with the back of his hand, following the group in front of him, blending into their rhythm, and quickly moving forward.

The surrounding mountains passed by them like fleeting shadows.

Ouch——

The howling of wolves continued, even chasing after the group's footsteps. They didn't approach, but they didn't go far either.

They maintained a steady distance, following from afar.

Soon, the mountains ahead opened up, revealing the endless wilderness once again.

The howls of the wolves gradually faded into the distance; they seemed unwilling to leave the mountains and approach the wilderness.

Just as everyone was about to leave the wasteland, a sudden, violent wolf howl arose ahead, as if a pack of wolves were waiting for them, lying in wait.

He was slightly taken aback when he heard the wolf howls coming from ahead. His gaze fell on the group of combat soldiers rushing out of the mountains.

When the first wolf howl rang out from the wilderness, the entire combat team visibly trembled slightly.

Ouch——

Immediately afterwards, a second wolf howl echoed across the wasteland ahead.

This time, no obvious wolf pack was seen, but the howling was louder and closer than before, as if they were rushing towards this direction at an extremely high speed.

Ouch——

Immediately afterwards, the howls of wolves that had been closely following the group rang out among the mountains, as if responding to the wolf pack on the wasteland.

The howling of wolves filled the surrounding space, like a bag rapidly closing in, encircling the people in the middle of the pack.

He Ao carefully listened to the sounds of the wolves around him.

The wolf pack's calls didn't actually change; they just overlapped, creating the illusion of 'encirclement' and 'approach'.

His hands tapped the silver plate, keeping pace with the rhythm of the fighting troops ahead.

The rules of the silver plate should still be in effect; the wolf pack hasn't truly 'discovered' them.

He raised his head and looked towards the wasteland. Although the howling of wolves was approaching, he still did not notice the presence of a pack of wolves.

The wolf howls approaching from the wasteland were probably not real.

But the problem now is probably no longer with the wolf pack.

He Ao's gaze fell upon the rapidly advancing combat team ahead.

After the second wolf howl, there was clearly a slight disturbance in the group.

The once uniform sounds became slightly discordant. Although the rhythm was quickly brought back, it was still noticeable that they were not as synchronized as before.

He could sense that Denon was trying to maintain a steady pace, and he also discerned whether the wolf pack ahead was real or fake.

However, a lack of rhythm has already emerged.

No matter how many times they had simulated it before, the pressure of real combat is incomparable to simulation.

Ouch——

At that very moment, a third wolf howl rang out.

This time, the howls of wolves on the wasteland were louder and felt closer than before.

It was as if the wolf pack had already closed in on everyone.

The moment the wolf howled, the previously orderly rhythm of the fighting force abruptly stopped, and then briefly became disordered.

Ouch——

Although the confusion was brief, the surrounding howls changed in an instant.

A dense pack of wolves suddenly appeared among the mountains, cascading down the rocks like a gushing waterfall.

"rush!"

Denon abandoned the drumming altogether, shouted, and charged forward with all his might.

Directly in front of them was an opening in the mountains.