Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 253 Avalon

Humph~
The sound of footsteps echoed on the solid ice. Not long after, Qin Huai had reached the end of the sea. Further ahead was a circle of dark blue water that was dozens of meters wide.

"I'm afraid I'm the first one to go swimming in this damn place in winter."

Although he didn't know where this place was exactly, looking at the surrounding icy sea, Qin Huai felt that this place was most likely related to the mysterious Ice Sea.

Thump~
Qin Huaiyu jumped into the sea and immediately felt countless ice needles piercing his body. The [Penglai Immortal] that integrated the four realms of Taoism greatly improved his ability to resist cold, and also greatly improved his perception. The feedback from the cold was not weaker than that of ordinary people, but even stronger.

Qin Huai seemed unaware and quickly paddled to a black reef, stretching out his cloud tail to touch the mottled copper pillar on it.

Everything in this damn place is unknown. It is too risky to explore the way with the physical body. It is safer to use the heavenly weather that can be interrupted and abandoned at any time.

Ever since the last [Shangqing Sanmao Taiyi Resurrection Talisman] was used on Linlang, the only medicine talisman Qin Huai had on hand was the Ganlu Blue Talisman.

It's not that he didn't want to draw a few more purple talismans in his spare time, it's just that there was no auction house to replenish the spiritual materials and blood ink, and a good cook cannot cook without rice.

After all, he didn't expect to be stranded in this Yanfu incident for so long, and the originally sufficient reserves of talismans seemed insufficient.

The golden-red cloud tail reached out to the mottled copper pillar, but it was like touching a bubble, and passed through without any hindrance.

"Hmm? A mirage? Or a mirage?"

Qin Huai looked at the light and shadows surrounding the tail of the cloud, which were rippling in spots. With a thought, a huge wave suddenly rose and hit the stone island.

The sound of waves hitting the water was heard, but there was not a single splash of water on the stone island in the distance. As the huge waves subsided, it also returned to its original state.

"If it's not above the water, then it's under the water?"

Qin Huai looked around at the empty icy sea and thought of the country of the dead where he rested.

Is there a special way to get there?
Qin Huai stopped treading water, but took a deep breath and dived underwater. Dense bubbles swept in from all directions, as if trying to hold him up.

The high-density flesh body was sinking, but the abnormal buoyancy offset most of the weight, making Qin Huai feel like he was floating in space. There seemed to be an ancient voice hidden in the silence, and the whole world seemed to be moving away from him at a rapid speed.

Qin Huai's eyes flashed with brilliance, but he finally chose to indulge in this feeling without any resistance until the sea lifted him up again.

He was rising faster and faster, and finally he rushed out of the water!

Warm air rushed into his lungs, and he opened his eyes. In front of him was the green sea and the blue sky. Strange clouds were floating in the sky, and the mysterious aurora fell from the sky, illuminating the lonely stone island in the sea!

Suddenly, crimson bytes began to jump wildly in front of Qin Huai's eyes.

[You have opened the special Yama event: the legendary island of Avalon! ]

Avalon, Tirnano, the Garden of the Golden Apple, and the Garden of Eden, the eternal place, the place protected by elves, and the island of life and death referred to in ancient myths are all here.

This is the core of the entire world!
The event requirements are as follows: Explore! The settlement reward depends on the final explored area.

Note: Under the shining stars and the frozen sea, the great existence of the old era danced wildly on the edge of truth. His wisdom touched the origin of the world, but it brought punishment from heaven and destroyed civilization. Western scholars who copied others' ideas used the cursed heritage without restraint, without considering the consequences. The deepest part of Avalon hides the secrets of the seven kingdoms of alchemy. Long-term study of the truth here can greatly speed up the learning of related specializations, but it will also drag scholars into the unknowable twisted abyss.
At the same time, Qin Huai heard Zero's voice, which was rarely accompanied by obvious emotional ups and downs:
"Attention, Master Walker! Avalon is guarded by the [Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse], [Lady of the Lake], [Green Knight] and other intelligent mechanical creations. Among them, the [Green Knight] specializes in killing spirits and souls. Please be careful, Master Walker!"

"Attention, Master Walker! This Jambu incident is extremely dangerous, please act according to your ability."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Yanfu incident and all the clues provided by Zero were connected one by one in Qin Huai's mind. As for the true face of this island and its various peculiar properties, when these clues came together, he had no doubt that this so-called Avalon was also a Nibelung!
Of course, there can't be a normal island with towering trees in the Arctic Ocean. The environment of Avalon is very similar to the Mediterranean Sea around Florence, so the world of Avalon is definitely distorted, just like the ruins of the old era in the Parthian Archaeology are distorted tombs.

Legend has it that time does not flow in Avalon, and in the Nibelungen ruins of the old era, time does not flow or flows very slowly. The length of time Qin Huai and his team spent exploring seemed like only a few dozen minutes to outsiders.

As for the aurora and strong atmospheric ionization, they are also caused by Avalon.

To actually reach Avalon, one has to pass through a material interface, just like the huge bronze door, just like the mirror-like surface of the Black Sea under the white moon just now.

And here, isn't the interface made of water the sea surface? The sea reflects Avalon like a mirror. In fact, it is not a mirage at all. Avalon is a Nibelungen existing in the water mirror!

It is both an island and an abyss, and the way to reach it is simple: just jump into the water.

After figuring out the key points, Qin Huai swam towards Avalon at lightning speed. There was no wind at all here, and the sea surface was flat, presenting a texture like blue glass. Qin Huai, accelerated by the vortex, cut the glass like a sharp blade, and the white scar healed silently after a moment, returning to its original state.

The sky is densely covered with blue clouds. If you look closely, you can see ripples in the clouds like sea water. Looking deeper into the sea, you can feel a faint band of light on the bottom of the sea, like a huge blue skirt.

Qin Huai suddenly came up with a bold idea: the reason why Avalon "disappeared" was because it was hidden in the mirror image of the sea by some unknown existence, so it could not be discovered by ordinary people at all?
Perhaps the sky above his head is actually tens of millions of tons of Arctic Ocean water, and the sea below him is the sky with the aurora hanging.

Qin Huai looked around but could not see the border between the sea and the sky. There was a green mist there. Even with [Breaking Delusion], he could not figure out the truth. That should be the border. Judging from this, this Nibelungen is not actually very big. Everything revolves around that lonely stone island.

Shidao is waiting for visitors in absolute silence, just like an ancient relic that has existed since time immemorial.

Qinhuai swam all the way to the dock without encountering any problems. There were no seabirds or rain. The air was warm and humid, reminiscent of the ancient Mediterranean. This island had been symbolized as "death" in some paintings, but at this moment it exuded motherly warmth.

But is death such a warm, quiet and lonely thing?

Qin Huai couldn't explain it. He had "died" many times in the Dharma Transmission Space. Whenever he faced death, his trained intuition about danger would give him a warning, but not this time.

The pier was very small, made of simply cut stones, and it was a simple pier that could only accommodate one small boat. There was only one stone pillar to tie the boat. It was almost exactly the same as described in the Celtic myth. Did the boat carrying King Arthur dock here?
Qin Huai thought to himself, and raised the [Shadow Double Guns] in his hand slightly, so that he could fire quickly when encountering an emergency. Speaking of which, these military knowledge were taught to him by KKB in the research institute a long time ago. Shaking his head to disperse the messy thoughts, he continued to move forward with vigilance.

Ahead of the pier is a path with Torreya grandis trees on both sides. The mysterious skylight casts the shadows of the trees on Qinhuai River. White stone lanterns seem to be placed casually in the corners of the road. It is so quiet and lonely, like a road leading to a cemetery.

The wind from Qinhuai River circled around a stone lantern, but it didn't stir up any dust, as if someone cleaned it every day. But looking at the road that had never been walked on, there was a thin layer of grass. Heavy boots would have left clear footprints. But if someone came to clean it, how could there be no footprints?

It seems that this stone island is sealed in time, immortal and timeless.
The island was not very big, and Qin Huai soon approached the inner part of the island, where there grew towering trees, and the dark green shadows of the trees looked like green clouds in the air.

This tree looks very much like a cypress, with a tall and straight shape and the lines on the trunk twisted like dragons and snakes, but cypress trees should not be this tall. Qin Huai roughly estimated that these trees might be a hundred meters tall, or even taller.

Stone sculptures began to appear on the roadside. The carvings were very exquisite. Some were winged lions, some were long snakes covered with hair and feathers, and most were men and women. The men wore bone masks and the women wore light veils. They looked like both tribal ancestors and Roman aristocrats.

Qin Huai withdrew his gaze from the exquisite stone carvings of different styles but unclear meanings, took out a few talismans and continued walking forward.

A white altar-like building vaguely appeared in front of us, a bit like Stonehenge. On the stone beams hung long, translucent objects, like the veils that ancient monarchs or noble ladies hung to cover their faces when traveling.

Qin Huai walked closer in a few steps and looked at the Stonehenge, which was many times larger than the one in England, with endless speculations in his mind.

There was nothing in the Stonehenge, only the "veils" hanging in a disorderly manner on the stone beams.

The shape of the gauze curtain was a bit strange, like a long bag woven with gauze. When it was stretched out, it was about as thick as a person could hug together, and was about several dozen meters long.

[Plague Snake Shed]: Snake sheds carry all kinds of deadly toxins and virulent bacteria. Do not approach!
"Snake slough?!"

Qin Huai stepped back and took out the gas mask he bought from Tianjiu from his personal space and put it on. At the same time, a rustling sound came from the giant dragon cypress trees surrounding the stone formation. The huge black shadows hidden in the shade of the trees woke up, and they coiled around the dragon cypress and swam downwards like agile dragons.

【Plague Serpent】

Category: Monster

Rating: Ten

A minion of Plague, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he possesses a distorted snake body and venomous fangs that harbor filth and dirt.

The smallest of them is more than ten meters long, and the largest is over thirty or forty meters long. Their abdomen is as green as grass and their backs are covered with dark blue scales. They look a bit like the anacondas living in the Amazon jungle, but anacondas cannot grow this big.

The muzzle of the huge revolver was pointed at the giant snake at the head, and it could fire a deadly high-explosive bomb at any time. Qin Huai stared at the snake group in full readiness, as if he was ready to kill it at any time.

But these [Plague Snakes] just spit out their snake tongues, glanced at Qin Huai, and then moved away from the Stonehenge in all directions. Their huge bodies rolled through the grass, like a millstone being pushed past, and the grass leaves fell over and turned black, leaving wavy lines.

The stone formation was surrounded by mountain walls, and the giant snakes climbed up along the mountain walls. The huge snake bodies collided with the mountain walls, and the rumbling sound echoed everywhere. All the dragon cypress trees were shaking, and the dark green leaves seemed to fall from the sky like a blizzard.

"Look at the vertical and horizontal battles, the dragons and snakes rising from the land, the collapse of the earth, and the snow pouring down the river."

Looking at the wonderful scene in front of him, Qin Huai couldn't help but think of Mr. Jiaxuan's "Qinyuanchun".

Is the way out in the mountains?
Qin Huai thought about it and felt that the group of giant snakes were leading the way, but the snake marks they left behind were highly poisonous, and it seemed that they didn't want anyone to follow.

Huhu~
The cloud wings fluttered, the wind rolled, Qin Huai kept climbing along the dragon cypress tree, and the full picture of Avalon gradually appeared before him.

The island was surrounded by a circle of curved mountain walls with only one gap, where the pier was built. Inside the inner circle formed by giant cypress trees was a small clear spring lake, like an emerald embedded on the stone island.

In addition, there is a gloomy cemetery, an ancient arena, a saline wasteland and a miasma swamp on the island, each occupying a corner of the island, surrounding the cypress trees and guarding the clear spring lake.

This geological structure looked like it was formed naturally, but it was too regular, reminding Qin Huai of the Tianrui headquarters which had the same axe marks.

Looking at the neatly arranged caves on the mountain wall, Qin Huai's eyes flashed with a gleam, and in an instant he chose a cave to enter.

The flames brought by the red slurry illuminated the depths of the cave. Under the uneven and rough rock ceiling was a lonely coffin.

A coffin made entirely of metal, with vine-like patterns carved all over, as if it were wrapped by an ancient golden tree.

"【Seraphim's Coffin】? There's 【Omega】 in it?!"

Qin Huai had seen the same type of holy coffin before, at the end of the Chachi Campaign. At that time, Omega was sleeping in such a holy coffin, and was used by the Papal States to cover their retreat.

Two iron hoops as thick as arms tightly bound the head and tail of the holy coffin. Each hoop was connected to four thick iron chains, and the iron rods at the end of the chains were deeply inserted into the rock.

Qin Huai looked at the information sent by Jinghong at a glance, without any extra movements, but silently looked at the surrounding environment.

There was a small polished piece on the rock wall next to the cave, on which was carved dragon characters. Each line was an angry snake, and all the strokes combined looked like a group of aggressive snakes.

Qin Huai took out a cowhide notebook and planned to copy and record these dragon characters for future research.

Three minutes later, Qin Huai quietly exited the cave and prepared to check the surrounding cave entrances that were similar to each other to see if he could find anything else.

At this moment, in the northwest cemetery of Avalon, a dark vortex as big as a finger was slowly opening.
(End of this chapter)