bookbashuk Chapter 140 The Next Stop Isn't Earth?
Chapter 140 The Next Stop Isn't Earth?
boom!!!
A blinding blue light erupted from the pale, bone-like cannon barrel.
The immense recoil caused the ground beneath Jiang Ming's feet to shatter instantly, and he slid back half a meter.
A blue orb of light, composed entirely of highly concentrated magical energy, trailing a long tail of flame, slammed into the tower shield of the foremost guard at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
There was no deafening explosion, only a dull thud, as if space itself were being torn apart.
The steel tower shield, strong enough to withstand heavy ballista fire, vaporized instantly upon contact with the magic energy sphere, like it was made of paper.
Next up was the Lv.22 elite guard.
Before he could even scream, his upper body was completely vaporized in the blue light, leaving only his two thick legs still in a running posture, crashing heavily to the ground.
The remaining force of the magical energy sphere slammed heavily against the thick stone gate of the black fortress.
Rumble—!
This time it was truly earth-shattering.
The hard black rock was blasted to pieces, and the huge shockwave, mixed with countless sharp bone fragments, flew indiscriminately in all directions.
Another guard was thrown into the air by the shockwave and torn to pieces by bone fragments mid-air.
The entire mine seemed to be paused at that moment.
All the orc overseers, guards, and the numb slaves stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at the fortress that had been half-destroyed.
"Let's do it!"
Chen Qi roared in the unloading area and suddenly pulled down a thin thread in his hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions resounded within the iron piles of Deep Blue Star.
The power of high-explosive grenades and fragmentation mines is amplified infinitely in a narrow area.
A dozen orcs who were checking the goods were instantly blasted into the air, and priceless magical ores rained down on them.
"Run!" Lin Yu kicked open the broken door of the prison van and led several students in a frenzied sprint toward the mine gate.
The special operations team members raised their rifles and began firing precise shots at the chaotic orc guards.
The mine was in complete chaos.
Many of the newly captured slaves discovered that the overseers who had bullied them had been blown up, and their long-suppressed anger erupted instantly.
They picked up stones, pickaxes, and even their teeth, and frantically pounced on the surviving orcs.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ming, carrying a still-smoking rocket launcher, stepped through the rubble and entered the fortress.
The fortress was in complete disarray.
Behind a pile of collapsed stone pillars, a giant orc, nearly three meters tall and covered in red mane, struggled to his feet.
【"Bonecrusher" Baal (Lv.26, Warrior-level)】
[Danger Level: High]
【Characteristics: Fire-attribute fighting spirit, indestructible skin, and bloodthirsty berserk state.】
Baal's left arm was mangled and bloody from the explosion, but he seemed to feel no pain at all.
A pair of eyes the size of copper bells stared intently at Jiang Ming, and two streams of hot white breath spewed from his nostrils.
"Human! How dare you attack my territory!" Baal roared, grabbing a giant, two-meter-long cleaver from beside him.
The blade instantly burst into flames.
"Quite a loud voice." Jiang Ming casually tossed the empty rocket launcher into his storage card and pulled out the [Hellfire Hell] with a backhand.
A power of up to 35 points was unleashed without reservation.
Jiang Ming suddenly exerted force with both legs, his whole body turning into a dark red afterimage, and took the initiative to meet the Lv.26 warrior-level monster.
"Die!" Baal swung his burning cleaver down with the force of a mountain crashing down on his head.
Jiang Ming did not take the hit head-on.
"Gravity spell".
hum!
The gravity beneath Baal's feet instantly increased tenfold.
His massive body suddenly sank, and the strike that was originally sure to succeed was abruptly derailed, crashing heavily into the ground beside Jiang Ming and creating a huge crater.
It's now!
Taking advantage of the opponent's lapse in technique, Jiang Ming closed in.
The sword, 【Hellfire and Thunder Prison】, crackled with lightning, its dark blue arcs of electricity intertwining with its crimson flames.
"Overload!"
The greatsword slashed upwards, striking Baal hard in the chest.
A sickening metallic scraping sound rang out.
Baal's proud copper skin and iron body finally broke down in the face of the epic greatsword.
A deep, bone-revealing wound cut from his abdomen down to his throat, from which dark red blood gushed out.
"Roar—!" Baal went berserk in extreme pain, directly triggering [Bloodlust Berserk].
He threw away the cleaver, opened his mouth full of fangs, and pounced on Jiang Ming recklessly, trying to crush him with his massive body.
"You're courting death." Jiang Ming sneered.
He used his sword to defend himself with his right hand, and with his left hand he quickly took out a [Potential Acidic Mine] that he had synthesized earlier from his storage card and stuffed it directly into Baal's wide-open mouth.
boom!
Jiang Ming kicked Bal in the stomach, using the force to send him flying backward.
next second.
A muffled explosion rang out in Baal's mouth.
The potent corrosive acid mixed with poisonous gas gushed out from his seven orifices in an instant.
This Lv.26 warrior-level monster didn't even have time to scream before its massive body crashed to the ground, its head already corroded into a puddle of mud by the acid.
[Defeat "Bonecrusher" Baal (Lv.26) to gain 2600 experience points.]
[Defeat a higher-level opponent and gain an additional 1000 experience points.]
Jiang Ming shook off the acid from the blade and stepped forward to begin looting the corpse.
[Obtained: Warrior-level Orc Blood Essence *1]
[Obtained: 3 Superior Fire Attribute Crystals]
[Obtained: Broken Flame Cleaver *1]
Looking at the three red crystals in his hand that emitted a strong fire elemental aura, Jiang Ming nodded in satisfaction.
This trip was worthwhile.
He stuffed all the spoils into his storage card and turned to leave the crumbling fortress.
Just then.
Boom—!
The ground beneath my feet suddenly began to shake violently.
It wasn't the kind of tremor caused by an explosion, but rather something extremely large that was churning underground.
From the tunnel deep within the fortress leading to the underground mine, a dark red flame, carrying a strong smell of sulfur, suddenly erupted.
Immediately afterwards, an extremely deep roar, seemingly from ancient times, came from the depths of the earth.
The oppressive force emanating from that voice even caused Jiang Ming's nerves, which had been strengthened by the [Iron Will], to feel a stinging pain.
[Warning! An unknown high-level creature has been detected awakening!]
[Danger Level: Extremely Deadly!]
Jiang Ming stopped and looked back at the tunnel from which flames were billowing out, his brows furrowing deeply.
"What else is hidden beneath this dilapidated mine?"
Jiang Ming stood on the edge of the collapsing fortress, the red text "[Extremely Deadly]" flashing on the panel sending chills down his spine.
His principle is to never fight a battle he's not confident of winning.
"Retreat." Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and ran.
Behind them, the tunnel leading to the underground mine was completely blown open, and a column of dark red magma shot into the sky, directly blowing the dome of the fortress away.
Jiang Ming activated the [Gravity Spell] and applied it in reverse to himself, making him as light as a feather. With a few leaps, he rushed out of the fortress ruins.
The unloading area outside is in complete chaos.
The explosives detonated by Chen Qi not only killed more than a dozen orc overseers, but also blasted a large gap in the surrounding fence.
The rioting slaves were brandishing pickaxes and fighting fiercely with the remaining orc guards.
"Brother Jiang! Over here!"
A heavy ore truck pulled by two kodo beasts burst out of the thick smoke.
Chen Qi gripped the reins tightly, while several special operations team members beside him were firing wildly with rifles.
In the back of the truck, Lin Yu and several students clung tightly to each other, too scared to even lift their heads.
Jiang Ming used his legs to propel himself into the truck bed with precision.
"Forget about those orcs, charge out!" Jiang Ming slapped the edge of the carriage.
Chen Qimeng cracked the whip.
The two kodo beasts let out a roar, strutted with their thick limbs, and smashed through the orcs blocking their way like two out-of-control bulldozers, rushing out towards the gate.
Less than 500 meters from the mine, the underground tremors suddenly intensified.
boom!
The black rock mountain in the center of the Black Rock Mine split open from the middle.
A massive claw, made entirely of lava and obsidian, gripped the edge of the crack.
Immediately afterwards, an indescribably enormous head emerged, and with a single breath, it burned hundreds of orcs and slaves around it to ashes.
"Holy crap... what is that thing?" Chen Qi looked back and almost threw the reins away.
Jiang Ming didn't turn around: "Don't look! Step on the gas... no, even if you have to break the whip, you have to run faster!"
The lava behemoth clearly didn't take these fleeing "ants" seriously; its attention was entirely focused on the deep blue star iron ore rich in magical energy.
The Kodo Beast ran wildly for a full half hour until the Black Rock Mine behind it became a small black dot emitting thick smoke, at which point its speed gradually slowed down.
The two giant beasts were foaming at the mouth, clearly having reached their limit.
"Brother Jiang, I can't run anymore." Chen Qi wiped the black ash mixed with cold sweat from his face. "This beast is going to die from exhaustion."
Jiang Ming stood up and looked around.
This is a desolate Gobi desert, where not a single blade of grass can be seen except for weathered rock pillars.
As darkness began to fall, a hazy mist rose from the horizon.
"Rest here and check the ammunition." Jiang Ming jumped out of the car and planted the [Fire and Thunder Prison] in the ground.
Several students helped each other climb out of the truck bed. Lin Yu approached, his voice still trembling, "Brother Jiang... are we safe?"
"Never ask such stupid questions in this world." Jiang Ming took out a bottle of water and tossed it over. "Keep some for later."
Just then.
"Ugh—!!!"
A deep, long whistle suddenly pierced through the gray fog and exploded across the vast Gobi Desert.
The kettle in Chen Qi's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
He turned his head as if he'd seen a ghost, staring intently into the depths of the fog: "Brother Jiang... what's going on..."
Jiang Ming drew his greatsword and narrowed his eyes.
Amidst billowing gray fog, a long, black steel train without windows glided along the gravel-strewn Gobi Desert in a manner that completely defied the laws of physics.
On the exaggeratedly streamlined armor of the front of the vehicle, there were still some dried dark red bloodstains.
The Pioneer train.
"Why is this train here?" Chen Qi swallowed hard.
"Let's go. In this situation, anywhere it takes us is better than staying here." Jiang Ming watched the train slow down, and the familiar red light lit up at the door. "Take the supplies and get on the train."
"Really?" Marlowe, leading his dire wolf, backed away in fright. "This thing looks even more sinister than an orc!"
"You can also choose to stay." Jiang Ming didn't bother with any more words, picked up his sword, and was the first to walk towards the train.
Chen Qi gritted his teeth and waved his hand: "Special Operations Team, keep up! Lin Yu, tell your comrades to hurry up and catch up!"
The group of people pulled and dragged each other, rushing into the open car door in the last few seconds before the red light started flashing.
"Crack—Sizzle!"
The heavy black car doors slammed shut in an instant.
It completely shuts out the sandstorms of the Gobi Desert and the distant roars of beasts.
The carriage was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.
Jiang Ming walked skillfully to the car door and pressed the red lever.
The train jolted slightly, a powerful push came from behind, and the Pioneer started up again, disappearing into the gray fog.
The carriage was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the heavy breathing of the passengers.
Lin Yu and several students collapsed onto the black leather floor, breathing in the fresh air supplied by the circulatory system.
"This...this is a train? Why isn't there even a seat inside?" A girl wearing glasses timidly looked around at the dark red crystals embedded in the surroundings.
"Don't touch it!" Chen Qi shouted. "This car is very strange. If you touch anything forbidden, you might lose your life."
Jiang Ming ignored their reactions and walked straight through the empty carriage to the huge display screen at the end.
He wanted to see what kind of malfunction this train would have this time.
On the screen, blood-red characters were jumping wildly.
[A high-risk energy burst has been detected. Forced jump initiation initiated.]
[Current Site: Bloodskull Tribe - Blackrock Mine (Coordinates in Collapse)]
[Next stop: Blue Star - Country C - Dongjiang City (overlapping area)]
[Departure countdown: Departed. Estimated arrival time: 30 minutes.]
Jiang Ming stared at those lines of text, raising an eyebrow.
Chen Qi leaned closer and peered at the screen.
"Blue Star... Country C... Dongjiang City..." Chen Qi pronounced each word carefully, his voice first filled with doubt, then rising sharply, and finally cracking, "Blue Star?! Isn't our home planet Earth?!"
That shout woke everyone in the carriage up.
"What? Dongjiang City, Country C, on Earth?"
"Can we go home now?"
Lin Yu scrambled over, staring intently at the screen, tears streaming down his face: "It really is Dongjiang City! My home is in Dongjiang City! We're saved!"
Several students hugged each other, crying and laughing at the same time.
The special operations team members looked at each other, and the atmosphere in the entire carriage was extremely eerie.
Chen Qi strode over, grabbed Lin Yu by the collar, and glared at him, asking, "You just said your home is in Dongjiang City? Which Dongjiang City?"
Lin Yu was startled by Chen Qi's murderous expression and stammered, "It's...it's Dongjiang City in Jiangnan Province, Country C. Brother, judging by your equipment, aren't you from our Dongjiang City Special Operations Team?"