Chapter 00068: The Sound of the Bell
# - The Sound of the Bell
Chapter 68
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 68 - The Sound of the Bell
Boom!!!
In the blink of an eye, Ji Jue lunged forward, skillfully maneuvering to escape the pursuing illusion-wielding female assassin.
Despite the distance of over ten meters between them, he almost met his end as he hit the ground, only to feel a dagger pierce deep into his back.
At that moment, it was not just any dagger that exploded, but the two grenades hanging from the woman’s waist.
To be precise, it was two grenades packed with 300 grams of explosive material, along with an electric net launcher...
In an instant, the chaotic world of illusions came to an abrupt halt.
What replaced it was a terrifying explosion that shot fire upwards like a blazing torch.
There wasn’t even a chance to scream before the deadly shrapnel and the violent force of the explosives tore through the air like a furnace's inferno, leaving nothing but shattered remains.
Only half a charred body flew out from the shockwave, landing beside the giant beast.
Whether it was the last flicker of life or something else, the grotesquely burned face moved as if in a silent plea.
"Xiao Su!!!"
Caught off guard by this sudden turn, the giant beast could hardly comprehend the shocking transformation of its long-time companion into a barely breathing corpse.
A piercing cry erupted from its throat.
Without a moment's thought about continuing to attack An Ran, it turned and rushed towards its dying ally, revealing a glimmer of spiritual light in its hands as it desperately tried to save her.
Alas, it was too late.
Just as the last words were about to escape her lips, a shard of metal had already lodged itself in her skull, emerging from the other side.
The ritual of throwing the jug—relying on the ear!
The moment the giant realized its comrade was dead, it unleashed a deafening roar, its body swelling once again.
Bone structures erupted from its face, resembling the antlers of a giant stag, covered in blood vessels!
Tendrils of bloodfire surrounded it like solid substance.
The spiraling matrix—Wendigo!
It paid no heed to the blood and life being consumed, forcibly elevating its prowess to a mythical level, transforming into a monster from tales and legends.
It charged forward, roaring as metal shards whizzed by like shooting stars!
At the same moment, the voice of Xiao An rang in Ji Jue's ears:
“Brother Ji Jue, get down!”
Get down?
Where to hide? How to hide?
In an instant, doubts swirled in his mind without answers, but Ji Jue's body, still pressed against the ground, surged forward as if propelled by electricity.
Forgetting the pain and burning sensation in his limbs and back, and even the urge to vomit amidst the dizziness, the aftermath of the explosion was pushed aside.
Ji Jue swiftly slapped his hand on his own body.
White Deer Emblem.
With all his might, he pounced forward.
In the next moment, the wall behind him shattered with a deafening crash, struck as if by an unseen hammer.
A blazing bullet grazed along his thigh, embedding itself into the opposite wall of the hall, vanishing from sight.
There’s a sniper!
Cold sweat drenched Ji Jue's brow.
Brother, can you fire? Lock it and shoot through walls? No pretense at all?
The moment the bullet nearly missed him, he sensed his ability taking hold, parameters rushing through his mind— a 12.7mm caliber anti-material sniper rifle, Imperial make, in prime condition, well-maintained.
The bullet raced over a distance of more than 800 meters!
Boom!
Another shot was fired toward Xiao An's head.
The little cow and horse had already started their sprint at Ji Jue’s command, evading the giant beast like a kite, never colliding head-on with the enemy.
After all, against the terrifying strength of Wendigo, a single punch could turn the little cow and horse into a meat pie.
In the distance, the Ether Chosen One, expressionless, squeezed the trigger again.
In the booming sound, a bullet flew out, stirring up a cloud of dust that rose and fell in terror.
To his surprise, he was still a moment too late!
In an attempt to avoid triggering any murderous intent or blessing from the White Deer’s way too soon, he had prepared only in the last moments, only to watch helplessly as his teammate perished in the explosion.
In the reflection on the water dish, battle scenes from the ruins emerged, a wandering targeting reticle locked onto Ji Jue once again, and the trigger was squeezed!
Another deafening sound reverberated.
This time, Ji Jue was nearly blasted apart by the near-miss.
Run, kid! If you flee, it will only lead to your demise!
The sniper sneered, pulling the bolt back, ejecting the hot shell casing, but as he retargeted, he found Ji Jue standing still.
He half-kneeled on the ground, hand raised, directing a weapon toward him...
It was a rifle?!
Yet the style and model stunned the sniper into silence.
It was the Federation’s Thunder model lever-action rifle, a length of 1134mm, .
40 caliber, effective firing range of 800 meters...
In the annals of modern firearms history, this rifle had a storied past, responsible for countless deaths and victories that instilled fear in its enemies.
The only issue was...
This was an outdated relic from 120 years ago!
Who knew where that kid found this antique? The sniper nearly laughed out loud, no, he was already laughing.
His expression turned sinister.
Completely indifferent to Ji Jue's aiming motions, he targeted Ji Jue as well.
Come on, kid, let me send you on your way!
Bang!
In an instant, two thunderous shots erupted simultaneously from either side, gunfire and smoke billowing up.
But in that fleeting moment, what shot forth from Ji Jue’s barrel was a blinding silver light that hurt everyone’s eyes... that had just been thrown over from Xiao An’s hand.
There wasn’t a matrix of the An family passed down; instead, Xiao An’s matrix was one she discovered later in the barren wilderness, called Sword’s Cry.
The effect was simple: transform one’s spiritual essence and attach it to a material object, creating a sword-like effect for a brief period.
What burst forth from the gun’s chamber now was the flow of sword energy!
Screeching and flying, it crossed a long distance, and in a split second, collided head-on with the armor-piercing sniper bullet, releasing a dazzling cold light.
Right through the center, it cleaved!
Then, the silver light surged forth, piercing through 800 meters to embed itself in the sniper rifle's scope, finally emerging from the back of the sniper's skull.
Crimson and pallid intertwined, bursting forth, flowing out.
The sniper was no more.
In his last moments, he could only murmur softly, “So fast.”
[Report, Commander, target eliminated.]
Even before the bullet left the chamber, Ji Jue felt a voice resonate within his hand’s Thunder, as if it were an old soldier, reserved in speech, choosing words carefully.
Having experienced four predecessors through the bloodshed in middle land, and with long-term spiritual cultivation, it finally returned quietly with its user to the Federation, fading into obscurity.
It had been when Ji Jue made his request that Sister Leila had scoured the market, later finding the relic from a veteran’s home in the soldiers' aid association.
After Ji Jue’s disassembly, processing, and care, this antique that had collected dust on display for over twenty years finally regained its formidable spirit unique to weapons!
Next, only one opponent remained.
Ji Jue turned to face the mad giant.
After losing communication with the fallen teammate, the leader, Wendigo, finally sensed the trouble.
In fury, he leaped toward Xiao An without care, but in mid-air, enormous wings erupted from his back, whirling winds lifting him off the ground and soaring into the sky.
He fled, but it was already too late.
Following the storm of thrown jugs and hunter’s bullets, the giant beast fell into an even worse predicament, outflanked completely by Xiao An and Ji Jue.
There was no escape left.
“Wait, I—”
Wendigo raised his hand, opening his mouth to speak, leaving half an unfinished last word.
A wisp of dark light shot from Xiao An’s sleeve, piercing through his eye socket like a bird, emerging from the back of his head, leaving behind a gaping hole.
Finally, it returned to the grasp of Xiao An, disappearing without a trace.
From the start, Ji Jue couldn’t see what it was.
“Don’t we leave a single survivor to ask questions?” Ji Jue raised his gun and stepped closer, confirming Wendigo’s status, only to find Wendigo had fallen silent, killed in one strike!
“Oh right.”
Xiao An seemed to have realized something, slowly coming to terms, but quickly waved it away: “In the end, it’s not for revenge, just for the bounty. Every question is just the same old script, it’s just a matter of getting used to it.”
“…Can anyone really get used to this kind of ghostly thing?” Ji Jue twitched at the corner of his eye.
“Well, after a long time and many occurrences, you just get used to it. You might be getting there soon too, Brother Ji Jue.”
Xiao An spoke bluntly: “Among the few just now, nearly half of the hostility was directed at you. Seems your bounty isn’t low either.”
“…”
Ji Jue felt his facial expression wearing thin.
“Don’t worry, most of these guys can only act up in the Rift. After all, outside, no one dares to mess with you. If they can take down Sister Wen, they likely wouldn’t be targeting you.”
“…”
Ji Jue's expression tightened further.
Damn, so my price is still considered a cheap deal, right? Those who can fight don’t dare to, and those who dare to fight have no interest.
It’s like being tasteless and unsatisfying.
No, I’m still a new apprentice at the Tidesound Workshop!
I have powerful supporters!
Despite Professor Ye likely being too lazy to handle such troubles, it doesn’t hinder my pretense of authority!
With such heavyweights behind me, what should I fear!
In the brief respite, the two took a moment to recover.
As they approached the bell tower, the distant booming grew clearer, sometimes sounding from the left, sometimes from the right.
It seemed the world of resentment clashing in the ruins extended beyond the few that had come to them.
One [Whirl], one [Mirror], and another [Ether].
"This haul is really fruitful."
Ji Jue pulled out the Ghost Worker Sphere, rubbing his hands together as he approached the corpses, ready to extract parts of the blessings embedded in the soul of the Chosen One, before it completely dissipated.
Though some blessings might be lost and incomplete, having fused with the soul, meaning they couldn’t be utilized by others, they were still valuable materials.
The Ghost Worker Sphere contained the function of a 'blessing cage', capable of temporarily holding blessings bestowed by the upper benevolent spirits, to be used in Ji Jue’s future alchemical endeavors.
Though the Ember faction can’t fight, when it comes to wickedness, they truly compete fiercely among the twelve upper benevolence levels, often even outshining the ones accustomed to hypnosis and brainwashing.
After so many years of facing off in the Chicken Eating Competition within the quality realm, a complete process of disposing of corpses and recycling waste had been established, highly replicable, giving rise to countless theories and schools.
There were even those who, after crossing into the realms of Ember and Whirl, directly refined the corpses of the Chosen Ones into dolls and tools.
Compared to that, Ji Jue's method could only be viewed as respectful burial, worthy and gentle.
He hadn’t even drawn the adversaries' souls directly to toss into the furnace for nurturing.
Truly, he was tearing up inside.
[Wait, something’s not right.]
The Ghost Worker Sphere suddenly spoke: [There’s a problem, don’t move!]
Ji Jue’s movements stiffened in place.
He carefully took a step back, then another.
Then he saw the two corpses before him suddenly crack open, followed by the second, third, fourth cracks...
They were rapidly dehydrated, turning to ashes.
The thick blood and spiritual essence transformed into thin streams.
Pulled by an invisible force, they drifted forward, flowing straight toward...
The direction of the bell tower!
Dong!!!
In that moment, a soul-shaking chime resounded from afar!
(End of this chapter)