"You may be seated."

In the center of the town called Aren, in a sacrificial hall made entirely of rock and white glow crystal, the Heroic Swordsman returned to his seat, a sword shrine with a stone longsword in the center of the sacrificial hall, and only an ethereal voice echoed through the hall.

With the heroic spirit's words, a wooden chair placed in the corner was moved by an invisible force behind the warrior.

Joshua sat down unceremoniously, then looked at the temple with curious eyes.

By the name of the town, the names of the other villagers, and the name of this Primary-level Heroic Spirit, the warrior could roughly guess the situation of this place—the entire village and town on the hill was the descendant of this Arena Astoria, whose name became the name of the town, and he also relied on the worship of his descendants to become a heroic spirit, and guarded his bloodline in the last days of the undead.

It's easy to guess, and neither the swordsman nor the other villagers have anything to hide, and it seems that this situation is the norm for the world of Grandia.

There is always a hint of coldness in the mountains in the middle of the night, but there are crystals flickering in the sacrificial hall, releasing the warm light of magic, and the torches on both sides of the sword mound are also burning with long-lasting flames, drumming out bursts of heat, and in the sword mound that is like a trapezoidal altar, the old swordsman's calm voice came out: "In order to reduce consumption, I will not appear as an entity, I think you can understand." ”

"Of course I don't care."

Sitting in his chair, the warrior shrugged his shoulders, and with the help of the system, he now became more and more proficient in the Grandia World Language: "But to be honest, Mr. Arennes, I can see that you don't welcome me, so I won't be polite now, don't worry, as long as you can answer some of my doubts, I will naturally leave without disturbing your peaceful life." ”

The observation of the Extreme Warrior was so keen, and the faint alienation and indifference in the old swordsman's expression were not hidden, and anyone could see it.

"Not welcome, not really, but in the face of a 'Heavenly Realm' powerhouse who suddenly appeared and claimed to be a person from another world, a small mountain town will naturally feel extremely frightened, even if this strong man does not have any malicious intentions, just like a hare will fear the elephants passing by the nest."

In the sword shrine, Aren's faint voice sounded, his reply was simple and direct, but it was also a sign of sincerity: "Warrior Joshua, you saved the life of my descendant, so as long as you ask, I will do my best to answer, and promise that nothing is missing, no attempt to conceal anything, and in my spiritual personality, this is true." ”

The language used by the old swordsman is the ancient Grandian lingua franca, and its grammatical sentence structure is quite different from the current one, even the locals occasionally find it difficult to understand, but for Joshua, who has a systematic dictionary, there is no difference between the two, hearing Yaren's words, the warrior did not hesitate, and simply asked: "What is the geographical situation of this world roughly?" Where is this town located in it? Why are there so many shadow monsters on the outskirts of the wilderness? ”

"The name of this world is Grandia, its name comes from the first explorer who traveled around the continent, I will ask others to get a copy of the map of the continent for you later, this town is located on the southeast edge of the continent, and a little further east or south, there is the Green Tide Sea."

Aren's words were smooth and clear, he seemed to be afraid that the warrior would not understand, and occasionally stopped to explain two proper nouns, but when it came to the shadow monsters in Joshua's mouth, the old man's tone finally carried a hint of anger: "As for those 'dead shadows', as the name suggests, they are naturally the shadows produced after the resurrection of the dead. ”

Under the careful narration of the other party, the warrior finally had a general understanding of the situation in this world.

About thirty years ago, the entire continent of Grandia was divided and ruled by two powerful empires, and the other small states sandwiched between the two empires have long since lost their ability to govern themselves and can only become their vassals.

The two empires, one occupying the southeast of the continent and the other occupying the northwest of the continent, were ruled by mountains, rivers, and fortresses. Because the internal development and internal contradictions of the two sides have reached a limit, and there is an urgent need for external expansion to transfer the contradictions, one or two bloody conflicts will break out from time to time at the border, and proxy wars between small countries will also be launched from time to time.

"And that's when the 'cataclysm' happened." The mood returned to stability, and the old man recounted the events at that time in an indifferent tone.

The Ulan Empire, located in the northwest, has always been known for its strong psionic strength, and its country has even popularized psionic cultivation among the whole people, and the vast majority of the people have primary or so psionic powers, and can freely drive many magic instruments, if it weren't for the Gelug Empire in the southeast to occupy the Heavenly Fortress, the population is three times that of it, and the top 'Heavenly Realm' powerhouse is no less than, or even surpasses it, then the elite Ulan Psionic Army has already swept the whole world and unified the whole continent.

But one day twenty-seven years ago, an unbelievable change occurred around Gaitar, the capital of the Ulan Empire - this huge city with a psionic emperor, six magic marshals, a population of more than seven million, and a total of more than ten heavenly realm powerhouses, in an inexplicable earthquake, instantly turned into a dead realm without any living people, and the three psionic magic guide legions of the Ulan Empire tried to explore the changes in the capital, but only a few survived.

"From that day on, the mutation began to spread to the whole world centered on Gettar, and the Gelug Empire, which was overwhelmed and completely unaware of the situation, was naturally not immune."

When he said this, a pair of eyes like flames condensed above the sword mound, and these eyes looked up at the top of the altar, as if they could penetrate the rock formations and crystals, and see the sky behind them, the old man said softly: "The entire continent is surrounded by a layer of black mist, and the light of the sun and moon becomes dim, and at night, countless phantoms of the dead will be born from the black mist, attacking everything that can be attacked. ”

"Two empires collapsed within a few years, and countless people were displaced and died."

With just a few words, the warrior could feel the bloody wind and rain hidden in it

"And I woke up at that time."

At this time, the body of Heroic Rayne condensed again, and the old swordsman looked down at his body composed entirely of spirit and energy, and said sarcastically: "It's not that all souls have lost themselves, probably because I have more descendants, under the worship of these children, I did not fall, but regained some of my former strength, and incarnated into the legendary Heroic Spirit, guarding them in this crazy world." ”

“…… So, at night, the entire world of Grantia will turn into a dead realm where the undead dance wildly? ”

Hearing this, Joshua raised his eyebrows, and he asked in a tone that was very strange in Aren's ears, "So, what is their strength?" ”

"Most of them are just shadows weaker than ordinary people, as long as you muster up the courage, even a child can crush one or two."

The old swordsman shook his head: "If there are not too many of them, it can be said that there is no threat, and the ferocious rats are more dangerous than them, but even so, there will be strong people similar to me in the Shadows, they are the ender lords who rule the shadows of the dead, and they are also called the commanders by other wise Shadows." ”

"That's right." Joshua didn't feel sorry for losing a means to quickly accumulate experience, he just asked in a habitual way, and after thinking for a while, the warrior asked again: "I heard you say words like Heaven Realm and Psionic Energy just now, can you tell me how the extraordinary power system of your world is divided?" ”

Joshua came to this world, and his main mission was to search for the relics of the Fourth Sage, but there was also an opportunity for him to advance to the Legend, and in order to have a deeper understanding of the power of steel in the world of Grandia, the warrior naturally asked for more information about this.

"It seems that you are indeed from the outside world, and you would ask such a question." Looking at Joshua deeply, Arena seemed to have doubted the truth of what the warrior had said, but now he was completely confirmed. He sorted out his words a little, and then explained them to Joshua in detail.

In the world of Grandia, the transcendent power is mainly divided into two schools, one is the 'magic energy' system that refines the power of the earth spar, and the other is the 'spiritual energy' system that delves into one's own spiritual power.

The old swordsman was a powerful magic swordsman before his death, and he had fought against countless strong people in his life, so he knew the information of various systems very well, but the most understood was the magic energy system.

The so-called earth spar is the original crystal, and the carriage escorted by Davian's team of people and horses is loaded with the original crystal used to maintain the cultivation of the transcendent in this town, and the spar is also divided into ranks, from the lowest gray crystal to the highest level of holy stone seeds, there is a huge gap between heaven and earth.

As soon as the old heroic spirit moved, a piece of high-quality 'Cloud Diamond' flew towards the warrior, and Joshua unceremoniously reached out to grab it, and then began to explore the power in it.

"Before mastering the essence of the self and developing the talent ability, all the levels of the system are divided into the junior high school and high three levels, and after the talent ability is developed, the magic energy department is called the terrain, and the spiritual energy is called the mentor." As the warrior studied the Cloud Diamond, Aryne continued to explain.

- It seems that this so-called realm is the golden realm.

Qiao Shuya, a colleague who studied Cloud Diamond, nodded slightly to indicate that he was listening, and seeing this, the old swordsman continued: "As for an existence like you, who has broken the shackles of innate nature and reached the endless point of the Universe Heavenly Dome, it is the Heavenly Realm in my mouth, the first attainer in the mouth of those psionic beings. ”

"Yes, there are similarities."

Joshua nodded thoughtfully, the so-called description of the heavenly realm is indeed somewhat similar to the extreme intention, but this is not surprising, there are human beings in the Grandia world, and there are also relics of the sages, and this must have a lot to do with the Mycrove continent, and even, the human origin in the Grandia world is very likely to be a batch of seeds that the sages once transferred, just like the Father of Nature once did.

And at this moment, the Heroic Spirit Swordsman, who was waiting for Joshua's next question, suddenly subconsciously touched the hilt of his sword with his right hand.

He sensed a hint of battle intent rising up in the warrior.

"What about you?"

Joshua slowly stood up from his chair, he looked at the old swordsman, and asked calmly: "The 'partial' power of recovery has the strength of the peak of the Heavenly Realm in your mouth, listening to your tone, you don't seem to care about those psionic emperors and demon marshals of the Ulan Empire...... I'm curious about your true strength. ”

The old man was silent, he just narrowed his eyes and stared at the warrior in front of him with two weapons floating behind him.

"Talking a thousand words, it's better to try it in your hands, and the swords are facing each other, so as to show your true colors." The mysterious Heroic Spirit Swordsman said as if talking to himself, he shook his head: "It's not surprising that you have this kind of character, but I won't fight you, a warrior from another world, my sword will only come out to protect something, this is my principle." ”

At this point, the swordsman named Arena even turned his back to Joshua, and the old man seemed to have completely abandoned his defense.

The warrior frowned as he retracted his momentum and sat back in his seat.

"Uninteresting guy." He said this, seemingly dissatisfied: "If you refuse, I will not force it, but you actually turned your back on me." ”

Joshua shook his head as if it were a great insult.

And it seemed that because he used to deal with an existence like a warrior, the old swordsman who had already had a set of response procedures chuckled, and did not respond to Joshua's words, he asked calmly: "Excuse me, are there any other questions?" ”

"Nope." Joshua shook her head and said, "That's enough." ”

He already had a general idea of the situation in this world, and he also knew a little about the system of extraordinary powers in this place, and the world map that would be sent later, the warrior felt that the trip was very fruitful, and it was not a loss to escort the carriage for half a night.

The Valhallic Swordsman named Jaron Astoria was indeed a man who kept his promises, and there was nothing hidden in his words except for his own strength, and Joshua also understood the other party's choice very well - in the face of an existence from unknown sources, powerful enough to destroy the village he cherished, it was the most foolish choice to fully display his strength, so even if a warrior had a great interest in this obviously extraordinary swordsman, he would not force it.

"You answered so many of my questions, and I should reciprocate a little."

As soon as he pinched the spar in his hand, which had been completely analyzed and all the strength had been absorbed, the warrior sensed that the power in his body had risen to thirty-nine percent, and said seriously: "By the way, thank you for this cloud diamond." ”

By absorbing the power inside the hedron in the same steps as the transcendents of the Demonic Energy Series, Joshua, who has tempered his own body, already has some clue about how to parse the power of steel in this world.

The white cloud-like primordial crystal that Arenan gave him contains a certain power between the vitality and the magical element, it can be easily accepted by the human body, but it can show a magical power similar to the element, so the magic energy of this world is all demonic and martial dual cultivation, and the extraordinary power in their bodies is the product of this mixture of forces that are completely repelled in the Microf continent.

The fighting energy derived from the life force, and the elemental magic power, are all tributaries of the power of steel, and although they are inherently repulsive to each other, there must also be products that are fused with the original crystal in the Grandia world, and can carry it. The power to create everything is the essence of the steel of origin. Just by imitating the power in the cloud drill and slightly assimilating the fighting qi in his body, Qiao Shuya increased the liberation rate by two points, which proved that he was looking in the right direction.

Therefore, the warrior did not hesitate to give the Heroic Spirit Swordsman a method to practice Dou Qi on the Mycrof Continent.

"This?!"

Listening to Joshua's dictation of the most fundamental cultivation method of fighting qi and vitality little by little, the old swordsman who had reached the peak of the Demonic Energy Department immediately knew how precious this cultivation method from the other world was—this was another completely different, but equally promising transcendent path, in addition, for Arena, who already had a bypass realm, this knowledge could also make him go further, just as Joshua benefited from that cloud diamond.

Is Aren the spirit of a man who is willing to be favored? He answered Joshua's question because Joshua had saved his descendants, and now the warrior gave him a reward, and the two of them answered each other's doubts and told each other about their understandings until noon the next day.

The satisfied warrior, after taking a map showing most of the surviving forces in this world, kept his promise and simply left the village deep in the mountains, and he followed the guidance of the mirror and headed all the way to the west.

And the villagers who said goodbye to Joshua and returned to their normal life also began to work busily.

Inside the sacrificial hall in the center of the town, the old heroic spirit, made up of countless points of light, stood in front of his sword mound, closing his eyes and thinking about what he had heard not long ago.

"Vindictive ......"

He whispered to himself, and then he could see a blue-gold flame rising from the old man's palm. Arenane opened his eyes, stared at the flame in his hand, and nodded in admiration, "He didn't hide it...... It seems that my hunch was wrong. ”

The reason why the old swordsman did not welcome Joshua to stay in the town for a long time was because he sensed the vast and terrifying resentment on the warrior's body like the ocean, which came from the curse of countless dead people around him, as long as he released it slightly, he could infect a radius of dozens of miles into a realm of despair, Arena was afraid that Joshua would accidentally release the resentment on his body and destroy the entire village and town, so he was willing to patiently answer every question of the other party, and then quickly sent people away.

But now it seems that the warrior is not the kind of war-loving, war-like and willless existence, he has a stable mind, concise and clear speech, and is willing to generously communicate all his understandings with himself, there is no doubt that he is a warrior with strong control and iron will.

"However, this method of cultivation is too dangerous to awaken, and if you don't have enough physique, it can easily cause serious injuries or even death...... No wonder this existence is cultivated. ”

Thinking of this, the Heroic Spirit Swordsman frowned, and he looked at the busy villagers outside the sacrifice hall, his descendants, with a trace of reluctance in his eyes: "And if there is no battle as nourishment, the progress of this power is also very slow, and it is not as fast as the magic can absorb the power of the spar." ”

"Now the supply of spars is quite sufficient."

Thinking of this, Aryne made a decision: "Since this is the case, then we will not spread this power for the time being, and when there are no more spars around to trade, let them try this power that is easy to popularize." ”

The leaves fell, time passed, and three days after the warriors left the town.

Arenane, who had been sleeping in the altar and was losing his power, suddenly opened his eyes.

Without any hesitation, the Heroic Swordsman turned into light and left in an instant, reaching a height several miles into the town.

"Come out."

With a chilling tone, he calmly shouted to the sky around him, "I won't say it a second time. ”

At this time, Arenn did not have the peace when communicating with the warrior at all, at this time he was like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed, containing but not sending, the most dangerous, the flames in the eyes of the old swordsman were burning, and the light produced was scanning every void inch by inch, and the cyan light traces extended along his gaze.

And the next moment, an amorphous, mud-like black shadow emerged from the atmosphere, and then condensed into a dark shadow that resembled a humanoid.

"Ripper Sword Saint Asterene Astoria."

The humanoid black shadow, which was still twisting and wriggling, sneered at the old swordsman in a harsh and slippery tone: "I am the Third Commander, the Shadow of Change, Loz, on the orders of my lord, to ask for some information. ”

"The Third Commander? It seems that the rankings have risen again. ”

For this monster that is obviously a dead shadow, Aryne didn't make a move, he just closed his eyes with a little disgust, and said coldly: "But he promised me that as long as I don't make a move, he won't disturb my life." ”

"How is it possible."

The amorphous shadow named Loz sneered in a high-pitched voice, "You are also born from the 'ritual', how can you stay out of it?" Let me tell you the truth, the plan of the rulers is almost completed, but at this time, there is an incomparably powerful force that tears through time and space, and makes an otherworldly existence descend into the world - he is an unplanned variable, the most dangerous unknown, and for his whereabouts, the ruler is bound to win. ”

At this, the shadow turned to look at the busy but peaceful mountain town, and said in a dark voice, "Suppose you still want your descendants to live......

Poof.

In a split second that the mind could not perceive, the shadow was cut in two.

Arenane, still with his eyes closed, his hand not even pressed on the hilt of the sword, but even so, after another moment, the so-called shadow of change slashed countless times, striking into a flying mist.

"Even your Grand Commander doesn't dare to threaten me."

He said indifferently, "Go back." ”

After more than ten seconds, the black mist began to close sluggishly, and after this large area of weapons that were so thin that it seemed to be completely non-existent was regathered, only a small point the size of a fist remained. A weak, but incomparably resentful voice sounded: "No, you won't kill me." ”

As he spoke, the shadow gradually grew larger: "My body is thousands of miles away, and if you want to kill me through this clone, you can only draw your sword." ”

"But, as a Heroic Spirit, how many times can you go all out? Legend has it that the 'Earth Ripping Sword', which made the mountains fall to the northwest and the earth cracked into the abyss, so that the Ulan Empire did not dare to violate the realm for a hundred years, how many times can it use the power of the 'Holy Domain' that can break through the heavens and the earth? ”

"As long as you don't kill me, I'll always threaten your descendants, but if you're willing to waste this sword on a little man like me—"

With a voice like glass rubbing against steel, Loz sneered viciously: "I, Loz, die without regrets!" ”

Taking a deep breath, the old swordsman did not continue to attack.

But he still kept silent, just firmly locked on to the powerful death in front of him with his spirit.

"If you don't say it, I also have a way to find him!"

Although it was not weak in the slightest, there was no doubt that Lotz could not withstand the pressure of Aren's momentum, and after barely holding it up for more than ten seconds, it immediately fled.

Before leaving, the wise High Dead did not forget to issue a vicious curse: "Wait, Sword Saint Aren, one day, you will lose everything you hold dear and join our side." ”

"At that time, the Third Archon will still choose to assist you, just as you did when you were alive."

Ten seconds later, Lotz completely disappeared into the sky.

And the old swordsman slowly opened his eyes.

Arenane held down the hilt of his longsword, which was simply decorated but surrounded by thunder, and fell into a long silence.

"What kind of sword is it, making the mountains fall northwest and the earth crack the abyss?"

After a long time, he whispered to himself, but then, the old man shook his head mockingly: "No more." ”

The Heroic Spirit turned his head and walked slowly towards the small village he had sworn to protect for the rest of his life, and for this, he was willing to go against his heart, willing to seal his sword, willing to sit back and watch countless conspiracies unfold before his eyes.

A man-made creek flows slowly along the edge of the village.

The town of Jarren is built on a flat hilltop.

It seems that there is something that cuts off this mountain.

The warrior, who was flying thousands of meters in the air, stopped his movements with some confusion and glanced around.

"Strange, I feel hostile."

He said to himself with some strange feelings: "Who is so bold? ”