Chapter 653: Another truth
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The sudden outburst from this Ndipaya Kingdom Guardian startled Sheyan. Already bracing himself with stern vigilance, Sheyan instantly swung a punch across!
Already gravely wounded like a dimly flickering lamp, that Ndipaya Kingdom Guardian was directly killed by the pounding fist.
Upon witnessing such a desperate scene, Sheyan couldn’t help but feel waves of shock in his heart. At once, he slowly climbed up this sliding stone platform.
During his ascension, Sheyan subconsciously arched his body like a short distance sprinter, thereby reducing his area guard against any attack. Moreover, he could also spear foes at first notice…..or escape. Nevertheless, with the current aspect, Sheyan reckoned the probability of him escaping would be slightly more.
As the stone platform gradually approached the world above, Sheyan could already hear a chaotic ruckus of slaughtering breaking out amidst the bonfire plaza above. Just from listening to that, he could perceive a disorderly uproar of close combat clashes above.
Sheyan’s pupils instantly shifted as he quickly hauled two corpses to cover his front, and dipped his head entirely in blood. Following that, he ingeniously draped himself amongst the pile of sprawling corpses.
Such a conduct was undoubtedly shameless but provided splendid concealment. Within a battle of chaotic upheaval, he wouldn’t be discriminated from an ordinary corpse.
The stone platform trembled slightly as he halted atop this bonfire plaza. Sheyan could faintly hear the mechanism beneath locking up rigidly. Evidently, to enter the Sun Garden again, one must wait till the first sunlight of dawn to initiate both statues to initiate this trapdoor. Without a doubt, it signified that Sheyan’s retreating route was cut off.
The terrain of this bonfire plaza mimicked a colossal sized frying pan; with elevated periphery while the central interior was leveled shorter.
Sweeping his gaze through the plaza, Sheyan could observe that those Ndipaya Kingdom Guardians, had shockingly segregated into two distinct factions, and were locked in mutual carnage!
The first faction hosted many Kingdom Guardian. They employed pikes, javelins, bows, and arrows, and their faces were all tattooed with the exact coiled serpent. They were furiously bellowing with their vague aborigine language, and Sheyan could faintly tell, they were shielding a blood-drenched Mbenga within.
As for the other Ndipaya Kingdom Guardian faction, they wielded heavy weapons like spiked clubs, maces and dual-handed warhammers. Though this faction hosted lesser Guardian Defenders, their faces were tattooed with a sun emblem.
A few sinister looking biohazard dogs circled around them, and not only that, behind them were 3-5 shamans adorned with gigantic face masks – the Ndipaya Elders.
Like the stars cupping themselves around the moon, standing in the middle of those Ndipaya Elders was a bald male with an unrivaled robust physique. His thick and solid muscles were practically modeled after the god of war, Kratos.
Apart from a sleeveless lion pelt coat covering his right shoulder, his upper body was stark naked and revealed his overbearing muscles. Grasped in his hand was a golden scepter.
Bathing under the sunlight, the impression this bald male emanated was that of an enormous maelstrom; a strength that incessant expands and whirls, while vehemently devouring all in its path!
Upon seeing this individual, without needing any introduction, Sheyan knew he was undoubtedly Mbenga’s nemesis. The nemesis he had never forgotten – Guarba!
At this precise moment, Mbenga buried his head and stampeded towards that bald male with a raging howl.
Yet the strangest thing happened. Two Ndipaya Kingdom Guardians surrounding and protecting him actually moved in to intercept Mbenga. Nevertheless, Sheyan could tell those Guardians held propriety in their actions, not possessing a single intent of harming Mbenga.
Only, it seemed like Mbenga’s powers had experienced yet another growth! Wielding a pike, he speedily thrust it into the chests of the two Guardians! After sending them flying effortlessly, Mbenga dragged a huge trail of blood as he roared ruthlessly and charged towards Guarba.
Mbenga’s murderous charge appeared like an incomparably desperate struggle for life. Without a doubt, if he could get near Guarba, Mbenga would become like a barbaric maniac; attacking with even teeth and fingernails, desiring to end this in mutual destruction!
However, Mbenga was utterly incapable of approaching Guarba.
Those Ndipaya Kingdom Guardians around Guarba were incredibly valiant. Their herculean and brutish stature seemingly suggested even their brains were made with muscles. One could only describe them as a steel wall. When some postured enormous wooden shields ahead, they essentially resembled an impregnable fortress.
Sheyan estimated that the might of those Guardians couldn’t be broken through with the likes of contestants, or even Reserve-duty Growth-hunters.
Citing an example, if this line of Kingdom Guardians went up against the beast horde of the Avatar World, unless Nature goddess Eywa mobilized Thanator Riders or even Great Leonopteryx Riders, it would be impossible to thwart their defenses.
As such, nature took its course and Mbenga was bluntly struck back. Fortunately, he didn’t receive any fatal injuries. This wasn’t due to him possessing the luck of a main character, but because…...in order to protect him, those coiled-serpent tattooed Ndipaya Kingdom Guardians had also attacked simultaneously.
Javelins were hurled out, alongside the tensioning and firing of desolating poisoned arrows. It practically resembled an invading tropical storm; abrupt, frenzied and flooding in!
Sheyan spectated this scene with twinkling eyes.
Prior to this, he had already speculated the Ndipaya tribesmen most probably had old rivals, who were exceptionally adept at long-range assaults. Therefore, it explained why their equipments possessed properties that were exceedingly resistant to far range assaults.
Nevertheless, Sheyan had missed out something previously. There was absolutely no way he would’ve considered this.
That so-called ‘greatest rival’ was actually heralded by inner dissent!
The formidable Qin dynasty subjugated the seven kingdoms, yet was destroyed by the hands of Zhao Gao. Han Dynasty concluded in the hands of Cao Pi, but the Kingdom of Wei fell to its own minister Sima Shi. Li Jiancheng’s greatest rival wasn’t the Göktürks or Wang Shichong, but his own brother Li Shimin....
(TL: *Zhao Gao is one of the vilest, corrupt and powerful eunuchs in Chinese history, responsible for the fall of Qin Dynasty. Cao Pi is the first monarch of the Wei empire after the Han Dynasty ended, and Sima Shi is a powerful minister of the Wei empire. Li jiancheng is the eldest son of the first Tang Dynasty emperor)
When the Ndipaya Kingdom collapsed, once the pressure from foreign opponents slackened, there would bound to be a contest for power and dominion. Furthermore, the combat style, tactics, and allegiance of both factions differed greatly! As a result, both subtribes, the Coiled Serpent and the Sun faction, would naturally view each other as enemies and butcher each other.
"Therefore, when did both factions become united?" Sheyan inferred secretly.
"Clearly, an unknown crisis led to both factions allying together! When their grandest village at the inner misty reaches had been breached. At the vital juncture that concerned the continuity of their Ndipaya Tribe, they definitely unified against the enemy."
Amidst the torrential rain of arrows, Mbenga still managed to make a full retreat. Though that was so, a Ndipaya Elder had locked onto him and unleashed his malicious parasitic blowdart!
But right at this instant, a pikeman of the Coiled Serpent subtribe dove in and blocked Mbenga’s front; using his back to bear the deadly brunt of the parasitic blowdart.
Yet consecutively after, the most jaw-dropping event occurred. Mbenga unexpectedly thrust his pike, drilling a hole into the throat of the Guardian that had just shielded and rescued him. Then, Mbenga flung him aside as though he was mere garbage.
Then, Mbenga viciously retracted his pike and retreated backward while panting heavily.
On the contrary, that Coiled Serpent Ndipaya Kingdom Guardian harbored no desire for vengeance. Instead, his actions were amazingly shocking. He scrambled back and shrunk back into their defense circle, as he continued protecting the bloodlusted Mbenga.
Sheyan’s pupils instantaneously contracted. "Was that the simple, forthright and kind Mbenga who loved to grin foolishly while scratching his head?"
Sheyan subconsciously muttered to himself.
"Could it be…...could it be truth is that! Eliminating all impossibilities, granted that no matter how far-fetched the remaining verdict is, it is the most probable truth!"
All of a sudden, both opposing factions abruptly revealed a frantic and clamorous demeanor. They unanimously glanced towards the mountain range surrounding this city of ruins, the mountain range filled with complex, honeycomb-like tunnels.
Yet at this moment, the exits of those tunnels were shockingly polluted with thick, blood-red smoke!
Although Sheyan understood very little of the Ndipaya Tribe customs, he could infer the significance of the emitted blood-red smoke.
Undoubtedly, they only signified one thing – A warning sign!
An exceedingly critical warning sign!
Very evidently, the biohazard mutated abominations of the misty inner reaches had been stirred by a certain unknown abnormality, and were starting to besiege the last remaining stronghold of the Ndipaya Tribe.
To the Ndipaya Tribe who had fallen into an impasse of no retreat, if their final line of defense crumbled today, it would undoubtedly spell the fate of tribe extermination.
Both parties were momentarily stupefied, but at this instant, the herculean Guarba stomped out. Raising his golden scepter, he roared at the Coiled Serpent subtribe.
"Do you wish to see the demise of our glorious Ndipaya Kingdom??? Do you want the bloodline of our ancestors to flow dry??!"
Obviously, though the Coiled Serpent subtribe boasted of greater numbers, they didn’t possess a figurehead character like Guarba. Falling behind in terms of imposing grandeur, they whispered into each other’s ears before two elders stepped forward.
Then they resentfully exclaimed.
"Of course not! Guarba, we simply wish to protect the last bloodline of the Bayin clan."