The air, like congealed grease, carried a faint scent of gunpowder.
The last sliver of golden light from the setting sun completely sank below the horizon, and the world abruptly darkened, as if an invisible hand had draped a grey veil over it.
In the ruins, the wind's wailing became clear and sharp, swirling among the broken walls and crumbling remains, much like the whispers of departed souls.
The standoff was infinitely prolonged in this dim, deathly silence.
Batuer’s gaze, sharp as a knife, slowly shifted from the trembling Blue Star Humans man to the seven dwarf warriors behind him, who stood as firm as boulders.
He saw the dried, almost black bloodstains on the warhammers in their hands, and the dense scratches and dents on the round shields they held before them. These were not ceremonial weapons; these were killing tools, rolled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and the men who wielded them.
However, he also saw that the dwarves' eyes held not bloodlust, but a resolute and vigilant determination, like that of a female beast protecting her young. They guarded the seemingly frail Blue Star Humans man as if he were some final, inviolable treasure.
This posture of guardianship diluted the heavy scent of gunpowder in the air, adding a touch of indescribable tragedy.
“We… are not here to steal anything.” Batuer finally spoke, his voice somewhat scattered by the wind, yet still steady and powerful. He slowly relaxed the fully drawn bowstring a little, a small but clear signal of goodwill.
His gaze returned to the Blue Star Humans man’s face, a face distorted by fear and hunger, which now showed an almost frenzied hope because of the words he had spoken— “Lingjie Human Race”.
“The Lingjie Human Race you mentioned…” Batuer paused, seemingly deliberating over this unfamiliar term: “If it refers to a group that comes from another world and is not native to this land, then, yes, we are.”
The Kujit bandits behind him did not move, but their taut muscles also relaxed imperceptibly with their captain’s statement. They too were people surviving in desperation, able to clearly distinguish between the roar of a cornered beast and the greed of jackals.
The group before them seemed more like the former.
The Blue Star Humans man, seemingly named Chen Ping, heard Batuer’s affirmative answer, and tears instantly welled up in his cloudy eyes—not from sadness, but from the breakdown that followed the sudden release of immense pressure.
His legs gave way, and he almost collapsed to the ground, only to be quickly supported by a quick-witted dwarf behind him.
“It’s real… it’s real…” he murmured incoherently, turning to the dwarf supporting him, then to Batuer, explaining in a hoarse voice: “We… we are too! I am also a Blue Star Humans, and they… they are my followers, from the Mountain Dwarf clan of the Lingjie!”
He pointed to the seven dwarves. The dwarves remained vigilant, but the oldest dwarf, with the longest beard that almost reached his chest, nodded heavily at Batuer and the others, acknowledging Chen Ping’s statement.
“Lingjie… Human Race…” Arsleng murmured the words beside him. He looked at Chen Ping’s face, which was identical to his lord Shen Mu’s with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin. The string of “estrangement” and “vigilance” in his heart finally completely relaxed.
In this desperate Desert ruled by death and Skeleton, any similarity was enough reason to band together for warmth.
“It’s already completely dark.” Batuer’s gaze swept over the increasingly dim ruins; the grotesque silhouettes seemed as if they could come alive at any moment: “It’s not advisable to stay here long. Those things could appear at any time.”
“Please… please come in!” Chen Ping seemed to awaken from his huge emotional fluctuation. He eagerly pointed to a crack in the wall behind him, formed by collapsed beams and rubble: “We have… we have a hiding place! It’s very safe! No sounds can be heard from outside!”
The leading old dwarf also spoke in a gruff voice, like two rocks rubbing together: “The undead’s ears are sharp, but their Skeleton brains can’t turn. They won’t find this place.”
Batuer exchanged glances with Arsleng and Batu behind him, without much hesitation. In this night, where they could be overwhelmed by Skeleton Cavalry at any moment, any hiding place that could shelter them from the wind and rain and block prying eyes was an irresistible temptation.
“Good.” Batuer nodded, dismounted, and handed his warhorse’s reins to his companion beside him: “We’ll go in. Batu, you take five men and find a place outside to guard the horses, stay vigilant. The rest of you, follow me.”
“Yes, boss!”
Led by Chen Ping and with the dwarves’ tacit approval, Batuer led eight bandits into the seemingly dead-end wall crack.
A dwarf warrior walked to an inconspicuous corner, grabbed a large iron plate disguised as a broken concrete slab with both hands. Accompanied by a grating sound, he used his seemingly small but terrifyingly strong body to forcefully pull open the “wall,” creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
A unique smell, a mix of dust, engine oil, and some kind of canned food, wafted out from the gap, carrying a warm, stale scent of “civilization.”
The other side of the passage opened up surprisingly.
This was, unexpectedly, an underground space much larger than imagined.
Judging from the exposed, rusty steel beam structures overhead and the rows of fallen giant shelves in the distance, this place must have been a large warehousing and logistics center before the “Cataclysm.”
A few emergency lights, powered by car batteries, illuminated the space. The light was dim, but sufficient to light up this “Noah’s Ark” beneath the ruins.
Nearly twenty Blue Star Humans survivors, men, women, and children of all ages, were huddled in makeshift compartments made of tarpaulins and cardboard boxes. Hearing the commotion, they all cast frightened yet curious glances. When they saw Batuer and the others behind Chen Ping, their fear deepened a few more points.
But Chen Ping quickly quelled the commotion with a few reassuring words, his voice filled with newfound confidence and hope.
Batuer’s gaze quickly swept across the entire space. He saw mountains of canned goods, mostly vegetables and fruits; neatly stacked barrels of water and cases of beer; and in one corner, several survivors were using simple tools to repair something.
This was an orderly sanctuary.
“When we found this place, it was buried under the sand, with only a ventilation shaft exposed.” Chen Ping’s voice held a touch of relief and pride: “It took us half a month to dig it open. The things inside… are enough for us to eat for a very long time.”
“You are very lucky.” Arsleng praised sincerely. Compared to their rough existence in the wilderness, this place was simply paradise.
Everyone found an empty space to sit down. The tense atmosphere of the previous standoff gradually dissipated in the dim light and relatively safe environment. The survivors curiously observed these warriors from the “Lingjie,” while the bandits found this underground world novel.
What broke the silence was the rumbling of stomachs.
Batu pulled out a piece of hard black bread from his waist pouch, then tore off a strip of glistening dried meat. After a moment’s thought, he broke off a large chunk and handed it to the old dwarf who had been silently standing behind Chen Ping.
“Try it, it’s our dry rations.” Batu grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
The old dwarf’s cloudy little eyes looked at Batu, then at the food, which emitted a peculiar aroma of wheat and meat. He hesitated for a moment, but then took it.
He first cautiously sniffed it, then broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth.
After only two chews, the old dwarf’s face, like weathered rock, underwent a sudden change in expression!
His ancient, still eyes instantly burst forth with an incredible light, as if a dying traveler had drunk a life-saving draught of sweet spring water!
“This… this is…” His rough fingers clutched the black bread, feeling a warm and pure power slowly flow down his esophagus into his limbs and bones, dispelling the long-standing weakness and sluggishness that had plagued his body.
“It has the power of ‘rules’!” Another younger dwarf also received a small piece from Chen Ping. He, too, exclaimed, and his gaze towards Batuer and the others instantly changed from vigilance to a complex expression mixed with shock and longing.
Chen Ping also received a small piece of dried meat. After eating it, although the sensation was not as intense as the dwarves’, he clearly felt his spirit invigorated, and his thoughts seemed to become much clearer. The fatigue and numbness of long-term existence in a post-apocalyptic environment were significantly diluted.
“My goodness…” Chen Ping looked at the food in his hand, then at the dwarves who were almost devouring their food. He finally understood something, and said to Batuer with a trembling voice: “So that’s how it is… so that’s how it is…”
The old dwarf licked up every last crumb of bread, then exhaled a long breath, which seemed longer and more forceful than before.
He looked at Batuer and said in an almost pleading tone: “Warrior, do you… do you have a lot more of this food?”
He explained: “After we Lingjie life forms complete soul resonance with our commanding officer, we must ingest substances containing the power of ‘rules’ to maintain our strength, otherwise we will become weaker day by day, just like now. Eating only the ‘rootless’ food of this world is like drinking water; it quenches thirst, but it doesn’t satisfy true ‘hunger’.”
These words, like a flash of lightning, parted the fog in Batuer and the others’ minds.
They finally understood why their lord, Shen Mu, would spare no expense to cultivate farmland, plant crops from the Lingjie, and raise livestock from the Lingjie. It turned out that these seemingly ordinary foods were the very foundation for them, the “Lingjie Human Race,” to establish themselves in this world!
Their food, for these dwarves also from the Lingjie, was a life-saving elixir!
This discovery filled Batuer’s heart with an indescribable sense of pride. They were no longer mere wanderers; they possessed a crucial resource capable of changing the destinies of others.
“We do.” Batuer said in a deep voice, his words resonant and impactful, “Our lord, Shen Mu, he is also a Blue Star Humans. He has established a city to the west, Deherim. There, we have farmland, pastures, and an endless supply of black bread and dried meat.”
He looked at Chen Ping and extended a sincere invitation: “If you are willing, you can seek refuge with our lord. In Deherim, your people will no longer have to endure this ‘hunger’.”
“Shen Mu… Deherim…” Chen Ping repeatedly chewed on the name, his eyes sparkling with light.
“Long City! It’s near the original Long City, isn’t it?!” A young man among the survivors suddenly shouted excitedly: “I heard about it! I heard from some people who escaped from the west that a new, powerful force has risen near Long City, and their leader is a young man named Shen Mu! They said there are tall city walls, plenty of food, and they can resist the monsters’ attacks! So… so it was you all along!”
This news, like a calming pill, made the atmosphere in the entire shelter warm up. The light seen in despair is always exceptionally bright.
Batuer and the others also learned more about this area from these survivors. It turned out that the Skeleton castle had only appeared in the last month. Since its appearance, the surrounding undead creatures had become unusually active and aggressive, and their range of activity had grown larger and larger, almost clearing out all survivor strongholds in this area. Chen Ping and his group were among the fortunate few.
Just as everyone was talking animatedly, looking forward to the splendor of Deherim, an extremely subtle, yet clearly spine-chilling sound came from the ground above their heads.
Click… click…
The sound was like someone gently tapping the hard ground with bones, or like some kind of arthropod crawling on dry sand.
In an instant, all sounds in the warehouse vanished.
The air, which had just been full of hope and eagerness, was instantly solidified by icy fear. Everyone held their breath, even their heartbeats seemed to be choked by an invisible hand.
Batuer and his men instantly gripped their weapons, their eyes sharp as eagles, listening intently to the sounds from outside. The dwarves, meanwhile, spontaneously formed a circle, protecting the unarmed Blue Star Humans survivors in the middle. Their warhammers and round shields gleamed with a chilling light in the dim illumination.
Click… click…
The sound moved from far to near, seemingly lingering in the ruins above them. Each tap was like a hammer striking everyone’s heart.
They could imagine the scene: one or more Skeleton Cavalry, taking stiff and heavy steps, patrolling the ruins, their hollow eye sockets burning with the soul fire that sought out all living beings.
Time, at this moment, became incredibly long.
Every second was an agony.
Fortunately, the entrance to this warehouse was extremely hidden, and its entire main structure was deeply buried underground. The undead creatures seemed not to have discovered this isolated island of life beneath the earth.
The suffocating “click” sound lingered above their heads for what felt like an eternity, then gradually moved away, finally disappearing into the wailing of the wind.
Only after confirming the danger had passed did the people in the warehouse dare to slowly exhale a turbid breath. Many were covered in cold sweat, their clothes soaked on their backs.
The silence of surviving a disaster enveloped everyone.
The previous eagerness and hope were harshly doused by the cold reality they had just faced.
Yes, no matter how good Deherim was, they had to survive to reach it.
No one had the heart to talk that night.
The bandits and dwarves took turns on watch, while the survivors huddled in their corners, falling into a deep sleep amidst unease and uncertainty about the future.
When the first faint ray of dawn struggled to penetrate the ventilation shaft into this underground space, a new day arrived.
Batuer stood up, stretching his somewhat stiff body. He walked to the heavy iron door, and through the observation slit left by the dwarves, looked out at the world.
Overnight, the desolate ruins appeared less grotesque in the morning sun. The hoof prints and footprints in the sand clearly recorded the visit of unwelcome guests last night.
In the distance, the Skeleton castle still stood silently, like a huge tumor entrenched on the earth, emitting an ominous aura. (End of Chapter)
