231: Swamp Hero, General Zhenxi

"Willpower alone isn't enough," Mo Yan frowned slightly.

This was only the outer perimeter of the swamp; the further they went, the stronger the resentment would become.

If this continued, even he himself would have his spirit constantly depleted.

He stopped, closed his eyes, and merged his senses into this resentment force field.

He didn't resist, but like a fish, he followed the current, feeling the flow of resentment.

Soon, he saw it.

The resentment in this swamp was not a static, unchanging dead thing.

They flowed slowly like tides, and ultimately, all resentment would converge into a single point at the center of the swamp.

That was the springhead of this resentment.

"Found it," Mo Yan opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

He pulled out a large pile of items from his talent space.

Soul Guiding Lanterns and Soul-binding Chainss.

"Sir, what are you doing?" a Soldier captain asked, puzzled.

"Waste utilization," Mo Yan smiled, distributing the Soul Guiding Lanterns to the Soldiers, "It can absorb resentment. Although the efficiency is a bit low, it can at least alleviate some pressure."

As he spoke, he picked up a Soul Guiding Lantern himself and infused it with spiritual power.

Buzz—!

The white flame on the Soul Guiding Lantern suddenly brightened.

The surrounding resentment seemed to find an outlet, surging madly towards the Soul Guiding Lantern.

The Soldiers followed suit, lighting their Soul Guiding Lanterns.

In an instant, twenty-one Soul Guiding Lanterns acted like twenty-one small exhaust fans, forming a safe zone around them.

The murmuring in their minds immediately quieted down significantly.

"This... this thing can be used like this?" Idora watched, dumbfounded.

"Let's go, we're going to meet the owner of this swamp," Mo Yan held the Soul Guiding Lantern, leading the way towards the direction of the springhead he had sensed.

The deeper they went, the muddier the mire beneath their feet became, and they could see some skeletal remains and rusty weapons deeply embedded in the mud, long since turned to bone.

The resentment here also grew thicker.

The flame of the Soul Guiding Lantern had already changed from white to dark green, and the lamp body was covered in cracks.

Finally, after passing through a dense forest of dead trees, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

They arrived at a wide open space.

In the center of the clearing, there was no mud, but an island made of countless piled-up skeletons.

At the top of the island, a tattered, color-worn Empire battle flag was planted.

And beneath the battle flag, a figure in tattered general's armor knelt silently.

He had his back to the crowd, unmoving, as if he had already turned into a statue.

But Mo Yan knew he wasn't a statue.

The resentment of the entire swamp originated from him, and then ultimately flowed back into his body, forming a perfect cycle.

He was the springhead of the Weeping Swamp.

A heroic spirit, bound by resentment for hundreds of years, long dead, yet living in another form.

"Diens Empire, General of the West, Raymond..." Idora looked at the figure, her voice trembling as she uttered a name.

Her father's notes recorded this last guardian of the Empire.

Just then, the figure seemed to sense the aura of the living, and slowly... turned his head.

It was a face long devoid of flesh and blood, leaving only stark white bone.

In the hollow eye sockets, two clusters of eerie blue Soul flames burned.

He looked at Mo Yan and his group, his Soul flames flickering violently.

Suddenly, an intense pressure descended with a roar!

"Intruders into the Forbidden Ground... die!"

The next moment, the resentment of the entire swamp boiled!

Idora's face turned pale; the pressure was so substantial it almost suffocated her.

Twenty Soldiers instantly erupted with a pale golden spiritual power halo, connecting with each other, blocking the mental impact.

"General, your wrath is aimed at the wrong people."

Mo Yan stood rooted to the spot, unmoving. The pressure, enough to cause an ordinary person's mind to collapse, was like a gentle breeze to him.

General Raymond's Soul flames flickered violently, surprised by Mo Yan's nonchalance.

He slowly stood up.

"Outsiders... you do not carry the stench of those hypocrites..." His voice was hoarse, "But this place is where the Empire's heroic Souls slumber, not to be disturbed."

"Retreat quickly, otherwise, do not blame my sword for being merciless!"

As his words fell, the murky swamp around them churned violently.

Arms made of mud and resentment reached out from the black water, dense and numerous, like tentacles from Hell, surrounding them.

"General, we mean no harm!" Idora mustered her courage and shouted, "We are survivors of the Diens Empire, and we have come here to find the Royal Archives to uncover the truth behind the Empire's downfall!"

"Empire survivors?" Raymond's movements paused, the Soul fire in his eye sockets flickering erratically, "The Empire... has long been destroyed. How can there be survivors?"

"Though the Empire has fallen, the Bloodline is not extinct!" Idora carefully took out the ancestral wooden box from her bosom and held it high, "We have guarded the Empire's secrets for generations, only for the day when we can unveil the mist and avenge our fallen compatriots!"

Raymond's gaze fell on the wooden box.

To be precise, it fell on the Empire emblem on the box, which was so worn it was barely discernible.

"The Imperial insignia..." he murmured to himself, his Killing Intent immediately diminishing by several points.

Mo Yan watched this scene silently, without interrupting.

It was naturally best to resolve things without fighting.

He was here to find something, not to fight.

"Even if you are Empire survivors, what of it?" Raymond's voice turned cold again, "The Archives have long been sealed. You cannot open them."

"Leave this place; it is my last act of mercy for the Empire's Bloodline."

"General, we..." Idora still wanted to say something.

But Mo Yan reached out and stopped her.

"It's useless to reason with him," Mo Yan took a step forward, looking directly into Raymond's Soul fire, "You've guarded this place for hundreds of years. Rather than guarding heroic Souls, you are trapped here."

"You are both a guardian and a prisoner."

"Presumptuous!" Raymond roared, and the battle flag plunged into the skeleton mountain fluttered without wind, the vast resentment turning into sharp blades, thrusting directly at Mo Yan's glabella.

Mo Yan didn't even lift an eyelid; the resentment blade silently dissipated three inches from him.

"See, you can't even hurt me, so how can you guard this place?" Mo Yan calmly stated the facts, "General, you are not guarding the Empire, but only the resentment of this swamp. We are here to help you, and to help ourselves."

"Let us enter. After it's done, I might have a way to let you and the heroic Souls of this swamp find true peace."

Raymond fell silent.

The Soul fire in his eyes flickered erratically.

For hundreds of years, it was the first time he had seen such a strange person.

Neither a running dog of the Light Church nor a madman deluded by resentment.

This young man possessed a power that made even him feel a tremor, yet he acted so casually.

"There is only one way to enter the Archives," Raymond finally spoke slowly after a long pause, "For hundreds of years, you are the first person who could stand here and say these words to me."

"Perhaps, you truly have the qualifications... But the truth of the Empire is too heavy; it will crush the weak!" He suddenly raised his skeletal arm, pointing at Mo Yan, "Prove to me that you have the strength to bear this weight! Defeat me!"