Jun Wu Yi froze the moment he stepped inside and saw his elder brother's stone statue! He stood there, utterly still, as if he himself had turned into another statue, though the look in his eyes shifted through the ages—from soaring mountains to deep seas.
Jun Wu Yi stared at the statue, lost in a daze, motionless. Slowly, millimeter by painstaking millimeter, his tiger eyes filled with tears. Finally, they spilled over, falling silently. His voice, low and husky, carried the weight of profound sorrow. “Elder Brother, Xiao San has brought Mo Xie to see you today. Mo Xie has finally grown up, worthy enough to pay his respects!”
Jun Wu Yi closed his eyes in silent agony, memories flashing vividly before him.
Growing up together, playing side-by-side, childhood to adulthood. He had borne the endless indulgence, the boundless care and affection of his two older brothers. Yet, in the end, it was the boundless disaster he himself invited that led to their untimely deaths!
Even his sister-in-law was brought to the brink of death by grief and was taken back by her own family. Soon after came the devastating news of her passing! From then on, the two families ceased all contact; countless times the Jun family sent envoys, only to be driven back roughly.
His two nephews, young and in their prime, also suffered utter ruin because of him!
Who could know that Jun Wu Yi would rather die a hundred times over than see his two brothers and nephews meet such a grim fate! For ten years, Jun Wu Yi’s heart had known nothing but purgatory! Soul-searing pain! A torment that pierced the very bone!
Facing the lifelike statue of his elder brother, as scenes of the past unfolded, Jun Wu Yi’s spirit plummeted into an abyss of suffering—boundless regret, endless hatred!
A man does not shed tears easily, unless the sorrow has finally reached its peak!
“Elder Brother!”
Jun Wu Yi dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. The usually stalwart Blood-Clad General trembled from head to toe, tears swimming in his tiger eyes: “Xiao San, I... I am sorry! I am sorry to you! Sorry to Second Brother, sorry to Father. And most sorry to the Jun family!”
Through his blurring vision, Jun Wu Yi seemed to see again the wise face of his elder brother from years past, standing right before him, gently stroking his hair, a gentle smile brimming in his eyes, looking at him, seemingly coaxing and teaching him: “Third Brother... men do not suffer! Do not weep!”
In that moment, Jun Wu Yi wept even louder. Now free from illness, before the tomb of his closest kin, all the emotion accumulated over ten years poured out without reservation, like a child, utterly wronged, suddenly collapsing into a relative’s embrace...
He distinctly remembered the night before his elder brother left for war, gripping his hand, saying, “Wu Yi. The matter of Silver City in the snowstorm, I always felt it wasn’t truly over. Silver City might still have hidden moves we don't know about. While your Second Brother and I are away, you must be extremely careful, and absolutely do not act rashly. Your betrothal to Miss Han might not be rushed; lovers will eventually be united. Wait until your Second Brother and I return. We will all work together—I, your Second Brother, Father, and the entire Jun family will support you.”
Jun Wu Yi clearly remembered that when his elder brother spoke those words, the Second Brother was right beside him, watching him with eyes full of worry and concern. Recalling the deep affection in both brothers' eyes then, the Third Master Jun felt his heart being twisted like a knife!
At that time, what occupied his brothers’ minds most was his marriage, his troubles! They were only worried if their youngest brother would be harmed, if he could hold up, if he might be willful and impulsive, never once considering that the enemy might be targeting them!
With their intelligence, how could they not have realized? But they never spoke of it. Because they didn't want their younger brother to worry!
The powerful sound of the war horn seemed to ring in his ears again, and in a trance, the great banners snapped fiercely in the wind, the majestic drumbeats shaking heaven and earth along with them.
Jun Wuhui, clad in armor, stood beneath the main banner. As he passed by Jun Wu Yi on his horse, he said in a deep voice, “Third Brother, your Second Brother and I are leaving. From now on, the Jun family rests on you! Everything is entrusted to you!”
Elder Brother! Oh, Elder Brother, why did you say that? How foolish I was, only now realizing how deeply wrong those words of yours were! They were practically a ‘dying testament’! Brother, did you already know something back then? What did you know? Perhaps... did you sense something? Why didn’t you say anything?” Why wouldn't you speak! Did you know that I would rather die a hundred times than watch my own flesh-and-blood brother walk toward a dead end!! If time could turn back ten years, before I met ‘Her’ again... would I choose differently? I would! I absolutely would!
“Third Uncle.” Jun Mo Xie stepped forward. “The dead are gone; accept your grief and move on! Preserving your useful body is the proper path!”
“Accept grief and move on? Preserve your useful body and move on?” Jun Wu Yi slowly raised his head, looking at Jun Mo Xie, and then broke into a tragic, hollow laugh. “Mo Xie, your father once spoke those very words—‘accept grief and move on; preserve your useful body.’ Do you know how he said it?”
“Uncle... how did my father say it?”
“At that time, the three of us brothers went out to battle. After that fight, countless brothers lay on the ground, never to rise again; your father was heartbroken. Those nearby tried to console him: ‘Great Marshal, accept your grief and move on! Preserve your useful body.’” Jun Wu Yi’s eyes grew distant as he recalled, slowly saying, “At that time, Big Brother said, ‘Accept grief and move on? Why accept grief? Why move on? My brothers, my sons, were murdered by the enemy! Why should I accept grief and move on to preserve my useful body—’”
Jun Wu Yi’s voice grew louder, seemingly imitating his elder brother from that day: “That’s right, we must preserve our useful bodies! Men do not carry sorrow! If we must cry, we cry to our heart’s content! If we must kill, we kill until we are utterly satisfied! Men do not move on! Because we must reverse the tide! With the useful bodies we still possess, we will sweep away all enemy forces in one go, ensuring our brothers never have the chance for ‘accepting grief and moving on’ again!”
“Men do not carry sorrow! Men do not move on!” Jun Mo Xie silently repeated those two phrases, and suddenly felt as if an electric current coursed through him, stirred by the heroism and killing intent conveyed in those words, awakening a resonance in his soul!
“So that our brothers will never have the chance for accepting grief and moving on!”
With those words alone, Jun Mo Xie suddenly felt a genuine sense of awe for his father, whom he had never met! A man of iron and blood, who laughs when he should laugh, cries when he must cry, never affecting pretense, acting on impulse. What do the cold eyes of the world matter to me? What a saying: Men do not carry sorrow! Men do not move on!! It deeply resonates with me!
Jun Mo Xie suddenly felt that even if his previous life had afforded him a father this heroic and bold, he would have been completely accepting of it! He was the biological father of the former Mo Xie, and he is my father in this life! To have such a father—magnificent!
Uncle and nephew stood and sat quietly for a long time without speaking.
Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded outside. The footsteps stopped at the doorway, and a voice called out, “Third General, General Zhao Jianhun of the Yutang Empire wishes to come and pay respects to the Marshal. Please give your command!”
“Zhao Jianhun?!” Jun Wu Yi’s eyes turned icy. This battlefield nemesis of his three brothers had actually come here! “Ask him to enter. I have wanted to see him for a very long time! To meet this old friend!”
“Yes!” the young guard at the door acknowledged and quickly departed.
Not long after, a silhouette appeared slowly in the distance, cloaked in black. The approaching figure was exceptionally tall, wearing a black cloak, black robes, and a black visage. The man seemed like a cold, hard piece of black steel, walking with the imposing gait of a dragon or a tiger, never casting a sideways glance, proceeding straight ahead. The Heavenly Fragrance Army soldiers on both sides eyed him with deep hostility, yet he appeared entirely unfazed!
This man was lean yet tall, broad-shouldered with long arms, possessing a high nose and sharp eyes. His facial lines were hard, as if carved by a blade, his contours distinct. A formidable aura of battle and slaughter radiated from him; he moved forward without distraction, never looking back!
He had come alone! To pay respects at the enemy camp to his deceased rival. Alone! Zhao Jianhun! What spirit! What a Great General of the Yutang Empire!
Zhao Jianhun approached and suddenly stopped. His eyes, sharp as cold lightning, fixed on Jun Wu Yi: “Jun Wu Yi. Years have passed since we last met. Here we are again.” His voice was resonant, subtly carrying the killing aura of the battlefield!
Jun Wu Yi stared directly into his eyes, unyielding. “Zhao Jianhun, I have wanted to see you for a very long time! A very long time!”
“For these ten years, there have been no Jun family members on the battlefield,” Zhao Jianhun stated sincerely. “I... was very lonely!”
“If there had been Jun family members on the battlefield these past ten years, I doubt you would have the opportunity to sigh about loneliness in my presence now,” Jun Wu Yi looked at him coldly. “Because you would have already reincarnated long ago!”
Although Zhao Jianhun’s statement was arrogant, the tone suggested a genuine regret, acknowledging that only the Jun family was worthy of being his opponent! But hearing it, Jun Wu Yi, driven by a soldier’s honor, subconsciously countered this implication that the Heavenly Fragrance Empire was devoid of worthy warriors!
“Indeed, if you had been there on the battlefield these ten years, perhaps I would already be buried in the yellow earth! But you weren’t! Why weren’t you?” Zhao Jianhun’s voice carried a note of anger.
This tone from the famed Yutang general astonished not only Third Master Jun but also the elder young master Jun beside him. Isn't this the famous Yutang commander? Although his victory back then was somewhat ambiguous, he himself was the only general who hadn’t been completely crushed under the command of the White-Clad Marshal Jun Wuhui. Aside from facing the three Jun brothers, he rarely suffered defeat. Have the deaths of Father and Second Uncle, and Third Uncle’s disability preventing him from fighting, made this guy win so much that his mind has gone soft?
Zhao Jianhun advanced to a spot one zhang from Jun Wuhui’s statue, stopping there. He stood silently for a long moment, his expression growing solemn. His entire body straightened, and his eyes displayed sincere respect. He bowed deeply three times, bending low and remaining there for a long time before straightening up.
After standing upright, his sharp eyes locked onto the eyes of the statue. In his gaze toward this former enemy, there was nothing but worship! With a sound of deep sighing, he said, “Jun Wu Yi, do you know? From my youth in the military to this half-life spent campaigning, I have certainly seen many defeats, and perhaps even more victories...
But among all these contests, filled with countless heroes and renowned generals, there has only been one person whom I, Zhao Jianhun, could genuinely admire from the depths of my heart! Admire to the point of utter submission!”
“That person’s name is Jun Wuhui!”
(Brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by gods... what shall we do? Where are the votes! If you wish to know what happens next, please log on to one for more chapters and to support the work.)
The Leopard Man team, having battled until half past dawn, finally reached the final guardian of the third level of the pyramid: the final assistant for the Pharaoh’s Curse, a creature of supreme difficulty. The Scorpion King.
“Are you ready? I’m going in.”
“Hurry, hurry! My hands are itching!”
“Heh!”
When Zhang Mu opened the stone door, what greeted their eyes was an utterly marvelous sight. It was hard to imagine such luxurious, palace-like stone chambers existing within such an ancient pyramid. The chamber occupied three-tenths of the map area, and eight pillars, each requiring four adult men to encircle, stood tall around them. Strange inscriptions and patterns were carved onto the pillars. Not far ahead lay the Scorpion Pool, where countless palm-sized giant scorpions frolicked. From a distance, the Scorpion King sat upon his throne, eyes closed in meditation, seemingly unaware that intruders had entered his domain.
Scorpion King: Level 8 Upgrade Unit. Possesses incomparably fierce attack power and moves extremely quickly. The Scorpion King was once a valiant and skilled hero. To reclaim his beloved wife, who had been abducted by a formidable enemy, he came to the pyramid alone. He ultimately exchanged his soul as the price for unprecedented power, after which he led the Cursed Legion into the ‘City of Gomorrah.’ While achieving victory, his mind was completely devoured by demons. From then on, he became the master of the pyramid. Legend holds that whoever slays the Scorpion King gains command over his Cursed Legion.
Trait 1: Subservience. Player units have a chance to be unable to attack the Scorpion King. Ineffective against ‘Dragon Race’ and ‘Mindless’ units. Trait 2: Scorpion King’s Wrath. Normal attacks carry an area-of-effect. Trait 3: Resistance to Blindness. Blindness magic is ineffective. Trait 4: Summon Guards. When the Scorpion King suffers severe damage, he will summon a swarm of Mummy Guards. Unlimited summoning.
“What a Scorpion King, he actually has four traits!” After Wei Yang read out the Scorpion King’s attributes, everyone clicked their tongues in admiration. This is what a powerful unit looks like. Compared to the Level 8 units of the Nine Clans, this Scorpion King is worlds apart.
“I’m starting the fight!”
“Charge!”
Before being drawn into the combat space, a dialogue box popped up:
“Mere humans, to have reached the third level of the pyramid, your strength is indeed considerable. Regrettably, you will perish here.” I have longed for human blood for a long time.
Drawn into the Combat Space—
Scorpion King’s Army: 1 Squad of Tough Units: Tomb Guard Scorpions, 4 Squads of Tough Units: Poisonous Mummies, 1 Squad of Tough Units: Dark Scorpion King.
“The Scorpion King in the combat space looks a little different from the one outside, doesn’t it? The one outside was red, but this one is black. How strange,” Wei Yang muttered, staring blankly at the monster manual in his hand.
Zhang Mu was utterly speechless, staring blankly at the screen.
The enemy wasn't some Scorpion King; it was a mutated variant—the Dark Scorpion King. The chance of encountering a mutated low-level monster is one in a thousand, and the chance of encountering a mutation this powerful is one in ten thousand!
Mutants are roughly divided into three types: King Grade: The four primary stats (Strength, Agility, etc.) of this mutated unit are double that of the non-mutated version, and it gains 1 or more random traits. Dark Grade: The four primary stats of this mutated unit are triple that of the non-mutated version, and it gains 2 or more random traits. Elite Grade: The four primary stats of this mutated unit are 1.2 times that of the non-mutated version, and it gains 1 or more random traits.
“Why are you spacing out at a time like this?” Deng Jie nudged Zhang Mu with her elbow.
Zhang Mu snapped back to reality, hit the pause button, and let out a bitter laugh. “Brothers, we are truly ‘lucky.’ We ran into a mutated Scorpion King. With our current troop strength, we probably can’t beat it. Our initial odds weren't high, and now facing this variant... oh my heavens.”
“What are our chances of killing it?” Ben Zun asked.
“Less than twenty percent,” Zhang Mu said with a troubled look.
“Doesn't that mean we still have a twenty percent chance? Let’s try it, and if it doesn't work, we'll figure something else out,” Shenhua Shang began to urge Zhang Mu on.
Zhang Mu agonized for a long time over whether to fight or not. If they fight: the odds of winning are low, and the danger is high; one mistake could lead to a total wipeout. If they don’t fight: it feels like too great a loss, since a mutated variant is guaranteed to drop rare strategic treasure—the kind of rare strategic treasure not seen below Level 8 maps, possibly even a piece of a set item.
After careful consideration, Zhang Mu decided to embrace the adventurer’s spirit and take the gamble.
Shenhua Shang cheered, “That’s the spirit! Without high risk, how can there be high reward? Twelve, you’ve made a very correct decision.”
Zhang Mu rolled his eyes. “The danger coefficient of this is equivalent to putting a stocking over your head and robbing a bank with a dagger.”
The battle officially began!
The Tomb Guard Scorpions and Poisonous Mummies rushed forward frantically. The Dark Scorpion King would not attack the players until these lesser minions were wiped out, which somewhat reduced the psychological pressure on the group.
Zhang Mu found it hard to imagine clearing waves of small mobs while simultaneously dodging attacks.
The group was highly experienced in dealing with these low-tier mobs. Without any command from Zhang Mu, they locked the main enemy force firmly within maximum firing range. Under the assault of ranged attacks and successive Fire Walls, more than half of the Tomb Guard Scorpions and Poisonous Mummies were destroyed in the blink of an eye, but the situation remained far from optimistic.
Zhang Mu knew perfectly well that the purpose of these low-level mobs was to drain the players’ ranged ammunition and magic reserves. To conserve as much ammo as possible, Zhang Mu had the group risk letting these monsters advance to the middle ground. This way, although melee classes might face attacks, the archers’ attack power could be maximized.
A rhythmic sound arose from the tapping of fingers on the keyboards. Everyone focused their attention, even Wu Ling and Qin Xiaoke, who were usually less interested in the online Heroes game, stood behind Zhang Mu, staring at the screen in silence.
“Ye Se, cast Curse on those few squads of Mummies in front of you!” “Wife, apply your Divine Beast Blessing primarily to the ranged units!” “Xiao Long, send your Dragon Flies up to create a choke point, don't let them break through!” “A Shang, use your Cavalry to clean up the stragglers!”
Under Zhang Mu’s flawless command, the battle was more than halfway over. The abnormally massive Dark Scorpion King standing far off seemed to begin stirring restlessly.
“Use Blindness on the last squad of Tomb Guard Scorpions, and then have all Mage-class players cast Disintegration Ray (defense-reducing magic) on the Scorpion King. We absolutely must drop its defense below zero, or we definitely won't beat it,” Zhang Mu stated with extreme seriousness.