Starry Sky Railway: Twin Origins

Chapter 258 Facing the Conflict

I've discovered that the more I try to shorten the length of the Titans of Strife, the harder it becomes to write. This chapter might not be very well written.

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After Lin Qiong and the others left their names on the stone slab, the woman in charge of the festival registration gave the order to let them pass, allowing them to enter the city of Xuanfeng.

After entering Suspended Peak City, the four of them fought their way through all the remaining challenges and arrived at the final trial grounds...

The former Suspended Peak City, Soul Forging District.

"This is the last one!"

Lin Qiong let out a low shout and waved his hands to unleash the Calamity Annihilation technique. Blazing flames instantly rose up, completely igniting the Heavenly Punishment Vanguard wielding a giant sword in front of him.

With the agonizing cry of the Divine Punishment Vanguard announcing the end of the battle, it finally turned to ashes.

The intense, magma-like light emanating from Lin Qiong's hand also dimmed and subsided.

Then, he slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping around. After confirming that there were no other Heavenly Punishment followers in his field of vision, he leisurely put away the Calamity Annihilation.

"I'm done here too."

At this moment, Xing was carrying a baseball bat and striding towards Lin Qiong.

Behind her were the divine retribution followers, whom she had smashed to pieces with her baseball bat, leaving only scattered fragments on the ground.

As Xing walked back to Lin Qiong's side, Xia Die and Genneus also happened to return from the other side.

"Gnaeus, we've cleared out the lingering swarms of the Wrathful Familiars. What's the next step to restore Nicardi's soul?"

Once everyone had gathered together, Lin Qiong couldn't wait to ask his question.

Not long ago, Lin Qiong and his two companions teamed up with a man named Gnaeus to participate in the Nicardo Festival.

The group helped and cooperated with each other in the earlier levels, and gradually became familiar with each other.

Thus, Gnaeus learned that Lin Qiong and the other two did not belong to the present era, but had traveled from the future, Onpharos, to this place.

At the same time, Lin Qiong and his group also learned from Gnaeus that

His mission was to restore Nicardoli's fragmented soul, eliminate his immortal body, and allow death to return to the Titan.

"King Yun divided Nicardi's soul into five parts and sealed them in those Soul-Forging Statues."

Upon hearing Lin Qiong's question, Gnaeus stretched out his arm and pointed to the four statues standing in various corners of the Soul Forging Zone.

"Perhaps simply removing the seal on the statue will allow those souls to return to Nicardori, but..."

He suddenly stopped talking, as if he had thought of something.

"But what?" Lin Qiong urged hurriedly.

"However, that mediocre king wished to let the glory of the Spear of Heaven's Punishment shine on Suspended Edge City forever, and for this purpose he did not hesitate to use the highest-level soul-sealing ritual to imprison Nicardoli's soul."

"So even if we can break the seal, it will still be a long process to wait for Nicardi's soul to return completely."

"How long will it take?" Xing asked curiously.

“Hmm…” Gnaeus was silent for a moment, then slowly uttered a shocking answer, “That would probably take hundreds of years.”

"What?! It's been that long?!"

Lin Qiong's eyes widened instantly, his voice trembling with shock:

"So, Wan Di has to fight Nicardi for another hundred years before he can finally defeat him?"

Gnaeus's answer left everyone present looking troubled.

This is the old Onfaros, a time before the Black Tide invasion. A hundred years may not seem like much now.

But what would the situation have been like at the time when Lin Qiong and his group set off?

It is likely that in less than a hundred years, the last hope city of Ohmma will be completely swallowed up by the Black Tide.

"Lord Gnaeus, is there really no other way?" Xia Die asked anxiously, her expression slightly tense.

“...Yes.” Gnaeus nodded and replied, “If you really did travel from the future, then you should also have a way to travel to a point in time a hundred years from now.”

He pointed to the ground beneath his feet, "You will break the seal on the statue at that exact moment."

"By then, after the passage of time, King Yong's soul-sealing ritual will likely lose all its effectiveness and will no longer be able to delay Nicardoli's return."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong and Xia Die seemed to realize something and immediately turned their gazes to Xing.

Since Gneus had already put his words to this point, how could Xing not understand what he meant?

She immediately took out a pink quill pen, drew a few strokes in the air, and whispered:

"Mimi, it's time to get out and work!"

......

With Mimi's help, Lin Qiong and his companions repeatedly traveled back and forth between the time periods of a hundred years ago and a hundred years in the future.

All this was to break the seal on the statue and restore Nicardoli's shattered soul.

After much effort, the four of them broke the seals on three statues a hundred years later, leaving only the last statue remaining.

"That's incredible..."

Gnaeus stood before the last statue, looking back at the dilapidated, dimly lit Soulforging Zone before him, and couldn't help but sigh.

"I never imagined that Suspended Peak City would be in this state a hundred years later."

Lin Qiong slowly walked to Gnaeus's side, his gaze sweeping over the desolate land as well, and asked softly:

"What, now that you know that Nikadoli is the biggest culprit who pushed Suspended Edge City to its destruction, are you planning to change your mind and agree with the decision to seal off Indonesian Nikadoli back then?"

“No, my thoughts will not change.” Gnaeus shook his head. “The successive breaking of the seals has reminded me of many things.”

As he spoke, he suddenly turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Qiong and the others, and said solemnly:

"Release this final seal. After that, I will tell you everything I have remembered without reservation."

......

As the final seal was broken, a powerful fighting spirit erupted from the four statues, filling the entire Soul Forging Zone.

And Gnaeus kept his promise and explained why Nicardi's soul had been stripped away and his consciousness had gone mad.

In the end, Lin Qiong and the others heard an even more shocking secret from Gnaeus.

“I am the last of the five parts of Nicardi’s soul—His reason.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was filled with disbelief.

At this moment, his brain was working at lightning speed, trying to process this shocking news.

It's hard to imagine that they, without even realizing it, had accompanied one of Nicardi's souls to the very end of this grand festival.

However, just as Lin Qiong was still immersed in this shock, a fierce battle suddenly broke out in the Soul Forging Zone.

Just as he was awakened by the sounds of fighting and pulled from his thoughts,

Suddenly, a voice rang in my ears, I couldn't tell if it was Nicardoli, Gneus, or a mixture of both.

"It seems the time is almost right. A battle between us is inevitable..."