Chapter 222: The Little Man in the Box

No one knows that, just like Iapetus who once accidentally saw a corner of the future, another ordinary mortal saw his destiny at the end of his life. He made a prophecy in this forgotten corner of the world, and then it was blown away by the wind and buried in the dust.

Perhaps thousands of years later, there will be descendants coming here, but they will only wonder why there is only such a skeleton left in the city washed by the flood, and they will not remember who he is and what he did. Only the stone slab placed in the temple may carry the traces of his existence and truly last forever.

On the other side, in the ruins of the city, two teams that escaped the disaster left separately. Due to different beliefs, they went in different directions: one went west, towards Olympus; the other went south, following the trajectory of the stars. However, the former was very lucky. Before they left far, they met Hestia, who hurriedly came along the power of faith, at the edge of the plateau.

The goddess learned of their deeds and appreciated their piety, so Hestia finally allowed them to walk the world in the name of her messengers. The cluster they drew from the original holy fire later became the source of the holy fire in the fourth generation of human cities.

When humans gradually multiplied on the earth, whenever there was a new settlement to be opened, the first thing people had to do was to draw these flames that could make the beasts retreat. And these messengers recognized by the gods became the guardians of the holy fire in every city. Although they did not participate in the rule, they only devoted themselves to opening up the wilderness and expelling darkness, but they had a pivotal position everywhere.

As the goddess once said, she did not intend to do anything, because she did not need a specific city or country to regard her as a protector. But she seemed to have done everything, and there were traces of her in every corner of the human world.

As for the other side, the people led by Nuo were still moving forward, and before reaching their destination, the angels did not intend to contact them further. However, it was not known whether it was a coincidence or the guidance of fate that these migrating people met a group of water elves who had lost their homes due to floods on the road.

These lives born in the water did not have a specific body, at least most of them did. However, as nymphs born in lakes and swamps, they still need to live near water sources. After meeting, Nuo, who was greatly surprised, preached to them the greatness of the Lord and invited them to go to the place where the city was built under the guidance of the starlight. The elves who had nowhere to go finally agreed and were willing to become believers of this supreme god in exchange for a safe home under the illumination of the holy fire.

The last stream of people dispersed, and as the wind and sand swept, there was no trace of people on this plateau. The unextinguished holy fire burned alone, witnessing this bronze site that was less than a hundred years old.

As time goes by, everything will be buried in the past, and only history will remember everything silently.

······

In a blink of an eye, several months passed quickly.

At the edge of the Aurora Plateau, green once again covered the earth, but the immaturity of it could still be clearly seen. Since the flood receded, under the authority of Demeter, various plants immediately grew at a speed of dozens of times. In just a few months, the eastern part of the continent returned to its former state.

Unfortunately, vegetation can grow, but life cannot be achieved quickly. Except for the occasional birds flying in the sky, there is no trace of animals on this land invaded by the flood.

The earth fell silent, and everything was so quiet except for the sound of wind and leaves being blown. It will undoubtedly take a long time for the Eastern Continent to truly return to its pre-disaster appearance.

However, on this day, at the edge of the plateau, under an unknown tree, a special sound suddenly came out.

Kaka-

Bang-

Ka-

Friction and noise came from underground, as if some life was digging, which seemed very abrupt in the world after the flood. The soil on the surface vibrated slightly, splashing some dust.

At a certain moment, when the amplitude of the vibration reached its peak, with a muffled sound, the soil was completely broken.

The light from the outside world shone into the cave entrance, vaguely reflecting a figure. But perhaps because he had stayed in the dark environment for a long time, he did not take the next step for a while. After a long time, as if gradually adapting to the light from the outside world, the figure finally stretched his hand out of the cave, and then pushed hard.

Bang——

"Ahem——"

"Is this...already over?"

"Fortunately, it's not the worst result."

The robe was a little dirty, so Ander casually summoned a breeze to blow away the dust on his body. Although he still hadn't learned even the simplest witchcraft, this simple application of spirit and elements really didn't stump him.

And it's worth mentioning that Ander has finally made a step forward in meditation and reached the fourth level. At this point, he is only one step away from [Legend].

Maybe ten years, maybe decades, but before the life of mortals is exhausted, he will have the opportunity to explore that realm. After all, although he can't compare with the natural gods, his talent among mortals is actually extremely excellent.

"When that time comes, the things that Mr. Ryan left me can be used. I'm really looking forward to it."

Ander silently stroked the puppet in his arms, feeling a little fortunate. If it weren't for this parting gift, he probably couldn't avoid this disaster that covered the sky and the sun.

Perhaps for a true fourth-level wizard, a flood that does not involve extraordinary power is not a big deal. They can easily travel in the sky. As long as they pay attention to avoid the son of the sea god and those powerful sea monsters, they will not encounter any real danger. But Ander is different.

After all, he is a half-baked man who has only practiced "internal skills" and does not know any "moves". Facing strange beasts, he can still pretend to be strong to scare them, but facing the raging waves, Ander has no way to do anything. So in the end, he still relied on using mental power to stimulate the puppet left by Ryan, briefly stimulating its magic, and was able to survive the natural disaster.

But now, the puppet can no longer be used for the time being, after all, Ander is not really qualified to accommodate it. Fortunately, the disaster is over, and there will probably be no other dangers in the short term.

After scanning the surroundings, Ander turned around and shouted to the cave he had climbed out of before:

"The disaster is over, everyone come up. We have almost used up the food we have stored, and we have to hurry up to collect some more."

Yes, Ander did not hide alone. When the disaster came, he was kind-hearted and protected every panicked and helpless bronze human, regardless of whether they knew each other before or had a good relationship.

And when the flood hit, Ander also used the power of puppets to protect everyone, and even when hiding underground, he was responsible for distributing food to everyone. Now that the disaster is about to end, he has arranged for everyone to take turns digging upwards, and he will be the first person to land on the ground. He knew it was dangerous, but Ander still stood up.

".The result is always good. Since we didn't find ourselves being watched by sea monsters at the first time, the gods who set off the disaster should not have discovered our survival. Or maybe they did, but no one cared about us."

After getting a response from the knocking sound under the cave, Ander turned around and continued to observe the surrounding environment. When the flood came, he didn't know how far he was carried away and where he was buried again in the soil - the power of the puppets protected their safety, but it did not include maps and directions.

Behind him, climbing and friction sounds were heard, but Ander did not look back. The second person he arranged was the strongest one in the group. He not only had to climb up by himself, but also had to be responsible for widening the width of the pit.

After all, not everyone has a good figure. Even among the primitive bronze humans, there are many people who are fatter than others.

"Huh-"

"Sir Ander, it seems we are safe."

Climbing out of the cave, the tall and strong middle-aged man squinted his eyes, blocked the sunlight with his hands, and then looked around.

The sun shines through the earth in the sky, and everything is thriving. If it weren't for his personal experience and the silence without any trace of life, the middle-aged man would even think that nothing had happened.

But this is impossible. Although the survivors can't see the sun and have lost their sense of time, they can still roughly judge how long it has been by the consumption of food.

In just a few months, the earth has been completely renewed, and only life has been wiped out from the world without leaving any trace.

'Is this God? Whether it is destruction or creation, it is so terrible. '

The thought flashed silently in his mind, the middle-aged man shook his head, and smiled again and said:

"Sir Ande, do you think we will be visited by the gods again?"

"The oracle wants to destroy the bronze humans, but we are still alive-"

"Don't worry, Uncle Cologne, nothing will happen."

With a gentle smile, Ande is still observing the surroundings. According to the position of the sun, he can probably confirm that he should still be near the original Aurora Plain.

This is the knowledge of astrology. Mr. Ryan once only mentioned it, but he remembered it very clearly.

"The gods won't care about those of us who slipped through the net, and we don't plan to walk as bronze humans anymore. Although it's hard to accept, let's let the last era pass like this, and we will rebuild the settlement together and live well in this world."

"Besides, I still have the gift left by Mr. Ryan. Believe me, we will be fine."

Ander stroked the puppet on his chest again. This was really the most legendary experience in his life. Being with God, learning all kinds of magical knowledge from God, and receiving such a gift, at this moment, a sense of mission arises spontaneously.

He wants to lead these people who were saved by him to survive and develop a truly immortal civilization. Especially when he breaks through [Legend] and truly has the ability to use puppets, he believes that all problems can be solved.

Even if there is no woman and cannot reproduce, he can still think of a way.

"That's great, Mr. Ander, you are so kind."

As he was immersed in his imagination, Ander heard Cologne's voice. He smiled, and was about to turn around and help the rest of the people out of the cave.

"It's okay, now that we're talking about it, the people behind us should also--"

Sneak--

The smile froze on his face, and Ander's left hand in his arms seemed to touch something sharp. Pain came from his chest, and he was a little unable to breathe.

Snap--

Bang--

Pulling out the dagger, Cologne faced the spurting blood expressionlessly. He wiped the knife on his body, and then watched Ander fall to the ground.

His eyes widened, the pain that came over him instantly made him speechless, but looking at the person he was protecting, he still couldn't understand.

". Why."

"Isn't it obvious, Ander, the disaster is over, and you are no longer useful."

Ken squatted down and fumbled in Ander's arms. Soon, he found the puppet.

He pulled it, but it didn't move for a while, but Cologne just sneered. He waved the dagger and slashed it again, directly cutting Ander's left hand at the wrist.

"We have always had a bad relationship, haven't we? You know. The great god walked in the world as a mortal. He obviously saw me first, but you got it first. He taught you drama and made you noble among people; he gave you this gift to protect your life in the disaster. Maybe it has other uses, but that doesn't matter. Now-"

"-It's mine."

Standing up, looking at Ander who was still breathing slightly, Cologne showed a trace of disgust. He knew he was so despicable, but it was precisely because of this that he hated Ander's kindness even more.

"You are a good man, Ander 'Sir', I call you this for the last time. You saved me regardless of the past, but I treated you like this, you don't understand, right?"

Lifting the puppet and looking at the bloodstains on it, Cologne's mouth curled up. He looked at the puppet, as if he was looking at Ander, or even at Ryan, who had been rejected by him but still ignored him.

He didn't understand what this expression was in the past, but he understood it now. This is the condescending look of God from above. In his eyes, all beings are equal, but they are only 'equal'. Because except for him, everything is the same.

"In this world, only those who do whatever it takes can win in the end. Look, I have won now."

"The strong prey on the weak, that is the nature of life!"

Watching Ander's breath completely disappear, Cologne looked at the puppet in his hand again. But no matter how he observed it, he couldn't see anything special about it.

Helplessly, he had to put it aside for the time being. Before leaving, he took a last look at Ander's body.

"If the legendary reincarnation really exists, then remember my words, naive young man. If you have another life, you will definitely thank me for my warning."

······

Turning away, taking off his bloody clothes, Cologne turned around and took out a golden box from the pit. In response to his companions' questions, he just explained hastily that there were other dangers outside, and he and Ander had to deal with it together. It would take a while, but it was not a big problem, and they didn't need to worry.

Although there was not much food, it was enough to spend half a day, and Cologne was a craftsman, and he was tall and strong after holding the forging hammer for a long time. Therefore, whether there were doubts or not, people chose to believe his words.

Back on the ground, Cologne opened the box and put the puppet in.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out how to use this thing. In addition, when he was underground, facing everyone's curiosity about his magical power and the panic of divine punishment, Ander finally explained that this treasure given by God could not be used again in a short period of time after being used once, so Cologne just regarded it as normal.

However, no one knew whether there were any other problems with this puppet, so he put it in a golden box. It is rumored that gold has the ability to isolate certain influences to a certain extent. Although he didn't understand it, he still followed suit.

Putting the golden box on his chest, Cologne breathed a sigh of relief. Before, his spirit had been tense. Although he had tried to test Ander in various ways and confirmed that the other party had some strange tricks but did not have strong power, everything was still unknown until he watched Ander completely lose his breath.

Maybe the other party was lying to him, and he could actually kill easily with thunder and lightning; maybe the other party had some hidden cards, just like this puppet that had never been heard of before; or maybe this puppet had other special powers, and even the god who gave the gift might come in person. Fortunately, nothing happened.

Until this moment, when the puppet was put into the box, this thrilling plan came to an end.

"You actually told the truth. I can only say that you deserved to die."

"The deception of the priests, the gratitude of people at the beginning when you were underground, and the complaints later, and even my hatred for you in the past. If this can't make you see the world clearly, why not give me the opportunity."

Looking at the cave entrance on the side, Cologne smiled disdainfully. He didn't believe that no one could see that there was something wrong with his hasty coming and going, but those "smart people" chose to remain silent. Maybe when they learned of Ander's death, a few guys who didn't "understand" so much would jump out and question him, but it didn't matter.

Without the Creator, without the sacrifices, without the rules and regulations of the original bronze human social system, now, in this brand new land, everything has returned to its original state.

And he, tall and strong, holding a weapon, is the ruler by right. He will use the fate of those guys who don't "understand" to tell others who has the final say here.

Pulling up Ander's body, Cologne walked away. In any case, speculation is just speculation, and he has not planned to openly show that he killed Ander. And as long as there is no evidence, many people will convince themselves.

"Humph!"

Looking down, Cologne found that Ander's eyes seemed to still be looking at him, so the next moment, he destroyed them without hesitation.

It's fine to be alive, but what else can you do after death?

Throwing the body far away, Cologne returned the same way. It was time for him to solve the "internal problems". In the empty field, only Ander's body was dumped on the ground, and his empty eye sockets were staring at the sky.

The sun and the moon rotated.

······

Click--

In the middle of the night, the moonlight shines on the earth, and everything is peaceful and harmonious. The moon goddess Selene drove her Milky Way across the sky. If you have better eyesight, you can see that there is another person beside her.

The two of them staying together made the moonlight a little more mysterious. Those who are born with extraordinary perception can perceive that the light that is different from usual contains some special power, which makes them feel extra comfortable.

But this has nothing to do with the surviving humans. After dealing with the two ignorant guys, the remaining humans quickly reached a consensus. Ander died while fighting the alien beast, and the alien beast escaped with injuries. As for where the alien beast came from in this empty world, who knows.

When night fell, the people who finally saw the light of day fell asleep. Cologne slept alone on a bluestone, with the golden box on his chest.

Although he didn't know how to use it, Cologne didn't want this treasure to leave him for a moment. Whether awake or asleep, he wanted it to stay by his side.

However, at the quietest time of midnight, a special sound came from the box.

Click--

After a long time, at a certain moment, as if it had adapted to something, the golden box slowly opened a gap, and a wooden man poked his head out of it. After observing the external environment, it seemed to realize the safety of the moment, and then crawled out of the box completely.

It looked at the moon in the sky, and then looked at the sleeping people. No one noticed it, after all, there was nothing nearby except the moonlight.

Click——

Twisting crookedly, the puppet came to Cologne's head. For the small puppet, this "huge" head was much larger than his body, so it had to "climb" to get up. Fortunately, the night was very dark, and today's experience really made Cologne very tired, so until the end, he did not wake up.

Click——

Standing on Cologne's cheek, the puppet tilted its head. It stared at the sleeping middle-aged man and slowly stretched out its hands. It seemed to want to pierce its arms into the other's eye sockets, but in the end, after a long silence, it did nothing.

Not because it still had good intentions, but at this moment, it had a better idea.

Any life needs strength to survive, and it is no exception. And now, when it survived in this special form, it finally understood why it had to step into the extraordinary realm to use puppets.

But it was too late. Since it failed to get on the right track at the beginning, it had to try to make up for it in other ways. And all of this is inseparable from some special energy.

The night covered everything, and with the sound of joint friction, the little man crawled back to his "new home", but when he went back, he had a thin notebook in his hand.

Its infinite paper once recorded every scene of the little man's drama, and now this new one will naturally be no exception.

Click--

The sun rises, and everything seems to have not happened. A new day has arrived, and no one knows what kind of future will greet these survivors.

A link to a friend's book:

In the Yuling era, people who are compatible with the heroic spirit can summon the heroic spirit from another world to fight for themselves.

Wu Ming, a traverser who cannot summon the heroic spirit, accidentally awakens his talent [Legendary Scroll]

With his talent, he was able to enter the world of the heroic spirit. Wu Ming left countless myths and legends and created an invincible heroic spirit that spanned the ages.

He once took in wronged souls in his mortal body, turned the tide and wiped out the demon state - [Demon Soul Slayer]

He also dug out his own eyes and traveled through the mountains and rivers of flesh and blood in person, just to draw the only pure land in the world - [Strange Paintings of Mountains and Rivers]

In the barren land, he once shouldered the will of mankind and established an empire spanning the stars - [Eternal Emperor]

It was also when the stars revived that he shattered the stars with his death and protected the people of the world - [Sacred Devotion]

After his death, all the creatures in the world were praising his name.

[Human Evil Thoughts] [Lord of the Abyss] [Star Devouring] [Original Demon] [Old Ruler] [Supreme Taoist] [Him].

When others were still worrying about the first Heroic Spirit Contract, Wu Ming was also worried as he looked at the endless legendary scroll.

"With so many Heroic Spirits, which one should I use next time?"