The next day, Hexia arrived at the observation deck in front of the red building along with the many tourists; Feng Jianxue also stood not far away.
Rather than calling it an observation deck, it was more like a platform left behind after pushing down the originally abandoned buildings.
In the gaze of hundreds of thousands of spectators, the procession of the "Godly Generals" slowly made their way toward the high platform, after which the sedan, broad as a carriage, was also slowly lowered.
Unlike twenty years ago, there was no one sitting inside; perhaps no suitable candidate could be found nowadays, and having an ordinary girl sit within would be like painting a dragon and carving a phoenix - out of place. So, they simply left it empty and replaced it with a masked statue of a goddess.
Once everything was settled, one by one, won dressed in red ascended the platform from all sides; their faces veiled with light gauze, they held Ancient Swords, their figures graceful.
Although the pageantry was not weak, the multitude of people caused it to lose its original otherworldly and sacred charm, degenerating into sothing akin to the performances of so singers and dancers.
Fortunately, most of the audience had not been aware of this beforehand, and still found it fresh and interesting to watch.
The music from the red building began to play, layering string and piano lodies one above the other, as if celestial tunes passed down through the ages.
In this aspect, Jielou City had indeed preserved much of its heritage; there wasn't much difference from the past, and the moving music gradually covered the deficiencies of the sword dance, eventually reaching a state where one could watch without being brought out of the experience.
Gradually, everyone imrsed themselves in this lodious and ancient ceremony. Hexia, holding the large spider, was among them, her gaze occasionally sweeping over the red-clad sword dancers.
Their Swordsmanship was essentially the sa as her mother's, but they had not received any additional inheritance; they rely went through the motions. Because they needed to maintain uniformity, so of the spontaneity was lost, but the lively scene masked these details.
Just when Hexia thought the sword dance ceremony would end smoothly, a series of rapid alarm sounds suddenly rang out within Jielou City, followed by the sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance.
What is this? She turned her head in surprise and saw smoke rising from a corner of the city; several Autonomous Units were swiftly moving on the streets and city walls, firing continuously at fleeing figures.
Although old in design, these Autonomous Units were undoubtedly part of Jielou City's defensive and public order forces, managed by Jielou City officials.
Seeing such commotion, the audience inside gradually beca restless; so began to worry, others were curious, and so tried to push their way out to see what was happening.
The originally orderly crowd of hundreds of thousands slowly beca noisy, and the situation looked like it was about to spiral out of control, potentially leading to a serious stampede. But then the music from the red building abruptly ceased, replaced by the long tolling of a bell.
Dong—Dong—Dong—
The bell sound once again drew everyone's attention. At this mont, lantern-like Autonomous Units started rotating up from the red building, flying towards all directions.
These lanterns reached above the crowd, screens on their sides displaying different numbers, then red lasers shot out from below, separating the crowd and giving directions.
"Please leave the venue in an orderly manner according to the different sections you belong to. In the interest of all visitors' safety, this year's Blaze Festival celebration will be suspended for half a day and will resu tomorrow. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and Jielou City will offer a small gift to each guest as compensation," Jielou City officials quickly had a response in place.
Hexia stroked the sowhat restless large spider in her arms and began to walk out along with the other tourists. Feng Jianxue, who had been by her side earlier, was now nowhere to be seen.
anwhile, on the fifth level underground of Jielou City.
Rows of bronze-colored single-wheeled robots moved swiftly. They were Autonomous Units under the command of Jielou City's managent AI, used for riot control and maintaining public order. Due to budgetary constraints, these robots typically only stationed at a few critical nodes and were only activated when needed.
"Pretty quick response there," remarked a black-clad priest holding a submachine gun, leaning on a corner of the underground street, firing continuously at the incoming Autonomous Units.
Ratatat—
A succession of bullets were fired, creating a relentless Fla in front of the gun barrel, striking those Autonomous Units and producing a tinny cacophony. Most bullets failed to penetrate, but a few that hit the vulnerable joints caused sparks to fly from the single-wheeled robots, rendering them on the verge of destruction.
Faced with the sudden attack from both sides of the street, the Autonomous Units raised their gun-barrel arms and began to fight back.
The cara and scanner at the center of the Autonomous Units rotated constantly, and streaks of red dots moved along both sides of the street, followed by a series of bullet holes appearing.
"Hey, try this on for size," said a lean man in black as he threw a grenade, which suddenly exploded.
A mass of tal wires burst from the grenade, entangling the charging Autonomous Units. A surge of electricity and light flashed by, causing an instant short-circuit, while the tough tal wires also sent the robots tumbling into garbage cans and debris along the roadside.
"OK, that's dealt with."
"These are just so outdated things, let's go. Not sure if Blanc and the rest have managed to break in yet," said the two black-clad priests, hoisting their weapons and mounting a hover motorcycle parked nearby, driving towards the site in Jielou City where the explosion had occurred.
And after they had departed, those Autonomous Robots lying to the side were still struggling to move, with their front screens displaying symbols such as [Fei Lian-315-Riot Control].
After the explosions and crossfire, the powers within Jielou City were now alerted, and though most were restricted to the surface venue due to the festival ceremony, the core depths underground still retained considerable defenses.
Bang—
Another loud blast, and the vermillion steel gate in front was blown open with a hole as more than a dozen people clad in black Monk's Robes, wielding various weapons, rapidly crawled in.
"Who goes there!"
Behind the red gates, about ten 'Godly Generals' suddenly stood up, their faces painted blue and red and attired in bright, colorful Armor, with footsteps tread in cloud boots.
The circling activities of the past few days had greatly exhausted the affiliated 'Godly Generals', so they would occasionally rotate out to rest and stand guard here.
"Tsk, we've encountered them."
The lean priest in the lead wearing sunglasses seed a bit displeased; he lifted the heavy machine gun in his hand and began firing. Blue flas shot out rapidly, and the bullets rained down like a storm.
The several 'Godly Generals' in front were directly turned into sieves, blood spurting endlessly while the 'Godly Generals' behind reacted.
"Form the formation!"
"Hah!"
They grouped in several, their steps peculiar, and soon after, their breathing connected, the paint and tattoos on their bodies emitting an unusual glow, as if they had co alive.
"The revered one strikes down evil, misery spreads without end!"
Wielding large swords and Long Halberds, these 'Godly Generals' charged at these invading foes. Their painted ghostly faces turned fiercely toward the enemy, the coloring bleeding out as if imprinting onto the foe, causing the several black-clad priests in front to halt their movents, their bodies stiffening.
Though the process lasted only 1-2 seconds, such a gap was enough for the cold blades to swing down.
The cold gleam of the blades streaked by, trails of blood splattered, two black-clad priests imdiately beheaded and bisected, while another was cleaved diagonally in two.
"Tsk!" The leader dodged a thrusting spear tip, frowning deeply, then signaled to the people behind.
There was another burst of machine-gun fire, this ti they didn't care about possibly injuring their teammates up front.
Despite the formidable power of the firearms, the fight was no longer as one-sided as before. The seemingly decorative, colorful Armor, once blessed with a secret technique, beca as tough as real refined iron, emitting a clang clang as it deflected bullets.
Only after dozens of bullets, the protective layers were finally exhausted and penetrated, bringing forth sprays of blood.
Both sides battled in this corridor for minutes until the last 'Godly General', unwilling to yield, slowly knelt down, leaning on his Long Halberd, his body already full of bullet holes, with blood flowing on the ground.
Passing the body of this 'Godly General', the remaining black-clad priests continued to advance, apparently well-prepared and thoroughly familiar with the route.
After passing this barrier, they faced the vertical elevator leading directly to the core bottom level.
But they wouldn't take the elevator; instead, they blew it up, cut off the elevator car causing it to fall, then using ropes, they slid directly down.
Along the way, they were continuously obstructed by Autonomous Unit Robots from various layers, constantly exchanging gunfire. After sustaining so casualties, these black-clad individuals finally reached the ground, where they faced two massive doors tightly closed in front of them.
The doors were about ten ters high, as if made for giants or colossal beasts, and the doors were emblazoned with huge and ferocious figures of two 'Godly Generals,' their sashes fluttering, arrayed in majestic Armor, one with a dark red painted face holding a long sword, the other with a pale green face wielding twin maces.
These two 'Godly Generals' glared nacingly, their golden bronze eyeballs turning slowly, emitting scanning lasers, as if they could co to life at any mont.
"Finally, we've arrived. This must be the legendary city protecting the Divine Sword, Jielou City, right? I've heard there's only one main street inside. Passing through Chen Xiang Street leads to the Ancestral Shrine where the Divine Sword is enshrined, but... that's not our target today." The leading priest whistled softly, eyeing the two 'Colossal Spirit Godly Generals' slowly rising to their feet and stepping down from the city gate.
"Still, have to deal with you first." He pulled out a pitch-black sword hilt from his chest, and the nine black-clad priests behind him did the sa.
Ten pitch-black Blaze Lightsabers slowly rose, hissing as they scorched the air, the priests forming a circle like a burning Black Sun.
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