Chapter 594: Root cause

The crimson lightning fell from above striking at Gu Qing Shan.

With his sword in hand, Gu Qing Shan stood still without moving.

As the Soul Annihilation Lightning was just about to reach him, literally inches away from the tip of his sword, he breathed a deep sigh.

Laura had done what she needed to do.

Gu Qing Shan looked towards the giant Soul Annihilation Lightning———-

There’s no need to hold back anymore.

At the very next second—

——–almost as if someone had warped reality itself, Gu Qing Shan and the Soul Annihilation Lightning both disappeared and switched places with each other.

Divine Skill, [Shadow Shift]

The lightning struck the ground.

Boom!!!

The dirt and sand below exploded from the impact, forming a bottomless hole in the middle of the plaza.

“Tch! That strong huh, what a waste”

Gu Qing Shan turned to look and regretfully said.

Leaping upwards, he soared upwards like a swallow, swiftly making his way to the top of the sky.

He was nimbly avoiding and dodging bolt after bolt of Tribulation Lightning on the way.

——since Laura’s coming of age ceremony was over, he didn’t want to touch even a single bit of lightning anymore.

The wind howled by his ears.

The Tribulation clouds were roaring in anger, accumulating power for its next attack.

The bolts of Tribulation Lightning that he dodged slowly stopped striking downwards and turned around to chase after him.

Gu Qing Shan drew the Chao Yin sword, flew past the Tribulation clouds and headed to the dark sky above.

It’s time to eliminate the [Demon King Order]!

But right at this moment, time stopped.

Everything grinded to a halt.

Gu Qing Shan noticed that even though he couldn’t move, he still had his ability to think.

A foreign thought connected to his own, speaking in a voice full of vicissitudes.

「 Young one, I’ve been watching you for a very long time, the same way I’ve watched Laura by your side. Now that I’ve been summoned, I’ve appeared before you 」the foreign thought spoke.

“Who are you?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

The voice sighed and spoke: 「 Me? I’m right on your body, originally I was recuperating, but it seems I now have work to do 」

Gu Qing Shan realized and asked: “You mean you are the armor that Laura gave me? You were damaged?”

「 Correct, just so that we’re on the same page—— back in Aboul, Triste had used four poisonous thorns given to her by the Lord of True Demons to assassinate the Bramble Bird royal family 」

“Four poisonous thorns?”

「 Yes, at the time, the Bramble Bird King, Queen, Laura and her younger brother, their family of four were taking a family picture when Triste who was right behind them suddenly ambushed them 」

“How did Laura survive?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 At the very last moment, his majesty had put me on Laura to protect her 」

「 Because Laura had the [Infinite Worlds’ Shelter] ability, as long as she wasn’t killed by the thorns on the spot, she would be able to activate her ability and escape from Triste’s pursuit 」

“…Laura had a great and wise father”

「 I really have to say, the thorns from the Lord of True Demons really were impressive, even [Time Stop] couldn’t stop it, even when I had used everything to defend I was still damaged 」

“What about Laura?”

「 Fortunately, she was unharmed 」

The armor’s thought became stern and asked him: 「 Right now, I solemnly ask you one thing 」

“Please go ahead”

「 Fate always provides a choice, a choice made will bring about to unimaginable change, to both me and you——– so I must know, will you keep wearing me after this battle and continue forward, or will you return me to Laura after this battle is over 」

“I will return you to her” Gu Qing Shan instantly replied.

The armor’s thought asked him: 「 You can consider the option to take me away, after all, there are few armors in this world as great as I am 」

It continued: 「 I also don’t enjoy staying on the Saint Bramble Tree very much, rather than becoming a symbol of status for the King of a race, I prefer to be worn and display my strength on a true battlefield 」

“No, this has nothing to do with your choice”

Gu Qing Shan shook his head: “You already belong to Laura, she lent you to me, so I will return you to her afterwards, that is all”

「 However——- 」the armor wanted to say something else.

Gu Qing Shan cut it off: “A father at the last moments of his life had hoped that you would be able to protect his daughter, I can feel the weight of that final act of love a father did for his daughter”

“If you were able to endure the thorn of the Lord of True Demons, then I hope you will be able to keep staying by Laura’s side and protect her”

“This was her father’s wish, and also this stranger’s wish”

“Because of that, I will definitely not take you with me”

The armor silently listened to the end.

Time was still stopped, everything remained exactly where they were.

Then a laugh suddenly came.

The armor’s voice suddenly became calm and glad: 「 Truthfully, I have also made a vow to the Saint Bramble Tree 」

“What kind of vow?”

「 I vowed to forever protect the Bramble Bird race that took me out from the chaotic Abyss, that I would forever protect their sovereign 」

The armor continued joyfully: 「 Just now if you were even a little bit greedy, wanting to take me away, I would’ve immediately returned to Laura’s side 」

「 It seems Laura’s eyes were quite sharp indeed, being able to pick out such a worthy guardian 」

「 If that is the case, I will follow her and your mutual wishes and fight by your side 」

The world then returned to normal.

The wind howled by his ears.

Gu Qing Shan noticed he still continued his flight upwards.

The Tribulation clouds were preparing its next wave of attack.

Laura stood at the top of the tree, loudly cheering for him.

The Tianma were all prepared for the moment when the sky split apart.

[Time Stop] had been dispelled!

At the same time, a faint white light appeared around Gu Qing Shan’s body, almost as if it was mist, but glowing bright at the same time.

“This light is——”

「 It’s me, I am a creation of the Gods, my form is unseen 」

“Why do you take this form?”

「 Because light is the manifestation of the Gods’ solemnity 」

While the armor talked, Gu Qing Shan noticed two lines of glowing text appearing on the War God UI.

[Your armor has entered its battle state]

[You can now check the armor’s details, would you like to check?]

“Show me”

Gu Qing Shan said.

A few more lines of glowing text appeared below.

[Item name: Ancient Artifact, Armor of Gods’ Protection]

[Grade: Ancient Divine Armament]

[This armor was carefully forged by the Gods, originally meant to be granted to heroic figures among living beings, but because of how powerful its defensive capabilities turned out to be, the Gods dismissed the idea]

[This armor has the following abilities:]

[Elemental Erasure: After you receive elemental damage, the armor will activate Elemental Erasure to negate the very next elemental damage]

[Immunity: After you receive physical damage, the armor will activate Immunity to negate the very next physical damage]

[God’s Order: When you are about to receive fatal damage, when the armor sense your fate of death, it will immediately activate [Time Stop] once]

[The following is the War God UI’s details]

[War God Skills: This armor is an ancient divine artifact, it contains untold divinity, but has no skills that you can learn]

[Doomsday Chronicles: This armor was carefully forged by the Gods, in the past life, when the Bramble Bird royal family were all killed, it came into the Light of Dawn, Triste’s hand. She then dedicated it to the Lord of True Demons, where it became known as the True Overlord Armor]

[Note: You can pay 1000 Soul Points to check the historical event related to this armor]

“I’ll pay it”

[Related historical event unlocked]

[Historical event: Defeat of the Lord of True Demons]

[Defeat of the Lord of True Demons: During a crucial decisive battle, the True Overlord Armor suddenly left the Lord of True Demons as he was about to be struck by all-out attacks from all sides, heavily wounding him]

[Afterwards, the Lord of True Demons did everything in his power to destroy this armor that betrayed him]

Reading this, Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but sigh.

So even an armor has feelings.

The Lord of True Demons’ defeat must’ve come from its will to avenge the Bramble Bird royal family.

“Alright, I’m going!”

Gu Qing Shan loudly declared.

It was now time to eliminate all enemies!

It was now the time to put an end to this!

Following Gu Qing Shan’s determination, the faint light around him became bright.

A mysterious solemnity exuded from him.

At the same time, a voice came from the burning bright light.

「 Go! I’m here with you 」