Stranger Danger

Chapter 943: The Tiger Roars, The Nether End Emerges

There was an extremely dangerous sea region deep in the Eastern Sea called the Nether End Sea.

The “Nether” in the name meant that it was dark. This sea region was lightless regardless of day or night all the time as if it existed in the Nether.

The “End” in the name meant extinction. It was exceedingly difficult for any life to survive in this sea region, so much so that it was practically devoid of life.

It was because the Nether End Sea was overflowing with all sorts of yin and evil energies, Anomalies, and natural disasters. Not even the most tenacious creature or Stranger could survive in this sea for long.

Therefore, the Nether End Sea wasn’t just a forbidden zone to humans. It was a forbidden zone to all living beings.

Right now though, several people had appeared outside the Nether End Sea, and their leaders were none other than Chu Xunxian and Guo Ximian.

Besides the duo, the small group was made up of “Mister Nine” Chu Wangsun, the third son of the Emperor of Chu Chu Mingfeng, the chief disciple of the Qing Emperor, Su Bancheng, and the son of the Godly Strategist General, the ‘Young Military God’ Chen Wuji.

Chu Wangsun waved his hand, and a black tiger talisman appeared in the sky. For some reason, one half of it was missing, and it was rusted and covered in blood.

A few breaths later, the other half of the tiger talisman flew out of the Nether End Sea. The two tiger talismans then combined into one.

“ROAAAAAARRRRR...”

When the two halves of the talisman combined, a black tiger appeared in the sky and roared.

The wind began howling, and a desolate, grave-sounding war horn resounded from the depths of the Nether End Sea. Somehow, the already lightless Nether End Sea grew even darker than before.

The next moment, Chu Wangsun, Su Bancheng and the others saw the darkness suddenly spreading out of the sea region as if it was alive. At the same time, an indescribable fear that stifled their breaths and crushed their chest sprouted in almost everyone’s heart.

“Your Highness...”

Chen Wuji spoke up with a gulp. He could barely suppress his own fear and astonishment.

Before he could say anything else though, Chu Xunxian waved him down and said, “There is nothing to be worried about.”

The encroaching darkness was coming closer and closer. The feeling of oppression, despair, death and destruction grew stronger and stronger until it felt like the world itself would collapse. Everyone except the older men were wrestling with panic and fear that could not seem to be quelled no matter what they tried.

They had a strong premonition that there was absolutely no way they would survive if they were to fall into that darkness.

The darkness came closer and closer when suddenly, the younglings realized that the encroaching darkness wasn’t darkness at all. It was... soldiers. Human soldiers.

The soldiers were all wearing black armor and black masks. A black saber rested beside their waist. Some of them were carrying bows, and others spears. Somehow, they were walking on the sea surface like it was solid ground. Their march did not elicit any sound whatsoever.

“What... in the world...?”

Chu Mingfeng’s eyes widened. He just could not believe his eyes.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone except Chu Xunxian was staring at the soldiers in shock.

They just could not imagine that the lightless, all-consuming forbidden zone known as the Nether End Sea... was hiding an army. A living, breathing human army.

Yes, these soldiers were living people. Although their vitality felt unusually faint and impure for some reason, they were definitely humans and alive.

It wasn’t just one, one hundred, or even one thousand soldiers either. There were a whopping fifty thousand of them.

What shocked them even more was the fact that every single one of these soldiers boasted powerful auras. The weakest of them were Spirit Purifiers, and the strongest were Truemen or Grandmasters. Their auras were merged like one, and their martial force united like no other. That was how they formed the darkness. And inside that darkness, mountains of corpses and oceans of blood floated, countless ghosts wailed endlessly where neither sun nor moon could shine.

Although this army was on the smaller side in terms of numbers, they felt as strong as any elite border army of Chu. In fact, if they were to look at their individual cultivation level, strength, and martial force alone, they were stronger.

When the soldiers were about sixty meters away from the group, they came to a stop in perfect unison. Again, the lack of sound and perfect uniformity made it feel like they were facing a curtain of darkness, not soldiers.

A soldier walked out of the army formation and stopped in front of Chu Xunxian. Then, he dropped to one knee and held up the tiger talisman with both hands.

After Chu Xunxian accepted the tiger talisman, the soldier returned to his position. He never said a single word.

With the tiger talisman in his grip, Chu Xunxian raised his voice, “Attention, Nether End Army. You will come with me to the Eastern Sea post haste!”

All the soldiers raised their hands to perform a salute and lifted their spears. Their actions were uniform, and the world turned colder without a sound.

The next moment, the soldier who handed Chu Xunxian the tiger talisman removed his war horn from his waist and blew it.

The horn sounded bleak and mournful, long and mysterious. Slowly, many warships began rising from the bottom of the restless sea.

The warships were pitch black in color and about three hundred meters long, massive and imposing. They were also covered in countless mysterious lights.

The twenty warships looked like giant sea monsters of the deep, and they looked indescribably stunning and majestic.

“All units, board ship!”

Chu Xunxian waved, and the soldiers split into twenty-man platoons. They then filed into the warships.

Although there were fifty thousand soldiers in total, everyone moved efficiently as if they were of one mind. In less than ten breaths, everyone had boarded the warships already.

“Let’s go.”

With that, Chu Xunxian and the rest of the group boarded the foremost warship.

Chu Xunxian tossed the tiger talisman into the air after he boarded the warship. Black light flashed from the talisman and enveloped all of the warships in just the blink of an eye. At the same time, a massive black tiger could be seen floating in the sky.

The tiger roared, and the black light grew stronger. It pounced forward with a start, and every warship shot forward like loose arrows as well.

In the sky, the tiger ran as quick as lightning, and on the sea, the warship cut through the waves like paper.

Strangely, their movement elicited no sound whatsoever.

If someone were to look at them from the outside, they would not see the tiger nor the ships. They would only see a spreading darkness that became one with the night itself, making it difficult to distinguish it from its surroundings.

At the bow of the ship, Guo Ximian admired the sailing warships and perceived the energies in the air, sighing. “The Nether End Army deserves its reputation.”

“Which nation does the Nether End Army belong to, Duke?” Chu Mingfeng voiced his puzzlement. Chu Wangsun, Su Bancheng and Chen Wuji were listening closely as well.

Instead of answering, Guo Ximian looked to Chu Xunxian for permission. “Can I tell them, Your Highness?”

“They are the heroes of humanity. Their name may not be known to the world, but they should be remembered by the geniuses of Chu,” Chu Xunxian replied.

“You are right, Your Highness.” Guo Ximian looked at the trio and began, “The Nether End Army belongs to Chu.”

“They’re one of Chu’s armies? How is that possible?”

Chen Wuji voiced his confusion, “Why haven’t I heard of them before?”

“It’s natural you wouldn’t know about them. In fact, there are only a handful of people in the entire Chu who are aware of their existence.”

Guo Ximian said, “Even I have only heard of their name. This is the first time I’ve ever seen them in person.”

“Over nine hundred years ago, after the calamity that was the Dragon Sovereign was quelled, the sages of the four nations did more than just slaying the Dragon Sovereign’s bloodline to the last and supporting the Four Seas Dragon Palace to prevent the dragons from rising to power again. They also hid an army each in the east, south, west and north sea.”

“They are the Nether End Army of Chu, the Heaven Slaying Army of Yan, the Earth Destroying Army of Wei, and the Sea Pacifying Army of Qi. The Nether End Army is garrisoned in the Nether End Sea of the Eastern Sea, the Heaven Slaying Army in the Frigid North Abyss of the Northern Sea, the Earth Destroying Army in the Starry Hazard Island of the Western Sea, and the Sea Pacifying Army in the Shipwreck Gulf of the Southern Sea.”