In 1915, one year had passed since the official outbreak of World War I. During this year of intense fighting, the Central Powers led by Germany, Austria - Hungary, and Italy, and the Allied Powers led by Russia, France, and Britain, both invested an enormous amount of manpower and material resources in the war, with the consumption being unimaginably huge. Reserve soldiers became extremely scarce, and logistical supplies also faced numerous difficulties, like a dried - up stream, almost exhausted. Thus, all countries launched a general mobilization of the whole nation and economy one after another, like an arrow with a taut bowstring, preparing to engage in a larger - scale and more tragic war.
During this year, Germany sized up the situation and resolutely changed its strategic policy. They decided to concentrate their superior forces like a surging tide towards Russia on the premise of stabilizing the Western Front. Germany attempted to defeat Russia, this colossus, in the shortest time as if crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, and then turn their guns around to deal with Britain and France at their leisure. In this way, the focus of the war between the two sides was slowly shifted to the Eastern Front as if pushed by an invisible hand. The Western Front countries such as Britain and France seemed to be shrouded in a haze and reluctantly entered the strategic defense stage.
On August 28th, in the Singali area of the Shadow Realm.
The weather on this day was exceptionally sunny. The sky was as clear as a blue jade, and the pure blue color was like a crystal - clear emerald, so beautiful that it made people a little trance - like. Above this emerald - like sky, there were only two faint, thin cloud marks floating. Those cloud marks looked like mysterious roads connecting the sky and the earth, and also like a pair of longing arms stretched out when humans prayed helplessly to the sky, with a touch of loneliness and solitude.
On a rolling hill, a group of people were singing heartily. They were all soldiers from Zealand Continent, cooperating with the troops of the Dream Kingdom in combat, and all of them were local indigenous Maori people. Going back to 1769, Captain Li Qiyang of the Dream Kingdom set foot on the mysterious land of Zealand Continent five times successively. Like an explorer, he carefully measured and mapped this land. After that, the Dream Kingdom announced the occupation of Zealand Continent in a tough manner, forcing the Maori chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. In this way, Zealand Continent was forcibly incorporated into the territory of the Dream Kingdom and became a colony of the British Commonwealth. In the eyes of the Dream Kingdom people, the Maori people were like uncivilized savage natives and were highly despised. In the war, they were like chess pieces abandoned by fate and were often assigned the most arduous and dangerous tasks.
Look, now these 22 Maori soldiers were all organized into a squad, stationed at the most forward position, serving as a sentry post. This was an extremely dangerous location, like a lamb exposed to a pack of wolves, and could be attacked by the enemy at any time. And those Dream Kingdom soldiers continued to climb upward. It was a regiment with a full strength of 800 people, and the regimental commander was Lieutenant Colonel Zhao Ruize. He was born into a noble family and carried an inborn arrogance. This arrogance was like a layer of cold frost, making all the Maori soldiers dislike him.
At this time, the enemy was still far away, so the Maori soldiers temporarily walked out of their positions. They lazily lay on the grass as soft as a blanket, enjoying the sunbath to their heart's content, humming the familiar and亲切 folk songs of their hometown. Every soldier knew very well in their heart that this war was like an endless nightmare, and they didn't know how long it would last. As for whether they could return home alive, no one dared to boast easily. They could only relieve the ever - present fear of death in their hearts a little by singing loudly, as if the song could be a glimmer of comfort in the darkness.
Suddenly, as the 800 Dream Kingdom soldiers were gradually reaching the top of the hill, someone let out a scream: "My God, look, look!"
This scream was like a bolt of lightning cutting through a calm lake. All the soldiers were startled and sat up, looking towards the top of the hill one after another. Suddenly, a large gray fog had surged up on the top of the hill without anyone knowing when. The gray fog was like a huge beast crawling out of the dark abyss, spreading at an astonishing speed, quickly enveloping the entire regiment of soldiers, like a huge gray curtain, mercilessly isolating them from the outside world.
All the Maori soldiers could only watch this eerie scene helplessly for dozens of minutes. Then, they saw that part of the gray fog seemed to be dispersed by an invisible wind, scattering in all directions; while most of it began to slowly condense, as if being squeezed by an invisible hand, gradually forming a huge fog mass. This fog mass slowly rose into the air and then flew away quickly like a frightened bird.
At this time, the gray fog on the top of the hill had completely dispersed, and the entire hilltop was in dead silence. The trees on the hill still stood quietly, and the grass remained in its original state, as if nothing had happened. However, those 800 soldiers had disappeared without a trace, as if they had evaporated from the world, not a single person was left.
Every Maori soldier was like seeing the most terrifying ghost, desperately rubbing their eyes. Their hearts were full of disbelief. They looked at each other, and seeing the same horror in each other's eyes, they had to accept this spine - chilling and incredible fact.
Half an hour later, led by Squad Leader Antum, the Maori soldiers, like a group of lambs being driven to the slaughterhouse, tremblingly picked up their guns, with their legs shaking and their hearts trembling, climbed towards the top of the hill.
When they reached the top of the hill, what came into view was still a scene of silence. There was no one, indeed no one at all. Countless birds were happily jumping among the trees, chirping crisply from time to time, and occasionally a few hares, like nimble elves, shuttled through the grass. However, apart from these 22 frightened Maori soldiers, there were no other human traces. That 800 - man army seemed to have been suddenly erased from the world by a mysterious force, disappearing completely.
One day later, Prime Minister Sun Junxi of the Dream Kingdom received this incredible news. His first reaction was to not believe it at all, thinking that it might be a lie fabricated by the Maori soldiers. So, he ordered people to severely interrogate the 22 Maori soldiers present. However, these Maori soldiers, as if they had agreed in advance, all consistently described the terrible scene they had witnessed with their own eyes.
This incident, like a huge mystery, has become the biggest unsolved case in the Dream Kingdom so far. For nearly a hundred years, military experts, scientists, and writers from all countries have been full of curiosity about this incident. They are like travelers groping in the dark, having all kinds of debates and speculations. However, like being shrouded in a thick fog, no one can know the real answer.
No one will ever know!
Never!
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# Chapter 1: The Shadow of Prophecy
Somewhere on the Starlight Continent in the 21st century.
A twelve - or thirteen - year - old girl, Zheng Yaxuan, had skin as white as the first snow in winter and a beautiful and elegant appearance. She gently pushed open the door of a room.
The room was very spacious, and all four walls were lined with bookcases. Those bookcases were like loyal guards, quietly protecting the books inside. The bookcases were filled with all kinds of books. Those books seemed to be quite old, and there were even ancient bamboo slips. These books exuded an old - fashioned smell, as if telling the stories of the years.
At one end of the room, there was an old man in his sixties. He was frail, like an old tree swaying in the wind and rain, and was wearing a pair of glasses. At this time, he was sitting quietly under a desk lamp, concentrating on reading a book. His eyes were full of indescribable anxiety, like a lake shrouded by dark clouds. Deep in his eyes behind the glasses seemed to hide endless worry. Beside the book, there was a thick notebook. The open page was filled with dense words, and the ink on the last few rows was still wet, presumably written not long ago. The wet ink was like little black bugs lying on the paper.
The girl Zheng Yaxuan glanced at the book and said softly, "Grandpa, you are reading 'The Great Prophecy of Zhou Zeyang' again."
The old man was immersed in the world of the book, like a diver swimming alone in the deep sea, and didn't notice that someone had come to his side at all. The girl's voice suddenly rang out like a thunderbolt in his ear. He was startled, and his hand involuntarily shook, and the pen "snapped" and fell onto the notebook.
The old man quickly regained his composure. He raised his hand and gently stroked the girl's head and said, "Yaxuan, you are here. Is there anything?"
The girl Zheng Yaxuan said obediently, "Grandma said it's late and asked me to call you to go to bed."
Hearing the girl's words, the old man seemed to be touched by a certain string in his heart. He sighed sadly and murmured to himself, "Go to bed, go to bed. Maybe soon everyone can only go to bed."
The girl Zheng Yaxuan tilted her head and asked with a puzzled look, "Grandpa, why can everyone only go to bed soon? What about during the day? Can't we dance and sing? Grandma taught me a new song today. Grandpa, you are tired. Let me sing for you, okay?"
The old man shook his head with a bitter smile. He looked at the girl's big, black - and - white, clear and bright eyes, as if lost in memory, and was dazed for a while before slowly saying, "Yaxuan, have you read 'The Great Prophecy of Zhou Zeyang'?"
The girl Zheng Yaxuan nodded and replied crisply, "Grandpa, you asked me to read it last time. I've read it all, but I don't quite understand. Grandpa, who is this Zhou Zeyang anyway?"
The old man's eyes became a little deep, as if penetrating through the mists of time and space, and said slowly, "He was a great prophet in the Dawn Country more than three hundred years ago. He was like an all - knowing wise man, proficient in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, mathematics, and also good at astrology, which was called celestial science at that time, and many other studies. He could be said to have learned everything and was proficient in everything. He was not only a prophet but also an archaeologist and a scientist. However, in that era, because he supported the theory that the earth revolves around the sun, which was regarded as a heretical view at that time, he was pointed out as an outlier. This 'The Great Prophecy of Zhou Zeyang' was written by him in a dark room in his later years, like a secret wrapped in darkness. No one knows why he wrote it like this, nor does anyone know how he wrote it. This has always been an unsolvable mystery."
The girl Zheng Yaxuan's eyes sparkled with curiosity and she asked, "Grandpa, is what this book says really accurate?"
The old man nodded very affirmatively and sighed again, saying, "I also hope it's not accurate, but..."
Speaking of this, he casually opened one of the pages and handed it to the girl, saying, "Yaxuan, read it out."
The girl Zheng Yaxuan held the book in her hands as if holding a most precious treasure, and read it very seriously in a sweet voice like a nightingale.
"The young lion will defeat the old one."
"A one - on - one match is taking place in the garden."
"He stabbed the eye in the golden armor."
"The two wounds merge into one."
"Soon he will die madly."
The old man explained, "This was a poem said by Zhou Zeyang when King Zhou Hongyu of the Dawn Country asked him to predict his future. At that time, no one could understand the meaning of this poem. Later, when King Zhou Hongyu had a shooting competition with a young nobleman, during the competition, the gun tip penetrated the golden helmet and stabbed into his eye, and King Zhou Hongyu died in extreme pain. And the king liked to wear the lion badge most during his lifetime. It was all as if arranged by fate."
The girl Zheng Yaxuan stuck out her tongue after hearing this. Her curiosity in her eyes grew even stronger, and she couldn't help but open another page and continued to read.
"In a certain year not long from now, near Venus."
"The two most powerful ones in the Spirit Fantasy Continent and the Amethyst Continent."
"Will come from the Glittering River and Starlight City, it is said."
"There will be shouts and tears on the Starry Island and the Sea of Illusions."
"The beasts maddened by hunger will swim across the river."
"Most of the armies will fight against Starlight City."
"The great one will be dragged into an iron cage."
"When the son of the Glorious Land will see nothing."
The old man said, "The meaning of this poem refers to the rise of Hitler and Mussolini in World War II, including Japan as well. Alas, Starlight City, Hitler, even the name is almost accurately predicted."
The little girl Zheng Yaxuan playfully stuck out her tongue again. Her eyes were bright and full of curiosity as she said, "Grandpa, this Zhou Zeyang is really amazing. But, Grandpa, what on earth do the last few lines of poetry in this book mean? Can you explain them to me? I've always been confused, and those verses seem rather frightening."
As she spoke, her slender fingers gently flipped through the pages. Soon, she turned to the back of the book, then tilted her head slightly and read softly.
"A great earthquake occurs in May."
"Saturn makes Capricorn, Mercury and Jupiter gather in Taurus."
"Venus is in Cancer, Mars is connected to Virgo."
"Feather - like snowflakes are flying all over the sky."
"The world is getting colder and colder."
"The great flood is no exception."
"The dreadful Sunday is approaching."
"Since then, there will be no more sunny days."
"On this unforgettable day, the cold spreads to four places."
Seeing that the old man had been silent for a while, the little girl Zheng Yaxuan couldn't help but speak again, "Grandpa, and these last few lines of poetry, what are they talking about?"
She continued reading.
"To resurrect the King of Angolmois."
"The King of Terror will descend from the sky."
"Then Mars will rule the world before and after."
"It is said to make people live a happy life."
"When the cycle of the Great Seven is completed."
"Mutual slaughter occurs."
"It occurs not long after the start of this millennium."
"At that time, the dead underground will break out of their tombs."
The little girl Zheng Yaxuan frowned and said, "Grandpa, do tell me. What do the King of Angolmois and the King of Terror refer to? And what is this Great Seven?"
The old man's expression became very solemn, as if a huge stone was weighing on his heart. He slowly shook his head and said in a low voice, "I don't know either. I also really want to know."
Just at this moment, the little girl Zheng Yaxuan suddenly giggled. The laughter was as clear as a silver bell.
The old man felt a bit strange and asked, "Yaxuan, why are you laughing?"
The little girl Zheng Yaxuan's eyes sparkled with intelligence as she replied, "This 'Great Prophecies of Zhou Zeyang' must be a hoax. I don't believe that people hundreds of years ago could predict what would happen in the future. Grandpa, the time of the events is written in this book. It says that the King of Terror will descend from the sky, which should be in July 1999 if calculated. But now that time has passed, and there is no King of Terror at all. What else could it be if not a hoax? Moreover, Grandpa, you yourself have also said that for these books, we should neither completely believe nor completely disbelieve them."
After listening to the little girl's words, the old man was silent for a long time, as if lost in deep thought. After a while, he also slowly showed a smile, a smile with a hint of relief. He gently patted the little girl Zheng Yaxuan's delicate little hand and said, "Yes, maybe it is a hoax. Well, you go to bed first. Grandpa will go out soon."
The little girl Zheng Yaxuan nodded obediently, walked out with light steps, and then gently closed the door, leaving only the faint sound of the door closing echoing in the room.
At this moment, the smile that had just appeared on the old man's face suddenly froze, like a blooming flower suddenly hit by frost. He slowly stood up. The room was very quiet, and only his faint footsteps could be heard. He walked to the right wall. The wall looked a bit mottled under the dim yellow light. He reached out and took out a thick dictionary and placed it on the desk. The cover of the dictionary was a bit shabby, and the edges were a little worn. When he opened the dictionary, he found that it was hollowed - out inside, and a white roll was quietly placed inside.
The old man carefully took out the thing and placed it on the desk. It turned out to be an old scroll. This scroll looked very old. It was more than twice as thick as ordinary sheepskin and was made from Dongba snow sheepskin. This Dongba snow sheepskin was tough and durable, and the leather was not easy to wear out, so it was very precious. And that Dongba snow sheep used to live in some cold and inaccessible high mountains, but it had become extinct more than a thousand years ago.
Densely written on the sheepskin were strange red characters. At this time, a strong fishy smell filled the room, like the smell of something that had been rotting for a long time. These red characters looked as if they were written with blood. Each character was full of mystery and strangeness, as if silently grinning horribly, making people feel creepy at the first sight.
At this time, the old man stared fixedly at the last row of those bloody strange characters. His body suddenly began to tremble like a leaf in the autumn wind, and the trembling became more and more violent. His eyes were full of fear and panic, like a frightened deer.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he murmured to himself, "If that day comes, if that day comes, Yaxuan, how can I save you? How can I save you? God, I hope all this is false, false..."