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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 27: [High-Level Confrontation]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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Xu Yueping spoke first. "Xiao Qin, do you want to go and take a look?"
"Have Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing already gone?" Qin Ming asked.
Although curious about the top-tier aberrants in the Great Mountain, he prioritized safety above all else.
Xu Yueping replied, "They've already passed our village gate and headed there. They received permission from High-Ranking figures, as long as they don't get too close."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Old Man Liu perked up instantly, eager to be the first to agree.
Qin Ming didn't object.
Since Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and the others had already gone, there was no need to worry excessively.
A moment later, the group set off, quickly reaching the edge of the Great Mountain.
The area was already teeming with Awakeners, their figures indistinct in the twilight, all craning their necks in anticipation of the arrival of Chi Xia City's High-Ranking Figures.
Qin Ming stared at the donkey, lost in thought.
It looked almost identical to the one he had hunted in the mountains a few days ago.
Could it be a descendant?
Perched atop the donkey's back, a pure white weasel sat motionless, resembling a serene monk. Its stillness was remarkable, and its eyes, deep and knowing, seemed to pierce through the veil of the world.
Qin Ming entered a state of Still Void, concealing his life force and using "Harmonizing With the World" to blend naturally into the crowd.
"They're here!" someone whispered.
In the night, a figure appeared at the edge of the snow-covered land, growing closer and gradually becoming clearer.
"This must be Chi Xia City's High-Ranking Figure," someone murmured.
Even the nobles couldn't remain calm, whispering among themselves and craning their necks to watch.
Soon, the area fell silent again, for the approaching figure was still an aberrant.
It walked with an elegant cat-like gait, neither hurried nor slow, approaching the edge of the forest.
To everyone's surprise, it was a Big Tabby Cat, its body nearly three feet long and weighing dozens of pounds.
It wasn't walking on all fours but upright, like a human.
Qin Ming was speechless. It seemed that high-ranking aberrants weren't as rare as he'd thought; he'd seen such creatures before.
Especially since Tabby Cats and weasels were natural enemies.
Would they fight when they met in the mountains?
Many people shared this thought but dared not voice it, nervously maintaining their silence.
"I thought top-tier aberrants would be more like Moon Insects..." Old Liu mumbled indistinctly.
For decades, he had guarded the Great Mountain, hearing countless legends: terrifying mountain lords, a famous bird that had stood for two centuries, each tale more fantastical than the last. Yet none of them ever materialized.
"Are they... going to fight each other?" someone noticed the anomaly.
The Big Tabby Cat, gracefully strutting like a cat, and the Old Weasel perched on the donkey's back were bristling with hostility, clearly on the verge of a fight.
In the snow, the Big Tabby Cat stood motionless, a crimson longsword strapped to its back, nearly as tall as it was standing upright.
The sword had already partially unsheathed, revealing half a foot of sword that bathed the area in a crimson glow, like the legendary sunset painting the snow around it red.
The snow-white Old Weasel, no longer serene, leaped off the donkey's back and patted the old donkey, urging it to wait far away.
The Old Weasel itself stood there, its forelimbs indistinguishable from human arms.
One "hand" was behind its back, while the other held a string of prayer beads in front.
Pure white, it gazed at the sky with an air of serene detachment, slowly turning the beads between its fingers.
A faint white mist emanated from the beads, countering the crimson glow from the cat's sword.
The crowd was bewildered.
Were these two creatures truly not allies?
Were they actually confronting each other?
"One of them should be human, but their path has diverged so far that their form is gradually losing its human shape," someone whispered.
The crowd stirred uneasily at the words.
Those paths were far beyond their reach.
And here they couldn't even tell which was human and which was a high-level being from the Great Mountain.
A large crowd had gathered, including a massive contingent of Mountain Patrolmen who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
Though they guarded the endless mountain ranges, they only patrolled the outer edges and had never encountered top-tier aberrants.
Today, they had come to witness the spectacle firsthand.
Chi Xia City had also sent a large group of Awakeners, young and old, some from noble families, others from powerful organizations.
They formed a dense, black mass.
Even the bolder Awakeners from nearby villages had come to watch.
Across the clearing, in the dense forest, an even larger number of creatures had emerged.
They were all bizarre races, their forms particularly menacing in the dim woodland.
Some were crimson like fire, others shrouded in purple mist, and they emitted a cacophony of sounds that drowned out the murmuring crowd.
"Be cautious," Cao Long warned, his three-meter-tall frame clad in gleaming armor.
He gripped a sharp spear tightly in his hand.
"Aren't we supposed to be having a final negotiation? Are they really going to start fighting?" someone asked, confusion evident in their voice.
Mu Qing, completely shrouded in a black cloak, replied, "We won't provoke trouble, but if those aberrants dare to cross the line, just fight. High-Ranking Figure will back us up."
Simultaneously, other organizations, great clans, and elite Mountain Patrolmen in Chi Xia City were communicating via mental transmission, urging everyone to open fire if the situation turned hostile.
"It's been a long time since I've seen such a massive mobilization. Is this really about to begin? I remember the last large-scale mountain sweep was thirty years ago," Old Man Liu said, his voice tinged with excitement.
He gripped his thick-backed cleaver tightly in his right hand.
He and Qin Ming's group had arrived late and were standing towards the back, which should offer them some relative safety.
However, Qin Ming didn't let his guard down.
Since their side had reached a consensus and issued such a warning, he was prepared for action, holding his long-handled Black Gold Hammer at the ready.
As a tall, imposing figure appeared, all the unrest was suppressed.
Both the aberrants in the forest and the Awakeners in the snow fell silent.
No one saw how he appeared.
He simply materialized abruptly in the midst of the tense standoff.
He stood ten meters tall, his physique overwhelmingly massive.
Clad in ancient, weathered armor and wielding a black spear in one hand, he exuded an invisible, powerful aura that intimidated the aberrant creatures among the mountains and valleys.
Even the Awakeners on the snow-covered ground broke out in goosebumps.
Fortunately, his invisible aura quickly dissipated, lest it suffocate everyone present.
The man's features were sharp and angular, giving him the appearance of someone in his forties. His towering stature naturally brought to mind the path of the Giant Spirit God.
"This must be some important figure from Chi Xia City," someone murmured in confusion. "But why haven't we ever seen him before?"
Even Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and other direct descendants of noble families were exchanging whispers and questions, for they too had never encountered him.
Regardless, he was undeniably human, not an aberrant creature.
The man with the black spear raised his black hair, his face etched with stern resolve.
He stood beside the snow-white Old Weasel, facing the Big Tabby Cat on the snow-covered ground, who carried a crimson sword on its back.
As the Awakeners approached, the crimson longsword, which had automatically unsheathed and dyed the surrounding area in a sunset glow, emitted a series of soft hums, seemingly warning to the Awakeners.
An old Mountain Patrolman spoke, "Now we can see the situation clearly. The ten-meter-tall Giant is the expert Chi Xia City hired. Therefore, Senior Huang must also be on our side. Because of our different paths, he has transformed into an alternate true form."
The crowd nodded in agreement, clearly understanding that the Big Tabby Cat carrying the crimson longsword came from deep within the Great Mountain.
The ten-meter-tall Giant and the foot-tall pure white weasel, who was idly twirling a string of prayer beads, stood side by side.
The contrast between them was so stark that many wanted to comment, but dared not speak, and could only remain silent.
"Wei Mo, my friend, it's been twenty years since we last met. You've been wandering the deep mountains and great marshes, frequenting perilous terrains for cultivation. How have you been?" a calm voice suddenly rang out, so unexpectedly that no one saw it coming.
Another figure materialized in the snow.
This was still a human male, appearing to be in his early forties.
Dressed in white robes, he exuded an air of refined elegance and handsomeness. His casual stance blended seamlessly with the snowy landscape.
He stood beside the tabby cat with the crimson sword on its back, gazing at the ten-meter-tall human male across from him.
This time, the crowd in the snow was completely bewildered, staring in stunned silence.
They couldn't tell which side represented Chi Xia City's High-Ranking Figure and its allies.
The Giant, Wei Mo, nodded. His dull crimson-gold armor suddenly clanged with a metallic resonance as he spoke. "Indeed, twenty years have passed, Ling Xu. You're showing signs of aging."
The crowd was puzzled.
Why would Wei Mo say the white-robed man was showing signs of aging?
He appeared to be in the prime of his life. It seemed these individuals had different standards of judgment.
Simultaneously, some members of Chi Xia City's contingent gasped in surprise.
"Ling Xu... He's the City Lord!"
Qin Ming, Old Liu, and the others were equally stunned, but they finally understood which side represented the higher-level beings from the Great Mountain and which side represented Chi Xia City's High-Ranking Figure.
In that brief span of time, many people's understanding had taken several twists and turns.
The white-robed, refined middle-aged man, Ling Xu, nodded. "Who can escape aging? No one can resist the passage of time, not even the most mysterious elite beings."
Then he turned to Wei Mo. "You've chosen to venture deep into the Night Mist, to wander beyond the boundless Desolate Lands. You're not coming back, are you?"
"Yes!" Wei Mo replied with a single word.
"That's understandable," Ling Xu nodded.
Many wore solemn expressions.
A few elders who had heard of Wei Mo knew how formidable he had once been.
His body had been far larger in his prime.
Was this the prelude to a higher level of Transformation?
"Why is he standing with those aberrant beings deep in the mountains?" a young man from Chi Xia City couldn't help but whisper to the elder beside him.
The elder murmured, "Lost and hopeless, he walked into the vast, endless darkness. In the deep mountains and great marshes, in the boundless darkness, some of the higher beings and mysterious aberrants aren't necessarily monsters. They were once human!"
Qin Ming, overhearing this, fell into a daze.
"Let's sit down and talk," said Ling Xu, the City Lord of Chi Xia City, gesturing for them to sit.
The four beings, each in a vastly different form, settled in the snow to begin their final negotiation.
However, the crowd soon realized they couldn't hear their voices.
This was a secret meeting of the High Command, clearly not meant for public ears.
The fact that they were allowed to watch from a distance was already considered a rare opportunity.
The scene was far from peaceful.
Crimson mist billowed, white fog swirled, and the clothing, armor, and fur of the four beings trembled violently.
A terrifying force field crackled between them.
The Big Tabby Cat drew its sword, its crimson light flooding the area, so dazzling it seemed like a red sun was about to rise from the ground.
The pure white Old Weasel, clearly enraged, could no longer maintain its previous composure. It twisted the prayer beads in one hand and slammed the other on the snow in protest.
The crowd gasped in horror as they felt the ground shake.
Vast amounts of snow were thrown into the air.
Many clearly saw that it was just a light slap, not a genuine strike.
However, this only intensified the already tense atmosphere.
As various aberrant creatures in the dense forest joined the chorus of roars, several terrifying higher-level beings emerged from the Great Mountain.
Some stood atop the peaks, coldly observing the scene, while others flapped their wings to soar into the sky and gaze down.
One insect stood out among them all. Its brilliance was so intense that it illuminated several nearby mountains. It had also ventured to the edge of the Great Mountain.
"The Moon Insect!" many shouted out in alarm.
In response, a powerful being materialized in the night sky beyond the Great Mountain. A massive azure bird, radiating dazzling light, carried a figure clad in flowing feather robes.
The figure, hovering high above, fixed its gaze on the Moon Insect, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura.
In an instant, it countered the Moon Insect's terrifying aura.
Qin Ming, watching the figure on the azure bird, felt a sharp pain in his head.
It wasn't caused by the figure itself, but by the figure's wide feather robes, which struck him like a bolt of lightning, shattering the dust-covered layers of his subconscious.
Suddenly, a series of images flooded his mind, revealing the bloody events of his fourteenth year.
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END OF CHAPTER
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