Chapter 78 - Giant's Chain Part 1

"T, this is Giant's Chain? There really is a chain? I thought it meant a chain of islands," Lu Shu gasped as they neared the sea, his army taking a break near the shore.

"This island chain has a unique legend, even persevering from before I was born," Lu Feng smiled, everyone instantly bowing as he appeared.

"Greetings, Ancestor Lu Feng," they all cried, many soldiers from the Lu Clan with reverence in their eyes.

"Since the armies are taking a break, allow me to tell you of the legend that I know of this place," Lu Feng said, all eyes and ears on him as many soldiers crowded around the campfire Lu Feng, Lu Shu, Cao Wei, Lu Gong, Matsuda Ken, and Li Jiro sat around.

Long ago, there lived a race of giants. No one knows how they came to pass. Some believed an ancient group, Spirit Sage equivalent in power, arrived from another planet. These beings were the giants. Stronger than any dragon and taller than the mightiest mountain. Some believed they were the beloved of the Heavens. These islands was their ancestral home, the place their ancestors first settled in. It was the time before magic. It was a time before the ancient civilizations of ages past.

They ruled the world, not with a tyrant's fist, but an open-hand. Despite their might and prowess, they were a race far gentler and kinder than mankind had ever been. However, their kindness was their ruin. Another race of beings came to this planet. They did not come here to colonize. That race had come to invade and conquer. The giants tried to stop them. The land crumbled and the oceans spread, all that got in their path was destroyed. It is said that the Overseers tried to speak reason, but helping defend the planet defied Heaven's Will.

The invaders were destroyed, a complete genocide of the species. Not a trace was found. However, only the king of the giants remained. He was anguished, the loss of his race unspeakably painful and beyond comprehension. The core of the planet had suffered damage. Unable to bear the pain, the king of giants made the ultimate sacrifice, turning his spirit energy into indestructible, gigantic chains and used his life to restore the planet. As if honoring him, the Heavens altered these islands, concentrating unlimited amounts of spirit energy on the islands.

In the islands, the magical beasts of old were able to grow beyond measure. It is said that the reason magical beasts survived was due to the giants' protection. Mankind is believed to have been divided among the continents due to the fight with the invaders. No one knows if the legend speaks true. One thing remains: these chains exist and the magical beasts on the islands are all of the Saint rank, just like any scorpion magical beast found anywhere on the planet. The legend says that the day the chains break, the core will become a black hole that swallows the world. Many Practitioners and mages tried to follow the chains downward, but the life force of the planet is too thick and acts like a barrier. When the day the chains break, we will know, too late, the authenticity of the legend of Giant's Chain.

"A sad tale," Lu Shu said as he fed lion wine to Hao.

"What great wine," Lu Gong said as the Tiger Army soldiers drank the lion wine. "I can actually feel it empowering me. No wonder the general had such strength to knock General Sun Zhong back.

"You'll need all the strength you can get. A pity it does not do the same to mages," Jiro said, drinking the wine and savoring it like ordinary wine. "Ancestor Lu Feng, have you ever gone into the heart of Giant's Chain?"

"There are five large islands that dwarf the others. Four of those five are not in our path to the Hyperion lands. Each of those four islands have magical beasts above the Spirit Knight tier and any Arch Mage," Lu Feng said. "The islands the Yan Dynasty conquered are those which only contain magical beasts at the Spirit Shaman tier, due to the spirit energy being at its weakest on those islands. Naturally, the stronger ones migrate to the islands with thicker spirit energy. Those magical beasts do not venture to our conquered islands due to a strange presence. I suspect the four islands have their own leaders and are true Archon magical beasts, probably at the Fiend Adept or Fiend Immortal tier. Otherwise, many martial sects or academies would already have established themselves to take advantage of the high quantities of spirit energy here."

"Does that mean the Yan Emperor will establish a base for his Gold Yan Guards here?" Ken inquired, seeing the dangerous potential of successfully establishing a base on one of the five islands.

"Indeed. The Yan Emperor intends to make the Lu Clan rival the ancient clans. Those of the Lu Clan, with lots of potential, will live in the new base here. The Yan Emperor has also been collecting methods to make true Archon bodies, with my assistance in gaining Spirit Beast cores. It's funny really," Lu Feng laughed. "The clan of a Practitioner who massacred a family of true Archons will also be a clan of true Archons. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Jiro and Ken did not laugh, as Lu Gong said, "This is great news for the Lu Clan. The emperor is truly ambitious."

"Ancestor Lu Feng, what will the Practitioners and mages above the Spirit Shaman do while the armies conquer the islands? They could easily travel to the Hyperion lands," Cao Wei asked.

"They can't" Lu Gong said. "You don't know, but these chains are truly mysterious. No pure-blood human can travel to the other islands. No one above the Spirit Shaman tier can travel to other islands that are not conquered by man. I imagine some sects are here, hoping to establish sects and academies in the Hyperion lands once we conquer them. They would be able to visit the islands and take advantage of the spirit energy and powerful magical beasts. Giant's Chain is literally a gateway to a new world. A gateway no army has conquered and one the Hyperion don't expect to fall. Of course, they also welcome it. Gateways open both ways. We do their work for them, killing the magical beasts and establishing checkpoints and connecting bridges, and they reap the benefits when they overcome us with sheer numbers."

"So we can't fail in conquering the lands near the shores of Giant's Chain," Lu Feng nodded. "Me, I can simply exit the atmosphere of the planet and drop down, or simply fly around the territory of Giant's Chain. Anyone below the Spirit Sage tier, good luck."

"What's it like there?" Shu asked Lu Gong, knowing he used to do military service there.

"We lost several thousand men when trying to veer off the mapped path," Lu Gong sighed. "General, it took our empire four hundred years to map the entire territory with some map makers dying as they delivered their hand-drawn maps with their dying breath. We will travel through thirty seven islands in total. We currently have thirty one islands, but each of them are ten times smaller than the other six. We don't even have one fourth of the sea conquered. That is how big those islands are. It is more fitting to call them island nations. Those islands have magical beasts that are stronger and more sophisticated."

"The other islands off the path are even more so," Lu Feng nodded. "However, you and I can go to those islands. Pure-blood humans cannot go, but we are descended from a demon, according to legend anyway."

"That is true," Lu Gong said, trying to make a cover for Lu Feng nonchalantly revealing the origins of the Lu Clan. "Members of the Lu Clan have actually ventured to those islands. Most don't come back alive. I never went as no one can tell at what stage, or tier, the magical beasts are at."