Chapter 347
, Part 2: Trial Grounds, Duel City Pyramid of the Gods
Chapter 347 The Twelve Trial Grounds, Duel City: Pyramid of the Gods
Boarding that giant starship was much easier than Sharna had imagined.
She and her companions had already built several simple rafts and were prepared to climb them despite her disability. She had even planned that if she failed and fell into the sea, Ross would take her place and continue leading the slaves.
But as it turned out, she was completely overthinking it.
As she approached the giant ship, she saw endless starlight rushing toward her and the slaves following behind her.
She felt her legs lift off the ground for a moment, and a warm sensation spread throughout her body.
When the starlight faded, she found that the scenery in front of her had changed.
The place where she stood was no longer a raft, but a vast continent that stretched to the horizon.
The place where she was standing appeared to be a huge square.
The ground of the square has the color of starlight, like a flowing starry sky—the stars rise and fall, as if they are breathing.
Or to be more precise...
Sharna even felt that the entire island seemed to be 'breathing'!
Around the square, she saw even more incredible sights.
The eastern side of the square is lower in elevation, presenting a vibrant field and a newly built village.
Of course, judging from the enormous buildings in the village and the giants walking among them, it was clearly a village of giants.
Sharna even saw two giants who looked incredibly powerful clashing with swords and axes in the village, while another group of giant warriors cheered with wine jugs in hand—the intensity of their battle was clearly high, but the massive shockwaves that erupted were immediately dissipated by the surrounding starlight.
To the south lies a vast lake.
It was described as a lake—but judging from its size, Sharna was more inclined to believe it was an ocean.
There are many floating islands in the ocean, where countless fish-men wielding tridents swim and laugh.
Sharna had never seen anything like it.
But then she saw something else that attracted her attention even more.
It was a magnificent building that stood directly in front of the entire square.
It appeared to be a huge temple—a temple that seemed very ancient and had clearly been renovated and altered.
After the renovation, the temple that stood in the center of the square has been transformed into a huge archway.
Inside the archway, starlight also flows out, rushing and swirling.
Above the door, four characters were clearly written.
【Gate of Stars】.
"."
Just by staring at that door, Sharna felt as if her soul was undergoing a profound shock.
A living flagship, as vast as the continent.
Giants and merfolk lived freely there, guarding the gate that belonged to the stars.
This is something unheard of in any corner of this vast ocean.
Sharna realized that her previous knowledge of the twelve constellations was indeed too superficial.
Only now did she seem to truly understand the meaning behind the name.
But just as Sharna was so shocked by the sight before her that she almost forgot to breathe.
"Welcome aboard the Esther, first trial participant."
Accompanied by such sounds.
Sharna then saw an old man emerge from the twinkling starlight below the square in front of her.
That wasn't a giant or a fish-man, but an ordinary human.
To Sharna's surprise, the old man did not seem to have any noble or dignified air about him.
On the contrary, his attire looked almost identical to that of the fishermen Sharna had ever seen at sea.
even
"Huh? You're slaves?"
If Sharna wasn't mistaken, the old man's gaze towards them held no trace of condescension, but rather only respect and a sense of shared suffering, even seemingly tinged with joy.
Sharna instinctively felt a sense of unease—she couldn't understand what was going on.
“My name is Roel, you can call me Old Roel. I’m a member of the Star Guide—well, someone who doesn’t have enough power to become a Star, but still follows the starlight.”
Then, the old man grinned and gave Sharna a kind smile: "Well, since Mr. Brogy and Mr. Donley have agreed to fight today, I'll be in charge of 'guiding' them."
"Don't be nervous, child. Look."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, revealing a mark on his sleeve.
"!!!"
Sharna's eyes widened.
She recognized it, of course—it was a mark planted by the people on the slave ships, a symbol of slavery and commodities.
“I was also captured by slave ships and almost became a slave myself, but I was too old and no one wanted me.”
The old man said softly, "Ke Li and Alan tried to persuade me, saying that the esteemed astrologers could remove this mark, but I and everyone in the village refused."
"This is an unpleasant mark, representing everyone's memories of despair, but no one wants to forget it."
Looking at the hideous scars on Sharna's face and her disabled body, he seemed to recall, through the woman before him, the ordeal his granddaughter had once suffered.
His voice suddenly softened.
"For it is only when we remember the darkness that the hope given by the stars shines even brighter."
"hope?"
Hearing the old man's words, Sharna seemed to vaguely understand what had happened to him.
But soon, she heard a gasp from behind her.
She turned around and saw her companions behind her, all looking at each other in bewilderment.
However, it was soon discovered.
"Poli has disappeared!"
"And Chalco!"
"Where's Sheila? Where did Sheila go?"
Many of their companions have also disappeared without a trace.
Their gazes quickly fell on the elderly man who was clearly in charge of guiding them.
"rest assured."
The old man clearly understood their doubts.
"Just as Lord Wu Ma said before—the Esther will guide all those who yearn to break free from their shackles and seek freedom."
"For such people, the stars will grant them the opportunity to reshape their destiny as they wish; this is a 'covenant' between the star lord and the world."
"The more determined a person is, the more likely they are to board the ship, and the faster they will be."
"As for your companions—they must have some doubts deep down, or they may harbor malice towards the Twelve Constellations, so they remain on the ship you are on. In a little while, the Merfolk warriors will send them back to the island where you originally were."
He gave a brief introduction, while his gaze toward Sharna was full of approval.
As the first of all the slaves to board the ship, Sharna was undoubtedly the most steadfast among them.
After hearing old Rohr's explanation, the slaves were speechless for a moment.
"Speaking of which, I remember that guy Charco was really skeptical of the truth of the twelve constellations." "He's always been a coward."
"And Sheila, she seems to have said that rather than passing the test, she felt that selling information about the ship to the government and the kingdom might be a faster way for her to escape slavery?"
Those who failed to board this ship seem to have been people whose resolve was not firm from the very beginning.
"To be precise, the astrologers don't care if news from the Esther gets out, but they don't like guests who come with malicious intent."
Old Raoul explained it this way.
"Bring your companions and follow me."
As he spoke, he turned and headed toward the massive door behind him.
"."
Sharna paused for a moment, then nodded to Ross behind her after a brief hesitation.
The latter quickly helped her up and soon caught up with old Luo'er's pace.
"Mr. Old Roy."
Sharna glanced at old Rol and said softly, "When you mentioned the village, you weren't referring to the giants' village over there, were you?"
She is very smart.
Not only did they deduce the other party's possible identity from Old Luo's words—a slave who had been helped by the Twelve Constellations.
She even realized that the situation of the ship was more complicated than she had anticipated.
"of course."
Upon hearing this, Old Luo did not try to hide it.
“Our village didn’t have a name originally, but now Mandy has decided to call it ‘Star Village.’ Oh, Mandy is the village chief.”
"Village chief? You're not the village chief?"
Sharna was somewhat surprised—as the 'guide' who led others on the Esther, she had originally thought that this old man must have a high status.
"Me? I went crazy for a while and only recovered with great difficulty thanks to the power of the celestial beings. Mandy did ask me if I wanted to be the village chief, but he was doing a pretty good job."
"My grandchildren originally planned to take me to live in the Star Garden and even arranged accommodation for me. It was located south of the Giants' 'New West Village' and very close to the Fishmen's 'New Dragon Palace City'."
"But I feel I have received so much kindness from the stars, and it is only right and proper that I repay it. Besides, everyone in the village wants to live on the Esther."
"You're asking about Keli and Alan? They're my pride—they're now members of the 'Wei' and 'You' constellations, respectively."
The old man was clearly very talkative.
From his words, Sharna quickly grasped the situation.
Simply put, the giants and fish-men living on the 'Ester' are only a small part—they are generally warriors of the giant race and the fish-man race, or people who have received the favor of the twelve constellations and are willing to guard and protect the Ester for them.
They were essentially crew members of the Esther.
The same is true of 'Star Village' where this old man lives.
They all seemed to be ordinary humans, or even fishermen who had been attacked by slave ships, but were saved by the Rooster, one of the twelve constellations, and were therefore extremely loyal to the twelve constellations.
Even ordinary humans hope to contribute to the twelve constellations, which is why they appear here as the 'Guide to the Stars'.
Apart from these, most of the giants, fishmen, and people protected by the twelve constellations moved into the 'Garden of Stars' to live.
Sharna found it hard to imagine what kind of place it was.
According to the old man's description, that place was a bigger, better, and more egalitarian place.
“All life should live equally. Those in power should not act arbitrarily, nor should the rich and powerful oppress others. Any race, as long as it has a good heart, has the right to exist there.”
To the slaves, the old man's description seemed more like a heaven that did not exist in the secular world.
Soon, they followed the old man to the base of that enormous and magnificent gate.
It was only upon arriving here that Sharna discovered that the patterns on the door were constantly changing.
"Since you've come here, you must be here to participate in the trial, right?"
Old Rohr looked at Sharna: "This is the 'Gate of Stars,' leading to the 'Garden of Stars,' Starrosia."
"Everyone who participates in the trial will be sent to the trial site after touching this door."
“Sharina, you were the first to board the ship, so you should be the first to begin your trial.”
Upon hearing this, Sharna's expression turned serious.
The slaves behind her couldn't help but ask, "Old Master Rohr, what exactly is this trial?"
"The situation during the trial is very complicated."
Old Raoul smiled and said, "Simply put, there are twelve 'Trial Grounds' within the Garden of Stars, each representing the source of a star's power and their origins."
"Once you enter, you will naturally know what you need to do—it may be fighting, or it may be something else. In any case, the trial is divided into many parts. You can obtain corresponding starlight by completing each part, which you can exchange with the stars for the 'miracle' you crave."
"And no matter which 'trial ground' you enter, as long as you eventually clear the entire trial ground, you can enter the 'Star Throne' and meet the great star lord."
His words were ambiguous—or perhaps even he himself was unclear about the specific content of the so-called trial.
So the slaves were naturally still somewhat uneasy: "But as you've seen, there's something wrong with Sister Sharna."
They were certainly worried.
They knew Sharna's physical condition better than anyone else—let alone fighting, she could hardly even move normally when she was alone.
"rest assured."
To this, old Luo Er replied confidently: "Starlight will give her a satisfactory answer."
No, what we mean is...
"Ross".
Ross was about to say something, but Sharna interrupted him as soon as he opened his mouth.
The slave leaders took a deep breath, as always.
The mixture of soil, flowers, fruits, and air filled my lungs.
She looked at the gate in front of her and the twinkling starry sky above it, and a surge of unprecedented power seemed to well up within her.
Whether what Old Luo said was true or false, she currently has no way of knowing.
But she at least knew
"If it's fake, I hope it's real."
"If that's true, I hope to be a part of it."
She gripped her rough cane tightly, her eyes burning like wildfire as she gazed at the door.
Without saying anything more, she stepped forward and touched it with both hands!
"Buzz!"
The starlight surges silently.
The next moment, her figure vanished without a trace.
But a calm and gentle voice came to her ears.
[Enter the Trial Grounds]
【Duel City: Pyramid of Gods】
(End of this chapter)