Chapter 148: Dark Hall

The sounds of the war drums brought Giorno and his people to the walls. Zhang Bao'er, Old Du, the prince, and I also followed behind him. Two square formations were marching forward in an orderly fashion, following the tanks at the front of the formations. Beside the imperial chariot stood a row of massive war drums. Tens of burly individuals were pounding upon the war drums, spreading the sounds far and wide.

"They obviously have long-range weapons. Why did the emperor choose to attack like we’re in a medieval battle?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

Giorno was too frightened by what he saw, so he did not even react to the question.

"Where are our tanks?" asked Giorno a few seconds later when he recovered from his shock.

"Right at the gate. Boss, do you think we should retreat into the college?" asked Aaron.

"No. Have the tanks and drones come out and meet them with full force while we retreat. Anyone capable of moving should carry our loot. We will go to the bottom floor," said Giorno.

"How about our injured men and the students here?" asked Aaron.

"The wounded still capable of walking can come with us. Have the students help us carry our loot. Lock up the ones who refuse to help. Let the emperor deal with them," said Giorno.

"Yes, boss," said Aaron before retreating to carry out the order.

'He's abandoning even his own people. This fellow is truly ruthless,' I thought.

A dazzling flash streaked through the sky and flew toward the imperial army. At the same time, the air defense drones on our side flew forth to engage the enemy. The imperial army did not appear flustered by the incoming artillery shells. They continued marching calmly.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions sounded, but a green shield had appeared above the army. All the artillery shells were blocked, creating numerous ripples on the shield. The imperial army was completely unharmed thanks to the shield.

"My god. What a big shield. That emperor sure is rich," said Giorno.

The drumming stopped. Next, the tanks at the front and the cannons behind the army were raised. They fired hundreds of artillery shells our way.

"Shit! Watch out, everyone!" I shouted.

Everyone jumped onto the ground by reflex. Loud explosions erupted all around us, tearing through the walls and gate. Numerous craters were formed on the ground as the world around us shook.

A Liyate thug beside Giorno was unluckily engulfed in the explosion of an artillery shell. His entire body was decimated right before our eyes. I also saw a tank be blasted into the sky. It reached a height as tall as the wall before falling onto the ground with a loud crash.

"Everyone, maximize your shield! Pull back into the hall immediately after the bombardment ends," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

The first round of bombardment had yet to settle when the second round came. Massive artillery shells covered the entire college, making it impossible for anyone to move.

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"Damn that emperor! He must be thinking of bombing all of us to death!" scolded Zhang Bao'er.

I could see that the air defense drones were already engaging each other in the sky. Their red laser beams filled the sky above us. It did not take long for the imperial drones to benefit from their numerical superiority. Fighting one of our drones with three of theirs, Giorno's drones were destroyed one after another.

We did not get even a second of respite before the third volley came. Artillery shells dropped like rain, and the college that had stood tall for hundreds of thousands of years collapsed loudly. A lull in the bombardment came when the gate collapsed.

Zhang Xingxing grabbed the chance and commanded, "Everyone, retreat immediately!" 

Giorno was running in the very front, heading to the hall with his subordinates. I looked down the wall and saw that the imperial army was rapidly approaching. About a dozen mounted soldiers at the front of the army were less than 300 meters away from the gate.

I hurriedly ran toward the hall. Right at that moment, the other soldiers around the college also attacked. Loud explosions sounded yet again. The rail cannons mounted on the walls were blasted high into the sky. The firepower of the imperial army was far beyond my imagination.

When I reached the hall, Zhang Bao'er was waiting for me. "Canyue, come. I'll have Xingxing lead the others down first. I'm waiting for you."

I saw that the students and the Brotherhood members who could still walk had all run to the bottom of the college. About a dozen wounded Brotherhood members were seated in the middle of the hall, looking at me and Bao'er with desolate eyes.

I did not like the Brotherhood, but I also knew the terrifying fate that would befall them after they were taken prisoner. For some reason, pity rose in me. Howls from the imperial army's battle-wolves could already be heard from the door.

"Canyue, go. We're running out of time. If we're late, they will blow apart the tunnel connecting to the bottom," said Zhang Bao'er.

I ran toward the wounded thugs and gave two high-energy cluster bombs to a one-armed thug. After nodding and saluting him, I turned and ran toward the bottom floor. We ran down the stairs, going through three floors before reaching the bottom. Two Brotherhood thugs were about to detonate the micro-atomic bomb they had installed at the entrance. Right at that moment, I heard the explosion of the cluster bombs from above me. The wounded thugs had detonated the bombs I had given them.

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"At the very least, they are true warriors," Zhang Bao'er said.

I stayed silent. I had always believed that every life in the universe should be respected. Although there were good and evil life forms, there would be a reason for why any individual would turn evil.

As the situation was urgent, I couldn't waste too much time thinking. I could see the imperial army running down the stairs. The Liyate thugs activated the bomb, and we quickly ran deeper into the tunnel. A few seconds later, a deafening explosion erupted, destroying the stairs connecting several floors of the building. The path to the college's lower floors had been destroyed.

Zhang Bao'er and I rushed into a room. The room was relatively spacious. Hundreds of us were squeezed into it. This was our final hope. The crowd parted to give me passage. When I ran to the front of the crowd, I saw Zhang Xingxing, Giorno, and the others facing a black square opening. The black opening seemed to lead somewhere extremely deep, and the whistling sounds of wind could be heard from it.

"Is this the entrance to the Dark Hall?" I asked Jeferun.

"Yes. Every time we put the banned books away, we would use an iron chest to store the books before lowering the chest through this hole with a rope. When we pull the rope out the next day, the chest would be gone," said Jeferun.

"Then wouldn't the stored books be gone forever?" I asked.

"Yes, and not a single book has ever been retrieved from the Dark Hall," said Jeferun.

"Who's staying down there to collect the cases?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"The one paid to do the work," said Domo with a sneer.

"Now's not the time to joke or argue," I stopped the two.

"This is our only path of survival. Do you want me to scout ahead?" Old Du asked.

"No, it's too dangerous. We need to think of a way to go down safely. Nobody can predict the dangers we will encounter down there," said Zhang Xingxing.

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded from above us, followed by a pounding.

"There's no time. Our enemies are clearing a path. We don't have the time to think of something," said Old Du.

"Yeah. This is urgent. Let this warrior scout ahead. All of us will be taking this path," urged Giorno, obviously harboring evil designs.

"I'll go with Old Du. You come with us as well," I said while pointing at Aaron.

The team leader paled with hesitation written all over his face.

"I agree with the great explorer. Aaron, I'll be troubling you with this task. We'll be there with you shortly," said Giorno coldly.

Not capable of refusing his boss, Aaron could only agree unwillingly.

Zhang Xingxing still objected, "Canyue, I still disagree. This is too dangerous. What if something happens to the two of you?" 

"Don't worry. The prophet said that I won't die so fast," I comforted her.

"I'll go with you!" Zhang Bao'er offered.

"You need to protect the leader and the others. This is an order," I said.

"What order? Since when was your army rank higher than mine?" scolded Zhang Bao'er, but he no longer insisted on coming with us.

"Titan, fasten the rope somewhere firm. I'll get ready to go down with Old Du," I said urgently as the noises from above were getting louder.

Titan immediately tied our ropes firmly to a pillar. I exchanged my gaze with Old Du before jumping into the black tunnel. Cold wind blew past me as I entered. My heart was beating rapidly due to my nervousness. After all, this was the Dark Hall where nobody had visited for tens of thousands of years.

After descending for about three meters, the wind vanished for no apparent reason. My surroundings were still completely black. Apart from the little bit of light from above me, I felt like I had entered a world of pure void, with no air, no energy, no light, and no time. It felt like all of creation had been suspended.

I turned my shield to the maximum capacity and turned on my laser probe, allowing me to see Old Du and Aaron come down one after another.

Energy level remaining: 24 hours.

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