Chapter 506: Chapter 284: The World is Helping Me? I’ve Become Stronger (Part 3)
Rooney’s appearance hadn’t changed much, but he’d shed the rash immaturity of his youth, trading it for a more steady and mature demeanor.
"Haha, so you still remember me, Rooney," Fang Zhen said with a smile.
If he wanted to make a name for himself in this world, he would have to leverage some existing power.
And the character identity this life-simulation instance had assigned him was quite suitable for his goals.
The memory fragments weren’t just false memories shoved directly into his brain. Instead, his wristband would provide a prompt, and the corresponding information would simply appear in Fang Zhen’s mind.
"It really is you, Yak! You’ve been gone for over ten years. I thought I’d never see you again. I can’t believe you’ve become such a powerful Divine Rune Warrior!"
"What divine rune did you have carved? How are you so powerful? It’s beyond anything I could have imagined, old friend."
Seeing it was truly Yak, Rooney was flooded with a rush of emotions and memories, his voice rising in excitement.
He walked over to Fang Zhen and said.
Fang Zhen thought for a moment, then said, "This isn’t the power of divine runes."
"Not divine runes? You’re kidding, right, Yak?" Rooney said, astonished.
"You have to be joking! Isn’t the power of divine runes the greatest power one can master in this world?"
"Does that mean there’s an even greater power in this world?"
Rooney was utterly shocked. The information Fang Zhen had just shared shattered the boundaries of his knowledge, and he couldn’t process it.
Suddenly, however, Rooney’s expression froze as a thought seemed to strike him.
He gave Fang Zhen a look of astonishment. "You... you couldn’t have actually found the legendary..."
Rooney stopped mid-sentence, suddenly self-aware. He glanced at the men behind him and didn’t finish his thought aloud.
But his eyes showed that he’d seemingly found an explanation; he was no longer in a state of disbelief.
Instead, he looked at Fang Zhen with a mixture of curiosity and dawning realization.
Fang Zhen pursed his lips.
’Rooney left me hanging. I have no idea how to respond. People who talk with such dramatic pauses are so annoying.’
But asking that sort of question didn’t fit his current persona, so he could only feign understanding and nod at Rooney.
"What’s the current situation? How did you end up trapped here?" Fang Zhen asked.
"Oh, another wave of demons and corrupted Puppet Demons is attacking the city. Duke Phil is the Commander-in-Chief for the Kingdom Army. He’s leading his legion to fend off the demon assault while looking for an opportunity to counterattack Northwest City."
"Our mission was reconnaissance. We came to this town to scout out the situation, but we never expected it to have already been destroyed by these Little Demons."
"There were too many Little Demons. Our unit is only a hundred-odd men, with no Divine Rune Warriors among us. We had to fight a running retreat until we were cornered in the town’s administration hall."
"If you hadn’t shown up, we would’ve died here for sure. Thank the divine runes you came when you did."
The moment Fang Zhen heard the name Duke Phil, an image naturally surfaced in his mind.
It was the image of a meticulous, slender nobleman with a white goatee and piercing eyes.
At the same time, the peripheral wristband on his arm vibrated gently.
Fang Zhen understood.
He realized he would be prompted for any relevant memories associated with the identity he’d acquired.
With these prompts and bits of information, Fang Zhen felt much more confident.
He could now face any acquaintance in this world his identity was supposed to know.
Fang Zhen asked, "How’s the war going?"
"I heard the demons are planning to summon a new legion. That’s why I’m here. Do you know anything about it?"
Rooney was surprised to hear this. "The situation isn’t good," he said. "Duke Phil’s army has met with fierce resistance on the main front. We’re pinned down outside the fallen Northwest City."
"Inside Northwest City, the demons have already constructed a Summoning Gate. If we give them enough time, even more demons will pour through."
"We don’t have the strength to destroy the demons’ Teleportation Gate, but we have to. Our time is running out. We have seven days at most."
"After seven days, the number of demons here will double, or even multiply several times over. The situation will become critical."
Fang Zhen’s eyebrow shot up when he heard this.
’This mission has a tight deadline.’
"Take me directly to Duke Phil. I have new information for him," Fang Zhen said.
「Over an hour later.」
Fang Zhen and Rooney led the surviving soldiers to the encampment of Duke Phil’s Legion.
Duke Phil had occupied a small, fortified town.
The entire town was under martial law, fully mobilized for war.
While here, Fang Zhen took a moment to observe the condition of the soldiers in Phil’s Legion.
He felt the soldiers here had far better morale and vitality than the soldiers of the Zambein Kingdom. They also looked more formidable.
For one thing, their physique and height were a clear cut above the soldiers of the Zambein Kingdom.
’Perhaps it’s because this world has more abundant resources, so the soldiers eat better.’
But he had no idea just how strong they actually were.
Soon, Rooney led Fang Zhen to meet Duke Phil.
Duke Phil had taken over the municipal hall as his command post and was busy with official duties.
When Rooney led Fang Zhen inside, there were seven or eight other men present—generals or staff officers, he couldn’t tell.
Duke Phil gave a slight nod upon seeing Rooney.
But his gaze immediately shifted to Fang Zhen.
"Duke, we’ve scouted Obi Town. It’s been massacred. We were only able to rescue a few women and children. The Town Mayor was killed in action."
"The Demon Army had over 100 Little Demons stationed there."
"One hundred?" Duke Phil frowned. "Then how did you make it back alive?"
"It was thanks to him. Yak," Rooney said, pointing to Fang Zhen.
"Do you remember? He’s Yak, from the Clan of Clauren. He’s the one who saved us. He killed over forty Little Demons all by himself."
"What?" Upon hearing this, several pairs of eyes turned to stare at Fang Zhen.
