Chapter 1832 - 471: Sunlight Before the Monument, Dawn After the Long Night (Part 3)

Chapter 1832: Chapter 471: Sunlight Before the Monument, Dawn After the Long Night (Part 3)

Downspirit tribe used time to forge themselves into billions of destructive cells hidden within the body of the giant beast.

The counterattack "signal" pressed by Tu Hu was the trigger of the explosion.

The once omnipotent plunderers turned into trapped beasts struggling desperately in the eyes of the Downspirit tribe.

One month later.

The last royal flag of the Bone Splitting Clan was burnt in the city of last-ditch resistance, marking the complete transformation of this once omnipotent plunderer empire into historical dust.

Its vast territory, huge resources left behind, and even those tribes once enslaved, were all taken over by the Downspirit tribe.

A new overlord with New Star Valley as the core area quietly rose from the ruins of the Old Empire.

The clamor of victory gradually settled, and New Star Valley did not hold a grand celebration, but performed a solemn and grand commemoration instead.

On this day, the sky was dim, and the leaden clouds hung low.

On the rebuilt Central Square, crowds silently gathered with flowers they had picked, from the residents of New Star Valley to the clan members returning from various places, all dressed in plain attire, with solemn expressions.

In the center of the square, the black stone tablet originally engraved with the "Code" had been removed.

Replacing it was a newly erected imposing monument: the Fire Monument.

The monument was forged from the remains of warriors from the Bone Splitting Clan, with a dark red base symbolizing the blood of Lie Zhua and countless martyrs, and the body gradually displaying a silver-gray metallic sheen upwards, symbolizing the journey of civilization from darkness to light.

No images were engraved on the monument, only countless intricate names, eternally inscribed like stars.

These are the names of all the heroic spirits who sacrificed for the continuation of the tribe during the thirty-five years of dark times.

The commemoration was presided over by the Fifth Generation leader Ling Yue.

When the ceremony began, he started to recite the names on the monument:

"Lie Zhua, Second Generation Guardian of New Star Valley, one of the founding leaders, blood spilled in Year One of Darkness, paving the road for our tribe’s future with his backbone."

"Yan Xin, the leader of the Black Stone Mine uprising, detonated the mine veins in Year Seven of Darkness while transmitting information to protect comrades, perishing with the enemy."

"Mo Yu, one of the initial architects of the Spirit Rhinoceros Dark Net, destroyed the Crystal Core while erecting the signal tower in Year Eleven of Darkness, keeping secrets unto death."

"Qingteng, creator of the Blood Rage Potion formula, died in Year Twenty-three of Darkness due to organ failure from long-term exposure to toxic materials."

Each name recited was like a heavy hammer striking everyone’s hearts.

Among these warriors regarded as heroic spirits, there were leaders like Lie Zhua who died valiantly.

There were grassroots warriors silently organizing resistance in mines and on the front lines.

There were researchers overextending their life in laboratories... they all burned themselves in different ways but fell in the deepest darkness before dawn, unable to see the collapse of the Bone Splitting Clan, and unable to breathe a breath of free air.

Tu Hu stood at the forefront of the crowd, gazing up at the monument.

Every time a name was read, a corresponding face would appear in his mind, transforming into yet another icy name on the monument.

He held a wine pouch in his hand.

He tilted his head and took a fierce gulp, the spicy liquid searing his throat, unable to suppress the emotions surging from the depths of his heart.

Ling Yue’s voice continued to echo over the square:

"You are the cornerstone, the fiery flames, the firefly in the dark night of our tribe... Today, we stand here, in the name of freedom, to comfort your indomitable heroic spirits!"

"Downspirit tribe exists because of you!"

"The Civilization Fire burns because of you!"

"This monument bears witness, passing the fire from generation to generation, never to be forgotten!"

As the final words of the ceremonial text fell, Ling Yue was the first to bow deeply.

Immediately, like a tide, all the Downspirit tribe in the square, regardless of age, bowed in unison.

Paying the highest respect to the heroes of the era.

Bent spines straightened again, the Downspirit tribe finally reached today.

After the ceremony, everyone slowly straightened up.

Without an order, the crowd spontaneously began the next ritual.

They moved forward silently, like a winding river, towards the imposing "Fire Monument."

Leading the way were elders with white hair and beards, who trembled as they took the soil from Star Valley, treasured in the "History Hall," and gently sprinkled it under the monument.

The soil carried the earliest memories of the era, connecting the starting point of wandering and the endpoint of return.

Following closely were the young adults, bringing white flowers freshly blooming from the mountains around New Star Valley or flowers brought back from various places.

Then they bowed and gently placed the vitality in their hands in front of the monument, silently declaring: The land nourished by the blood of ancestors will be guarded by their lives, allowing it to flourish anew.

Next were the women and children.

They offered homemade fruit wine, freshly baked grain cakes, or berries.

These most simple foods represent the continuation of life, dedicated to those family members and heroic spirits who can no longer taste the flavor of hometown.

A young Downspirit stretched on tiptoes, placing a bright red berry at the corner of the monument base, then looked up at the small name on the monument pointed out by his mother’s finger, and softly said in a tender voice:

"Dad, eat... sweet."

The mother beside him suddenly turned her head, her thin shoulders lightly trembling.

Then Ling Yue, Jingsi, Tiexin, Qi Ming, and other contemporary core leaders stepped forward... countless feet tread on the ground in front of the monument, and offerings were gently placed down.

When the last Tu Hu returned to the crowd, the square fell into silence.

The sunlight pierced the clouds at this time, a beam of golden light just fell on the highest point of the "Fire Monument," illuminating the silver-gray monument body brilliantly, as if the heroic spirits of the ancestors were gazing from the high heavens at the land they recovered with their lives.

The ceremony was thus completed.

It was not clamorous, yet it held more power than any cheer of triumph.

Proclaiming in silence: History has been remembered, the path forward is beneath our feet.

Tu Hu took one last look at the monument that bore too much blood and hope, turned around, and his gaze swept over countless faces behind him, still wet with tears but with firm expressions.

Finally, a smile appeared on his face:

"The dawn has finally arrived."

The Fifth Generation leaders watched this ancestor who had witnessed the history of the Downspirit tribe and silently carried the heaviest shackles, and their faces also broke into smiles.

In the smiles, there was relief that the long dark night had ended.

Also the comfort for the lost heroic spirits, and even more, the deepest respect for this immortal guardian before them.

With the end of the commemoration, the crowd silently dispersed.

The new era belonging to the Downspirit tribe officially began.

This time, the starting point of civilization was forged from the bones and will of countless heroic spirits.

The future will be written by the living, bearing the legacy of the deceased.