Free Web NovelChapter 168: Chapter 168: Banner of Many Roads
The Fourth Gate did not lead to a battlefield.
It led to a hall of banners.
Thousands of them.
Some hung from the ceiling. Some stood planted in stone. Some floated in the air, burning with faint light. Each banner carried a different symbol: shield, river, forest, ridge, ravine, spear, moon, sun, crown, bell, oath, flame, bone, star, thorn, and countless marks Qin Yuheng did not recognize.
At the center of the hall stood a tall empty banner pole.
The central banner they had carried through the Convergence Plain rose from Qin Yuheng’s hand and floated toward it.
A mission panel appeared.
[Fourth Gate Final Trial]
[Objective]
Define the banner you carry.
[Warning]
A banner may gather people, command people, burden people, or consume people.
[Choose carefully.]
Qin Mo stared.
"We reached a philosophical flag room."
No one laughed.
The temporary force entered behind them. The dead did not appear, but the wounded did. Some stood with support. Some sat silently. Ren Qingshan stood at the front of the remnant soldiers.
The hall waited.
Five banners descended first.
[Banner of Shield]
Effect: Strong defense, slow path, high burden endurance.
[Banner of River]
Effect: Flexible command, memory adaptation, uncertain loyalty.
[Banner of Forest]
Effect: Many hidden paths, strong ambush, command distortion risk.
[Banner of Ridge]
Effect: Fast conquest, high exposure, heavy casualty risk.
[Banner of Ravine]
Effect: Path survival, trust testing, strong anti-separation.]
These represented the five roads.
Qin Yuheng did not choose any.
Then other banners descended.
[Banner of Conquest]
[Banner of Sacrifice]
[Banner of Obedience]
[Banner of Glory]
[Banner of Silence]
[Banner of Judgment]
[Banner of Blood]
[Banner of Crown]
Some were tempting.
Some were traps.
The Banner of Obedience pulsed with command power. If Qin Yuheng chose it, perhaps his command field could affect unwilling allies.
He rejected it immediately.
The Banner of Sacrifice offered reduced casualties for the many by increasing the chance of forced loss for the few.
He did not touch it.
The Banner of Glory burned bright, showing future assembly crowds, recognition, and influence.
He ignored it.
The Banner of Crown shimmered with authority like Mist Crown City.
He stepped away.
Then a simple gray banner descended.
No symbol.
No light.
Only rough cloth.
The panel identified it.
[Banner of Chosen Road]
[Effect unknown.]
[Requires commander to define meaning through words and action.]
Qin Mo looked at Qin Yuheng.
"That sounds safer and more dangerous."
Qin Yuheng walked toward the gray banner.
The hall stirred.
A voice echoed.
[Define your banner.]
This was not a casual answer.
Words here mattered almost like vows.
Qin Yuheng thought of every floor.
The fortress defenders.
The lantern travelers.
The vow spirits.
The oath ghosts.
Zhao Tianyu corrupted by rivalry.
Ren Qingshan obeying without trust, then following through battle. freewebnσvel.cøm
His family.
His team.
His father’s wound.
His mother’s hidden moon trace.
His grandfather’s patience.
The Silent Heaven Army.
He spoke carefully.
"This banner does not command the unwilling."
The hall trembled.
"It does not promise victory without cost."
Several bright banners dimmed.
"It does not demand blind loyalty."
The Banner of Obedience cracked.
"It does not carry every burden."
The Banner of Sacrifice twisted and faded.
"It marks a road chosen with clear mind, shared danger, and honest command."
The gray banner began to glow.
"Those who walk under it do so by choice. Those who leave it are not traitors unless they sell the road behind them. Those who follow it are not tools. Those who command beneath it must be judged by truth, not glory." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The hall became silent.
The gray banner rose and wrapped around the central pole.
Thunder lines appeared first.
Then a gate mark.
Then a faint road symbol.
Then a broken chain.
Then a small blue lantern flame at the center.
The panel appeared.
[Banner defined.]
[Chosen Road Thunder Banner]
[Compatibility:
Tri-Gate Thunder War Commander — High]
[Traits:
- Willing Command Resonance
- False Loyalty Resistance
- Road Unity Field
- Burden Clarity
- Anti-Domination Principle]
[Grade: SSS]
Qin Mo whispered, "You made a flag with ethics."
Qin Yuheng did not respond because the hall had not finished.
A dark banner descended from above.
Black-red.
Crimson Eclipse.
Not Blood Sun’s direct interference.
A manifestation drawn from his unresolved truth.
[Counter-Banner Manifestation]
[Crimson Eclipse Dominion Banner]
[Claim:
All roads bend to the ritual.
All burdens become anchors.
All bloodlines become keys.]
The temporary force stepped back.
Ren Qingshan lifted his shield despite his injuries.
Qin Yuheng looked at the black-red banner.
The Fourth Gate was asking whether his defined banner could resist the counter-claim.
The Crimson Eclipse Dominion Banner released chains toward the hall’s many banners, trying to stain them.
Qin Yuheng planted the Chosen Road Thunder Banner.
Gate Thunder Command Field resonated with it.
This time, the field did not spread like control.
It spread like invitation.
Qin Yuchen stepped forward first.
Qin Lian second.
Qin Mo third, muttering, "I choose not to be ritual property."
Ren Qingshan stepped forward.
Then the shield group.
Then healers.
Then scouts.
Not all.
But enough.
The banner brightened.
The Crimson Eclipse banner lashed out with anchor chains. It tried to mark the wounded, the fearful, the guilty. The three dead appeared as illusions, accusing Qin Yuheng.
"You chose the road."
"We died under your banner."
"Carry us forever."
Qin Yuheng’s heart tightened.
Karma-Burden Severing Chain warmed.
He did not deny their deaths.
He said, "I remember you. I will not let your memory become a chain forged by the enemy."
The false accusation broke.
The Chosen Road Thunder Banner released blue-gold light.
Qin Mo activated the Pure Vow Intention Crystal.
Qin Lian cut the left anchor chain.
Qin Yuchen broke the right.
Ren Qingshan and the temporary force held the center.
Qin Yuheng struck the Crimson Eclipse Dominion Banner with thunder wrapped in chosen command aura.
The black-red banner cracked.
A voice whispered from within it.
"Keys open even when they refuse."
Qin Yuheng’s eyes hardened.
"Then I will choose which doors remain closed."
He struck again.
The banner shattered.
[Counter-Banner Manifestation defeated.]
[Fourth Gate cleared.]
[Chosen Road Thunder Banner acknowledged.]
[Class development triggered.]
A new message appeared.
[Tri-Gate Thunder War Commander class resonance upgraded.]
[New Class Skill unlocked:]
[Chosen Road Banner Field]
[Effect:
Plants a temporary command banner. Willing allies within range gain strengthened coordination, false loyalty resistance, and morale stabilization. Field is weaker on unwilling allies but can protect them from domination effects if they do not actively resist.
Warning:
Casualty memory may burden banner if unresolved.]
Qin Yuheng closed his eyes briefly.
Another powerful skill.
Another burden.
The settlement light descended.
Floor 40 was complete.
The Fourth Gate had not given him a crown.
It had given him a banner.
