Chapter 182 - · HE · A Bright Future

Chapter 182: Chapter 180 · HE · A Bright FutureBlood dripped from the sword’s tip onto the ground.

Unlike other soldiers who awaited death, the young Leader seemed to want to resist for a while but was quickly pierced through the heart by his sword.

Upon hearing the experience points notification, he saw the look in the young Leader’s eyes.

"Her Highness Hui Shuhang sent me... In fact, it was just to get your final choice," the young Leader’s words were intermittent, and blood filled his eyes, making them bright red:

"She said, if your final choice is still not to go back, we actually won’t force..."

"I know."

Su Ming’an sheathed his sword, and the young Leader’s blood spurted from his chest, splashing onto the snow, dyed crimson, gradually mixing red with white.

Everyone watched this scene, no one spoke.

Silence prevailed.

Su Ming’an said, "Qin Wang is not a born sacrificer, no one is, I will survive to let you know who saved you."

The young Leader fell onto the snow, his eyes slowly closing.

The corner of his mouth carried a slightly mocking smile.

Su Ming’an turned around.

The soldiers surrounding him knew they were no match and did not attack him anymore. After witnessing the young Leader’s death, they silently retreated and then walked toward the outskirts of the town in several tidy columns.

The clanging of iron armor, the "crunching" sounds of stepping on snow, the cold wind carrying snowflakes spiraling against his face, the air filled with a strong scent of blood.

The silent townfolk emerged from their frozen states, inching backward, trying to flee from this land covered with blood and limbs.

In their eyes, Su Ming’an, covered in blood, was no different from a demon.

... even if this demon had truly saved them.

An outcast, an existence that could take their lives with a mere gesture, they were afraid.

Just then, Mo Mo stepped forward, grabbing Qingqing who was nearby.

Su Ming’an looked at him.

"Um... Sir, thank you very much," Mo Mo also seemed afraid of the blood on him, standing awkwardly among the limbs, his whole body uncomfortable.

But still, Mo Mo persevered, "Thank you for saving the entire town... um, but now that everyone has awakened, we all have the power to protect ourselves, so maybe Qingqing doesn’t need to be taken away by you anymore?"

Su Ming’an laughed out loud.

He had thought that Mo Mo had a change of heart, that there was warmth among the indifference, but it turned out that he was no different from the rest. Mo Mo’s eyes were only for his daughter, and his heart beat lively only for her. He was an extremely selfish person who would sacrifice everything for his daughter.

He risked confronting him just to try and prevent his daughter from being taken away.

... Clearly, Mo Mo was also fearful of him.

"You begged me so earnestly before, the gratitude was heartfelt," Su Ming’an laughed, the smile seemed painted on with a brush, the colors vivid, yet from top to bottom, it carried an undercurrent of dark rust, like blood.

Mo Mo’s body trembled, not daring to meet his gaze.

"... Now you dare to come up and ask me, you really do love your daughter."

"Thud!"

The man suddenly knelt before him, his knees smashing into the bloody snow, his forehead hitting the ground hard. He said nothing, but bowed in an extremely humble posture before him.

Qingqing held Su Ming’an’s hand.

A surge of warmth flowed from her hand into his, seemingly an innate skill, or perhaps due to her Fire Series ability, which helped dispel the cold easily, almost as effective as Hui Shuhang.

Su Ming’an glanced at Qingqing.

Qingqing was also looking at the man kneeling on the ground, like a dog.

Her eyelashes trembled, then she turned away, no longer watching her father.

"Let’s go."

Su Ming’an pulled her hand, leading her away from that place.

No matter how Mo Mo pleaded, he would not return Qingqing; this was a Grade B mission, there was no room for regret once accepted. Since the mission did not suggest to return Qingqing, he had to take her away.

Walking over the uneven snow, descending from the tall mound, Su Ming’an felt the many eyes watching him, but not one of them uttered a word to retain him.

He held Qingqing’s hand, walking over the bloodstained path with uneven steps, stepping over the bodies that lay on the ground.

The tip of the sword dripped with blood.

As he walked step by step towards the outskirts of the town, he looked up at the direction said to be where the Regular Army was stationed.

From here, he could vaguely see the huge, lid-like blue shield that completely enveloped that area.

At this moment, he also heard the system prompt:

[You have earned a new self-narrative from Qin Wang’s perspective:

"I have been to the nearby countryside, seen the hustle and bustle of Kriliri, listened to the song of white birds, the bellowing of deer, witnessed the beauty of this world. I have also, accompanied by Miss Shuhang, ventured deep into the heart of the Revolutionary Army and seen the evil of this world, and then captured experimental subjects."

"When they saw me, they felt admiration, respect, and all sorts of positive emotions arose... but when I went to take them, their gazes turned to hatred."

"...Sometimes I wonder if I really want to change all this?"

"From Ming Hui’s perspective, birth seems to be the source of all injustices and the origin of all conflicts. A good birth brings a good status, abilities, and rights, which can almost determine everything."

"If I wasn’t lucky enough, I would have died amidst the flames of war at birth. If I lacked wisdom, I would ultimately be sent to the altar with no value."

"But if I didn’t have the Evil Dragon bloodline, now still a peaceful Regular Army scholar, I wouldn’t need to live fearfully to this day."

"The few advantages I possess allow me to survive but also put me in danger of death."

"The rich struggle with power squabbles, while the poor suffer for their daily needs."

"—There’s no difference in what they do, merely to stay alive, or perhaps... to live a better life."

"That is fair."

"I just want everyone to live a better life."]

"What is fairness," Su Ming’an smiled, "Qin Wang thinks too far ahead... It’s clear that as the subject changes, so does everything people receive and the they need for success."

Qingqing raised her head, knowing that Big Brother was about to say something strange again.

"If this were a technological world, wisdom would be the ultimate goal people pursue. If this were a world of abilities, supreme power would be what people ultimately seek. Then, those who naturally lack these advantages at the ultimate goal would feel ’unfair’... In the end, it’s just a matter of different values and desires," Su Ming’an sighed, "...and human desire is endless."

He took Qingqing’s hand and first found an empty house at the entrance of the town to take shelter from the snow.

He was really cold now.

As time passed, the condition of his body gradually deteriorated; he had only briefly engaged in the fight earlier, and now even leaving with Qingqing was a struggle.

He sat down in a corner, and Qingqing held his hand. Warmth flowed from her small hand into his, and the blush on her small face slowly faded away.

"Do you not hate me?"

"Why should I hate Big Brother?"

"Your father just now really wanted you to stay."

Qingqing shook her head: "But Big Brother also saved everyone, so I must repay the kindness."

"...Truly rare indeed."

Su Ming’an didn’t expect that at such a time, it was the innocent child who could see things more clearly.

He leaned against the wall and began to contact Shadow.

It was now noon on the tenth day, with the Revolutionary Army attacking the Regular Army’s base, everything proceeding as planned by the Revolutionary Army.

"Don’t worry, original body, it’s quite easy over here. As long as you don’t die there, there will be no problems," said Shadow.

Shadow stood by the side of the troops, watching the Iron Cavalry charge in. The leader’s red hair tie shone at the forefront, like a distinct flag.

"Without the Saint Initiation of the Regular Army causing trouble, the Regular Army has almost no power to fight back." Shadow twirled the necklace in his hand—something he had just robbed from a Revolutionary Army player: "Especially since the Regular Army recently underwent a major purge, a bunch of players got caught and killed, and a bunch followed you and changed sides, now the Regular Army is a total mess..."

"Is that so?" Su Ming’an was a bit surprised.

"Yes, in just this one day on the side of the Revolutionary Army, there were several players who actively came up to offer equipment... such a good deal! I immediately had them guide the way and also robbed some players who were unwilling to offer their gear," Shadow said. "I made quite a bit of Occupation Points, no need to thank me."

"How is the battle situation now?" Su Ming’an ignored Shadow’s attempt at humor.

"Let’s see... I don’t understand all of this, but it looks pretty good." Shadow teleported onto the city walls and took a look, "The walls have already been taken, and a bunch of people claiming to be your students have internally and externally collaborated with the main Regular Army... That’s rare, I didn’t expect the Regular Army to be in such chaos already."

Shadow saw that below the city walls, a girl waving a Black Blade, like an unbeatable spear, fiercely stabbed into the heart of the Regular Army, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

There was also quite a number of people dressed in Regular Army uniforms, holding various strange gemstones, attacking their own people.

He also saw a girl holding a thin sword, dressed in Red Armor. Her swordsmanship was extremely exquisite, and her slender body swayed like the wind, precisely assassinating the Regular Army’s sub-leaders with pinpoint accuracy, creating chaos in the battle.

Seeing the situation in Shadow’s field of view through shared senses, Su Ming’an furrowed his brows.

As for the current situation of the Regular Army... He had some expectations in his heart, Feya’s years of preparation were not in vain, and combined with his sudden desertion, it was normal for the students to start panicking.

But why, Holy Initiation and Hui Shuhang, who could definitely suppress these with absolute power and look down upon everything, hadn’t made a move?

Today was the most critical day, and it could also be said to be the last meaningful day.

In the absence of Qin Wang, what exactly were those two preparing for?

Moreover, even if those two were restrained by something and couldn’t act, Su Ming’an still remembered that the defense of the Regular Army shouldn’t be so weak.

Even with both internal and external collusion, it shouldn’t have collapsed to this extent. The defensive formations that the Regular Army had built up over hundreds of years, the vast Shield bluish enough to obscure the sky, hadn’t been activated.

It was as if they were actively giving the Revolutionary Army a chance.

"Don’t follow the army anymore," said Su Ming’an.

"Ah, why? I’m quickly reaping experience here."

"Use Spatial Displacement and go to that tallest building to see if Holy Initiation is inside."

"...actively seek him out? I’m not Qin Wang’s image, do you want me to go and seek death?"

"Yes."

Shadow merely retorted verbally. In reality, he had no power to resist Su Ming’an’s orders.

After a flicker of his figure, he used Spatial Displacement in succession, heading towards that building shimmering in the mist, glowing with light.

The battlefield was in utter chaos, and because this was a collaborative battle within the city, no one was paying attention to him, and soon he appeared outside the palace doors.

He pushed the door fiercely, and as it was never locked, it opened easily.

Even though no lights were lit, the entire hall was bathed in a soft halo of light, spreading brightness into every corner.

The colored stained-glass windows on the second floor reflected a peaceful and beautiful luster, and each wall, even the ground beneath his feet, outlined intricate patterns.

Directly ahead, a soft light flickered, with a round, cold moon-like orb of light floating in the air.

And beneath the orb, stood a person.

Seeing through Shadow’s perspective, Su Ming’an saw nothing clearly, and then, he felt a pain all over his body and spat out a mouthful of blood.

A sharp pain spread, gradually reaching every corner of his body.

Shadow was dead.

After enduring the pain for a moment, Su Ming’an slowly recovered.

...He hadn’t seen anything at all. It was a waste to let Shadow go in there.

But what exactly was the person in the palace doing...?

He endured the pain and was thinking when suddenly he heard a loud noise from outside the room.

It didn’t come from within the town, but was concentrated in one direction, coming towards here.

"Boom—!"

Before he had time to go out, he saw the roof suddenly fly off, a huge energy wave like a hurricane, flipping the rooftop tiles completely.

The sudden shock wave came from the direction of the Regular Army’s location.

As he stood up and looked in that direction, he found that the huge bluish Defensive Barrier that almost covered the sky, was gone.

And that extremely tall building that could be faintly seen, was also gone.

He didn’t know what had suddenly happened on the Regular Army’s side. All he could see was a wave of white light, almost enveloping the world, coming from the Regular Army’s location, sweeping over everything.

The heavy snow touched the white light and abruptly paused. The bloodstains on his body, when touched by the white light, also rapidly melted away like ice under fire.

The greenery quickly faded, and the land became dry and cracked, the spark of life disappeared in an instant.

He opened his eyes and watched the world before him, bit by bit losing its vitality, watched the shades of green fade away, the environment bit by bit turning into wasteland. A gloomy hue spread across his field of vision.

Standing atop the wasteland, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

It seemed that he had seen such a scene, a wasteland-like scene, in some ending.

Qingqing grasped his hand tightly, her eyes filled with panic. The young girl didn’t understand what the white light was or how it had turned the world into this.

But Su Ming’an had a vague premonition.

Because he heard a system prompt:

"Ding Dong!"

["If I follow my own will and depart from sacrifice and being sacrificed."

"Leaving the homeland behind, in

...It should be over.

He held Qingqing’s hand and let out a sigh of relief when he saw a string of messages in the barrage, like .

Then, he heard another system prompt following right behind:

"Ding Dong!"

Su Ming’an closed his eyes.

"——Big Sister, you’re awake."

Familiar medicinal paste, strange colors, scorching heat.

The temperature transferred little by little, gradually dispelling the bone-piercing chill on his body.

Su Ming’an extended his hand, holding the bowl.

He dragged it into a slot in his backpack; it might be useful later on.

"Eh?" The frail-looking young girl was surprised. She hadn’t expected the medicine that had just been in her hands to suddenly disappear: "Wait, Big Sister, don’t hide the bowl too, we only have two bowls for decocting medicine at home..."

Su Ming’an reached out his hand and held hers.

"I’m a bit cold," he said.

"Eh, still feeling cold? Then I’ll bring some more firewood..."

Su Ming’an’s hand let go.

He looked at Qingqing, his gaze somewhat drifting.

"Big Sister, what’s wrong with you, did the cold mess up your mind..."

Su Ming’an closed his eyes and then quickly adjusted his state.