Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Chapter 326: "Father, play a game with meYamada Machiichi fell into a profound silence.

Yamada Machiichi really wanted to flee.

He glanced at Su Ming’an next to him, his eyes filled with deep resentment.

"Didn’t you say you had something to discuss?" Su Ming’an did not respond to his gaze, "Let’s talk."

Yamada Machiichi took a deep breath.

At this point, there was no turning back.

Although he had no idea how Su Ming’an managed to become both a Soul Hunt and a member of the Soul Clan, considering Su Ming’an’s earlier actions, he probably wouldn’t make a move against him here...

He stepped forward, took out the elixir in his hand, and began to pitch it to the Soul Clan leader in front of him.

Su Ming’an watched the scene unfold.

The item being traded by Yamada Machiichi and Sevya was called the "Talent Reforming Elixir," a one-time consumable that could improve one’s talent.

Su Ming’an had seen information about other top-ranked players on the world forum. Among them, Yamada Machiichi was a story-driven player, skilled in face changing, disguising, and bewildering. His strategy in instances could basically be described in three words: "Cling to power."

His progress in the tasks was essentially about finding NPCs that seemed powerful in the instance, then using various methods to increase their favorability towards him, safely leeching his way through the entire course, and even managing to gain a lot of benefits along the way.

If one was not seeking a Perfect Pass, this method was very suitable for players who wanted safety but were reluctant to give up benefits.

And now, it seemed that Yamada Machiichi had found a new powerful figure to cling to.

Su Ming’an watched the two converse happily but was ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

The Soul Clan leader Sevya, despite also calling him "father" like the Duke and Archilev, showed an exceptionally cold attitude.

The other party even lounged lazily on the sofa, never once standing up, completely different from Archilev, who had kneeled on one knee before.

This "father," the emotion of mockery far outweighed that of respect.

It was hard to be sure the other party wouldn’t make a move against him.

"...Then, after ensuring the efficacy of the elixir, I will guarantee your safety for the next eleven days." Having taken Yamada Machiichi’s item, Sevya waved his hand, "You may step aside now, human, and don’t disturb the reunion with my dear father."

Yamada Machiichi had achieved his goal and immediately moved to a corner of the room, striving to reduce his presence as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Sevya’s blood-red eyes met with Su Ming’an’s gaze.

The shrill cheers of the gladiator arena penetrated through the floor-to-ceiling glass, rendering the room exceptionally silent.

After brief silence, Sevya slightly straightened his body.

"Why so formal, father?" He smiled and patted the sofa beside him with his gloved hand, "Please, take a seat and enjoy the gladiatorial combat I have specially prepared for you."

"I’m fine here." Su Ming’an sat down on a small sofa on the flank, not beside Sevya.

Sevya shrugged his shoulders, seemingly indifferent.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, the fierce battle between the two humans was intensifying.

One of them was dressed in red cloth, the other draped in blue, both barefoot on the yellow sand, clashing swords with ferocious expressions, like two wild beasts.

The Soul Clan members in the audience cheered loudly for one of the fighters, their fervent emotions filling the entire gladiator arena.

Beneath their cheers, the fighters’ blades drew blood, the red-clothed man’s sword chopping down on the blue-clothed man’s shoulder, the blade carving inward, blood spurting out.

The yellow sand now appeared even more brilliantly red.

"...You see, father." Sevya, seated on the sofa, suddenly spoke up, "When humans are pushed to the brink, they’re not so different from wild beasts."

Su Ming’an remained silent.

The somewhat harsh warm yellow light shone in his eyes, he squinted, and adjusted his sitting position slightly.

"...Why are you not speaking?" Sevya turned his head slightly, his voice sounded somewhat low, "Are you no longer willing to talk to me?"

"I know you don’t agree with my view on the peaceful coexistence of both factions," Sevya continued, "But am I really wrong?... Isn’t it Pulaya who continues the current state of slaughter that’s at fault? Without real innovation, we’ll never see the fruits of that theory, I believe if we build Pulaya as I have described and communicate with the Soul Hunt, we can achieve a state where both sides are happy..."

"You really like balance?" Su Ming’an suddenly asked.

Seemingly not expecting a response from Su Ming’an, Sevya appeared somewhat pleased.

He spread his hands with an excited expression, "Naturally."

"As long as we make a deal with the humans, asking them to supply us with food regularly, we wouldn’t hunt so chaotically, causing more meaningless harm. Many human deaths are senseless – they die from internal conflicts, personal desires, dark and private schemes..."

And these resourceful deaths are a waste.

"If we pool their value, we can achieve harmonious coexistence between the Soul Clan and humans..."

Listening to his words, Su Ming’an gradually understood why there seemed to be such significant conflict between Su Rin and this man.

This so-called leader of the Soul Clan was simply an extreme idealist, someone with a neurotic demeanor.

"Let me give you some advice," Su Ming’an said.

"Father, please speak," Sevya looked ready to listen.

"To achieve balance, I think, besides humans needing to regularly supply the Soul Clan with food, the Soul Clan also need to make certain sacrifices," Su Ming’an said, "How about this - humans bring their own kind as food to satisfy your ’eating human souls’ urge. In return, you send some of the Soul Clan over to let humans chop them up, to satisfy their ’killing Soul Clan’ desire – wouldn’t that maintain ’balance’? Giving and taking, this is what you call a trade, don’t you think?"

Sevya frowned slightly.

His gaze shifted, studying Su Ming’an with a novel look, as if observing him very closely.

"...Are you joking?" he asked softly.

"Are you joking?" Su Ming’an met his gaze, "Your words just now, it’s all too easy to feel their ludicrous, joking nature."

"I am serious," Sevya said.

"So am I," Su Ming’an glared at him, "Listen, Sevya. This so-called absolute ’balance’ and allocation of resources can only be achieved under a unified leader.

And the existence of such a unified leader can only occur if one race is annihilated or sovereignty is lost. Without considering emotions or ideals, and viewing life simply as a resource... such standards cannot be enforced just because one cites ’maximization of resources’ as the reason."

"Why can’t it be enforced? Can humans continue to tolerate living in such uncertain times?" Sevya frowned.

" – if it were you, would you send out your loved ones just so that you could live a little longer?"

"Father, we are naturally predators of humans, we should have the right to hunt them," Sevya argued.

"No. I’ve heard a saying, biologically, there’s never been such a thing as ’rights,’ only various organs, abilities, and traits. Birds fly because they have wings, not because they have ’the right to fly,’ fish breathe underwater because they have gills, not because they have ’the right to swim’—likewise, the Soul Clan wants to eat humans because of your physiological makeup, you don’t possess any ’rights to eat humans’."

"’You’?," Sevya heard this term, his gaze grew colder.

His fingers resting on the sofa curled, his nails seemingly piercing into the cushion.

"...Father, you really have completely taken the side of humans," he said.

His eyes grew gradually darker, "Who changed you? Aelas? Archilev? Or that Knight of Light named Sherrod?"

Su Ming’an laughed softly.

He sat up straight, meeting the other’s gaze unyieldingly:

"No one has ever changed me," he said.

"Sevya,"

"—it’s your naivety that has changed your own perception."

Yamada Machiichi shivered.

He huddled in the corner, completely overwhelmed by the confrontational aura between these two individuals.

Before, while watching forum video records, he hadn’t taken it seriously, thinking that the NPCs who talked to Su Ming’an were all brain-dead, easily convinced by a few words, with no bottom line or persistence.

But now, standing next to these two people, he gradually realized that this was not a mere exchange of verbal barbs.

...It was a clash of stances and auras.

As he watched the scene unfold, he found himself almost unable to speak.

When Su Ming’an’s words finished, the entire room seemed to fall into a brief silence.

It was as if a wave of oppression was surging through the air, and Sevya lowered his head, silent.

Su Ming’an looked at him, his gaze showing no sign of yielding.

And the next moment, Sevya suddenly lifted his head.

It was as if the gloom in his eyes had been swept away in the moment he lowered his head; when he raised it again, his expression had returned to its original gentleness, and the intense emotions from his speech had disappeared without a trace.

He smiled, resting his hand on the small table beside him, and lifted a wine glass stained with blood.

"—Let’s play a game, Father," he changed the topic.

"What game."

Sevya pointed outside the window, "Let’s play... a game of predicting winners and losers."

Su Ming’an looked outside the window.

At that moment, outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, between the arenas, the battle of two heavily scarred men was coming to an end. The man in red cloth had his knife stuck in the other man’s bone while the man in blue cloth had his knife trapped between his opponent’s palms, both locked in a standoff that seemed ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

"Here are two pieces of paper, two pens," Sevya said, tossing him a paper rolled around a pen: "We’ll each make our predictions about the outcome of these two men on our own sheets, and see whose prediction is correct, shall we?"

Su Ming’an glanced at the blank sheet in his hand: "What’s the reward for the winner?"

"Let me think..." Sevya twirled the pen in his hand.

With a "clack," the pen fell to the ground; he bent down to pick it up, laughing softly: "Let’s wager the other’s life."

"Fine," Su Ming’an said.

Surprise flashed in Sevya’s eyes, as if he hadn’t expected Su Ming’an to agree so readily.

"Let’s be clear, it’s not a reward for the winner; it’s a punishment for the loser," he said: "Anyone who fails to predict the correct result must accept this punishment. In other words... only by predicting correctly can one escape punishment."

"No problem," Su Ming’an unhesitatingly wrote his prediction on the paper.

The pen in Sevya’s hand paused.

Watching Su Ming’an roll up his sheet, Sevya’s gaze darkened, and then he too wrote down his prediction.

Just as they put down their pens.

The man in red cloth below finally pulled out his knife and chopped at his opponent’s neck, nearly severing the man’s entire head.

At the same time, the knife of the man in blue cloth sliced through his opponent’s palm and pierced into his heart, stabbing through his body.

One in the neck, the other in the heart. Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Blood from both sprayed out, staining the bright yellow sand beneath them like fountains.

Amidst the spectators’ cheers and screams, they both fell, lifeless.

Yamada Machiichi was dumbstruck by the scene, looking at the outcome where there was no victor.

...How could this be.

Watching the two men decide each other’s life with just a few words, he too had made a prediction—he had bet on the man in blue cloth winning.

...But he never would have imagined this outcome.

He thought it was a pure game of luck, where either the red or the blue would win.

But now he understood,

this game didn’t seem to be that simple.

Sevya, sitting on the sofa, smiled slightly and flipped over the piece of paper in his hand.

On it was clearly written "mutual destruction."

"It’s your turn to reveal your result, Father," Sevya looked at him.

Su Ming’an’s hand covered his paper, motionless.

"What’s the matter?" Sevya asked with a smile: "...You didn’t guess wrong, did you?"

Su Ming’an’s hand still did not move.

"No matter," Sevya said: "Even if you’ve lost, I won’t take your life. I invited you to play this game just to make you understand..."

"That I’m now in your territory and should comply with your arrangement, right?" Su Ming’an suddenly spoke up.

Sevya’s eyes flickered.

"From the start, you’ve set the rule that the loser must face punishment," Su Ming’an looked at him: "In other words, you meant that there would be ’absolutely no punishment for a correct prediction.’

Your rules should be built on your advantage; it’s impossible that this is a game purely of luck.

’The loser loses everything, the winner faces no punishment.’

Thus, you must have orchestrated the outcome of these two gladiators from the start—your prediction simply couldn’t be wrong; only then would you be unbeatable."

As he spoke, he slowly moved his hand away:

"And such an arrangement of the game could never be satisfying with just your victory.

You must want, on the basis of your win, to make sure I lose.

Therefore—you would never leave the outcome to luck, gambling on my guess of either red or blue.

You must have... predetermined an outcome that didn’t rely on luck, to ensure I couldn’t guess it.

Thus, deducing from this, there could be only one outcome for this gladiator battle."

His hand, which had been covering his own sheet, was completely withdrawn.

On the paper were predictions identical to Sevya’s:

Looking at these words, Sevya fell silent for a moment.

"If you already knew I couldn’t lose, why accept the invitation to the game?" he said.

"Because I understand that the purpose of your inviting me to this little game was to make me realize—I’m now in your territory. So everything I see, including the two men fighting below, is within your control." Su Ming’an met his gaze: "You wanted to imply to me by this means that I should keep a low profile, right?"

Sevya did not deny it.

"Therefore, I will also use the same method, through the outcome of this little game, to convey the same message to you." Su Ming’an withdrew his gaze:

"...Sevya, even in such a place, you are not the god who controls everything—remember that?"