Chapter 345 - ’Humans Are Not Purely Rational Thinking Beings

Chapter 345: Chapter 342: ’Humans Are Not Purely Rational Thinking BeingsSu Ming’an calmly watched the scene unfold.

He was thinking about the current progress with the absolute rational attitude of a player.

...First and foremost, no matter how things developed, they absolutely could not just let Aelas go. Aelas had seen everything on this side, and the Soul Hunter Faction would definitely be prepared for the situation of the Soul Clan; they would surely intervene in the Maritime Banquet because of this.

...He thought of a better way to handle it.

"Archilev," he began.

Leaning on his cane, Archilev smiled towards him, waiting for his command.

In the silence, Su Ming’an’s gaze fixed on Aelas.

He was silent for five seconds, and for safety, he switched to a Bright State. He then approached Archilev and whispered,

"Transform Aelas."

His voice was very low.

He had thought of this plan.

Currently, what limited him was only the number of Resource Points during the nighttime segment—transforming a human required five thousand Resource Points, and Bewilderment required fifteen hundred Resource Points. It was because of the lack of Resource Points that he could not transform Aelas and then control him.

But if he couldn’t transform... someone else could.

The only difference was that his transformation was without risk and side effects, whereas the transformation of others by a high-ranking member of the Soul Clan like Archilev had great risks. Moreover, Aelas might not listen to them even if he was transformed.

...But that was okay.

Because he happened to have a skill called "Bewilderment."

As long as the target was from the Soul Clan, as long as he had fifteen hundred Resource Points, nothing would be a problem.

Although the game difficulty of the Su Rin identity was high, the opportunities were clearly given to him. As long as he controlled the situation well, he could completely create a "controlled" situation.

After hearing this, Archilev was slightly taken aback.

"My transformation carries risks, and with this, he might not live much longer..." he responded softly, "And for a time, my strength will also decrease."

"It’s fine." Su Ming’an had no sympathy for Aelas, no matter if he could live long or not.

Moreover, what he needed was only "control," not absolute combat power. As long as both faction leaders listened to him, even if these two couldn’t exert much strength, he could still ensure a dominant situation at the Maritime Banquet.

Archilev nodded, then suddenly thrust his hand into his own chest.

Blood flowed out, streaming over his hand, and he quickly approached Aelas.

Seeing this, Aelas also realized something and immediately began to struggle violently.

A blinding white light flashed on his body, instantly shaking off Sevya who was holding him down.

"You’re insane, Su Rin—do you really want to waste all your grandfather’s efforts, do you know how much your grandfather did for Pulaya..."

He roared, light bursting from his body.

"Pulaya doesn’t need you." Su Ming’an looked at him, "Su Rin said so."

Aelas was stunned for a moment.

The next moment, Archilev’s figure blurred, and his cane touched Aelas’s forehead in an instant.

Aelas’s body jerked backward, a white mist rising and completely enveloping the area.

"Ding Dong!"

At the moment Archilev’s cane touched Aelas, Sevya followed up immediately.

Dazzling white light exploded inside the cathedral, like a pale dragon swirling up.

Sevya reached out his hand, and a burst of white light cascaded down like a waterfall, delivering a full-force strike on the controlled Aelas.

"Boom——!"

Chairs in the church exploded into fragments; white light interwove into a large expanse of optics. Su Ming’an squinted his eyes, suddenly feeling an extremely intense sense of crisis.

Without hesitation, he activated his energy suppression skill.

He felt a pain in his abdomen, and a line of blood spurted out from behind him.

"Ding-dong——"

A blood-stained silver bullet fell to the ground.

Su Ming’an took a half-step back, his face pale.

Bright red blood quickly spread from his pierced body, staining his clothes crimson.

His Noah’s Chain’s damage transfer skill could only be used on players, and there were no other players here. He could only take the hit directly.

Even though he immediately activated his energy suppression skill, the opponent’s bullet was too fast. Energy suppression merely forced the bullet’s trajectory to shift from his chest to his abdomen.

If it weren’t for Rin confusing Sevya and Archilev with his skill, allowing them to fight for him, Aelas would be an impossible presence for any current player to defeat.

Seeing Su Ming’an injured, Sevya rushed into the fray with a stern face, but his steps halted suddenly.

"...He’s gone."

He looked at the emptiness inside.

Next to him, Archilev lowered his hand, his staff touching the ground, producing a crisp sound.

"After all, he is the leader of the Soul Hunters, and he must be carrying quite a few good items on him. If he escapes... huh?" He said, suddenly turning his head, looking towards Su Ming’an’s direction.

The normally composed gentleman showed an astonished and panicked expression for the first time.

Su Ming’an sensed something was wrong and quickly drew his knife—

"Crack——"

As if the sound of crisp glass shattering echoed through the air.

A writhing white silver snake emerged from the blade edge of the Amber Knife, as if to shatter the air, moving straightforward.

The blond man’s figure appeared abruptly in front of Su Ming’an as a series of red numbers jumped above his head.

Aelas’s sudden appearance posed no threat to him.

This strike, Su Ming’an activated the Amber’s condensation skill.

The air seemed to scatter before his eyes, the scene shattering like glass, twisting transparent light spreading over the man.

Su Ming’an’s strike wasn’t high in damage but its fluctuation range was tremendously broad, like cutting out a powerful spatial vibration.

On Aelas’s body, the Soul Hunter uniform was violently shredded by this "Spatial Fracture" effect, revealing numerous large scars on his upper body, mostly claw marks—those were proof left by the Soul Clan before their deaths.

His eyes almost bloodshot, he seemed to lose all rationality in anger and slashed his silver blade straight toward Su Ming’an’s head—

Su Ming’an felt an extremely glaring pain before his eyes.

Bright, silvery light flared up before him, bringing with it the stinging pain of a blade’s cold wind.

This blade was too dazzling, too sharp, as if condensing the opponent’s entire energy.

Aelas was chopping at him desperately, preferring to bet his life rather than flee, determined to make this last strike.

The cold breeze brushed past Su Ming’an’s face; he slightly stepped back half a step, and a weighty pain suddenly clung to his forehead—

"Boom—!"

A loud explosion.

Thin scars condensed on his forehead, resembling a blood-red borehole.

...but the pain did not progress any further.

Not far away, at the junction of light and shadow, Shadow stood at the doorway.

He was draped in a pure black mask, the space around him distorting, his mana points completely depleted.

Shadow had released a Spatial Vibration from a distance, using up all his mana points, forcing Aelas to halt his strike.

The blood-red numbers jumped above his head, Aelas’s usually gentle expression turning almost ferocious.

In his eyes, despair gradually spread, staring at Su Ming’an as if looking at a mortal enemy who had killed his father.

The next moment, Sevya and Archilev quickly followed, electricity pressing on his spine, and a wand fiercely piercing his back.

The palace’s smooth porcelain stone, flowed with fresh blood.

Aelas fell to the ground.

The veins on the back of his hands were exposed, still tightly clutching his knife.

The knife had fine scratches, the blade reflecting a silvery light, which appeared somewhat dazzling.

Su Ming’an narrowed his eyes, retreating half a step again.

"Su Rin—"

He heard the other’s voice roar like a scream.

The typically calm and astute leader of the Soul Hunters, was like a trapped beast, uttering a hoarse roar on the ground.

He seemed extremely angry.

Su Ming’an was unsure why Aelas had suddenly become so enraged, but he would not give him another chance.

He took out the Blood Bottle, drank half, then poured it onto his abdomen beneath his clothes.

There was a severe bullet piercing wound there, incredibly serious; if not for his ’Bright State’ physique, he would have been the one lying on the ground now.

Even so, a twisting pain ravaged within his body, even stopping the effect of automatic health regeneration.

With the help of the Blood Bottle, the wound healed very slowly, he pulled down his clothes, looking at Aelas still shouting his name on the ground, and slightly furrowed his brows.

"Heard it." he said.

Aelas’s roar paused for a moment.

Then, a strong wave of sadness, palpable even to others, emerged on his face.

"...Su Rin." His roaring ceased, leaving only a lingering sound in the hall.

"Heard it." Su Ming’an said.

"...For sixty years, it has always been you." Aelas looked at him.

"It has always been me." Su Ming’an said.

Next to them, Archilev already started moving.

His hands still stained with heart blood, his steps somewhat weak, he moved step by step towards Aelas.

"I once regarded you as my faith for becoming a Soul Hunter." Aelas gazed at Su Ming’an: "But I did not expect you to hate the division of factions to this extent."

Su Ming’an: "I haven’t."

He was not dissatisfied with the situation; these words were merely for the sake of progressing the strategy.

"Su Rin, the battle in Pulaya was never a fight of black and white... I understand this." Aelas: "But it needs to be, so I made it so. Whether killed by the Soul Clan... killed by enemies... or killed by external invaders.

"No matter who ultimately wins this meaningless victory. Hatred is the sustenance of Pulaya, and struggle is the soul of Pulaya—and we need them."

"Regardless of whether it is reasonable, regardless of whether someone will be hurt."

"The injured are just individuals, while the entire Pulaya will continue because of this."

"So no one has ever been wrong," Su Ming’an said.

"If there really has to be one," Aelas looked at him, "it would be you who tries to change the situation — Su Rin, although I don’t know how you came down from Yun Shang City, you shouldn’t have come back — Pulaya no longer needs you."

Su Ming’an laughed.

...Pulaya doesn’t need Su Rin, is maintaining this stalemate really the best for it?

Su Rin must have his reasons for returning.

"Aelas, with a Soul Hunter leader like you who arrogantly tries to educate others at the cost of their lives, your subordinates will never have the courage to follow you.

Even if your plan succeeds and Gerald dies, I will not obey you — not to mention Sherrod, who betrays you first; your so-called ’reasonable’ is quite a failure.

There’s no need for such rhetoric to shake me; you lack the courage to break the deadlock."

Hearing his words, Aelas fell silent for a moment.

When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat strained:

"...Then where should this courage to break the deadlock come from? From more sacrificed Soul Hunters, innocent children, or those lifeless bodies that have lost their souls?"

At this, Archilev walked up to Aelas.

He crouched down, and the Blood Bottle in his hand floated up, radiating a soft glow.

"From me," Su Ming’an said:

"From Su Rin, who has taken control of the situation."

He had hoped to try and shake the opponent through conversation, thus reducing the required Resource Points of bewilderment.

However, Aelas seemed unshaken.

He could not shake a rather determined Soul Hunter.

"...I incited strife, I created hatred, I issued mutually hostile missions to awaken the long dormant ferocity in people," Aelas said:

"I do not feel sorry or sad about this because this is my duty.

"No friendliness allowed, no socializing allowed, no intermarriages... Between the two clans, there exists no chance and no emotion, for this is an absolute contradiction in the food chain.

"Humans do not grow fond of pigs and dogs, though this comparison might belittle ourselves, the same applies to the Soul Clan.

"The two clans can never coexist. Even if a world-saving hero of Pulaya returns, it’s the same.

"Because humans are not purely rational creatures. Anyone can be condemned for emotional bias.

"Su Rin, you have taken control of the Soul Clan and infiltrated the Soul Hunter Faction to transform me, I know what you want to do.

"...But you can never achieve it.

"You cannot break this situation."

He paused for a moment.

Archilev’s blood appeared before his eyes.

Just as it was about to drift to his lips, blood spilled from the corners of Aelas’s mouth.

"...Because only through struggle and death can we regain our dignity."

He said.

The light gradually faded from his eyes, and his voice grew faint.

Archilev pulled back his hand:

"...He has killed himself."