Chapter 389

Chapter 389: Chapter 386: "Congratulations on Your ImmortalityLast night, at the critical moment when the King of Sea Monsters lunged at him, Su Ming’an directly took out the divine artifact "Makeshift Bed."

Since it was already night, the moment he had it on his back, he entered the night phase and successfully escaped by falling asleep.

Of course, since it took some time to put the bed on his back, the aftermath of that claw still hit his chest. However, it wasn’t a big deal; the wound just looked scary, but he could recover by pouring a Blood Bottle.

He had just completed the fourth level of the night instance, and at the moment of falling into the sea as the instance ended, he used the Teleportation Pocket Watch to reach Nailuo’s side.

As for why he chose Nailuo, it was because he knew Nailuo would definitely not be on the front line. The Soul Hunter Department wouldn’t send a lady with little Combat Power there. Had he chosen Noel or others, he might have wound up near the Sea Monsters instead.

But he didn’t expect that upon teleporting, she was right in the midst of a crisis.

"Rin." Nailuo looked at him, his body soaked with seawater and blood, and didn’t know where to place her hands.

"No time to talk now, the situation is urgent, we need to head for the city walls," Su Ming’an said as he wiped the blood from his face and turned to leave.

He must get to the city walls as quickly as possible. He had just completed the fourth level of the night instance, and there were many things to arrange.

"—Su Rin!"

Nailuo’s voice, filled with anger, rang out behind him.

"—Do you even want me to teach you how to use a rifle!" she yelled loudly, her tone both joyful and angry.

"After the siege is over," Su Ming’an replied.

"Amber said you were dead!"

"He’s talking nonsense."

"—I don’t know what kind of hero you are of Pulaya, or how great you are, and I don’t care!"

As if releasing emotions that had been suppressed for a long time, she shouted loudly, tears falling down her cheeks. She felt her speech quicken uncontrollably, and her voice began to tremble unavoidably:

"—I just want you to be alive, do you understand? I want you to be alive! You’re just Su Rin, just a Viscount of the Yate Empire. You came to the Empire to start all over again, isn’t that wanting to leave everything behind? You don’t have to shoulder so many responsibilities—"

Su Ming’an turned his head.

Nailuo was momentarily silenced by the look in his eyes.

Her lips trembled as if they heard something shatter.

...It was not the eyes of the Su Rin she liked before.

No expectations, no tenderness, not a hint of love.

He looked at her as if she were just another ordinary person, like the grass on the roadside, a bird flying by, like any ordinary thing.

What she wanted—him looking at her differently than anyone else—was completely absent.

...How could it be such a strange and unfamiliar look.

She felt herself getting colder and colder, the thick clothing on her unable to block the wind and snow swirling around her.

In that moment, she suddenly wanted to flee in panic.

Even though she had just regained what she thought was lost.

"This is not something I can decide," he said with a very faint tone.

Nailuo was stunned for a moment.

"Nailuo, do you want to go back home?" Su Ming’an asked.

"I..."

"It’s clear that in Pulaya, you’re not happy."

"Wait until this is over, let Sherrod... let Cliff arrange a boat for you, to send you home," Su Ming’an said.

His health had fully recovered, so he turned around.

He walked quickly and decisively, not giving Nailuo any chance to hold him back.

For a girl who was obviously fond of the former Su Rin, he left no lingering feelings that could entangle them further.

Nailuo bit her lip as she watched his figure growing more distant.

"I don’t want to go home..." she almost bit through her lip.

The trembling words were crushed between her teeth.

"It’s already too late, I’ve already..."

Su Ming’an hurried back to the city wall.

He had already figured out what the night segment represented.

It represented everything "Deity" had done to Pulaya in the past.

The Deity led wars, exploited people’s sacrificial spirit, stirred up the war situation, and used His believers to create hatred.

In this way, the more life and hatred became His source, the stronger He could become.

This night instance even deliberately set a fixed amount of Contribution Value needed each night, and if Su Ming’an didn’t send soldiers along the optimum route prescribed, he would fail to meet the standard.

The instance was merely making him witness everything the "Deity" had done in the past,

He could at most change the direction of the soldiers’ actions but could not alter the overall grand pattern of Pulaya.

So,

If the "Demon King" signifies the "Deity" above, the omnipotent "Golden Rose" signifies the immortal Princess Tulip, the "Black Devotee" sworn to defend the Golden Rose represents Black Pike protecting Princess Tulip, the "Holy Radiance" responsible for "messaging" represents the Pope, the "Frost Ruler" and the "Silent Knight" represent Sevya and Archilev who are at odds with each other, and the "Moonlight Watcher" represents Soul Hunter Deputy Minister Lucia.

Then the existence most favored by the Deity, the only Su Rin who successfully returned from Yun Shang City.

Among all the soldiers, he represented—necessarily—the "Despicable from Heaven."

This was no different from his previous speculation.

However, within this, Su Ming’an discovered a point he was very concerned about.

During the previous cycle, when observing Cloud City up close, he had already found that Cloud City was a ghost town, void of life on its top, without the inhabitants sent there sixty years ago, and even filled with lethal poison gas.

This could have already indicated that those inhabitants had long been dead.

The so-called "Day of Messaging," those letters were nothing but the Deity’s method to bewilder the inhabitants, to make them believe their loved ones were still alive, to devoutly have faith in Him. This was the work of the "Holy Radiance," the Pope responsible for copying homework.

—The inhabitants were already dead, which meant that the former Su Rin had actually failed.

Su Rin did not fulfill his wish to make the half of the people who had been taken up survive; on the contrary, as initially planned, all the people who ascended had died. They succeeded in conserving resources, allowing the remaining half of the people on the ground in Pulaya to continue existing.

...But obviously, Su Rin was the only one among those who went up who survived.

Previously, from Su Rin’s Memory Stone, Su Ming’an had seen how Sea Monsters had blessed Su Rin with a body unaffected by the poison gas.

Perhaps because of this, Su Rin did not die from the poison gas like the other inhabitants; instead, he lived, became favored by the Deity, became the most favored existence, became the "Despicable from Heaven," became the only person who came down from Yun Shang City.

In this way, everything made sense.

Last night, in the night segment of the fourth level, Su Ming’an had attempted to change the situation by assigning different soldiers, even allowing the red and blue sides to fight to the death, tilting the balance decisively one way.

But the final result was that the Contribution Value did not meet the passing requirements, leading to failure, and he died outright.

After retrying, he had also tried "selling" some soldiers, but the prompt said, "After selling this soldier, they will no longer have faith in Lord Demon King, and all previous contributions will be erased."

He could only sell some soldiers that had just been newly acquired; otherwise, the erased Contribution Value would be enough to instantly deplete his savings. This sale was essentially useless.

He still couldn’t guess, in that final "Demon Lord and Hero" fifth level, who exactly would the "Hero" be that was going to fight? Would it be Su Rin himself, in his role as the "despicable one," or Sherrod and others?

If the person who ended up coming was himself, how would he manage the Demon King to ensure survival in the final challenge while also avoiding killing himself?

...It was a very troubling problem.

He took out a Blood Bottle and drank it, restoring the health he had spent using the Teleportation Pocket Watch.

By the end of the fourth level, he had already expanded the Demon King City to the highest level, just waiting for the last Hero to show up, which will most likely be the final decisive battle.

He was waiting for nightfall today.

Outside the Southern District’s city walls, at the temporary Soul Hunter Command Post.

Knowing that it was impossible to kill the King of Sea Monsters, everyone was working overtime to repair the Barrier.

Under Shadow’s orders, they were unconditionally requisitioning the Resource Stones from all over Pulaya to mend this last line of defense, hoping to hold out a little longer, waiting for the King of Sea Monsters to no longer bother with them, waiting for the sea monster army to retreat.

They couldn’t understand the "principle of equivalence," nor did they know why sea monsters suddenly attacked the island after Su Rin took control of Pulaya, nor did they know when this disaster would recede. But for survival, everyone had to unite and struggle, hoping for an outcome where the sea monsters would retreat.

At this moment, the area was bustling with people: some were pushing carts filled with bricks, some transporting the injured, some delivering documents, and others just sitting on the ground, resting. The zone was full of busy people, even the powerless residents were laboring for free. Many collapsed from exhaustion and slept, their snores blending into a chorus.

"Les, hand me that loaf of bread!"

The noisy voices blended together, accompanied by the fluttering snowflakes and dust... This camp was filled with many locals, and even Players who had taken on temporary tasks like "brick-moving" or "delivering family letters." Awaiting the countdown of instance time, Players could pick up simple running tasks here to earn a meager amount of Points for buying Blood Bottles.

"You’re really stupid, can’t you just get it yourself? The distribution point is right over there, look, that shabby temporary house that looks like a lump of dirt." A careless local man pointed impatiently, then tousled his hair that had been freshly cut before the start of the Maritime Banquet, striking up a conversation with a pretty young woman reading a letter beside him:

"Hey, Linda, you’re really dressed... sharp today."

"I can’t very well move bricks in a skirt, can I? Honey, I know that red dress is nice, but I don’t want to get it dirty here... If we manage to survive, maybe I can wear that dress for a dinner date with you." The woman chuckled, covering her mouth.

"I have a feeling we’re not going to hold this place." The man said with a wry smile.

"—What nonsense are you talking about, I swear to the Gods, even if my head were cracked open, this Barrier wouldn’t break!" A sturdy man lying on a piece of torn cloth beside them shouted, "That King of Sea Monsters is resting for now, and if she dares come again, I’ll make sure she can’t return! You might as well relax, like me, and lie down here. Although the ground is a bit cold, it’s better than staying up all night..."

"But Su Rin is already dead." The smile vanished from the woman’s face, turning somewhat mournful.

She looked toward a residential house commandeered by the Soul Hunter Department’s temporary headquarters: "Maybe we shouldn’t be so cheerful, they’re holding a funeral over there."

"A proper sacrifice need not be mourned excessively. At least, he bought us a chance to breathe and repair the Barrier."

In the corner, a white-haired old man puffing on a large pipe, blew out a circle of smoke.

His slightly cloudy eyes gazed into the distance as if reminiscing:

"...More than sixty years ago, when I was a child, I saw Lord Su Rin, and he looks no different now... He must have been prepared for this visit." He said his gaze wandering into the distance, "He is the man blessed by the Deity, even if he sacrifices himself, his Soul will surely ascend to Heaven. Perhaps, at some point, we may see his undying Spirit again... Ghost ahhh—"

The woman blinked.

She didn’t quite understand why the old man started howling like a ghost halfway through his remembrance, as if his own soul had been scared away.

She was about to turn around when she heard the manly strong man beside her also start howling, his voice as tragic as a high-pitched soprano.

"Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh—"

Suddenly, the place erupted in wails, like a choir of off-key sopranos bursting into song.

She immediately turned around.

She saw a figure, walking towards her through the snowstorm, covered in blood, under the stunned gazes of the onlookers as if they had seen a ghost.

The once bustling campsite suddenly fell silent, with only the howling wind and snow filling the air.

Her red lips parted slightly, her eyelashes fluttered, and the features of the approaching figure gradually became clear...

She was stunned.

Behind that person floated a sea-blue, hero-like Sea Monster, rising like blue flames. He appeared as if he had just emerged from Hell, walking into the shocked and incredulous stares of everyone around.

Waves swept over and tore apart small boats. It was unthinkable that anyone could survive the King of Sea Monsters’ resentful strike.

But this man had returned.

Accompanied by the blue Sea Monster, his peer in monstrousness, he reappeared in everyone’s field of vision, becoming the sole focus of their eyes.

"He really is the creator of miracles..."

Duoya, still dressed in her plain white skirt, murmured to herself as she walked out of the meeting room.

"Looks like, your memorial service has been perfectly shattered," said Shadow, who was on the wall repairing the Barrier with a Resource Stone, taking the annoyed glances of the other Soul Hunters in stride, "Don’t look at me like that; I was just joking. You didn’t believe he could survive yourselves, why blame me for the joke?"

He shrugged, indifferent.

Some Players who had been gearing up to make a move also forcefully suppressed their thoughts.

Even though Su Ming’an looked extremely fragile right now, with no one by his side, they didn’t dare to strike him down under the watchful eyes of everyone, as his admirers were not to be trifled with.

This group of Su Rin’s local devotees indeed would give their all for the hero they admired; their faith far exceeded those of fan clubs that simply gathered together out of affection, ready to fight with all their might to defend their hero at any time.

At this moment, nearly all NPCs present were loyal defenders of Su Rin; no Player dared to make a move against him then.

Players were his potential enemies.

NPCs, however, were his loyal comrades-in-arms.

"— Welcome back."

The Soul Hunter Minister with blond hair, Aiske, stepped forward, arms wide open, seemingly wanting to naturally give the hero Su Rin a big hug.

"Where is the high-level meeting room of the Soul Hunters?" Su Ming’an walked straight past him.

He had more important matters to discuss now and had no time to catch up with these people one by one.

"So cold... Over there," Aiske said, pouting slightly, pointing to a house that had been quickly adapted nearby.

Su Ming’an turned to look.

Now, the house was encircled by white blossoms.

Herbs symbolizing mourning the dead hung outside the door, while a large black-and-white portrait of Su Rin was displayed above it.

The Soul Hunter Ministers, dressed in plain clothes and white skirts, wearing white shoulder bands, stood at the door, looking at him with a somewhat dazed expression.

In their hands, they still held bouquets surrounded by white flowers.

A sudden gust of ferocious wind blew, and a banner on the door was fiercely torn off, floating right into his hands.

Su Ming’an unfolded it and saw that the banner was black with white lettering.