Purgatory

In the afternoon, the sun shone brightly, and a cool breeze blew.

On a cliff, the Humvee stopped. Kang De, holding a map, stared at the endless plain ahead, silent for a long time. His back was as silent as a mountain, like a sculpture.

"..."

"..."

Kang De held up the map, looked at it for a long time, and remained silent.

He thought to himself, "Damn it, I think I've gone too far..."

I have to say, this map is absolutely terrible.

Moreover, to avoid potential pursuit and surveillance from the Empire, Kang De deliberately traveled through desolate and remote areas, venturing straight into forests and crossing rivers. The places he passed through were almost deserted, which made one wonder if this was another world—a small population, underdeveloped, and with a very low level of development.

With this route, the chances of revealing their whereabouts are virtually zero.

But there was nowhere to ask for directions, and they couldn't determine their location, so they could only keep walking westward.

Then, probably, maybe, perhaps, we went too far.

He looked around again, scratched his head, and said, "We seem to have entered Goth territory, damn it..."

He had already planned that upon arriving at the border, he would not cross it immediately, but instead search for a nearby imperial city and choose a fat pig to slaughter—preferably one raised by the eldest prince.

Anyway, I'm going to pull off a heist.

Because Master Kang urgently needed some gold coins to take back to Earth and sell for money. After all, buying a house required a lot of capital, and he couldn't keep living off Old Wang forever, nor did he have time to become a middleman...

What's the fastest way to make money since ancient times? Robbery, of course.

The plan was well-made... but damn it went too far.

That's unprofessional, extremely unprofessional.

The child's voice came from behind. "Father, should we turn back?"

In a flash, a whirlwind of thoughts swept through Kang De's mind.

He always felt there was a hint of sarcasm in the Autobots' tone—of course, that was just him overthinking it, but for pathetic humans who care too much about their image, suspicion is the most common trait.

Therefore, Kang De thought that he could not admit that he had gone too far.

This undermines a father's authority.

Then he let out a series of deep laughs.

"Go back? Why go back?"

He countered with that question.

The Autobots was taken aback by the question, "Didn't Father say he was going to rob an Imperial city? Now that he's accidentally gone too far and ended up in Goth territory, of course he has to turn back."

Kang De chuckled, "Naive, so naive! You think I accidentally went too far? No, I did it on purpose. Think about it, a few days have passed. That damned Crown Prince will definitely have to take action. Maybe by now, notices are plastered all over the cities and towns of the western border of the empire, or maybe the officials have received secret orders to be vigilant in checking all the Cathayan entering the cities—if I go now, wouldn't I be walking into a trap?"

The Autobots asked, puzzled, "But Father said he was going to pull off a heist..."

Kang De, unfazed, replied, "Of course we'll pull off a heist, but it doesn't matter who we go after. Let's spare the Empire for now; robbing the Elves is perfectly acceptable. The Elves are a global hegemon, cunning and ruthless, their job is to leech off the entire world. Robbing the Elves is only natural, just like when we borrow things from United States military bases in the future, we're doing it on behalf of the vast working people of the world..."

The Autobots was still confused. "But Father clearly said he was going to that city of Nu to rob..."

Kang De didn't answer, remained silent for a moment, then said with a kind smile, "My child, have you been quite free these past few days? Now that you've mastered the old knowledge, would you like to learn some new skills or new knowledge?"

The Autobots seemed to understand something and immediately said, "... Father, let's continue on our way."

"Uh-huh."

We got in the car, and amidst the rumbling of the engine, exhaust fumes and dust flew everywhere. After crossing the mountains and entering Goth County, the terrain gradually flattened out, but it also seemed a bit desolate.

Tina and the knight had told Kang De about Goth, describing the extremely complex terrain, including forests, red soil, deserts, mountains, grasslands, and coastlines.

Although the territory is vast, much of it is unsuitable for cultivation.

Kang De opened the car window, feeling the ruggedness rushing towards him. This land could nurture a beautiful girl like Tina, as well as a good person like a knight who was dedicated to his duties and had a strong sense of morality. In addition, it also gave birth to brave and fearless people like Captain Oswald and Lady-in-Waiting of Bedela.

He murmured, "Goth..."

He was filled with curiosity about this land and also had a great fondness for it.

Because his first encounter with the other world was with these Goth- like people. After initial misunderstandings and conflicts, they turned enemies into friends and fought side by side. Then, he witnessed firsthand the fearlessness and sacrifice these people showed in dire straits... and the man's entrustment.

Now, this land is ravaged by the armies of the elves.

He had to do something.

It's not just a knight's entrustment.

Kang De said softly, "To enter Goth is to enter the realm of war... War is coming, are you afraid?"

The Humvee maintained its speed, and sound emanated from the speakers. The Autobots's voice was calm, powerful, and magnetic, inspiring goodwill and trust in those who heard it.

It said, "Father, what does fear mean?"

Kang De said softly, "It's the fear of something happening... like never being able to go back to a certain place, like a close friend dying and being powerless to help, like being betrayed by someone."

"Not understand."

The Autobots said, "But if that emotion is fear... I'm only afraid of my father."

Kang De glared at him and said, "I'm so kind and gentle, what's there to be afraid of?"

The Autobots paused for a moment, then said, "... Nothing, I meant Father is very authoritative."

This statement was somewhat inaccurate, but Kang De did not pursue the matter. Although he appeared confident and in control in front of the Autobots, Kang De was indeed a little nervous at the moment.

After all, it's war.

Even though he knew how cruel war was, and even though he never underestimated war in the slightest.

But firsthand experience and imagination are always two different things.

Just like his first time shooting live ammunition, even though he knew the gun had a lot of recoil and was mentally prepared, he was still shocked when he actually pulled the trigger and felt the violent and powerful recoil surge through the machine, and he couldn't help but shout "Holy shit!"

Those who have never experienced war can never imagine what war is truly like.

He said slowly, "War... Although I haven't experienced war, I know it's the most terrifying thing in the world. You need to be mentally prepared..."

The Autobots didn't understand what war was all about; they had only seen a few Transformers movies, and the war scenes in them looked more like the US military flexing its muscles than actual warfare.

He doesn't understand.

But the Autobots still said, "I understand... With Father here, there's no problem."

Kang De simply smiled.

He said, "Anyway, let's get going. Goth can relax a bit here, after all, it's practically home turf. And I'm Goth's son-in-law, haha... I doubt anyone would believe it if I told them."

Upon entering Goth territory, his marching strategy changed. He needed to find the nearest city, meet with the Goth officials there, prove his identity, and try to persuade them to use Goth's national information network to send his message to Tina, who was far to the north, so that she would know the good news.

"So, let's find a way... Follow the road, and you'll see settlements."

After traveling for an hour or two on the gently sloping plains, the setting sun cast its glow, and a flat, wide dirt road came into view. Where there is a road, there are traces of Civilization.

"Very good."

Kang De said, "Walk along the main road and see if you can meet any pedestrians and ask them for information."

But after driving at high speed for a long time, with the scenery changing on both sides, not a single pedestrian was seen—farmer, knight, nobleman, merchant, not even a shadow of a person.

Kang De was puzzled.

After another ten minutes or so, he perked up as he saw rolling farmland on the left side of the road.

There must be a village nearby!

Kang De stated, "Where there are villages, there must be towns or even cities that these villages support, then..."

Just then, the Autobots said, "Father, look, two o'clock!!"

Kang De was taken aback, then peered out and was immediately alarmed.

In the distance, thick, black smoke billowed into the sky from the plains; it was not cooking smoke.

He said in a deep voice, "Stay alert, go and check!"

"Yes."

The Autobots said, "Just to be on the safe side... please have Father put on his armor."

Kang De nodded, turned around and climbed into the back seat. After the Humvee was activated, the car was a size bigger and the space was much larger. In the back seat, the mechanical arm brought out the suit of armor and he put it on one by one.

Humvee Hummer accelerated rapidly, hurtling towards the black smoke. As it drew nearer, Kang De could clearly see what it looked like: the ruins of a village.

Carrion vultures circled in the sky, and when they saw the uninvited guests approaching, they let out threatening cries. Thick smoke billowed from the village, and many houses were burned to the ground, leaving only blackened ruins.

Fruit trees, houses, taverns... they can still be vaguely discerned. A great fire ravaged this place, burning almost everything that could be burned, including living beings, corpses, buildings, everything.

Kang De approached, carrying a sword and a gun. The Humvee did not transform but followed behind Kang De in its vehicle form—the robot form could be used to launch a surprise attack.

Treading on the black and gray earth, Kang De entered the village and then saw the thing he least wanted to see.

Corpses, many corpses, piled together, lying on the ground, their remains burned relentlessly by Flame, a scene of utter misery and desolation. Whether they were killed and then burned, or burned alive, Kang De did not want to examine them closely. Several corpses were hanging, not yet burned, their bodies naked, with bloody characters carved on their chests and abdomens. Although Kang De did not understand the language of this other world, he could decipher them.

It's Elven.

Such a scene.

It is punishment, it is a warning.

It is also a purgatory forged by war...

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PS1: Second update, 3000 words. Time to go to sleep. Goodnight.