Death Far from Home

As it turns out, even the most well-trained soldiers are unable to remain calm and exert their full combat effectiveness when faced with attacks they cannot understand or have never seen before.

Flame, Tomahawk, gunfire, the roar of machinery, and terrifying giants.

The elves were stunned, or rather, they didn't even have time to be stunned before they were hacked to death by axes and shot by bullets. On the contrary, the war deer, who had lost their master, launched an attack with mournful cries.

Sometimes, the unwise are more courageous than the wise.

Unfortunately, if courage were useful, what would be the point of fully automatic weapons?

The Autobots gripped its Tomahawk, spun around, and used centrifugal force to hit home runs, slicing away the charging deer and continuing to bombard the bewildered elves with its guns—amidst the thunderous roar and intense flashes of the rapid-fire guns, even the proud immortals could not maintain their courage.

Their once-proud archery skills and honed martial arts were useless; they had forgotten everything. The elves' minds were blank, and they didn't even know where they were.

Although they were considered elite, the fact that they were chosen to be scouts of the wilderness proved their skill and courage. As members of the regular cavalry of a world hegemon, they received a complete training course, which included how to fight in a spellcasting environment.

--How to maneuver under heavy barrage of missile spells, how to avoid suspicious elemental terrain, how to anticipate signs of approaching area-of-effect spells, and how to ensure personal safety and achieve victory without the support of friendly magic.

They had all studied, they had all practiced, but under today's surprise attack, they had forgotten everything they had learned... because the force that attacked them was not magic.

Magic is not merely a combat skill; it was originally used for prayer and worship of the gods. Over countless years, it has evolved into a tool for intelligent beings to understand the world and discover its mysteries. Some beings use it to explore the mysterious, some use it to change the world, and of course, some use it to realize their own desires and wills... power, wealth, war, and slaughter.

But the weapons that roared and unleashed terrifying attacks were different.

Almost all the elves had the same thought after facing that terrible attack.

That thing, from its very inception, was designed for killing; its destiny is to continually create death, slaughter, and sorrow, and it serves no other purpose.

Just like the fire and noise it emits when it operates, like thunder, like raging fire, the sound is huge, the light is dazzling, rough and violent, born only for killing.

What kind of evil creature could create such a thing...?

It must be said that they are truly worthy of being called elves. After a series of casualties and collapses, there were still brave warriors who overcame their fear and thought of their duty. One elf lay on the ground, in the blood and filth, and took advantage of the moment when the Autobots turned around. He rolled forward as nimbly as a cat and rushed to the dead commander, reaching out to take the horn from the commander's waist.

He took a deep breath, lay down on the ground, and suddenly raised the horn.

The next moment, he heard a sharp whistling sound. Normally, if he had a bow in hand, he could even shoot away the attacking arrow, but now all his attention was on the horn.

A flying axe swept across, severing both his arms, the severed hands carrying the horn as they flew away.

"I've discovered I actually have a knack for stealth, or is everyone's attention just drawn to that huge thing? Or perhaps you've never seen anything like it before?"

The one-armed elf was pale but remained silent. He rose almost tragically and charged toward the flying horn. The outcome was obvious: a bullet flew past and struck him squarely in the back, knocking him to the ground.

The elf collapsed to the ground, staring up at the horn in the distance, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Kang De kicked him upright, looked into his eyes, and said calmly, "Even the bravest warrior, when committing the beastly acts of a demon, is both tragic and despicable, pitiful and hateful."

The elf, having suffered repeated heavy blows, didn't collapse due to the vigorous life force of the immortal species. He clearly saw his attacker, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he murmured, "You... who are you...?"

"That's a good question," Kang De said casually. "When I stopped the car to ask you this, you laughed and started shooting arrows at me. Why didn't you ask me that then?"

The elf looked bewildered. Kang De bent down and picked up his short sword. The sharp and exquisite sword turned to dust in his hand, and the sharp Element spread like vines to the blade of a throwing axe. He then beckoned, and nearby Flame flew into his palm, turning into pure Flame Element, and he enchanted it once more.

The elf lying on the ground was bewildered; he didn't know what kind of power this was.

Kang De smiled at him, then suddenly swung his throwing axe. The Tomahawk pierced the air, followed by the elf's scream.

The dying elf revealed a furious expression, and with an unknown strength, charged at Kang De. Kang De raised his pistol and fired again, knocking the elf back to the ground.

Black blood gushed from the elf's mouth.

Kang De calmly said, "Are you angry? Resentful? Hateful? Look at your eyes now, look at how you shoot without distinguishing right from wrong, as soon as you hear human language. Did the dead in the village utter the same screams and roars? Did they feel the same powerlessness and despair? Do you understand them?"

The elf spat the blood from his mouth to the side. Perhaps knowing he couldn't escape death, he was desperate. A ferocious, twisted smile appeared on his sculpted, handsome face.

How is that possible?

His voice was low and filled with hatred. "How could noble immortals understand the thoughts of lowly, dust-like creatures? Those damned Goth People ambushed our lone comrades, tortured them, killed them! We avenged our fallen comrades, making them pay for their crimes in blood! Those lowly creatures in the village who dared to harbor those murderers, then they shall all die! For every noble spirit who dies, ten or a hundred Goth People will be buried with him!"

The elf stared intently at Kang De, his eyes filled with hatred—a hatred not merely stemming from the recent killing, but a deep-seated resentment towards all humanity.

He gritted his teeth and said, "I curse you, Cathayan! You've sided with Goth, and you're destined to perish along with this inferior nation! One day, you will die at the hands of my people!"

Kang De said, "You are invaders who come to other people's land, killing, burning, looting, and committing atrocities, causing the deaths of countless innocent people, even targeting the elderly and children. This is not something any Civilization nation would do; it can only be called bestiality. Do you have the right to call humanity inferior?"

"Aggressor?"

The elf glared at Kang De and said fiercely, "We came to this land to overthrow the evil rule of Teldrassil and bring a more prosperous life to its people..."

"... Hold."

Kang De paused for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, "Truly worthy of being a world superpower."

Looking into the other person's determined yet distorted eyes, Kang De knew that nothing he said would make a difference.

I just feel sorry for this elf...

Pity flickered in his eyes.

To the proud elf, such a gaze was worse than torture. The elf, already severely wounded and highly agitated, was rapidly losing his life force. But seeing that pitying look, he immediately regained his strength and roared, "Human! Don't look at me like that!"

"What? I just feel sorry for you."

Kang De said softly, "Born in the forest, growing up carefree, you must have many wonderful memories, right? You must have someone you loved, and a peaceful life, right?"

"Then you joined the army, you honed your skills, you must have had dreams, right? Your queen and ministers said that Goth was a backward, ignorant and cruel country, and that you should overthrow their rule, liberate the suffering people, and give them a better life, and then you believed it, embarked on the journey, and came to the enemy country."

"And then, you became a demon."

"Slaughtering the innocent and wiping out villages—would a so-called righteous army indiscriminately inflict its anger on everyone?"

"I've heard that you elves are elegant and noble, born stronger than humans, long-lived and beautiful, extraordinary and beyond compare. For example, you, I believe you weren't always like that. You once loved life and yearned for beauty. Could you have imagined then that one day you would unhesitatingly slaughter an entire village, sparing neither the old nor the children, and even feel smug and extremely pleased with yourself?"

"Elf, tell me, what made you become like this?"

A calm inquiry.

There was no condemnation of the other side's atrocities, nor was there any rebuttal of the so-called liberation of Goth.

Just asking.

They inquired why a once noble and pure soul had become like this.

He asked, "Whose fault is this? The aggressors who started the war, or the victims who suffer the consequences?"

The elf opened its eyes wide, panting heavily, blood gushing out.

His eyes were lost and sad, filled with memories and unease.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

He must have been thinking about the past, those bygone days, and everything he was about to lose.

Kang De calmly observed all of this.

And calmly and precisely, he delivered the final blow.

The suffering of the dead in that village, the injustices must be avenged.

"I'll tell you one last thing: the Goth People you so cruelly murdered, though dead, will rest in peace in their homeland. Their people will remember them, along with their hatred for you. And you, you spirit who came from afar, transformed into a demon, you..."

Kang De said calmly, "But I must die in a foreign land."

The elf's eyes widened suddenly, and in that instant, pure fear filled the eyes of the immortal being.

He looked at Kang De, making gurgling sounds, but couldn't utter a word.

His life had come to an end.

The distorted face stiffened, then calmed down.

Only a single tear slid down her cheek.

Kang De let out a soft breath.

This is war.

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PS1: First update, 3000 words... Ah, why...?