A Bolt from the Blue, Fury Overwhelms the Heart

Their expressions changed simultaneously.

The information is contradictory.

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow thought that Kang De was about to set off for Danfeng Lucerne.

Kang De thought Tina was going to Valentan.

The former spent every day with Tina and heard her tell him her plan in person, while the latter received a letter.

So...

Is there a problem with the letter?

The two spoke in unison. Kang De immediately took out the letter he always carried with him, unfolded it, and Hilmeria snatched it away. After glancing at it, she saw that it was written in Zhendan Language.

"But it is indeed Tina's handwriting... She has been practicing your writing these days." She infused the letter with her Dou Qi, and a residual blue light appeared on it. She had previously sealed the letter with her own Dou Qi as encryption, so it was clearly the original letter and had not been switched.

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow murmured, "You're not seeing things?"

Kang De turned his head and said, "Hong San!"

Hong San had already quietly entered to listen in, immediately said, "Your Highness!"

Forget about love letters anymore, Kang De handed over the letter, pointing to the last part. "Look, what does it say? Did Tina say she's coming to Valentan?"

Hong San confirmed several times. "That's exactly what she meant. The princess said you should wait in Valentan..."

Kang De's expression darkened. "But she's already in Danfeng Lucerne, and even sent the Sword Saint to pick me up... and it wasn't a case of her changing her mind midway."

Hong San's expression changed slightly.

He quickly lowered his head to think, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Was the letter switched?"

Kang De's face darkened. "I'm afraid not..."

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow frowned, a look of unease appearing on his face. "If it wasn't switched, why does the content of Tina's letter to you contradict her account of me?"

Kang De looked at her without speaking, but his expression was also very uneasy.

Hong San took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid..." he said with difficulty, "It's pointless to dwell on whether the letter was switched. The contents of the letter contradict the words and actions, so of course we should take what she said herself as the truth. Therefore, there are two possibilities: first, the letter was secretly switched and its contents were changed; second... Princess Tina lied to you."

Kang De clenched his fist silently.

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow suddenly stood up. "Lying? Why?"

Hong San whispered, "If the enemy switched him, their purpose is simple: to keep His Highness in Valentan... Why would they want His Highness to stay in Valentan? Of course, it's because the enemy has some plans and doesn't want His Highness to interfere. His Highness's greatest strength lies in his ability to disrupt or even defeat any army..."

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow Saint's expression changed drastically, and he said sternly, "The letter wasn't switched! It really was written by Tina!"

Hong San looked at the letter in his hand again, then silently handed it back to Kang De.

Kang De looked at the page after Tina had told him to stay in Valentan.

Be careful, the war isn't over yet.

"Hopefully it will end soon."

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't end, but I hope your war can end here."

"This world is crazy, evil, and without light, so I hope you can always remain pure, gentle, and untainted, just like when I first met you."

His hands trembled slightly.

"Kang De, I dreamt again last night that you were smiling."

The tear stains on the letter had dried.

That letter was a remembrance, a confession, a reflection, and a blessing, but now it seems that every word contains profound meaning, longing, and reluctance to part.

That's not the case.

This shouldn't be the case.

How could such a thing happen...?

"That's all nonsense!" Kang De shouted. "The war is over! Aren't the elves afraid of death? Why do they dare to fight again? Don't they care about the capital? Don't they care about the army?!"

Hong San ignored Kang De and turned to Hilmeria: "Sword Saint! May I ask you, before Princess Tina set off for Danfeng Lucerne, did she do anything strange, or receive any intelligence?"

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow, equally shaken and deeply shocked, jolted upon hearing this and immediately exclaimed, "Yes! Intelligence! Tina received a report on the elven troop movement! I saw it too!"

Hong San's eyes flickered, and he asked, "The contents!"

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow glanced at the map in the room, strode over, and, condensing an ice blade in his hand, stabbed it repeatedly into the map. "Here! Here! Here! And here... These... The elven forces have been redeployed to nearby fortresses, and heavy equipment has been transported from the elven homeland to this port, including heavy magical munitions, an air force squadron, and an accompanying mage corps..."

She spoke with deep regret.

Tina received the intelligence that day and examined it carefully. Tina had her doubts, but Tina said it was alright, because it was normal for troops to be moved to nearby settlements. They were using the Goth residents as hostages to guard against Kang De's strategic strike that would wipe everything out. The air-to-ground equipment being moved from the mainland was only for defense as a precaution...

But who would have thought that the elf would actually take the initiative?

Hong San frowned, staring intently at the various locations on the map for a long while before gritting his teeth and saying, "It seems I'm right... On the surface, these movements appear to be dispersing troops to occupy towns and defend against indiscriminate Forbidden Spell attacks, but this is still a troop movement. In this way, the Elf Expeditionary Force can launch a surprise attack on Goth's capital, Danfeng Lucerne, at the fastest speed!"

"--But why!" Kang De demanded, "Why?"

"Once war breaks out, the reasons become irrelevant, Your Highness! Selfishness, foolishness, recklessness, arrogance... the power to wage war is in the hands of a few. A massive war may simply be caused by foolish contempt—none of that matters! What matters is, what if that's really the case!"

Hong San said sternly, "What the Sword Saint said earlier, that she saw the enemy massacring Goth near Halin District, is concerning Halin District is an elven-occupied area, the defense zone of the elven vassal Sawada. The war has now effectively ended. How could the Goth have launched the first hostile action? And with such a powerful and elite force capable of engaging such a formidable enemy for so long?"

Kang De stared at him. "You mean...?"

"Excuse!"

Hong San said in a deep voice, "The elves are the world's overlords, considering themselves a superior race. They care about their reputation and must have a legitimate reason for fighting, especially now that the war is attracting global attention. To start another war, they need a plausible excuse! For example, the Goth's side provoked the war first—they've done this trick many times before!"

"And it's definitely not just this one unit! As long as the 'Goth Army' launches a surprise attack or even a massacre first, the elven invading army will naturally launch a counterattack! And thus gain the moral high ground!"

Kang De gritted his teeth and said, "But why is that!"

"There's no reason why! Your Highness! Please calm down!" Hong San shouted, then softened his tone, "Perhaps there are inside stories we don't know, perhaps there's logic we don't understand... but that's not important anymore."

"Yes... you're right. It doesn't matter anymore."

Kang De took two steps back, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, spun around in place, tilted his head back, and took a few deep breaths. "I'm going to Danfeng Lucerne... I'll find out what's going on when I get there!"

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow's face was ashen, emanating a chilling aura. "Then let's leave now!"

Just as they were about to leave, Hong San spread his arms and blocked the doorway. "Please wait a moment."

Hilmeria said coldly, "Get out of my way!"

Hong San calmly said, "Your Highness, don't you understand Princess Tina's meaning? The reason she told this lie is to avoid dragging you into this war and danger. You now..."

"I don't care what she says! I'll do what I want!" Kang De shouted. "Get out of the way!"

"I refuse!"

Hong San raised his eyebrows and shouted, "This is the duty of a strategist! The more Your Highness is consumed by anger, the more I must pour cold water on it! Your Highness's hasty departure is no different from sending yourself to your death!"

Hilmeria is a world-class sword saint, Kang De is a newly emerged human nuclear bomb. Being stared at by these two with their sinister and cold eyes would probably make even the emperor of the empire tremble.

But Hong San remained fearless throughout.

He met their gazes defiantly. "The intelligence Princess Tina received earlier was likely leaked to her at the behest of the mastermind behind all this! I'm also certain that Your Highness has received intelligence that the Elf Expeditionary Force is about to launch a surprise attack on Danfeng Lucerne! This is exactly what the mastermind wanted—for Princess Tina to plead for your help, luring you to Danfeng Lucerne —this must be their plan!"

"The intelligence reports of a large-scale emergency mobilization of air force units, mysterious heavy magical artifacts, hundreds of mages, and other things not mentioned in the intelligence reports—conspiracy! Preparation! Powerful figures! Large army!—are all prepared for you! Since the elves dared to launch this decapitation operation, they must have taken your factors into account. No matter where you go! No matter how you get there! They are ready!"

Hong San's tone softened at this point, but remained somber. "Going there in your current state is tantamount to suicide. You won't even make it to Danfeng Lucerne alive."

Before Kang De could speak, he added, "I don't object to your aid to Danfeng Lucerne."

"I'm just reminding you to be fully prepared."

"Princess Tina realized this was a trap. She may have her own plans and arrangements, which we don't yet know. But one thing is certain: she certainly wants you to be safe and sound, far from this war."

"I admire this woman who chose you over her country. She believed that you, an innocent person, shouldn't be drawn deeper into this dangerous war, and so she made her choice because you had no connection to this war in the first place—that's the logic, but when your family and country were in crisis and about to perish, you still chose reason over emotion. I admire and am moved by such sentiment."

"Therefore, I do not object to you rescuing her; in fact, I very much hope that you can do so. As Your Highness's retainer, I approve of such a woman becoming your wife."

"But you must be fully prepared, not rash, not get yourself into trouble, and not disappoint Princess Tina's good intentions. I implore you to think rationally and calmly about the matter, and then achieve victory."

He lowered his head. "This is my request. Unless Your Highness calmly provides a reasonable judgment and plan, I would rather die than let Your Highness leave Valentan."

Kang De breathed heavily, trying to calm his pounding heart and slow the flow of his blood. He nodded, breathing, and said, "Yes, the plan. I need to think about it, I need to think it over carefully. This won't do, this won't do..."

Hong San remained bowed. "Your Highness's journey to Danfeng Lucerne will be fraught with peril. There will certainly be at least three waves of troops intercepting and blocking your way... Your destructive power can only be used three times, at least in the eyes of the world. How to launch a surprise attack and how to provide reinforcements are all matters that require planning."

"Yes, the plan..."

Kang De took two steps back and looked at Hilmeria: "How are your injuries? Rest for an hour. I need at least an hour to think things through and prepare..."

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow wanted to speak, but Kang De looked at her earnestly and said, "Believe me, I need time, time."

Hong San seemed to be deep in thought, but remained silent.

Kang De glanced at Hong San: "You think about the relief plan first. I'll be back in an hour..."

One hour, if the flow of time were reversed, would be seven hours on Earth. This means seven hours to formulate a plan, to gather weapons and equipment, and even to reinforce Danfeng Lucerne. He could stay on Earth, entrusting the spatial anchor coordinates to the Sword Saint Cascading Snow or A Xing, while he gathers weapons on Earth...

"Yes."

Hong San bowed deeply.

Then he straightened up and asked, "Your Highness, the elven delegation, especially that lord..."

A flicker of pain crossed Kang De's eyes, along with disbelief, doubt, and anticipation.

If this was a meticulously planned strategy by the Elf Expeditionary Force, it's hard to say whether any elven figure was involved. Based on elven history, there's no tradition of subordinates overthrowing their superiors, and the presence of a large number of reinforcements brought in from their homeland suggests that the elven rulers must have been acting on their behalf.

Is it the Elf Council, or... her...?

In other words, did that elf know about it? Or rather, was all of this...?

Reflecting on the past few days and Tagelise's behavior, he simply couldn't believe it was all a facade and lies. He was told to do his utmost, and that an extraterrestrial enemy truly existed...

What would happen if you told the other person about this while they were also kept in the dark?

To be greatly shocked and to offer assistance, even to the point of turning the tide and stopping the war, would certainly be the best outcome... But with a large army mobilized, and bloodshed raging on, can it be easily stopped?

And, will they really stop it?

Another possibility is that, once the bloody war begins and there is no turning back, will Tagelise make a decisive move, even if he is swayed by the pro-war faction, or will he choose the action most beneficial to the country?

If the elves immediately turn hostile after the showdown, and a major battle ensues, our side's high-end combat force consists only of A Xing and Sword Saint Cascading Snow. On the other side, besides Tagelise, there is also the wise man Elandil, several old elf immortals, and a group of Twilight Moon air force. If we fight a fierce battle first and suffer losses, then going to reinforce Danfeng Lucerne will probably be beyond our capabilities... Things will become even more complicated.

Besides.

What if, after the confrontation, the other party feigns agreement to help but then secretly turns against you?

In an instant, a jumble of thoughts flooded his mind. The matter was of utmost importance; if he was not careful, Danfeng Lucerne would not be able to come to his rescue in time, and Tina would perish. Since she had chosen to return alone, she had probably already resolved to die.

Perhaps after the Glittering Sand Incident, Tina, exhausted from single-handedly shouldering the responsibility, gathering the army, and recklessly peddling a Ponzi scheme, had developed a strong tendency towards self-destruction. Moreover, with Kang De Goth a glimmer of hope, the heavy pressure of the Ponzi scheme left Tina feeling lost and overwhelmed...

But we must save her no matter what.

I don't know why, and I can't explain my feelings. I don't know what kind of impulse this is, whether it's being moved or loving... but it doesn't matter anymore.

We must save her.

We must not allow any circumstances to interfere.

"... Don't notify the elf yet. Wait for me to return, in an hour." Kang De's voice was low and calm. "It's still early; she won't be here immediately..."

Regardless of whether or not he should tell Tagelise, and regardless of whether Thaglis would help him, he was determined to go to Earth to obtain powerful enough weapons to deal with the war. Never placing his hopes on the kindness and pity of others was the most valuable lesson the Battle of Glittering Sand taught Kang De.

He needs to be in control of the situation, every single moment.

--You guys started this...

No matter how many elves would die as a result, it was not Kang De's concern.

Because it was you elves who started it.

Hong San nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go arrange the defenses."

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow stayed behind to rest, heal his wounds, and eat.

Kang De led the A Xing back to the room and closed the door. "The usual."

"I understand, no one can bother you." A Xing glanced at Kang De, then stepped forward and hugged him. "It's alright, I'm here, we'll definitely be able to save Big Goldie."

Kang De forced a smile, activated his ability, traversed the White Mist World, and then returned to Earth.

I opened my eyes, sat up, and drew back the curtains; it was broad daylight.

He took a deep breath, but didn't get up. He sat on the bed, pressed his head down, and forced himself to be quiet. He held Tina's letter in his hand, and the girl's voice and smile flashed through his mind.

His relationship with Tina was rather peculiar. They first met on a deserted island, went through some things together, and then left together, only to encounter a fate-changing night—the bloodshed and slaughter of Glittering Sand.

This experience completely changed Kang De, and it also completely changed Tina. These two people, who both cherished goodness and yearned for light, were no longer naive. They realized the cruelty of the world and that their hearts must be strong.

However, after experiencing painful choices and killings, Kang De found redemption and began his journey home. His parents, Xiaoman, everything he knew, and even the other world, the knight's last protector, Hong San, Nick, A Xing, Valentan... there were so many people and things that could soothe his wounded heart.

But what about Tina?

The nation teetered on the brink of collapse, its people suffered, its lands fell, its family was in crisis, and she led an army alone in a fierce battle against the elves. For her, the best news during that time was that Kang De was still alive...

Perhaps after news came that he was still alive, even fighting for Goth and single-handedly annihilating five major war clubs, Kang De had become the only light in Tina's heart.

That's why she made that choice...

Save.

We must save her.

The faster the better; weapons, equipment, ammunition... the more the better, the more powerful the better.

Xie Liqian, ask him if he has any bigger arms deals. Buy them with gold; if he won't sell, rob him. At worst, cause chaos at the United States Forces Japan...

Kang De wiped his face, jumped up, and took out his phone.

It was daytime when his phone started buzzing. It must be the text messages and calls he'd missed in the past couple of days. Kang De didn't have time to look at them closely. He unlocked his phone and dialed Xie Liqian's number.

After three rings, the phone was answered immediately. The voice of the helmsman of Xuanhua Group, a successful entrepreneur, betrayed a hint of panic and fear. "I didn't do it!"

"... Um?"

Kang De looked slightly surprised, but before he could ask any further questions, a loud banging sound came from outside.

It must have been Xiaoman who saw him draw back the curtains.

"Wait a minute."

He walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. He opened the door, Xiaoman rushed in like a whirlwind. She looked at Kang De with a relieved expression, but her face still showed great worry and unease.

"You're finally back!" She hugged Kang De, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob, yet she tried her best to comfort him, "Kang De... you have to stay calm, calm down, listen carefully to what I have to say..."

She took a deep breath, remained silent for a moment, then looked up, her eyes filled with tears of worry and relief, and slowly said, "There's war in Africa, Molako has been invaded, and Uncle Kang's entire company has been taken hostage..."

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PS1: 5500 words! That's almost two chapters!

PS2: You wouldn't have expected this plot!

PS3: I already said the upcoming plot would be very exciting... Did you think I was joking...? (Looks into the distance)