This Time, You're Here

"Ah, acting alone."

It was late at night, Himo's Eagle soared over the land of Comora.

The target was the airport west of Moyani, the place King Chakat had first mentioned. When the war broke out, it was captured by the Gambia army and France mercenaries in the shortest possible time. A large amount of supplies had been stockpiled there in advance, which was prepared for the second phase of this grand drama.

The France wanted the contents of the King of Comora's tomb.

They also want the items from the tomb of the King of Gambia.

These two countries were originally one, both hundreds of years ago and during the colonial period.

After World War II, the US and the USSR tacitly dismantled the colonial system, completely ending the era of hegemony of the old imperialist powers and ushering in a new century of power. In that era of numerous independence movements, nations and regions that had been colonized, oppressed, and exploited Jianguo states one after another. The once-powerful colonial powers had to relinquish power and leave on the surface, but left behind despicable schemes with ill intentions.

Belgium's actions in Rwanda directly led to the Rwandan Genocide, which shocked the world.

The measures taken by the United Kingdom before their departure left India in fact still a chaotic country composed of countless small states, with hidden dangers and troubles persisting into the new century, and India is just one example.

France, needless to say, still maintains de facto colonial rule in Africa France, wielding terrifying influence over many countries on the continent in economic, cultural, political, and military spheres, a influence that continues to this day—perhaps thanks to democracy, freedom, and love.

Gambia and Comora were forcibly separated by France for various reasons on the eve of independence.

Now they've even resorted to arms.

Behind this lies the France government's ulterior motives.

Because the world has changed, become strange, and some unusual things have appeared, it seems that a new era has Veil. France wants to seize the opportunity and monopolize the contents of the Gambia and Comora tombs. However, in order to cover their tracks and deceive their four competitors, they seek out Big Bob, who has great influence and prestige in Africa. Thus, they hit it off and cooperated again.

Big Bob controlled the lifeline of Comora, so the France government instigated Gambia to launch an invasion. Big Bob sent his son to lead men to be hired by Gambia to fight against themselves. Since Comora had already been infiltrated by the Buruo Family, the war ended in an instant. The king who refused to cooperate was expelled, and Little Bob's men naturally occupied the King's Mausoleum of Comora and dug out the treasures inside as quickly as possible.

This is the first phase.

In the second phase, Little Bob instructed his subordinates to fire artillery shells at Moyani's France embassy, causing casualties, which were then blamed on the Gambia people, causing international shock and allowing France to intervene militarily, liberate Comora, and launch a swift counterattack on Gambia, sweeping away the Gambia king like an autumn wind.

The international community will only think that France is using this as an excuse to support two pro-French governments, and will never imagine that the France people's real purpose is the ancient tombs of the two countries.

That's wishful thinking.

But things have stalled at this stage.

It's almost like karma.

France colonization and oppression in this region resulted in a low level of education and laziness among the local population. In an effort to save time, these black workers made a major mistake that nearly ruined the excavation of the king's tomb. Little Bob had to hire professional engineers from the United States overnight.

The France engineer, who loved freedom and championed revolution, donned his beloved yellow armor the day before departing for Africa, and together with his comrades, shouted for freedom at the Arc de Triomphe. But the evil France dictatorship, of course, did not grant him freedom; instead, it subjected him to batons, violence, and democratic detention.

This left Little Bob with no other option but to recruit the best engineers from Comora.

They happened to catch a China man surnamed Kang.

This man surnamed Kang happens to have a son who is a transmigrator who has killed countless people in another world.

Then Kang De came.

The operation failed, the cover was blown off, the entire plan was disrupted, and the France must be in a very embarrassing situation now.

It's all retribution.

If the France had handled any of these historical links better, Kang De probably wouldn't have come, and things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

Furthermore, if Little Bob hadn't intended to silence the captured China afterward, hadn't shifted the target of the attack from the France embassy to the China embassy, and if their attitude had been better, Kang De wouldn't have been so fixated on the Buruo Family, determined to kill the entire France family.

Therefore, these are all retribution.

"This could easily be called genocide and a crime against humanity."

During his journey, he received a message from the king. After Chakat II brought order to Moyani, he tried to contact every settlement in the country, from cities to towns, and then he heard the bad news.

Several towns have lost contact, all located near the airport.

This suggests that Yuri-Little Bob Younger is most likely out controlling civilians again.

--Are you kidding me? Is the mission to assassinate the United States president in Red Alert 2 really that fun? You also enjoy controlling civilians to run around aimlessly?

To prevent any further mishaps, Kang De had to change his plans and try to intercept the civilians that Little Bob had gathered, lest that bastard come up with some disgusting idea again.

He actually found it.

Starlight shone down, a large-scale dispelling spell was activated, and another group of people who had been controlled returned to normal. The convoy slowly came to a stop, and a few vehicles even rear-ended each other, but everyone returned to normal.

The spell scroll, used to dispel widespread mental interference and clear the mind, is very effective. As expected of an elf product, it can even break the mind control of ancient artifacts from Earth.

Does this mean...?

Kang De shook his head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts; now was not the time to think about that.

As long as it works.

He then called King Chakat and randomly grabbed a Comora People was being controlled to drive at night to answer the phone. The king had a way of doing things; he ordered the man to turn on the car radio and then address the people on the Moyani National Radio, ordering them to immediately go home and find their mothers. In the midst of panic, these black people were the most obedient, and so they scattered like birds and beasts.

As for the intelligence, without exception, they all saw the golden thing in Little Bob's hand. After a flash of golden light, they knew nothing more, were in a daze, and only woke up now. It was like having a bizarre dream. They were very tired and panicked, and just wanted to get a good night's sleep.

Something's not right.

Kang De, continuing his journey, sat on the broad back of the Himo's Eagle, naturally facing backward.

Sitting upright is certainly stylish, but the cold air at high altitude blows directly into your nose and mouth, which is very uncomfortable. Using a shield to block it would be a bit deliberate, a bit wasteful, and a bit silly [beep--]. So when no one is watching, Kang De chooses practicality over pretentiousness.

So, when those sword immortals, wizards, and Superman fly against the wind, don't they get headaches from the cold wind? Doesn't the gale make their faces and mouths look ridiculous? Doesn't the gale sting their eyes? How do they manage that?

With this chilling question in mind, Kang De said to the King, "This is the second group, also heading towards the airport. I have every reason to suspect that after Little Bob took them under his control, he ordered them to go to the airport, rather than to Moyani or somewhere else to their deaths."

Chakat II worriedly, "What is he planning to do?"

There are only two possibilities.

Kang De was not involved in the situation; he was not Comora People, nor was he the king. Therefore, unlike Chakat II, he did not worry about the decline in judgment and thinking ability caused by the people. His thinking was very clear.

"First, he learned from the lesson outside Moyani, that is, we can assume his aim was to send civilians to storm Moyani, provoke us into opening fire, and then accuse us of massacring civilians. But now he finds that his goal is difficult to achieve, so..."

Kang De paused for a moment, then said, "So the plan is to plant some bombs in the trucks this time, so that these people can at least be of some use, or maybe add some other modifications and send them out to play with suicide trucks."

"... brute."

Chakat II gritted his teeth and asked, "What about the second one?"

Kang De shrugged. "The second possibility is that he discovered I had cracked his mind manipulation techniques, so he became terrified, feeling his biggest advantage was gone. He then quickly kidnapped some civilians and brought them here as hostages, hoping to negotiate and secure his safe departure from Comora —well, he might not deny his crimes, but he would demand to be extradited back to France for trial."

This time, the king remained completely silent.

Only heavy breathing remained.

Kang De calmly replied, "This is your country, your people. Do you want to make the decision yourself, or do you want me to handle it? By the way, if you want to compromise to save the lives of your subjects, I understand and am willing to cooperate as the situation allows. If Little Bob's demands aren't excessive—killing him isn't urgent."

Chakat II remained silent.

The Himo's Eagle continued its flight, while Kang De, still on the phone, shared a visual link with the Alchemist Arcane Eagle, keeping an eye on the movements on the ground. He did not rush to urge the King.

This decision will likely be very difficult.

A long time.

The king said slowly, "As for negotiating terms... I'll talk to him myself."

Kang De raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were going to say something about never compromising with terrorists..." he said. "You should understand what letting him go now means."

"I... I know."

There was a hint of pain in Chakat II's voice.

Kang De shrugged.

He thought of Tina, Nick, the Taidariel Family, and many other people he had met in the other world—people of noble status, high above others, yet possessing a profound sense of responsibility and duty to protect their subjects and subordinates... Though few in number, they still existed.

Thinking of this, he said calmly, "It's strange to still see a monarch like you in modern society."

"Especially since he's a black man, right?" Chakat II chuckled self-deprecatingly. "But not just for them, Kang De. If I decide to pursue him relentlessly, then if he's driven to desperation, becomes hysterical, and takes those he controls to their deaths, and you can't stop him..."

He softened his tone, lowering his voice, and said, "So you'll feel that you didn't save these people, that you killed them—right?"

Kang De paused for a moment, then laughed, "Bullshit, I wouldn't torture myself like that. I'm not some superhero in the movies, constantly agonizing over what to do. I..."

"No, you will, because emotion and reason are different."

"Like divinity and humanity."

"Your reason will tell you that this is not your fault, it is entirely the murderer's responsibility. This is human nature; your humanity is trying to protect yourself, to protect your conscience."

"And your emotions will compel you to think, 'I should have saved them, but I didn't,' so you'll uncontrollably blame yourself. You'll definitely do it because all kind people think that way. It's your divine nature, out of compassion, so you can't control it; you can't escape it..."

King Chakat spoke in a calm and low tone.

"For someone like you, having power isn't a good thing, brother. When you have power, you feel like you can do more, and when things don't go as you wish, you fall into self-blame, just like me."

"I became king, seized power, and felt it was my duty to change this country and the fate of its people. But I was disappointed time and time again, discovering my own weakness each time. The so-called king was nothing but a joke, a dog kneeling before the great Western powers begging for alms. When I turned around, I saw only a bewildered and pathetic populace, without culture, without dreams, without courage, without a future, only content to drift along, tragically ignorant..."

Kang De was taken aback.

"Admit it, brother, you're facing the same predicament. I know you're not content to be a government henchman or a precious experimental subject. You want to do more, don't you?"

"So I don't want you to break down and go crazy again... like what happened today. I don't think you're ready, and I don't want the Comora situation to become a burden for you again, so I'd rather leave Little Bob."

The king said softly, "After all, next time, perhaps there won't be a sober person nearby who gathers those you've helped, recounts your contributions and assistance, and guides them to thank you—what will you do then?"

A moment of silence.

"... But you're here this time, right?"

Kang De broke the silence.

The king exclaimed in astonishment, "But..."

"What else is there to say? Kill Little Bob! Don't let him leave this world alive!"

Kang De stretched his limbs, then gave a puzzled look. "But wait a minute, why are we arguing about just one possibility?"

Chakat II said, "Because of this..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

It didn't start playing again until a minute later.

His voice trembled slightly, carried a hint of gravity, and betrayed an barely suppressed anger.

"--Little Bob just contacted us and said he wants to talk."

"Just as I suspected," Kang De said. "He must be planning to use the Comora People under his control as leverage to buy his own chance of survival... Let's talk to him."

And what about you?

"Find a way to kill him."

Chakat II objected, "Wait a minute! What if he ordered those under his control to commit suicide or detonate something before killing him?"

"Then I'll try not to give him that chance, or cut off that chance altogether."

Kang De said calmly, "If something like Little Bob can use your ancestral mind control artifact, then I can use it too—right?"

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PS1: Damn, I'm going home tomorrow, and I'm still having writer's block tonight... But at least my thoughts are flowing smoothly.

PS2: By the way, I'd like to recommend my friend's new book, * Days in the New World *. Those interested can check it out. Time for bed...