Go to Hell, All of You

Time to set out.

He had already asked the pigeon for directions.

Kang De led Princess Tina toward their camp.

Walking shoulder to shoulder with a beautiful girl on this sunny, scenic island should have been a delightful experience, but the atmosphere remained rather quiet.

They couldn't speak each other's language.

They couldn't even make small talk.

Occasionally, their eyes met and they exchanged polite smiles, but that was all.

They couldn't communicate.

Kang De was a little puzzled, while Princess Tina felt somewhat helpless.

She had plenty she wanted to say, too.

The secrets of the Holy Seal Archipelago, Kang De's origins, and the possibility of cooperation between the two sides.

For now, I shouldn't rush... she thought silently. The captain said the Penguin won't be able to sail again anytime soon. In the meantime, we should establish some initial trust and contact, then find a way to communicate... Sigh, why didn't I learn the Zhendan language?

Kang De, too, had countless words he couldn't convey.

They couldn't reach her, couldn't reach her.

She's so cute.

She's so charming.

If a girl like her appeared on the streets of Earth, she'd probably cause a sensation.

Everyone who saw her would probably go crazy taking photos and posting them on Weibo or something...

Huh, wait, photos?

Kang De perked up.

He fished his phone out of his pocket.

With no network or signal, he couldn't go online or play mobile games, so the thing had become much less useful.

All it had left were its functions as an educational picture browser, a wholesome novel reader, and a patriotic video player.

It could also play music.

And take photos and videos.

The camera and video functions in particular could help him make the best of a bad situation. For example, when Kang De borrowed things from the armored car, when he borrowed things from the police station, and when he inspected the bank's underground vault, and so on and so forth, he had taken quite a few photos as mementos.

Of course, they were also evidence of his crimes, and once he returned to Earth, he would take them to the police when he turned himself in.

But for now, he could use it to photograph a girl.

He woke the screen, opened the camera, turned off the built-in beauty filters and other such features, and held it up in front of Her Highness. With both of them in the frame, the girl stared in surprise at herself on the screen.

Is this... a mirror?

Of course not.

Kang De pressed the shutter, freezing that moment in a picture: the incomparably beautiful princess, Kang De smiling broadly, adorable surprise in the former's eyes, and the handles of two fire axes sticking up behind the latter.

The princess covered her mouth, looking very surprised.

Kang De also demonstrated the video function for her.

Then he opened the music player.

Beautiful singing slowly flowed out.

Looking at the surprised and curious princess, Kang De couldn't suppress his pride. It was a faint sense of superiority, perhaps. Technology could create beautiful things, preserve moments in time, and hold on to beauty. Using something like this to astonish the natives of another world seemed more satisfying than threatening them with guns and cannons.

She must be completely astonished right now.

Once we've gotten to know each other, I'll give her a phone.

She won't have anywhere else to charge it, though. Heh heh heh heh.

The princess was indeed astonished.

What... is this?

It was so small, yet it had such miraculous functions. It could preserve an extremely clear portrait, record a sequence of moving images, and even capture sound.

This would put every portrait painter out of work.

It would also drive every opera performer and singer mad.

Only mages with a profound mastery of air magic could achieve atmospheric image recording to this extent.

It could even create an entirely new art form.

And even...

It could be used for espionage and battlefield reconnaissance, making it easy to spy on and capture copies of important documents...

And Mr. Kang De only uses it to photograph scenery and make self-portraits?

For a while, both of them had even more on their minds.

Surrounded by music, they continued onward. Kang De had been on this island for a full year and was very familiar with the surrounding area. He watched to make sure the princess was walking comfortably as he strolled along, looking at everything around him.

He was filled with emotion.

Someone had come to this island.

And they seemed to be people he could communicate with. At least, judging by the princess, she seemed mostly well-disposed toward him.

Then, should I leave?

If I reach an agreement to cooperate with them.

If they're willing to take me away.

Should I leave?

The question naturally presented itself to Kang De.

...Forget it. I'll get to know them first.

The two walked along a ridge and climbed a small slope. Kang De noticed the faint weariness on Her Highness's face, so he gestured for her to rest and handed her a bottle of water.

Her Highness thanked him with grace and propriety, sat down on a rock, and drank the water in small sips.

Kang De suddenly felt the urge to pee. He gestured to the princess that he had something to take care of and that she should wait where she was, then made a gesture toward the sky, where the pigeon was flying in the distance.

He walked down the slope, planning to go a little farther away. After all, this was a little awkward, and as a pure man, he was rather thin-skinned.

Yeah, a little farther... This is a bit embarrassing.

I used up too much energy earlier and drank too much water before leaving. Sigh...

Suddenly, a low rushing sound rang out.

Kang De's expression changed abruptly. The next moment, a rope loop silently snared his foot.

A powerful force yanked at him.

He braced his foot, and his attacker couldn't budge him. But the next moment, several times as much force surged through the rope, as though several people were pulling it together. Kang De fell and was dragged all the way down the long slope.

It happened so suddenly that Kang De couldn't react at first. As he was dragged along, his arms and legs weren't as nimble as usual. He struggled for a moment, then forcefully drew his short knife and cut the rope, rolling over and getting to his feet.

The vegetation around him shook, and more than ten burly men armed with sharp blades charged out.

Cleveland was the leader of this squad. They had split up to search for the princess, and the knight commander was burning with fury. Because of the terrain, they had only seen Kang De slowly coming down, not Her Highness. But this strangely dressed stranger had black hair and black eyes; he was definitely a Cathayan.

It was truly the gods' mercy that this Cathayan had walked right toward their position of his own accord.

He had practically walked into their trap.

He must have had something to do with Her Highness's abduction.

Even if he hadn't done it, his companions had. They would capture him and exchange him for the princess, then kill every one of those audacious kidnapper thugs!

He drew his sword and shouted at Kang De, "Drop your weapons, raise your hands, and kneel! Kneel!"

The sailors were also full of pent-up anger. They greatly admired the gentle and kind princess, and besides, men who made their living by the sea were naturally hot-tempered and unruly. Every one of them looked fierce and menacing. They all carried standard naval cutlasses, and a few held hand crossbows as they surrounded Kang De with hostile expressions.

"Hand over Her Highness!"

"Drop your weapons!"

"Kneel! Kneel!"

Shouts rang out one after another.

Kang De couldn't understand a word.

But he could read their expressions.

Fierce, angry, overbearing.

They had to be Tina's companions.

They couldn't understand each other.

They were aggressive, and they hadn't come with good intentions.

Though he couldn't understand what they were shouting, they were most likely telling him to drop his weapons and surrender.

If he dropped his weapons, Tina would most likely explain the situation when they saw her.

But...

Should I gamble on what's most likely?

No!

No matter how likely it is, I won't gamble!

Kang De raised his pistol in his right hand, put away his short knife with his left, and placed that hand on the handle of a fire axe. Slightly crouched, he watched his surroundings warily and shouted, "Shut up, all of you!"

He pointed toward the slope. "Tina-Taidariel! Over there!"

But they couldn't understand what he was saying either.

They only understood Her Highness's name.

As the princess's guardian knight, Cleveland had allowed Her Highness to be abducted right before his eyes. The terrible humiliation filled him with rage and shame. During his frantic search, he had lost his usual composure, thinking only of rescuing the princess as quickly as possible and harboring an intense hatred for the damned Cathayan.

That extreme mindset caused him to misunderstand Kang De.

He thought Kang De meant that they had captured Her Highness and were holding her in that direction.

"Damned Cathayan! I order you to drop your weapons immediately!" he roared. "Or I'll kill you!"

"Knight..." one sailor said hesitantly. "I think he..."

"Shut up! No matter what, capture him first!"

Cleveland had lost all patience. He shouted, "Mr. Richard! Mr. Bane! Subdue this Cathayan and make sure he can't resist!"

The two men named exchanged a glance, tightened their grips on their weapons, and slowly approached Kang De from two sides.

"Can't you understand a damn word I'm saying?!"

Clutching his gun, Kang De yelled, "Stop! Back off! Stay the fuck away from me, and don't point your blades at me!"

They obviously couldn't understand Chinese, and they took Kang De's angry shouting as an attempt to intimidate them.

It wasn't enough to frighten warriors who had fought in countless battles.

Kang De's hand was trembling.

He knew that, in terms of martial skill, he, a modern man, was no match for professional warriors.

The closer they got, the greater the danger to his life.

"I fucking told you to stop!"

He abruptly raised his pistol and fired into the air.

Bang.

The loud report, the flash, the smoke—a firearm was terrifying to creatures that had never seen one before.

The two approaching sailors jumped in fright, as did the people surrounding him. One man holding a hand crossbow was so startled that he instinctively pulled the trigger, sending a bolt whistling through the air.

The hair on Kang De's body stood on end. He drew his axe in one motion and struck, splitting the bolt apart.

Half the bolt flew past, nearly grazing his cheek.

His body went rigid.

"You..."

Kang De's eyes widened.

His heart stopped for an instant.

Then it was as though a ball of fire surged out from within him.

He finally realized... realized what had just happened.

He had nearly died.

Died.

Killed by some native dumbass who had popped out of nowhere.

Fuck.

A crossbow bolt.

If it had hit him.

Fuck.

He would have died here without knowing what had happened.

Died in a foreign land.

Never... able to go home again.

"FUCK! YOUR! MOTHER!"

He snapped up his gun.

"Bang!"

The bullet shot out.

Almost at the same instant, alarm bells rang wildly in Knight Cleveland's mind. He kicked the crossbowman beside him out of the way, and a moment later, the bullet grazed past, leaving a deep, bloody gash on the sailor's right arm.

A scream.

Everyone was shocked, and the other hand crossbows fired at once.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Five bolts in all.

Kang De swung his axe, knocking down two in one sweep. Then he twisted, and thud, thud, thud, three bolts struck the riot shield on his back. Their tips pierced through, only to be stopped by his stab-proof vest.

Pain shot through his back.

Kang De flew into a rage.

"Fuck you!"

The two sailors ordered to restrain him charged at the same time. Kang De swung his axe twice with unstoppable force, driving them back. Knight Cleveland strode forward with his greatsword in hand. "Everyone, fall back!"

"You want to kill me?" Kang De's eyes were bloodshot. He raised his hand and fired, but the knight reacted with astonishing speed, twisting aside to dodge the shot. Without slowing, he continued to stride forward.

"You want to kill me?" Kang De released the pistol, which was attached to a lanyard, and grabbed the shotgun slung at his side. He worked the action with one hand and fired with a roar.

The knight sensed immense danger approaching. He suppressed the urge to dodge because he felt he couldn't get clear in time. Instead, he shielded the front of his body with his sword and covered his head with the bracer on his other arm.

Bang!

The heavy impact slammed into his body, sending him staggering backward.

A searing pain shot through his head.

His bracer and greatsword had blocked most of the attack, but a few pellets had gotten through.

It was as though several pebbles had smashed into his head.

The knight even lost consciousness for an instant. The next moment, the hairs on his body stood on end: the throwing axe in Kang De's left hand had already spun ten times before he raised his hand and sent it whistling through the air. "You want to kill me?"

It was a fire axe, with a blade in front and a spike at the back.

Knight Cleveland put all his strength into a fierce slash.

Metal clashed against metal.

Pain shot through the web of his hand. His greatsword and the axe both flew away, and his hands trembled incessantly.

Seeing this, his companions immediately rushed forward, intending to attack Kang De together.

Kang De pulled a homemade flashbang from the tactical vest on his chest, armed it, and hurled it out.

A blinding flash instantly overwhelmed everyone's senses.

Kang De drew his stun baton and charged back, swinging it three times in quick succession. Several people blocking his path fell stiffly to the ground, and a faint smell of cooked meat wafted through the air.

He broke through their encirclement, bit down on the whistle around his neck, and blew hard.

A cry came from the sky as a bar-headed goose swooped down, carrying an iron gasoline drum in its talons. The bird dropped the drum from the air, then accelerated into a dive. Its sharp talons pried open the drum's half-cut lid, then caught the rim as it flew down. Gasoline poured out, drenching the natives of the other world.

Kang De's gaze had already grown calm.

After extreme madness came calm.

Standing far away, he flicked a lighter out of his sleeve and lit it.

"All of you, die."

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Damn, this update ran long. It's almost four thousand Chinese characters... I've written eight thousand today. How am I so hardworking?

PS2: So, everyone, keep voting...