Crippled Older Brother

"Damn, damn, that old bastard Isaiah has caught Contract Land's attention." Outside Nameless Town, Ai De Wen watched the Star Relic forces depart under the "escort" of the Contract Land Guardians and muttered, "Good grief, now no one is paying any attention to me. I'm a Wanted Criminal too, you know. Are they really just going to ignore me?"

Ai De Wen's words carried three parts dissatisfaction, three parts schadenfreude, and three parts melancholy. He Wei Ni Ya knew he was saying it for her to hear.

Yet she offered no response, merely watching the troops disappear into the distance in silence.

In the end, Ai De Wen was the first to lose patience. He turned to He Wei Ni Ya. "Come on, ma'am, what exactly are you planning? Are we really just going to stand here and watch?"

He Wei Ni Ya glanced sideways at Ai De Wen. "Then what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean, what do I want to do?" Ai De Wen said. "I've always wanted the same thing. Just give me one corpse fragment. One fragment is enough. I can begin my great research, unravel the greatest taboo in this world, and then share that taboo with you. Wouldn't that be far better than those idiots scrambling over corpse fragments?"

"I see. Then where will the corpse fragment come from?"

"Well..."

"If you think I have one on me, you can just take it." He Wei Ni Ya said. "There's no need to beat around the bush."

"Hey, I never said that." Ai De Wen stammered. "If you have one, that would be great. If not, then let's hurry up and find one. Don't waste time here."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to come to Nameless Town?" He Wei Ni Ya raised a brow. "Now Nameless Town is right in front of us. Aren't you going in to see whether any fake corpse fragments remain?"

To be honest, Ai De Wen really did want to go rummaging around and see whether he could find any fake corpse fragments that had not been destroyed.

But he knew the chances were slim. After all, he had watched Isaiah annihilate everything last night. While most fake corpse fragments had some resistance to damage, they were nowhere near sturdy enough to withstand Isaiah's outburst. Otherwise, that would have been absurdly advanced technology.

And Isaiah had wiped out the entire black market headquarters, so there was probably nothing left.

Besides, Nameless Town had already been taken over by Contract Land. Ai De Wen could still see quite a few Guardians lingering amid the ruins, clearly waiting for him.

Risking himself over such a tiny possibility was absolutely not Ai De Wen's usual style. More importantly, without He Wei Ni Ya's help, he did not dare do anything alone. Especially after the world-destroying battle last night, Ai De Wen had realized that someone whose only talent was stuffing shit into other people's brains was still far too weak in a real fight.

Damn it, was this the ease of a corpse fragment holder?

I want one too!

Ai De Wen screamed inwardly and glanced at He Wei Ni Ya again, seemingly hoping she would take pity on him and give him her corpse fragment. But He Wei Ni Ya never responded, so he could only abandon that unrealistic plan with a sigh.

And what was He Wei Ni Ya planning at this moment?

Honestly, she did not know either.

Last night's battle had also deeply shocked her. Though she had only witnessed the ending, Isaiah's overwhelming strength had still left a profound impression on her. She realized that he was far stronger than she was. And after obtaining seven Golden Sounds, there should theoretically have been very few people in this world stronger than her.

But that was not the important part. The true question was... where was Bai Wei?

She did not believe Bai Wei would have missed last night's battle. If he had been there, where was he? Or rather... who was he?

Bai Wei could have parasitized anyone, so He Wei Ni Ya's first thought was whether he had been one of the two people fighting last night—Isaiah or the other black market merchant.

But He Wei Ni Ya quickly ruled out Isaiah. In her experience, Bai Wei generally possessed small fry with no status and no strength, people like her, because they were easier to control. Isaiah, the foremost figure of the Star Relic Sect, clearly did not belong to that category. The other black market merchant, however, fit perfectly.

But that black market merchant had died.

He Wei Ni Ya had watched with her own eyes as the black market merchant was reduced to nothing but ash after that blinding light.

But would Bai Wei lose?

He Wei Ni Ya did not think so. Even after personally witnessing Isaiah's strength, enough to call him the strongest beneath the gods, she still did not believe Bai Wei would lose to him. How could a Godslayer lose to someone beneath the gods?

But if that black market merchant had not been Bai Wei, then who had he been? And where was Bai Wei?

More importantly, in He Wei Ni Ya's view, if Bai Wei had been present last night, he would definitely have noticed her.

That was why He Wei Ni Ya had waited here for Bai Wei to come find her, yet she had waited an entire night without seeing him.

Why was that?

He Wei Ni Ya could not help wondering.

Had Bai Wei failed to notice her, or had he noticed her and deliberately chosen not to come?

If it was the latter, did that reveal his attitude? Perhaps he wanted her to stop interfering and leave at once?

If Bai Wei truly said that, He Wei Ni Ya would naturally obey. But she was more worried that Bai Wei had fallen into some trouble and could not get away for the time being. No matter how powerful he was, he only had a broken body. Now that all of Contract Land had mobilized, He Wei Ni Ya was truly afraid that if she did nothing, she would end up with the child wanting to care for a parent only after it was too late.

But standing around and waiting was obviously no solution. Just as He Wei Ni Ya was considering where to go next, she caught sight of several small figures from the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she found several skinny children in tattered clothes. They stood blankly in the street, looking as though they had no idea where to go.

Ai De Wen naturally noticed the children too, but did not care much. "Ah, the black market merchants are gone, but the merchandise is perfectly safe?"

Hearing Ai De Wen refer to the children as merchandise, He Wei Ni Ya frowned slightly. But she said nothing. After a brief hesitation, she walked toward them.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Ai De Wen was startled. "Aren't you afraid those Guardians will spot you? You're... hey, hey, hey, wait for me."

When the children saw He Wei Ni Ya and Ai De Wen approaching, they were frightened and instinctively wanted to run. But one little girl stopped them. She stared unblinkingly at He Wei Ni Ya's long crimson hair, though no one knew what she was thinking.

Only after He Wei Ni Ya reached her did the little girl ask softly, "Big sister, can you give us something to eat?"

That had been He Wei Ni Ya's intention. She nodded and handed them some food. While they accepted it in surprise, she discreetly used magic to heal their wounds.

"Head south from here. There's a small town called Dela," He Wei Ni Ya said. "Once you get there, you'll be able to survive."

The children stared at He Wei Ni Ya in surprise. At that moment, Ai De Wen hurried over. Seeing that He Wei Ni Ya had come out merely to show "kindness," he became irritated. "What's the point of doing this? Do you think a bunch of brats can tell east from west? And you even gave them food. Nameless Town has been destroyed, and we don't even know where we can replenish our supplies now. What you did is completely meaningless..."

He Wei Ni Ya gave Ai De Wen a calm glance. Just one look swiftly cooled his slightly flushed face.

"It's not completely meaningless," he said sheepishly. "What if it works out?"

"Enough. Let's go."

He Wei Ni Ya prepared to leave. She had no intention of helping these children to the end. She had merely given them a chance to live. Besides, she knew very well how important even a single chance could be in the face of the desire to survive. So she believed these children could make it.

However, just as He Wei Ni Ya was about to leave, the little girl from before tugged on her sleeve.

"What is it?" He Wei Ni Ya turned back to look at her. "I can't take you with me."

The little girl shook her head, then took out a small box. "This is for you."

Seeing this, Ai De Wen could not help laughing, though his laughter carried a trace of mockery. "Oh? These little brats know how to repay a favor? What is it, a pebble? A little handkerchief..."

With a swish, the box opened.

The moment he saw what was inside, Ai De Wen's mocking expression froze.

Because inside the box was unmistakably a finger.

Ai De Wen went blank. Before he could react, the other children followed suit, taking similar boxes from their clothes. Naturally, each box contained a different corpse fragment.

"How the fuck does this happen?" Ai De Wen immediately realized something. He grabbed one child by the collar. "Tell me, where did you get these?"

The child was terrified and hurriedly pointed to one side. "When we came out, we saw a cellar over there..."

Ai De Wen did not wait for the child to finish. After learning the rough direction, he immediately let go and sprinted toward it, muttering frantically, "Hahaha, it fell right into my lap! It fell right into my lap! My research can continue!"

Seeing this, He Wei Ni Ya frowned deeply.

She had not expected Ai De Wen to find these fake corpse fragments through such a strange twist of fate.

That meant Ai De Wen's research would proceed smoothly.

So what should she do? Watch Ai De Wen complete it?

But she did not know what consequences that would bring.

Just as He Wei Ni Ya hesitated, the little girl poked her in the waist again and took out another box. He Wei Ni Ya was confused and was about to ask when the girl spoke softly.

"A crippled older brother told me to give this to you."

He Wei Ni Ya's pupils instantly contracted.

"Bishop, we've arrived."

The carriage door opened. The sleepy Luo Qi immediately saw the uniquely shaped spectacle soaring into the clouds, and he was instantly wide awake. "Fuck, what the hell is that thing?"

"Uh, I think it's some kind of Contract Land device." The Knight Captain scratched his head. "They seem to have been preparing it this whole time."

Upon hearing that, Luo Qi immediately realized this was Contract Land's ultimate weapon prepared to deal with Ulu.

Its appearance alone was terrifying. Even from this far away, he could still feel the suffocating pressure rolling toward him, along with a mighty power that made people want to submit and worship.

Luo Qi had only felt this way when facing the true god statue in Rhine City, the statue symbolizing the Rhine God. Thinking of Rhine's specialty, the Devourers, he could not help wondering whether this thing had also been made from a god's body.

It was powerful and bizarre, especially with that shape...

Luo Qi looked the massive pillar over from every angle, and the more he looked, the more it resembled something indescribable.

He had no idea what it would look like when activated. Would it erupt like that?

That would be completely insane.

"Bishop?" The Knight Captain noticed that Luo Qi had been staring at Heavenly Voice's Obedience for a long time without speaking, and cautiously asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no."

Luo Qi came back to his senses. He realized his thoughts had drifted too far, but he could not really be blamed. He had not rested properly in a long time. He spent every day on edge, so a little mental instability was perfectly normal.

"You seem tired." The Knight Captain had noticed as well and asked in confusion, "I don't understand why we had to travel through the night. We could have waited until dawn and set out together with the Star Relic Church... Uh, sorry. I'm not questioning your decision."

Faced with Luo Qi's vicious glare, the Knight Captain immediately shut his mouth.

Idiot. If I hadn't run away overnight, I might already have been on my way to my death!

Luo Qi cursed inwardly.

Damn it, Ring Finger and Ulu wanted him to stay beside Isaiah and draw fire for them? Absolutely not. Especially now that he realized Isaiah might already know his identity, the farther he could run, the better. Depending on anyone else was worse than depending on himself.

Only after rushing all the way beneath Heavenly Voice's Obedience did Luo Qi finally gain the slightest sense of safety.

After all, no matter how bold Isaiah was, he would not dare attack beneath Heavenly Voice's Obedience, would he?

Look at this... uh, this great divine artifact! No matter how many corpse fragments Isaiah gathered, he would never be able to contend with it!

So before coming here, Luo Qi had already made up his mind. Until Isaiah was killed, he would never leave this place.

Even if he died, he would cling to this great divine artifact!