At that moment, Patriot did not recognize the figure slaughtering enemies throughout the ranks and rapidly harvesting lives, but that did not stop him from feeling a trace of wariness.
Even from a distance, he could still see Sakura's nimble movements and sense the biting sword aura.
After Sakura swiftly killed nearly half of the group along with their leader, the entire force completely collapsed. Many timid people had already begun considering retreat, and some had even put that thought into action.
However, Sakura was faster than them...
Once again, spurting crimson stained the flawless silver frost, blooming into great swathes of bloody flowers.
Patriot, who watched everything from not far away, did not intervene. He merely observed quietly while remaining on guard against Sakura, preventing her from rushing over to hurt anyone.
Yet after dealing with every enemy, Sakura did not spare Patriot even a glance. She simply stood where she was, looking at the corpses scattered across the ground with a complicated expression.
"Phew..."
After letting out a soft breath and calming down, Sakura stored the ordinary long blade in her hand into the system space.
Then, with a grasp through the air, an exquisite katana shimmering with a pale violet glow suddenly appeared in her hand.
Seven Thunders of Purification: Clamor was the current name of Seven Thunders of Purification in its blade form. Of course, this form also had an over-limit state called Seven Thunders of Purification: Clamor Thunder Sight.
However, since there was no need for it, Sakura had no intention of displaying its over-limit state.
The reason she had taken out this Divine Key was to see whether it truly contained Sakura's memories of killing.
Swish—
As the blade slowly left its sheath, countless memories of killing suddenly appeared before Sakura's eyes. Looking at those memories, she felt considerable pressure in her heart.
Once the pressure in her heart reached a certain point, she stopped drawing the blade.
She sheathed the sword in her hand once more.
Swish—
The instant Sakura completed that motion, every memory of killing vanished, including the fragments she had just seen. All of them were sealed within Seven Thunders of Purification.
Without those memories, Sakura felt much more at ease in an instant, completely freeing herself from the effects of having killed so many people this time.
"..."
After testing her new weapon, Sakura finally turned her head unhurriedly and met Patriot's gaze, as he had been watching her the entire time.
However, that did not last long. She soon withdrew her gaze and, after leaving Forget-me-not behind as usual, prepared to leave directly.
For now, Sakura did not want to come into contact with Patriot and the others. Even if she intended to appear later as a "guardian," that would be after returning to the Reunion Movement camp.
As for now, both sides should simply go about their own business. Standing around here would only waste everyone's time... it was completely meaningless.
"You... who... exactly are you?"
Watching Sakura prepare to turn and leave, Patriot finally spoke.
"..."
Faced with the sudden question, Sakura had no intention of answering. She exerted force and vanished from Patriot and the others' sight amid the wind and snow in a single breath.
Sakura was too fast—so fast that Patriot did not even have a chance to stop her.
"Go check... whether there are... any survivors over... there. Then collect... their weapons... and equipment." Patriot only issued a new order after staring for a while at the spot where the pink figure had disappeared.
After gathering everything, Patriot continued leading the group toward the mine at top speed.
Inside the mine warehouse—
After sensing that Sakura had completed her task and tested her weapon, Griseo blinked her large eyes gently, a flash of happiness passing through them.
That happiness even made the little girl, who had only just shed Alyona's color, feel far less upset.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Griseo's happiness, Alyona's eyes flashed with confusion, and she asked softly.
Hearing Alyona's question, Griseo did not keep it to herself. She leaned close and whispered into her ear, "We'll be leaving soon. The people coming to pick us up are almost here."
"Eh..."
At those words, Alyona froze.
Clearly, she had not expected the thing making the little girl happy to be this...
At the same time, Alyona felt a little nervous. They were about to go somewhere new... and a new place meant something completely unfamiliar.
"It's okay. I'll stay with you."
Looking at her dazed little companion, a trace of helplessness appeared in Griseo's violet eyes. She reached out and patted Alyona's little head, softly comforting her.
"...Mm!"
Feeling the warm touch on top of her head, most of Alyona's anxiety suddenly disappeared. Once she came back to herself, she immediately nodded hard at the little girl.
Sure enough, it did not take Patriot long to arrive at the mine with his team.
After he arrived, neither side even had time to exchange information before they quickly began packing up... taking away everything useful that could be carried.
Because both Patriot and Yelena understood very well that this was not a suitable place to talk. Every moment spent here carried considerable risk.
So whatever they needed to discuss... they planned to wait until they had safely returned to camp.
It did not take much time. Once they confirmed that everything had been packed and all preparations were complete...
The group departed the enormous mine in a grand procession, carrying supplies and protecting the rescued Infected as they left behind the nightmare that had haunted so many people.
P.S.: This chapter was over 2,000 words and nearly 3,000. I can only say that I really couldn't keep writing. I don't know whether I ate something bad or what, but my stomach has been churning and I keep wanting to throw up.
Later, I'll write another chapter's release note to make up the word count, and that should be about enough. The book goes premium tomorrow. My head is throbbing too. So annoying.
Release Note
I didn't expect this book to go premium under such rushed circumstances. I've been scrambling to finish so many drafts these past two days, and this is the first time I've nearly written myself sick.
This book officially goes premium tomorrow. I hope readers who enjoy it can support it.
Honestly, I never expected this book to perform so well.
Before writing this novel, I came up with five or six different ideas, and I had already started writing all of them. I had even built up drafts for them.
But in the end, without exception, I felt none of them worked... so I gave up on them all and never published them.
Some started out fine, but as I kept writing, they seemed like they were about to fall apart. Others revealed major plot holes as I wrote.
Because of that, I had honestly become a little discouraged. After coming up with this novel's premise, I simply stopped stockpiling drafts and charged ahead headfirst.
Yet its performance has somehow been miraculously decent. It even kept climbing upward from the trial recommendation period and filled all three recommendations before going premium. It's really strange.
Also, there's no need to worry that I'll suddenly disappear or abandon this book. Whether for the sake of my own enjoyment or its performance, that won't happen.
If hardly anyone is reading later on, then I will definitely write less.
I'll wrap it up earlier, but I won't just drop it.
If the income becomes poor later on, my plan will probably be to reduce the number of characters the protagonist transforms into, pick a few more important ones to write about, and end it sooner.
But if the performance remains very good, then I can only say I'll definitely keep writing. After all, this premise is right there. If I wanted to, I could even make it as ridiculous as that neighboring story with over nine million words.
Also, there's no need to worry that I'll take the money and run. That's not happening either...
This bounty might look like it brought in quite a lot in tips, but in reality, not much reaches me. At best, it's split fifty-fifty.
With that little money, I'd earn more by honestly writing novels for a month. Who would run under those circumstances?
As for fulfilling the bounty rewards, I have an exam in mid-May. Starting tomorrow, I'll be back to balancing studying and writing, so don't expect me to pump out huge updates every day.
Of course, I'll still fulfill them. It will probably be one extra chapter a day, or one extra chapter every two days. If I still haven't finished by the time the exam ends, I'll do another burst of updates then.
Also, like I said before, I quit both games some time ago. I may still remember the major plot points, and I can look them up, but I might not know every minor setting.
So if minor setting issues appear in my book sometimes, then chances are I genuinely didn't know or couldn't find the information...
If you notice them, you can tell me in the comments. If I see it, I'll correct it. If there's no basis for it, though, then forget it.
Of course, if there are issues with major plot points, you can point them out too, but please don't argue.
Lastly, the book officially goes premium tomorrow. First-day subscriptions are still very important to an author, so readers who enjoy it, please support it.
All right, get some rest early. I can barely stay up any longer... It's been far too long since I last pulled an all-nighter, and now I feel uncomfortable everywhere.
Also, I did something stupid just now. The release note you're reading is the second version.
The first version got accidentally deleted when my mind was fuzzy and I had no backup.
Honestly, I almost broke down...
April 7, 2023—
Arrival and Conversation (Please Support the First-Day Subscription)
"..."
At that moment, both Griseo and Alyona were being carried in Mr. Wolf's arms as they quietly followed the main group onward.
Because they had brought back quite a lot of people this time, the overall group was not moving very quickly, so the little girl was somewhat bored.
"...!"
But before long, Griseo's boredom instantly vanished, because she remembered something terrifying—something she had nearly forgotten.
That was, aside from leaving a "note," she had completely failed to tell Alina or Talulah that she had sneaked out. Once she returned, she would probably get scolded, right? She would definitely get scolded, right?!
After spending a night at the mine and making a new friend, Griseo had nearly forgotten about it. Once she remembered... she began feeling a little guilty.
After all, even Griseo herself knew that Alina and the others would definitely worry, even if she had left a note!
Oh no. The more Griseo thought about it, the more she felt terribly guilty... Sure enough, she should obediently admit her mistake when she returned.
"?"
Alyona turned to look at Griseo, who had suddenly become a little guilty-looking, and a huge question mark seemed to appear above her little head.
The longer they spent together, the more Alyona realized that she simply could not keep up with the little girl's train of thought much of the time...
Because the group was moving too slowly, Sakura moved very slowly this time as well, staying far behind the group.
If she got too close, Patriot might notice her, and it would be bad if that caused unnecessary misunderstandings or conflict.
After all, Sakura's reason for following them was very simple... she was only going to act as a "guardian."
If a misunderstanding arose and they could not communicate peacefully, that would be troublesome.
Inside the Reunion Movement camp—
"Judging by the time, Patriot and the others should be returning soon. Alina, have you finished preparing on your end?"
As if recalling something, Talulah raised her head, looked at her close friend beside her, and asked curiously.
"Of course. We've cleared out and added quite a few spaces... If it still isn't enough by then, we can make other arrangements." Alina nodded gently at those words.
"That's good. Let this new batch of Infected rest for a few days, and then we'll move somewhere else."
The Reunion Movement had been stationed here long enough. They should have moved to a new camp long ago. If they stayed here any longer, they could easily be noticed... and then run into serious trouble.
So earlier, Talulah, Patriot, Yelena, and the others had discussed things and drawn up a detailed relocation plan.
The original plan had been to move a few days after rescuing the Infected from this mine.
However, because of a certain little girl, the people had already been rescued ahead of schedule... so the relocation plan could be moved up slightly as well.
"Oh, right. If Patriot and the others are returning, that means the little one will be coming back too. Alina, have you decided how to discipline her?" After discussing business, Talulah suddenly smiled and muttered softly to her close friend.
"Sigh, I haven't. Actually, I can almost guess why little Griseo snuck out. Precisely because of that, I don't know what to say..."
The moment Griseo was mentioned, a trace of worry quickly flashed through Alina's eyes, and her expression became rather helpless.
"And I think I may have underestimated her abilities. Should I loosen my protection around her a little?"
"Indeed. I don't think that little one can be measured by the standards of an ordinary child. That applies in every respect."
At that, Talulah first recalled the painting from the night before last, then remembered the graffiti on her face. Her expression also turned helpless, caught between laughter and tears.
After thinking for a while, Alina finally said helplessly, "Then... when little Griseo comes back tonight, I'll talk to her."
Before you continue