Finally Returned to the Country

"Returning to the country today? But we've only rescued fewer than thirty people! We had thirty-two planes, and ended up rescuing fewer people than planes!"

"There's no helping it. Jinshan City is such a large city. We were supposed to evacuate over twenty thousand people from there, but look at what it's become now."

"..."

The truth was too painful to bear, and the crowd, unable to accept it, even began to argue.

Gu Yan was feeling much better now. The previous few days, he had slept twenty hours a day.

Hearing their words, Zhao Qi also drooped his head and asked him in a low voice, "Brother Gu, should we have saved some people that day?"

Should they have saved some people? Of course, they should have, but "should have" and "could have" are two different things.

At that time, he had no weapons, no strength, and even the Ice Cones were Plundered during their escape.

"We were too weak then, and we still are now," Gu Yan paused and looked at Zhao Qi.

"We're all ordinary people, not some great heroes. Ordinary people get scared and die. The fact that we could protect ourselves during the disaster is already remarkable."

What good was great strength? Could it protect everyone in the Honkai?

"We should feel guilty, we should repent, but don't blame ourselves for being incapable, because we are still alive and well in this world."

Gu Yan didn't want Zhao Qi to live in the shadows.

"But if you want to, you can choose to be a hero. I'll definitely support you."

"This disaster has only just begun. We don't have much time to mourn the deceased. We can only struggle on with hope..."

His voice grew softer and softer. Zhao Qi was completely bewildered. Just beginning? If that was the case, it was too terrifying.

Meanwhile, the argument nearby had also subsided. They weren't in conflict with each other, just deeply unwilling to accept the situation.

They would be able to go home soon, which was considered good news for most of them.

After Elfa left that day, he also saw the terrifying pillar of light, but he only paid it a little attention.

An attack like that could only cripple him for a couple of days. Dragons didn't die easily, so it wasn't going to stop him from going back to sleep.

As a dragon, Elfa had a lazy nature. He had only agreed to fight a powerful opponent for those little humans this time. Since the person was gone, he naturally stopped caring.

He thought he could just scare them off and be done with it, but he didn't expect to get beaten up himself.

Thinking of the being who called herself the "Herrscher of Reason," Elfa narrowed his eyes.

Very dangerous. She couldn't kill him, but he couldn't even hurt her.

And at this very moment, those little humans were asking for help again.

That made sense. Beautiful Country had suffered heavy losses. If any powerful enemies appeared, they really wouldn't be able to handle it.

Who was foolish enough to cause trouble? Fine, he'd take it out on them!

Elfa agreed on the spot, but the closer he got to the incident, the more something felt wrong.

Why here again? Why Jinshan City again... No, it was Jinshan Bay now.

Could it be that Herrscher again?

The sea breeze had already dispersed the lingering heat.

The high temperatures had long since dissipated. Large swathes of land were submerged by the sea, and things had calmed down. Only the residual Honkai Energy lingered, refusing to dissipate.

Under the contamination of Honkai Energy, the coast emitted a strange, enchanting yet deadly, blue-purple glow.

The roar of a dragon echoed through the bay.

Elfa flew towards the area and naturally saw the peculiar landscape, emanating energy fluctuations that he disliked.

He hadn't expected that attack to be so powerful, its energy not dissipating even after seven days. Although he didn't know what kind of energy it was, he could still sense its undisguised, brute-force deployment.

Looking in the direction of the Honkai Energy flow, the sky there had already turned red.

Faintly, a figure could be seen.

A colossal figure.

Elfa flapped his wings and flew towards it. That should be his target for venting his anger.

Flames ignited along the coast.

From Jinshan Bay all the way to where the giant stood, it was a sea of fire, a thousand miles of scorched earth.

Many small villages that Ji had not "looked after" were reduced to ashes under the trampling of the Fire Giant. The people had no idea what was happening. When they looked up and saw the giant fire figure, as massive as a mountain, fear and despair overwhelmed them.

They remembered myths, they remembered Surtur, the Fire Giant from Ragnarok.

Then, without exception, they were engulfed by the sea of fire.

In the Honkai, ordinary people like these were pitiful. They had no means of self-preservation, and before they died, they might not even know what the Honkai was.

"Roar!"

Elfa's expression was grave. He was less than a hundred meters from the Fire Giant. The dragon's breath attack just now had left Surtur completely unharmed, and the temperature had risen even further.

A ruthless glint flashed in his draconic eyes. He decided to treat Surtur like a punching bag, albeit a prickly one.

"Captain, am I going to die?"

The young man's body was weak, with many purple stripes appearing on his skin.

"Don't talk nonsense. You just got tired during the rescue. You'll be fine after a few days of rest."

The old soldier patted the young man's head, his tone gentle.

The young man was ill, a strange illness. His body was being eroded by some kind of energy, and existing treatments were ineffective.

Seven others were in the same condition.

This was Honkai Sickness. These people's bodies had been invaded by Honkai Energy, and their lives were nearing their end.

Gu Yan could not save them.

He had secretly used Bestowal. Buffs like Intermediate Healing and Strength could not resist the erosion of Honkai Energy. Instead, his own energy would worsen their condition.

However, through observation, he could basically confirm that Ability Users and Xu Muchi could resist Honkai Sickness.

If that was the case, he would have to be careful when providing buffs to ordinary people in the future. Given their resistance to Honkai Energy, his abilities would actually harm them.

With a hint of regret that was barely perceptible in his gaze, Gu Yan, feigning concern, silently made a "cheer up" gesture to the young man. The young man returned a smile.

As long as it wasn't the last moment, there was a possibility of a miracle.

Xu Muchi saw Gu Yan's actions and her own suspicions were further confirmed.

It was rude to casually probe others, and luck was ethereal. Furthermore, sorcery was not a product of this world, so prying into heavenly secrets to investigate luck was inappropriate.

Therefore, she could only confirm through observation.

She was also aware of the symptoms of those people and had tried to help, but was equally powerless.

"Don't worry. Once we get back home, any illness can be cured. Science and technology are so advanced now, this little thing of yours won't be a problem."

The old captain was still comforting the young man. The usually stern man was now like a doting father.

The young man just smiled. The old captain nags even more than I do...

The plane crossed the ocean, and the outline of the continent was already clearly visible. They had left the disaster-stricken shores of the other side of the ocean, surviving under the scythe of death.

Unfortunately, the miracle did not happen. All eight people infected with Honkai Sickness died on their way home.