Volume Two: Life and Death in the Northern Frontier - Chapter 160: Happiness

Engai Forest, Core --

Click!

A gigantic blood tree, easily a hundred meters tall, flew horizontally, carving deep furrows in the ground. Immediately, other blood trees unleashed countless thorny vines, pouncing on the attacker like hungry tigers.

"Roll."

The person simply moved their lips slightly.

The air froze.

Simply because of the murderous intent contained in that one word.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! The vines immediately retracted as if they had seen a ghost, and the vein-entwined roots burrowed back into the ground, making way for them. The dense veins were once again covered by the gray-brown bark, turning the plant back into an ordinary plant.

After all the blood trees had returned to normal, something was revealed to him.

That was a heart.

At the heart of countless intertwined branches lies a crimson heart, with countless tiny vines one end wrapped around it and the other extending into the distance, some plunging into the ground, others connecting with the surrounding blood trees. The heart is still beating slightly, and with each beat, a stream of red light flows along the vines into the distance.

Without a doubt, this is the core of the entire Blood Tree Grove in the Engai Forest.

"The Heart of the Sea Forest, the core of the command tower in every Blood Tree cluster, can be destroyed..."

A powerful hand pierced through the cage-like branches and grabbed the bright red heart.

"That's it."

Smack!

The giant hand tightened its grip, and the heart instantly exploded into a pool of sticky flesh and blood. At the same time, the ground began to shake violently, and the deafening buzzing sound made people's eardrums hurt, as if the entire forest was wailing! Countless blood trees withered at a visible speed, turning into lifeless rotten woods, and the red mist that shrouded the entire forest gradually dissipated under the force of the wind.

"That's it? The Blood Tree Swarm is only this much? Although I have no grudge against you, I can't guarantee you won't get in my way."

The newcomer lightly shook his hands, cleaning the bits of flesh from them, and left the forest.

No one noticed his presence from beginning to end.

"... Al -Ba?"

Ally stared in disbelief at what was happening before her eyes.

"Ugh... cough cough!"

Alba coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground. As soon as he fell, countless more vines attacked.

Just then...

A sudden, violent tremor erupted from the ground, a deep hum echoing throughout the forest. An invisible wave swept in from afar. The vines, which had been advancing aggressively, suddenly convulsed violently as if electrocuted, emitting a mournful hissing sound, before withering away at a visible speed, losing all vitality.

The cannibalistic forest finally ceased its hunting.

"Strange, could it be that the 'heart' of the forest has been destroyed? Who has the ability to do that?" Givinia was greatly surprised, but she couldn't find the answer.

But apart from her, no one cared about that anymore.

It doesn't matter who caused the forest to die.

Our attention was entirely focused on the two people lying on the ground.

Alba had three large holes in his chest, abdomen, and shoulder, from which blood gushed out, revealing his bones and internal organs. Yet he was not dead. He pressed his convulsing hand against the wounds in his chest, gasping for breath, and with each breath, fresh blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Anyone who reads this will come to the same conclusion.

They are certain to die.

In the Great Forest, there were no adequate medical facilities, no one nearby, and he had no self-healing abilities. His injuries were too severe to possibly last until the official rescue team arrived.

"Alba!"

Lewis immediately ran over and helped him up, and Luo Huan followed. They quickly tore open their clothes to bandage him, but it was only a drop in the ocean. They couldn't even stop the bleeding, let alone heal the wound.

"Hang in there! I've fired the signal flare! Someone's coming soon—" Lewis shouted anxiously.

"Impossible...cough..." Alba's pale lips moved as he uttered words of despair.

"Indeed... there are just too many wounded in this forest; it's impossible to care for them all." Luo Huan remained calm, though tears welled up in her eyes.

"So you're just going to watch him die?" Lewis roared.

Luo Huan silently turned her head away. Seeing this, Lewis angrily punched the ground, but didn't say anything more.

"I... cough... don't deserve to die, but... Ally..."

Alba mustered all his strength to turn his head and look at the girl who was still in shock.

"Ally... must not... die!"

We must not die.

Why...?

A faint buzzing sound escaped from trembling lips.

Ally's hands trembled uncontrollably, a strange emotion raging within her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to shout, she wanted to angrily question Alba about why he had done this. But there was no sense of relief in her heart, no feeling of satisfaction at finally seeing her enemy die before her eyes.

"What... is this all...? I was determined to take revenge, and you, the one who caused this, saved me...? What... is this all...?"

Fragmented words kept popping out, and Ally's eyes grew increasingly confused. There were too many shocking things happening, and she was completely disoriented.

Alba had only one answer to her.

"No need to ask... Of course, it's because I don't want you to die..."

"You're saying you don't want me... to die?"

In that instant, all the confusion in Ally's eyes vanished. She forced herself to stand up and glared fiercely at the dying man in front of her.

"You don't want me to die? What kind of nonsense is this! You resent your father because you're upset, and because you hate him you secretly tamper with the car and kill him! Because of you, it's all because of you! Dad's dead! The team has fallen to this state! And this competition too! Every time we meet, you mock me, ridicule me, and oppose me! You're clearly a scumbag! You're clearly a murderer! And now you're pretending to be a good person! Have you had a change of heart? Have you been overwhelmed by guilt? Stop joking! If you're going to be a bad guy, then be a bad guy to the end! Now, now, to save me... you've gotten yourself into this state... what's going on...?"

By the end, she herself was sobbing uncontrollably. She collapsed back into her seat, sobbing, and lowered her head, silently wiping away her tears.

Alba's heavy breathing never stopped, the vibrant red of life draining from his body, yet the pain was growing milder. He knew this was a final burst of energy before death, and he wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

Some things, if you don't say them now, you'll never have the chance again.

"I..."

Having made up his mind, Alba moved his lips, which were already as white as paper, and tried to organize his remaining strength into words.

"I... I'm sorry I didn't play the villain until the end..."

"What did you say?"

Ally jerked her head up and stared intently at Alba.

Alba closed his eyes, then opened them again. The usual gloom was gone from his eyes; only a calm, watery peace remained.

"I--"

He spoke again,

"--I didn't kill your father."

"... Huh?"

For a moment, Ally thought she had misheard.

"I didn't kill Elton."

"You... no way... but!"

Ally was thrown into chaos once again.

"But at the funeral, didn't you clearly admit it? You were still laughing! Laughing at Dad's death! Laughing at my incompetence!"

Alba sighed softly.

"I didn't kill him...but...it's 'equivalent' to killing him."

"But--"

"Back then, the Iron Wolf he was piloting... its malfunctions were purely accidental, probably due to worn-out parts or engine failure... I... never tampered with it."

"You're saying... it was purely an accident?"

Ally shook her head frantically; everything Alba said was completely different from what she knew.

"That's right... Before going into battle... I was supposed to inspect the Iron Wolf ... If I hadn't argued with your father and left that night... I would have been dutifully conducting my routine checks, and the malfunction would have been discovered... Elton wouldn't be dead."

Alba's face darkened as he spoke too much, but his eyes grew clearer, as if he had finally released the troubles that had been building up in his heart for years.

"But... but if that's the case, why were you sneaking around the Iron Wolf when I couldn't sleep at night and passed by the garage..."

"I just wanted to... take one last look," Alba squinted, as if recalling something. "The Iron Wolf was the first racing car I helped design... I thought I'd at least see it one last time before I left..."

"Then why do you run away when you see me!"

"I guess I felt ashamed that I had said I was leaving forever... but then I secretly came back and got caught... I was so immature back then..."

"But you were clearly smiling at Dad's funeral!"

"I'm laughing... laughing at my own naiveté... laughing at my own stupidity..."

"Even if we assume you're truly innocent..."

Ally's eyes widened as she asked the most crucial question.

"Then why did you tell me that you did it all? Why did you take all the blame upon yourself!"

"..."

Silence, and then--

"Ally... do you know what you looked like at the funeral?"

"... Huh?"

"It was truly... unbearable to look at. Empty eyes, a haggard face—it really was as if they had lost all hope, even the meaning of their existence..."

"..." Ally was speechless.

That was indeed how she felt at that time. The death of her father, whom she had always admired and considered her life's goal, easily shattered the young girl's heart.

Seeing you like this, I feel so guilty... It's all my fault... So I'm so conflicted... On one hand, I want to escape this painful place, and on the other hand, I want to make it up to you... But I have no idea how to do it...

"Then... I chased after you, confronted you, and yelled at you..."

"Yes... back then, when you were yelling at me, I realized..." Alba looked deeply at Ally, "You, who believed I was your father's killer, became a completely different person... Anger filled the void... The obsession to 'make me pay' gave you renewed strength... didn't it?"

That's true.

Ally, who was then completely consumed by despair, was able to overcome her grief and move forward only because she found a new goal—revenge.

"At that time, I thought—why not go with the flow? If hating me can reignite your fighting spirit... then I'll just become a hated villain... what's wrong with that?"

If she didn't hate Alba, she would probably still be immersed in grief, living a mediocre and muddled life.

Now, she stands on the highest stage of the racing world, a global superstar, stronger than ever before.

Her obsession with revenge drives Ally forward, and thanks to this, she perseveres through whatever difficulties she encounters along the way, each setback making her stronger.

"Let hatred and obsession fuel your fire... that's not a good approach... but you need a direction and the motivation to move forward, don't you?"

If it weren't for the hatred towards Alba,

"And all I can do next... is quietly fund your completion of Sirius... and then watch over you while bearing the infamy..."

Without Alba,

"I'm so sorry... Ally. Because of my immaturity, your father died... I'm really... so sorry..."

Without his presence, constantly inspiring me,

"I'm so glad I was able to save your life at the last moment... In this way... my sins... are atoned..."

"Alba ... Uncle... Uncle..."

"Look... Elton ... your daughter, my niece... is shining brightly at the very top level... isn't that wonderful?"

"Uncle!"

Ally's tears flowed like a burst dam; she gripped Alba's hand tightly, desperately trying to hold onto this fragile life a little longer.

"I... I'll stop here..."

A final trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his lips.

"I'm so sorry for everything..."

The spasms in both hands have stopped.

"Do you remember what I said...?"

The sound was almost inaudible.

"I am surrounded by people suffering misfortune... so I am very happy..."

His eyes closed limply.

"People around me are always dying... so I'm very happy..."

The pulse is getting weaker and weaker.

"Happiness is not something that is ubiquitous and inexhaustible; rather, it will eventually be exhausted... Everyone can only do their best... to fight for the happiness that belongs to them..."

The pounding of life in his chest finally ceased.

"So..."

With all his might, he managed a smile.

I hope my misfortune will bring you happiness.

A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops.

Sunlight filters through the leaves.

A noble yet tragic man, with a smile on his face, completed his life.

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Sigh, I've finally gotten to this point. I feel a little sad.

The penultimate climax of this volume has finally ended, and then comes the real ending. Feel free to leave your comments below.

Oh, by the way, if you think Uncle is a real man, then cast Monthly Votes to mourn him.