Volume Four: Withering in the Mortal World, Chapter 292: Joining Forces

Then it becomes simple.

It doesn't matter if it's in the Deep Sea or any other environment; there's no fuss about it. My Blood Flame will show no mercy. It doesn't need oxygen to burn and can burn or even explode in any environment.

I won't show any mercy.

"Burst!"

Then, without much suspense, a dazzling Blood Flame enveloped Alan.

"Why--ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

A piercing scream mingled with the crackling of flames, creating an indescribably jarring sound. The layers of simulated environment binding me vanished on their own, and I finally released the defenses of my blood, letting out a sigh of relief and stretching my limbs. Alan before me was now a human torch; her clothes instantly turned to ash, her hair burned away, and she writhed and struggled, screaming in agony. The space around her rippled continuously, seemingly trying to extinguish the Blood Flame by applying the new environment to them, but my Blood Flame could burn fiercely in any environment—including oxygen deprivation—so her struggles were utterly futile.

The Revolutionary Army behind them didn't seem to understand what was happening. From their perspective, all they saw was Alan cursing incessantly, me bleeding as I walked, and then Alan suddenly bursting into flames.

But one fact is obvious.

This pink-haired woman, who claimed to be the "successor of the Blood Emperor," indeed defeated Alan, the Fifth Seat of the Templar Knights, in just a few minutes.

Just moments ago, the Templar Knight were swaggering and invincible, capable of slaughtering hundreds of revolutionary fighters in the blink of an eye. Now, they were screaming and struggling like clowns in the flames. Their appearance was extremely pitiful, but no one felt any sympathy for them; after all, they were enemies.

This result is enough.

"We won...we won!"

"But what exactly happened?"

"Who cares, we won anyway! The Templar Knight are finished!"

"We're saved!"

"Long live the Blood Blade Knights! Long live the revolution!!!"

We won.

But I didn't feel any sense of accomplishment, because there were no flashy clashes or cool visual effects between us, and my victory wasn't because I was too strong or she was too weak. Her ability to simulate environments, in essence, is to kill people through drastic changes in the environment. However, the environment is not meant to be overcome, but rather adapted to. It was precisely because I realized this that I abandoned the idea of fighting her head-on from the beginning, choosing to adapt to the environment rather than confront it. Judging from her previous skillful use of her powers to create an air hammer and her ability to break down simulated high-pressure environments by contacting them inside her crystal shield, she must have many other diverse techniques. However, I defeated her before she could use them—or rather, before she could display her true strength.

... What? You're saying I played dirty again this time? This is clever, really clever. It's just bad luck that Alan ran into me, who's only just learned to adjust her blood flow to adapt to the environment. But if she had run into Xiao Wu with her incredible regenerative abilities instead of me, she probably would have been instantly killed right from the start. So it seems that Haoyue is actually at a disadvantage in our trio's fight against Alan.

Next--

My hand pierced through the Blood Flame, grabbing her face and lifting her up. Despite her clothes and hair being reduced to ash and large patches of skin charred, she wasn't actually in mortal danger; it simply rendered her completely incapacitated. I had timed it perfectly; after all, I couldn't let her die so easily.

Cough cough cough Clearing his throat, he's done his job now. And then—it's time to keep acting (pretending to be cool).

"The Templar Knight..."

I lifted her up high, looking utterly disheveled, and tried my best to make every word I spoke resounding.

You lost!

Even in her current state, she still trembled violently when she heard the word "lost," her charred lips moving slowly and emitting a barely audible sound.

"Impossible..."

"Impossible? Indeed, in your mind, you Templar Knight are messengers of God, with the help of some supreme god, so it's absolutely impossible for you to lose, right? But what's going on now?"

With an expression of utmost righteousness, I tossed her onto the ground like trash. I was doing something wrong but acting like I was doing a good deed; I was even a little impressed with myself.

"This only proves one thing... your supreme god doesn't exist!!!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!!!!!"

"God is just an illusion!!"

"Your so-called god has long since become a tool for your deception!!!"

The Revolutionary Army shouted loudly, venting their anger towards Alan and the Papacy, and I couldn't help but curl the corners of my mouth into a smile.

And Alan--

"Impossible!!!!!!!"

She screamed in a hoarse voice, which startled even me.

"Impossible, impossible, impossible! God exists! I am God's messenger! God has given me the power to kill sinners! You all deserve to die! You all deserve to die! You all deserve to die! You all deserve to die!!! It's all your fault—it's all because of you! What Blood Emperor!!! You damned Blasphemers!!!!! Why! Why, even though I've simulated so many, so many times, are you still—undying!!!!"

"..."

I almost burst out laughing.

This guy is being way too cooperative.

If she had ended up crying and lamenting her lack of power or shouting that God had abandoned her—those cliché lines—she might have garnered some sympathy from the Revolutionary Army, making me seem like the bad guy. But instead, she yelled things like "You all deserve to die, you all deserve to die!" Wouldn't that just tarnish her own image in the end? Young lady, now you're in deep trouble!

"You ask me why I won't die? Ha, what do you mean by death? The cessation of breathing? The cessation of heartbeat? Is your idea of death merely the death of the 'physical body'? If that's all you can see, isn't that incredibly tragic?"

I looked down at her, and also towards all the Revolutionary Army, adopting that Shaw Brothers-style gaze accompanied by the "zengzengzeng" sound effect, and declared—

"I am composed not only of body, but also of mind, and mind never dies!!!"

Well said!!!

Cheers erupted again from the Revolutionary Army's side.

"Ideology fears no swords, no bullets, no divine magic!!!"

"As long as thought persists, revolution will never cease!!!"

"Even if the body dies, the revolutionary spirit will live on!!!"

"That's right!" I tried to raise my voice, making my words clear and loud, "We survive because of ideas! We must remember ideas, not people, because people may fail, they may be arrested, they may be killed, they may be forgotten, but 400 years from now, ideas can still change the world!!!"

"Ideas can still change the world!!!!"

Uncle V, I'm so sorry. If you know this from beyond the grave, please don't blame me. Those lines were just too classic!

"What... thoughts... mere... Blasphemers..."

The small figure crawling at my feet made a discordant sound.

There's really no other way, so... um?

"Ha... haha... because it would burn my life force, so... I'm reluctant to use it... but now..."

The atmosphere around me suddenly changed. An extremely terrifying pressure and intense heat swept over me, completely different from before. But this was just the beginning!

"Simulation, Earth's core interior--"

--Click!!!

Before he finished speaking,

Something is rapidly approaching.

It was too sudden, too fast; I couldn't see it or feel it, only my intuition reacted.

My fighting instincts kicked in, and I dodged to the side. But "something" stopped less than ten centimeters away from me—or rather, it hit its target.

Alan's charred neck had been severed, and his bald head, with all its hair burned off, rolled to the ground.

"..."

I—and not just me, everyone—were all looking in the same direction.

The remnants of the Revolutionary Army suddenly parted, making way for them.

It wasn't because of anyone's order, but rather an instinctive action—that's the kind of boldness that led to the appearance of the handsome young man who seemed more like a teenager than a young man.

His posture appeared to be simply walking, yet the distance of several hundred meters was shrank in the blink of an eye, and he appeared before me, followed by a massive, dark army. This army was not a remnant force, but a highly disciplined and well-equipped elite army, each soldier radiating an astonishing aura, clearly capable of becoming a powerful figure. Yet this very army followed obediently behind the gray-haired man, their attitude one of utmost respect, as if he were their king.

He stopped in front of me, and I was finally able to take a closer look at him.

His handsome face, reminiscent of a traditional Japanese RPG protagonist, his upright posture, and his weathered aura—all those details, like Uncle Ding's overcoat and Ragnar's Greatsword —were automatically filtered out. What I cared about most was his strength.

"..."... Tsk tsk.

That's a strong guy.

Although I don't know his specific abilities, I can roughly sense that he is extremely strong, no weaker than Special Class Combatant. In other words, if we start fighting immediately, and if Rakshasa True Word doesn't go berserk, my chances of winning are at most 50%.

Then there was the woman leading the army behind him.

She was in her early twenties, a beautiful woman with a gentle and graceful demeanor who looked very much like a man.

She doesn't have the aura of a strong person, but she gives people a sense of oppression beyond "great power". Seeing her feels like I suddenly ran into the principal on my way to school in middle school.

These two are extraordinary; they both possess the terrifying aura of leaders in high positions.

Based on the information Dorothy had given me earlier.

It can't be wrong.

Now standing before me is a truly great Big Figure. A leader of the revolution, a standard-bearer of the times, a person who drives social change, a person who openly defies the Church, standing at the pinnacle of 600,000 revolutionary martyrs, who built a Great Wall with his flesh and blood, allowing the seeds of revolution to take root and sprout throughout the West Saint Continent.

Nid Bradwich, Blood Blade Knights.

Loxue Bradwich, Blood Blade Knights.

The two siblings, destined to be remembered in history, will either become heroes for all time or sinners for all time if they succeed.

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Meow... My wonderful summer vacation is over... QAQ... I have to leave early tomorrow morning... But I suddenly realized I haven't finished writing my social practice report yet...