Volume Four: Withering in the Mortal World - Chapter 355: Irritation

"My sister... she's dead... ah?"

"Yes, I saw it. It's so pitiful."

First it was cut in half, then it was blasted into dust. That was really too ruthless. Doesn't that woman, Tianlu, know how to leave a way out for others?

I believe that corpses are very important; they are the remains of a person after death, an important substitute for people to mourn and express their grief, and a medium for communicating with another world. Therefore, completely destroying a corpse is tantamount to severing the existence of the deceased from the present world.

How cruel.

How utterly despicable that one would want to kill him immediately.

The question is... how can we, what methods, and what strategies can we devise to escape unscathed from under the noses of the Vatican's strongest fighting force, which rivals the highest levels of an organization?

"Should we still surround and attack... or should we try to escape with all our might? Or should we leave one person to hold off the others and create an opening?"

There's no good solution in the short term.

But now it seems... the only option left is to fight it out with brute force.

Watching Xiao Wu, completely engulfed in berserk mode, battling Tian Lu in the air, I held my breath for her with every exchange. Although Xiao Wu initially ferocious attacks gave the illusion that she had the upper hand, but—

Boom!!!

A dazzling golden light pierced through the void and struck Xiao Wu hard. She immediately let out a horrible howl and flew downwards, landing heavily on the ground. She seemed to be in a lot of pain; poor thing.

"Xiao... Ye?"

"Um?"

Hearing the soft call, I looked at Little Ying and asked her with my eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Xiao Ye, what are you doing?"

What are you doing?

"They're watching the game, isn't that obvious?"

"Watching the game!? But, but! Now, my sister..."

My sister... she's dead? Did she mean to say that?

Yes, Little Ying is still too inexperienced when it comes to matters of life and death. The sudden death of a loved one must be a huge blow to her, and I didn't even offer her a word of comfort. That's really terrible of me.

"Little Ying, I know you're heartbroken, but the dead are gone. All we can do is live on, right? And now, with a formidable enemy at our doorstep..."

"Wrong!"

She suddenly yelled, which startled me.

"No, no, no, no! I... I didn't mean that! And I didn't mean I wanted Xiao Ye to comfort me or anything! Mingming, Mingming--"

"Mingming?"

"My sister is dead!!!"

"... Yes, you've repeated it many times, and I've seen it with my own eyes."

"No, mine, I mean!"

Her face flushed red, tears and blood making her look like an ugly, spotted cat. She seemed very anxious, waving her arms up and down, and after a long pause, she finally blurted out what she wanted to say—

"Xiao Ye, you're acting strange!"

"Huh?"

Strange? I think she's said something similar before, though I don't think I look strange at all.

"Why, why..."

"Hurry up and tell me, you're making me impatient..."

Little Ying suddenly stopped sobbing and stared straight at me.

It's as if they're looking at something unbelievable.

Why aren't you sad?

Asking such a question

"... sad?"

"My sister... she's dead? You're not her companion, not her best friend, isn't she? Didn't she always like you? But... why aren't you shedding a single tear?! Your expression is so calm!!"

Even if you say that...

I'm sad too!

After all, they had lost an important companion.

"But sadness aside, isn't it precisely when facing a formidable enemy that we must remain calm and optimistic?"

However, even so...

Xiao Wu has completely lost it. After spending some time with her, I've found that although she seems to be the most composed in our group, she's actually the most easily swayed by emotions. She's spent more time with Shino than any of us, so this must have been a huge blow to her. In contrast, Haoyue is much better off.

"Hostage hostages? Guilty or not? Cruel or not? Innocent or not? Moral standards? Conviction? Who cares about any of that?"

My keen hearing detected a familiar sound.

In mid-air, Xiao Wu was slammed to the ground again. Now, facing Tianlu was Haoyue, along with the unfortunate Saintess whose ears and fingers had been cut off and who was being held hostage by her.

"I just want to get this mess over with normal methods before I do anything completely irreversible... Do you understand now?"

As Haoyue said this, the smile on her face was as eerie as a mask about to crack.

Knowing her well, I knew this was a sign that she was about to lose control.

... What? Even this guy can't stay calm?

The death of a comrade is a sad thing in itself.

Why make it even sadder?

Death is incredibly powerful and omnipotent; it can sever all bonds, turn all possibilities into impossibilities, and change everything and everyone you can imagine.

Xiao's death must have "changed" something.

As for Si Nan Ying...

She's still sobbing, even though she was just moments ago asking me incredulously why I wasn't sad. But how could I not be sad? So... to be honest, seeing her like this is getting on my nerves.

... Tsk.

Honestly, it's incredibly annoying.

I'm inexplicably annoyed.

"Little Ying, come here for a moment."

"... Huh?"

Aim for the stomach. Thump!

A soft, yielding touch came from his fist; it must have hit her stomach. Si Nan Ying doubled over like a shrimp, groaning in pain. Seizing the moment she bent over, he delivered a swift, blood-soaked chop with his hand. She let out a muffled groan and collapsed limply to the ground, much quieter now.

Just as I was wondering what to do, the main group arrived late.

"Lord Blood Emperor!"

From afar, they could hear Uncle Brad's deep baritone voice, followed by the rumbling of footsteps—the elite vanguard led by Nid earlier. The powerful battle cries and the overwhelming charge were gone; everyone was wounded, and their numbers were reduced to only thirty percent of their initial strength.

The once formidable army of the Thread Head Army has long lost its edge; now, all that remains here is a group of exhausted and defeated soldiers, tormented by pain and fear.

In the end, who really won?

It reminded me of the Byron poems I read in middle school to appear cultured.

"Millions of ships are moored at the foot of the mountain."

How many more teams are under his command!

He counted them at dawn.

But where are they at sunset?

Where is it?

The living taste despair here, while the dead never return to the other side.

What have you gained in the end after two hundred years of fighting to overthrow the corrupt Papacy?

Final victory? People living in harmony? World peace?

Or is the only consolation left the fact that "I once tried"?

Either way, they both make me feel incredibly irritated.

"Blood Emperor..."

"Um?"

"We have lost."

Brad only said this one sentence.

One sentence is enough to represent everything.

After long planning and the sacrifice of countless revolutionary fighters and my comrades, this is all I got in the end.

"... It's fucking ugly."

What's on your mind just comes out.

"... Huh?"

Perhaps they hadn't expected the noble and beautiful Blood Emperor to swear, because the people walking in front—including Brad and the other division commanders—were all taken aback.

"Um, Blood Emperor, you..."

"Forget the nonsense, let's have a laugh first."

"Ah?"

Hey, is there any need to be so surprised? Don't look at me like I'm crazy. Deaths and defeats are sad enough as it is, why not try to add some cheer with a smile?

--Ding!!!

At this moment, the battle situation on Tianlu's side took a new turn.

"--God 'Godly Sword of Heaven!"

A hundred-meter-long holy Greatsword light cleaved down, and Snow Moon, unable to dodge, had no choice but to take the hit head-on! The blade of light collided violently with Xueyue, and the intense impact instantly cracked her tiger's mouth. The holy light, like a virus, spread up Snow Moon's blade and rushed straight towards her fair, lotus-like arm!

"Moonquake!"

The silver-white runes, radiating intense shockwaves, exploded at the tip of the sword, forcefully shattering the clinging holy light! Using this force, Haoyue retreated rapidly, creating distance from the rain of light arrows that followed. She dodged the most powerful attacks and then used the exploding runes to block the ones she couldn't avoid. After enduring a barrage of attacks, she only suffered minor flesh wounds.

"It looks just like an eel...!"

Compared to the straightforward evil spirit from before, this Qipao Girl completely abandoned head-on confrontation and instead adopted flexible guerrilla warfare. She survived round after round of attacks with minimal losses, seeking out weak points in the defenses to launch attacks. Although she hadn't been able to harm Tian Lu yet, she had indeed almost been hit by him several times!

So--

"I'll finish you off with a wide-area divine spell! Holy chant--"

With her hand raised high above her head, blinding sparks of electricity appeared on countless crosses hanging in the night sky! The clouds gathered together and merged with the sparks to form a vast expanse of golden thunderclouds!

"Saint Domain Heavenly Wrath!"

Countless golden lightning bolts gathered in the sky, densely covering an area of several kilometers! This killing move, which maximizes speed, power, and range, is absolutely unavoidable unless one is a space-type ability user!

"I've been waiting for so long... You've arrived just in time."

However, Haoyue smiled.

It consists of 40% cruelty, 30% tenderness, 20% darkness, and 10% crazy, bizarre smiles.

"Combined Runes, Thunderous Moon, Moon Elf-- "

At that moment, a torrent of lightning, carrying immense divine power, crashed down, and just then, the two runes, one gold and one silver, were completed.

"Lightning Spirit Moon!"

A small ball of light, shimmering with gold and silver, burst open amidst the raging lightning, resembling a small moon entwined with thunder. All the lightning bolts seemed to be drawn to this small ball of light, converging towards it! Not a single one of the tens of thousands of lightning bolts struck the ground; they were all attracted into the small ball of light. As the lightning converged and continued to solidify and grow, the small ball of light formed a large lightning sphere with a diameter exceeding ten meters!

"To take my lightning... for your own use?"

"Not reconciled? Serves you right!!!!"

With a flick of her longsword, Haoyue unleashed a massive ball of lightning that crackled and exploded as it hurtled towards Tianlu. Before she could react, it was detonated! The dazzling lightning illuminated the night sky as if it were daytime, and the intense light at the center of the explosion was enough to blind anyone instantly!

"But that's not all! The combination of Moon Seal and Moon Mist Silver Veil — Moon Prism!"

A thin, silver-orange veil-like light enveloped the intense light. The lightning that had been radiating in all directions was compressed and reflected by the light, causing it to shrink and condense, and was even pushed back to the point of explosion, resulting in a secondary explosion! The aftershocks of the first lightning explosion had not yet subsided when the second one struck. The damage from the two explosions was not additive but multiplicative!

"Hoo... hoo... heh, how's that, you bitch?"

Haoyue, slightly out of breath, looked at the still-glowing epicenter of the explosion and gave a mocking smile.

"I don't believe you can still keep that sour face after taking that hit..."

Then, the halo dissipated, and Tianlu's figure reappeared.

"... Okay, I believe you."