Showdown

Rain poured down with the thunder. A bitter wind drove drops as big as beans against their faces, stinging their skin.

The stench of the undead filled the air, and the roar of rain reached every corner of the valley.

In the darkness, Xia Lun held the receiver in one hand and his Revolver in the other. Through the hazy curtain of rain, he stared coldly at the Brigadier General surrounded by the undead.

Rain struck the ground and burst into finer droplets. Each one reflected the undead's vacant, rotting faces and the Brigadier General's iron-hard expression.

The silence stretched on. Then, at last, the Brigadier General spoke again.

"So you're finally willing to talk. Good. That's a start. You've shown good faith, and I'll show mine." As he spoke, the Brigadier General turned toward the Plastic Explosives and waved the Wicker Man in his hand as if offering reassurance. "Xia Lun, I won't let the undead near you. I won't come near you either."

"Don't change the subject. Answer my question." Xia Lun kept retreating. "Why did you hold back from killing everyone in the last cycle, only to start slaughtering them in this one?"

"Remember what we said about regrets yesterday at noon?" The Brigadier General slowed his speech and softened his tone so abruptly that even Xia Lun was surprised. "I told you my regret was failing to save the Kingdom. Instead, I helped bring about the Red Rose Civil War."

"Do you not understand plain speech?" Xia Lun pressed him deliberately. "What does that have to do with my question?"

"Everything." The Brigadier General showed no anger. His emotions were as steady as a machine's. "I want to undo that regret. So my sacrificial wish is to 'end the Red Rose Civil War in the Borland