Choice

"All right, go back. Don't run around during this time. If you need to go out, remember to let me know in advance," Lincon said, waving a hand.

"Yes... sir!"

Zhang Rui sighed helplessly, turned around, and went back to clearing the ruins.

After spending this time with him, Zhang Rui had learned that his lord was named Lincon, a name that even sounded similar to "leader."

Moreover, this lord was extraordinarily mysterious. Zhang Rui had noticed clues in many things.

For example, the Purification Shrine that could ward off dark creatures.

One night, he had personally seen a dark creature standing in his yard, trying to approach the house, only to be driven back by the shrine in front of it.

His lord had clearly told him that he was a Plant Cultivator who cultivated plants, but how could an ability user who controlled plants create a shrine that resisted dark creatures?

Zhang Rui kept these doubts to himself and dared not reveal them to anyone. He had deliberately concealed them even from his wife and children.

After Zhang Rui left, Lincon narrowed his eyes and gathered up Viper's belongings.

In fact, after he killed Viper, a notification had appeared on his panel.

[You defeated the invading intruder. Sunlight +100, main class experience +150, secondary class experience +150.]

[Longwind Fortress Guardian has risen to level 6.]

[Plant Cultivator has risen to level 7.]

[Strength: 48—Agility: 45—Spirit: 54—Charisma: 16—Reputation: 1140]

[Remaining Sunlight: 271]

After spending this period clearing dark creatures every night, carving shrines, and cultivating spirit plants, Lincon had finally leveled up after killing Viper.

His strength and spirit had undergone another qualitative leap, and he had also accumulated quite a bit of Sunlight.

Furthermore, he was close to completing the task of clearing the dark creatures within Longwind Fortress. Once he did, he would receive the quest reward—the Seed of Life.

Lincon had been looking forward to that reward for a long time.

The reputation quest had given him the Junior Rune Industry Blueprint, which had greatly changed his life, while Purification Runes were indispensable weapons against dark creatures.

Thus, Lincon believed the Seed of Life would surely not be anything inferior.

Instead of returning home to carve shrines as usual, he acted out of character and began practicing Xingyi Fist in the courtyard.

Xingyi Fist was divided into the Five Elements, Twelve Forms, fixed stances, and moving stances.

At first, Lincon had viewed Xingyi Fist as nothing more than a martial art for strengthening the body. Yet under his movements now, it carried a terrifying might.

Every change between moves contained killing intent.

What looked like a simple punch produced a burst of explosive force under the amplification of his tremendous strength. It sounded like cannon fire, one blast after another.

Yet Lincon was completely unaware of this, his mind immersed in his own thoughts.

"I currently face two problems."

First, he had to find a way to divert water from Longwind Lake to the vicinity of the fortress while purifying Longwind Lake and cutting off the source of its contamination.

After all, he did not want to keep running to Longwind Lake to fetch water himself.

Second was Flint City.

However, that problem probably would not come too soon. Flint City needed time to process and sort things out.

Things were no longer as they had been before. Electronic communications had completely failed, and information could only be transmitted by messengers.

It would take time for them to determine that the assassin they had sent was dead, formulate another plan, and dispatch new personnel.

As long as he grew fast enough and strong enough during that time, Flint City would not be a problem.

But who exactly had a grudge against him and wanted to eliminate him?

Although Lincon did not know how he had offended that person, since the enmity had already been forged, once he had the ability, he would not let go of any chance to eliminate them either.

And anyone capable of mobilizing a D-rank ability user surely held no low position in Flint City.

Exhale, inhale... His fists followed his intent, and strength flowed with his force.

By the time he had completed several sets of forms in succession, an hour had passed.

The sky darkened, and darkness descended upon the land once more.

"Only five hours of daylight is still far too little!"

Lincon frowned and withdrew his fists, about to return home and close the door.

Yet at that very moment, countless densely packed red dots appeared on his main class panel.

[Strangers are approaching your territory.]

[Strangers are approaching your territory.]

...

Like signals, the red dots continuously urged and alerted Lincon.

"What is going on? Could it be that Flint City actually sent more than one ability user?"

Lincon's sword-like brows furrowed slightly, but his turbulent emotions swiftly calmed.

He had scattered many shrines outside the fortress. When necessary, those shrines could all become his eyes.

The red dots were not scattered apart but densely clustered together.

When they approached the shrines' yellow points of light, Lincon's vision followed the shrine anchors to the land several kilometers away.

On that stretch of land, many people carried torches as they trudged across the darkening earth.

Among them were men and women. The men carried bundles on their shoulders, while the women held children in their arms.

Their faces were sallow, filled with terror at the approaching darkness.

The dark canopy of the sky was like a swarm of locusts chasing after them. Light was fleeing, and the world had been covered by a gray filter, rapidly losing color, turning ashen and black.

Even the air seemed to become thick and powerless beneath that descending curtain, like the breath of someone on the verge of death.

Dark creatures, nurtured by darkness, grew active at this time.

When people gathered together, dark creatures gathered as well.

With such an enormous number of people, how many dark creatures would appear?

Lincon did not dare imagine it.

But what puzzled him even more was why these people had appeared here in such a large group.

With so many people out in the shelterless night, their chances of survival were minuscule. The surging dark creatures would devour them clean from head to toe.

Lincon quickly reached that conclusion.

He did not even dare to swagger through the darkness alone, much less a group like this. They would only attract even more dark creatures.

Lincon shook his head and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Yet after the door remained still for several seconds, it was violently pushed open again from within.

Lincon stood there holding a lamp, his face full of conflict and hesitation.

Everyone knew that in chaotic times, the self-righteous were the first to die. People like that simply did not live long.

But when the choice between saving them and not saving them was truly placed before Lincon, he hesitated when he should have decisively chosen to shut his door.

As if by instinct, his body picked up the familiar oil lamp, while his legs seemed to possess a will of their own as they stepped outside.

"Putting myself in danger to save a group of strangers... does that make me self-righteous?"

"In the eyes of those netizens from my previous life, it probably would!"

"But when I am already surrounded by darkness, if I abandon even the last light of humanity, what kind of person would I be?"

"In the end... I just can't get past that hurdle in my heart."

In just a few seconds, Lincon had already strode forward and made his choice.

"The sky has not gone completely dark yet. There's still time!"