Arknights, But Raising Terra Chapter 26

"Day Eleven: The people finally lost patience. The first 'Brave' appeared, wanting to go to the Tower alone."

"Day Twelve: The 'Brave' fell. He discovered the city gates were already heavily guarded, and no one could leave."

"Day Thirteen: The people were in an uproar, and more Braves appeared."

"Day Fourteen: The Braves broke through the defenses, only to find that the higher-ups who had been announcing they were 'in a meeting' had long since vanished."

"Day Fifteen: As the people felt deceived, one of the Towers was lit up."

"Heh..."

Amiya, who had been listening to Chen Ran's account, finally couldn't help but laugh.

There was no need for Chen Ran to relay it anymore; even Amiya could see it with her own eyes—

A red light shot out from within the planet model.

Amiya's expression turned completely cold. Her eyes, devoid of any warmth, held a resolute determination.

"My apologies, Lord God, for making you witness such a spectacle."

Amiya took a deep breath and plunged towards the planet model. "I'll go... take care of something."

After all, those higher-ups were quite considerate.

They had excluded all the common people and gathered all the high-ranking officials together. If something were to happen, wouldn't it be possible to take them all out in one go?

With such chilling killing intent, Amiya directly crashed into the Tower.

039. The Little Rabbit Goes Berserk

The people of Terra are beyond saving.

This is not an exclamation, but a statement of fact.

Amiya, as the game's flagship character, is almost the embodiment of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Yet, this little rabbit has been pushed to the brink of world destruction. This fact alone is enough to show how unbelievable these people of Terra are.

Normal people cannot comprehend this.

The span of time from the very beginning of Terra's current civilization to the Demon King Rabbit's world-ending rampage is ten thousand years.

Yet, in all this time, they haven't even touched the threshold of capitalism.

Yes, Terra is still a feudal and slave society to this day.

So when the gods appeared, the Towers descended from the sky, and the 'Divine Messengers' declared they would bring them peace, coexistence, an eternal heaven, an end to worries about survival, and a utopia where everyone was equal—

These people of Terra did not consider the cost of such actions.

Did lighting up the Towers mean humanity would be shackled forever, becoming slaves raised and fed by the gods?

They also did not consider whether humanity as a race would stagnate, or whether indulging in the present was more important than forging the future.

They only thought of one thing—

Why should they?

Under the rule of a feudal and slave society, what were the lower-class citizens to those in power?

They were outcasts, slaves, expendables, their personal property.

And now you're saying they should be equal to these outcasts and slaves? Even equal to the Infected, who are worse off than outcasts and slaves?

Are you kidding me?

Why should those outcasts and slaves have this?

Therefore, the option of lighting the white Tower and entering Eden together was never considered by those in power from the very beginning.

No worries about food and drink? But aren't these high-ranking officials already free from such worries?

Peaceful coexistence? If these high-ranking officials understood these four words, they wouldn't have been fighting wars year after year, almost to the point of tearing each other's brains out.

Entering Eden together? These high-ranking officials find their current lives quite satisfactory, don't they?

Before the gods appeared, these high-ranking officials could just snap their fingers and think, "Ah! I have no excuse to start a war? Then I'll just slander you."

If I say you are Sarkaz and send troops to attack, and you resist, then your scheme has been exposed, and you're fighting desperately.

If you don't resist, then you're guilty, and I have even more reason to attack you.

So what was the purpose of these high-ranking officials starting wars? It couldn't just be for fun, right?

It was for greater profit, better enslavement, and higher status.

Now that the gods have appeared, this high-ranking official sees how majestic the 'Divine Messenger' is, how high and mighty.

Lighting the red Tower means choosing power, profit, and eternal war.

And aren't power and profit precisely what they desire?

As for eternal war? Aren't they already fighting one? It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

Did those high-ranking officials not hear the words, "The gods will grant you the ending you deserve"?

They heard.

For them, it was simply one of two outcomes: win or die.

Winning meant leaping to become an exalted figure like a 'Divine Messenger,' while dying meant they had miscalculated, and the gods actually intended to kill them.

But for these high-ranking individuals, 'everyone is equal' was equivalent to them abandoning all their property and status. This was something they absolutely could not accept, something even more unbearable than death.

So—

They might as well take a gamble.

If they won, they would become beings of supreme status.

If they lost, they would drag all of Terra down with them to be their burial shroud.

Either way, there was no loss.

And it was ironic, The red Tower had one more restriction than the white Tower.

To light up the red Tower required the combined effort of thousands upon tens of thousands of people.

As a result, these high-ranking individuals, who were about to tear each other's brains out just a second ago, now shook hands, made peace, and jointly pressed the button for this red Tower.

But gamblers deserve no sympathy.

So they lost their gamble.

After lighting up the red Tower, what greeted them was the Demon King Rabbit, descending from the heavens with a face full of killing intent, and—

A vast expanse of white, drawn by the attraction of the red light pillar, surged towards the planet model.

... ... ...

... ...

"Oh my, how tragic."

"I'm a kind-hearted person; I can't bear to see such things."

Seeing that Demon King Rabbit poised to unleash carnage, Chen Ran couldn't bear it. He turned his head, reached for a nearby transparent plastic cup, and then extended it into the planet model.

To prevent those people from running... oh no, to prevent the blood from splashing out and scaring the surrounding flowers and plants, Chen Ran used the plastic cup to cover the laser pointer emitting the red light.

Having done this, Chen Ran turned his attention to the large expanse of white outside the gourmet planet.

He opened the Hive Cluster Mind (Sea Creature version) and took a look:

「Sea Creature 1: Family! I see the red light! Lord God is summoning us!」

「Sea Creature 2: The last time Lord God shot red light, it was to get us a big bag of food. This time it's definitely going to feed us again!」

「Sea Creature 3: Family, the mess hall is open!」

「Sea Creature 4: Charge!」

This was the plan he had agreed upon with the Demon King Rabbit from the start: lighting the red light would attract the Sea Creatures.

But glancing at the Terra (Demon King Rabbit route) planet model...

「Your little rabbit is currently dismembering them」

「Your little rabbit is currently slaughtering them」

「Your little rabbit is currently going insane from the killing」

Looking at the constantly flashing, semi-transparent pop-up windows, Chen Ran thought for a moment and then extended his hand.

The Sea Creatures were too naive. What if they got an upset stomach... oh no, what if they developed a new ability like 'eating people raw'?

So Chen Ran intercepted the Sea Creatures midway.

He gave the Sea Creatures some small snacks, and then watched as they happily shouted, "Family, I'm getting food again!" and began to return the way they came—

Chen Ran then turned his attention back to the Terra (Demon King Rabbit route) planet model.

Seeing that the red laser pointer seemed to have gone quiet, Chen Ran finally removed the plastic cup.

Otherwise, when Amiya, that Demon King Rabbit, finished dealing with certain matters and wanted to ascend back, she would hilariously collide with the so-called 'invisible barrier.'

After waiting for a while longer, Amiya appeared around the red laser pointer, wielding her sharp blade.

Although it was too small to see Amiya's expression clearly, Chen Ran saw the little rabbit look up at the sky, seemingly searching for someone.

Seeing this, Chen Ran naturally reached his hand into the planet model, spreading his palm for Amiya. After the little rabbit walked into his palm, he brought her back.

040. You have obtained the pet rabbit: Amiya (Adult Version)

Amiya did not look back at the 'Tower' behind her.

Because the sharp killing intent on her body had not dissipated; instead, it had become even more intense.

But like drawing a sword and looking around in confusion, Amiya didn't know who to direct her current killing intent towards.

She had clearly given these Terra people chances, and not just once.

But all she received was disappointment after disappointment.

"Did I... make the wrong choice?"

Amiya murmured to herself as she left the Tower.

She had asked a question, but her tone was one of certainty.

Amiya already knew the answer in her heart, which was why she wasn't lost in confusion; she simply found it amusing.

She laughed at her own past naivety, and at how the people of Terra were inherently unchanging.

Amiya then looked up at the sky, knowing where she needed to go now.

And that... no, her Lord God had not disappointed her.

The colossal hand that blotted out the sun reached down from beyond the heavens, yet it was incredibly gentle. By the time it reached her, it had shrunk to a size just large enough for her to step onto.

So, Amiya didn't hesitate at all. She floated over lightly and landed steadily in the palm of the great hand.

She allowed the Lord God to lift her up, leaving the surface of this planet.

With a gentle blink, in what felt like mere moments, the brilliant star river and the divine being radiating warm light appeared before her.

"Lord God..."

... ... ...

... ...

"Lord God..."

Looking at the little rabbit standing in his palm, Chen Ran hadn't even spoken yet when Amiya called out his name first.