"Did you do all this?"
The commander looked at the corpses strewn across the floor as he asked. The smell of blood filled his nostrils, making even a battle-hardened veteran like him frown.
Some of the younger recruits had even run outside to retch. A sight this shocking was still too much for them.
"Yeah, we did."
Amo calmly took a sip of fruit wine and smacked his lips twice afterward. Everything about his demeanor was so casual that wiping out everyone in the room might as well have been an everyday occurrence.
"Yeah, yeah. They were so weak. Amo took them all down in no time."
Xiaohe nodded, her expression and words innocent. With her stunningly beautiful, adorable face, she said something chilling in all seriousness.
The commander sucked in a cold breath. These two children were far from normal. They were nothing like children their age should have been, and more like cunning, calculating schemers.
The enemy headquarters had already been cleared out. Since that was the case, there was no need for them to stay here any longer. The commander quickly ordered his troops to clean up the battlefield.
After living through the Garden's large-scale campaign across the planet, Amo was no longer the purely kindhearted boy he had once been.
He reserved his kindness for the kind. He had never shown mercy to Garden members like these, who committed evil everywhere they went.
Xiaohe had witnessed his growth every step of the way, watching him change from a purely kindhearted boy into a cold, steady killer. Not only did she not feel that he had changed, she thought this was how he should be. After all, a weakling could never control the bigger picture. What she wanted was for Amo to take over the Garden while she became a lady of leisure. How wonderful that would be.
But the current Amo was not yet capable of controlling the Garden. He had not even brought the former Garden's elite Guard Corps under his command. If he wanted to control the Garden, Elder Ge's approval was essential.
At that thought, she looked at Amo, turning over ways to help him win over the Guard Corps.
Just then, a communications soldier rushed into the command room with news.
"The Guard Corps met fierce resistance in the Bountiful Nation and suffered heavy casualties!"
The commander's brow furrowed, and Amo stepped forward as well. If he remembered correctly, the former Garden's Guard Corps was one of the finest elite forces in the entire Alliance Army. So why had they met such resistance here? It was even less likely under the circumstances of a surprise attack. Had something unexpected happened?
"What happened?! Elder Ge's Guard Corps is one of the best units in the Alliance! How could they suffer such losses in a surprise attack?!"
"Those traitors! They took civilians in the Bountiful Nation hostage! They used them as human shields! Elder Ge had no choice but to withdraw his troops."
The communications soldier kept his head down, not daring to look at the commander's face. But even without looking, he knew the commander's expression must have been grim.
After listening to the report, the commander's expression shifted. He suddenly slammed his palm on the table, looking bitterly disappointed.
"What's that man doing?! They're just a few civilians! What's wrong with sacrificing a few civilians for ultimate victory?! For the greater good, can't he just..."
Smack!
A crisp slap rang out. The commander stared in disbelief at Amo, whose hand was still raised. Amo looked back at him coldly, killing intent flickering in his eyes.
Xiaohe stood to the side. The fruit wine she had been holding had disappeared at some point, replaced by a cloud of black-purple mist. Like Amo, she wore a look of cold killing intent.
"Everyone has the right to exist in this world. You have no right to make that decision for anyone else. If I hear you talk about the so-called greater good again, I'll kill you first."
Cold sweat beaded on the commander's forehead. The boy wasn't even a Pathstrider, just a mortal brat. How could he feel afraid when facing him?!
Amo turned and left the command room. He needed to get to the Bountiful Nation as quickly as possible to help in the fight. All the other assassins had been sent to other regions, leaving them the closest.
"As the saying goes, trouble comes from the mouth. Watch what you say, or one day you might lose your life without even knowing why."
Xiaohe followed him out, leaving those words behind as she passed the commander. They seemed to pull him back from the abyss. He gasped for breath like a drowning man who had just escaped death, and the few beads of cold sweat on his face instantly spread across his cheeks.
He had truly felt what it was like to escape the clutches of death. He turned to look in the direction the two had gone. He had lost his nerve.
At last, under the gazes of his nearby subordinates, the commander gave an angry snort, then turned and left.
High in the sky
The girl Ayinai watched what had happened below and chuckled. "A pretty upright kid. My main body has good taste. Since she thinks so highly of you, let me dig a little deeper into your potential."
Beside her, a man who looked like a rugged middle-aged fellow glanced down at Amo, then turned to her. "This is the person you wanted to show me?"
"Mm-hm. What do you think? Does this kid fit your preservation?"
The man nodded. Protecting the weak's right to exist? That was indeed preservation.
"Then, what do you say..."
"Ayinai of existence, I know what you want to say. The status of an Emanator is far too precious. Unless I encounter someone suited to spreading preservation, I will never settle for just anyone."
The girl Ayinai immediately looked displeased. "Huh? What? Isn't this kid good enough for you?"
"This alone isn't enough for me to give him power. Who knows if he's putting on an act?"
The middle-aged man said this with his arms crossed and a completely serious expression, making Ayinai stamp her foot in anger.
"What? Aha was right after all. You really are a blockhead! Take him or leave him. But don't fight me for him later, or I'll be furious!"
After venting, the girl Ayinai turned and disappeared. Watching her leave, the middle-aged man turned to look in the direction Amo and Xiaohe had gone.
He could sense how serious the boy had been when he said those words. His eyes could not be fooled. The boy truly wanted to protect those civilians, and that was indeed very appealing to the man.
So if the boy really was to his liking, he would fight for him even if it earned him Ayinai's resentment. He was different from Ayinai, that god of freedom. His Path compelled him to do these things. If he could, he too wanted to drink tea and bask in the sun like those older civilian men.
The man left, leaving ring-shaped ripples in his wake. Yet not long after the two had gone, a sneaky figure poked his head out.
"Hehehe, Aha has seen quite a show. The cold-faced woman and the blockhead want the same person. Should Aha join in too?"
"I'd advise you not to think that way."
"Aaaaaah! A ghost!"
Aha suddenly snatched up a flip-flop from who knew where and swung it behind him. The next moment, his movement was abruptly frozen. Ayinai slowly stepped aside and looked at Aha's avatar before her.
"Why aren't you resting and recovering? What are you running around for again?"
Aha put away the flip-flop and suddenly leaned close. "Are you worried about me? Are you worried about Aha?"
Ayinai was silent for two seconds. Then she raised her hand and slapped his masked face without hesitation, sending a mask flying. Aha immediately let out a piercing wail.
"Aaaah, my face! My face is gone!"
Ayinai looked at him coldly, without a trace of emotion on her face. After all, her human avatar was currently following Amo and the others. This was her divine avatar.
So Ayinai did not hesitate. She grabbed Aha by the collar and flung him away.
"I'll be back!"
"Just as I thought, my main body's conclusion from experience was right. There's no point wasting words on him."