The Metal-Rending Battle Eagle did not even glance at the "bothersome insect." Its attention was entirely focused on the delicacy before it.
Its sharp beak opened, and it eagerly pecked at one of the children's heads!
"No-!!" Huomu roared, his eyes filled with despair.
Some cried out in alarm, some could not bear to look, and others closed their eyes.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Just as everyone thought they were about to witness the hellish sight of flesh and blood flying and children dying horribly-
"Sorry, am I late?"
A figure wearing a white mask descended from the sky and appeared behind the two children.
He reached out and gently covered their tear-blurred eyes.
"Close your eyes. Don't look."
A gentle warning and icy killing intent mingled strangely in his calm voice.
The next instant-
"Clang-!"
Sword light flashed.
There was no earthshaking display, only an exquisitely concentrated, impossibly swift silver thread that seemed to cut through the light itself for an instant as it swept past the Metal-Rending Battle Eagle.
"Screeech-!!!"
The Metal-Rending Battle Eagle's excited shriek abruptly twisted into an agonized howl full of pain and disbelief!
Its enormous lunging body froze less than half a meter from the children.
Immediately afterward, a line of blood as smooth as a mirror appeared on its body and rapidly spread.
"Crash-!"
The eagle's massive body split neatly in two along the bloody line!
Scalding entrails, blood, and shattered bones came crashing down like a collapsing mountain of garbage, filling the air with the stench of blood.
The other eagle, a female, witnessed her beloved die a gruesome death before her eyes.
She let out a shriek of utter grief and rage, forcibly breaking free of Liuli's mind control.
She turned without regard for anything else, pouring all her madness and hatred onto the masked killer who had suddenly appeared.
She hurtled at Qiji, ready to take him down with her!
Yet the moment she moved, before she had even covered a few meters-
Qiji casually threw the Sword of No Thought, which had just slain her beloved.
The sword became a bolt of lightning, piercing straight through her in an instant.
Then, carrying tremendous force, it pinned her corpse firmly to the hard rock wall behind her.
The blade hummed and trembled, and the female eagle's corpse twitched twice before going still.
A moment ago, they had been in a suffocating predicament with no chance of survival.
All because the boy in the pure white mask had appeared.
In an instant, danger had given way to safety.
The two fearsome upper-level second-tier Metal-Rending Battle Eagles had been slain in moments.
"Holy shit! You're so dependable, Hajiqi!"
"You can always count on Prisoner Ji!"
"Who said an invincible sword can't appear in two places at once? Answer me!!!"
"He's so gentle with children, too. I feel like he'd make a good dad!"
"Ji-Bao! I want to have your babies!!!"
The sudden ups and downs had been far too much for everyone's nerves.
For a moment, they could not even react.
An eerie, deathly silence fell over the scene.
Only the night wind howled through the bloody air, accompanied by everyone's heavy breathing.
Once the smell of blood had faded somewhat, Qiji finally took his hands away from the children's eyes and gently patted their trembling little heads, signaling that they were safe.
Then he turned to Huomu.
"Hey, are you all right?"
But when Qiji got a clear look at his injuries, his expression changed in an instant.
A wound went straight through Huomu's chest, blood gushing from it and staining his clothes red.
Could this be the legendary...
...mere fatal wound?
Just as Qiji was worrying about Huomu, the latter braced himself against the rock wall and staggered to his feet on his own:
"I'm fine. I can still stand, so I'm fine."
Hearing this, Qiji took a closer look at Huomu's chest.
A moment later, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The seemingly fatal wound through Huomu's chest had missed his heart by about an inch.
At that moment, Qiji could not help recalling Huomu's role in the show as an "unkillable cockroach."
He thought to himself, As expected of the anime's protagonist.
Honestly, he had been a little frightened just now.
If the protagonist died only three episodes into the anime, wouldn't everything be screwed?
Luckily, the kid was hard to kill.
Just then, Setsuna limped over, clutching the wound on her shoulder.
Her expression turned cold the moment she saw the horrifying wound in Huomu's chest:
"Come on, before you play the hero, at least know what you're capable of! Can't you stop being so impulsive?!"
"I'm sorry," Huomu apologized, lowering his head.
Seeing Huomu covered in wounds and hanging his head in apology, Setsuna felt some of her anger subside, though her expression remained grim:
"Next time... don't do anything so reckless."
Huomu scratched his head and grinned, but he did not nod.
"I'm sorry. I know I was too impulsive this time.
But if I had to do it over, I'd probably still do the same thing.
So I can't promise you-
I can't promise someone... something I can't do."
Setsuna flared up at his words.
Wasn't Huomu making her sound like the villain telling others to stand by and let people die?
But in those circumstances, preserving the forces they had was clearly the right choice!
She and Huomu had barely been able to hold the Metal-Rending Battle Eagle back together.
If Huomu had died on the spot trying to save two children who could not fight, their already fragile balance of power would have collapsed instantly!
How long could she have held out against the battle eagle alone?
And then, what if she died too?
Everyone would have died here!
Chapter 38: Greatness Needs No Words
Of course, Setsuna knew that when Huomu had rushed out, he could not possibly have thought that far ahead.
He had reacted purely on instinct.
That was why he was a complete and utter idiot!
She hated idiots!
She especially hated idiots who threw themselves into the heat of the moment without considering the consequences!
"You idiot! Do you even understand?!" Setsuna's chest heaved with anger as she pointed at Huomu and scolded him, her voice rising without her noticing,
"You don't have the power to handle things effortlessly like Qiji! What could you have done by charging in except get yourself killed?!"
"But... even if I don't have power, there are still people I want to protect! Isn't it only natural for adults to protect children?!"
Seeing that Setsuna was still on his case even though he had apologized, Huomu grew a little stubborn himself.
Because, at the end of the day, he did not think he had done anything wrong.
Was it wrong to protect children?
Seeing that the two were about to have a full-blown argument, Qiji finally couldn't help shaking his head in amusement and stepping forward.
He reached out and gently ruffled Huomu's bloodstained red hair, saying:
"You're just a kid yourself. Why are you pretending to be an adult?"
Caught off guard by Qiji's sudden head pat, Huomu stiffened, his mind going blank for a moment.
As far as he could remember, only his father had ever done that to him, when he was very, very young.
And that... had been nine years ago.
Why do I suddenly miss that bastard of a dad...
Although everyone called him a sinner.
But...
In his memories, his father would carry him on his shoulders through the crowded night market and buy him lots of delicious food.
Everyone said his father was a sinner, but his father had never made him feel like he was anything but a loved child...
As Huomu thought about it, his eyes reddened and his throat tightened, and for a moment he forgot what he had been about to say.
Seeing this, Qiji withdrew his hand and spoke to Huomu:
"Huomu, you should try to understand Setsuna better.
You said you wanted to become a hero, right?
But you need to know-
You don't have to save everyone to be a hero.
Because no such person exists in this world.
No matter how powerful you are, there will always be times when you're powerless.
Take what just happened. If I hadn't arrived in time, did you ever consider the consequences of acting so impulsively?
You and Setsuna had to work together to hold that upper-level second-tier battle eagle back.
But if you'd fallen, how long could Setsuna have held out alone?
And what if Setsuna had fallen after that?
Then do you think everyone else would have had any chance of surviving?"