Chapter 1431
Chapter 1431 - 1427: Trust
1,547 words
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8 min read
"....My entry application was denied?"
When the news came back, it wasn’t Lu Ping’an who was shocked... he was simply amused, whereas Lulu’s expression turned quite ugly.
This wasn’t a smack on Lu Ping’an’s bottom at all; it was a blatant slap on the face of the Salvation Army’s Grand Marshal, Lulu!
A cold aura spread around her, plunging the entire beach into sudden silence, as an inexplicable panic surged through every intelligent creature present.
Slaughter, destruction, and conquest—the bloodstained War Flag suddenly soared from the ground, and the sounds of warfare’s carnage resounded in everyone’s ears.
In that second, the clear sky transformed into ominously low-hanging clouds.
That instant, the hearts of all life forms felt an immense pressure.
Although she always appeared as a cute girl in front of Lu, it was also because, in her heart, he held a special status... a warrior who had reached the pinnacle of the world in a mere ten years couldn’t possibly be just a soft girl.
"Uh, don’t be angry, don’t be angry. With such a stinky face, what if you scare the children?"
Beside her, the boy who looked even younger... the young man, tiptoed up and rubbed her frozen cheeks.
".....Master."
Lulu looked down at him, her voice filled with resentment and unwillingness.
This time, it really was a pure insult... Lu and her statuses were no secret among the elite.
Especially now, when any high-ranking individual from the Eastern Country could enter Ben Island, yet they alone were explicitly denied entry.
Especially when they chose to deliver the message in the company of herself and her master—it was a public humiliation!
If it were just her, she would’ve endured it for the sake of her ethnicity’s interests, but now, in front of her master...
"I..." Her clenched fist seemed to materialize a blood-stained, tattered war flag. At this moment, Lulu was truly furious, ready to no longer hold back and prepared to let blood flow like a river.
"Don’t rush, don’t rush; what’s yours will be yours eventually... heh, such crude obstruction only shows how desperate they are. Take a seat."
Although it was his "visa" that was denied, Lu Ping’an himself settled back into the lounge chair and even pulled the "little girl" down with him.
He still had the leisure to tell the frightened waiter to go and inform someone, to help clean up the aftermath.
Extraordinaries above the eighth tier could twist the weather with their willpower alone.
Moreover, the clearly remarkable marshal of the Salvation Army was indeed about to kill someone just now.
The beach was silent, with many people outright fleeing the scene; after such a commotion, Lu Ping’an’s group couldn’t stay any longer.
After a brief conversation, they went straight back to the hotel... Some things, indeed, weren’t fit for public discussion.
"Don’t rush, little girl; what’s yours will inevitably be yours."
Pushing the still fuming girl back into the chair, Lu Ping’an decided to give her an explanation.
"Me? Impossible, several of the confirmed core members of the new military department are very much against me..."
"Heh, doesn’t this just show how wary they are of you?"
Lulu’s strengths and weaknesses were one and the same... Once a "slave" for human salvation, she was a new era cultivated by humanity, the high-ranking Salvation Army officer who was closest and most unguarded by humans.
Indeed, she was the most suitable Salvation Army officer to be sent to Earth, and for that reason, she was always guarded against by those "nativists."
Especially as her mission exceeded expectations in its returns—the Earth side not only fully supported local nation-building but also attracted the Saphire people, a third-party race... Within the Salvation Army, her reputation naturally soared, with videos and documents pertaining to the contracts between the two races spreading everywhere; merely by showing her face, this "Salvation Army" representative deeply impressed it upon people’s hearts.
In a normal governmental body, it would be natural for her to be lifted to power at this time... but the forming Salvation Army government was not just a wartime government; it was also a conglomerate of countless Salvation Army factions, each leader with their own pursuit of interests, each one essentially a warlord.
They were willing to unify solely because they recognized their powerlessness against the frontline’s pressures; to ask them to relinquish military power, a rebellion was just a matter of time.
In the eyes of an outsider like Lu Ping’an, Lulu was the most suitable "representative of comprehensive interests (comprador)," while in the eyes of other competitors, she was too strong and too much of a "comprador."
"I, I was truly doing this for the world’s survival and the people..."
At this moment, Lulu truly felt wronged.
She had always been loyal to her own world and ethnic group, her years of arduous war and life-or-death encounters leading her to bleed but not to shed tears... But the frustration of this moment turned her eyes red with genuine emotion.
Lu Ping’an also chuckled. The world was indeed ironic; the loyal faced suspicion, whereas several "Marshals" had already defected to the Eastern Country Lord, securing their positions in the new headquarters.
Lulu’s "loyalty" and "selflessness" instead appeared overly unusual and conspicuous.
𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Being the one to stick your neck out wasn’t a good thing; the more achievements one had, the more they attracted envy... Perhaps by now, countless rumors were questioning whether she had established treasonous private agreements with humanity.
"I, I... Alas, I should just remain an ordinary warrior."
At this moment, the girl sighed as well, her many grievances dissolving into the ether... Lu Ping’an also had to admire her sudden openness and purity.
In the eyes of outsiders, she wasn’t a suitable "comprador" because she was too loyal.
And in the eyes of the natives, she was too close to foreigners... Even if someone could understand her "loyalty," for their own interest, they would disregard it.
No matter how you looked at it, being doubted by both sides naturally led to her being sidelined.
Thus, her recent treatment also had its reasons.
Going forward, perhaps she should give up on some goals and fulfill her duties as a Guardian.
"No, your stage is just beginning..."
Everyone has their own stance, but before determining the team’s position, internal disagreements are inevitable.
Before the "dual nationality" and "tax exemption" proposals were introduced, even the higher-ups of Lin Nu’s Church had quite fierce arguments; despite all big shots signing on in the end, the disputes that took place before that were almost to the point of blows.
Amidst all this, Lu Ping’an wasn’t idle either.
"Lin Nu’s Church and the Eastern Country Official will support you fully... support only you."
Hearing Lu Ping’an’s decisive words, Lulu was stunned,
As if Lu didn’t have a temper at all... His full support for the two proposals came with the stipulation that Lulu must rise to power.
"Why..." From certain viewpoints, Lulu knew she wasn’t the best pick; she always stood upon her own planet, above her suffering race.
Her path was chosen; she was the bearer of the "Flag of Salvation"; she could never betray this path... and Lu Ping’an definitely knew all this.
"If this world could still afford to play around, you would likely have been taken out by now, but given the current situation, our Earth side has increased investments... we can’t lose this war. We don’t have the wealth or the time to afford their loss,"
That was the reason Lu Ping’an used to persuade the other elites.
I know that each of your families has its own interest, even representatives within the new government, but if this Plane War collapses, everyone’s investments will be huge losses, can you accept that?
I vouch for it, let my disciple take charge... she’s the most suitable leader.
Can your candidates guarantee victory? Mine can, if we indeed lose, I, Lu Ping’an, will take the blame!
At this moment, Lu Ping’an spoke calmly, uttering momentous words... It seemed as if he, alone, was determining the fate of the entire world.
"I, I... Master."
This moment, for the first time in front of this mentor, Lulu showed a vulnerable expression; she truly hadn’t expected that she was worth him betting everything on.
She wiped her face, then burst into a radiant, sunny smile.
"... I will win, I won’t disappoint you."
The girl promised with a smile, but the next moment, she seemed to realize something.
It appeared that from a certain point in time, the exclusion she felt intensified tenfold, stripping her even of the chance to attend meetings...
"Wait, so this means I am being ostracized..."
"Uh, didn’t I tell you? With such a big deal, they definitely all knew, naturally viewing you as a thorn in their side. Well, it seems I really should have informed you earlier, to give you a heads up..."
— End of Chapter 1431 —