Chapter 705
Chapter 705 - 691: Why
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8 min read
Li Quyi, twenty-one years old, still a student... but he was already a professional explorer leading a few underlings.
He was a student council member of Hengke University in Riverbend City, a pride of the campus. But when he stepped into the professional world due to his outstanding skills, he was slapped hard by society.
By graduation season, he and several seniors started a small company and began to accept official and civilian jobs... As a result, seven partners dwindled down to three—or, would soon be two.
"...Leave me behind, you guys still have a chance..."
Liu Ge, his dorm-mate and business partner, heaved and groaned on Li Quyi’s back, blood dripping onto his feet and pooling on the ground.
"No, we still have hope..."
Carrying the injured, Li Quyi trudged forward. As the team captain and core member, he spoke words he himself didn’t believe.
Behind him were six others, injured and of different ages, some young, some middle-aged.
One of them was his last remaining business partner. The rest were likely from at least three other teams.
"...We can’t escape anymore. If you don’t leave me, you won’t escape either, Brother Li. We’re like a stray dog being continually chased..."
His words sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
Indeed, they were like stray dogs being driven away at will.
Once they lost communication, the Aus people seized control of the battlefield.
Most of the Eastern Country people hunt and explore this world in groups or teams. When war suddenly broke out, they communicated anxiously, but when the radios stopped working, they were like lone boats at sea.
Only a few teams maintained independent intelligence capabilities. When communication was cut off, they were blindly thrown into a vast sea.
The most deadly threat was the surrounding hoard of hungry sharks.
They moved in packs, numerously and had a keen sense of smell... Eastern Country’s small teams encountering them were like shipwreck survivors meeting a shoal of sharks.
The Eastern Country people did try to save themselves, but they were ambushed so suddenly that they lost their most vital intelligence support.
Without information, they tried to band together. They formed self-defense teams at key points spontaneously...
"... The result is, the more we gather, the more we attract their attacks."
The Aus people were very familiar with these tactics -- to ambush guerilla fighters with legions and multiple battalions and to specifically target forming small and medium teams.
Once groups of a dozen or so people were formed, they would be ambushed by a large force.
Needless to say, the outcome was not even at any level. One side was still in a skirmish, while the other was already at war.
"... Shall we go to the next gathering spot?"
One of the team members, with a worried face, finally raised the question.
For a moment, no one dared to answer.
Continue trying to gather for warmth? That might just bring disaster to others.
Under the current circumstances, the Aus people, who had the intelligence advantage, focused on whoever gathered more people.
Li Quyi’s temporary team consisted of scattered remnants. They no longer knew whether there was any point in continuing to struggle.
"... They are not rushing in now because they think we will die naturally and want to minimize their casualties..."
"Maybe, stopping here would be better for others..."
"I can’t take it anymore..."
It wasn’t just the wounded who felt desperate. The unluckiest of the team had been assaulted four times and witnessed the death of his friends.
Despair wasn’t due to pessimism, but to the harsh reality worse than their most pessimistic predictions. Someone was seriously considering whether dying here would lessen their suffering.
This has to stop.
Li Quyi looked up, seemingly about to say something. He knew that if this continued, even without the next attack, his team was doomed.
But after turning back to look at his bandaged companion, he let out a helpless sigh and said nothing.
At this moment, giving a false hope that could not be fulfilled was the cruelest thing, wasn’t it...
"Sha... sha... someone is there..."
Suddenly, a voice came out from the radio.
Everyone paused, then in the next moment, someone finally reacted, hurriedly picked up the radio, and turned up the volume!
"...We are Wang Xier from the Ancient City... and team Lu Ping’an... We’ve rebuild the radio tower at coordinates X37, Y119 and... built a defensive line... anyone who hears this... approach... we can... provide assistance... medical..."
At this moment, the eyes of the desperate lit up.
"Whew whew whew, why... couldn’t it have been earlier..."
But Li Quyi, surprised and overjoyed, was baffled by the familiar crying from behind.
Why say that, wasn’t this news a new hope? Everyone could be saved...
He turned back instinctively and noticed that the person on his back, Liu Ge who loved singing, was already gone, silently...
".... Bastard."
He clenched his fist and cursed, but even he didn’t know who he was cursing at.
If he were faster? Could his brother have survived? Perhaps.
So is he cursing the slow communication? Cursing himself for his impotence? Or... the Aus people who caused all this!
"Let’s go.... we’re going..."
Taking a deep breath, Li Quyi’s gaze was no longer filled with fear and unease. His blood-red eyes stared into the endless forest, as if a vicious wolf lurked within.
"To avenge Liu Ge, to avenge everyone."
The deliberately suppressed tone was filled with hatred and determination pushed to the limits.
Lu Ping’an stood near the frontline of the temporary camp, flipping through a book while carrying out his duty of guarding the camp.
Everyone knew that after this "public notice" was sent out, their base and coordinates would become the focal point of the war.
Around him, three Decree-level strongmen were either in meditation or scanning the horizon... They were prepared for combat and ready to repel any possible attacks by the Aus people at first notice.
But, the first to arrive were the wounded.
Those who could walk and bandage themselves were the better off ones.
Those who were carried or dragged here with severe injuries were also lucky.
Faces full of exhaustion were a sign of luck, faces full of hatred were normal.
The ones crying all the way still had tears left, the silent ones looking like the dead had lost everything.
"...Why? Why?"
On the way, this was the phrase Lu Ping’an heard the most.
They couldn’t understand–the explorers who were still in the peaceful region of the Eastern Country two months ago indeed, had no reason to understand.
They couldn’t figure out why they had to endure such a fortune, why they were treated like this...
"...Aren’t we all human? Why are they so cruel....."
"I just came here to make some money with my brother, we came here to collect resources and mine, my brother is a pure healer who has never even killed a chicken!"
".....What did we do wrong? Why did they have to..."
The same words left everyone in the camp speechless.
Compared to these wounded and crippled soldiers, two local teams with greater strength were extremely lucky... or perhaps their superior strength was the cause of their "luck".
The repeated questions of "why" were met with helplessness.
It’s not that as explorers they weren’t mentally prepared to die in battle, it’s just they couldn’t believe that in this vast world, they and their loved ones would inexplicably die at the hands of their own kind.
Unable to understand? They were completely unaware and even those who reluctantly knew about Vortex Stones couldn’t accept this.....
".....Are these damn stones worth killing for?" They can’t understand–even if these stones are a priceless treasure, is it worth murdering people for? This is a crime.
The people of the Eastern Country living in a peaceful world, may not be inferior to the Aus people in terms of sheer power and experience, but when it comes to certain cruel realities, and the extremes people will go to for profit, they are quite "unprepared".
Several months ago, they were still living in a lawful society, and they were unprepared for this otherworldly struggle that has now become cruel and bloody.
The crowd was getting bigger.
Those with severe injuries went to receive treatment, those who could still fight were preparing for battle while quietly recounting their past experiences, voicing the grievances and perplexities deep in their hearts.
The repeated questions of "why", the surges of confusion and doubt, in the end, lost all meaning.
No matter how they asked, challenged, or shouted, there were no answers, or rather, everyone knew the answer.
As more and more wounded soldiers arrived, the tragedies became more mundane, the smell of blood and glances of hatred gradually accumulated.
Hostility replaced confusion, and the desire to kill replaced fear.
Why? It was no longer important.
When the roar of engines echoed from the foot of the mountain, when the Aus people arrived as expected, a frail girl voiced everyone’s feelings.
"A life for a life, kill them all!"
Why? What led to all this? Well, it didn’t matter anymore.
Lu Ping’an, who had been calmly watching all along, closed the book and adjusted his glasses.
"Perhaps, someone needs a little....redemption."
— End of Chapter 705 —