Chapter 662 - Fourth Order Kang Guiying & Cursed Healer Xia Ya (Part 1)
Because the number of books was too large and it was still necessary to inspect the inside of the huge library to avoid missing important things, Bai Zemin left Wu Yijun behind with Cai Jingyi to help her giving orders to the group of soldiers and soul evolvers that would continue to work on the third ancient ruin.
As for Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue, they both went out shoulder to shoulder to lead the half of the group waiting outside the third paG.o.da to challenge the trial of the fourth silver paG.o.da of the five.
As for Meng Qi, she asked Bai Zemin to let her stay in the third ruin as she apparently had the intention of studying the golden magic circle from a distance; Meng Qi had not given up yet and while she was aware that she would most likely not be able to open the door to the sealed room, she at least hoped to be able to find something that could help her big brother in the near future.
Bai Zemin naturally allowed Meng Qi to stay in the third ruin, but only after she promised him with all her heart that she would not go close of the golden magic circle. After all, Meng Qi would not gain Soul Power from defeating golems created by human hands and not naturally born; besides, her strength was indeed deficient for the battles that were to come, and with her in a much safer place, Bai Zemin would feel lighter during the combat he was about to face.
With Wu Yijun, Cai Jingyi, and Meng Qi taking charge; Bai Zemin had nothing to worry about. By the time everything that could be taken from the third ancient ruin was carefully a.n.a.lyzed, the power of the Transcendent faction led by Bai Zemin would definitely grow tremendously once they were able to apply the information obtained from the huge mountain of old books.
...
After Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue came out of the third paG.o.da having been teleported there, the duo was naturally attacked with questions from Sun Ling and the other leaders of the different guilds.
Fortunately, everyone calmed down after hearing from Bai Zemin that Wu Yijun and the others were fine and that the reason they were not leaving soon was because the third ruin turned out to be actually a huge library with many books and knowledge that would surely be of great help to them from now until what would be at least a century or two in the distant future.
Sun Ling was the one who was obviously the most relieved to see that Bai Zemin was calm and didn"t seem to be lying about anything he said. After all, any mother would be worried not to see her daughter return after having stepped into an unfamiliar and probably dangerous place not to mention Sun Ling who had only a little over a week ago been reunited with Wu Yijun.
"Are we attacking the fourth paG.o.da with just such numbers?" Feng Hong asked with some concern in his tone of voice.
The eyes of everyone focused on Bai Zemin, waiting for his next words.
"No, you will not be part of the next raid. I want all of you to retreat to the perimeter of the square right now."
Bai Zemin"s words were like a giant boulder falling into the middle of a silent lake that had been in a state of quiescence for several tens of years.
"What?! Why?!"
"Team Leader, I cannot accept such an order!"
"Absolutely not!"
"We have come so far fighting altogether, how can we retreat now!"
"We bleed together and die together! That"s how it is!"
" True! True!"
"..."
The roars of the humans were so powerful that even the beasts on the edge of the mountain range surrounding the Five Silver PaG.o.das were muted.
It did not matter if it was Feng Hong, Teng Hua, Huang Tian, Liang Jing, or any soldier or soul evolver but they all seemed to turn into ants that were suddenly thrown into the boiling frying pan as they began to object to Bai Zemin"s decision with fervor.
Even Feng Tian Wu frowned tightly and it could be seen that she was not happy with the decision she had just heard.
Bai Zemin was speechless just like Shangguan Bing Xue as he saw the people in front of him getting agitated in such a way. However, his surprise very soon turned into an overflow of warmth as he realized what was going on.
Everyone present had seen how strong Bai Zemin was; strong to the point of annihilating an army composed of over 5,000,000 mutant weaver ants in an instant and strong enough for the mighty golden golem whose strength was comparable to a Second Order existence to become nothing but a joke under the power of his sword.
However, even after such demonstrations of overwhelming power and outstanding ability, everyone was worried in their own way about him. No matter the reason, the reality was that each and every one present feared that something would happen to the brave young man who had barely been a part of the Chinese Renaissance faction for about a week and a half but had already conquered the heart of everyone present.
Sun Ling took a step forward and while looking at Bai Zemin with a serious expression rarely seen on her ever playful face said in a melodious voice:
"I think you have already noticed it but to everyone here you have become a figure they want to follow. Thanks to you, this expedition did not turn into the burial of each of us as it should have been no matter who other led us. It is only because the leader is you that everyone here is alive and that there were less than 50 casualties even though the level of danger we faced this time outweighed by far any other."
Bai Zemin stayed, silent and after a short pause, Sun Ling continued:
"It doesn"t matter how you see them, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that each and every one of the warriors behind me sees you as an important brother they don"t want to lose."
Bai Zemin said nothing and instead watched in detail the expressions of each of the people in front of him. But it was not necessary for him to look around too much to realize that in fact, the words of Wu Yijun"s mother basically represented what at least 80% of those present felt.
Teng Hua, who rarely said anything, took a step forward and while stroking his snake said with his characteristic gentle smile: "Leader Bai, even though we have only known each other for a little over two days, the number of dangerous situations we have faced together is large enough to write a history book if we wanted to... Relations.h.i.+ps among us who fight with the single common purpose of regaining our homeland and saving our compatriots can be formed in seconds after fighting on the battlefield and bleeding for a fellow brother. As such, I hope you will revoke your order and let us fight alongside you as we have been doing so far."Want to see more chapters? Please visit panda-novel ,com
"Cough! Cough!.... This old man here thinks what little Hua said is very true- Cough! Cough!" Liang Jing interjected in between raspy coughs.
"Hey, surnamed Liang! Who are you calling little Hua?! You"re younger than me!" Teng Hua couldn"t help but exclaim with wide eyes as he glared at the peculiar a.s.sa.s.sin as if he wanted to set him on fire with his gaze.
But Liang Jing turned a deaf ear and after taking several deep breaths to regain the lost oxygen continued speaking slowly: "The relations.h.i.+ps formed on the battlefield are often the firmest and hardest to break, becoming purer than blood relations.h.i.+ps - Cough! Cough!... There may be some lucky ones among us who do not know the pain of losing a loved one who shares their blood.... But there are definitely no lucky ones who do not know the pain of losing a brother or sister in arms."
Basically, no one wanted to experience that pain unless they really had no choice to take... and from the firm look on everyone"s face and their stern words, Bai Zemin realized that the words of a few represented all of them.
If it was the past him before the skill Stone Heart evolved, then there was a possibility that Bai Zemin would reprimand with a beating anyone who dared to disobey him. However, he was no longer a leader who only watched over his family but now also watched over his subordinates, who in their own way showed concern for him.
Did this mean that he had become weaker? Bai Zemin was not quite sure about that but it was probably partially true to some extent.
However... he did not dislike his current self.
"Everyone shut the f.u.c.k up!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
His voice was loud enough for a considerably powerful sound wave to push some of the soldiers in front to the back and at the same time as the voices of protest and desire to fight stopped abruptly, they all looked at Bai Zemin with eyes filled with shock.
"Weren"t you trained to know that the order of a superior must be carried out regardless of what it is?" Bai Zemin said in a harsh voice after the silence took over.
Some of them did not have much reaction to those words as most of the soul evolvers present had barely taken military training for two months at most. However, the riflemen carrying the electromagnetic rifles were embarra.s.sed and subconsciously lowered their heads since for them obeying orders was as natural as being filial to their parents.
Fortunately, however, Bai Zemin"s next words greatly lightened the mood and depressing atmosphere that was beginning to form around the group.
"Besides, if you all really see me as a brother then why the h.e.l.l are you making such a big deal out of something so small?" he said.
At the slightly surprised looks from the soul evolvers and rifle-wielding soldiers, Bai Zemin smiled slightly and said in a mocking voice:
"I, the father of you all, do not fear even Third Order existences not to mention some Second Order little ones. In my estimation, it is highly probable that this time the mechanical golems with the power of First Order existences will be replaced by golden mechanical golems with the strength of Second Order existences.... In case this comes true, all of you will not be able to help me and instead, I will have to divert my attention... and while I am confident of defeating several thousand Second Order, I am not confident of achieving this in a clean way if I have to take care of all of you... Even knowing this you want to step in?"
The only response Bai Zemin received was silence and as his eyes swept over those present it was not hard to notice that everyone seemed to finally begin to think things through more rationally.
Therefore, to top it all off, Bai Zemin said with a chuckle:
"Besides, all of you do not need to worry at all... because if I die, you will follow me not long after."
Sun Ling and Xia Ya looked at Bai Zemin in disbelief but Shangguan Bing Xue who had been awkwardly silent all this time couldn"t stop the corner of her mouth from twitching a couple of times as she secretly shook her head.
"PUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Feng Hong suddenly started laughing out loud. His laughter was so powerful that the aura in his body began to boil and those closest to him quickly backed away as they felt their armor heat up.
The man"s red hair shook like crazy as he looked at Bai Zemin and shouted to the four winds:
"I, Feng Hong, have rarely in my life felt admiration for anyone and certainly never did for someone who could even be my son. However, brother Bai"s bravery has opened my eyes today! I previously did not believe your words of regaining the homeland in less than a year even after all I saw today, however, now that I hear your words for some reason feel that if it is you such a thing is no longer impossible! Very well! Since in the worst-case scenario we will all die right here then let this old man trust you completely for the first time!"
Feng Hong"s personality was like the flames he controlled. If he liked something then he would shout it out and if something displeased him then he would turn it into ashes; plain and simple!
"Oh well... Isn"t it just dying?" Teng Hua sighed and stroked his snake as he quietly said, "Xiao Bei, are you afraid of death?"
The snake hurriedly hissed at him and looked offended as it wrapped itself tighter around Teng Hua"s body making him grunt and apologize immediately.
"Forget it, forget it!" Huang Tian let his large s.h.i.+eld rest on the ground and waved his free hand as he said loudly, "If the worst comes to the worst then we will all be buried in this place. This gentleman has destroyed over 2000 golems with the strength of a First Order despite being a defense-focused fighter. I think I"ve earned my place in the heavens!"
"Right! This senior here even destroyed over 1000 golems despite being an ordinary soldier!" a man shouted with enthusiasm as he clenched his electromagnetic rifle tightly.
Like the fall of a chip of dominoes affecting their nearby peers and with the process repeating itself hundreds of times just by the fall of a single piece, all the soul evolvers and soldiers began to shout with enthusiasm their achievements to this day as if they were not fearful of the no small possibility of death that was slowly approaching them.
Bai Zemin shook his head and chuckled without commenting anymore on the matter.
On the other hand, Shangguan Bing Xue had a faint smile on her beautiful face, and as she looked at Bai Zemin"s profile no longer as indifferent as before, she reaffirmed even more her resolve to do whatever she could to help him be happy no matter the consequences.
But what neither of them knew was that in fact, death was sometimes even closer than one expected... and whether they managed to escape from its scythe or not, it was not in their power to decide.