Sis s.h.i.+rley was stunned, looking at Pelos and the other teenagers with pain and disappointment.
She stood up slowly, trembling with anger, saying, “Yes, you aren"t afraid of death! Do you think you"re the only ones who aren"t afraid to die!? Do you think your fathers and the rest of us here are afraid of death!? Your fathers had to put aside their egos just so you could live on! And today, you"re saying such things!? You"re all heartless!”
Pelos was frustrated, roaring, “I"d rather die than have a father like him! Plus, he"s not even my real father!” He had obviously lost his senses in his tantrum.
Suddenly, s.h.i.+rley raised her hand, and a stream of ice burst out from her palm and rushed towards Pelos. He was blown away and struck the wall hard.
Sis s.h.i.+rley looked at him coldly, saying, “You have no right to talk about your father that way! None of you do!” s.h.i.+rley then turned and looked toward the other women, a furious expression on her face. She asked, “We have been living in peace for the past decade. Is your patience wearing thin?!”
The women went silent and hung their heads in silence.
Sis s.h.i.+rley stood next to the bonfire grimly. The shelter fell silent again.
The dancing flames illuminated everyone"s obscured faces. The mood in the shelter became suffocatingly dull and heavy-hearted.
Angelina and the others went to help Pelos. He clenched his jaw and shot an angry glare. Then, he looked at Angelina and she nodded. Suddenly, she turned to face Sis s.h.i.+rley with her hands raised. Angelina"s mom immediately stood up in shock, shouting, “Angelina!”
Suddenly, another boy appeared. He raised his hand and Angelina"s mom couldn"t move anymore. The boy"s shadow had reached out and seized hers!
Just then, Angelina raised her hands and the flames from the bonfire surged, scaring the rest of the women away!
“Are you rising up in rebellion!?” s.h.i.+rley shouted at those children angrily.
Pelos" expression became complicated and yet determined, saying, “I"m sorry, mom. We want to take part in the war. We want to join the Aurora Legion. We don"t want to be cowards anymore...” Pelos looked away, averting his gaze from Sis s.h.i.+rley. He continued, “We don"t want to hide in this place and watch the Ghost Eclipsers, the Aurora Legion, or Silver Moon City win. We want to leave our mark on history too. It would be worthwhile even if we were to be sacrificed in battle.”
Pelos glanced at Angelina and the flames immediately rose into a wall of fire, blocking Sis s.h.i.+rley.
Sis s.h.i.+rley"s eyes were filled with tears, her heart wrenching. She raised her hands again; a few women came out and stood next to her, using their superpowers.
Several cones of ice took shape and the flames were suppressed by a burst of air.
But then, fire snakes burst out and charged at Sis s.h.i.+rley and the other women!
The cones of ice were joined by roiling vines that lashed out against the fire snakes, and a fierce battle began.
I jumped in between them, shouting, “Stop!” I spread my arms and a wall of blue crystal energy emanated from my body, dispersing all the fire snakes, ice cones, and tree vines. The shelter was once again quiet.
They gaped at me in surprise.
They had heard about me before, but they were obviously shocked to see my power with their own eyes.
I quickly retracted my energy wall and looked at them, saying, “What are you doing?! Are you really using your superpowers against your family!? This is a war between mother and child! A soldier who doesn"t know how to protect their own family is not a good soldier!” I glared at Pelos and the other teenagers.
They were stunned and looked away all together.
I looked at Sis s.h.i.+rley and asked, “Sis s.h.i.+rley, do you mind if I speak with them?”
Sis s.h.i.+rley became quiet, looking at the other women. They nodded, and Sis s.h.i.+rley silently acquiesced to my request.
I looked at Pelos, “Come, all of you.”
Pelos refused to look at me.
I looked at him coldly, asking, “We had a deal. I would have the final say if I won. Do you keep your promises?”
He clenched his teeth and strode towards me. Angelina and the other teenagers came over reluctantly as well.
“I"m here! Now what!?” He roared at me, unwilling to admit defeat. He was what we had called "young and aggressive" back in my world.
It"s okay, he"s aggressive… but I"m even more so.
I rolled my eyes at him, taking a branch from the bonfire and extinguis.h.i.+ng it. I squatted and started drawing on the ground, shouting at him, “Look here! This is you, and this is the Ghost Eclipsers" territory behind you.”
They came forward and surrounded me.
I drew the Ghost Eclipsers" forces on the left and the ocean on the right. I explained, “This is the ocean. The center of the radiation zone is within, and there is also a death vortex here.. It was originally a natural barrier used to protect the area beyond District 7. It is also the rear of the Aurora Legion. There are actually hundreds of cities and thousands of survivors in the four districts from District 8 to District 12.”
“So many of them!”
“There are actually so many survivors!”
“That"s great!”
Pelos looked at me in disbelief, asking for rea.s.surance, “Is what you say true?”
I rolled my eyes, answering, “Of course. They signed a peace treaty and developed trade routes, but they never expected the Ghost Eclipsers" expedition troops to have a breakthrough here.” I drew circles around the death vortex in District 7 and continued, “So, we must not let the Ghost Eclipsers enter District 9!” I poked at District 9 and looked at Pelos, saying, “If you want to join the war, we must first move the elderly, the women, and the children in Koont Village to District 9, because it"s the safest place!” I pointed at District 9 and the teenagers nodded solemnly.
I looked at Sis s.h.i.+rley again, saying, “Sis s.h.i.+rley, all three parties gained a reprieve during the past year of ceasefire. It doesn"t matter whether the Ghost Eclipsers or the Aurora Legion initiates the war; regardless, it will soon be ignited again and this place will be the battlefront. You can choose not to take a side and stay away from the war, but you really have to evacuate from this place because Silver Moon City won"t listen to any explanations from Ghost Eclipsers.” I looked at her solemnly. Judging from Xing Chuan"s conduct, he definitely wouldn"t believe their claims.
Sis s.h.i.+rley frowned, lost in thought. The other women looked to her anxiously.
Pelos said, “Look, mom. We can"t hide anymore.”
I knocked him on the head with the stick and he was stunned. He looked at me and I looked back at him grimly, saying, “If your father hadn"t surrendered, your mother would have been made a human pig or a prost.i.tute!”
Pelos was stunned.
I looked at them coldly, reprimanding, “And all of you! Do you think that you would have a choice in whether to live or die if you had been caught by the Ghost Eclipsers?! Men with superpowers are killed if they don"t surrender, while men without superpowers are used as human pigs or slaves! Don"t you know that?!”
The boys" faces immediately turned pale. They lived among the Ghost Eclipsers now; they might not have grown up in the same environment, but they should have at least heard of these practices by now.