Chapter 380 Gods and Heroes (4k)
“This voice—it’s Dad!”
Before Lu Si could reply, the little girl became excited, her face flushed as if frosted by snow and ice. Her small body unconsciously leaned towards the sound.
“But why is there a strange person in front of me…”
However, noticing Jialuo’s peculiar state, she paused, stopping about three meters away from the video. A hint of fear appeared in her eyes.
“Xiao Xi…” Jialuo called the girl’s name, and the light in his eyes flickered again. As if recalling something, he stopped speaking and fell completely silent.
“He is your father, but…”
Facing her daughter’s reaction, Lu Si’s tired face grew even more somber. She had learned some truths through Su Jiu, but she didn’t know how to tell her daughter that—
Your father is dead, and the person standing before you is a vengeful spirit in corporeal form.
“But… he’s clearly a ghost.”
The little girl looked at her mother, her eyes full of disbelief, or rather, unwillingness to believe. Then she pointed at Jialuo in the video, “And like that headless rider on TV, there are ghost fires flickering in his eyes. My dad isn’t like this. My dad’s armor is clearly silver-white with beautiful patterns carved on it…”
“Slap!”
As silence began to spread, Su Jiu suddenly patted the girl’s shoulder, smiling helplessly. Looking up at the situation in the video, she broke the stillness with a rather firm tone, “Your father sacrificed himself while saving people, but the person before you is indeed your father—he has simply been transformed into a heroic spirit by your country’s gods, continuing to protect everyone’s safety after death.”
“Our country’s gods? Dad has become a heroic spirit?”
Su Jiu’s words stunned not only the little girl but also Lu Si and the onlookers. Their expressions held disbelief, and more so, shock.
Several officers also approached. A flicker of inexplicable emotion appeared in their eyes as they looked at the video and asked softly, “Lord Hans, is what she says true? Is God Spa truly still protecting us?”
As if injured, Jialuo, on the other side of the video, leaned against the root of a tree as large as a tire. His weak voice transmitted, “Indeed, it was God Spa’s decree that awakened the dead me. He gave me rebirth and also raised my strength to High-Rank Battle King. He is mysterious and powerful, even possessing strength beyond War God Level.”
“No wonder the battle reports from the front mentioned a powerful person resembling a divine envoy who prevented the war. Could it really be an envoy of the gods?”
Hearing Jialuo’s words, the surrounding soldiers became excited. A hint of relief appeared on their faces, their tense hearts seemingly relaxing. With such a powerful God Spa, they were sure to survive Yela’s full-scale invasion.
Jialuo fell silent, not speaking, but shifted his gaze to Su Jiu behind the little girl. Time seemed to stand still, and the red scarf under his armor fluttered in the wind, as if awaiting an answer.
“No! That person is not a divine envoy; many people have seen the scythe in her hand…”
The elderly commander Akas suddenly spoke. A sharp glint appeared in his somewhat cloudy eyes as he quietly looked at Su Jiu, clasped his hands together, and exclaimed with emotion, “Thank you for intervening for Aers, great one from the Dragon Country.”
“Was it also this great one who forced Yela to delay for three hours?”
“The world has not abandoned Aers after all…”
After Akas spoke, everyone present looked at Su Jiu with surprise, their eyes filled with many different emotions, but without exception, all of them contained respect.
“It was just a small gesture.”
Waving his hand, Su Jiu met Jialuo’s gaze, or rather, Hans’s face after death. He exhaled, placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder, and continued to ask softly, “Your situation doesn’t seem very good. What happened?”
Lu Si turned her head to look at Jialuo in surprise, noticing his disheveled state and instinctively saying, “The situation isn’t good…”
Hearing Su Jiu’s question, Jialuo was slightly startled, glanced at Lu Si’s worried face, and then gave a wry smile, “My whereabouts were also discovered by Yela’s army. After you left, a team of High-Rank Battle Kings came to surround and suppress me. Because of the previous battle, the power of the feathers is weakening, and I am no longer a match for the High-Rank Battle Kings.”
“Sigh—let’s not talk about this anymore.”
Jialuo sighed, his gaze suddenly becoming distant as he stared intently at the screen. The flames in his eyes flickered, and after a moment, they seemed to calm down. His gaze shifted to his daughter Xiao Xi, and he asked very gently, “Have you learned the skills of a Priest well from your mother? You promised you’d perform Healing Arts for me after the blood coagulation period.”
Xiao Xi blinked her eyes, then nodded vigorously, “As long as I awaken my bloodline, I can use Healing Arts for both your water attribute and Mom’s wood attribute.”
“That’s good.”
Jialuo smiled at the girl, then suddenly a long sword appeared in his hand. He used the black long sword to support himself as he stood up, his gaze deepening as he looked at the screen. “Then Dad has to go get busy.”
Xiao Xi watched Jialuo stand up, her face full of reluctance. She quickly stepped forward and asked, “Hey, where are you going? Dad, didn’t you promise you’d be back soon?”
Jialuo, jolted back to reality by the approaching Aura of the High-Rank Battle Kings, looked at Xiao Xi’s face and said softly, “Dad won’t be coming back, but Dad will give you and Grandpa Akas a big gift.”
After a pause, Jialuo suddenly tied the red scarf with a scarlet glow to the tree trunk, made a knight’s gesture of placing his fist on his chest towards Lu Si, and said gently, “Madam, please take good care of Xiao Xi for me.”
“Stand up and defend this land…”
As he spoke, the connection broke, leaving only a faint voice and the wailing of a horn.
Lu Si held the pen, her fingers turning pale. The strong woman lowered her head, turned, and handed the pen to Su Jiu, walking towards the hall with a touch of dejection.
She didn’t want to cry in front of her child, for she was the child’s last pillar of support.
As the wind and snow swept into the corridor, Xiao Xi watched her mother’s retreating back, her emotions falling with the dropping temperature. She murmured to herself, “Mom… Dad probably won’t come back, right?”
“Didn’t you ask me what a hero was before?”
Taking the pen, Su Jiu gently stroked the somewhat bewildered Xiao Xi and said softly, “A hero is one who dares to wield a sword against the strong as a weakling, and they protect those weaker behind them. They are the messengers of the gods on earth, doing what the people desire.”
Looking out at the swirling snow outside the corridor, Xiao Xi suddenly said softly, “Is Dad a hero then?”
“Him… of course, he is. He protects Xiao Xi and Xiao Xi’s mother, he defended the people of Aers, and he is also an envoy recognized by God Spa. Of course, he is a hero.”
Su Jiu ruffled Xiao Xi’s head, tangling her hair, which was as soft as silk. However, the girl’s gaze was clearly distant, her attention not at all on this.
Xiao Xi exhaled a puff of white mist, then suddenly smiled and cried, her mouth pouting as she said, “Will he come back?”
“… He will always protect everyone in Aers.” After a slight pause, Su Jiu said softly.
With that, she went to a resting room. Su Jiu glanced at the small figure standing outside, sighed inwardly, and found a sofa to sit on.
She began to calculate her gains. The corpse of the Black-clad Bishop should fetch quite a few merits. With the ‘Hymn,’ she could probably exchange for materials to upgrade Extraordinary Attributes.
When facing enemies of higher quality, Su Jiu found that they generally possessed Level 1 Extraordinary Attributes, making her advantages impossible to leverage. Only by reaching Level 2 Extraordinary Attributes could she gain some help when fighting those above her level.
After fighting two High-Rank Battle Kings, she had a rough understanding of her own strength. She could now kill relatively weaker early-stage High-Rank Battle Kings, and mid-stage High-Rank Battle Kings could be killed with ease.
The main issue was her limited methods. She lacked a tactic for dealing with multiple enemies, what is known as crowd control.
“Now I should be able to try refining [Dream Flower]. The power of ‘A Dream Fleeting Life’ is equivalent to the full power strike of an ordinary Initial Stage Battle King, and it even sells for five million per piece on the market.”Su Jiu suddenly took out an Intermediate Magic Crystal from her pocket, narrowed her eyes, exhaled, and muttered to herself.
By leveling up her Alchemist proficiency, she could attempt what only Alchemy Masters could do—creating formations with a wave of her hand. Currently, Su Jiu’s only deficiency was proficiency. Her Mental Power and raw strength had reached the minimum requirements to become an Alchemy Master.
With this thought, Su Jiu began to carve with her sharp nails. Soon—she failed. However, this time, the [Snow-liking Beast] provided a large amount of Magic Crystals, and Aers gave them all to her.
Frowning slightly, she tried again. Two, three…
Not far from Su Jiu, Bairnis sat at her desk, still writing something. Occasionally, she would stop and look at Su Jiu, a gentle smile on her face.
Another half a day passed. Without anyone disturbing her, Su Jiu made her first [Dream Flower]. She held the [Dream Flower] made from the ice-attribute Magic Crystals of the [Snow-liking Beast] in her hand. It was like a work of art, emitting a faint blue light, like the glaciers of the northern kingdom.
“There’s only one day left until Yela’s deadline. If I make nineteen more, I’ll return to the Great Hospital.”
Taking a deep breath, Su Jiu put the [Dream Flower] into her pocket, then took out another Intermediate Magic Crystal from her ring and continued to craft the next one.
If these [Dream Flowers] could reduce casualties in Aers during Yela’s full-scale invasion, Su Jiu was willing to only charge the minimum labor fee. She needed money, but there were people who needed it more than her.
…
Death Forest, the smell of blood permeated the entire forest. The blue phosphorescence left by the vengeful spirits ignited the forest directly. Fiery flames raged, and sounds of fighting could be heard continuously.
Amidst flashing blades and sword lights, yellow and green armies continuously poured in, and the Auras of several Battle Kings appeared in the forest…
The battle lasted for about half an hour. About ten meters away from the raging fire, five or six figures surrounded a figure in black armor. They moved with the mid-stage figure, appearing somewhat comical.
“Hans! Stop struggling. You killed so many of my officers, it’s time for you to completely slumber.”
The figure in military uniform at the front clutched his chest, coughing up blood. His eyes stared intently at Jialuo, who was staggering and moving, but he dared not step forward.
The sound of armor, the crunching of leaves underfoot, echoed continuously. Jialuo walked unsteadily through the forest, the ghost fires in his eyes flickering faintly. His target seemed to be outward.
He looked at the approaching light in the distance, realizing that the main road outside had appeared. He stopped, looking at the sparse trees around him, and suddenly smiled.
He looked at his black armored hand, and his eyes seemed to return to that day in Fog City Square when he swore an oath to the Queen to become a knight and uphold the spirit of chivalry…
The young him at this moment suddenly looked up, lamenting at his present self, “You shouldn’t have stayed in that country.”
“There’s nothing I shouldn’t have done.”
Jialuo smiled, and the vision of the charming figure he met on the train appeared in his eyes. She was so beautiful, her every smile and every glance captivated the young him.
“He has no energy left! Attack together!”
The figures around noticed that Jialuo had stopped moving. After a glance at each other, a fierce glint flashed in their eyes, and they surged towards him like a spring.
“It’s time to end this.”
Just as he had sworn, Jialuo slowly inserted his sword into the ground, a smile on his face, and the ghost fires in his eyes leaped fiercely.
As those figures approached, a tremendous energy exploded from his body, instantly engulfing the surrounding Battle King powerhouses.
“Boom!”
The silent forest was suddenly pierced by a thunderous explosion that reverberated through the sky, followed by an energy storm that surged outwards like waves in all directions!
A long time later, the energy fluctuations subsided. A figure in tattered military uniform crawled out from the ground, his body covered in scorched wounds, looking extremely pitiful.
There was not a trace of energy left in his body, and he was severely injured. His strength was not much stronger than that of an Advanced Stage Warrior.
His eyes stared intently at the fragments of silver-white armor in front of him, as if they could spew fire. He coughed twice, spat out a mouthful of blood, and cursed, “This lunatic! If I didn’t have a top-grade Alchemical Amulet on me, he would have taken me with him.”
“We’ve lost so many, we must notify Kyoungde immediately to attack early!”
After cursing a few times, he took out a communication device, dialed someone’s number… The call was quickly connected, and he slowly stood up, beginning to discuss countermeasures with the other party.
In the distance behind him, several black figures kept flashing by, their eyes glinting with red light. They seemed to be wolf-like monsters drawn by the explosion.
…
“Ahhh!”
Suddenly, a tragic scream echoed in the silent forest. On a distant giant tree trunk, the long scarf glowing with red light gradually disappeared, turning into a hand-knitted red scarf, on which was faintly written—
[Hans]
