socalfunplaces Page 201
Page 201
Lu Mingfei listened quietly, his face expressionless, but a cold glint suddenly flashed in the depths of his deep, abyss-like eyes.
“That means, in less than forty years,” his voice was eerily calm, yet contained a chilling rage, “they have rotted away.”
"They have forgotten who pulled them from the hell of despair under the knife of humanity!"
"Forget who led them to carve a path to survival in the frozen wasteland!"
"Forget who gave them the opportunity to no longer live like wild beasts, constantly on the run and living in constant fear!"
The old village chief sighed deeply again:
"Since ancient times, the human heart has been unpredictable and fickle! This is an eternal truth."
Lu Mingfei fell silent.
According to the prophecy brought by Tyr, and according to the "hero" scenario he originally envisioned:
He should integrate Willow Village, and then gather the strength of those infected who are struggling on the frozen land, to subdue Uru City with overwhelming force.
In the end, together with two other "heroes," they defeated the demon king that Natil claimed was capable of bringing destruction and saved this cursed land.
However, the bloody history of betrayal told by the village chief was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the flame of "salvation" that had just been ignited in his heart.
Only forty years have passed!
The order that the Queen of Dawn painstakingly established, the guardians she left behind, the city of hope she bestowed.
Devoured by greed and ambition, it collapsed and became a battlefield for power struggles.
What is the point of this kind of integration, this kind of rescue?
Even though he turned the tide at this moment, integrating the infected, defeating the demon king, and even rebuilding order.
What happens after he leaves?
Ten years? Twenty years? Or another forty years?
Whether it's Uru City or some other city like Shengyang City...
They will likely all eventually succumb to their fate, becoming slaves to their desires once again, decaying, degenerating, and repeating the same mistakes in the quagmire of power.
Could it be that... all of this was in vain?
It's just another tragic cycle repeating itself in the long river of history.
Chapter 200 The past was the past, and the present is now
"Lu Mingfei, the cave has been dug." Tiel's cool voice pierced through the not-so-thick wooden door of the stone house and rang out inside.
Lu Mingfei withdrew his gaze from the village chief and Xina, and replied:
"okay, I get it."
He stood up and nodded slightly to the old man with the tortoise shell covering his back. "Village chief, I apologize for disturbing you."
His gaze finally fell on Sheena, who was curled up in the corner of the bed with her bear ears trembling slightly, and then he turned around and pushed open the creaking wooden door.
Outside, the wind and snow continued, and Tyr stood respectfully not far from the door, like a statue sculpted from ice and snow, her golden hair motionless in the cold wind.
Just then, a series of hurried, frantic footsteps came from the direction of the village entrance, mixed with the distorted shouts of the eagle-eyed boy, piercing the oppressive silence of the village:
"Something's wrong! The patrol! The patrol is here!"
In stark contrast to the scene of the entire village coming out to greet the returning hunting party, this shout was like igniting an invisible fuse.
The doors and windows, which had been letting in a sliver of light through the cracks, were suddenly slammed shut!
The heavy thud of the door bolt falling and the screeching sound of the animal skin curtain being pressed down tightly rang out one after another.
In an instant, the entire Willow Village seemed to freeze, becoming deathly silent, with only the howling of wind and snow remaining.
Every household kept their doors tightly shut, as if the people outside were not their own kind, but ferocious beasts ready to devour them.
Lu Mingfei and Teal's position instantly became extremely awkward.
The simple cave that Tyr had just dug out of the rock wall with his abilities had no door to hide it from anyone; it was exposed to everyone's view like a gaping maw.
"My lord! Come in quickly!"
Just as Lu Mingfei's gaze swept over the exposed cave, the wooden door behind him was pushed open a crack again.
Sheena's anxious little face peeked out, her brown bear ears pressed tightly against her scalp with tension.
She lowered her voice and called out to Lu Mingfei urgently.
Although Lu Mingfei didn't understand why, he immediately did as instructed.
He turned to Teal and said:
"Come in too, Tiel."
"Yes." Without hesitation, Tiel followed and slipped into the stone house.
The wooden door slammed shut in Sheena's trembling hands, and the bolt fell.
The room was dimly lit and the atmosphere was heavy.
Lu Mingfei looked at the old village chief, whose face was gloomy:
"Patrol team? What's going on?"
The village chief's wrinkled face deepened, and his cloudy eyes held a deep-seated fear and a barely perceptible hint of hatred.
"The patrol team... is the elite henchman of Uru City. They regularly patrol the surrounding villages, ostensibly for protection, but in reality for surveillance and exploitation."
"They...are extremely hostile to humans, especially hating Awakened Ones! If they discover there are Awakened Ones in the village..."
He paused, his voice hoarse, "Willow Village may face utter destruction!"
"Are they very strong?" Lu Mingfei asked in a low, calm voice.
“Not very good,” was the reply from Teyle.
She stood to the side, her golden eyes holding a condescending indifference, as if she were judging a group of ants.
Upon hearing this, Lu Mingfei's lips curled into a knowing smile.
What Till described as "not so good" is probably an insurmountable mountain for ordinary infected people in Willow Village who are struggling to survive.
His gaze shifted to the old village chief, whose weathered face, covered in tortoise shells and scales, held a suppressed emotion that was like a volcano about to erupt.
“Village Chief,” Lu Mingfei’s voice was deep and clear, “do you want to avenge those traitors?”
The old village chief's throat bobbed violently, and a terrifying glint suddenly flashed in his cloudy eyes—a glint of resentment and longing that had accumulated over forty years.
He practically spat out each word through clenched teeth, his voice filled with overwhelming hatred:
"I want to! I dream about it all the time!"
“Alright,” Lu Mingfei stood up, an invisible aura quietly spreading out, “Don’t go out later. Leave things to me.”
“Lu Mingfei,” Teal frowned, her golden eyes filled with confusion, “what do you want to do?”
Lu Mingfei's hand was already on the cold door latch:
"Take them down, and while you're at it, give the infected camp... a complete reshuffle."
The doubt in Tiel's eyes deepened:
"But didn't you say before that you wanted to unite the power of the infected to fight the Demon King together?"
Lu Mingfei turned around, his deep eyes devoid of any emotion, only a coldness that seemed to have seen through the vicissitudes of life.
"Then was then, and the present is now."
As soon as he finished speaking, he flung open the wooden door and stepped into the howling wind and snow.
Almost the instant the door opened, Lu Mingfei's extraordinary senses detected the movement from the direction of the village entrance.
A mournful wolf howl pierced the wind and snow! The rapid, dense sound of footsteps on the snow grew louder as it approached!
And... the sound of some heavy object being roughly dragged across the snow!
During a brief respite from the snowstorm, the scene at the village entrance came into view.
Five giant wolves, each as large as an ox and with snow-white fur, exhaled scorching white steam from their nostrils.
On the wolf's back sat five men and women dressed in identical white leather uniforms wrapped in thick blankets, with insignia representing the elite of Uru City embroidered on the cuffs and collars.
They looked arrogant, their eyes scanning the desolate village like those of hawks.
However, what was even more jarring was what they were dragging behind them—a thick rope, the end of which was tightly bound to a headless, enormous body!
That skin covered in fine scales, that thick lizard tail... it was Witt!
His head had been severed, and dark red blood trailed a horrifying death mark on the pristine white snow, exuding a heavy stench of blood.
Lu Mingfei's pupils contracted slightly.
The next moment, the Void Soaring Dragon Step was activated!
His figure suddenly blurred and disappeared on the spot, as if it had merged into the wind and snow.
When it reappeared, it was already hovering above the village entrance like a ghost, blocking the five-horse patrol team right in front of it!
The icy voice, like a hammer of judgment forged from cold iron, carrying an undeniable authority, crashed down:
"I ask, you answer."
This sudden turn of events and the condescending attitude instantly enraged the patrol team!
The arrogant look on their faces turned into a ferocious killing intent.
"You're asking for death!" the leader roared.
In an instant, the long whip pierced the air like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, the cold light of the spear tip pierced the void, and two more people unhesitatingly pulled out their crudely designed firearms, the dark muzzles instantly locking onto the figures above!
However, the moment their thoughts of attack arose, their bodies suddenly lost their weight!
My vision is spinning and zooming up!
A fierce wind, strong enough to freeze one's lungs, instantly enveloped them!
The five patrol members, along with the snow wolves they rode, were seized as if by an invisible giant hand and thrown hundreds of meters into the air without any resistance! Their terrified screams were instantly torn apart by the gale!
Immediately afterwards, five heavy, muffled thuds exploded in succession!