Chapter 93 - Tombstone

Kang De was running.

He carried Cleveland on his back as he rushed out of Glory Sand Town.

He did not speak and only ran. There was nothing to say.

Right now, they were not fleeing from the pursuers of Glory Sand.

Instead, he was escaping a fact.

“Kang De…”

The person on his back said weakly, “Put me down. It’s safe enough.”

Kang De turned a deaf ear and continued to speed.

Cleveland was silent for a moment before saying softly, “If you don’t let me down now, it’ll be too late.”

This sentence was like a sudden brake, causing Kang De to stop. He found a leeward spot and put the knight down. He muttered, “What nonsense are you talking about? Didn’t I spray you with medicine and bandage you? Wait here. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll find a car and medicine. A few minutes will be enough…”

Cleveland pulled him back and said calmly, “There’s no need…”

“Cut the crap!” Kang De glared at him. “What do you know? If I have a way, I have a way! I have plenty of ways! Don’t force me. Wait here. I…”

The knight sighed. “Kang De, listen to me…”

Kang De said firmly, “Dream on! I won’t believe you otherworlders anymore! None of your nonsense is right! I know I’m right!”

“Kang De! Listen to me!”

The knight shouted, shocking the chattering Kang De. Then, he stretched out his hand and pressed Kang De’s shoulder, saying softly, “Listen to me… please…”

Kang De slowly calmed down.

He looked at Cleveland, lips pursed, eyes red.

Cleveland took a deep breath. “Let me ask you a question. You killed Glenn in a way I can’t understand. Immediately after, you used his battle aura martial technique. Can I understand that you deprived him of his strength through some method?”

Kang De thought of the previous scene. The pain that pierced his heart still lingered.

He nodded slowly.

The knight asked again, “Is it the power obtained from the Holy Seal Islands?”

Kang De nodded.

He finally understood why the animals were laughing wildly when he displayed the extraction enchantment.

It turned out that this was the most correct use of this power.

Cleveland said, “Then, I’ll ask you something.”

Kang De looked at him.

The knight stretched out his hand, and a dazzling battle aura flashed.

“Kang De, take my battle aura.” He said.

Kang De’s eyes were red as he hissed, “Dream on! Wait here. I’ll go find the medicine!”

The knight grabbed him with one hand and said calmly, “Kang De, I forcefully blocked Lost’s sword attack earlier and was already quite injured. Later on, in order to repel Glenn, I forcefully erupted my battle aura. Compared to these two injuries, the later sword strike actually only triggered all the hidden dangers and consequences, but it has nothing to do with my injuries… Do you understand? I know the situation of my body the best…”

He said calmly, “I’m going to die.”

Kang De shouted, “Bullsh*t! Bullsh*t!”

Cleveland ignored his words and only stared into his eyes. He said, “Take away my battle aura and my sword. Protect the princess on my behalf, okay? I beg you… No, you have to do this. You have to remember that I saved you. I saved you with my life, so you owe me. You have to live well because you have to live for me. You can’t do anything rash, live in a daze, and give up. You have to think that way. Promise me!”

These words seemed to have consumed a lot of his strength.

The knight said softly, “Promise me… you must promise me.”

“Also, I’m sorry.”

“We let you see such humans and such a world.”

“However, actually, this world is not that good or bad…”

He muttered, “Don’t lose your confidence, don’t lose your vigilance, don’t believe in Goethe easily because of us, and don’t hate the Empire because of them. Actually, we’re all the same. There are good people and bad people…”

He slowly stretched out his hand.

Battle aura light flickered slightly.

“Take my strength. My mission and my life are entrusted to you.”

The knight looked at him with unprecedented weakness and pleading in his eyes.

“Hurry up, it’s going to be too late…” he said. “Please let me leave something behind in this world.”

Kang De grabbed his hand.

The knight asked, “What should I do?”

Kang De gritted his teeth. His mental strength spread out and enveloped.

Element Extraction.

He was already prepared to endure the pain and watch Cleveland suffer. However, for some reason, this extraction went very smoothly.

He held the knight’s hand and felt the battle aura and will flow into his body. He seemed to have seen the memories of the knight’s life. Every practice, every effort, every setback, and every advancement, he looked up at the sun, envious that the sunlight washed away the darkness and illuminated the world. Therefore, he awakened such a battle aura that contained protection, holiness, and strong will.

The knight smiled. “I thought it would be very painful, but I feel very at ease, as if my life has been extended, as if I’m doing the most sacred and important thing in my life. It’s a strange feeling…”

Kang De stared into his eyes.

He saw Cleveland’s figure slowly fade.

“Kang De!”

The knight seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly said, “Don’t take revenge on the Goode family! They’re very powerful and influential. They have the help of important figures behind them. You can’t defeat them. You’ll definitely die!”

After saying this, he smiled calmly at Kang De.

“Did I help you by saying this?”

Kang De stared at him and could not say a word.

The knight glanced at him, then looked up at the sky and the stars. His expression was calm and gentle. Even facing death was not enough to make him feel fear.

However, he was still afraid.

Kang De saw the knight reveal a moment of fear and confusion.

“Kang De, I’m going to die…”

A tear fell from the corner of his eye.

“…Mother.”

Then, the knight turned into specks of light and floated into the sky until it was very, very tall.

On the Holy Seal Islands, in the valley, the animals gathered and looked at the sky in boredom.

They saw starlight sprinkled on the ground.

The entire Holy Seal Islands saw it.

The animal sealed here looked up and a human-like realization and sadness flashed through their eyes.

Then, they roared.

Countless powerful auras soared into the sky and collided with the seal of the sky. Their animals’ bodies changed bit by bit, and they continued to transform.

They understood something.

The last shackle had already disappeared.

This was because the new Fire Thief had started a sacred but sad… new cycle.

They were clearly animals, but tears rolled down their faces. For them, for an old friend, and for that… successor who carried sorrow.

What they did not know was that the successor had already gone to another world.

On Earth.

Kang De got down from the building.

He stood in front of the stone wall.

Opposite the entrance of the district was a facade project. It was originally engraved with a famous song by a Song Dynasty poet.

Now it was covered by a thick canvas with many tools beside it.

Kang De had done something here a few months ago.

At this moment, he faced the stone wall in silence.

He held the knight’s sword in his right hand and the diary in his left. The daily sights and experiences he had written for the past 300 days, all his memories, and his longing for his family.

He said indifferently, “Look, this is my home. Another planet, another world.”

“I’m not from Cathay. I’m Chinese. We have thousands of years of history and have always been at war. We’ve developed occasionally. In the past hundred or two hundred years, civilization has advanced by leaps and bounds until now.”

“I’m trapped here.”

“The surroundings are enveloped by white fog. It’s the initial sign of the curtain invasion on the crimson scroll.”

“It’s been a year.”

“There’s no way to contact the outside world.”

“I’ve always been very optimistic in persevering because my country is very powerful. I think we can break through this white fog. I can go out one day and reunite with my family.”

“That’s what I think. Therefore, I’ll work hard to live day by day and live well.”

“But it’s been a year.”

“Sometimes, I’ll think…”

Kang De lowered his head and smiled, “I’m thinking, is there really anyone outside the district? Does Earth’s civilization really still exist? I don’t dare to think about it carefully. I don’t dare to think about the white fog that reaches into the sky and no plane can fly in. What does this mean? I can only pretend not to know, but I can’t lie to myself.”

He smiled and smiled.

“I sometimes think…”

“Did I transmigrate when the white fog descended and escape?”

“Or did I… cause the white fog to appear after transmigrating?”

“Especially after seeing the crimson scroll…”

He smiled to himself.

“I’ve almost given up. I already have this feeling in my heart. Only fake comfort supports me. The longer it takes, the more unbearable it is. I want to find something new to do.”

“Then you came.”

“After transmigrating, I’ll go to the other world and start a new life. It’s like this in novels. There’s nothing wrong with it. I think so too. The so-called trip to the continent to understand the news of the Curtain Invasion and find a way to crack the white fog is only me comforting myself. Apart from doing this, I also have plans.”

“I plan to live well in the other world and find some fun and sustenance to save myself from the future. I broke through the white fog and discovered that human civilization had been destroyed. I fell into a breakdown on the spot. If I had my own life and sustenance in the other world before that, it would probably be much better. That’s what I think.”

“This is the plan of living in a beautiful new world, living in another world, and fighting for supremacy.”

“But… how did it become like this?”

Kang De laughed until his entire body trembled, “D*mn, why did we encounter such a thing? Why are you all lying? How can a good person die just like that? Really, really, I plan to live well in the other world. I’ve thought a lot. I want to export the good things of our civilization to you. I want to do something and make some small contributions on the premise of ensuring my rich life…”

“If we’re poor, we’ll take care of ourselves. If we’re successful, we’ll help the world. This is our philosophy.”

“That’s what I think…”

“But I was wrong.”

He said in a low voice, “I don’t know anything. I can’t do anything. I can’t protect you or see through their schemes. I’ve suffered such a huge loss. Now, I understand that I’m only a mortal. I’m not that capable, nor do I have to have such ambitions… I know my mistake. From now on, I won’t think so far ahead. I won’t think about this and that ambitiously. I’ll only do what I want to do.”

He raised the diary in his hand.

It recorded his mental sustenance and fake sustenance for more than 300 days and nights.

“From today onwards, I won’t lie to myself.”

He said softly, “I don’t need this anymore.”

Kang De ignited this diary.

The spreading flames devoured these papers.

He let go and allowed the ashes to fall.

Then, he grabbed the canvas on the stone wall in front of him.

He lifted it forcefully and revealed the appearance of the stone wall.

That Song poem had already been flattened.

New lines of words were carved on it.

There were Chinese, English, French, and the various mainstream languages used by modern humans that could be found in translation devices and bilingual books.

These were Kang De’s words.

“The living beings analyzing this line of words might be visitors from outer space, or you might be intelligent creatures of the next generation. What you see is the tombstone of a civilization and the last survivor. The last Earthling carved the words to bid farewell to the entire universe. Our world was once as gorgeous as a flower, but it was destroyed in a day. I, Kang De, the Chinese, was a survivor who happened to escape. In the waiting and loneliness of seeing no hope, I looked up at the starry sky and slept eternally with my civilization.”

The so-called district had been invaded by a mysterious force. It had attracted the attention of the entire world. The so-called country was working hard to save it. The so-called relatives were looking forward to it. In the end, these were only the most ideal ideas. He could not obtain any contact with the outside world and did not know what was happening on Earth outside the district.

Perhaps what happened was the worst-case scenario.

On that day, the white fog descended and a mysterious force swept through the world. All the living beings disappeared without a trace. Earth might have become the new home of the alien invaders, or it might have become a lifeless planet.

Perhaps he was already the last human on Earth.

Stone would weather, and steel would rust.

He melted the gold found in the jewelry shop and bank and injected these words… although he did not know the meaning of doing this.

This was the only thing he could do.

He touched the lines of words on the tombstone.

“I’m sorry…”

He said this and smiled.

“I originally thought that I could do something after transmigrating to another world, but now I realize that I can’t do anything. My ability is too small and I can only resolve my problem.”

“…My shoulders are too small to carry the weight of a civilization.”

“That’s all I can do. I’m sorry.”

“Now, I’m going to do my own thing.”

He stared deeply at this tombstone that he had personally chiseled.

Then, he stabbed the sword in his hand in front of the tombstone.

“If I don’t return, you’ll lie here in my place and protect this tombstone.”

He looked up at this small world.

“Goodbye.”

Then, he turned around and walked towards the entrance of the district.

This was his home, the place he lived.

Tall buildings, emerald green plants, and a blue sky.

Abundant resources, advanced technology, and stable life were all the results of the high development of human civilization. The people were full, medical care was developed, transportation was convenient, and entertainment was diverse. Everything appeared to be prosperous, the country was rich, and society was developing. Everything was getting better.

Such prosperity and stability made the people living in it feel a sense of false security.

It made them forget something.

It made them forget that the humans of this planet were not actually good at creating all these beautiful, stable, prosperous, and great peaceful environments.

In fact, it was destruction, war, killing, and devastation.

Kang De walked in this steel forest.

His eyes were cold, just like the history of this steel world forged by blood and fire.

Now was the time to do the thing he wanted to do most.

—Kill them all.

…