The color drained from Todd's face in an instant and his eyes were laden with a deep surprise.
The man stood before him was tall and handsome. He wore black iron armor that fitted his form well and in his hand, he held a spear shining with divine light.
Darren shifted his gaze to the man, surprised to discover such a good looking young man in the midst of the gray mist.
"Todd, are you surprised to see me alive?" His voice was flat and devoid of emotion, a far cry from what it was when he had been shrouded by the gray mist.
"I never would've expected it, in my wildest dreams." Todd's expression was complicated. It was hard to read and understand what he might have been thinking.
"Now, do you still wish to stop me?"
"I would not dare, captain. I only have one request. Please let Darren go. He is my relative," Todd requested, bowing to the man.
"Hahaha..." the man burst into laughter. "Todd, my good friend, he is now the Territory Enfeoffing Emperor. If I killed him, the Chaotic Region would lose its nominal ruler and order will be restored. It is god's plan that we would meet again here, today. Now we can rebuild the Heavenly Eagle, take the world on and make our dream a reality."
"Murray, my friend, that's impossible," Todd said sadly, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
Darren had been standing aside, listening to them speak and had been struck dumb by what he heard.
As it turned out, Todd knew this man and even referred to him as friend.
"Humph! Have your forgotten your dream, and your fallen hot-blooded friends? God blessed me and let me survive so that I can make up for my regrets and right my mistakes. I knew you'd grown stronger a long time ago, and your strength is close to that of the major bandits and even comparable to what mine had once been. But do you know why I never came to you before?" asked the young man named Murray with a hint of rage and disgust in his voice.
"Captain, please let bygones be bygones. The Chaotic Region will never be a paradise. It will never be possible. Please, just give up on it," sighed Todd heavily with tears welling in his eyes. He seemed as though his energy was being drained from him and it hurt him to argue with Murray.
What a cruel time it was! And what a group of hot-blooded fools they were! But that was the past.
Eventually, it ended in darkness and blood. Todd finally realized that their dreams were not right for this era, an era full of battles and darkness.
"You hav
at the bottom of a well," Darren sneered.
"What did you say? I've battled in the chaotic world for so many years. I've seen through everything! You have no right to judge me!" Murray roared, looking down on Darren pitifully, disgusted that he would dare utter such words.
"Did I misspeak?" Darren turned his back to Murray. "You are too narrow minded. From your conversation with Todd, it's clear you wanted to establish peace and stability, but for some reason you and your followers failed. It seems as though most of you were subdued and killed. You managed to survive and come back, your mission still running wild in your mind."
"I don't need to listen to the dribble that slips out of your mouth!" Murray said scornfully.
"Don't be so quick to interrupt me. The world you see is too one-sided. The Chaotic Region, the land left by the Chu Clan; that is all you see. What about the rest of the Primitive Wilderness and the entire human race?
Even if you unify the Chaotic Region, what good does that do? You think a stable state will be established? That the paradise you dream of will magically appear? You're too naive! You forget we're human beings, the lowest and humblest race in the Primitive Wilderness.
Sooner or later, the other races will rush in with the intention of enslaving the human race. They will bully their way through and slaughter us at will. Will you be able to hold on to your paradise then? Will the human race still be safe? You're pathetic. The truly wise and courageous among us care about the human race and fight for its survival. How dare you try and tell me you're not just some frog at the bottom of a well?"