After finishing his conversation with Shangguan Bing Xue, Bai Zemin slowly walked home.
A bitter smile flashed across his face as he muttered to himself.
"Looks like our little ice princess finally started to show her claws uh?" Lilith appeared to his right as she looked sideways at him with an amused smile.
Bringing with her an exquisite fragrance but completely different compared to Lilith's, Fire Sorrow appeared on Bai Zemin's left. She walked step by step beside him without a word, apparently attentive to listen to his next words.
"Really, can you help me instead of throwing me into the lava?" Bai Zemin sighed wearily. His eyes gazed into the distance as he moved forward, "There's no way I'm leaving you for anyone else... But Bing Xue is clearly not happy about this. Even in the hypothetical case that I agree with your words and accept more than one partner, the truth is that there is no future where you are not in my life."
Bai Zemin would not deny that little by little he was beginning to be moved by the kindness and care Wu Yijun showed him day after day with her constant efforts.
He loved Lilith more than anything else in this life and if she wanted him to, Bai Zemin would happily spend eternity by her side alone. But it was impossible to avoid that his heart began to beat stronger when a young, beautiful, and extremely dedicated woman continued to treat him as if he was the most precious treasure in the history of the universe.
Just before, Shangguan Bing Xue had told him if he wasn't going to hug her just like he hugged Wu Yijun in front of everyone before. She even told him that he could not favor some and discriminate against others, and considering that she had gone to great lengths so far to step by step help Bai Zemin raise the faction to what it was nowadays she had the right to say that depending on where one looked at it from.
It was just that there were two problems...
The first was already mentioned by Bai Zemin, and that was the fact that Shangguan Bing Xue wanted him only for herself. She was sure that she loved him more than anyone else, so much so that she even claimed that she would be willing to give her last drop of blood for him; and therefore she claimed that unless someone proved to love him as much or more than she did she would not accept anyone since that would be the same as accepting less than what she really was.
While it was true that Shangguan Bing Xue was in love with Bai Zemin and did not deny it, she also loved herself; which was completely reasonable and natural.
This was where the second problem came in...
"Everything else aside... It's hard for me to see Bing Xue romantically." Bai Zemin shook his head as he sighed again.
Shangguan Bing Xue was perfect in every way. Her beauty was so high that among all the Lower Existences Bai Zemin had met to date the only one who could very, very slightly match her was her mother, Shangguan Xinyue. Shangguan Bing Xue was powerful and perfect to the point that probably only a woman of Fifth Order or higher could surpass her in terms of natural beauty.
However, beauty and talent were not everything.
"From what I understand, she was the first person you came to trust wholeheartedly since the Soul Record came to Earth, wasn't she?" Fire Sorrow asked suddenly.
Bai Zemin nodded without a second thought, "Not only that but she is the first friend I made. After what happened when I was in high school with Feng Tian Wu and that other piece of scum I never trusted any human being enough to be friends again. Bing Xue managed to gain my trust in the middle of the apocalypse, being a woman at that."
Had it not been for Shangguan Bing Xue, Bai Zemin would not be alive today. In fact, he would have died in the early days had it not been for her coming out in the middle of the storm and killing hundreds of zombies after he collapsed wounded and exhausted after fighting to the death against his first First Order mutant beast. She had also saved him on other occasions not to mention all the help she had given him.
"In that case, perhaps therein lies the problem for you and the hope for her." Fire Sorrow smiled gently, and seeing his confused face she explained, "She was and is your first friend, your best friend. That's why it's hard for you to see her romantically at the moment... Because unlike that girl Wu Yijun, the case of Shangguan Bing Xue is different. Wu Yijun got closer to you but not to the point of being friends, she improved her impression of herself and showed you that she is someone not only beautiful but also capable. She was very smart to let you know her feelings for you as by doing this she avoided getting into the friendship zone that is so hard to get out of."
Bai Zemin listened carefully to Fire Sorrow's words, and the more he listened the more he felt that she was somewhat right.
"Shangguan Bing Xue probably also realized this fact... Although I have no romantic experience myself I've lived long enough and observed couples to boredom to understand a thing or two." Fire Sorrow had that gentle smile on her face like a mother would give her son while explaining important things in life to help him spread his wings and fly. "Shangguan Bing Xue is probably thinking that since she managed to be the first once then why couldn't she become the first again?"
Bai Zemin sighed upon hearing this and finally said no more on the matter. The feelings of the heart could not be forced, and if they came then he would do his best to understand them before making a decision.
One needed to be mature to see and understand that the situation Bai Zemin found himself in was not so easy. This was because his relationship with Wu Yijun and Shangguan Bing Xue was not just about friendship; both beautiful women were his right hand and left hand, the woman with the highest political power and the woman with the power to command the entire faction's army.
A romantic relationship could present countless problems, particularly considering that they could live for thousands of years and even to the end of time if they achieved their goal. Bai Zemin could not afford to let a romantic problem destroy everything now, he simply could not.
Seeing Bai Zemin fall silent, Fire Sorrow walked beside him silently.
In Lilith's head, Fire Sorrow's voice rang out, "If you ask me, the reasoning of that girl named Bing Xue makes a lot of sense."
Lilith raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at her sideways waiting for her next words.
"Unlike you who can only watch from the side, Shangguan Bing Xue has the ability to walk beside him and help him overcome his difficulties. Bai Zemin probably fell in love with you since in the midst of so much darkness you managed to be his light, but love can also be born more naturally from difficulties experienced and conquered together... That girl will have countless difficult experiences together with him, and if she really manages to make him fall in love with her I'm afraid your place will no longer be secure at all hehe..."
Bai Zemin's love for Lilith was very difficult to happen. She was, just like Fire Sorrow, the only source of hope and light he received when he couldn't trust anyone for fear of being stabbed in the back.
But... What if Shangguan Bing Xue fought by his side and bled for him? Would the first place of a practically unnatural love still stand firm against shared experiences? At the very least, that subconsciously nurtured love would most likely not lose to that love almost at first sight.
Lilith stared at Fire Sorrow for a few seconds before setting her eyes on the road ahead without saying a word.
...
The next day, in front of the north gate of the Changping District base.
The sun had yet to rise and the strong night winds were blowing from the distance making howls similar to those of an army of wolves. The snowy season had passed, but the night chills were still as frightening as ever since the world changed.
The soldiers armed with electromagnetic rifles and railguns standing on top of the walls looked at the scene in front of them with admiring expressions.
In fact, even though it was only 5 a.m. and the night was so cold, the base was not particularly quiet. A large number of survivors had come out of their homes, and although they could not approach the north wall temporarily they began to shout aloud as they knew what was happening.
"Damn these people." One police officer yawned as he made an ugly face and grunted sleepily.
One of his colleagues held his gun as he carefully watched for any survivors causing trouble. His eyes were red and there were black circles under them: "Don't complain, Chu Ming. None of us got a good night's sleep... but at least we'll get paid a little more at the end of the month."
"Even then, I wonder who was the motherfucker who exposed the fact that the Leader would be invading Russia with his army today." Another police officer spat on the ground angrily.
"You're cursing someone of high rank." Said his partner.
"Poh!" That same officer from before spat again as he arrogantly said, "Whoever it is, they dare touch this senior? If His Majesty finds out who leaked the secret he will surely peel them alive anyway."
Hearing this no one else said anything.
In fact, these survivors were incredibly excited as they shouted the names of Bai Zemin, Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, and others. They were calling for the blood of the Russians and begging for vengeance; especially the families of those who had fallen on the northern battlefield months before.
Wearing his Bloodsurge Breastplate of Ice Magic and holding Annihilation of the Falling Sky in the form of a spear with his right hand, Bai Zemin riding on Little Snow's pure snow-white back slowly approached the troops waiting 50 meters ahead. Behind him, Kali circled his waist and rested her body on his back as she scanned the surroundings with an indifferent expression on her pretty face.
Twenty thousand soul evolvers, all of them First Order and above.
Some of them had to travel from the surrounding district bases, but thanks to Shangguan Bing Xue who was already waiting to some extent for Bai Zemin's orders everything was easy as most of them had started their journey two or three days ago to arrive in time.
These soul evolvers were part of the harvest of the harvest, elites among elites. The lowest level among them was 31 but even the weakest could take on someone at least 1 or 2 levels above them while the strongest had no problem jumping over 30 levels.
Each of them rode mutant beasts. Most of them used Roaring Flame Tigers, beasts that despite being no more than 1 year old after being raised in the Collector's Pocket World had already surpassed level 25 completely thanks to the care that Bai Zemin and his people took with them.
This army was terrifying, truly terrifying. However, considering that they would be facing millions of enemies as well as countless hidden and unknown dangers, no one knew if they would be enough.
However, when Bai Zemin looked at the front of the army he could not help but feel his blood boil and the feeling of defeat did not pass through his heart even for a second.
Chen He, Liang Jing, Evangeline, Feng Tian Wu, Wu Yijun, Meng Qi, Bai Delan, Ye Linger (after absorbing Thao Zhi's records), Nangong Lingxin, Nangong Yi, Shangguan Xinyue, Xia Ya, Kang Lan, Shen Mei, Cai Jingyi, Fu Xuefeng, Bai Shilin; 16 Third Order soul evolvers and 1 Second Order peak evolver able to jump over 60 levels between one Order and another.
Nine of them, excluding Bai Zemin, rode Third Order mutant beasts!
Bai Zemin stopped in front of his most elite army and looked coldly in the northern direction.
This was no longer about Evangeline's revenge nor did it have anything to do with patriotism; this was about a revenge that as a Leader Bai Zemin knew he had to carry out... and he was more than willing to fulfill his duty!
Eye for eye, blood for blood.
Everyone had to pay a price for their actions.
"I hope you're ready for the storm raging in your direction, fucking Russians."
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