e-booksonline Chapter 87 Some things, you simply don't have a choice.
Chapter 87 Some things, you simply don't have a choice.
Chapter 87 Some things, you simply don't have a choice.
Zhang Yuan stopped, his gaze falling on the prison cart completely covered by a black cloth. His voice was calm: "Chief Zeng, I only noticed that he hadn't eaten all day. I originally thought the great demon that wreaked havoc in the Sunken Sand River must be a ferocious beast, but when Master Fan came just now, I realized it was actually a—young boy. I felt a little sorry for him, so I just gave him a steamed bun."
Zeng Bo frowned, his tone stern and unwavering: "Young master, do not be deceived by this demonic appearance! When this fiend stirs up trouble, countless villages along the banks of the Chensha River are turned into swamps, and countless people perish in its belly, their remains never to be found! Its hands are stained with the blood of humankind! Why should such a ferocious creature be pitied?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ziteng's eyes widened, his chest heaved violently, and he opened his mouth to retort: "He saved us!"
he----"
"Ziteng!" Zhang Yuan shouted, interrupting the words that were about to spill out, his sharp eyes stopping him from going any further.
He turned to Zeng Bo, his tone still steady, yet carrying an undeniable insistence: "What the squad leader said is absolutely right. However, if this monster dies on the way due to hunger and thirst, we might not be able to explain ourselves, would we? A steamed bun shouldn't cause it any trouble."
Zeng Bo looked at Zhang Yuan's calm gaze, then glanced at the prison cart. Remembering that Xing Xiaowei hadn't stopped Master Fan from delivering the medicine, he hesitated for a moment before finally nodding slowly: "—What you say makes sense, young master. However, don't get too close. Just throw him in."
He took a step back, his hand still on the hilt of the knife, his eyes fixed on Zhang Yuan and Wang Ziteng's movements.
Zhang Yuan nodded and walked with Wang Ziteng to a stop about three steps away from the prison van.
He reached out and gently lifted a corner of the black cloth at the bottom of the prison cart, revealing a gap in the steel bars, and quickly threw the warm steamed bun in his hand inside.
Wang Ziteng could no longer contain himself. He rushed to the fence, lowered his voice, and urgently asked, "Hey! Is that you? Back then, during the flood in the Chensha River, wasn't it you who saved us? When the wooden barrel was about to sink, didn't you give us a push? Was it you?"
His voice trembled slightly with excitement.
There was a moment of silence inside the prison van.
In the dim light of the campfire, one could vaguely see the pale, thin figure of the boy slowly move and pick up the steamed bun on the ground.
He silently took a bite, his movements slow and almost numb.
After a long silence, a very soft laugh, filled with deep weariness and self-mockery, came from the darkness: "Does it even matter whether it's me or not?"
The boy's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed.
"It's good that you're alive."
These few simple words seem to contain endless complex emotions.
"Why?!" Wang Ziteng's eyes reddened, his voice trembling with sobs and utter bewilderment. "If you would save us, why did you kill people? Why did you stir up trouble and kill so many innocent people? Are you a demon—or a human?"
The boy stopped chewing, his body seemingly frozen.
He slowly raised his head, his vertical pupils, still cold and unsettling in the darkness, peering through the gaps in the fence at Wang Ziteng's excited face illuminated by the campfire, and seemingly piercing through him to look into the distant, darker void.
A soft whisper, like a sigh, drifted out, carrying a chilling heaviness: "Demon—some things, you simply don't have a choice—"
"You—" Wang Ziteng wanted to ask more, but Zhang Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted!
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening roar erupted without warning!
The wooden pillars, window frames, and even the dilapidated wooden fences scattered on the ground around the main hall shattered instantly!
Countless thick, gnarled vines, shimmering with an eerie green luster, emerged wildly from the shattered wood chips, growing and spreading like giant pythons imbued with life!
With a sharp, piercing whistle, they swept towards the prison cart in the center of the hall!
"Enemy attack—! Guard the prison wagon!"
Zeng Bo's roar was instantly drowned out by the sounds of explosions and howling vines!
"It's Aoki's clone! Mu Kui is here!" Alarm bells rang in Zhang Yuan's mind. He instantly remembered the strange tree roots at Baishan Post Station and the prompts on the panel, and he also remembered Master Fan's warning!
He suddenly pulled Wang Ziteng backward, and the "Hidden Kill" short sword in his sleeve slid out instantly. His blood and qi surged, and his muscles and bones creaked!
However, there was absolutely no need for these teenagers to take action.
"Formation! Royal!"
A short, forceful command rang out, and Xing Daorong stood at the entrance of the main hall, gun in hand.
"Yes, sir!" More than ten Black Scale Army soldiers responded in unison, their voices like the clang of metal on metal!
They instantly formed an impenetrable circle, tightly protecting the prison cart at its core! Their movements were perfectly synchronized and lightning-fast!
"Clang clang clang clang—!"
The blade is drawn!
The spear is pointing diagonally!
An overwhelming and condensed aura of iron-blooded killing intent suddenly erupted from the military formation!
That was not the aura of individual martial prowess, but the fighting spirit of a battle-hardened elite force, united in mind, blood, and spirit!
Like an invisible furnace of flames, it swept across all directions with a roar!
"Hiss hiss hiss—!"
Those surging, ferocious, and menacing emerald green vines and branches, upon entering the area of this iron-blooded and malevolent aura, were like ice and snow thrown into boiling oil!
The tough wood instantly turned charred and brittle, emitting a piercing burning sound, and broke apart inch by inch, turning into ashes!
No matter how wildly the vines regenerated and stabbed, not a single one could break through the barrier formed by pure killing intent and get within three feet of the prison cart!
At the same time, the figure that resembled a demon god moved!
Captain Xing Daorong!
He took a step forward, and his figure appeared like a ghost in front of a thick, demonic vine that was about to break down from the roof beam!
The long, black spear in his hand seemed to come alive at that moment, its shaft trembling and emitting a bloodthirsty hum—"Die!"
There are no fancy moves, only the purest and most direct killing instinct!
The spear flashes like a dragon!
A blood-red aura, condensed to its extreme, tore through the air, accompanied by a piercing shriek, and struck the core node of the demonic vine with unparalleled precision!
"puff--!"
The vines, as thick as a water bucket and shimmering with an eerie light, shriveled and burst instantly, like a punctured scabbard!
The foul-smelling, dark green liquid splattered everywhere, and the demonic power contained within was completely crushed and annihilated by the spear's energy!
"left!"
Xing Daorong didn't even turn his head, and swept his gun across the room with a backhand!
"Bang!"
Another giant vine that had broken through the wall and was heading straight for a guard was cut in half!
His figure moved like lightning, flashing among the ruins of the main hall!
Each time it appeared, there was a dull bang, and a fierce demonic vine was completely shattered by the spear's energy!
One man and one gun formed an insurmountable Great Wall of Steel, forcefully blocking most of the attacks coming from all directions outside the prison cart formation!
Wherever the gun flashed, the demonic vines vanished into thin air!
That fierce and decisive aura shocked everyone in the hall!
Just as the chaotic battle reached its climax, an even deeper and more suffocating demonic aura, like a heavy mountain, suddenly descended!
At the entrance of the main hall, the dilapidated hall door and half of the wall collapsed with a crash!
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a figure slowly entered, stepping on countless wildly dancing vines.