by <unknown>
"I believe in giving rewards when rewards are due. Whatever your origins and background are, as long as you have made contributions, you must be rewarded properly!"
Staring at the two little fellows, the Fist King suddenly changed the topic. "However, you two look rather young and juvenile, and you do not seem the same as the other members of the Red Viper Squad, right?"
Regarding their origins, Han Te, Liu Li, and Xin Xiaoqi had long agreed on a standard answer. They immediately replied half truthfully and half falsely, "For your information, Fist King, we were indeed not the same team at the beginning, but we were all joining your army from different directions. When we were attacked by the Flying Leopard Hall on our way, they saved us. As it happened, we had an invitation card with us. So, we decided to make a team and look after each other."
Such temporary teams had been established all the time during the Fist King's recruitment. It was not strange at all.
"That explains a lot." The Fist King's voice became even gentler, which was rather incompatible with his intimidating body size. "Don't get me wrong. I have known Xin Xiaoqi for a long time. She also once took quests from me and helped me deliver invitation cards to many major forces. So, I'm not suspicious about you, just curious.
"You must be very hungry after a day of fierce fights. Come on. Let's eat while we talk!"
Chapter 2007: Crystal Clear |
The Fist King pushed two square metal boxes toward the two little fellows and opened them softly. The most intense fragrance immediately spread out. Inside the boxes was hot, colorful food.
It was not sticky, muddy, unrecognizable synthesized food. Instead, there was natural meat whose fibers were clearly visible and vegetables that were a hundred times more precious than the meat!
Ravenousness immediately beamed out of the two little fellows' eyes.
While natural meat was rare in the Land of Sins, there were hundreds of types of mutated beasts to be hunted and butchered after all, but vegetables were something that most people had never heard of before. The relief assets sent from the Heavenly Rails mostly consisted of synthesized food of suspicious origins. Although it could provide enough energy, it tasted as bad as wax. Vegetables and cereals were legendary food that most people had never tasted in their entire life.
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other in bewilderment. Their stomachs immediately began to rumble in hunger.
"Help yourselves."
The Fist King made a 'please' gesture, truly like an amiable uncle-next-door.
Li Yao felt creeped out. He did not have the slightest idea what the Fist King's goal was. Even if the man had seen through his camouflage, it was not a big deal for the tough bandits and thugs in the Land of Sins to change their names and appearances because they had made far too many enemies. Why on earth was the Fist King pursuing the issue so diligently at such a critical moment?
However, with the Fist King's strength and power, if he intended to find out the truth of an issue, it was impossible for two youngsters like Han Te and Liu Li to resist.
Li Yao sighed and secretly sent a message to Han Te's and Liu Li's heads. "Just eat. Whatever the Fist King asks, just answer it truthfully. Do not think that you can fool him."
Han Te and Liu Li swallowed hard simultaneously before they began to wolf the food down without delay.
As a ghost, the Fist King considered crystals and spiritual liquids as the source of energy and naturally could not eat food. He simply looked at the two little fellows gulping down the food like gluttons, and it was not until their mouths had been stuffed with meat and vegetables that he remarked, "According to the sheets you filled in, you are from a place called the Village of Peace at the edge of the Thousand Lakes Area near Double Dragons City. The place should be a Desolate World, right? But your invitation card was supposed to be delivered to Double Dragons City."
The two little fellows immediately stopped chewing and blinked fast.
"Don't be scared," the Fist King said. "Survival of the fittest is the natural law in the Land of Sins. I've sent invitation cards to a lot of forces everywhere in the Land of Sins to summon heroes of the world to attack Liberty City together, but to be honest, I don't really care who exactly comes with those invitation cards.
"Whoever passes through the entire Bloody Plateau and arrives at Great Iron City has proved themselves worthy enough to share the glory of conquering Liberty City!
"On the other hand, the incompetent garbage who cannot even protect their invitation cards would be useless even if they came here. Will they be of any help other than disrupting the organization and morale?
"Therefore, it doesn't matter whom your invitation card belonged to at the beginning. It is now in your hands. So, it is yours.
"I am just a little bit curious. Double Dragons City is just an insignificant town at the edge of the Bloody Worlds and makes its living by levying taxes on the business activities that pass through the city. But in any case, the ten or so gangs occupying the place have fought through mountains of corpses and oceans of blood. They are all the most ferocious desperadoes.
"The Village of Peace… should only be a settlement of civilians in a Desolate World, right? However strong you may be, how on earth could you have robbed them of their invitation card?
"Also, it's been almost a month since you arrived at Great Iron City, but not a third person from Double Dragons City ever came. It's obvious that the gangs lurking there were annihilated by you, leaving no survivors, which makes me even more curious about how exactly you did it."
Han Te chewed hard and struggled to swallow a large piece of meat. He stammered, "The gangs in Double Dragons City wanted to capture the sinners in dozens of villages nearby as cannon fodder. Left with no choice, we could only fight them! Later, well, some of them seemed to be thinking of joining the leader of Liberty City. A civil war broke out, and they seriously devastated each other among themselves. We took the opportunity and suppressed all the gangs!"
"I imagined so." The Fist King nodded and gestured for the two little fellows to continue eating. Then he suddenly changed the topic. "However, did the cunning gangs so easily begin a large-scale fight among themselves, to the point that everybody was wounded and exhausted? There must've been a key to the whole incident. It was probably the spiritual puppet right next to you."
Han Te and Liu Li only just took a breath in relief when they shuddered in fear again at the Fist King's new insight. The food that they had just eaten was stuck in their throats, neither going up nor sinking down. They were both blushing in suffocation.
Li Yao, however, was not surprised. It was very incredible for the Village of Peace to crush the many gangs in Double Dragons City after all. Whoever was suspicious of the issue could find many loopholes after they investigated.
He was becoming more and more curious about the Fist King's aim.
There were almost ten thousand iron fibers as thin as hairs on the Fist King's mask, which allowed him to make the movement of a 'smile' vividly. He was even able to look at Li Yao with obvious passion when he said to the two little fellows, "Because of their unstable performance and the difficulty of control, spiritual puppets that boast functions of automatic learning and upgrading are rare to come by nowadays. I did not know that there was such a well-preserved one in your desolate village. Where did you get it in the beginning?"
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other. Hinted by Li Yao, they replied dutifully, "It was picked up by us from some ruins not long ago. It seems to be a war puppet made before 'Judgment Day' and is embedded with a military crystal processor with remarkable performance. All in all, we do not need to operate it specifically. As long as it is given a basic instruction, it will automatically complete the task."
The Fist King looked at Li Yao and said, "Therefore, to some extent, you can simulate the style of human beings and communicate with them?"
"Yes," Li Yao said coldly.
His patience and curiosity had both reached their limits.
His crystal cameras and the Fist King's flashed quickly in a similar frequency, raising invisible sparks in their collisions in midair that looked like a transparent rain of fire.
Li Yao was a hundred percent certain that the Fist King had learned that he was not a common spiritual puppet or war machine.
But out of his expectations, the Fist King did not pursue it any further and simply retreated his scorching gaze. Shifting the topic back to the two little fellows again, he said, "I can tell that the two of you are not enthusiastic about power or killing. Then, what exactly are you hoping to get from the war? Tell me. I may be able to help you."
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other, both finding it hard to believe their ears. They felt that their heads were dizzy as if they had been hit right in the face by a tank named 'luck'.
Han Te hurried to wipe his mouth and said, "W-we are hoping to ask for your protection for the Village of Peace. As long as your banner flies in the sky of the Village of Peace, no gang will ever be bold enough to bully us!"
"That's all?" the Fist King said casually.
"Also…" Han Te hesitated for a moment. Then, with intense determination beaming out of his eyes, he said firmly, "I want to go to Manjusaka, the City in the Sky. I will not have an opportunity unless I join your army and help you conquer Liberty City!"
"Exactly." Perhaps the Fist King's gentle attitude and the delicious meal had shortened the distance between them. Liu Li summoned her courage and added, "I want to go to the City in the Sky, too. After you conquer Liberty City, would you help us find a way to go up there? Please."
"The City in the Sky?" Looking at the two little fellows' excitement, the Fist King seemed frustrated. He asked in disappointment, "Why do you want to go there at the risk of your life? You want to be the high and mighty angels, too?"
"Not exactly." Han Te stared at his clenched fists. "I couldn't care less about angels and whatnot. I only want to look for the truth in Manjusaka."
The Fist King was slightly dazed. Then his crystal cameras glittered so hard that they were almost on fire. "What truth?"
"My sister went to the City in the Sky three years ago, never to be heard from again. I want to find my sister in the City in the Sky and ask her what happened in the past three years," Han Te said solemnly. "Not just my sister, few of the people who have supposedly risen to the City in the Sky have ever returned. Why? Is Manjusaka such a splendid place that everybody forgets their hometown and family?
"A-also, the world we are living in, the desolate land, the sealed sky… I want to find out the truth about everything!
"Ever since my childhood, I have been standing on the ground, craning my neck to look at the supreme the City in the Sky. Now, I want to know what the view will be if I look down at the land from the City in the Sky!"
"That is really…" Subtle emotions spread out of the Fist King's artificial eyes. He turned his metal head to Liu Li and asked, "Little girl, is it the same for you?"
"I am different from my senior brother." Liu Li shook her head. "I'm told that the angels are omnipotent. I want to go to the City in the Sky to find a way to grow the Gold Barley across the Land of Sins!"
The Fist King was stunned again. "The Gold Barley?"
"Yes. Like this." Liu Li took out a lead-plated can from a satchel attached to her waist and opened it carefully, revealing the seeds of the Gold Barley inside that looked like grains of sand. She smiled. "The Gold Barley is one of the few crops that can take root and sprout in all kinds of polluted and barren environments. If we can modify it and make it robust enough to be grown all over the Land of Sins, everybody will be able to fill their stomach, and there will probably be fewer conflicts!"
Chapter 2008: Shocking Ambition! |
The Fist King was stunned for a long time before Liu Li's eyes that were as clear as water. Amused, he observed, "It's been a long time since I've seen two youngsters as interesting as you. You want to appease the conflicts and carnage in the Land of Sins? Well, come with me!"
The Fist King turned around and walked to his metal throne made of gears and chains. After he pulled a lever on the back of the throne, all the gears began to spin in squeaky noises.
The throne gradually disintegrated and was reshaped during the spinning, changing into a spiral ladder that led to the rooftop of Great Iron City.
The dome of Great Iron City blossomed slowly like petals, revealing the deep, dark night sky that was half illuminated by the blood red lights from Manjusaka.
The Fist King led the two little fellows to climb the stairs and reached the peak of Great Iron City, at an altitude of almost a hundred meters on the Bloody Plateau.
Wind was blowing like a surging tide from all directions. The two little fellows staggered and almost fell from the high fortress.
The mountains far away were like decayed corpses that were releasing black mist.
As far as their eyes could see, their own camp below their feet and Liberty City opposite them were both ablaze with lights. All the thugs and bandits were taking every second to examine their magical equipment, treat their wounds, and stuff more high-energy synthesized food into their bellies, preparing for the battle the following dawn.
Collisions of weapons, clicks of bullets when loaded, vibration noises when the chainswords and the vibration sabers were activated, the laughter and curses of the people, the screams of the wounded, and the howls of the mutated beasts… All the sounds congregated into a melody of blood that could only be heard in the abyss at the deepest level of hell.
At the center of the two battle formations, on the battlefield that witnessed a fierce battle during the day, broken stones and remnants were scattered and everywhere to be seen.
To this moment, the fuel and ammunition inside the remnants of a lot of crystal tanks were still smoldering. Glamorous fireballs burst out every once in a while, adding to the hazy atmosphere of the night.
Illuminated under the colorful fire, the stealthy will-o'-the-wisp, mixed with the broken souls of the deceased, danced creepily like the drowned before they gradually dispersed and were gone for good from the cruel world.
As they looked down at everything, it was both like an evil fairytale and an absurd joke. Han Te and Liu Li shuddered coldly at the same time beyond their control.
When they looked from such a high altitude, humans were truly no longer humans but incomplete yet aggressive pawns.
"Do you see those people?" With his hands behind his back, the Fist King stared at the two parties who were busy preparing for the war and casually said, "They are so rapacious, so desperate, and so careless about the lives of other people as well as their own. Do you really think that they want to stab chainswords into each other's stomachs and mince the enemy's internal organs into pieces only because they are not fed?"
Han Te and Liu Li were silent.
"Even if you truly grow the Gold Barley across the entire land and give enough food to everybody, including the crying toddlers and the strengthless old men, making sure that nobody will weep at night because of hunger, it will still be useless. There will still be as many contradictions, massacres, and wars!
"Perhaps this Land of Sins has been created for wars, and all the 'sinners' are born for fighting. Wars are our destiny. This is the ultimate law of this world that nobody can change or avoid. You can only choose to kill or to be killed!"
Sensing the rising aura from the Fist King's metal shell, Han Te and Liu Li trembled even harder, but as his anxiety surpassed a certain level, Han Te somehow calmed down. There was no telling where he found the courage, but he gritted his teeth and asked, "Master Fist King, are wars so interesting? Do you really like wars so much?"
"Yes, I love wars." The Fist King grinned. The smile condensed by metal muscle fibers was a hundred times more terrifying and violent than the laughter of regular bandits. "I love the feeling of punching somebody's face and mixing their broken skull with their brains. I love the flying flesh and blood from a chainsword th
at looks like a blossoming flower. I love the smell of a burning body. I love the barrage of crystal cannons and the glow when ten thousand mystic ray launchers are activated at the same time… I love everything in a war. Hehe. Hehehe!"
Rendered speechless, Han Te was defeated.
Liu Li, however, held onto the can of the Gold Barley seeds and said softly but firmly, "But we feel that the world is not supposed to be like this. One day, we will find a way to completely stop all the wars in the Land of Sins!"
"What an audacious little girl." The Fist King's smile got more and more creepy. He extended his metal face to Liu Li and said, "The entire Land of Sings is a ceaseless battlefield. All the sinners are predestined to fight until their death from the moment they are born. How do you want to stop it? There is only one way if you hope to completely terminate the wars in the Land of Sins!"
Han Te and Liu Li were both stunned. They lost their calmness and exclaimed, "What is it?"
The Fist King opened his arms, as if he was hugging the entire Land of Sins. His face turned from a smile into utmost solemnity. "Conflicts have never stopped in the Land of Sins. The major forces have been killing and fighting for the Elysian Worlds for hundreds of years without any change.
"You cannot expect to make them stop killing each other with the ridiculous Gold Barley. The only solution is very simple. All that is needed is an unprecedented expert, who will gather all the forces into an invincible, indestructible army to conquer the Desolate Worlds, the Bloody Worlds, and the Elysian Worlds!
"If the entire Land of Sins obeys the iron fist of one expert, your wish will naturally be fulfilled. There will be no killing or wars!"
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other in bewilderment, feeling coldness leaking out from the deepest parts of their bones. They eyed the Fist King as if he were a lunatic.
"No. I almost forgot. There's still that." The Fist King grinned and extended one of his metal fingers to point at the night sky. "Even if an expert can unite the entire Land of Sins and conquer all the gangs and Elysian Worlds, it is impossible to end all wars because Manjusaka, the City in the Sky, still exists! It will not be the last war until the high and mighty City in the Sky is conquered, will it?"