Chapter 766

It's truly tragic...

Kaeya set down his cup, his expression grave: 'Before, I only heard Jingyuan and Yukong speak of the war with the Abundance Folk; a war with millions of casualties was just a number to them. But when that number became reality... it was so heavy as to be unimaginable.'

Considering this is merely the demon sword's memory, it's probably not even the great war thirty years ago—the Abundance Folk war that put the Immortal Vessel in a life‑or‑death situation, whose casualties likely far exceed those on this snowfield. The scene in the demon sword's recollection is probably just one of several skirmishes with the Abundance Folk.

'It's no wonder Guang wanted to forge Suiyang into the sword; facing such casualties... it's hard not to try to seek some unorthodox sword solutions.'

——

"It's so cold—I didn't feel it during the fight, but now I'm freezing to the bone."

A swordsman knelt on one knee among the corpses, his body leaning forward, only kept from collapsing entirely by Guyun deeply embedded in the frozen earth.

He gasped heavily, each breath seeming to squeeze the last bit of air from his lungs; this brief respite in the slaughter relaxed his tense nerves somewhat.

'It's truly a masterpiece of the Vermilion Bright Immortal Vessel. If you hadn't just taken control of my hand, I would have been beheaded in that fight just now...'

'Shut up, stay alert! The hunt of the Bu Li Wolf Soldiers never ceases.'

"Don't be so serious, let's chat a bit. We've been stranded in this world for over three hundred rotation days. The communicator has never responded; contacting the main force seems hopeless. The locals still use camel beasts to pull carts—getting them to repair the Star Raft is obviously impossible."

The swordsman raised his head; here the sky shows no star‑filled Milky Way, only a dim, washed‑out night sky hanging low, heavily pressing down on the blood‑stained snowplain.

"... Our remaining lives are going to be locked on this planet."

"Remaining life, you Immortal Vessel folks have far too long a lifespan. Feeling despair? One person facing a hostile world." Guyun said.

"A bit."

The swordsman tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to make a smile, but only moved the frozen wound on his face, causing a sharp pain.

"If you can't endure it, you can hand everything over to me. You don't need to think about those overly heavy things..."

"All right, if I really can't hold out, I'll give you control of my body." The swordsman slowly rose to his feet, "But now isn't the time."

"With such meager ability of yours, can you resist an entire Bu Li People army? What exactly are you insisting on?"

——

Spiritual energy at one hundred percent.

"At this point, having my body controlled by the demon sword is actually a relief."

Gazing at the grim sight in the sky, even Xiao Jiao Wo, a high‑level evil spirit, couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

The Immortal Vessel people's long life has also become a curse; with the Abundance power's blessing, they don't die so easily in this extreme weather. But to live is to endure a suffering longer than death.

"This place is probably just one of many worlds enslaved by the Bu Li People." Linghuan looked up at the sky, "If the people here could join forces with the Immortal Vessel's Cloud Cavalry, we might still have a chance to contend with the Bu Li People's army."

「Stalemate? No chance, the Step-Leave people aren't idiots. 」 Xiao Jiwo shrugged. 「I used to think that Han Guang forging over a thousand demon swords was already a lot, but now it seems far from enough; if every Cloud Cavalry soldier here were equipped with a demon sword, we could probably wipe out all the Step-Leave people on this planet in no time. 」

「What about after wiping them out? 」 Ling Huan glared at the green spirit floating above the extra's head. 「These demon swords are top-notch divine weapons for war, but once the war ends, those soldiers who have entrusted their souls to Sui Yang will become flesh-and-blood puppets, and likewise will one day become a disaster for the Divine Vessel. 」

Xiao Jiwo pursed his lips and said: 「Then it's up to the Divine Vessel to decide. I just feel that the harm caused by demon swords is lesser than the disaster brought by the Abundance Folk—choosing the lesser of two evils. If we can use demon swords to quell the Abundance Folk disaster sweeping countless worlds, and pay an appropriate price, I think it's completely acceptable… but speaking of which, isn't the price the Divine Vessel has already paid for the Abundance Folk not small enough? 」

According to Yu Kong's earlier account, in the Abundance Folk war thirty years ago, the number of aviators who died alone approached nearly a million—it could be described as nine deaths to one life, the cost was certainly not small, but even after paying such a price, the Divine Vessel only managed a pyrrhic victory.

Xiao Jiwo actually felt that Han Guang's original idea was completely fine; it was just that the process went awry. If we let the general take charge of this, the outcome might be much better.

——

「「I'm trapped here, but this Step-Leave people hunting party should have encountered the same predicament……」 The swordsman seemed to suddenly think of something, and shifted the conversation: 「Right, Gu Yun, do you know what a 'seed' is? A seed is something as insignificant as dust. But if carefully cultivated and given time, it can grow into an indomitable towering tree. 」」

「「You said the Divine Vessel people's remaining lives are too long…」 Exactly, I plan to cultivate a seed over the coming years, named the 'Rebellion' seed, and I want the people of this land to learn to take up arms and rebel against those monsters. 」」

「「I… have already seen this seed in their eyes. 」」

Gu Yun chuckled hehe: 「Can you do it? How about you hand over your body to me—kill one to break even, kill two to profit big. 」

The conversation between the two gradually grew distant; Yun Li withdrew her gaze, and her expression gradually recovered from shock.

「「What was that memory just now? 」」

「「That's a memory of me and a Cloud Cavalry soldier stranded on an alien planet. 」 Gu Yun said, 「We crashed on a planet occupied by the Step-Leave people—only… us. 」」

「「I can feel that this is a lonely war. 」」

Yun Li continued to follow Gu Yun forward, seeing that soldier sit slumped before the extinguished campfire, painfully clutching his head.

「「I'm still alive, but the young people in the village……」」

Gu Yun: 「They died—for you, they died, dying for your promise of a 'day without the Step-Leave people'. I have tasted their despair before death. They cannot see that day arrive. Neither can you. 」

The soldier gasped heavily, as if forcing himself to calm down; he slapped his cheeks and sprang up from the ground: 「We… can't stay here any longer. Let's go to the next village. 」

「「Why? What are you still holding onto?! 」 Gu Yun completely couldn't understand, shouting at him: 「You and your pitiful ragtag army have been fighting for over thirty years. You've never won. What you've sown is fundamentally not 'rebellion,' merely 'despair'. 」

「「This world is beyond salvation—it's been infected by the Step-Leave people's hunting pack! 」」

「「You've seen their numbers, you also know their methods… and those wild folk you place your hopes in only know to grovel on the ground, respectfully calling the monsters that eat their children and kin 'Beast Lord'. 」」

「「You beheaded their Beast Lord for them, yet they feared retaliation and gave you up—you remember all of this, don't you? 」」