Chapter 828: Bright Dawn Martial Contest Tests the Edge (83)

Feixiao was shocked: "You say... what?"

"Those who came to rescue me, the Dou Lanziyi, wholeheartedly hoped that when I regained freedom they could turn the tide of battle and change everything, letting the Step Away Hunting Clan flourish again! But this is merely a beautiful dream manipulated by those with ulterior motives. They would rather place their hope of survival in an illusory savior, lacking even a trace of the courage and strength to fight desperately. Such Step Away people might as well all perish!"

"And I, a prisoner locked away for seven hundred years, a war criminal who can't even hope for an honorable death in battle, would become a puppet manipulated by others upon returning to my people. I will never accept such a fate!"

"For a true strong one, 'Fox People' or 'Step Away' are just names; a true strong one can decide their own path. I will forge a completely new road for myself, handing over the power that decides the hunting clan's fate to you—once a Step Away war slave, future Lord of the Fox People."

"Your medical officer Jiaoqiu has served you so loyally that he would die to cure your Moon Madness. I told him the way to salvation lies in my hands." Hu Lei's figure appeared behind Feixiao, pacing back and forth at her side.

"As long as you nod, you will instantly awaken from the mad nightmare brought by the Red Moon, your body renewed. Henceforth, no madness will trouble you; doubt will be mere dust brushed from your heart, and fear will vanish completely."

——

Jujutsu Kaisen

"This guy is way too smart! Knowing he can't go back, he just snatched a general from the enemy camp to be the war chief... absolutely a genius!"

Although Hu Lei isn't a good person, Hu Zhang can hardly deny that he is a charismatic leader, and his vision is incredibly strong.

He never intended to survive from the start; every step was part of his calculation, even factoring in the general. Feixiao would either remain trapped in Moon Madness and eventually die, or become the new war chief of the Step Away people. In a sense, he has done everything he could as well as possible.

"Feixiao won't agree, and even if she did, becoming the new war chief of the Step Away people would mean standing opposed to the Immortal Vessel Alliance. Even as a Great Victory General, she couldn't withstand the other generals' encirclement." Hishigata Atsuya took out a cigarette from the case, held it in his mouth, and said: "In a sense, the moment she consumes the Red Moon, there's only one way to live—letting the Red Moon restore her sanity so she can return to being an Immortal Vessel general."

Xiaozi curled her lips: "How could that be possible? Hu Lei's move is a mutual destruction tactic, handing the Red Moon over to the Step Away people's mortal enemies—those Step Away brats from his hometown would surely faint from rage!"

"'And what about anger? Hu Lei has expelled the Step Away people from his homeland. In his eyes, they're probably just a pack of dogs raised by the Eternal Life Lord, long devoid of wolfish ferocity, not worth saving.'"

——

"'Is this the path you've prepared for me… to become another you?' Feixiao asked with a cold smile."

"'Exactly, after all you and I are so similar. We are monsters born for war and destined to die in war.'"

"'There's no need for me to say the answer.' Feixiao raised her head, 'I refuse.'"

"'I've said before, Step Away or Fox People are just names. You want to be who you want to be; you want to do what you want to do. Accept all this, and the Step Away people will submit to you. Destroy them, leaving no bones, or educate them to become vassals of the Immortal Vessel... all up to your liking.'"

"'Your name will be carved in the Immortal Vessel's records, or in the roster of great enemies—everything is up to you.'"

——

Xiao Lin's Dragon Maid

"'Agree! Hurry up and agree! With such a good thing right in front of you, why wouldn't you agree?!'"

Tuo Er stared at Feixiao's expressionless face, even a bit like she wanted to laugh, and nearly went crazy with anxiety. Isn't this situation a hundred percent agreement? Since agreeing to Hu Lei means you can do whatever you want afterward, that would mean returning to continue as a general, right?

Tuo Er was already completely moved—this Red Moon is practically a free gift. Hu Lei even said he could educate the Step Away people; this is simply the best opportunity to end the thousand-year war between the Step Away and the Immortal Vessel peoples!

But why does Feixiao remain utterly unmoved? Tuo Er couldn't understand. Isn't using the Red Moon to resolve her own Moon Madness and also subjugate the Step Away people exactly what she wants?

"'Hmm... although Hu Lei's offer is generous, after all it's just the enemy's side of the story.' After a moment's thought, Xiao Lin analyzed seriously, '... Hu Lei is really cunning; no one knows if he's lying. General Feixiao might have this concern.'"

"'So that's how it is?'"

"'There's another layer, at least as I see it: dealing with the Step Away people might involve the Immortal Vessel Alliance's baseline on handling monstrous beings.' Xiao Lin said."

"'Baseline?'"

"'Although Hu Lei's offer is generous, once you accept his conditions it means the Immortal Vessel Alliance would be the first to break the baseline on nurturing monstrous beings. And once the baseline has a precedent of being broken, it becomes meaningless.'"

——

"'You don't understand, Hu Lei, you simply don't understand what I want.' Feixiao closed her eyes, shook her head, 'When I was a child, to escape the wolf-head's whip and shackles, my hands were first stained with blood.'"

"'When Feixiao was a child, she chased after that meteor streaking across the horizon, urging the Fox People maiden behind her: 'Ningli, don't stop, run fast…!'"

"'Ningli! Run with me!'"

……

"'We ran and ran, exerting our utmost, not knowing where each of us was headed. I escaped the hunting clan's pursuit and met a woman who could fly… a Cloud Cavalry soldier.'"

Hu Lei: 'I guess you kept your promise.'

Feixiao shook her head: 'It's a pity that when I brought her back to our homeland, hoping to liberate Kulu's companions, I saw only a bottomless abyss left on the earth.'

Hu Lei burst into loud laughter upon hearing that: 'Hahaha, the light of the demonic bow… a disaster star falls to earth, all things perish.'

Feixiao ignored him, continuing calmly: 'In the years that followed, I and my Cloud Cavalry comrades chased that light's trajectory countless times, and watched it fall countless times. Gradually I realized it was never a meteor carrying wishes. Each appearance of that light-arrow meant a doomed world and the annihilation of countless beings.'

"'I prayed to the God of the Heavenly Bow, asking Him not to let me witness another meteor fall.'"

"'But… the god never answered me.'"