Chapter 29: At This Instant in Time, I Am Your Hero

【During this time, you gave yourself a name, and this name is Gu Jiangming.】

【You are inexplicably familiar with this name, even believing that you should be called by this name.】

【Although you were born in Jiangyang Fishing Village, increasingly strange memories have appeared in your mind; this has increased your Knowledge, and it also makes you appear different from others in the county town.】

【You are incompatible with those soldiers who are mediocre and train themselves every day just for the sake of training, and therefore, Zhang of Leping County thinks very highly of you.】

【Soon, you became a Colonel of Leping County, responsible for the daily patrol duties inside and outside the county town.】

【You thought such a peaceful life could last for a very, very long time.】

【But one night, you heard stealthy movements inside the county town; you suddenly woke up and immediately rose to pick up a long saber on the table.】

【Your movements quickly woke up your colleague Mao Rui, who was resting nearby; he followed your actions and listened quietly to the sounds outside.】

【Soon, a cry of "Enemy attack" clearly spread throughout the entire military camp; under these circumstances, no one dared to be negligent and they all picked up their weapons.】

【But the Leping County where you are located is, after all, just an ordinary county town; whether it is the quality of the troops or the level of cultivation, it is far inferior to normal cultivators. Under the hasty assembly, Zhang, who had recruited you from the fishing village, shouted "Retreat."】

【And you went out to take a look, only to see black gas like mist surging into the city.】

【"What is that?" you asked curiously.】

【Mao Rui's voice was trembling slightly; he grabbed your wrist and fled toward where Zhang was roaring, "Th-that is a demon. They have really come."】

【The entire army fell into a state of scattering and fleeing; this was a temporarily recruited army that had only been trained for a few months. Some people had not even properly practiced the Basic Cultivation Method distributed to them, so expecting them to have outstanding combat power was a fantasy in itself, let alone facing such a huge disparity.】

【"Zhang has Merit to protect him; the demons dare not harass him at will. If we follow him, we will surely survive."】

【Merit.】

【This is a type of power you have heard of for the first time.】

【"Are we just leaving like this?" you said with some hesitation, "The demons are harassing us; what should the people of Leping County do?"】

【"Our lives are about to be lost, why do you care about them? Even Zhang is leaving here." There was some helplessness in Mao Rui's voice.】

【"If we abandon Leping County, what will happen to the villages nearby that look to Leping County as their leader?" you said, unwilling to give up.】

【"I can't control that." Mao Rui instinctively felt awe; he let go of your hand and only focused on following the location of that voice to escape.】

【You turned your head.】

【Watching those demon shadows formed by the clusters of black smoke landing, the soldiers who could not dodge or escape in time were easily caught up to, and then they fell flat on the ground, turning into corpses.】

【You know very well that there is no possibility of survival by just focusing on running away.】

【One must have a fighting spirit and organize these soldiers with organization and discipline to have any room for a counterattack.】

【Otherwise, continuing like this is just waiting for death.】

【What's more, if Leping County falls, Jiangyang Fishing Village near Leping County will definitely face a catastrophe.】

【This is not just a battle for your own survival.】

【"Leping County Colonel Gu Jiangming is here; everyone still in the camp, listen to my orders. If you want to live, then gather together as much as possible and resist the enemy with me."】

【Your voice quickly attracted others; it might be the herd mentality, or perhaps the sense of security brought by people gathering together, but the originally scattered camp slowly began to converge.】

【Fortunately, the main people these demons were chasing were not you; only a few were left behind, and the others chased toward the distance.】

【In the end, you and a dozen soldiers fought your way out of the military camp.】

【You were surprised to find that the injuries you sustained quickly became capable of healing; you possess a recovery ability different from ordinary people.】

【Returning to Leping County, you found that the people in the city had not suffered much loss, but the defenses of Leping County had been completely crushed. If demons were to enter the city later, Leping County would have almost no defensive capability.】

【And you, furthermore, became the highest-ranking officer in the city.】

【Those soldiers who successfully escaped could not follow your orders at all; as soon as they returned home, they immediately tried every possible way to take their families and flee Leping County.】

【However, those demons capable of using escape arts to enter the city directly were only the vanguard; before they had rested for long, the demon army, having just achieved Demon Form and appearing slightly clumsy and dull, appeared outside the distant city walls.】

【You immediately ordered the few remaining soldiers to abandon the idea of fleeing, reinforce the city, and delay the speed of the demons' siege.】

【You let those who usually had some prestige in the county town organize orderly actions to send the women, children, and elderly of the city out of the city to flee.】

And on the entire map, the areas above the Nine Provinces that were originally marked in green all rippled with crisis-like red waves.

【In Leping County, you faced demons far superior to yourself and tried your best to delay time, but your ability was limited after all; in just two hours, Leping County was completely breached by the demons.】

【At this moment, you put down the sword in your hand, feeling a sense of relief.】

【You are Gu Jiangming; you held your bottom line and resolutely decided to welcome your own death.】

【"Pan Yu."】

【A familiar voice rang from your ear.】

【Her voice was flat, seemingly without the slightest emotional ripple, as if she had not come intentionally, but had just saved a stranger in passing.】

【"Remember, at this instant in time, I am your hero."】

【When you woke up again, you found yourself in a strange place; your surroundings were full of dark deep water. As a human, you subconsciously felt afraid and held your breath, not daring to inhale.】

【But if this continued, you would sooner or later suffocate to death.】

【She appeared.】

【Gently kissing your cheek, you suddenly felt that your whole body seemed to have gained a magical ability, allowing you to breathe deeply in the ocean.】

【"Y-you... are you the Immortal that Zhang spoke of?"】

【For the first time, you felt curious about the person in front of you.】

【"Imm-Immortal?" She thought thoughtfully, then shook her head, "I am not an Immortal..."】

【"I am a dragon." Her tone was as cold as ever, "We should have known each other for eleven days."】

【"Eleven days? I have known you for eleven years." You said with some dissatisfaction, "We have known each other for eleven years."】

【"I don't even know your name."】

【"My name is Long Xi."】

【"I like to watch the sea at Wanchao."】

【"What about you? Do you like watching the sea?"】

"Me? I don't like it," you shook your head and said.

"I just saw you looking at the sea, so I wanted to see what was at the other end."

"Right, my younger brother and my father are still in the village; I need to take them and leave here quickly."

"They are dead," Long Xi said indifferently, "before Leping County."

A look of sorrow appeared on your face, even though your father was very strict with you.

"I had no way to save them."

"Because according to the rules, a god can only stand by and watch."

"You are different."

"I am different?"

"You are my Believer."

(End of chapter)