Chapter 259: The Burden?

The conference room.

So quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Not a single person spoke.

Around the rosewood table, the nineteen prodigies of the Dragon Order Class all lowered their eyes.

Their faces were filled with complexity.

Disappointment, bitterness, and a deep sense of helplessness.

Everyone seated here had been painstakingly selected from among China's 1. billion people as top-tier prodigies.

They were the Top Graduates who dominated their respective cities.

They were accustomed to being above all others, accustomed to being looked up to by their peers.

Before coming to Beijing University, they had dreams higher than the heavens.

They had even imagined themselves slaughtering enemies on the Ten Thousand Nations Battlefield, bringing glory to their nation.

But after meeting Lin Mo.

At first, they thought he was insanely strong.

They thought it was unbelievable.

They thought he was a non-human monster.

But later.

As they repeatedly entered dungeons and kept breaking records.

They slowly grew accustomed to it.

Accustomed to Lin Mo carrying them.

Accustomed to following behind their class leader, watching him obliterate everything in his path.

Even subconsciously,

they felt it wasn't so bad to be a passive accessory who didn't need to think.

With a demon king standing in front,

even if the sky fell, they wouldn't fear.

But now,

facing the combined siege of the Seven Nations Alliance,

this was a true life-or-death contest between national prodigies.

Hundreds of top prodigies, equal or even superior in rank to them, were surrounding them.

What would happen? No one could say.

No one wanted to be the one dragging Lin Mo down.

At the head of the table,

Guhe slowly scanned every person present.

He knew,

that for these prodigies raised in unshakable pride, accepting they were a burden, admitting they didn't deserve to fight, was an excruciating thing.

Long silence.

Guhe looked toward Lin Mo, who had been sitting quietly in the corner.

"Lin Mo."

"Huh?"

Lin Mo snapped out of it, blinked.

"What is it, Principal?"

Guhe looked at him, his tone serious:

"What's your opinion? Do you think they should go in with you?"

Hearing this, Lin Mo yawned.

He shrugged, utterly indifferent.

"I'm fine either way."

"If they want to go, they can go."

"If not, they can just rest at school."

"What's there to agonize over?"

Hearing Lin Mo's answer,

everyone in the conference room froze.

Lin Mo waved his hand:

"It's just the Seven Nations Alliance? So what?"

In fact,

to Lin Mo,

whether Han Mengyao and the others entered or not made zero difference.

He had confidence in his own strength, and in the power of the little ones inside him.

Even if it were seventy nations allied, what would it matter?

As soon as they met,

under absolute firepower, every demon and ghost would be reduced to ash.

Before absolute firepower, all demons and monsters are reduced to ash.

the Ten Thousand Nations Battlefield was vast; being alone did feel a bit lonely.

Having some companions around, shouting "Class Leader is awesome," wasn't so bad.

It's not bad to have companions beside you shouting, "Squad Leader, awesome!"

"Fireball" didn't think so.

【"Fireball"'s tone was overflowing with supreme arrogance and disdain.】

【"Pfft, why bring them along? Kings are destined to be alone."】

【"Earth Shield" weakly rebutted.】

【"But big brother… if we don't take them, who's gonna shout 'awesome' for you and the Master?"】

【"Fireball" exploded: "Get lost! Does my power need them to cheer?"】

【【Fireball Spell】Furious: "Get lost! Does my power need their cheers?"】

screech—

A shrill sound of chair legs scraping the floor rang out.

"Class Leader."

Han Mengyao stood up.

She kept her head slightly lowered.

"I…"

"I'm not going."

Lin Mo looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Decided?"

Han Mengyao looked at Lin Mo and nodded.

"Class Leader, ever since I met you, I've… I've been trying desperately to catch up to you."

"I'm an SSS-rank Lord of Frost."

"I always thought my ice affinity was the best among my generation in all of China."

"I always thought my Ice affinity was unmatched among my peers across the entire Dragon Nation."

"Until I saw your ice skills,

I realized how ridiculous I was."

Han Mengyao bit her lip.

"Every time in the dungeon, I pushed myself to the limit to output damage."

"Back in the dorm at night, I replayed every battle in my mind, thinking about how to time my skill releases better."

"I've… tried so hard, so hard."

"I've… tried so, so hard."

"Your growth rate is still so fast I can't even see your shadow."

"In the dungeon, even when I pour everything into output, I still can't match your leftovers."

Han Mengyao gave a bitter laugh.

"This time, our opponents aren't mindless monsters—they're real humans, prodigies from other nations."

"Our opponents this time aren't mindless demons, but true humans — other nations' prodigies."

"I really want to fight beside you."

"I want to stand on the Ten Thousand Nations Battlefield and bring glory to China."

I really want to stand on the Ten Thousand Nations Battlefield and bring glory to Longguo.

"But I, Han Mengyao, have my own pride—I don't want to be a burden."

With that, she fell silent.

Han Mengyao sat back down in her chair.

She turned her head away, refusing to look at anyone.

Lin Mo sat in his seat, watching Han Mengyao's stubborn profile.

He sighed and scratched his head in helplessness.

In truth, he didn't care about any of this.

A burden?

What burden?

Just over a hundred people.

Even if they were targeted, even if they were surrounded,

logically, it shouldn't have come to the point of dragging everyone down.

But—

Lin Mo thought for a moment, then let it go.

He understood.

Put yourself in their shoes.

Suppose you were them.

Top prodigies, the center of attention in your own city,

with more pride than anyone else,

wouldn't you find it unbearable to exist only as a passive spectator shouting "666"?

Even outside, people would point and whisper,

saying: "Look, those people from Dragon Order Class—they only survived because Lin Mo carried them!"

Such words—

for proud prodigies, were more painful than death.

Better not go at all.

Than become a despised appendage.