Chapter 453: with translation of chapter title

"Hongtai, answer the phone quickly, please hurry."

"Gao Siwu hid in a distant corner, curling her body and continuously dialing the phone with her trembling hands."

"She did not leave as Jiang Xia told her to; she did not know what she could do by staying here, but she knew she could not truly leave, because her heart was here, only the heart can decide, and her heart did not want to leave."

"Even though she was terrified inside, she would not leave, but to avoid affecting Jiang Xia's battle, she chose to run a bit farther away."

"She had always been quite stubborn; once she decided something, it would not change, so she chose the only one who could help Jiang Xia fight those strangers with guns—namely, Ge Ye Hongtai."

"Hey, it's Hongtai, Jiang Xia was…"

"Bang bang bang!"

"The moment Gao Siwu connected the call, what she heard was not Ge Ye Hongtai's voice, but the piercing roar of the engine! And the sound of weapons colliding and exploding into sparks!"

"Hongtai was also fighting at that moment, and Gao Siwu realized it."

"How could she have forgotten? Hongtai was competing against the captain of the Balong team, playing the Exotic Being game."

"So, even if she got through on the phone, she couldn't immediately support Jiang Xia."

"She suddenly lost all her strength, she lowered her head, hugged her knees, and sat against the wall; now she could only pray and believe, praying to the gods and believing in Jiang Xia's strength."

"But in the process of praying, she felt utterly useless, unable to do anything."

"\"Hey, Ahwu, I… what is that! \" Ge Ye Hongtai, who was riding a motorcycle and the already transformed Kuwen Jiedou was speeding, had just gotten through on the phone, and the next second the spear of Kuwen Jiedou fiercely left several gashes on his body."

"Ge Ye Hongtai also had no choice but to first put down his phone, then hastily draw the large orange pill from his waist and fight alongside Kuwen Jiedou while riding his motorcycle, just like a true cavalry."

"At this moment, five bright red arcs suddenly appeared ahead of the accelerating motorcycle, directly enveloping the two motorcycles speeding on the road, and the enveloped motorcycles formed a huge fruit."

"The fruit unexpectedly rose into the air, spinning rapidly in midair, while the space ahead emitted a cracking sound; the spinning fruit slammed violently into the void and rushed in. Before the two could react, they passed straight through the spatial passage. In those few seconds of their dazed state, they were astonished to find they had arrived in a forest full of strange trees."

"And the call that Gao Siwu had managed to connect was thus cut off."

"\"You are indeed not a human. \" Wu Dao Guhu's eyes instantly grew solemn."

"Dozens of submachine guns were instantly disassembled into thousands of parts; these special forces troops, rich in combat experience, didn't even have time to fire."

"\"No, you don't understand the world enough. I am merely someone who has stepped onto the path of Evolution. I too started as an ordinary person with no strength to truss a chicken, and didn't the World Tree Group also use the power of the Hellheim Forest's fruit via the Supreme Extreme Driver? \" Jiang Xia spread his hands."

"He still admired Wu Dao Guhu quite a bit; although he appeared cold and ruthless on the outside, deep down he was a gentle person, simply fighting purely to save the world."

"Wu Dao Guhu also did not threaten him through Gao Siwu; instead, he regarded her as someone bewitched by Jiang Xia who needed rescuing. Based solely on that, Jiang Xia had no reason to kill him."

"If someone else had ordered so many people to block Jiang Xia on the roadside and tried to shoot him, perhaps no one here could have survived."

"\"Do you mean to say you ate the fruit of the Hellheim Forest? \" Wu Dao Guhu's pupils dilated slightly, his voice unusually low."

"That should be impossible; countless cases tell him that anyone who eats the fruit ends up as a monster. Every day many people accidentally enter the Hellheim Forest, lured by the fruit, and that is why he roams throughout Zeya City, trying to resolve the Hellheim Forest invasion."

"\"That's right, and not just one; only a small portion of people in this world can retain their self-consciousness after eating the fruit and, based on that, obtain immensely powerful strength. \" Jiang Xia lightly snapped his fingers; the special forces troops who had merely lost their weapons but still retained some combat power all fainted at that moment."

"Moreover, he lightly waved his hand, and a powerful impact accompanied by a storm burst forth from the center instantly, making the surrounding large trees rustle loudly."

"Wu Dao Guhu's pupils contracted, and in an instant he donned the Supreme Extreme Driver at his waist; with his practiced transformation speed, his white base form plus the melon-like armored fruit on his head leapt into the air, lunging straight at Jiang Xia."

"At the instant he leapt, the melon on his head swiftly unfolded; Wu Dao Guhu held a black longsword and, from above, brought it down heavily on the not-yet-transformed Jiang Xia."

"The power of the melon lock-seed quickly spread across the blade; because the speed of this swing was too fast, the blade, in its rapid motion, seemed to trail a cyan sword-light behind Wu Dao Guhu."

"As expected of the person with the strongest single-human combat power, his reaction speed and physique are top-notch; he seemed to transform into an azure-blue hawk, his aura as if it would cleave everything ahead."

"He had no intention of believing Jiang Xia's words at all; from the start he only wanted to defeat Jiang Xia directly, and the claim that someone could eat the Hellheim Forest's fruit and still retain self-consciousness simply does not exist—those countless videos and experimental data only show the same result: only monsters can eat the fruit."

"Now Wu Dao Guhu believes only one thing: everything Jiang Xia says is deceitful talk; even if they really fought, the odds are minuscule, and humanity would all turn into monsters."

"Now the Hellheim Forest's exotic beings can actually take human form and come here; this person is truly extremely dangerous."

"Seeing the azure hawk swooping down, Jiang Xia made no evasive or defensive move, and the blade, already stained a light cyan, suddenly slashed toward his head."

"It's a pity there are no spectators here like those watching the Exotic Being game; otherwise, filming this scene would definitely make headline news."

"An armored Knight using lock-seeds against defenseless civilians would surely dominate all the newspaper pages of Zeya City."

"However, the armored Knight is indeed a Knight, but his opponent is not a defenseless civilian; judging combat power by appearance alone is often a very unwise choice."

"Clang!"

"That longsword struck, but not Jiang Xia's neck; it hit the air wall before him, and that blade, which could cleave anything, simply hung suspended in midair, emitting a piercing roar."

"The melon lock-seed's power continually flowed through Wu Dao Guhu's body, pale cyan electricity flickering in midair; he had exerted all his strength, yet he could not cut through that invisible wall before him."

"\"Not bad, but still not enough. \""

"Jiang Xia eyed the longsword about to reach his neck, gripped the blade with his hand, and with a light flick sent Wu Dao Guhu's transformed Zangyue flying back with a tremendous shockwave."

"He glanced around at the fallen black-clad men, waved his hand and moved them elsewhere; they were merely affecting the cityscape here, but the black sedans blocking the road were a real obstruction."

"\"The cars are really blocking the road, but that's not very civilized. \" Jiang Xia merely waved his hand, and all the cars originally blocking this street were lifted and flipped by some unknown force; those black sedans tumbled and burned in midair, the firelight illuminating Wu Dao Guhu's shocked expression."

"The cars broke apart while tumbling, flames blazing on the fragments; arrow-like shards shot outward in all directions, huge sparks erupted around, sweeping the entire street."

"Dozens of cars, along with everything inside, were completely burned up in the storm of steel and flame; Gao Siwu, hiding in the distance, suddenly lifted her head, staring blankly at the dazzling pillar of fire, as everything before her was replaced by orange-red flames."

"How could this be? Could it be that Jiang Xia failed to defeat his enemy?"

"Gao Siwu tightly clutched her hands to her chest, unable to believe the sight of the fire column shooting up into the sky."

"Before she could recover from that indescribable pain, she saw a wisp of green light slowly emerging from the fire column."

"She recognized that color, but soon she fell into doubt again—who was he? In the fierce firelight, a Knight clad in melon armor, left hand holding a cyan-green shield, right hand holding a black longsword, came through the fire column, the intense heat and fire storm parting like water from the center outward."

"Opposite the melon Knight, there was similarly an armored Knight who looked exactly the same, only his condition was not so good; another Zangyue's body seemed to have been struck by a tremendous force, the whole person being slammed straight into the wall by an invisible force, stone fragments flying."

"Seeing this, Gao Siwu felt the scene was somewhat familiar no matter how she looked at it; a flash of insight crossed her mind—the exotic being that Jiang Xia had punched away a few days earlier seemed to be in the same situation, both having been violently smashed into the wall."

"Could it be!"

"Gao Siwu instantly steadied herself, carefully shifting her body along the rear wall like a tiny mouse secretly burrowing underground; she wanted to get a bit closer, to see more clearly."

"As she drew nearer, she gradually saw clearly that the black-clad men wielding submachine guns who had surrounded Jiang Xia had all fallen, and the cars parked on the road had vanished without a trace."

"\"No need to hide anymore, come over quickly. \" Jiang Xia said through the wall to the Gao Siwu who had been secretly observing him."

"He isn't blind; he knows whether Gao Siwu has come over or not."

"The girl heard Jiang Xia's voice and exclaimed joyfully, \"I knew you would definitely win! \""

"Is that so? What do you mean by secretly calling? Don't you believe in my power?" Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow.

"Because I don't want you to get into trouble." Gao Siwu's gaze seemed to pierce the mask, locking onto Jiang Xia's eyes as she spoke seriously.

Jiang Xia smiled faintly beneath the mask, gently stroking her head, and said: "No power can harm me; next time I tell you to leave, don't foolishly stay here."

"Hmph, it depends on the situation—I'll stay if I want to, and if I want to leave I'll just run." Gao Siwu let out a light hum, flashed a playful smile, and turned away.

"What an disobedient girl." Jiang Xia sighed.

"Ah! He's gone." Gao Siwu suddenly exclaimed, seeing that another Zhan Yue who had been lying on the ground had already disappeared.

"Let him go; he's not an enemy, but rather a good person." Jiang Xia slightly tilted his head, looking at the stairs on the left side of the park as he spoke slowly, but he quickly withdrew his gaze.

"With Wu Dao Guhu's personality, how could he possibly run away?" "Good people? What exactly are they, and why would they want to attack you? With so many of them together, it's truly unfair." Gao Siwu was somewhat angry, thinking, "How could a good person do something like this?"

"It's precisely because they are good people that they act this way; good people aren't just talking—they sometimes have even more to consider than bad people."

"I don't really understand." Gao Siwu shook her head.

"With me here, you don't need to understand too much."

Jiang Xia canceled his transformation, reached out his hand to the now energetic Gao Siwu, and asked, "How about it, do you still want me to carry you?"

"Of course, I was almost scared to death by you just now, and I have no strength left in my body, so of course I want to." Gao Siwu jumped directly onto Jiang Xia's back, clinging there like a koala hugging a tree.

At the left side of the park, Zhan Yue slowly emerged from the shadows, watching the two's departing backs; he aimed the gun attached to his black long blade at them, but after thinking, he lowered the gun in his hand.

"Is he really an evolved human?" Wu Dao Guhu watched the receding backs, took off the honeydew melon seed from his waist belt, and canceled his transformation.

The girl named Gao Siwu, he likewise checked the records and found nothing special; she had lived in Marsh Sprout City since childhood, completely human.

He originally thought that person had bewitched that girl, but now it seems not; the girl left and then returned, choosing to stay here— that worry, the joy of regaining what was lost, that sincere feeling he could sense.

No matter how much one confuses people's hearts, it's fundamentally impossible to reach this degree.

So just now, was he preparing to strip a girl of her hope? And moreover, that person calls himself a good person— does he truly deserve that title?

"Director? The battle is already over?" a combat team member slowly crawled up from the ground, looking doubtfully at the suit-clad Wu Dao Guhu standing in the center of the park; the smell of gunpowder permeated the entire park, the constantly burning sparks and scattered debris showing how fierce the battle had been.

"The battle has long ended; let's see how many casualties there are." Wu Dao Guhu said expressionlessly to the special forces team member who had regained consciousness.

"Yes." He gestured and went to check on his companions' conditions.

As time passed second by second, the other fallen special forces team members also gradually woke up, with no casualties—just a slight headache.

"Director, no one was injured; it's just that the vehicle we drove here and all the submachine guns are completely damaged." He reported to Wu Dao Guhu.

Not even a single person was harmed.

Wu Dao Guhu sighed inwardly, but his face remained that cold, expressionless look as he said: "Regarding this operation's objective, the World Tree needs no further deployment."

"And him?" he still wanted to say something, but was cut off by Wu Dao Guhu's glance.

"Yes, Director." (End of chapter)