[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shadow-slave":3,"chapter-shadow-slave-shadow-slave-chapter-2735":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Shadow Slave",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},15692,41,"Chapter 2735 For the Greater Good","shadow-slave-chapter-2735",2735,"\u003Cp>The interrogation of Awakened Yutra, a thrall of the Dreamspawn, was like a nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the kind of nightmare that claws at one's heart and leaves them breathless, covered in cold sweat in the middle of a dark night, but rather the kind of nightmare that makes one feel like they are lost in the middle of a bizarre and senseless mire. A dream that makes one uncomfortable because of how peculiar and nonsensical it is. Sunny was dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I feel like I have a fever.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I would never betray the legion!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Awakened Yutra leaned forward, momentarily forgetting even his awe in the face of the ruler of humanity out of pure outrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Never! My lady, you experienced war as a soldier as well. You know the kind of bond that soldiers share — so, you must know that I will never betray my comrades! I would rather die\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sounded utterly sincere in his indignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nephis studied him for a while, then asked in an even tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if that was Asterion's will?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra had already invoked the name of the Dreamspawn, so there was no point in avoiding it anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant that somewhere out there, Asterion was paying attention to this interrogation as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enthralled Awakened frowned in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Why would Lord Asterion ever...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nephis interrupted him calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra remained silent for a few moments, then shrugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, it can't be helped then. As much as it pains me, my comrades would have to die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sounded sincere now, as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nephis looked at Cassie, a hint of a troubled expression reflecting in her clear eyes. Cassie opened her mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You will sacrifice them if Asterion orders?\" The man gritted his teeth, visibly disturbed by the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His answer was firm, though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But you will be pained to sacrifice them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shuddered, then forced out in a tortured tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Naturally I will be. How can you ask that? It will ruin me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassie tilted her head a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And yet, you'll still do it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will. How can I not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will you hesitate before betraying your comrades, or will you do it without hesitating at all?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra seemed confused once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why would I hesitate? If that is Lord Asterion's will.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassie ceased her questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still hidden in the darkness, Sunny spoke then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yutra...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man flinched at the sound of a disembodied voice that came from the darkness, surrounding him like a rustling tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunny studied him for a few moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You have a wife and two children — a son and a daughter. Correct?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra nodded slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do... yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunny smiled quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A famine came, and your children are starving. You only managed to procure enough food to feed one person, but you are hungry too. What will you do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra scowled, once again unnerved by the question. He did not hesitate to answer:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will split the food evenly between my son and my daughter, and starve myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no shadow of a doubt in his answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunny considered him quietly, then asked another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You and your comrades have been captured and ordered to kill one another. It's kill or be killed. What will you do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man's scowl deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll die. I won't raise my sword against my brothers and sisters in arms.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sounded confident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How admirable.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunny asked a third question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The feelings between you and your wife are long gone, but someone new is paying you flattering attention. What will you do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra grimaced in indignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? What kind of question is that?! Nothing! I'll do nothing! I will never betray my wife! And our feelings for each other are not something that can disappear one day!\" Sunny remained silent for a few moments, then asked in a calm tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if Asterion asks for the food that is meant for your children, orders you to kill your comrades, and advises you to abandon your wife?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra blinked a few times, then responded with the same firm confidence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I will let my children starve, kill whoever he wishes me to kill, and leave my wife without looking back. Naturally!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer was a bit chilling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was truly disturbing, however, was the man's expression. It was the very same expression he wore when vehemently denying the possibility of betraying his legion — the expression of a proud, righteous man who was valiantly stating his principles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What the hell. What the actual hell! It's creepy.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The absolute lack of awareness that Yutra displayed was unnerving, and the fact that he seemed perfectly normal even when proclaiming a deranged level of devotion to Asterion was simply eerie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like he saw nothing wrong with what he was saying — far from it. If anything, Yutra seemed confused, uncomfortable even, with the fact that his interrogators were somehow failing to understand something that he deemed self-evident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunny sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why would you choose Asterion over your wife, children, and comrades?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man remained silent for a while, as if he had never stopped to think about it before. Eventually, his frown disappeared, and he smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because of the greater good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His smile was pale, but blissful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutra inhaled slowly, then spoke in a subdued tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can't describe how much I love my family and value my fellow soldiers. But that is just me — it is the private love and loyalty of a small, simple man. There has to be something greater in your life if you wish to live nobly, though. A greater purpose that goes beyond your personal attachments. Like the survival of all mankind... of everyone's families and everyone's comrades.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned back and looked at Nephis happily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That is why I am devoted to Lord Asterion. Because he is our best hope of survival — mankind's hope. He is the greater good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunny could not help but laugh silently. ‘Oh. Oh, gods... the irony’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn't what Yutra was trying to describe sound a lot like...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conviction?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Because of the greater good, huh.'\u003C\u002Fp>",1021,"2026-05-28T17:12:12.273Z","2026-06-01T04:28:20.357Z",1,"novelbin.me","af974cfb17660b417f526fc9f405f38c09f206d96ffdd889cf19bacb67c7962c","shadow-slave-chapter-2736","shadow-slave-chapter-2734",3007,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshadow-slave-cover.jpg"]