Chapter 284

You, who have no attachments, now only want to make up for past mistakes…… At this very moment, a slaughter is unfolding outside the city; the only way you can think of to save them is to seize Xi Wang!

This sounds ridiculous, because Xi Wang has already displayed abilities beyond mortals; for you to think you can defeat an immortal with mortal strength is simply laughable.

But you can't worry about that now—if you can win, fight; if you can't, you still have to fight—fighting might offer a slim chance of survival, whereas not fighting means the people outside the city will surely die.

The bandit soldiers are the ones you let in; you must take responsibility.

Furthermore, you've now realized: Xi Wang probably isn't as powerful as you imagined!

If he were truly an unstoppable immortal, how could he possibly be stuck outside the county town for days, only to have to trick the gate open? He could just flatten the whole city with a single palm strike!

The only answer is that, although he knows some arts, he shouldn't be far beyond an ordinary person!

In that case, as long as you all truly unite and cooperate, there's still a chance to fight.

Holding onto that bold idea, you take the lead, spear in hand, charging straight for the county office; behind you, over two hundred miscellaneous troops follow in a dark mass, and with superior numbers you really do feel a certain oppressive presence…

"Who?!"

The sword-wielding bandits guarding the county office were caught off guard; seeing you ferociously raise your spear and charge, they could only shout in panic before you ran them through in just a few moves!

"Charge!"

Pulling the spearhead free, you kick the still‑alive bandit into the roadside; without bothering to hide your intent, you roar and spearhead the charge into the county office's main gate.

Seeing this, the crowd's blood boiled; though they'd been a little afraid, they were now fired up, all howling as they rushed through the gate!

The dying bandits' cries had already alerted those inside the county office; a group of Daoists and bandits stationed there poured out in confusion, seeing you coming to attack, they hurled insults nonstop.

You ignored them, eyes red, and charged at those Daoists: you know the bandits are a minor issue, but these sorcerous Daoists are the real problem—only by killing them all do you have a chance to win; otherwise, once they sprinkle their charm water, the bandits become unkillable!

Seeing you lead the charge, those Daoists were also shocked and terrified; after a brief resistance, you knocked them down one by one, and to prevent any lingering threat you even gave them a coup de grâce, chopping off their heads—just to be sure they were dead.

With your numerical advantage, this group of Daoists had no capacity to resist, and they didn't even have time to use their charm‑water technique; wiping them out was effortless.

But after a thorough search of the county office, your great victory brought no smiles—only worry…

Xi Wang is missing!

"Where is that dog‑traitor?!"

Your eyes bloodshot, you wrenched an iron spear from a Daoist corpse, ignoring the blood spatter on you, and seized a terrified bandit to demand answers.

The bandit, sniveling and tearful, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Grandfather, spare me! Grandfather, spare me! Xi Wang is outside the city! Outside the city!"

Outside the city…

Your heart plummeted like falling into an ice cellar: Why is he outside the city?!

Outside the city a slaughter is underway—at least a thousand bandits—while your ragtag force of just over two hundred has already done the impressive feat of storming the county office; how could you possibly go out and fight them in the open?

Your original plan was merely to seize Xi Wang inside the county office, but now Xi Wang is outside the city; capturing him would amount to smashing head‑on into a thousand bandits protected by mystic arts…

Obviously, that's impossible.

You turned around in confusion, looking at your followers still finishing off the corpses; you opened your mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

You lot… are done for…

…

Outside the city, corpses lay piled everywhere.

"Not good!"

Xi Wang, who was in the midst of massively refining the souls of the dead, felt something the moment Lin Liu killed the first Daoist.

As all the Daoists perished, cold sweat beaded on his forehead:

"Fortunately I wasn't staying in the county office……"

Exactly what's going on? He knows it instantly: the only people in the city capable of assaulting the county office are the gang that helped him open the gate!

Before, because the main army was in the city, he never even glanced at those people, never imagining they'd have this kind of daring.

Now the main army has marched out to slaughter, leaving the city empty, and yet they've managed to pull this off in such a short time…

"Junior brother……"

Thinking of his own junior brothers, even though Xi Wang doesn't feel much for them, they are still his men and capable aides; now they're all dead, which is not only a major blow to his endeavors but also a harsh slap to his face—"These damned civilians!"

Xi Wang cursed loudly and immediately ordered: "Everyone follow me into the city… slaughter the city!"

Having survived a great calamity, Xi Wang's fury blazed to the heavens as he led thousands of ferocious bandits into the city.

Xi Wang, suffering utter humiliation, decided to vent his rage by slaughtering the city!

【Thus, the county town that had originally lured and killed many people suffered another devastating blow; wails and firelight spread throughout the town, and it is unknown how many were killed.】

【But you barely resisted a few rounds, and could only be defeated…… Facing organized large numbers of bandits, you two hundred plus have absolutely no chance of winning!】

【Death, is approaching you……】In a corner of the city.

Lin Liu, covered in bloodstains, and the dozen or so people still alive, silently gazed toward the various parts of the city where flames shot up into the sky, and various screams also drifted from afar……

This city, is already finished.

"I……"

Lin Liu closed his despairing eyes:

"I'm sorry to you all……"

Everyone remained silent, saying nothing.

"Liuzi Ge, it's not your fault."

An old friend whispered: "I had long sensed this……"

"Even if we had held the city from the start against the West King, we could not have kept it……"

Lin Liu painfully crouched on the ground, regardless of whether these words made sense, opening the city gate was also his decision; landing in this predicament, he is undoubtedly the culprit! The more he thought, the more desperate he became, picking up a knife from the ground:

"I…… you take my corpse to beg the West King for mercy; all mistakes are mine, and if you can be saved, it counts as me atoning a little……"

Everyone turned pale with shock, but before they could react, the blade had already slit their throats……

【In your various self-reproaches you chose suicide; the others couldn't stop you in time, and you already lay upon the soil, your hot blood watering the wild grass……】

【Although everyone was sad, under the compulsion of the survival instinct, they still, as you said, carried your corpse and surrendered to the West King.】

【But the West King, blazing with anger, had no intention of letting anyone go; he killed everyone and completely burned down the county seat…】

【You are dead; the wrong choice led to a bad ending…… Your act of opening the city gate and surrendering to the West King was wrong from the start, because the West King himself is merely a bandit; he has no need for the city, only wanting to loot and flee.】

【The only result of surrendering to him is being drained of all value by him—money, incense, souls…… To him, everything is merely consumable material on his path to the Heavenly Emperor's throne……】

【However, you are not completely without gain; at least you have uncovered the West King's details. This impostor claiming to be an immortal seems not as invincible as you imagined—if you seize the opportunity, killing him is not impossible!】

【Furthermore, you have also found out the cultivation method here; cultivation here seems not to use spiritual energy, but rather incense and souls as consumables…… This is very strange.】

【Finally, you also learned that Xue Xuan is the Heavenly Emperor of this realm; if you want to know what is going on with this heaven and earth, this former protagonist is undoubtedly a good breakthrough point……】

【But the problem is, your status is too low; to see the supreme Heavenly Emperor, relying solely on your own strength probably won't work…… In short, you need to find a big shot to give you a lift!】

【Coincidentally, a certain monkey who has not returned from his studies seems able to help you with this……】

【Should time be rewound, returning to the previous life node?】

……

「Very well, I've exchanged one blood……」

Not even a moment was spent feeling sorrow over the protagonist Lin Liu's first death…… Zhao Si began to seriously ponder: 「The setting of this new world is really strange; it seems completely unrelated to the Great Wilderness…… But that's impossible, because the system couldn't possibly create a background world outside the Great Wilderness; no matter how absurd this gets, it must certainly be the Great Wilderness, or a minor realm attached to it. 」

「Furthermore, Xiao Heizi is also the Heavenly Emperor here, which further confirms that this place is definitely related to the Great Wilderness……」

There's no point guessing the extra stuff, and we daren't guess; all the answers to the questions lie with Xiao Heizi—just find him and you'll have them.

But just as the message said, Xiao Heizi is the Heavenly Emperor here, while Lin Liu is merely a mortal; to have the fortune of seeing him, you must hitch a ride on the monkey's somersault cloud! 「Only, will this monkey really encounter Patriarch Bodhi like in Journey to the West? 」

The system's alterations have already made Zhao Si unable to be certain whether this will actually happen……

「Never mind all that! 」

Zhao Si raised his eyebrows: 「The monkey's business can be verified over time, but the predicament Lin Liu now faces must be resolved immediately……」

The West King, the first superhuman Lin Liu has encountered in this life, has become a great obstacle standing before him.

「Take a step, see how it goes…… Time reversal! 」

【Time has already been reversed……】

【……Returning to the time before the West King entered the city, you feel a profound shock at the tremendous divine power of "another self," but for now you must first make one of the most important choices in your life…… You choose: (？)】

【A: Help the West King breach the city; you fear the might of the immortals, so you should promptly abandon darkness for light and serve as a good lackey for the West King! B: Do not help the West King; you believe the government is ultimately the government and will surely defeat this wild god's arrogant delusions, so you should resolutely aid the government in defending the city and annihilate all invading bandits!】

「Choose B! 」

【You chose option B, not helping the West King; you believe the government is ultimately the government and will surely defeat this wild god's arrogant delusions, so you should resolutely aid the government in defending the city and annihilate all invading bandits!】

【This miraculous experience of starting over fills you with myriad feelings: this time, no matter what, you must go head‑to‑head with the West King to the very end!】

【But can this small county really hold out……】

……

(End of chapter)