Chapter 400: An Unexpected Survivor (1/10, October Subscription)

While Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu was worrying about Fang Yue.

Lord Han, who had "turned his head," looked toward Lin Ling.

He could feel that Lin Ling had grown — compared to before, she had become more responsible, and more opinionated.

If this were still back when Gu Yue Cun existed, Lin Ling would surely have asked for his opinion, rather than taking the initiative to speak up and voice her own thoughts.

After thinking for a moment, Lord Han said: "Captain Lin, why did you choose Qingsi County?"

The other villagers might not know, but Lord Han was well aware.

Along the way, there were actually a few villages suitable to settle in, with some assurance in terms of environment and safety.

If it were simply a matter of finding a suitable place to live, those villages could all have been acceptable.

Lin Ling fell silent.

After a long while, he said bitterly: "First, it's because Qingsi County is safer than a village. In a single night, we've already lost too much. I don't want to lose a single other person from the village.

Second is… I want to become stronger!"

Lin Ling clenched his fists, fingernails digging into flesh, trembling slightly, as he stared straight into Lord Han's eyes.

"Lord Han! I want to become stronger! So many died right before my eyes, and I was powerless to do anything.

I know my aptitude is poor! But I want to give it a shot. Rumor has it that some heavenly treasures can change a person's aptitude, marrow-washing and hair-renewing. Compared to those small villages, I think Qingsi County should have a chance of getting access to something like that."

Watching Hua Wuye die before his very eyes, watching the villagers fall in the bizarre slaughter, witnessing with his own eyes the destruction of his hometown.

Lin Ling, who had originally only wanted to cultivate hard in the village, thinking that one day he would surely be able to inherit Lord Han's legacy — his thoughts finally changed.

He wanted… to seek a breakthrough on his own! No breaking, no standing!

Waiting in place, nothing would ever come of it. Become stronger! Become stronger! Become stronger!!

He didn't ask to become as powerful as Fang Yue, or as Lord Han, but at the very least he had to make some progress, rather than marking time year after year for a decade, trapped at the Postnatal Third-rate Realm.

Native villagers are inherently slower to grow than players.

Lin Ling had been stimulated by what he witnessed with his own eyes — the destruction of Gu Yue Cun, and Fang Yue's growth speed, going from an ordinary person to the Postnatal Second Realm in about a month, even wrestling with a Rain-rank powerhouse.

Yet as long as he calmed down and thought it through with his head, he should have understood that Fang Yue was a complete special case — a privilege of players.

For an ordinary Native to grow so fast, one truly needed aptitude, needed heaven-blessed resources poured in, before such a growth speed could possibly appear.

And Lin Ling did not have those conditions.

He could only seek it out himself, pursue it himself, and in the end, how far he could charge — no one knew.

But the scene of Fang Yue repelling the Wu Yu tribe last night had been forever imprinted in Lin Ling's heart, unforgettable for life! And he used it to spur himself on!

He was changing, slowly changing — from the foundation, from his thinking, beginning to change.

Lord Han watched his change and sighed inwardly.

If Lin Ling's aptitude were a little better, or if he had a bit more talent, he might have long ago passed his legacy on to him.

During the period before Fang Yue appeared, Lord Han was dragging his Heavy Injury body, wasn't going to live much longer anyway, and had long considered leaving behind a legacy as a way to settle things.

Unfortunately, over all those years, Lin Ling hadn't even cultivated to the point of being qualified to inherit his legacy.

Lord Han wanted to pat Lin Ling's shoulder to comfort him, but he now only had a head left, not even a body, so even such a thing was impossible. In fact, earlier, when Chen Lao had assumed he was already dead and tossed him onto the ground, Lord Han had used just his head, rolling through the mud all the way to their gathering point.

After a couple of verbal reassurances, the Night Rain and thunder outside gradually subsided, and the rain was slowly lessening.

That night, everyone went through a great deal. After arranging for some to keep watch, everyone fell into a deep sleep.

Even someone as powerful as Lord Han slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

The night passed quickly.

When the next morning's rising sun appeared, the Night Rain had stopped at some unknown point.

The morning after the Night Rain, the sunlight was especially bright and beautiful.

After arranging for Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu and the others to stand guard over Fang Yue and some of the wounded, Lin Ling took the rest of the people to the ruins of Gu Yue Cun to scavenge supplies and search for survivors.

The former was still alright — there was still some chance.

But the latter…

Lin Ling felt the hope was slim, because last night they had not only endured the Wu Yu tribe's attack, but also the erosion of the Night Rain.

The two combined, and it was almost impossible for anyone to have survived alone.

But when they had been busy until noon, Lin Ling suddenly saw Jing Yan, who had been searching for supplies together, running toward him in a hurry.

"C-Captain Lin! We found a survivor!"

A survivor?!

Lin Ling's pupils contracted, and an expression of wild joy appeared on his face.

"Who is it that's still alive… No! Take me there right now!"

Following Jing Yan as they ran, they soon arrived at a dwelling whose walls had completely collapsed.

Quite a few people had already gathered inside, all wearing mournful expressions; some were even shaking their heads and sighing.

This made the excited Lin Ling's heart give a sudden lurch, and he faintly sensed something was wrong — could it be… he was too late? Had the survivor already died of Heavy Injury?

As if noticing Lin Ling's arrival, the people parted to make a path.

Lin Ling walked in, looked inside, and his pupils instantly contracted.

In the broken, messy ruins of the house, a broken wooden stake roughly thirty centimeters thick had pierced through the chest of the person lying on the ground.

This tragic scene was as if the person on the ground had suddenly noticed the broken wooden stake falling, then thrown themselves over to protect something, and been pierced through and killed by the stake.

Lin Ling's footsteps gradually slowed, the expression on his face gradually turned to pain and anger, and his body began to tremble.

Because he recognized the person on the ground who had been pierced by the wooden stake.

Although the person was only facing away from the crowd, Lin Ling had indeed recognized them.

That was… the Blood Hunter!

When Lin Ling walked over to the side of the Blood Hunter's corpse, he finally confirmed he had not mistaken the person.

That rugged, charming face, once enough to bewitch the older women of Gu Yue Cun, was covered in multiple wounds, one of which had slashed straight from his left cheek to the bridge of his nose, permanently disfiguring him.

Lin Ling did not know what the Blood Hunter had endured last night, but the Blood Hunter had certainly fought desperately.

He remembered that the Blood Hunter had been standing with them against the Wu Yu tribe, until Black Cloud descended and shattered their formation, forcing them apart.

And now… last night's side-by-side battle had become their final farewell in this life.

Lin Ling clenched his fist, his eyes slightly reddening.

"Woof!"

Suddenly, the Blood Hunter's corpse twitched, emitting a weak dog's bark.

Lin Ling froze for a moment, then suddenly understood what Jing Yan had meant by "survivor."

The Blood Hunter was dead — that was beyond doubt.

(End of Chapter)