Chapter 1129: 116. The Gravely Wounded

Muen now also realized why the smell of blood here was so dense.

Because the ones bleeding were not only the corpses of the Pioneers or evil believers on the ground.

Upon that high divine throne, the “god” named Night was also bleeding. That branch-like “sacred artifact” had still been piercing her chest for hundreds of years. Blood flowed in a steady trickle. Her blood had been flowing for hundreds of years as well, even staining all the ground here a dark red.

“That is... the Goddess of Night?”

For an instant, such a question flashed through Muen’s mind.

Not only him. Probably every person who entered this place for the first time would ask that in their heart.

Because the person on that black divine throne... where did she have even the slightest trace of a god’s presence?

She was aged and withered. She was frenzied and furious. She had been nailed there by a tree branch, like a pitiful old woman who still could not move even while facing this life-and-death crisis of being surrounded and attacked.

Pitiful. Tragic.

For some reason, such emotions actually arose in Muen’s heart.

But immediately afterward... he noticed a gaze. It was the Goddess of Night’s gaze.

Muen saw those eyes open and close. Black pupils and blood-red whites reflected each other, as if forming a hellish image.

She looked at him.

In an instant, noisy murmurs and ravings surged into Muen’s mind. Terrifying mental Pollution actually attacked him from afar. Muen’s pupils shrank, and he did not dare continue meeting her eyes. He hurriedly looked away.

With only one exchange of gazes, Muen sensed abnormal movement in his own flesh and blood, and quickly mobilized his black flames to return them to normal.

That was close.

If not for his own powerful resistance toward Pollution, perhaps that gaze alone would have been enough for him to be eroded by Pollution.

Looking at it from this angle, the Goddess of Night really did seem to be the source of Annabawei’s Pollution.

“That’s the Goddess... She’s... different from what I imagined.”

Marcie also secretly poked her head out and looked at the Goddess twice.

Nothing abnormal happened to her, nor did she show any signs of being polluted. It was only that, compared to Muen, her sense of the contrast in this image of the Goddess was even deeper.

After all, for several hundred years, what they had felt was a long history of being cruelly oppressed by the Goddess’s night. So in Marcie’s impression, no matter what, the Goddess was supposed to be frightening, cruel, evil, an existence like a demon.

Who could have known that her actual appearance would be so different from what she had imagined?

“She really is only a powerful living being.”

Muen shook his head, finally confirming this point completely.

Although her Pollution was powerful, there was still a great difference between it and a true Evil God. And after stripping away the polluted aura on her body, Muen discovered that the level of her life had not qualitatively surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Was that why she had gradually become so miserable under the Pioneers’ siege?

“Miserable is miserable, but it looks like the battle situation is actually not very good for our side.” Muen temporarily shifted his attention away.

Around them, besides those Pioneers who had already sacrificed themselves, there were still many Pioneers alive, and even new Pioneers constantly arriving. But when Muen reached this place, it seemed to be just at the moment when one wave of offense had been forced back.

Many Pioneers were resting and treating their wounds at the edge of this area, preparing for the next round of attack.

And around the Goddess, those evil believers were not taking the initiative to attack either... Rabuya City’s “extinguishing the light” was still ongoing. As long as things ended over there, they would immediately receive reinforcements and reverse the battle situation, so they were not in a hurry. Time stood on their side.

“So many people are hurt.”

Looking at the miserable scene around her, Marcie did not stay idle either. She quickly took temporary medical supplies out of her little backpack and distributed them for the wounded to use.

Only, Annabawei was already short on supplies to begin with. Though they were called medical supplies, they were merely things like clean fine linen. They did not even have gauze or alcohol.

“Here, stop crying. Hurry and bandage him. He’s lost so much blood.”

Marcie handed her own portion to a girl beside her who was lowering her head and crying. The girl was not injured, but the man in front of her seemed to be wounded extremely severely.

“Thank you.”

The girl paused in her crying and replied softly, then raised her head...

“Huh?”

Marcie and the girl were both stunned.

“Miss Landa?”

“M-Miss Marcie?”

The familiar faces that had only parted not long ago made both of them dazed for a moment.

Marcie was the first to react.

“It’s actually you... Then the one lying on the ground is...”

“Ha, little Marcie, we meet again.”

Marcie went around Landa and came beside the man on the ground. The man immediately wiped the blood from his face and gave Marcie a hearty smile.

A familiar face.

A familiar smile.

And that same “like the wind” reckless aura.

But aside from these, although only a few dozen minutes had passed since they last saw each other, it felt as distant as if a century had gone by.

Marcie’s body trembled slightly. Her gaze gradually moved down along the man’s body, wanting to confirm his injuries.

But when her eyes reached the position below his waist... she could see nothing.

Because there was nothing there.

“Lord Bear King, you...”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Just now I was careless and got ambushed by some old bastard playing dirty. A minor thing.”

Bear King Theresa waved his large hand, as if this really were only an insignificant minor matter.

But on the ground, the blood flowing out of him had already gathered into a pool of blood.

Marcie held the fine linen used for stopping bleeding in her hand, but she did not even know where to bandage him. She was blank and helpless.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at Muen.

Muen walked over, stayed silent for a moment, and shook his head.

He could not be saved.

He had been cut directly through the waist. Unless a great mage skilled in healing were present to save and prolong his life on the spot, there was basically no possibility of survival.

Not to mention, Theresa had not simply been cut in half at the waist. His entire lower body had been directly crushed by something, and even some of the organs in the lower half of his abdomen had directly turned into minced flesh.

With such grave wounds, for him to still be this energetic now... was already an incredible miracle.

“How could... this happen?” Marcie froze.

The sacrifices of the other Pioneers temporarily did not feel especially real to her, but Theresa was the “idol” she had become most familiar with during this period, and he had genuinely given her a great deal of help.

He could be considered the person she had grown closest to during this time besides Muen. How could she not be sad?

And she remembered that just now, he had clearly still been with Miss Landa...

“It’ll be fine.” Marcie grasped Landa’s trembling little hand. “It’ll definitely be fine. As long as we defeat the Goddess, as long as the light falls, everything will get better.”

Landa bit her lip and said nothing.

Theresa, on the other hand, smiled. He was much more free and easy than the two little girls.

“I already thought of this sort of thing long ago. As a Pioneer, isn’t the best ending to fall on the path of pioneering? And I’m still lucky...”

Theresa looked toward the distant Goddess, his gaze complicated, yet also flashing with joy. “A story of several hundred years is about to reach its ending here. I might even have the chance to see sunlight fall, sunlight that will no longer be casually swallowed by the night... How wonderful. Compared to those predecessors who died in the night, how wonderful...”

Theresa said “how wonderful” several times in a row.

To him, it really was wonderful.

“Then you’d better live a little longer. The Goddess hasn’t fallen yet.”

Muen said.

His eyelids were lowered, making his expression unreadable.

But he still inevitably revealed the tiniest hint of sadness.

Although they had known each other only briefly, when such a flesh-and-blood person was about to pass away, how could he not feel even a trace of emotion?

“Haha, I’ll try my best to live a bit longer. A mere fatal wound...”

Theresa looked toward Muen again. “However, being able to see you arrive already makes me very happy. After all, you’re so strong. Our odds of victory have increased quite a bit again... Just now, the Goddess of Night sent a group of evil believers back. Their numbers were only half of what we saw before. Those were all dealt with by you, right?”

“Sometimes brute force can’t solve every problem.” Muen shook his head.

“But now it can!”

Theresa raised his voice. “Now it can... The Goddess is right there, and hope is right there. Mr. Campbell, please help us one more time. Bring light to this Annabawei again.”

Theresa stared tightly at Muen.

Landa also stared tightly at Muen.

And many others were staring at Muen as well.

Most of them did not know Muen’s identity, nor did they know exactly how strong Muen was. It was just that in this situation where everything might completely collapse with the slightest carelessness, they would instinctively grab at every life-saving straw.

Yes... that hope was right before their eyes. No one wanted to give up. No one... wanted to let it vanish.

“Why make it sound like that? I came here for this in the first place.”

Muen finally raised his eyes and sighed deeply. “I don’t dare guarantee something like bringing you light. I can only say... I’ll lend you a hand.”

“Thank you.”

Theresa grinned. “You really are a good person.”

“No need to thank me. In any case, this is probably the last time I’ll help you.”

Muen stood, drew both blades, and looked once more toward the distant Goddess of Night.

Complicated thoughts.

A difficult situation.

Secrets hidden deep beneath the surface... everything, all of it, still had many questions.

Things he could not figure out.

Things waiting to be explained.

Things tangled and complex.

But no matter what, this story should end too.

Whether for Annabawei, or for him.

“We’re going, Marcie.”

“Okay!” Marcie braced herself fully.

“I-I’m going too!”

Landa hoisted a large woodcutter’s blade that was almost as tall as she was. Her eyes were still slightly red.

But in those watery eyes burned a raging flame of fury.

Fury toward the Goddess.

Not only for the light that had yet to arrive, but also for her lover.

And in the long night of the past, how many people’s lovers had died on that dark road forward?

She did not know.

So she would make the Goddess give them an answer!

Woo—

A long horn sounded.

The Pioneers had basically finished gathering, and had already completed their rest and preparations. And so, amid the sound of this horn, they began launching the final charge against the existence upon the divine throne.

Muen also stepped forward...

“Get back.”

But before that step could land, he suddenly stopped. His expression turned grave, and he said in a low voice to the two girls behind him,

“Get back, now!”

“Huh?”

Marcie looked completely confused.

What was going on?

Weren’t they supposed to go forward and wreck the Goddess?

How had it not even started yet...

“Get farther away, quickly!” Muen was almost growling now.

Marcie did not understand why, but she had already begun moving on instinct, grabbing Landa beside her and rapidly retreating...

...

...

Upon the divine throne.

The aged, decayed Goddess of Night opened her eyes once more. Her clouded eyes, where black and blood-red intertwined, also locked again onto the blond man in the distance.

“Outsider... heehee... hateful outsider...”

Hatred, anger, madness.

All kinds of indescribable emotions alternated across her wrinkled old face. She looked as if she wished she could swallow that blond man alive, flay him, and pull out his tendons.

Unfortunately.

More than four hundred years had passed. The current her had already become so feeble that she could not even move.

The former Goddess could no longer display her majesty in this Annabawei. Even her mind was entangled by another personality, leaving her half-dreaming and half-awake much of the time.

“My... child...”

She could only call out.

“Here.”

Not far from the divine throne, the half-kneeling figure trembled slightly, shaking off a sound of dust, as if slowly awakening from an ancient era.

“Go... kill him... kill that outsider.”

The Goddess said with hatred filling her voice:

“You must kill him... The night cannot end yet... not yet...”

“Understood.”