novelraw Chapter 414: The Victor Is King, the Loser Is a Bandit
Chapter 414: The Victor Is King, the Loser Is a Bandit
The slightly more gentle man sighed. "Qin Bai, we've worked together for many years. You should understand that this is the will of those above. Resistance is meaningless and will only make things worse."
Qin Bai was silent for a moment. The flickering spiritual energy around his body gradually calmed down.
He slowly stood up and straightened his collar.
"I understand. I'll go with you."
He did not choose to resist.
Not out of cowardice, but out of a clear, hopeless understanding.
In the face of two Ocean Realm third-stage powerhouses and the entire will of Daxia they represented, his meager Ocean Realm first-stage resistance would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. He would only die a worthless death.
He had devoted his life to the Aberrant Purge Division.
Upholding the order he believed in.
In the end, he was about to be mercilessly crushed by that very order itself.This irony left him without even the strength to struggle.
The rigid man stepped forward. A pair of specially made shackles, designed to restrain the spiritual energy of high-level Awakened individuals, appeared in his hand.
He expertly clamped the shackles onto Qin Bai's wrists.
A cold sensation spread.
Qin Bai felt his own spiritual energy weaken by nearly thirty percent.
"Let's go."
The rigid man said expressionlessly.
Qin Bai took one last look at the office he had managed for many years, his gaze complex.
He took a step forward and, under the escort of the two Ocean Realm third-stage powerhouses, walked out in silence.
In the corridor.
Some colleagues from the Aberrant Purge Division watched from afar. Their eyes held shock, pity, and the sorrow of seeing a fellow creature perish.
Yet, not a single one dared to step forward and ask.
Qin Bai straightened his back, maintaining his last shred of dignity.
But everyone knew that once he left, he would likely never return.
The fall of an Ocean Realm powerhouse sometimes did not occur on a grand, glorious battlefield, but was instead silently extinguished in internal strife and the shifting tides of power.
Qin Bai was flanked by the two Ocean Realm third-stage powerhouses, one on his left and one on his right.
They soared through the air, speeding towards the direction of Black City.
High in the sky, the fierce winds howled.
But for three beings at the Ocean Realm, this was merely a gentle breeze.
The mountains and rivers beneath their feet rapidly receded.
Qin Bai had no heart to appreciate the view.
The pent-up resentment and unwillingness in his chest erupted at this moment.
"You two!"
Qin Bai's voice was stubborn. "I, Qin Bai, have served Daxia diligently for decades, risking life and limb! My body is covered in scars, and the meritorious deeds I've achieved, if compiled into files, could pile up as high as a man!
Everything I have done was to eliminate the threat of Aberrants and safeguard Daxia's stability!"
Qin Bai tried to turn his head to see the expressions of the two men beside him.
But the rigid man stared straight ahead, as if he had heard nothing.
The slightly gentler one merely glanced at him briefly, offering no reply.
Seeing no one respond,
Qin Bai's emotions grew even more agitated. "And that Su Zhan! What is he? He is an Aberrant! A monster that is neither human nor beast! Even if he is some kind of exception who is unaffected by the curse, who can guarantee he won't lose control in the future?
Who can guarantee he isn't a deeper, more insidious chess piece planted by the Mist?
What was wrong with my suspicions? What was wrong with my actions?
But now, the Council, for the sake of so-called potential, for that vague, symbolic significance, is ready to discard me like a worthless pawn!
Is this fair?
Doesn't this chill the hearts of all those who have remained loyal?"
The howling wind
tore his words into fragments.
Yet the grief and indignation within them were clearly discernible.
But the two powerhouses beside him remained silent.
The gentler man spoke again. "Qin Bai, we are merely following orders. Right and wrong will be judged by the Council of Elders. It is not something we can change."
Qin Bai's voice turned hoarse as he roared in a low voice, "Do you think this is the end? Today, they can ruthlessly abandon me for a single Su Zhan. Tomorrow, if you touch the interests of certain people, or if they need to appease a stronger existence, your fate will be the same as mine!
Don't you understand the principle of mourning the hare's death? The fox grieves for it!
This Daxia, this Council of Elders, is no longer the entity we once swore allegiance to!"
He used these sharp words to sting these two men, hoping to stir even the slightest trace of resonance within them.
This time.
The rigid man, who had been silent all along, suddenly turned his head and shouted sternly, "Qin Bai! Watch your words!"
The slightly gentler powerhouse beside him also furrowed his brows. "Qin Bai, you are, after all, an Ocean Realm powerhouse. Reaching this stage was no easy feat.
What's done is done. More words are useless!
Leave yourself a final shred of dignity.
In this world, many things simply boil down to one truth: the victor becomes king, the loser becomes a bandit."
"The victor becomes king, the loser becomes a bandit... Hahaha... What a perfect phrase!"
Qin Bai let out a low, desolate, and suppressed laugh.
He said no more, completely closing his eyes. Even the last bit of strength to struggle had been drained from him.
Yes. The victor becomes king, the loser becomes a bandit. Strength is supreme.
He had lost. He had lost to the greater potential and value Su Zhan had demonstrated. He had lost to the cold, calculated choice made by the higher-ups after weighing the pros and cons.
High in the sky, a deathly silence fell.
The two escorts no longer looked at him.
Suddenly!
The void ahead twisted violently without warning.
Two figures radiating chaotic auras abruptly tore through space, blocking their path.
Their forms were bizarre, their bodies roiling with Mist energy. Their strength had shockingly reached Calamity third-stage!
They were powerhouses from the Transcendence Society!
"Enemy attack!"
The rigid man reacted with extreme speed, shouting sharply.
Spiritual energy formed a thick shield around his body.
The other, gentler man also instantly entered a combat stance, his sharp gaze locking onto the enemies.
Clearly, these two escorts were not unprepared. They had been vigilant against the possibility of an interception.
Although the Transcendence Society duo's ambush was fierce, it failed to injure them in the slightest.
However, the goal of the Transcendence Society arrivals did not seem to be direct killing.
One of the Aberrants unexpectedly bypassed the two Ocean Realm powerhouses who were standing ready. A beam of gray-black energy shot out, striking the specially made shackles on Qin Bai's wrists.
*Crack!*
The shackles shattered with the sound.
The other Aberrant, whose body was covered in bone armor, spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Qin Bai! We heard everything you just said! Well spoken! This hypocritical human world, this treacherous Daxia, is utterly unworthy of your loyalty!
Look at how they treat a meritorious official?
See how they ruthlessly abandon you for an uncontrollable monster!
This world is fundamentally wrong!
Only by breaking everything and reshaping the order can we usher in true rebirth!
Join our Transcendence Society!
Join us, and you will attain true freedom.
Destroy Daxia. Destroy all those who betrayed you, who failed you.
Make those high-and-mighty Elders, make that damned Su Zhan, pay the price for their choices!
Qin Bai, return from your misguided path. Offer your loyalty to the Transcendence Society, and welcome your... rebirth!"
Words filled with temptation and incitement, like demonic whispers, struck directly at the darkest corner of Qin Bai's heart at this moment.
He had just experienced the despair of being betrayed by the entire system.
The olive branch the Transcendence Society now extended undoubtedly stirred something within him.