Chapter Ten: Seeking Peace of Mind

Li Ao stared fearlessly at the cleft-lipped leader's long knife, his demeanor shifting as he asked coldly, "What did you just say?"

"Damn it, are you deaf? I said—" The leader's voice, filled with rage, was abruptly cut off as his body froze mid-swing. The knife had been met with no resistance.

Li Ao's Xueji sword appeared in his right hand, effortlessly blocking the strike. The revelation of his Silver-tier power made it difficult for the leader to even breathe. Li Ao lifted his head, pulling back his hood with his left hand, revealing black hair and deep blue eyes, his gaze icy and fierce.

Seeing Li Ao's intense aura, and noticing the boy's yellow skin and black hair, the cleft-lipped leader's mind flashed to an image of a grand city. "It's over. I've kicked an iron wall," he thought to himself. His grip on the knife loosened, and it clattered to the ground. His legs trembled uncontrollably before he collapsed onto the sand, cursing himself for his foolishness.

Unaware of the fall of Nine Li City, the leader only felt that his life was now at risk and that the world had turned bleak. Bandits, after all, are cowards at heart; they prey on the weak and fear the strong. If you're more powerful than they are, they won't dare make a sound.

"Young hero, I'm sorry. It was my foolishness that led me to this. Please, have mercy on me," the cleft-lipped leader begged, frantically kowtowing in a bid to save his life.

"I was wrong too, please spare me! I have an old mother at home who's over eighty, and young children waiting for me!" The skinny man behind him fell to his knees even faster, pleading pitifully.

The pockmarked third bandit, after a brief hesitation, quickly followed suit, kowtowing with such force that sand scattered around him, as if he were trying to bury his head in it. "Young hero, I was wrong too! Please, forgive me! I apologize for my actions!"

"Heh." Li Ao chuckled, using his Xueji sword to lift the cleft-lipped leader's chin. He lightly slapped the man's face. "Sorry?"

The leader, trembling as he stared at the cold gleam of the sword, stammered, "S-sorry."

Li Ao's left hand struck the man with a forceful slap, and feeling unsatisfied, he kicked the cleft-lipped man to the ground. "Who says that just because you say sorry, I have to forgive you?"

The leader scrambled back to his knees, not daring to utter another word.

Then, Li Ao turned his gaze to the skinny man, who started shaking under the intensity of his stare. "As for your eighty-year-old mother and children, I'd like to know whether your mother had you at fifty, or you had children at fifty?" Li Ao asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The skinny man remained frozen, not daring to move a muscle.

Despite being left out of Li Ao's scrutiny, the pockmarked bandit's brief hope was dashed when he saw what happened next. The sound of the sword cutting through the air was followed by the heavy thud of Xueji landing on the back of his head, splattering red and white matter across the ground.

As the pockmarked bandit lost consciousness, Li Ao's voice echoed in his fading mind, "If an apology were enough, then what would be the point of this sword?"

Watching Li Ao deliver the fatal blow without a trace of pity, the cleft-lipped leader and the skinny man were paralyzed with fear, too terrified to even tremble. Li Ao flicked the blood from his sword and turned his gaze to the two remaining men.

"I don't feel like killing anyone today. But between the two of you, only one will leave here alive..." Before Li Ao could finish his sentence, there was a sudden thud.

The cleft-lipped leader's eyes widened in shock as he looked down at the long knife's blade protruding from his chest, blood rapidly staining his shirt. He turned to face the skinny man, disbelief etched across his features. "You... you…"

The skinny man's face twisted into a vicious expression as he twisted the knife, shredding the leader's heart. The cleft-lipped leader's body convulsed, collapsing to the ground in agony. In mere moments, he lay lifeless, his eyes wide open in a final expression of disbelief.

The skinny man looked up at Li Ao, a hopeful glint in his eyes. "Young hero, can I leave now?"

"You can." Li Ao nodded.

"Thank you, young hero! Thank you!" The skinny man kowtowed twice more before scrambling to his feet and bolting away into the distance.

As the skinny man's figure quickly disappeared, Li Ao silently raised his Xueji sword. A shadowy image of the blade appeared in the air above.

Knight's primary skill—Rebuke.

The fleeing skinny man, oblivious to everything behind him, didn't dare to look back, his fate sealed before he could ever realize it. From the moment Li Ao's true identity was revealed, none of these men were ever going to leave this place alive.

Li Ao was not a good person. He wasn't before the destruction of the Nine Li Clan, and he certainly isn't now. However, Li Ao had his own moral compass, and he killed only those who deserved it.

His actions were merely a means to achieve inner peace and a clear conscience.

He circulated his source energy, and the Xueji sword became spotless once more before he stored it in his ring. Li Ao took out the jade pendant again, adjusted his hood, glanced at the beacon on the pendant, and continued his journey toward the oasis sanctuary.

Bamboo Desert, Outside the Ruins of Nine Li City

Kuchazi stood with the remnants of his vanguard unit—just over two thousand men—staring at the aftermath of the past ten days' work by the Church.

The once majestic city had been reduced to ruins. The shattered city walls were stained with blood, once bright red, now dried to a dark brown. The tall southern gate, once adorned with the black and gold characters of "Nine Li," was now a crumbling relic.

Kuchazi glanced back at his men, a bitter, unidentifiable smile playing on his lips.

After this battle, less than one-tenth of the Church's two hundred thousand-strong Judgement Army remained. That his vanguard unit retained twenty percent of its men was a testament to their light involvement in the frontal assault on the city.

The Third and Fifth Judgement Corps had been disbanded temporarily. Three Red Cardinal Bishops of the Sacred tier, eight Purple Bishop Commanders of the Star Diamond tier, and two Corps Commanders had all fallen in battle.

The carnage surpassed anything Kuchazi had witnessed in any previous war.

Nine Li had indeed been the last bastion of Dragon Riders on the continent. Even this executioner, who had slain countless foes, felt a tinge of reverence—reverence for a worthy adversary.

Kuchazi could still vividly recall the image of Nine Li's elderly, women, and children charging at them, weapons in hand, with unyielding determination in their eyes.

He looked again at the cracked but still hanging characters on the gate, and confirmed his belief—everything about this city had been unyielding.

That's why he had no hesitation in thrusting his sword into the chests of infants and even the corpses of his comrades.

He was afraid—afraid that one day, a person claiming to be from the Nine Li Clan would plunge a sword into his chest.

After gazing at the ruins for a while, Kuchazi waved his hand to his men and said, "Let's move. The Curia has ordered us to garrison at Chister City on the northwestern border of the Tianxing Empire."

The outcome of the Battle of Nine Li had been reported back as soon as the city fell, with a more detailed report just completed. The sheer scale of casualties made it a daunting task to compile.

Due to the heavy losses among the Golden and Platinum ranks, including the deaths of several Corps Commanders, Kuchazi had become one of the few remaining high-ranking officers and thus gained access to classified information.

Reflecting on the secret message from the Curia, Kuchazi felt he had grasped the situation.

Rising to the rank of vanguard commander with only Gold peak strength, edging out Platinum contenders, Kuchazi had never lacked intelligence.

In his analysis, the current royal family of the Tianxing Empire was likely under some unknown pressure and had secretly allied with the Church.

Understanding this, Kuchazi looked at the surviving soldiers and mused, "A new era is dawning. I wonder how many of my vanguard unit will survive after this."

Kuchazi's analysis was sharp, but still too narrow in scope. The Tianxing Empire, one of the two great powers of the Western Continent, prided itself on magic and absolute monarchy.

Their chosen ally was not the Church, nor could it be the Church, which revered gods and worshipped the Holy Light.

The Tianxing Empire had chosen to ally with the Hermit Order. However, since the Hermit Order was an ally of the Church against the apocalypse, the Church found a way to intervene, garrisoning troops in a single territory as a precaution.