Chapter 75 Falling into a Dream: Can You Live for Me?

Cupid said, "If I win, you must spare this poor couple."

The God of War said, "When I am victorious, I will take their lives."

The gods gazed at each other, and the scales of their covenant swayed between them.

The god of love desires protection while the god of war desires destruction; this unequal stakes cause the scales to tip in favor of Lilia—the trials of the wager are set by Lilia, and Onoa must accept them.

Lilia raised her head and began to chant.

"My mighty sister, you crave war and revenge, but have you ever regretted any of the killings you've committed?"

"No!"

"Never?"

"Never!"

Lilia raised the corners of her lips and flicked her long sleeves.

"Then I'll bet you'll regret one of those killings within a century."

Hahahaha!

Onoa laughed loudly, and the actress on stage seemed to merge with the divine phantom through her superb skills, causing the entire space to vibrate with her laughter.

Thump—thump thump.

What a generous trial this is! The scales sway back and forth, as if lamenting how such an unfair bet could exist.

Before the covenant was established, the god of love proclaimed, "This is an unfair trial; you must choose between giving up your divine power and giving up your memories!"

Give up divine power?

The Goddess of War refused to relinquish her immense power, and besides, she had heard that the Goddess of Love had failed in a trial where she relinquished her divine power, so she naturally wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

“Alright, then I’ll relinquish my memories.” Onoa believed that as long as her power wasn’t restricted, she could win any battle. And she would never regret the killing that led to her victory.

The moment the heavens were equalized, Cupid raised his hand, pointed at the god of war, and sang joyfully.

Those who look down on love will inevitably be misled by it.

"To those filled with doubt, may you sink deeper into despair."

"You say there's no difference between intentional and unintentional, then I will dedicate a performance to you—"

The last laugh of Cupid came to an abrupt end, for the impatient God of War had already jumped off the stage to be reincarnated.

The stage lights changed, and the actors' shoes thumped and thumped on the floor in time with the drumbeats.

Eleanor sat in the chair, her fingers slowly tightening around the armrests.

She seemed to smell a mysterious fragrance... but her body couldn't give any warning.

Her eyes reflected the bizarre and dazzling performance on stage, but her mind was already filled with a different image...

Losing his memory? Onoa wasn't afraid of that.

The Goddess of War remains powerful; even without her memories and knowing where she is headed, no monster can stop her from moving forward.

If she continues walking and walking without ever leaving the magnificent adventure before her, she might easily win this bet.

But she moved too fast, arriving in a bustling city-state in just a few months.

Onoa sniffed the air; the aroma of fine wine filled the air.

It was a joyous feast, with roasted meats laid out all the way to the corridor.

Clang!

She tossed the pelts and bones of her prey onto the table as gifts, then sat down with an air of authority to enjoy the wine and roasted meat.

Onoa's muscles gleamed bronze in the sunlight, and she sat in a corner of the banquet like a hill.

No one dared to offend such a strong and brave man, and the guests looked away to chat about interesting topics.

The city lord's daughter was incredibly beautiful, and she refused to marry even when she was twenty.

She finally managed to utter a sentence under the city lord's threat of suicide.

"There are too many ferocious beasts within a hundred miles, which worries me every day. I will marry whoever can fight their way out to a safe place!"

Who can kill all those beasts? Miss Evelyn's expedient plan is truly laughable.

The God of War wiped his mouth and walked out the door.

A month later, jackals and tigers filled the city gates, and even more corpses lay rotting in the forest.

Is this enough?

Onoa sat casually among the corpses, scanning the pale, flushed faces around him.

She didn't want to marry any beautiful young lady; she just thought it would be fun.

The God of War forgot everything, and naturally forgot the most powerful power of the Goddess of Love—she could easily find the person you love most in your destiny.

The carriage jingled, and the horses paused before the smell of blood.

The narrow car door slammed open, and a blonde girl stepped out with her left foot, walking briskly forward.

Onoah turned his head and met a pair of calm eyes.

A girl named Evelyn walked toward her, ignoring the neighing of horses and the stench of blood.

She looked up at the young man sitting upright amidst the flesh and blood, raised the clean cloth in her hand and gestured in the air, then chuckled.

"Oh dear, you didn't worry for nothing. Are you alright?"

"How could I be injured?" Onoa said with a straight face, feeling a strange emotion. Her muscles, which had been completely relaxed during the battle, tensed up at this moment.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed sincerely, "That's wonderful! I never thought someone would actually go and hunt wild animals..."

Onoah raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you want to back out?"

Before seeing the girl, she had no interest in making anyone keep their promise.

Beauty? Marriage? Those things are meaningless. She just wants to laugh at the "weak warrior" and the "self-righteous girl."

But now a strange emotion gripped her heart: looking at the girl's slightly parted lips, she suddenly felt an urge to kiss her.

Evelyn winked at her, cupped her hands to her lips, and said loudly, "I really have a lot of things to do, I don't have time to get married—or, how about I pay you back?"

Onoa laughed in anger. She shook her head as she looked at the pearls and gems on the girl's body, then forcefully stabbed into the pile of corpses and threw out a bright red fire fox.

"Money? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

Evelyn's eyes widened as she took small steps backward, her lips still curved in a smile.

"Then... how can I make it up to you?"

Onoah leaped down from the small hill and took Evelyn's right hand with his blood-stained hands.

She touched the rough skin and suddenly paused, asking, "How come your hands are like this? You've practiced martial arts... No, it doesn't seem like it."

The pretty young girl smiled slightly, then grasped Onoah's hand in return, gently rubbing her slightly etched palm against Onoah's rough hand.

"I've tried, but unfortunately my talents lie in other things. I really—really have so many things I want to do."

The actors on stage held hands and looked at each other, while Eleanor in the audience lowered her head, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

......

The battlefield was covered in filth.

Blood, dust, and the stench of decay.

Eleanor knew that rotting corpses would cause a plague, but all she could do was instruct everyone to pay attention to water sources and try to take care of the wounded.

In the era of cold weapons, wars were bloody, with severed limbs and large clumps of broken internal organs everywhere.

As soon as Eleanor swayed, her two attendants immediately took her arms and escorted her back to her tent.

She leaned against the cushion, feeling cold all over.

Eleanor longed to be like the protagonist in the legends, remaining calm in the face of the bloody battlefield, focusing solely on her own task, and working with the medical team to carry the wounded soldiers into the tents and settle them in.

But it all ended as soon as it began.

One of the people in her entourage was a student from the medical team. As he brought her in, he exclaimed quickly, "Thank goodness you're alright, otherwise we would have been in serious trouble."

There are too many dangers on the battlefield.

Perhaps an enemy wounded soldier will feign death and stab her with his knife.

Perhaps one of her own people didn't put away the broken weapon properly, and when it was lifted up, it accidentally cut her.

......

Perhaps she'll twist her back while moving people—or worse, catch some kind of disease.

Eleanor thought she could take these risks, but the opposite was true.

"Your Highness."

Battina lifted the curtain, and her attendants immediately left with their medicine kits. She was dressed formally and neatly, as if she could attend a wedding at any moment.

Batina did it on purpose, and so did her sigh.

She looked at the princess and said softly, "If anything happens to you, how will we live?"

Oh, and by the way, please don't say anything like "you'll all live well even without me," His Highness the Prince wouldn't agree to that.

Eleanor couldn't laugh; she knew Battina was right.

Andra wouldn't mind killing dozens or hundreds more people; the thousands upon thousands of corpses on the battlefield can attest to that.

Are you alright?

A hand yanked open the curtain, and Andra rushed into the tent.

She forcefully tossed the blood-stained cloak into a corner, then knelt down and took Eleanor's arm in her hands to examine it closely.

The girl's face was pale, and there were still some tear stains at the corners of her eyes.

This vulnerable side immediately struck the young woman's heart, stirring up a strong protective instinct within her.

“Eleanor…Your Highness, you really scared me.” Andra murmured softly, rubbing Eleanor’s waist. “The battlefield is too dangerous. From now on, you stay in the rear and wait for me to come home.”

"Hey, stop now. There are so many wild animals. Get behind me."

On stage, Onoa and Andra sang in harmony.

Eleanor nodded and said softly, "I will leave the battlefield. This place... is not for me."

"Haha, what are you worried about?"

She and Evelyn looked up at the same time.

"I will use my methods to reduce the damage caused by war."

"I will use my methods to stop the monsters and strengthen the bonds between people."

......

The sun and moon on the stage flip and switch.

Evelyn changed into a linen shirt, long sleeves and trousers, and put on gloves and a mask, with leather boots on her feet.

Onoa threatened the city lord with mountains and seas of beast corpses, frightening her into offering her daughter's hands in return.

Everyone assumed they were engaged, but they had simply become travel companions.

Where do you want to go?

"What are you going to do?"

The strong young man followed behind the girl.

As the sun and moon rose and fell, the girl adapted to the rough clothes and walked through the long fields.

She persuaded the various city-states to build high walls and train strong hunters to patrol the mountains regularly, so that the common people could live in peace and prosperity.

She recruited a large number of artisans to create more powerful weapons and equipment, thus hastening the end of the war.

She took Onoah to try all sorts of herbs, giving injured and sick people more opportunities to recover.

She trained many medical professionals, enabling cutting-edge drugs to be available ahead of time, and used a clean environment to prevent the spread of diseases.

Their powerful lover stood beside them, watching them with burning eyes.

They loved her beautiful face, her intelligence, and her hesitation.

They loved her pale face, her vulnerability, and her strength.

Evelyn.

"Eleanor."

Snap.

Evelyn and Eleanor stopped at that moment, then Eleanor staggered forward, while Evelyn quietly turned around.

They looked at her with eyes she could easily understand.

You look beautiful when you strive for yourself and others, but now—

From this day forward, will you live for me?

My love, I wish you could look at me more, much more, and only at me.

......

The actors portrayed characters going through periods of separation and reunion.

Evelyn and Onoah's relationship was not smooth sailing—in fact, it was unequal from the start.

Onoa was too powerful, while Evelyn... Evelyn was Lilia's specially chosen being; she possessed a heart as clear as crystal... and as cold and hard as ice.

Unfortunately, Eleanor didn't have that kind of heart; she was clutching her chest and sobbing softly.

Andra heard her sobbing and gently covered her lover's hand with her own. She didn't turn around, so she didn't see Eleanor's dazed eyes.

How can we reduce war?

The first Eleanor still possessed countless radical and naive ideas.

If we help Andra win all the wars, everything will be over, right?

She swung her invisible sword at Andra's enemies.

Gold coins and spies destroyed the order and finance of city-states, while the spread of paper and knowledge was like the whispers of a demon.

Andra's undefeated record on the battlefield shattered the balance of the negotiation table, causing the stakes to tilt ever higher in his favor.

The war is finally over!

Is the war over...?

"Eleanor, I've got it!"

Anya took Angie's hand, her eyes sparkling.

The real way to end the war, of course, is to unify the world.

......

Eleanor's eyelashes fluttered frantically, as if she were trapped in a long nightmare.

Despite her cold, hardened heart, Evelyn did not fall into a nightmare. A few years later, she easily caught up with the stagnant Eleanor, turning back to smile at Onoah.

"I'm going to continue doing what I want to do. Goodbye."

Smiles turned into tears with each chase and entanglement.

Andra gripped Eleanor's wrist tightly, while Onoa chased after his leaping lover.

"That won't do."

"Let's...break up."

Their regrets and sorrows were deliberately ignored by their lovers, and Lilia, dressed as a priestess, danced onto the stage.

She took out a golden arrow from her bosom and solemnly handed it to Evelyn, who was constantly hiding in the mountains and forests.

This arrow is unlike any other. It has no fletching, and both sides are arrowheads, one side pure gold and the other crimson red.

"My beautiful child, this is Cupid's arrow."

Cupid said gently, "Pierce your lover's heart with the red arrow, and she will forget you completely. As for the golden one—oh, it will make anyone fall in love, but you have no use for it."

The two girls' illusory figures intersected once more.

Evelyn took the arrow without hesitation.

Eleanor took the dagger without hesitation.

Honoria, who was in hot pursuit, hid behind a tree and listened to Cupid's story.

Andra, who had a firm grasp of the overall situation, had eyes and ears both on and off the battlefield.

She snatched the arrows and nocked them.

She snatched the hairpin and threw it on the ground.

A golden arrow pierced Evelyn's heart.

Cupid did not specify that if the person destined for love does not accept it, her life will end at that moment.

A jewel-encrusted dagger stole Eleanor's heart.

Her soul fell into the pool of blood and slipped away silently from Andra's grasp.

Goodbye.

Never again...