Chapter 482, Section 481: Sin
A man dressed in hemp clothing was running desperately down the street, but the sound of horses' hooves behind him was getting closer and closer.
At the end of the street appeared a group of soldiers riding strange mounts.
This mount has lizard-like scales and a scorpion tail. Its six segmented limbs make a "tap-tap" sound as they step on the stone slabs, and the single horn on its forehead glows with a dark purple starlight in the firelight.
Two legs obviously can't outrun six legs.
The soldiers caught up with the man and, without a word, slashed him from behind.
"Exterminate the traitors! Leave no one alive!" the leading officer shouted, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism beneath his helmet.
However, what they carried out was a complete massacre.
They brandished straight knives, dragging out and killing the hiding civilians, and looting them of all their belongings. Cries and laughter mingled together, and the whole city resembled a living hell.
Hidden in the shadows of the broken wall, Vera witnessed the entire atrocity.
Vera bit his lip hard, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
This trembling did not stem from fear, but from the anger within!
In his eyes, these soldiers wielding butcher knives had shed their human skin and transformed into demons even more ferocious than the demon race.
Although in the past, there were power struggles, family feuds, and even tragedies where entire families were destroyed in political struggles among the nobility of the kingdom.
But even the most brutal purge would not affect the people of an entire city like this.
Faced with the danger of the demon race, the population is a precious asset, and anyone who does this will inevitably incur the hostility of everyone else.
This is why the brutal massacre of her compatriots by this army completely shattered Vera's understanding of the bottom line of humanity.
He understood that there were individual wicked people in the world, but he never imagined that humans could turn into bloodthirsty beasts in droves.
Vera's hand was pressed tightly on the hilt of his knife. If he hadn't repeatedly reminded himself that this was all fake, he would have drawn his knife and charged at the beasts who were committing violence.
Unable to bear watching any longer, Vera turned and stealthily left.
To this day, Vera still has no idea where this place is, let alone what the so-called core is.
All he knew was that the magnificent city seemed to have just been breached, and the victors were having such a brutal celebration throughout the city.
Vera wandered through the streets and alleys, trying to find traces of her other teammates.
However, after searching for a long time, no results were found.
Instead, they witnessed the soldiers' atrocities once again.
A soldier, carrying a knife, cornered two teenagers.
The two children appeared to be siblings; the older brother, holding a wooden stick he had picked up from somewhere, was protecting his younger sister behind him.
The soldier deliberately moved slowly, approaching little by little, clearly enjoying the feeling of toying with his prey.
It's all fake!
It's all fake!
All of them are...
"Go to hell! You beast!"
The angry growl made the soldier turn around sharply and sweep his straight sword horizontally.
Vera's scimitar, however, moved like a silver snake, easily deflecting the straight blade and plunging straight into the soldier's throat, silencing him completely.
The soldier, his face contorted with rage, pointed at Vera, who had suddenly appeared, and tried to do something, but his body was pinned against the wall, and he eventually fell silent in agony.
Vera drew her sword, flicked away the blood, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Even though she knew that everything in front of her was fake, Vera felt much clearer about her mind after killing the beast.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, his clothes were gently tugged.
The child with the stick looked at him with gratitude and asked, "Uncle, are you going to the cellar too?"
"A cellar? What kind of place is that?"
The boy held his sister's hand tightly and explained in a low voice, "It's where everyone is hiding... Uncle Fu said it's safe there."
Vera thought for a moment, then nodded: "Let's go together!"
The boy immediately looked relieved, took his sister's hand, and led Vera deeper into the alley.
Vera's plan was simple: go and take a look, and if there were no companions among them, she would leave alone and continue searching, since she was already running around like a headless fly anyway.
Led by the two children, they arrived at an abandoned courtyard.
Half of the courtyard wall had collapsed, and the ground was littered with scattered debris.
The boy skillfully parted the weeds in the corner, revealing a hidden wooden door.
As soon as I stepped into the cellar, a cold glint of light pierced my face!
Vera drew her sword to parry, the blade striking the spear with a crisp sound.
The man wielding the spear was a wary middle-aged man who mistook Vera for an enemy soldier in the dim light.
"Uncle Fu, it's us!" the boy called out hurriedly.
Upon hearing the sound, the man put away his spear and, using the dim light filtering in from the cellar entrance, realized that the visitors were his own men.
The underground space was more spacious than expected, with more than thirty huddled figures crammed in the shadows, the air thick with the stench of blood and herbs.
"Vera!"
The familiar call sent a shiver down Vera's spine.
Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Fei Yin standing up from the corner and throwing herself into his arms.
However, when her gaze fell on the unconscious figure on the ground, Vera's heart clenched instantly.
Fei Ling lay there, her body covered with wounds of varying depths, her face as pale as paper.
Vera learned what had happened from Fei Yin's account.
The two sisters were seated not far apart.
When Fei Yin was surrounded by soldiers, Fei Ling appeared in time to save her.
However, during a fight with a squad leader, Feling was unfortunately seriously injured.
Despite the treatment, she fell into a coma.
Fortunately, Uncle Fu, who happened to be passing by, led them into this shelter, and they have been safe and sound until now.
After Vera checked on Feling and found that she was not in any danger, she didn't care whether it was a lie or not, and turned to thank the middle-aged man named Uncle Fu.
Uncle Fu thanked Vera for saving his nephew and niece and apologized for intervening earlier.
Just then, footsteps and rude shouts came from outside.
"Look! There's a cellar here!"
"Maybe there's treasure hidden inside!"
The two soldiers bent down to crawl in as they spoke. The instant they stepped down the stairs, Vera and Fowler struck simultaneously.
Vera's sword, as always, sliced across the soldier's throat, splattering blood onto the earthen wall.
But Fowler's spear malfunctioned; the blow that was meant to pierce the throat only struck the second soldier's shoulder.
The wounded soldier let out a beast-like roar.
Vera finished off the soldier with a swift strike, but it was too late.
The sound of hurried footsteps and the clanging of armor came from outside the courtyard, indicating that more soldiers were approaching.
Uncle Fu looked up at Vera, his eyes filled with guilt and despair: "I'm sorry, I...I..."
With little time to think, Vera glanced back at Fei Yin, who was trembling as she gripped her staff, and then at the unconscious Fei Ling.
"Protect everyone!"
After saying that, he rushed out of the cellar, slammed the wooden door shut behind him, blocked the entrance with the scattered debris, and then rushed out.
Just as he rushed out, he bumped into a soldier who was rushing over.
A flash of light appeared.
Vera's blade grazed the man's neck, and blood gushed out like a fountain. This scene was witnessed by the dozen or so soldiers who arrived later.
Vera looked around and then leaped over the courtyard wall.
"There's only one enemy! Don't let him get away!" an officer shouted.
Immediately behind him came a jumble of footsteps and shouts, as more and more soldiers joined the pursuit. Without looking back, he charged into the burning street, drawing all the pursuers' attention to himself.
(End of this chapter)
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