Keep Burning

The people at the hospital had not previously known any concrete news about General Ivan, and the same went for Han Qingyu and the others; they only knew in broad strokes that a tragic and great battle had just been fought in Xiongzhanli. The relevant news had been concealed to a certain degree. Because even though Ivan's subsequent status meant he could no longer be counted as an Azure general, the fall of such a peak human combatant would still deal a heavy blow to the entirety of Azure and the civilian world alike. On the other hand, back when General Ivan, critically wounded and on the verge of death, left Winter Palace Square, probably not a single person could have imagined that his final destination would turn out to be Huaxia—here. At this moment, the General Ivan who had abruptly appeared on the riverbank opposite them was still in a molten magma state, though his fiery light had grown slightly dimmer. The gaping hole between his chest and abdomen remained, completely untreated. This lent his appearance a grotesque, terrifying quality. Had Han Qingyu not witnessed General Ivan's specialty eruption with his own eyes before, it likely would have been hard for him to recognize who it was at a glance. Having heard Han Qingyu's voice, Ivan slightly raised his head, glancing at him. Amidst the panic and screaming on the opposite shore, he continued to walk forward calmly. Along his path, the green grass rapidly withered away, and trees flared into ash in an instant... He came to a stop at the water's edge, halting across the moonlit river, facing Han Qingyu across the water. *Hiss, bubble, boil...* At that instant, the river water boiled completely, and the blood-red moon in the river lost all coherence of form. "Go." Han Qingyu quietly made a gesture with his left hand behind his back, signaling Wen Jifei and the others to hurry, leading the doctors, nurses, and wounded away first. He had no idea what state General Ivan was in right now—mad or lucid—nor why he had come. After all, they had previously clashed on opposing sides. Although their final exchange back then seemed to have dispelled the hostility, Ivan's mental state and physical condition were far too unusual; Han Qingyu had to stay on guard. At the same time, Ivan possessed formidable combat prowess, and he was currently in a death eruption state. If Zhe Qiuhong's earlier assessment of Han Qingyu's body was not mistaken, there was practically no one here right now who could stop him. Even all of them combined would not be enough. Wen Jifei and the others naturally understood this very well. Thus, they quickly led away the doctors, nurses, and wounded on the scene, then called Wu Xu along to fall back and lie in ambush on the hillside, vigilantly watching the riverbank below. "Ivan isn't here on his deathbed seeking revenge, is he?" He Tangtang muttered with worry as he watched. "I don't know, but it isn't very likely..." Wen Jifei was saying, when his voice abruptly cut off and the barrel of his sniper rifle lifted. "What's wrong?" Rusty Sister whispered. "An expert. In the woods." Locking onto the approximate location, Wen Jifei spoke with steady breath. Someone was hiding in the woods halfway up the opposite hill, and an expert at that. Wen Jifei had not determined this through source energy perception; at this distance, neither Wu Xu nor Rusty Sister had detected anything, making it even more impossible for a Dice like him. Nor was it by some so-called killing intent or sixth sense—he had just caught sight of a tuft of red hair drifting past, or more accurately, a tuft of pink hair, flashing quickly through his line of sight. Lately, they had become very sensitive to pink. In the woods across the river, Pegmont slowly raised his head, his forehead entering the crosshairs of the scope, peering toward the riverbank with total obliviousness. Because of Daie's global guerrilla tactics, Christine had ultimately been unable to see General Ivan through to his final moments; she had returned to the battlefield early. The only one who had accompanied General Ivan here was Pegmont. *Should I take a shot at him?* Behind the sniper scope, Wen Jifei hesitated. *So this is The King! Uh, is he handsome?* Pegmont raised a hand, brushing through the long pink fringe drooping over his brow. *Compared to me, he clearly lacks individuality and distinctiveness.* *Wait, he's hospitalized?! Haha.* A godsent opportunity! Pegmont's hand unconsciously gripped his blade hilt. *Should I go up and slash him right now?* He had wanted to slash Han Qingyu for a long time. The crown of the new generation's strongest rookie was something Pegmont had to take back. Whether it was taking advantage of someone's vulnerability or not, he just needed to win a cut once, then run and avoid him from then on... At the same time, Wen Jifei's index finger began applying pressure to the trigger. A powder-keg standoff. Broken by the conversation that finally opened on the riverbank. "I remember that you can acquire other people's specialties." Without any superfluous words, Ivan looked at Han Qingyu and spoke. "Yes, but..." Han Qingyu answered honestly, wanting to say that it was only temporary. "I'll give it to you. The final burning state. I severed Daie's arm with my hand." Ivan extended his hand, lowering his gaze at the same time to indicate his current state, and continued calmly, "I don't have much time left." So *that* was why he had come. Han Qingyu froze. Simultaneously, perched high on either side of the river, Wen Jifei's group and Pegmont froze as well. "You..." Han Qingyu spoke, somewhat at a loss. He was not particularly close to Ivan, but as a warrior, as an existence who was also considered powerful, watching a former front army corps commander, later a solitary madman, and one of the mightiest warriors in human history say this as he walked toward his final curtain still filled him with tragic grief and heartache. This empathetic sorrow was perhaps only natural. Because to some extent, they were of the same kind. Ivan was not well acquainted with Han Qingyu either, so in doing this, there was really no deep emotional entrustment to speak of. "Take it, and then see what you can do with it..." He said this, and then his source energy surged. When he took a step forward and crossed the river, colossal steam billowed up, instantly cutting off the flowing water until the riverbed ran dry. "No, wait, I..." Han Qingyu hurriedly tried to explain that he could not actually retain another person's specialty for very long. "Give him source energy blocks." From behind came Zhe Qiuhong's voice. From up on the hillside, she shouted loudly, "If you want to try, give him source energy blocks like the one you gave Grandma Yuemei that day. I think that might work." The source energy block from that day?! Han Qingyu understood in an instant. Without time to ask further, he quickly took out a source energy block, drained it dry, then backfilled it and handed it to Ivan, saying, "Install it." Ivan tilted his head, looking at him blankly. "Absorb it," Han Qingyu said. "...All right." Ivan did not need to load the block into any device. Simply gripping it in his palm, the source energy was drained in an instant. Sensing it, he remarked, "Huh? You..." "Not enough!" Up on the hillside, Zhe Qiuhong shouted again. Han Qingyu quickly backfilled a second one and handed it over. Ivan took it. A third round. A fourth round. A fifth round. Absorbing a metal block. A sixth round. A seventh round. ... Until Ivan shook his head in refusal, saying, "Stop." Han Qingyu looked up, blood continuously trickling from the corners of his mouth, his eyes, his nostrils, and his ears. He could replenish liquid source energy in time, but the conversion of life source energy could not keep up; even continuously consuming metal blocks was of no use. "It's futile. I know you want to help me, and I accept your goodwill, but even if you exhaust your life source energy, it won't be enough." Ivan gave a brief smile, one that looked somewhat stiff, likely because so many years had passed since he last smiled. "Thank you." "...You're welcome," Han Qingyu said. Ivan smiled again. "Then let us try." Having said this, he left Han Qingyu no further time to think. *Boom!* A river of lava surged over, and Han Qingyu stood his ground without dodging. Then—*pop!* A speck of red fire ignited right over his heart, then spread out like spilled water across the ground, dispersing through his entire body and burning hotter and hotter.