Wait for Me to Come Back

Han Qingyu looked somewhat battered as he carefully climbed down the ice rock. Walking toward them from the distance, he forced his back straight and kept his steps from swaying, yet the agony in each movement was still difficult to conceal. Everyone present could tell that Major Qing was severely wounded—far more heavily injured than when he had previously been forced to leave the battlefield. Yet no one pointed this out, just as none of them, out of worry, rushed to speak up and urge Han Qingyu not to go to the tractor field under any circumstances. Because if you said he was wounded, he had already been gravely injured before, and yet under such desperate circumstances, he had still ultimately turned the tables and slain that Daie. The second one. Of the highest-grade Great Spikes humankind had ever seen, there were only two Daie in total. Both were dead, slain by the hands of the exact same person. And this very man was standing right before their eyes. For someone like him, whatever he chose to do was probably reasonable and impossible to prevent. After all, he had already accomplished far too many things deemed impossible. When his name was Han Qingyu, whether to go or not, whether to fight or not, could only be his own personal decision. Over the years, the thing Major Qing had grown best at was perhaps pretending nothing was wrong. Over four years ago, when faced with overwhelming grievances and pressure, he had done so; during the Zenith War last year, when he resolved to face a Daie in a death match in place of the Old Man, he had also acted as if nothing bothered him. Feigning numbness and freedom from pain, Han Qingyu walked up before Wen Jifei under the gaze of three thousand anxious eyes. Coming to a halt, he first turned his head to look at the battle-scarred warriors of Stream Blades... and as he turned back, a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. In a quiet voice, he said to Wen Jifei: "You've worked hard. You did great." In truth, he had also wanted to say thank you. He wanted to say: thank you for leading the soldiers and holding on for so long, and then choosing to lead them in breaking out in the end; and also, thank you for staying alive yourself... The words ran through his mind, yet speaking them aloud seemed wholly unnecessary. The moment their eyes met, both cracked miserable smiles, grimacing in pain from bodily aches or heartache. Then, Han Qingyu reached out and clapped Plague Chicken firmly on the shoulder. The scene closely resembled their school days in the past, when they had just finished brawling with someone and stood waiting for the head of the discipline office. "Right, Commander Hua is here," Wen Jifei said, gesturing with a turn of his head. Those words were not actually reminding him of Hua Bixuan and the ten thousand Azure reinforcements, but rather saying: they intend to carry on and assault the tractor field—what do we do? "I know." Han Qingyu turned his head as well, first exchanging glances with Commander Hua. After nodding in greeting, his gaze swept outward. The ten thousand Azure reinforcements, who had already marched ahead, had halted there. They had stopped the moment Han Qingyu appeared in the distance. They had paused not to wait for Major Qing to accompany them, but simply because there were so many old acquaintances met once or twice who had held him in their thoughts for years and wished to offer him this greeting. This might well be the final chance of their lives. Among them were Chichen Itza, Merida, Sorgandas, White Eraser... "Major Qing." "Major Qing." "You brat!" Cries tinged with various accents, bearing joy and an inexplicable serenity, rang out one after another. Among them were people Han Qingyu still remembered clearly, and others who remained only faint impressions. As unaccustomed and prone to awkwardness in such occasions as always, Han Qingyu knew he tended to wear a cold expression at times like this. He deliberately curled his lips into a smile, nodding in acknowledgment to each of them. Then, he turned back to face the warriors of Stream Blades. "Tangtang and I will follow along to take a look." Standing under the gaze of his own three thousand troops, he seemed far more relaxed, uttering the words in a very casual manner. Everyone heard him. Having heard, they continued their silence. Whether Azure's ten thousand elites or Stream Blades, neither seemed to know how to respond to him for a moment. Meanwhile, in the crowd, He Tangtang straightened his back and thrust out his chest. Although in truth he had no idea what level he was currently at, since Qingzi had decided to take only one person to the tractor field, and that person was him... He Tangtang felt he could probably instantly defeat Wu Xu now. "Did... did you eat the Daie?!" That was the only possible deduction. Tilting her iron helmet, Rusty Sister asked in a low, astonished whisper, "Then what are you now...?" "Yup, ate it. Super," He Tangtang nodded, calmly looking up at the legendary strongest combat power below super standing before him. Pardon me, but I happen to be a super now. "Super—a super isn't necessarily that strong, okay? And it doesn't mean you can beat me either." Rusty Sister's tone carried a hint of indignation. Naturally, she wasn't unhappy to learn Tangtang had advanced to super; rather, her own strength had been stuck at the top-tier peak for far too long, and no matter what, Qingzi would never pick her. "Oh, but don't you forget, my characteristic as a super is very powerful." On the way, He Tangtang had heard from Qingzi that his characteristic had very likely evolved, so he spoke with eager anticipation. "Is that so?" Rusty Sister was still unconvinced. She thought to herself: I know nothing about that. Isn't that lousy characteristic just eating? And you've always just scavenged Great Spikes that others beat half to death to eat—how can a characteristic like that count as strong? Faced with her skepticism, He Tangtang gave a calm, contemptuous smile and uttered only four words: "Everything is food." As he spoke, his gaze swept past the Little Prince, Wu Xu, Commander Hua... and finally rested on Han Qingyu. I really should have snapped a photo of that scene back then! He Tangtang thought with regret, so the whole world could see how their invincible Major Qing begged me so pitifully just now not to eat him. "Let's go!" Han Qingyu called over from a distance. "Coming!" He Tangtang replied swiftly and obediently... Ahem, just force of habit. How could the great Flame-Devouring Decayed Beast listen to food? Turning sideways with eyes fixed straight ahead, He Tangtang leaned forward and slipped smoothly between Rusty Sister and Milla, then calmly sauntered past the Little Prince, Wu Xu, and Plague Chicken. At a time like this, I probably ought to say something to my brothers, like "With me here, you can all rest easy" or something, He Tangtang thought. However, Qingzi had already turned on his heel and strode toward the ranks of the Azure reinforcements ahead. He could only give up on giving a speech and hurry after him. "You still holding up?" At the flank of the formation ahead, Pegament stood with his head tilted as he asked. "Suffered some injuries. I'm probably not as good as you right now, so I'm going along to be your assistant," Han Qingyu said. These were the words Wen Jifei had instructed him to say in less than a minute just now. Even though he could not comprehend it and found it hard to believe whether such a characteristic truly existed in this world, Han Qingyu chose to do as told anyway. "Yeah." Pegament thought about it, found the logic sound, and nodded seriously. "Him?" Commander Hua did not dissuade Han Qingyu. A tacit understanding concerning choices among humanity's pinnacle figures made him realize that saying anything of the sort was utterly pointless. The one he was concerned about was He Tangtang—after all, Commander Hua knew this fellow: the fabled weakest member of Stream Blades' core team. "He's very strong now," Han Qingyu replied. "Mm." He Tangtang nodded behind him, indicating that he really was that strong. "Alright, then." Commander Hua nodded, turned, and signaled the troops to advance with a tilt of his head. The towering, dazzling tractor field lay plain to the naked eye. Toward the pole, the ten thousand Azure troops resumed their march. Not running, not sprinting, their pace unhurried. Pegament soon moved up to the very front. Han Qingyu and He Tangtang remained at the rear. Crunch, crunch... Combat boots with dead iron soles fitted with anti-skid grooves stepped onto the ice, indenting small pits one after another. Crunch! Wu Xu placed Weize into the hands of a comrade and, gripping the Binggu Spear, followed along in silence. He had just concluded a Near-Death Surge, barely enduring thanks to his characteristic's regenerative repair, and now was preparing for a second one. Clank! Rusty Sister followed as well, the sound of her iron armor scraping across the ice inevitably louder than the others. Then came Theodore, Commander Fengbao, Commander Black Tooth... the surviving top-tiers. Wen Jifei naturally moved as well, along with Milla, and advancing with them were four ordinary soldiers who had been helping carry ammo crates and reload for them. Amidst the silence, the warriors of Stream Blades unstrapped the heavily wounded soldiers from their backs one by one. Except for a few forcibly left behind to tend the wounded, the vast majority silently turned, stepping forward to follow. Once again, they marched. Save for the crunching sounds on the ice growing denser and denser, not a single person uttered a word. Until—"Sigh!" The Little Prince let out a heavy sigh, clutched his wound, and brought up the very rear. Both formations were advancing, separated by less than a hundred meters. Han Qingyu naturally heard them. He listened for perhaps fifty meters before stopping. Taking a deep breath and adjusting for two seconds, he finally turned around with a cold face. Under his gaze, Wu Xu came to a halt, standing there with eyes numb and seemingly indifferent, staring back at him without yielding an inch. Rusty Sister halted. Though she had no visible eyes or expression, her mere posture radiated sheer indignation, stubbornness, and an attitude of like hell I'm afraid of you. After facing off with the two for several seconds, Han Qingyu took the initiative to avert his gaze. Looking past them, he glanced at Wen Jifei and Milla, and then looked further back to the division commanders and soldiers behind them... He looked for perhaps three or four seconds without saying a word, then turned back around and continued walking forward. Crunch, crunch... Wu Xu followed. Rusty Sister followed. The division commanders and soldiers strode forward, following. Suddenly—clang-hum... swish! Han Qingyu drew his blade mid-stride. On his back remained only a pillar sword and a combat blade; the one he drew was the combat blade. The blade cleared the dead iron clasps and cut through the air... A blast of source energy surged in reverse, carving a horizontal trench across the ice behind him. The trench lay right behind Wu Xu and Rusty Sister. And right in front of everyone else. "You all stay here," Han Qingyu said, his feet never pausing as he continued walking forward. He Tangtang followed, walking forward. Rusty Sister and Wu Xu walked forward. Other than them, all the rest came to a standstill before that horizontal trench in the ground—unwilling, reluctant, yet unable to step across. "Stay here. Wait for me to come back; I will take you home," Han Qingyu said from ahead.