The Death of the Iron-Blood General

Under the shroud of the powerful Holy Light, Rachel Angelo would normally have been difficult for the Rose of Decay to sense, but she still held a lock of his hair in her hand. With their auras linked and resonating through this sympathetic connection, Rachel Angelo was firmly locked onto by the Rose of Decay. Death Gaze—the Rose of Decay's legendary boon. Under her "gaze," any living creature would transform into undead. It bypassed all defenses and could not be resisted. Empowered by Shar, her legendary boon was far stronger than before, taking swift effect even on a legendary paladin. Rachel Angelo felt only a sharp pang in his fingers. When he raised his right hand, he saw his fingertips steadily turning to ash, just as those Death Knights had. His fingers were undergoing undead transformation—and he was standing fully exposed beneath the canopy of Holy Light. Holy Light purged the undead, no matter who you were. Turning undead did not hurt much, but when purged by Holy Light, even the undead suffered the agonizing torment of a thousand cuts. Rachel Angelo was now experiencing true torture firsthand, driving a seasoned, battle-hardened veteran like him to scream out in agony. Yet it was futile. The undead transformation continued unabated, and his hand had already vanished completely. The clerics of light tried desperately to save their general, but their divine spells were useless against the curse. The freshly regenerated hand was still undead, forcing Rachel Angelo to endure the searing torment of Holy Light's purification all over again. Anbaixiu, the Rose of Decay, and Melina stood together like a family of three in the distance, watching the dying struggles of the Iron-Blood General. The Rose of Decay said to her daughter, "Melina, get ready. The moment this Holy Light barrier drops, kill every last Ryan soldier." Anbaixiu shook his head. "No, this Holy Light barrier won't be coming down." Puzzled, the Rose of Decay asked, "You mean he'll endure it to the bitter end and let himself be completely destroyed rather than drop the barrier?" Anbaixiu nodded and explained, "Rachel Angelo may be ruthless and cruel, but to become a legendary paladin, he will never break his oath. We don't have much time. Once he perishes, the reinforcements from Liuyan City will be arriving, and we should make our retreat." It went exactly as Anbaixiu had predicted. Rachel Angelo wailed in agony, thrashing madly across the ground, yet he endured it by sheer force of will even as both his arms vanished completely. Though he gritted his teeth until they shattered and his mouth filled with blood, he never issued the order to dismantle the Holy Light barrier. Nor did he leave the boundary of the barrier. He knew all too well that his death was certain: staying meant being reduced completely to ash, but leaving meant being captured by the liches, likely to be turned into a puppeted undead slave under their control. For three full minutes he endured. Just as the reinforcements from Liuyan City arrived, his head fully transformed into undead flesh, only to be burned into nothingness by the Holy Light. Even his soul was thoroughly annihilated. Holy Light showed no mercy to the undead, destroying not just the flesh, but the soul along with it. Sensing that her curse had finally run its course, the Rose of Decay sneered coldly. "He certainly lived up to the title of Iron-Blood General. I half expected that once he died, they'd dig up that old fossil Silvermoon and put him in his place. Now it seems he won't be getting a burial after all." After her mockery, she turned to Anbaixiu with a smile. "Thank you. It's been years since I made Ryan hurt this much. A loss like this will keep that young emperor awake for months." "I was merely going with the flow. I never intended to divine Rachel Angelo's death; I was looking for a different future. Alas..." Anbaixiu was helpless about it too. This had been a complete accident. Even with Rachel Angelo dead, the war would not stop; Ryan would still invade the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn as foretold by prophecy. Rachel Angelo was simply down on his luck. Driven by a knot of stubborn indignation, he had brought only a handful of trusted confidants to confront his old friend and bring him back. He hadn't intended to kill anyone and didn't want the truth of Lorencos's defection leaking out, and only his personal guards could be trusted to keep their mouths shut. The other legendary figures had stayed behind in the city to avoid causing complications. It was likely the only time in his life Rachel Angelo had ever shown a soft heart, and it had cost him his life. Lorencos was the same—having compromised countless times throughout his life and lived in self-deception for decades, he had finally resolved to stand firm just once, and he, too, had died for it. At times, Anbaixiu felt the Goddess of Fate possessed a truly sick sense of humor. "Let's go. Liuyan City's reinforcements are here. An army driven by grief is fierce; best not to tangle with them now." To pull off this ambush, Anbaixiu hadn't prepared a large force. Illusions were useful, but they couldn't conceal a massive undead army. He had brought only ten Death Knights and thirty mercury soul puppets, relying entirely on top-tier combat power to carry the day. Now the mercury soul puppets were wiped out, and the Death Knights were entirely gone. Totting up the bill still stung. With Ryan's army marching out in force, running was the obvious choice. The Rose of Decay felt a twinge of regret. She had wanted to finish off the rest of Rachel Angelo's personal guards, but now she would have to spare them. "What about you? Why not come back with me to the Underdark so we can celebrate properly?" she asked. Anbaixiu shook his head. "I'm not finished yet. Rachel Angelo was only the first half; Alan is the second half." "All right. Come anytime—you're always welcome." She was a little disappointed, but seeing Anbaixiu put so much effort into opposing Ryan was something she was happy to witness. The Rose of Decay and Melina returned to the Underdark, while Anbaixiu gathered the corpses of Lorencos and Alan's followers before taking off in the direction Alan had fled. After flying a dozen or so kilometers, Anbaixiu found Alan in a small hollow, his eyes red and swollen. Anbaixiu laid the bodies down before Alan and asked, "Do you know Resurrection?" With bloodshot eyes, Alan shook his head. "I don't. But even if I did, it probably wouldn't work. Their souls have likely ascended to the divine realm." Anbaixiu chuckled. "Not necessarily. I've never heard of an eleventh-hour epiphany punching a ticket to heaven." Yet Alan replied firmly, "They will. Their sins weren't entirely their own doing. The real problem is this empire. Over the years, we twisted the original meaning of our faith. Lorencos, Frodo, and the others—they were just people who had been led astray." Surprised, Anbaixiu said, "I came to comfort you, but it seems there's no need. You haven't fallen into despair after all." "What right do I have to fall into despair? It was my mistake that brought disaster upon them. Their deaths are my responsibility, so I must carry forward their dying wishes. I have no time for self-pity, and no time to mope." As Alan spoke, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Anbaixiu. "However, I have one more question. Was all of this orchestrated by you?" Anbaixiu had appeared beside him so conveniently; Lorencos and the others had happened to be surrounded; and just when he went to rescue them, Anbaixiu had sprung an ambush on Rachel Angelo. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed Anbaixiu had planned it all along. Alan even suspected that Lorencos's whereabouts had been deliberately leaked by Anbaixiu. If that were true, Alan would have no choice but to draw his sword against him. "If I said yes, you'd try to fight me to the death, wouldn't you? And you just said you had great responsibilities to bear," Anbaixiu said. Alan didn't flinch. In a steady voice, he said, "I don't know. I don't know if I can stay calm when facing the mastermind behind it all. So, you'd better give me the honest answer!" "Fine. There's no fun in toying with an angry man, and I have no taste for meaningless pranks. Truth be told, I never wanted to divine anything concerning you, nor was this the future I was searching for. Unfortunately, Fate had no desire to let me peek beneath her skirt; instead, she slapped me across the face with the sole of her shoe. "Alan, whether you believe it or not, I never intended to use you as bait. To put it bluntly, you aren't yet important enough to qualify. Think carefully about what you ought to do next, and don't let their deaths be in vain." Alan breathed a sigh of relief. This time, he chose to believe Anbaixiu's words. It was just as the lich said: he wasn't yet important enough to be used like that. "Then what were you trying to divine? Did you see the outcome of this war?" Alan asked. "I don't know. I only know that Ryan's invasion won't be altered by anything. But the outcome of the war... I can't see it. She won't let me see. All I know is that an old friend of mine might die." Hearing the poignant tone in Anbaixiu's voice, Alan asked, "Aren't the undead... devoid of emotion?" Anbaixiu spread his hands helplessly. "Who knows? Maybe I haven't been a lich long enough. A few decades aren't enough to wash away several centuries of memories. The more I encounter old friends I was close to, the harder it is to remain detached. This business venture is definitely going to run at a loss." Alan glanced back at Frodo, who was still in a daze. The young man seemed nowhere near recovering from the tragedy of his father's death; his eyes were glassy, and he sat utterly motionless and silent, as if he were dead himself. "Master Ultraman, could I trouble you to take Frodo somewhere safe?" Alan asked earnestly. Anbaixiu nodded. Worst-case scenario, he could stuff him into his personal space and freeze him in stasis—wouldn't cost a copper in food expenses either. Yet upon hearing Alan's words, Frodo suddenly snapped his head up and said to Alan, "No. I'm not going anywhere." Frodo sprang to his feet, seized Alan by the collar with all his might, and roared, "Alan, my father is dead! He could have lived! Why did he choose to die?! Tell me, why did he have to die?!" "Because he wanted to save more people. Not just you, and not just the rest of Ryan's people—even the Iron-Blood General. He wanted to use his own death to make more people see the empire's corruption. Frodo, that is my understanding." "Is that thing more important than his own life?! He abandoned even me!" Frodo finally broke down, weeping as tears washed through the blood on his face, like a petulant child. Alan let Frodo clutch his collar and weep. Only when the boy had quieted down somewhat did Alan say, "Conviction cannot be measured in value, Frodo. I don't know how your father weighed it in his heart, but this was his choice. Now there is only one question left: will you walk the same path as him, or will you abandon everything and leave on your own?" Frodo remained silent for a long time, until a surge of holy radiance began to emanate from within him. The lost power of the Holy Light returned to him at this very moment. Frodo looked up, his eyes rimmed with red, and said to Alan, "I'll go with you. I won't let my father's sacrifice be in vain. If the empire is in the wrong, we will right that wrong together!" Watching the scene unfold, Anbaixiu couldn't help thinking, Alan and Frodo have both cast their pasts aside. Senior Brother, are you still going to linger in the past, bound by bygone days?