The realization hit Lowanfield’s core disciple like a hammer.
She turned toward Aksai, her face a storm of emotions. Aksai smiled slightly, practically feeling the anger radiating off her.
He didn’t have to say anything to her. But he needed to wait inside the Enchanted Everwood Farm anyway until the storm surrounding the people he had just killed died down.
Aksai was sure that the Green Glory Lord would send a few of his subordinates to investigate the previous battlefield even if he can’t come to the Wild Devil Lands personally. As such, Aksai preferred to stay in his “safe zone” for a few days before he judged that it was safe to travel to the location of the mysterious opportunity.
Thus, Aksai wasn’t in a hurry. He had already decided that he would never let Lini out alive after bringing her here. At least not in the same form she was brought in.
He might as well exchange a few words with her as a way to pass time and get to know another of his potential Sentient Puppets better.
“I have so many questions,” Lini began, her voice shaking slightly, though not entirely from fear this time. “But this… I need to get to the bottom of this first. You had all this power—this army of puppets—and you just let them die?”
Aksai raised an eyebrow, strolling over casually, his hands clasped behind his back. “You’re referring to the others from Jaishin Lake, I assume?”
“Of course I am!” Lini snapped, her anger finally boiling over.
“You could’ve taken on Haitin and his subordinates if you’d fought seriously. You could have at least stopped him from following us by using these puppets to buy time.”
“No. He had giant flying eagles. I could have only saved myself but it would have painted a larger target on my back whenever I decided to show myself in the Dadangar Subcontinent,” Aksai corrected.
Lini didn’t give up and continued. “You could have prevented him from making those murderous demands by showing you had the numerical advantage.
And yet, you acted like you were trapped, like you had no choice but to… to let them die. You didn’t even try to save them!
And don’t pretend that this place is normal. I am a core disciple of a Core Formation Lord. I can identify a secluded dimension just fine.
From the way these puppets were brought in and out of this mysterious farm by you, I assume you could bring any number of people here if you wanted. You could have brought us all here to avoid Haitin’s forces. You didn’t even have to face him directly if you’d been honest with us about the advantages you had.
I… I thought Haitin was the most demonic cultivator I’d ever seen. But I was wrong. You, Aksai, are even more demonic than him. He at least cares about his sect members. You don’t even care about your own teammates.”
Lini’s words were charged with frustration. Aksai could see she had been mulling this over ever since she arrived here.
It wasn’t just the shock of seeing his mini-militia of puppets hard at work—it was the deeper realization that Aksai had more power than he had let on during that deadly confrontation at the lake. He could have likely turned the tide of that battle, or at least attempted to. But he hadn’t. And that left Lini feeling utterly betrayed.
Aksai sighed, running a hand through his hair as he regarded her with a calm, almost indifferent expression. “It seems you’ve misunderstood a few things, Lini.”
“Misunderstood?” she repeated, incredulous. Her eyes blazed with indignation. “You let them die! You could have saved them, Aksai!”
“I could have,” Aksai admitted, his tone casual as ever. “But why would I?”
Lini blinked, taken aback by his cold indifference. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Aksai continued before she could recover.
“You need to understand something,” he said, gesturing around the farm, where the puppets continued their work in perfect sync.
“Having trump cards doesn’t mean you use them recklessly. I’m not here to play hero or save everyone caught in the crossfire.
The moment you, I, and everyone else in our team accepted the missions in the Wild Devil Lands, we accepted the risks. And the moment you decided not to follow my advice and acted on your own logic, you sealed your fate.
Don’t you think you need to take responsibility for your actions, good or bad?
We’ve known each other for barely over a week. Do you expect me to reveal my trump cards and risk my life to save all of you just because we were in the same team when we decided to enter the Duya Forest?
I don’t have that kind of protagonist syndrome in me.
You and Siya were comfortable keeping your identities a secret until you fell into Haitin’s trap. Likewise, I was comfortable keeping my trump cards hidden.
I didn’t blame you for your secrecy. Why blame me for doing the same?
As for bringing all of you here? You’d have better luck expecting the sun and the moon to switch places than expect that from me. Do you think I’m naive enough to trust strangers I know nothing about?
Even if you were childhood friends, I wouldn’t tell you about this farm. Some secrets aren’t meant to be shared. I’m sure you have secrets too. Do you see me asking for them?”
Aksai shrugged, and Lini’s fists clenched at her sides, her face flushed with frustration. “But they didn’t have to die!”
Aksai remained unbothered.
“Maybe not. But I didn’t owe them anything. To be honest, I don’t even owe you this explanation.
The only reason I’m telling you this is because it helps me clear my conscience and strengthens my resolve in how to act in a world full of dangers.
All of this so I won’t have any major Dejection Demons haunting me when the time comes for my Earth Tribulation.”
Lini couldn’t believe it.
Aksai had already begun preparing for his breakthrough into the 3rd realm while still in the initial stage of the Foundation Building realm.
She had to say that he was the most paranoid and well-prepared Spirit cultivator she had seen in her generation.