BANG!... BANG!... BANG!... BANG! ....
The constant blast of Heaven's Thunder pounding the earth was the only sound that could be heard from miles away. The wild beasts did not even dare to approach the area and the forests became messy as low-level monsters fled deeper into the areas where high-level monsters resided; however, these low-level monsters did not seem to care about the superior aura of the high-level monsters as they obviously feared the Heavenly Punishment much more. Even if they had no intelligence, the instinct of these monsters was much higher than that of a human being.
In fact, the thunder released by the Heavenly Punishment was so great, powerful, and striking, that even from other towns relatively close to Eternal Wind City they could see with horror and apprehension how the heavens seemed to want to destroy the entire world with a rain of lightning.
"So what do we do now?" Yin Yue couldn't help but ask with a frown.
"The power of this lightning is great enough to take away as many health points from a Saint grade boss like the Abyssal Dragon... If we were to be reached by such an attack, not even a second would be enough to completely wipe us out." Xie Yao pointed out. Her voice was also brimming with worry as she knew that if Xie Feng died just once it meant that his level would drop to 0 immediately.
While Xie Feng's strength would still be immense even if his level dropped and he lost the stats of most of his equipment with level requirement and the stats of the lost levels, the loss of power would not be small at all.
Xie Feng also burned his brain trying to find a solution but could not find an answer that would get him out of the current situation.
Actually, the biggest problem was not the death of Xie Yao or the girls, neither was the death of Xie Feng and his loss of levels... The worst problem was that King Hu Yi was here and if he died just once it meant eternal death unless Xie Yao survived the Heavenly Punishment.
But how could she survive an attack that even a Heaven grade boss like the King of the North, one of the five most powerful humans, could not resist?
Moreover, if Xie Yao died, the opportunity to revive the fifty thousand soldiers who gave their lives to protect this land would also disappear completely since she could not use Regression for 24 hours after her death.
Surprisingly, the person facing the most severe punishment of eternal death, King Hu Yi, had a peaceful expression on his face as he observed the world dyed purple by the strongest lightning of the Samsara world.
"Aren't you afraid?" Mu Yin couldn't help but ask when she saw how calm the king was.
"Afraid? No, child. I do not fear death." King Hu Yi sighed and with a somewhat blank stare, replied, "The Abyssal Dragon fell defeated, mankind will be able to continue to exist and prosper... What is there to fear? Just... I wonder if I could have made better decisions? I wonder if I fulfilled my role correctly and, in case I fulfilled the role I was supposed to fulfill, I wonder if it was really the right thing to do..."
None of the girls understood the king's words, nor did they know why on earth he would say something like this at a time like this where his life could be over in the next second when the Bright Light Barrier finally could not withstand the pressure of the Heavenly Punishment. However, for some reason, the words of the most powerful man in the north of this continent had a hint of self-reproach that was hard to describe.
In fact, the only person who seemed to understand a hint of it was Xie Feng.
"Sometimes, our actions can be selfish... But at the end of the day, we are not all-powerful gods. We are human, and humans make mistakes." Xie Feng also sighed. "It's just that sometimes it's better to go against the rules, to try to avoid having regrets... Even if you have to deal with the Heavenly Punishment."
King Hu Yi was clearly stunned by Xie Feng's response and he looked at the young man beside him with surprise; clearly the king did not expect that this young man just a few years older than his son would understand what he meant by his words. However, a bitter smile soon appeared on his face as he nodded, "You're right... Even if I had to deal with the Heavenly Punishment... Sometimes you really do have to oppose the rules."
The girls looked at each other in confusion as neither of them had any idea what the meaning behind the conversation of the only two men inside the barrier was... However, little did they know that in reality, the conversation the king and Xie Feng were having was the beginning of the true end.
Xie Feng sighed and shook his head as a flash of resolve flickered in his eyes. He let his eyelids cover his sight for a moment as countless scenes, memories, and thoughts flashed in his mind constantly.
His memories wandered down different paths but they all led to the same direction. In the end, Xie Feng came to his most recent memory; the appearance of the Abyssal Dragon.
What if the Abyssal Dragon had not been defeated? What if Xie Feng hadn't happened to be in the right place at the right time? What would have happened if Xie Yao and the girls had not had the idea of spending the whole Saturday night online and had gone to bed early as they normally did? If only one of all the components that were gathered today had been missing from the total puzzle, the Abyssal Dragon could not have been defeated by the King of the North and the army of fifty thousand NPC soldiers.
So, if the Abyssal Dragon had not been defeated, probably all of mankind on the Adastreia Continent might have had to face imminent annihilation as a result of the wrath of a Saint grade boss.
However, where did the dragon's wrath come from? Hadn't the cause of all this been a human being as well? After all, humans always walked towards the path of destruction on their own. All they needed was a little push to bring it all to an end.
Why? Because human beings acted separately, because they were governed by different rules, different kings or emperors... If they were all united under a firm, solid government, without extravagant ambitions, such events would never happen.
As if he had taken an important decision, Xie Feng slowly opened his eyes. Then, a system announcement sounded, one that only he could hear.
[Ding!... Quest upgrade!...]
But Xie Feng didn't need to hear it, because he knew what it meant.
Because he had reached a decision.
******
A/N: I know many of you will be confused with this chapter but believe me, when the story reaches the necessary point you will understand everything perfectly.