Under the well-trained tacit cooperation of the soldiers and Tang Sui's cover, two military trucks rumbled on the asphalt road, having already traveled several kilometers.
Behind their vehicles lay the bloody remains and fragmented limbs of Scorpion-tailed Flies.
Tang Sui crushed the last Scorpion-tailed Fly that lunged at her, then turned her head to look at the colossal beast standing erect in the mist. Her brow furrowed slightly, finding it strange that it hadn't attacked directly.
"Roar—"
As she pondered, the colossal beast's long, low roar pierced through the re-condensed fog, echoing in the ears of everyone who had narrowly escaped death. Sudan Novels.
Through the tennis-ball-sized holes pierced by the swarming Scorpion-tailed Flies' stingers in the rear of the military trucks, they also saw the dangerous giant beast that was impossible for humans to defeat.
The people watched as the pursuing Scorpion-tailed Flies halted their eager advance at this long cry and began to retreat in an orderly fashion into the mist, their forms disappearing from sight.
They were like guardians of territory, their deployment solely for the purpose of driving enemies out of their domain.
The ape-faced beast with its massive red eyes, observing this scene, blinked and concluded, 'They seem quite certain this is their territory.'
The roar just now had not only stopped the pursuing guardians but also contained a question.
The colossal beast was questioning her, why she had trespassed into its territory.
Tang Sui maintained her sideways stance and remained silent for a long time, not responding. It wasn't until the military trucks had sped another few hundred meters and the colossal beast was completely out of sight that she dared to slow down. She then drove the gray-green military truck to the side of the road to park, regroup, and take stock of the number of injured and the resources consumed during the recent skirmish.
Major General Modi, after taking stock, walked to Tang Sui, who was standing alone by a tall advertising billboard, gazing absently at the road ahead obscured by mist. He handed her a bottle of water and said, "Thank you."
Tang Sui snapped back to attention. Major General Modi, with small beads of sweat on his forehead, let out a sigh and said, "If you hadn't intervened just now, our losses would have been much greater."
It was even possible we would have been wiped out completely.
Tang Sui's gaze fell upon the soldiers on the side, who were helping each other with bandaging and cleaning wounds. She changed the subject, "How are the soldiers?"
Major General Modi pursed his lips. "No casualties. But two brothers were stung by the Scorpion-tailed Flies while defending against them. Although our armor was strong enough, it was still pierced. Their arms and thighs were injured. The stingers have a potent poison, and they have fallen into a coma. They likely won't be able to proceed further..."
As he spoke, his voice tightened, tinged with a hint of sorrow.
Tang Sui realized the implication of Major General Modi's last sentence and abruptly turned her head towards the area where several soldiers were gathered.
One of them had already drawn a spare pistol from his waist, aiming the dark muzzle at his comrade lying on the ground, whose body was beginning to swell, and who had fallen into a coma. His hand, resting on the trigger, trembled slightly.
They did not understand the characteristics of these unknown creatures, and their current technology could not develop an antidote.
Existing medicines only provided relief and could not eradicate the toxin.
In such a situation where the host was in extreme agony, all they could do was help their comrade find an early release.
Tang Sui, having reached the same conclusion, her pupils constricted. Major General Modi only felt a flash of light and shadow before his eyes, and Tang Sui had vanished from her spot.
"Wait a moment."
Tang Sui, without any protective measures, reached out and pressed down, simultaneously grasping the hands of the two men who were about to help their comrade find release. The next words she spoke made the hearts, chilled by sadness, warm up again.
"I can save them."
All eyes, including those of the approaching Major General Modi, were focused on Tang Sui.
One of the soldiers, who was very close to the injured, asked in a hoarse voice, "How can you save them?"
Tang Sui raised her hand, and a deep purple halo ascended from her feet. Those standing beside Tang Sui instinctively took a few steps back, clearing an open space.
"Second spirit ability, Benevolent Countenance."
Tang Sui spoke in the language of the Douluo Continent, not in any language familiar to this world.
The soldier in the most critical condition received treatment first. The festering, swollen wound disappeared, returning to its original state.
His weak breathing became steady, and his chest, which had been rising and falling rapidly, returned to its normal rhythm, indicating the miraculous reality of his healing.
Everyone was silent, their pupils wide with shock.
The skill was still on cooldown. As a precaution, Tang Sui used her demonic energy to suppress the spreading poison and kept him alive.
Once the cooldown period passed, Tang Sui also applied a healing buff to the other soldier. She stood up and, under their gaze, calmly turned and walked back to wait in the military truck.
After Tang Sui got into the truck, Major General Modi, who had regained his senses, squatted down, removed his black leather gloves, and placed his cold hands under the noses of his comrades, one by one, to test their breathing. Confirming they were all alive, he looked up at Tang Sui's direction in disbelief.
Then, the crowd erupted like boiling water.
Waves of faith power passed through the thick truck door and entered Tang Sui's body.
However, there was no hint of happiness on Tang Sui's face, nor did any of the masks in her mental space congratulate her.
The atmosphere grew tense, and Tang Sui's expression became icy.
"Both approaches, applying both pressure and kindness, while with the异种 (yì zhǒng - alien species) there was only pressure and no kindness, but it was impossible to obtain faith power from the similarly intelligent 异种. Yet, humans can."
Tang Sui's gaze was cold as she stared out the front windshield at the thick white mist.
"Can I consider you to be on humanity's side?"
There was no one inside the car. After Tang Sui's words, silence fell again.
But Tang Sui did not care and continued, "For someone like me, who has sworn to achieve the Dao without the body of a mortal, to become humanity's savior and suppress the 异种, you have indeed gone to great lengths to shake my Dao heart."
[......]
Outside the windshield, the surging white mist halted. The soldiers' voices also abruptly stopped, as if a pause button had been pressed. The entire world seemed to freeze in time.
[When did you find out?]
"Just now, I think." Tang Sui's mood turned somewhat peculiar as she recalled the reason for her awakening.
Because she had even injured them.
"Fortunately, whether before or after I discovered it, I never intended to be humanity's savior. Even in the world of Douluo Continent, it was the same."
Her eyelashes drooped slightly. "I was never meant to be a savior. Even granting the fallen souls in the Slaughter City a true dream was not out of pity or a sense of righteousness, but simply because it was them. In other words, if there had been a group of soul beasts there, I would have still created a true dream for them, guiding them in the direction I desired."
"I never considered myself a good person. To achieve my goals, I would use any means necessary, but acting unscrupulously is only a last resort. Regarding this matter of principle and stance, I regret to say that it has not developed in the direction of the human savior you expected."
[You just saved two humans, and now you're going to defect and become a butcher who takes their lives, an enemy of humanity?]
The voice spoke as if a scholar meticulously studying and analyzing a textbook, determined to prove their theory correct and "correct" what was "wrong" in the textbook.
— — Interlude — —
Rebellious Sui: Bravely says no.