Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 697 New Demands (Part 2)
Seeing Wright's attitude, "Xianyan" showed a barely perceptible hint of embarrassment. After a slight hesitation, he withdrew his hand, glanced around haphazardly a few times, and then continued to advise:
"The 'Dedicated Group' has the ability to reshape the 'Order,' Wright. You are the only 'Orderer' in a thousand years, no, more likely the last 'Orderer' in this cycle of humanity. Whether among humans or among us Lost Ones, you are qualified to be a leader."

“I know your past very well. Our ‘Dedication Group’ has already pieced together your entire file from the Ato, the Tenin sect, and even Vasily’s secret office. Perhaps we know you better than you know yourself.”

“Then you should know that I belong to the East.” Wright’s voice was soft, yet exceptionally powerful. His words were filled with a deep longing for his homeland and a yearning for a peaceful life. The melodious and beautiful guqin music of his hometown, the abundant and delicious food, and a warm and loving family were the only light that could completely dispel the darkness of the world.

After pausing for a few seconds, forcibly holding back the tears welling up in his eyes, Wright continued:

"That world... the civilization of my homeland is extremely similar to the Flame Empire. Moreover, the East is the only pure land that has not been completely destroyed by the 'Heartless Virus.' Only there does the spark of civilization remain. Unfortunately, 'Flame Offering,' I know you came to persuade me personally 'on someone's behalf.' After all, you are also a Khitan Riss, aren't you?"

“I…” “Xianyan” paused, muttering a few indistinct words, then turned his head, as if advising Wright, or perhaps suggesting something to “Blood Wolf”:
“Perhaps it would be good for him to go to the east. To the east of the Eventlay Desert is the Curved Axe Valley. Beyond there lies the border between the Cold Desert Eventlay Valley and the southern desert—the Sands of the Maze. There lies a god who is of vital importance to the Orderers… If Wright still insists on going east when that time comes, then he will have no choice but to ride a dragon across the valley and traverse the ‘no man’s land’ Cold Desert Eventlay Valley.”

"In this way, you only need to walk for more than 20 days through a desert devoid of humans, lost souls, plants, animals, fuel, and resources to perhaps reach Dawn Land, a border city of the Flame Empire. The soul of 'Flame Lord' is buried there, and it's the first stop upon entering the Flame Empire. If, after making contact with the people of the Flame Empire, you still choose to head east, then that will prove..."

When the word "proof" came up, Xian Yan paused for a full half minute before Wright, impatient, blurted out, "Prove what?"

"Only then can you 'prove' your value to the Khitanris people. If they accept you, you'll possess the trump card to revive human civilization. However, this is difficult. Khitanris culture is inherently exclusive; unless it is completely assimilated into the 'Great Yan Culture' and ultimately disappears," Blood Wolf replied in a deep, beast-like, hoarse voice.

"In fact, if you stay, you will acknowledge the identity of the Lost Ones, and thus agree with the 'New Construction Project' and Ivan XXII's 'Theory of Human Evolution.' The 'Heartless Ones' are the failed evolutionary forms, and the Lost Ones represent the future direction of humanity. After all, individuals who can endure hunger, loneliness, and pain for a long time, and who are physically strong, have strong self-healing abilities, are emotionally insensitive, and can self-modify, self-evolve, and self-accept the power of the magical source are more suitable to break through the shackles of Earth, venture into the universe, and explore the deeper space left by the Creator."

“Light Socrates, whichever path you choose, you will ultimately come to unite humanity and the Lost Ones, won’t you?”

Before Wright could explain, "Blood Wolf" interrupted him:

"You don't need to deny it, nor do you need to explain. This is the Creator's arrangement, and even more so, a change in the universe. I assure you that even if you choose Khitanris, I will spend three years uniting the remaining Lost Ones, independent armed forces, and human organizations within Crusde to jointly resist the raging, chaotic 'alien monsters' and 'heartless people' like Ato. I will shut down all the 'Universal Energy Evolution Platforms' to prevent the disaster brought by the 'Scorching Sun.' I will also do my best to reclaim the large cities lost by Atlanca, Shaneva, and Vasily, and reconstruct the [order] belonging to Crusde."

"As for you..." "Blood Wolf" paused, rubbing a fresh wound on his face with his right hand, squeezing and tearing it a few times. When a little blood seeped out, he stopped, dipped his fingertip in it, and put it in his mouth to savor it carefully.

After a moment of ecstasy, "Blood Wolf" let out a satisfied groan, then slowly opened his mouth and said:
“What we envision is the creation of a ‘new world’ entirely composed of the lost. Unlike the idealists of the ‘Wilderness Tourists’ group, we, the ‘Dedication Group,’ have abandoned the gods, which means we have abandoned humanity. Any human who wants to survive in the new kingdom we establish must undergo the baptism of the ‘Heartless Virus’ and become a ‘new human.’”

“You’ve gone mad too, ‘Blood Wolf’.” Wright’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Anyone who goes to extremes dies because of their own desires; they are your example. You’re saying that as long as I stubbornly choose the Flame Empire, and the ‘revival’ of human civilization instead of ‘evolution’, then in the future, we will become enemies, right?”

“That’s right. But that’s the ‘future,’ not the present. Right now, the only mission for the survivors of the ‘Dark Night Investigation Team,’ the Nabusk Guard, and our ‘Dedication Group’ is to repair as much damage as possible that Atlanca and Ato have done to the city.” Blood Wolf’s eyes gradually returned to normal, no longer displaying the terrifying eerie green and the morbid thirst for blood it had shown earlier.

He walked up to Wright, gently nudged his shoulder, then leaned close to his ear and whispered:
"'The End of Ashes' was a hoax from the start. Ato didn't want to slaughter everyone. It all started because of you, and it will end because of you. Everything these people did was for you. Now, you'd better go back to sleep and make what you think is the right decision when your mind is clear."

……

February 18, 558 AD, 6:45 AM. Crusad Federation, Far Northeast Region, Nebusk Plain, Nebusk City (taken over by the "Dedication Group"), St. Vasily Grand Hotel, Room ST. 905.

"A brand new journey is about to begin. Everything will fall into silence, and everything will awaken again from the silence... It is a bridge that connects the old era with the new era."

A series of noisy, low, chaotic sounds, like the whispers of a demon, kept swirling through Wright's mind, like a helpless boy sobbing, or more like the demon's spirit conveying a message through the boy's mouth.

sizzle...

sizzle...

The chaotic crackling of electricity forcibly pulled Wright from his chaotic, drowsy nightmare back to reality. An extreme sense of exhaustion assaulted his body, but this was quickly followed by a long-lost feeling of ease and comfort, which compelled him to open his eyes, stretch, and let the morning light flood his dark eyes.

"How long have I been asleep?" Wright murmured groggily.

However, the answer he received was not from Dak's youthful voice, but from a slightly languid, milky voice:
"16 hours and 35 minutes, Lord Light Socrates."

"Wow, who are you?" Wright was startled by the sudden voice. He instinctively jumped up from the bed, half-bent over, and put his hands in a defensive posture. At the same time, the extremely abundant red magic power in his body instantly gathered in his right arm.

boom!
Instinctively, a thick flame, as if four or five flamethrowers were simultaneously erupting, rushed towards the boy in front of him.

Ding!
A crisp sound rang out simultaneously in their ears. In an instant, a black hole-like origin suddenly rose from the center of the flames. In a flash, the intense flames, which seemed capable of scorching everything, transformed into its accretion disk and then dissipated along with the origin.

"This is... my power?" Wright stared at his right arm in astonishment, trying to feel the flow of red magical energy within his body. Although it wasn't much different from what he had felt before, it was clear that behind the dense power was a bottomless pool of energy, which, no matter how he tried to perceive it with his consciousness, seemed like an abyss, unfathomable and unobservable.

“I am the fourth ‘Reorderer’ of the ‘Dedication Group’. I just arrived from Icefield City by train. I was entrusted by our leader, ‘Blood Wolf,’ to be your bodyguard from now until you arrive in the Eventre region. By the way, you can call me by my code name, ‘Dedication.’” The boy wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered in a slightly trembling, childish voice.

"'Chant'? The 'Reorderer' of the 'Consecration Group'? It seems 'Blood Wolf' wants to spy on me? Or is he waiting for my answer? However, 'Chant', I don't need bodyguards here. Dark Tiris and Adaloni are enough. Besides, I have doubts about your combat abilities, you're just a kid." Wright curled his lip without any restraint and refused.

After all, the boy in front of him, with his light blond hair, blue eyes, and very youthful features—a basic Crusader appearance—wasn't exactly reassuring. Add to that his chubby face, fair complexion, and height of less than 1.5 meters, along with his less-than-robust physique, and he didn't look like someone there to protect Wright at all. If he were wandering around the city, most people would probably think Wright was the bodyguard.

However, Wright's slightly sarcastic and disdainful statement seemed to anger the "Chanting" in front of him. Just a second later, two thick, black tentacles suddenly sprouted from behind the "Chanting".

The surface of the tentacle was pitted and covered with bloodstains and filth. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to have countless hidden blood-red eyeballs, resembling a vine covered with blurred flesh and blood.

Thank you to the slug for the monthly pass.