Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 181 Defeat me, or... kill me
Lu Mingfei sighed deeply.

“General O’Neill,” Lu Mingfei said with a hint of helplessness, “I do not belong to either side of the war, nor am I under the command of the demigods. I am just an ordinary Faded One.”

"I'm only here to find the Pure Gold Needle; I have no intention of fighting you. Do you know where it is?"

The fighting spirit that was about to erupt around O'Neal subsided instantly, and he calmed down, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Pure gold needles? What do you need pure gold needles for?"

Lu Mingfei had no choice but to tell the truth:
"Someone commissioned me to find golden needles to treat a girl suffering from a putrid disease. In exchange, he will tell me the location of the Great Dragon Church and Red Lion City."

"Red Lion City? The Great Dragon Church?"

O'Neill's face was practically overflowing with astonishment; his expression was as if he were looking at a fool who was trying to exchange the Imperial Seal for candied hawthorns.

He looked Lu Mingfei up and down repeatedly, as if trying to confirm whether his old friend had taken on a disciple with intellectual disabilities.

"You're willing to trade pure gold needles for this intelligence? And even venture into a place where you're certain to die?"

His voice was filled with utter absurdity:

"Kid, what do you think Pure Golden Needles are? Some roadside Roja Fruit?!"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

Actually, he didn't really know how precious this thing was, but thinking about it, it made sense. It could suppress the Corruption Disease, which was said to be helpless even for demigods, so it must be a treasure.

The survival philosophy of the faded is always simple: whatever you urgently need, exchange it with what you have on hand, regardless of its value. What you need is the best.

He decided to say a few words in his defense to salvage his image in the eyes of his seniors.

“You may not know this,” Lu Mingfei thought carefully about his words, “there aren’t many normal people left outside, especially in Galid, which has been completely destroyed by the Crimson Corruption. The landscape has been completely changed, and the old maps are completely useless.”

Veteran Shaquille O'Neal fell silent.

The shadow of the helmet fell over his deeply lined face. His once sharp eyes dimmed slightly, gleaming with a complex light.

"Boy."

He suddenly loosened his grip on the battle flag, and the giant banner, symbolizing the legion's will, fell heavily to the ground. Then, like a mountain unburdened, he sat down wearily on the ground.

"Tell me... about what's happening outside."

Lu Mingfei looked at O'Neill.

Just moments ago he was like a spirited and indomitable general, but after hearing that Galid had been completely destroyed, he seemed like a different person, like an exhausted old man.

"What do you want to know?"

Lu Mingfei simply plopped down on the ground as well, and the two of them looked like an old man and a young boy chatting at the village entrance:
"I don't know much."

“Galeed,” the old general, whose voice was deep and hoarse, said, “you tell me about Galeed.”

"Well, how should I put it?"

Lu Mingfei scratched his eyebrow:

"It was like this: as far as the eye could see, everything was crimson decay, devoid of any life, the land and rocks were all stained. The creatures became deformed and aggressive, the living were rotting away and only skeletons remained, and there were crimson decaying fungal carpets and spores everywhere."

"The soldiers of the Red Lion Legion built walls of fire along Galid and the swamp, hunting corrupting creatures in an attempt to stop the spread of corruption, but..."

Lu Mingfei's voice echoed in the desolate center of the swamp, describing the scorched earth swallowed by crimson.

"As far as I can see, it has no effect. The land on the edge of Ningmgford has begun to be devoured and polluted by corruption, and the number of crimson corruption creatures is increasing, with corruption minions everywhere."

After he finished speaking, there was a long, deathly silence. O'Neill lowered his head, the shadow of his helmet obscuring his entire face.

"Lady Malenia..."

O'Neill's voice was like a sigh from the abyss:
"This... is this the fruit borne by your crimson flower...?"

He slowly shook his head, muttering to himself:

"This is absolutely not... the glory of a knight... absolutely not..."

Lu Mingfei watched as veteran O'Neal raised his head, his eyes gazing blankly into the distance, as if looking at the scorched earth outside the swamp that had been completely cursed. His eyes were filled with only heavy sorrow and a sense of shame.

"Then... what about General Shattered Star? Lord Rataen... how is he?"

Lu Mingfei looked at the faint light in the old general's eyes and sighed inwardly.

"General Ratahn? As far as I know, the situation is very bad."

“I met someone…who knows a lot of things.” He chose his words carefully, not mentioning Sir Hundred’s name. “He said that General Shatterstar was too deeply corrupted by the Crimson Corruption during his battle with the Valkyrie. He has probably lost his mind by now and has become a beast driven by instinct.”

"I heard that his men... hid him. Hid him somewhere, so that no one could find him or see him in his current state again."

Lu Mingfei stood up, brushed the dust off his leg armor, and broke the silence:

"As for me... I'm currently planning to go to Red Lion City, where a battle festival is being held. It's said to be a grand celebration for warriors, where many heroes will gather."

"Maybe I'll get to see Ratahn."

He shrugged, his voice flat.

O'Neill remained in that position, head bowed, sitting on the cold stone ground. The battle flag, a symbol of past glory, lay beside him, its corners stained with what appeared to be mud or dried blood, blending seamlessly with the red flag.

"You will see Ratahn."

O'Neill spoke with certainty:
"To live in the world like a beast is a disgrace to a demigod and a disgrace to a warrior. I have seen him wielding his twin swords on the battlefield and fought him, though only for a moment. But Ratan is worthy of the name of a demigod."

“No subject would tolerate his lord living in such a state, and any warrior would be pained by the humiliation of his dignity at the sight of him.”

If it were me, I would have done the same.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head:
"You mean, this battle festival is about challenging Rataen?"

O'Neill remained silent, his silence a sign of agreement.

Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and guessed that the old man had been here for so long to guard the Pure Golden Needles. And he really didn't want to kill him.
So he said:
"How about this, sir? You draw me a rough map of the location so I know where the Great Dragon Sacrifice Church and Red Lion City are. I don't need the Pure Golden Needle anymore. You can just stay here and guard it peacefully. I'll come back to see you when I return from Red Lion City."

After a long time, long enough that Lu Mingfei thought he had rejected his proposal, the old general slowly raised the hand that was not holding the flag.

The hand, covered in calluses and scars, slowly rose, its knuckles striking the steel of the breastplate with a clear "clang."

"No, kid, you can't leave."

O'Neill's voice was unusually calm: "Once you step onto the battlefield, you must abide by its rules."

His eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit as he stared intently at Lu Mingfei.

"The pure gold needle... is right here."

"Defeat me."

"Or... kill me."

(End of this chapter)