It's normal for an evil god to raise an Abyss.

"Oh, it almost ate you, so I killed it."

The girl said lightly,

"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Xueyue, and this is my sister, Tavel."

"...Ivan."

Perhaps Xueyue's words were too shocking, and it took Ivan several seconds to react and respond.

Are these two "girls" of other races (monsters)?

Ivan then looked at the two "girls" carefully. They didn't look much different from humans. He didn't have any measuring equipment at hand, so he didn't know if they had any elf reactions. However, judging from their attitude towards him, they seemed to be very friendly to humans, and they could speak human language, which basically ruled out the possibility that they were from other races.

Because humans [do not exist], other races would simply hunt humans as food or simply ignore them. Under this premise, it is even more impossible for monsters to be friendly to humans or even learn human language.

But these two girls were extremely neat and tidy. The clothes they wore were also styles I had never seen before. They also took no protection against black and dust. It was no wonder that Ivan thought they were some kind of illusion at first sight.

A bold idea popped into Ivan's mind, and he asked tentatively:

"Ms. Xueyue, do you know what an elf is?"

"【Elf】...?" Xueyue tilted her head, her tone full of confusion.

"I see, you two are not locals, right?"

"Indeed, we come from another world." Xueyue stated this fact without any hesitation.

"Oh, I see..."

Although he said this, a huge wave of emotion was rising in Iwan's heart.

(Do other worlds really exist?!)

On the other hand, he felt that the girl in front of him was a little naive. She easily told a "stranger" such "important" information. However, the other party was the one who saved his life after all, so Ivan also planned to take them to meet up with Rick and the others first.

As for Xueyue, she also felt that she was in on a plan when she saw Yi Wang gradually letting down his guard against her.

In fact, Xueyue is very clear about the basic information of this world, but if she appears to know everything, it would be too abnormal. It is normal for her to pretend to understand only part of it. This can also reduce the other party's vigilance and make the humans here believe that she is just an ignorant visitor. After all, in order to survive in the cracks, the humans here will not easily believe in "outsiders".

"But this corpse..."

Ivan scratched his head. It was difficult to deal with the body. With the items he currently had, he was afraid that he would not be able to destroy the body. Although those sharp cuts were unlikely to be made by humans, they still had to be disposed of just in case.

"Oh, that's easy. Just blow this place up and cover it up as wreckage and it will explode."

Xueyue saw Yi Wang's doubts and took the initiative to suggest.

A moment later, the wreckage of the goblin warship burst into flames.

-------------------------------------

There was no time to mourn Ivan's sacrifice. Rick and Yale were on guard against being discovered by other races while rushing back as fast as they could. Before returning to the settlement, every second spent outside meant one more second of unnecessary risk.

Suddenly, Rick realized something, grabbed Yare and hid in the shadows on the side.

It seemed that some species was coming towards them at an extremely fast speed. The spirit needle plate did not react, which meant that there was no elf in the other party's body. However, that speed was definitely not something a normal creature could possess. To be on the safe side, the most correct choice was to hide directly.

Yalei swallowed secretly. Although he was very scared, he was prepared to rush out and sacrifice himself in case of the worst.

"Uncle, are you leading the way right? Don't we see anyone here at all?" A voice that seemed to be that of a young girl came from nearby, speaking the common language of mankind.

"Ah...well, maybe they sensed that your speed is not like that of humans, so they hid. You know, humans in this world will be smashed to pieces if they are not careful." It was another middle-aged male voice.

The voice of this middle-aged man was not unfamiliar to Rick and Yalei, but because of this, they found it even more incredible.

To put it more precisely, it was - damn it, how could humans escape from the hands of the demons? It couldn't be described as a miracle.

Yalei plucked up the courage to stick his head out a little, and sure enough, he saw the familiar figure. He couldn't bear it anymore and bumped into the arms of the middle-aged man.

"Ivan, it's really you, you survived!"

Yalei said excitedly.

After Rick confirmed that there were no unexpected situations around, he emerged from his hiding place. His dark eyes finally revealed some emotions when he saw that Ivan was safe and sound.

It was a mixed emotion of surprise, gratitude, and a slight sense of relief at having temporarily let go of the guilt in one's heart.

But after just a moment, he adjusted his mood and his eyes returned to normal. Then he began to look at the two girls following Ivan.

Under normal circumstances, humans would not be able to escape from the pursuit of demons at that distance, and the fact that Iwan is now unharmed must be related to these two girls.

The moment Rick appeared, Xueyue had already noticed him. When she saw him in person and saw his fleeting micro-expressions, Xueyue confirmed what kind of person he was. After all, subconscious micro-expressions would not lie.

The humans of this world are qualified to help.

Chapter 78 Bad Times

"You guys saved Ivan, thank you very much."

There was a hint of gratitude in Rick's tone.

"But... this may be a little presumptuous, but could you please tell me how you managed to help Ivan escape from the monster's trap?"

"Oh, you mean that? It's very simple. I cut it off."

Xueyue said this lightly, as if what was killed instantly was not a monster that humans could not match, but just a weak insect.

"Ah?!" Ya Lei next to him couldn't control his emotions and exclaimed.

"To be honest, I was prepared to die and closed my eyes, so I didn't see what the young lady did. But the demon's body was cut into several pieces neatly and smoothly. This is an indisputable fact."

Ivan scratched his head and added some details.

"And the corpse of the demon species was burned together with the Dwarf species' warship. It was disguised as a self-destruction, so no other monsters would think it was us who did it."

From all the signs, it seems that the opponent used pure physical strength or some magical weapon to kill the demon in one fell swoop, and did not use the Elf Corridor. Considering the opponent's hurried journey, this is also the case.

And this physical ability is definitely not something that humans, or humans in this world, can possess.

Could the other party be another race disguised as human... No, it's impossible. There is no need for that. Those superior races cannot learn the human language just to hunt humans. Moreover, the two girls in front of him have no elf reactions in their bodies, which further eliminates this possibility.

Then, the only possibility is...

"Although this question is a bit far-fetched, ladies, you two should not be humans from this world."

"Well, we are not humans from this world. We are looking for human settlements in this world."

Xueyue nodded and readily admitted it.

"Because we can't leave this world for some reasons... If you have a settlement, can you take us in? We will pay you accordingly."

Some of these words are half true and half false, but they sound particularly believable to others.

Rick nodded indifferently, his eyes relaxed a little:

"Then follow us, but you need to cover up. Your current clothes are too conspicuous... Don't let others know that you are from another world for the time being."

"Okay." Understanding Rick's caution, Xueyue took out two black robes with hoods from the shadows and put them on herself and Paopao respectively. This magical skill of taking things from the shadows surprised the three natives again.

"Let's continue our journey once we are ready. It will take us nearly two days to reach the settlement."

Rick didn't say much, he stood up and led the way.

It’s not that Xueyue and Bubble don’t have faster ways to move, but they are a little too “ostentatious”. Xueyue also wants to take advantage of the time on the road to get to know the real situation of this world, so she just followed Rick and the other two for the past two days.

During the trip, Ivan and Yalei told Xueyue and Paopao a lot of things, most of which were about the current environment of mankind.

[This era will end one day]

Every human being has thought this way, but the words "one day" are too unfamiliar.

I want to hold on to that distant hope, but this world is too cruel;

I want to immerse myself in endless despair, but this world is too harsh.

Whether it is the past or the future, it has nothing to do with human beings today, because those are things that humans cannot reach.

What humans are allowed to do is to reproduce as hard as they can now, at this moment.

This is the era, the era of the gods fighting each other.

Humans are fragile and powerless, so we cannot focus on the individual, but must prioritize race.

Within this framework, individual emotions cannot be taken into account. Individuals act for the sake of the whole, and the whole must act for the sake of the whole.

Even if it is not the best, the most efficient method must be continuously adopted.

It is through thorough calculation and rationality that human beings have been able to survive, or, to be more precise, to "escape" until now.

Covered in dirt and dust, they wiped out their tiny happiness, left behind the corpses of their companions and left until the unreachable day of the end of the war.

To do this, one person must be sacrificed to save two, and the minority must be given up for the sake of the majority.

Even if it means sacrificing one person, we must save everyone who remains in the settlement, and this result will always be our priority.

Humans have no choice but to resort to other methods, and the one who strictly enforces such rules is the boy in front of them - Riku.

Only this young man, with his slightly gloomy eyes, shouldered the heavy responsibility with a resolute will, so he became the leader, and only he could be the leader.

Rick's gloomy eyes and his execution method of giving up the minority to save the majority made it hard for Xueyue not to think of a man - Emiya Kiritsugu.

But there is an essential difference between the two. Emiya Kiritsugu killed a few people for a kind of "justice" to avoid possible greater harm, but this kind of justice itself has fallen into paranoia.

The situation facing the human beings in this world is that they have no choice. If they don't do this, they will inevitably perish. This method is forced, and it is a solution chosen by all humans who are aware of the current situation. Rick is just an executor, just a person who is elected and can best bear this pain, a person who carries the burden forward.

"Do you believe that this era will end one day?" Xueyue sighed.

This is the same question that the human beings in this world have asked themselves thousands of times in their hearts.

One day, which day, will this war really end? If not, is there any point in persisting? If so, will humans be able to see that day?

Rick looked up at the sky in silence, the red sky with blue ashes floating in it.

"There is no night without dawn." These words, spoken by someone, flashed through my mind unconsciously.

"Yeah, it will end eventually."

Rick said so. If people didn't think that way, if they didn't believe that way, humans would have been crushed by this heavy burden long ago.

Bubble suddenly felt her hand being held.

That was the hand that Xueyue stretched out unconsciously. It was still a little wet, the result of sweat oozing out. It was the proof that she could empathize with humans.

Paopao raised his lips and held Xueyue's hand tightly. Facing Xueyue's gaze, he only whispered softly:

(This is a terrible world for you humans. Let me see your choices.)

Chapter 79 I've Put the Weight on It

The two-day journey was short yet long, crossing the wilderness where black and gray were flying and entering the deepest part of the snow-covered forest. There was a hidden cave at the foot of a sharply protruding rocky mountain.

This cave, which looks like an ordinary wild animal's lair from the outside, is actually a current human settlement.

As long as you move forward inside, you can see a half-rotten pillar with several old oil lamps hanging there.

Rick took down one of the oil lamps, pulled out a flint lighter from his bosom and lit it.

The dim orange light dispelled some of the darkness in the tunnel, but it was still not enough.

"It's too dark. Use this."

Xueyue took out a cylindrical object from the shadow and handed it to Rick.

"Press that button."

Hearing this, Rick fumbled for a button and pressed it.

In an instant, pure white light drove away all the darkness.

The light was too strong, and Rick and the other two, who were used to the darkness, couldn't adapt to it for a moment, and they couldn't help but squint.

"It's not powered by some spirit you mentioned. This is a flashlight powered by electricity."

Xueyue explained.

As they advanced into the tunnel dug deeper into the cave, they kept an eye out for traps set by wild animals. As they went deeper, they saw an outer wall made of many sturdy logs. This was a door built to prevent wild wolves or bears from accidentally entering by mistake and slipping past the traps.

Of course, if the invaders were of another race, this thing wouldn't make much difference whether they had it or not.

Rick turned off the flashlight and handed it back to Xueyue. He approached the door and knocked on it with force and rhythm, then waited.