Chapter 3.8 - Unexpected Blade
O’Brien’s face fell. However, soon after, he became cheerful again. With a smile, he said, “What a pity it is that I have no way of saving more people. Regardless, it is good that you were able to return!”
Alan turned his body over, and then he struggled to a kneeling position. “I am willing to eternally vow my loyalty and devotion to your distinguished self!”
The research manager looked at Alan with shock. This man was recruited into Poseidon’s Trident, so he only had a simple employee relationship with O’Brien. Why was it that after the reconstruction process, he suddenly swore his loyalty like the ancient knighthood system? This was not something common even among the oldest members of Poseidon’s Trident.
However, O'Brien merely laughed as if it was proper and to be expected. He reached out his hand and supported Alan’s head. “From today forth, let’s fight together.”
“Yes sir!” Alan replied with a deep voice.
What followed was a simple lunch. On the dining table, the research manager was once again shocked to find that O’Brien and Alan ate extremely meticulously, to the extent where they didn’t even leave a bit of waste. This was already no longer in the category of being unwilling to waste food, but already affecting their ancient etiquette. Using a rather unpleasant phrase, O’Brien was eating just like someone from the wilderness.
When he saw the research manager’s shock, O’Brien laughed. He then gave a simple narration of the reconstruction experience. Three days ago, the research manager, through simple equipment, finally confirmed that the mother tree’s breeding troughs contained abundant nutrients and a few miraculous hormones that could substantially stimulate and unleash the human body’s potential. Genetic stimulation naturally carried a certain amount of risk, but if one only absorbed the nutrients and controlled the hormone’s effects, it could bring about tremendous benefits. From a perspective of effectiveness, the mother tree’s culture fluid was a hundred times more effective than the current mainstream culture fluids. In addition, it was connected to the entire mother tree. Every few days, there would be enough nutrient fluid for eight culture troughs.
That was why, after the new batch of nutrient fluid was produced, O’Brien led Poseidon’s Trident’s seven most outstanding soldiers into the culture troughs to absorb the nutrients. They never expected that the moment the lids of the culture troughs were sealed, everyone there was immediately pulled into another world, a spiritual world!
In that world, trees, flowers, plants, and all types of strange vicious beasts, almost all creatures became their enemies! During the first few days, O’Brien even felt as if he was fighting against the entire world! Fortunately, the combat prowess of the creatures in that world wasn’t too great, and that was why they barely managed to escape from the forest region filled with creatures into the desert environment with comparatively less living things, thus barely managing to survive. However, this very first shift in circumstances already made O’Brien lose an outstanding soldier.
In the following few years, what took up most of O’Brien’s time were battles, continuous and never ending battles! Every time they fought, only a single person could rest, and the amount of rest they received wouldn’t exceed ten minutes.
Only now did O’Brien finally understand that he really was facing against the entire world!
This world couldn’t be considered too large, and there were boundaries. O’Brien used an entire five years of time, leading the survivors in slaughtering along the edge of the world before finally returning to the origin. During this process, another soldier entered eternal rest. After investigating the boundaries of this world, O’Brien concluded that the critical point of unraveling this world was right at the center of the mountain range forest. That was why their group split up, individually finding a way to reach the heart of this world. What awaited him afterwards was an intense battle several times more difficult than what he had previously faced!
A year later, O’Brien finally stood at the top of the central divine tower. Behind him was a spacious and endless road. There weren’t any roads at all. When O’Brien blasted through everything rushing at him, a road finally took form.
Sitting at the center of the divine altar in front of O’Brien were two Hebilu, one male one female.
“The first two Hebilu of this world. After subduing them, that world was unraveled as well.” O’Brien spoke calmly.
The research manager was completely stupefied. Only three days had passed in the outside world’s reconstruction, but six entire years of war had already passed in the spiritual world?!
No wonder O’Brien’s temperament experienced such a transformation, as well as why Alan and O’Brien who were the only two final survivors developed such a special friendship. The research manager gave Alan a look, finding him not much different from the past, only that his previously untamed arrogance had now vanished without a trace. However, he knew that Alan was now become a completely different person. Six years of uninterrupted battle could make a cowardly person become the most valiant of fighters, let alone the fact that Alan already had seven levels of ability when he first joined Poseidon’s Trident!
“Get me up to date on what happened recently.” O’Brien ordered while working at his food.
The research manager quickly organized the most recent pieces of intelligence by priority, and then he carefully spoke about what he thought was the most important matter.
As O’Brien listened, his speed of eating gradually slowed down. In the end, his teeth stopped halfway into a piece of steak, and his body became as stiff as a statue.
Only when the research manager finished speaking did O’Brien swallow the entire piece of beef. He instructed, “Prepare ten soldiers and three vehicles for me, equipped with heavy firepower. We will depart for Lehai Ocean Manor. Alan, how are you feeling? If you can, then come together with me.”
Alan continued to finish the steak at a pace of three bites per piece, and then he replied in flat voice, “Of course! Thirty minutes of rest is already way more than enough.”
Seven and a half hours later, O’Brien stood in front of Lehai Manor’s main entrance. He calmly sized up this manor that was full of a countryside style. Meanwhile, Alan, with eyes as if he was staring at corpses, scanned the completely vigilant guards situated around the main entrance and perimeter wall.
Ten minutes later, all of Lehai Manor had already become a sea of flames. All of the servants and guards were executed with corpses piled high to the side of the main building. Flames were surging out from every one of this ancient building’s windows. Under the illumination of the fiery light, a dozen or so individuals were shivering in the cold, most of them being women and children.
O’Brien squatted down. He carried a five or six year old little boy, and then he had a soldier open up a communications channel. Half a minute later, a dignified appearance appeared on the optical screen, an old man that appeared a bit thin and pallid.
“O’Brien? It really has been a while since we last met, and you seem to have changed a bit as well. Wait, you are carrying little Peter! Why are you in Lehai Manor? You… you burned down my manor!” When he saw the scene that was transmitted through the optical screen, Kaplan changed from his initial attitude of etiquette to a roar!
“I heard that you carried out an operation in the northern base several days ago, one aimed at Persephone.” O’Brien spoke somewhat absent-mindedly, as if Kaplan’s rage was completely useless against him, to the extent where he even had time to pinch Little Peter’s cheeks.
Kaplan forcefully suppressed his rage and fear. “That was Bevulas’ order. I was just acting under orders.”
“Carrying out an order? You are a dragonrider general, Bevulas has no way of directly giving you an order. In fact, even if General Morgan gave you an order, you can choose not to listen. If I may ask, exactly what kind of benefits did Bevulas give you for you to willingly pay such a huge price?” As O’Brien spoke, he continued to play with little Peter’s face. He knew that little Peter was Kaplan’s only son. O’Brien found this out five minutes ago.
Kaplan watched as little Peter's face became red and swollen, unable to cry even if he wanted to due to the tight grip around his neck, and then he couldn’t help but completely expel all of the anger in his voice. With a pleading voice, he said, “We can properly discuss this, just put little Peter down. I believe everything can be discussed! Also, didn’t the Arthur family already announce that they severed all connection with Persephone?”
O’Brien calmly said, “Correct. Persephone was expelled from the family, and the banishment order was issued by me personally. However, the fact that she was expelled has nothing to do with the current matter. I just felt that you, as well as this entire manor, were a bit unsightly.”
After speaking, O’Brien loosened his hand. Little Peter immediately fell from his hands!
“No!” Kaplan’s roar of rage was so loud it even made the optical screen’s image began to shake! His face was already completely distorted. He cursed madly at O’Brien’s retreating figure, roaring, “You are making Lord Bevulas your enemy, he will kill you! He will kill everyone related to you!”
O’Brien walked towards the manor. As he listened to Kaplan’s cursing, he didn’t even turn around, only replying with a calm and unhurried voice, “You are nothing more than one of Bevulas’ dogs. How high of a price do you think he is willing to pay for a dog? As for making Bevulas my enemy… during tomorrow’s meeting, I will cast my vote against him in his face!”
Then, O’Brien indifferently gave the order to Alan at his side to ‘kill everyone’ before walking out from the manor at a constant speed.
Flames devoured all of Lehai Manor…
What Kaplan didn’t know was that in that other world, during the year of slaughter at the heart of that world, O’Brien had faced all types of attacks. In that spiritually condensed world, all of his mental weaknesses vanished without a trace, and as a result, the ones that attacked him the most were his closest blood relatives.
In that year, the number of times O’Brien personally killed Persephone was 11,776 times.