Chapter 491: Chapter 481: Sin

A man dressed in hemp clothing was desperately running down the street, but the sound of hooves behind him was getting closer and closer.

At the end of the street, a squad of soldiers riding peculiar mounts appeared.

These mounts had lizard-like scale armor and scorpion tails, their six limbs made a “tat-tat” sound on the cobblestones, and the single horn on their forehead shimmered with a dark purple starlight in the firelight.

Clearly, two legs couldn’t outrun six.

The soldiers caught up to the man, and without a word, slashed him from behind, knocking him to the ground.

“Exterminate the rebels! Leave none alive!” the leading officer shouted, the eyes under the helmet gleaming with fanaticism.

Yet what they were executing was a complete massacre.

They swung their swords, dragged out hiding civilians to kill them, and looted their wealth, cries and mad laughter mingling together, making the entire city resemble a scene from hell.

Hiding in the shadow of a broken wall, Vera witnessed the atrocity unfold before his eyes.

Vera bit his lip hard, blood trickling down the corners of his mouth, his body trembling uncontrollably.

This trembling didn’t stem from fear but from the fury in his heart!

In his eyes, these soldiers wielding swords had shed their human skin, transforming into demons more hideous than the Demon Race.

Though there was always power struggles among the kingdom’s nobles, family feuds, and even the occasional tragic downfall of an entire family in political battles.

Even the most brutal reckonings wouldn’t affect ten percent of the populace like this.

In face of the Demon Race’s threat, the population was a precious resource, doing such acts would surely earn the enmity of everyone else.

As such, the bloodthirsty slaughter of their compatriots by this army before him shattered Vera’s understanding of the human bottom line.

He understood there were individuals who were vile degenerates in this world, but he had never imagined humans could band together and turn into bloodthirsty beasts.

Vera’s hand gripped his saber hilt tightly, if not for repeatedly convincing himself that this was all an illusion, he would’ve charged at those beasts committing the violence long ago.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Vera turned and slipped away.

Until now, Vera still hadn’t figured out where exactly this place was, let alone what the so-called core was.

All he knew was this grand city seemed to have just been conquered, and the victors were indulging in such inhuman revelry all over the city.

Vera weaved through the street alleys, trying to find signs of his other teammates.

But after searching for a long time, he found nothing.

Instead, he stumbled upon another instance of the soldiers’ brutality.

A soldier wielding a knife had cornered two young children.

The two children seemed to be siblings, the brother wielding a stick he picked up from who knows where, protecting his sister behind him.

The soldier walked deliberately slowly, closing in bit by bit, clearly enjoying the process of toying with his prey.

It’s all fake!

It’s all fake!

It’s all…

“Die! Beast!”

The angry growl made the soldier turn around, swinging his sword horizontally.

But Vera’s curved saber, like a silver snake, easily deflected the sword, piercing straight into the soldier’s throat, leaving him unable to utter a cry of agony.

The soldier pointed at the suddenly appearing Vera with a contorted face, still wanting to do something, but his body was pinned against the wall, eventually becoming motionless in pain.

Flicking the blood off the blade, Vera let out a long sigh of relief.

Knowing full well that everything before him was fake, but after slaying this beast, Vera felt his mind cleared significantly.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his coat corner was gently tugged.

The child holding a stick looked at him with grateful eyes and asked, “Uncle, are you also going to the cellar?”

“Cellar? What’s that place?”

The boy tightly held his sister’s hand and softly explained, “It’s where everyone hides… Uncle Fu said it’s very safe.”

Vera thought for a moment, then nodded, “Let’s go together!”

The boy immediately showed a relieved expression, holding his sister with one hand, leading Vera into the depths of the alley.

Vera’s thoughts were simple, he’d follow to take a look, and if there were no companions within, he’d leave alone to continue searching, as he was just running around like a headless fly anyway.

Under the two children’s guidance, they arrived at an abandoned courtyard.

Half of the courtyard wall had collapsed, littered with scattered debris everywhere.

The boy skillfully parted the thicket of weeds in the corner, revealing a concealed wooden trapdoor.

As soon as he stepped into the cellar, a flash of cold light struck directly at him!

Vera drew his sword to block, the clash of sword and spear emitting a crisp sound.

The spear-wielder was a middle-aged man with a wary face, mistaking Vera for an enemy in the dim light.

“Uncle Fu, it’s us!” the boy hurriedly shouted.

Hearing this, the man lowered his spear, and, by the faint light coming through the cellar entrance, finally saw it was his own people.

This underground space was more spacious than imagined, over thirty huddled figures crowded in the shadows, with an air of blood and herbs mingling about.

“Vera!”

The familiar call sent a tremor through Vera’s heart.

Following the voice, he saw Fei Yin standing up from the corner, rushing into his arms immediately.

However, when his gaze landed on the unconscious figure on the ground, Vera’s heart clenched instantly.

Fei Ling lay there, her body covered in wounds of varying depths, complexion pale as paper.

From Fei Yin’s account, Vera learned what had happened.

The sisters’ positions weren’t far apart.

When Fei Yin was attacked by soldiers, it was Fei Ling who appeared in time to help her.

But during a fight with a squad leader, Fei Ling was unfortunately gravely wounded.

Despite having used a healing potion, she still fell into a coma.

Fortunately, Uncle Fu came by and brought them into this refuge, allowing them to remain safe until now.

After examining Fei Ling and finding no danger to her life, Vera, not caring if it was real or fake, turned to thank the middle-aged man named Uncle Fu.

Uncle Fu also thanked Vera for saving his niece and nephew, and apologized for his earlier actions.

Just then, footsteps and rough shouts came from outside.

“Look! There’s a cellar here!”

“There might be treasure inside!”

Two soldiers said and bent down to crawl inside. As they stepped down the stairs, Vera and Uncle Fu acted simultaneously.

Vera’s sword once again sliced through a soldier’s throat, blood spraying onto the dirt walls.

But Uncle Fu’s spear met with an accident, the attack meant to pierce the throat only stabbed into the second soldier’s shoulder.

The wounded soldier let out a beast-like roar.

Vera followed up with a reverse strike, finishing off that soldier, but it was too late.

Dense footsteps and the clanging of armor came from outside, clearly, more soldiers were approaching.

Uncle Fu looked up at Vera, eyes filled with guilt and despair: “I’m sorry, I… I…”

Not much time for thought, Vera glanced back at Fei Yin tremblingly gripping the magic staff, and the still unconscious Fei Ling.

“Protect everyone!”

Saying so, he dashed out of the cellar in a flash, shut the wooden door heavily with a reverse hand strike, barricaded the entrance with some fallen debris, then rushed outside.

Just as he dashed out, he ran into an approaching soldier.

The blade flashed suddenly.

Vera’s blade swept past the man’s neck, blood gushing out like a fountain, this scene witnessed clearly by the ten or so soldiers coming afterward.

Vera glanced around, then vaulted over the courtyard wall in a leap.

“There’s only one enemy! Don’t let him get away!” a commanding officer shouted loudly.

Immediately, chaotic footsteps and curses sounded behind, and more soldiers joined the chase, while he didn’t look back and charged into the burning streets, drawing all the pursuers’ attention to himself.

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