Monsters Will Die if They Are Killed

Twenty-two years ago, in the southern part of the Kaaba Empire, on the front line of Silent Forest.

Under the gloomy sky, red fire spread in the dark green forest, illuminating the front line at night and filling the battlefield with the smell of charcoal and ashes.

In the town that was completely burned to the ground, countless charred elven corpses were scattered haphazardly among the flames and charcoal. The mutilated corpses were either strangling their own necks, or trying to stretch their heads upward, as if trying to As if he was drowning, he tried his best to breathe.

The gathering place of elves that was bombed by alchemy fuel bombs is now being cleaned up by tired human soldiers. In this hostile forest, only the burned land can be considered safe. Otherwise, it will not count those full of diseases and A highly poisonous mosquito, even a blade of grass, may quietly extend its sharp branches and leaves in the dead of night, penetrate into the ears of sleeping soldiers, and crush their brains.

In the fourth year of the Elf War, the First Royal Legion of the Kelba Empire broke through the third layer of defense of the Elf King's Court and burned the frontline war to the area directly under the Elf King's Court.

And in this frontline camp that was filled with the smell of corpses, burnt smell, men's sweat and blood, a young priest followed tremblingly behind a general wearing black power armor, looking around the area in panic. A land full of elves' curses.

"The proud disciple of the great priest of Antal in the imperial capital, although he was brought here to be gilded, his teacher said that it doesn't matter if he dies."

The general brought the young priest to the deputy commander of the army. He laughed and pushed the still timid priest forward: "Some time ago, I remember you said that you were short of a priest to accompany the army? This one is for you."

The priest raised his head and looked in front of him. The commander standing in the camp had calm eyes. He was now as motionless as a machine, accepting the general's instructions.

At that time, the soldiers' hair had not turned gray, and they were full of high-spirited confidence that they could definitely win victory and glory.

At that time, the priest's eyes had not yet become cold. When faced with the soldier's knife-like eyes, he would even lower his gaze subconsciously, not daring to look directly.

And this is the first encounter between the bounty hunter Mikhail and the oath-breaking priest Matvey.

Although it doesn't matter if he is dead, no one really dares to let the proud disciple of the great priest of the Imperial City walk freely on the front line. Matvey got twelve soldiers as his bodyguards, responsible for following the rear of the vanguard and providing protection for the injured. soldier treatment.

The war on the frontline is igniting every day. In order to regain their homeland, the elves are planning counterattacks all the time. The fertility rate of these pointed ears with a life span of 180 years is not as low as in the story. As long as there is a stable environment , with a longer reproductive period, their population growth rate is actually no less than that of humans, and in the forest, they are even more at home. The humans can only advance all the way through the forest-burning strategy of burning as they go, otherwise it will be difficult to move forward at all.

The reason why the Kelba Empire attacked the Elf Court was for the super-large mana crystal veins in the Silent Forest. Since the empire carried out the mana industrialization reform, the value of mana ore that was originally only needed by mages has been rising all the time, except in the north. Apart from the high reserves of mineral veins in the surrounding mountains of Maia Territory, there are no other high-value mana mines in the empire's territory.

For the sake of development and wealth, the lords of the southern empire persuaded the royal family to initiate this war. However, no one expected that the war would be so tragic. The fully mechanized imperial army thought that it was invincible, and felt that the elves were The army will be defeated as easily as the western barbarians and become their cheap labor slaves.

But the war has lasted for four years, and the empire has invested enough military power and wealth to rebuild three imperial cities. The financial burden caused by a large number of deaths has made it difficult for the military to even issue pensions, and the Elven Court even sent an archdruid to go there. The "Dark Green Disaster" broke out in the southern towns of the empire. The wildly growing trees destroyed many cities and killed countless civilians. The highly toxic miasma has not dissipated yet.

This is the current situation, but the good news is that the war potential of the empire is still stronger than that of the elves. After paying the price of almost total destruction of the southern industrial circle and the collective relocation of the empire's industrial production areas to the north, most of the Silent Forests have now been destroyed. In the scorched earth, the number of elves who died was three times that of the imperial people, completely wiping out the population of the elves for two generations.

Victory is certain, and now the Elf Royal Court has begun to move towards the east, and some of them have even received the support of the dwarves and gone underground. Today's fierce attack is superficially to regain their homeland, but in fact it is just to delay the imperial army.

"Master Priest, we discovered something ahead..."

The soldier came to report the situation to the young priest, and he was already somewhat accustomed to the battlefield. At least he would not be disgusted by the sight of corpses. He nodded: "Take me to have a look."

Then, he saw two trembling young elves hiding in a tree hole surrounded by soldiers.

"Two long-eared cubs, ha, they look like they are less than ten years old. It is quite a feat to send them to the back!"

The soldiers laughed vulgarly: "Those big guys up there like this kind of taste, it's so damn weird!"

The priest didn't care about the strange looks the soldiers gave him. He was also very aware of the weird tastes of the nobles and high priests in the upper class of the imperial capital. However, all this had nothing to do with him. The young man noticed the whispers of the young elves. His trembling, fearful eyes suddenly hurt his heart.

"Our ancestors are above us. Although war is cruel, it has nothing to do with the children."

Leaning down, the priest knelt on one knee and took out a water bag. He wanted to feed an elf child with slightly chapped lips some water, but the other child refused to accept it.

The gender differentiation of elves will only appear after the secretion of hormones at the age of fifteen. Elves before the age of fifteen are minors and have no gender. However, the price of elves at this age is higher in the empire, and they are more expensive. Easy to tame, this is the research result of the Imperial Research Institute since the four years of war.

But priests never like such cold remarks.

Legend has it that the ancestral dragon created the world, and its soul was divided into three parts, which are the three dragons of heaven, earth and life. The heavenly dragon turned into clouds, snow, wind and clouds, thunder and rain, the earth dragon turned into mountains, rivers, seas and islands, and the dragon of life divided again. , turned into tens of thousands of ethnic groups on the earth.

Everyone is the child of the Dragon of Life and the descendant of the ancestor. All races are brothers, and the elves are no exception.

In the end, the young priest succeeded in calming the two elf children. At this time, there was no fighting on the front line. They were stationed in the camp, preparing to wait for the follow-up troops to follow up, and by the way, they handed over the two good things they caught to the logistics.

But the priest had no intention of doing this. He wanted to buy the two elf children with his own money. He couldn't control the war, but at least he could save one of them.

However, in the middle of the night, the priest, who had not fallen asleep for long, heard an extremely ear-piercing scream.

"Enemy attack!"

Hearing the sharp siren, he quickly picked up his scepter. On the battlefield, no one dared to take off their equipment to rest. Even the weapons were placed within easy reach. But before the priest could leave his barracks, Several emaciated figures tore through the tent like ghosts, and sharp knives and arrows touched his heart and forehead.

At this moment, the priest saw that the two elf children he had placed next to his room were bleeding from one eye. They were holding an eyeball-shaped gem that released bright purple light in their hands, suppressing the camp. At the same time as the guard signal, highly toxic gas was released, flooding the camp.

The elite assault troops of the elves have already rushed into the camp. As countless shadows flashed, death spread rapidly.

The priest who was dragged out of the camp and disarmed could see that the two young elf children who had sneaked into the camp using their own eyes as disguises for magic gems had their only remaining eyes filled with unforgettable hatred.

Everyone in this camp was killed, except for the priest. He was originally going to be sentenced to death after torture, but the two elf children spoke a few words in elf language, and the leader of the elf army let him go. horse.

It has nothing to do with any feelings, just because he is the disciple of a certain big shot and is of great value as a prisoner.

The priest didn't know anything about what happened next. He was just locked in a small cage in despair, spending time in a muddle. Until a few days later, there was another fierce battle cry of killing, and he was robbed by the empire again. Come back.

After coming out of the prison, covered in filth, he looked around at the land around him... There were corpses everywhere, smelling of gunpowder smoke. In the dark green forest, the traces of flesh and blood were so conspicuous and clear.

They were all dead, whether it was the commander of the elf assault force or the two elf children, their corpses were scattered on the battlefield, while the tired imperial soldiers with bloodshot eyes were still searching the battlefield, finishing the wounds for the still living elves.

And until the end of death, all the elves had deep-seated hatred in their eyes.

"Ahhh, ahhh..."

The priest lowered his head in pain and made a hoarse voice... What is kindness and what is viciousness? What is the right thing to do, and why is it wrong?

If being kind to your enemy means being vicious to yourself, then why do the two sides, who are both children of the ancestral dragon, have to fight to this point?

The priest has never been able to understand this, or in other words, he can understand the conflict of interests involved, but he does not understand why the ancestor would allow such a world to exist.

Therefore, we can only ask deep questions.

"Ancestor...why is this like this?"

Twenty-two years later, in the suburbs of Maia Territory in the North.

After the southern industrial circle of the empire was severely weakened by the Elf War, the emerging industrial aristocracy headed by the Maia family accumulated a huge amount of wealth, and even vaguely became the emperor of the north. There are even rumors that the Maia family is enclosing the territories. , the plan to become an independent king.

Does all this have anything to do with everyone in the ongoing Dragon Ball War? certainly.

Because everyone and everything in the world is not an island, they are all connected to each other.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail, long time no see."

Standing in front of the bounty hunter, Matvey stood upright with burns all over his body. His eyes were indifferent and cold, and his words were clean and crisp. Facing the acquaintance in front of him, his tone contained a touch of nostalgia: " We didn’t have a chance to say hello when we were fighting for the Dragon Balls before, so this should be our first reunion since the end of the Elf War.”

"I remember, you were a soft-hearted fool. Twelve of my brothers died, and you were the only one left alive."

The gray-haired veteran glanced at the second prince standing aside. The young man with long blond hair looked surprisingly calm. He controlled the giant beast Leviathan to stop attacking the mountain, and nodded slightly to Mikhail.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, the bounty hunter frowned and looked at Matvey. He said solemnly: "After you were punished, you returned to the imperial capital not long after. A few years later, you betrayed the church again... When you were with others When we chatted with each other, everyone felt weird, thinking that you were extremely talented, and you were directly connected, and your punishment would not affect your future promotion, so why would you defect."

"Now that I think about it, you must have joined the royal family at that time and became the second prince's dog."

In the past, the supreme commander of the Elf War in the southern part of the Kelba Empire, General Komer, was the mother of the second prince and the biological brother of Princess Isabel. Mikhail had a clear memory of that man, especially the 'Glory War' His speech made me want to throw up.

"If you insist on saying that, I won't deny it."

Regarding Mikhail's extremely malicious sarcasm, Matvey calmly admitted. Upon hearing this, the bounty hunter was slightly startled, and then his eyes became even more disgusted.

"Yesterday, it was you and Zhu Zhou who were fighting, right? I didn't expect that the trash that was as soft as noodles on the battlefield would be so desperate now - didn't you even kill children at the beginning? Now turn around and start killing. But so skilled.”

This is a mockery of Matvey's previous attack on hunter boy Fente. Mikhail has been paying attention to Matvey's reaction and wants to use spicy words to provoke him and take advantage of the other person's emotional ups and downs to catch him. Take the opportunity to leave.

But he regretfully found that the other party didn't waver at all.

"Stop talking nonsense, Mikhail, my partner is monitoring your every move in the sky, and you can't escape no matter what."

Saying this, Matvey's tone was as hard as a rock: "The reason why we don't kill you immediately is because we think you are a worthy target."

"You were also a party to the Elf War back then. I know your wishes very well. I think our goals are quite consistent."

Mikhail looked stunned, then narrowed his eyes and stared at the two people flying in the sky. He seemed to want to sneer, but in the end he just snorted.

"That's right, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail."

This time, it was the second prince, Kumor Kelba, who spoke. Although his tone was still a bit instinctive, stemming from the superiority of the Shenlong royal family, it was indeed full of sincerity: "The launch of the Elf War back then made The vitality of the empire was greatly weakened, and the south turned from prosperity to decline. I witnessed it all with my own eyes and saw the limitations of this country."

"Obviously it has absolute material and technological advantages, but the empire has never been able to defeat the pointed ears in the forest - I used to be confused about this, but later I figured it out.

The elves fought bloody battles, risking their own lives for their own race and land. This spirit of nationalism is a more advanced idea than our empire - the great empire is not essentially one, but we have divided ourselves into southerners and northern barbarians. , the mountain people in the west and the country bumpkins in the east - they are a unified whole, but we are a divided and contradictory group of people, not the 'glorious citizens of the Kaaba Empire'. "

The second prince was talking eloquently, and when he said this, his expression turned gloomy: "This is why we cannot completely defeat the elves. This country has no cohesion at all, and everyone is fighting independently——And my purpose , is to change everything and use the power of the ancestors to rebuild this empire!"

"laugh."

In this regard, Mikhail just wanted to laugh. He even laughed out loud. The man whispered: "A country that can't even afford pensions is still talking about cohesion... This country still exists now only because there is no People rose up and raised the flag of rebellion."

"yes."

Matvey was extremely calm and responded directly. Like Coolmore, he doesn't think there's anything wrong with this statement: "That's why it needs to change, isn't it?"

"I have changed. I killed my past self and changed my own cowardice and naivety. Next, I should try to change the surroundings and the world."

"So you want to be the royal dog?" Mikhail was unmoved.

And Matvey retorted: "What about you? You have been doing nothing for so many years, just to make money as a bounty hunter? You really value love and righteousness, but in the end, you didn't just put all your money on it. You came over to make a wish, without making any plans, and bet 10,000 points. The odds of one?”

"Ha, it sounds like the royal family will make you change...wait a minute."

Mikhail was going to continue to use words to delay time and look for opportunities, but suddenly, he noticed something. The bounty hunter turned his head in shock and looked at the smiling second prince: "You said you want to make a wish? That's not true. A royal conspiracy? This is private between the two of you..."

"That's right, the royal family doesn't know that I stole the dragon ball."

With that said, Kumoor stretched out his hand. In an instant, the dragon ball with the strange book totem hidden in Mikhail's arms suddenly disappeared, and then re-condensed in the second prince's hand. He smiled and said: "Dragon ball." Acknowledge me, and this is what I am, and bring it out of the treasury.”

"Now that the Dragon Ball War has begun, probably tomorrow, the Yeying troops sent by my father to kill my rebellious son will arrive in the North - but by then, everything will be over, and I will give him this great gift. .”

"Surrender, Mikhail."

To the silent bounty hunter, the second prince said magnanimously: "After I become the emperor, I will definitely change this empire and bring a new order to this land - I don't have to hide it from you. If Zhu Zhou hadn't suddenly left alone, The Maia family in the North is also my ally, and there is also a Dragon Ball holder. She also received her Dragon Ball secretly from me, and she definitely doesn’t mind joining my banner.”

"Except for you, Vika, who represents the church, and the boy from the mountain who accidentally got the dragon ball, I have already obtained four dragon balls, and the boy from the mountain has already died first. As for Zhu Zhou who walked alone and was seriously injured, he is not enough For fear of this, you and Vika are the only remaining threats."

Said softly, the second prince, who has been treating others with a dandy and frivolous appearance for many years, but has secretly collected four dragon balls, showed a confident look in his eyes. He confidently stretched out his hand and invited Mikhail who remained silent. : "Join my banner - let us change this empire and the world together!"

“I made an oath to my ancestors—Kumor Kelba will fight to make this country a better place throughout his life!”

The oath is sonorous and powerful.

In a world where the ancestors still have miracles to come to the world, no one dares to break the oath made in the name of the ancestors. This is an oath of God destined to keep the promise.

At this moment, everything was silent.

The giant Leviathan stared at the gray-haired man standing on the mountainside.

The middle-aged veteran and the strongest bounty hunter lowered his head blankly.

——Why did you come here to participate in this war for your wishes?

Isn’t it just to change this country and the world?

He was very familiar with both Kumol and Matvey. Although he could speak bitter sarcasm, it was precisely because they had experienced the hell twenty years ago that he understood that the other party's beliefs were absolutely the same. Not false.

Although the methods we want to use to change this country are different, the purpose is the same. As long as we have the blessings and wishes of our ancestors, all difficulties can be overcome.

At this moment, Mikhail suddenly recalled the battlefields of the past. Every comrade-in-arms was miserable because of the meaningless war. But he was powerless and could only pick up the blade to save them.

The world should not be like this, he was roaring in his heart at that time. As a soldier, he felt that war and death were not unacceptable, but it should not be such a war and such death.

Mikhail still remembers how Matvey cried bitterly after being rescued. The young priest asked everyone bitterly and sadly at that time. He asked, could all this pain and mutual torture be the creation of all living beings by the ancestors? The purpose?

At that time, the answer in Mikhail's heart was naturally 'no'.

Precisely because he remembered the answer in his heart that day, he felt that someone who would shed such tears might be worthy of trust.

Above the sky, the silent prince and the always calm priest looked down at each other, waiting for the other's answer.

"last question."

After ten long seconds, Mikhail slowly raised his head, and the tired-looking veteran asked softly: "After you become emperor and change this empire... can you guarantee that your descendants will do the same?"

"...I will educate them, but this kind of thing..."

The prince was slightly stunned. He was not even a prince now. How could he possibly think about the issue of his descendants after his death when he became emperor? So he couldn't help but hesitate, and then slowly shook his head: "At least it will be better than now, isn't it? I may be able to rule the country as a monarch through a constitution, but I don't know what the future will be like..."

"...So, you never thought about it. Sure enough, as long as the emperor still exists, this problem will be unsolvable."

Slowly raising his head, Mikhail's voice was filled with sadness: "Perhaps you can indeed become a wise king, but what about the next generation? What about the generations after that? Do we have to repeat this reincarnation?"

"I don't know the order I want, but it's definitely not like this. It's just a 'change' without changing the medicine!"

Without any hesitation, the bounty hunter reached into his arms and grabbed the dragon ball engraved with 'World-Wide Serpent'. His eyes became fierce and firm in an instant.

"Kumor and Matvey, I refuse your invitation!"

"Really, what a shame."

With a long sigh, without any hesitation, Matvey and the second prince, who had prepared for battle earlier than Mikhail, attacked at the same time as their dragons.

The huge Leviathan let out a roar, and just before the roar resounded throughout the world, the bounty hunter was shocked to find that countless translucent and overlapping 'human figures' appeared around him, firmly imprisoning him Every part of the body.

"This, what kind of power is this? Leviathan? But how could Leviathan-"

"It's Leviathan, but it's not Leviathan either."

Kumoor had no intention of explaining Mikhail's doubts. He just pulled out his gun from his waist and pointed it at Mikhail, who was being held down by layers of figures.

——Leviathan, a giant beast in the sea, originates from the legend of the earth mother goddess 'Tiamat' in ancient Sumerian mythology. It is a huge snake monster born in the Hebrew land. Its original image is The coiled snake that symbolizes the maelstrom in the sea.

However, the form of Leviathan is changeable. As the prototype that symbolizes the "behemoth of the sea", sometimes it is derived from a seven-headed serpent, sometimes it is derived from a mountain behemoth like a whale, and sometimes it is derived from a mountain behemoth like a whale. The coiling snake that entwines the sea, the giant scaly crocodile that breathes fire.

It's jealousy, it's distortion, it's a whirlpool.

Nature can also be ‘human beings’, a ‘country’, and a ‘behemoth composed of people’.

Just like countless myths and legends, the name 'Leviathan' is used to give meaning to the giant beast with countless images.

Hundreds of years ago, a scholar once again used this name in his writings and used it as a metaphor for 'country'.

"Leviathan, or the Essence, Form, and Power of the Ecclesiastical and Civil States"

Or translated as, "The Theory of Giant Spirits"

Human power, if dispersed, is so fragile, and human groups without cohesion are as fragile as biscuits. Therefore, human beings have always united and condensed, just like the fish in the sea, gathering into a huge school of fish monsters. to protect yourself.

However, when a school of fish becomes a whole, then some fish must be protected and some be sacrificed, just like a hero can raise a sword to protect the masses, or grow dragon scales to oppress the masses.

But even so, human beings are still working tirelessly to create such behemoths and create the 'Leviathan' condensed by human beings. At the beginning, it represented families, tribes, and city-states. In the end, They create their ultimate creation - a beast that gives everyone a sense of belonging and cohesion.

'nation'.

The second prince of the Kelba Empire, Kumor Kelba, summoned by his dragon ball was not the 'Sea Monster Leviathan'. He chose to abandon Levi's natural divine power in all myths and legends, no matter it was powerful enough to stir the sea, Or maybe it was a demon that symbolized jealousy. He abandoned it all and equated it with the country of 'Kelba Empire', and then summoned this 'Dragon of Humanity' that only the royal blood could summon.

At this moment, the huge Leviathan showed its true appearance - it was a huge 'fish school' composed of countless translucent figures and translucent souls, all originating from the Kaaba Empire, which occupied the world Most of the country's heroic souls have invested part of their power into this beast. Its power is not that of a mere human being like Mikhail. Even Jörmungandr is suppressed in the spiritual world and cannot move.

Kumoor's magic gun has begun to charge up, and the sacred light summoned by Matvey has also begun to shine.

As death approaches, time seems to slow down countless times.

Until this moment, Mikhail finally understood that he really had no chance of winning, and his road would end at this point.

There are still many things that have not been done... I cannot die. If I die, who will support those old people whose sons died in the war? Who will support the wives and mothers who have lost their husbands and sons? Who will take care of the children whose fathers are dead and unable to receive an education?

This world may eventually be changed by someone, but those people who only I care about, what will happen to them... what will happen to them?

Although there were countless reluctances in his heart, Mikhail suddenly felt that something was unraveling deep in his heart.

……yes.

At least the war is over.

When facing death, the veteran sighed and then smiled with relief.

——Finally, I can face what is tormenting me.

The shadow of war without glory covers the earth. Countless comrades died tragically in a strange foreign land. I am alone facing the orphans and widows who endure their grief. I face the world alone, with no way to start or change, until my hair turns gray and wrinkles appear. Hengsheng, the world has not changed at all.

Those years of wandering in blood have become Mikhail's nightmare. The war that took place in the Elf Forest twenty years ago may have ended long ago, but the war in his heart still has not stopped, lingering in his soul all the time. among.

Chasing dreams and wishes, pouring everything into "collecting the Dragon Balls" and making a wish to the ancestor is his final salvation.

This is probably the mercy left by the ancestors. The wish of Dragon Ball gives all desperate lives hope to pursue.

Then, try to change the world.

- Come on, death, I'm ready.

Exploding all the magic power in his body, at the last moment, Mikhail finally broke free from the shackles of Leviathan, pressed his magic power on the dragon ball, and released the restriction that he had been restricted at all times. The seal of the terrifying destructive desire in his heart that intends to destroy the entire old world.

His wish is to create a new order?

If this were true, then he would have probably agreed to the invitation from the second prince and Matvey before.

However, Mikhail's true desire deep in his heart is to destroy the entire old world!

Then, new things will be reborn from the flames that burned everything, just as a new dawn was born after the Ragnarok brought by the beasts such as Jormungandr in the past.

Because of this, he was able to summon the most ferocious and evil snake that would bring dusk down!

“Jörmungandr—eat to your heart’s content!”

Laughing, Kumor's magic gun bullet penetrated Mikhail's heart, and Matvey's Holy Light Hammer also smashed his head.

However, before the corpse fell, the final order had been issued.

"Then, pass everything I have to Zhu Zhou and Weika - tell them the truth!"

So, the next moment.

The giant black snake, with a roar that shook the mountains, rushed out from the soles of the man's feet, and its head went straight into the clouds in the sky.

The world-devouring serpent swallowed its summoner and the dragon ball. The behemoth that appeared out of thin air between heaven and earth faced Leviathan, who was waiting in front of him, and the light yellow dragon hidden in the clouds. It sent out a roar that shook the clouds of heaven and earth. roar.

And in the distance, next to the small town of the main city of Maia.

Holding a human head, the little white-haired girl hiding in an uninhabited shack looked into the distance.

What moved in the red eyes was the increasingly active 'curiosity'.

"What's wrong, Ola? Let me see."

Suddenly, spiritual power shook the atmosphere, and the voice of a young man with the same curiosity came out.

Upon hearing this, the girl nodded obediently, then raised the head in her hand and looked at the place where the battle broke out again.

In fact, if Su Zhou had not come, Mikhail would actually be the protagonist...

Big chapter, please vote~