Pursuit of the Truth 91 Death of Young Martyrs

They feared death. Their terror towards it made them feel as if their hearts were about to be crushed. That was why they had not dared to walk at the back of the column, but rather chose to walk in the middle. Yet the middle of the crowd was filled with orphaned La Sus. That was why they could only choose to rely on the tribe leader and walk at the forefront of the crowd, believing that place to be safe. They thought that the tribe leader could protect them from everything.
Yet now, their tribe leader was in danger right before their very eyes. If they chose not to walk out of the light from the statue, they would still be safe…
At that dangerous moment, the face of one of the dozens of teenagers in front of the crowd was pale, and his body trembled. Fear seemed to have conquered his entire weak body. Nonetheless, for the first time in his life, desperation and red lines appeared in his eyes.
"I’ve lived most of my life like an ignorant fool. I lived every single day of my life easily and wasted them away while waiting for death. I did not do anything for the tribe, but wasted so much food. I know that there are a lot of tribe members who look down on me. I know that all the La Sus think I’m a useless person…
"And I am a useless person. I don’t have a Berserker Body. I’m lazy. I don’t have a strong body. I don’t have anything… The only thing I have is the glory obtained in exchange for my father’s death when he was killed by a wild beast while out hunting for the tribe…
"Today, I’ll tell you all this. I may be useless, but I’m still a member of the tribe!"
The teenager’s eyes were bloodshot as he roared and rushed outside, straight towards the tribe leader. He would use his flesh and blood and die for the tribe leader! Using his own life, he would become a wall that would protect the tribe leader!
With a bang, the teenager exchanged places with the retreating tribe leader, and the young man stood behind him, facing the enemy. At that same moment, a sharp arrow sliced through the air and pierced through his body. He burst apart and died.
"Dad… your La Su… is not useless…" Before the teenager died, he smiled brokenly.
The very same moment the youth rushed out and died, all his friends, too, howled and dashed out madly. They would use their lives to repay the tribe for all the years it had provided for them. They would use their lives, and once again welcome the glory they once obtained when one of their family had died.
"We may be useless, but we’re still part of the tribe!" the dozens of teenagers roared.
They would use their fragile bodies and blood to create a wall for their tribe leader and their people. Thunderous booms continued crackling in the air. It was clear that the two men from Black Mountain Tribe who were pursuing the tribe leader did not expect the normal members of Dark Mountain Tribe to rush out at this moment. Nevertheless, there was only disdain and scorn in their eyes. To them, these normal people were so weak they would all die from one hit.
Amidst the blasts, these dozens of people were all dyed in their own blood, their limbs torn off, but they continued using their lives and willpower to block the enemies’ advance. Some of them even clutched tightly onto the Head of the Guards from Black Mountain Tribe. Even if their bodies were blown apart by the shock, they continued gritting their teeth and holding their ground.
It was disastrous. The devastation of the battle seemed to have reached its peak at that very moment. The willpower of these teenagers seemed to have shaken the two men in pursuit. They did not expect these normal people from Dark Mountain Tribe to posses such insanity and determination, so much so that they managed to delay their chase by the span of around two breaths.
The time of two breaths may be short, and these young men had paid for it with their lives, but these two breaths, they changed the fate of the tribe leader’s life. Consumed by grief, the tribe leader reached the light coming from the statue. His heart felt as if it was being stabbed by knives, but he knew that he could not die, not because of his own wish to live, but because of the tribe.
He looked at the corpses that filled the ground before him, at the bunch of people who had once given him headaches, and who he even somewhat disliked. He stared at the once familiar faces now turned into mangled corpses, and the tribe leader, a man built like a tower in his forties, cried.
Behind him, many of the tribe members also cried. These dozens of teenagers used their lives to tell all of them that they may be useless weaklings, but they were also members of the tribe. They could also die for the tribe!
Su Ming bit his lip and clashed repeatedly against the man before him. All 243 blood veins in his body had gathered as one, and as he growled, he continued fighting against the man.
His specialty was speed, and the man’s was strength, similar to Ye Wang. This fight was extremely eye-catching, even amidst the battlefield. Lei Chen saw it, Wu La saw it, and many of their tribe members saw it, too.
The little girl stood in the crowd and watched Su Ming as she cried, terrified.
At that moment, a shocking rumble came from the distance. Far away, the black mist formed using a Fallen Berserker Art casted by Black Mountain Tribe’s Elder, Bi Tu, abruptly crumbled apart after fighting for a long while with the elder. It turned into numerous black puffs of air that swept around its surroundings. The elder then went back to the tribe with an indescribable presence.
The elder had returned!
It was as if he simply took three steps in the air to come back. When his first step landed, the elder suddenly appeared beside Su Ming. The man from Black Mountain Tribe was caught by surprise, and the elder touched the center of his brows with a finger. Then the man trembled and coughed out a large amount of blood, staggering backwards. At the center of his brows, a bloody hole appeared, and soon, light disappeared from his eyes, and he fell to the ground, dead.
The elder did not stop. He took another step and appeared at the forefront of the tribe, right beside the man in black battling against Nan Song. With a ghastly wave of his right hand, the man shook furiously before his body burst apart and he died.
A presence that seemed to shake the sky and earth appeared explosively on the elder’s body as he killed a person with each step he took. His presence birthed fear in all the people from Black Mountain Tribe, and they retreated.
Agitation appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, and he was not the only one filled with such an emotion. All the people from Dark Mountain Tribe let out excited cries.
At that moment, the elder took the third step and appeared right before the giant wooden barricade blocking the path forward. With one kick, the barricade crumbled with a bang, turning into countless shards that were about to scatter to the ground when the elder swung his arm. The shards all turned into sharp arrows and sped through the empty spaces between the people of Dark Mountain Tribe, and straight towards all the retreating Berserkers of Black Mountain Tribe.
In an instant, cries of pain echoed in the air.
The moment he finished taking those three steps, a sickly red flush appeared on the elder’s face, but it disappeared very soon, and once it did, he turned around before speaking calmly, "Don’t stop here, move!"
The moment he spoke, the people from Dark Mountain Tribe left under the guidance of the tribe leader while all those from Black Mountain Tribe did not dare to try and stop them due to the grievous blow they had sustained to their numbers.
Dark Mountain Tribe quickly moved forward. Liu Di, who was leaning against the big tree and was on the verge of dying, was also lifted up by the people and carried away.
Very soon, the battlefield became silent. The only things left were the corpses that filled the ground and the stench of blood that stayed in the air for a long time.
Su Ming stood in the crowd, his body drenched in blood. He moved forward quickly and silently. Beside him was a tribe member holding onto the little girl. She was no longer crying. Strength appeared within her innocent eyes.
She was still young and did not understand a lot of things, but during this night, she too, grew up.
Moonlight scattered on the ground, lighting up the path for the now homeless people of Dark Mountain Tribe, so that they would no longer be bewildered and helpless.
"Tribe leader, Elder… Let us old folks stay behind. Don’t let our people take care of us anymore and affect their speed at which they can travel…" an old voice said from within the crowd.
The man coughed. He was a normal old man from the tribe and was already very old, unable to keep up with the long journey. In his mind, instead of having someone support him while dragging down the tribe’s speed, he would rather stay behind.
"Let the young’uns leave. I’ll stay… Honestly, we should have chosen to stay in the tribe… Ha."
Another old man also stopped moving.
Very soon, almost all of the old people from the tribe walked out of the crowd one by one. They numbered to about forty people, and all of them chose to stubbornly stay behind. They could not use their remaining lives to tell the tribe that they were useful, but they could not allow themselves to drag down the tribe’s advancement.
"You…"
The tribe leader was stunned. He closed his eyes, then soon reopened them and bowed deeply to these old people of the tribe.
"Go… We’re tired…"
The old folks smiled. They waved towards their tribe members. Their families were within that crowd of people, and they cried, but could do nothing to stop them. Some of the stronger tribe members volunteered to stay, but were not allowed to do so.
One of the elderly walked out and looked at the elder with a smile on his face. "Elder, is there a method for us old folks to use so that we can explode and hurt others just like the young’uns did? Tell us."
The elder fell silent for a while before walking forward. He placed an object in the hands of the old man and patted his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. He knew that this was not a time for him to be weak. There were far too many tribe members that needed to move quickly. He turned around.
"The rest, continue moving!"
The elderly watched their tribe leave them, its members silently crying and frequently turning their heads back. Warm and gentle smiles appeared on the old people’s faces. They sat down, panting harshly, and started talking about the things that had happened to them when they were young, about their past glory.
Moonlight illuminated their silhouettes.
Once the old folks stayed behind, the column moved much faster…
After a long while, once daylight appeared in the horizon, the home of Dark Mountain Tribe, which was left behind by its people, turned into a desolate ruin under the illumination of the moonlight.
It seemed like there was no sign of life within those ruins, and they would eventually turn into a remnant of the passage of time. Perhaps the few remaining trees and plants would continue growing there and slowly turn the place into a part of the forest, making it difficult for people to come looking for their memories and the beautiful moments that had happened during their time here.
Wind was blowing at the moment. It sounded like the moaning of the xun as it lifted the snow off the ground and swept gently through the land. It also lifted a lot of things left behind by the tribe members, and as they were whisked away from the ground, they created sashaying sounds that brought out a feeling of desolation.
Among the things left behind, there were toys belonging to children, hides that the tribe members did not manage to take with them, ashes from extinguished fires, scattered herbs, a lot of kitchen utensils, and pieces of the houses that had broken off.
Besides the sound of the wind, the ruins of the tribe were in silence, but one of the collapsed houses moved at that moment. A furry and round little creature poked its head out from the ruins. This little creature was very cute. Its fur was originally white, yet at that moment, its fur was grey. Its eyes were filled with fear as it quickly ran out of the house. It trembled under the snowstorm.
Squeaks came out from its mouth, as if it was calling out to its owner. Its name was Pipi, and it was the little girl’s pet.
Yet its owner could not hear its cries… It stayed behind alone in the ruins of the tribe, refusing to be too far away from the collapsed house because that was its home.
As it continued squeaking, the little creature slowly retreated as if no longer able to withstand the cold and wishing to return to the house. Yet at that moment, footsteps came from the distance. Dozens of people walked through the tribe’s broken gate.
A strong man led the team, but his face was gloomy and dark. If Su Ming had been here, then he would recognize the man as the tribe leader of Black Mountain Tribe.
Behind him was a teenager who had a similar gloomy and dark look on his face. The young man licked his lips as he looked at his surroundings, a cruel smile appearing on his face. That person was Bi Su!
"They sure left quickly! After them. The elder should be here soon. This time, besides the women from Dark Mountain Tribe, leave no one alive!" the tribe leader said slowly and left the ruins.
Bi Su looked away from his surroundings. He was just about to follow the tribe leader when a glint suddenly appeared in his eyes. He saw the little trembling creature that did not dare to move. His lips curled up slightly, and he waved his right hand at it.
Immediately, the little creature jolted and light faded away from its eyes. A green presence rose from its carcass, which Bi Su caught in his hands and placed at the center of his brows. After a moment, a cruel look appeared in his eyes.
"Pipi, is it..? You miss your owner, don’t you? Then I’ll send her to you."