"Yan Shao!"
Han Shuangyun's terrified scream tore through the sky.
Lu Zhi numbly caught Yan Shao's falling body, staring blankly at the black silk threads around the severed neck of the head that had rolled nearby. They were He Qun's silver silkworm silk, but He Qun's silk was silver. The black ones came from Di Meila's replication ability.
Han Shuangyun stumbled and collapsed beside Lu Zhi, sobbing as she clutched Yan Shao's head. The heartbreaking wails made Lu Zhi's nose sting and his heart feel heavy and sad.
"Hahahahaha…" Di Meila walked out of the scorched flames, his laughter triumphant and arrogant. Although half his body was ripped apart by the blast, it didn't affect his movement at all. The wounds were visibly wriggling and healing.
"Why isn't he dead yet!"
"It was him, he killed the President."
"I will avenge the President!"
Yan Shao's death dispelled the joy of anticipated victory. Several students angrily charged towards Di Meila. Lu Zhi, seeing the malicious smile on Di Meila's lips, felt a bad premonition and blurted out a warning, "Don't go near him!"
The black silkworm silk had stealthily crept onto the ground. As the three students rushed forward, the hair-splitting silkworm silk threads suddenly shot out, slicing the three students in half at the waist.
Lu Zhi's head buzzed, his pupils constricting. The scene before him instantly turned blank, his entire body trembling and stiff.
Seeing their companions die, the other students, consumed by rage, lost their reason and rushed forward in a frenzy, ignoring any warnings.
Even He Qun was enraged by Yan Shao's death and joined the fight with fierce hatred.
Lu Zhi watched helplessly as the charging students fell one by one, murmuring, "No, don't go…"
Han Shuangyun's mournful cries, the fallen bodies of the young dead, and the angry curses filled with hatred, interspersed with Di Meila's taunting mockery, replayed endlessly before Lu Zhi's eyes.
"Lu Zhi, run!" Jiang Yue tackled Lu Zhi to the ground from behind. Han Shuangyun, having lost all reason, shouted at Di Meila with her hands raised, "Immobilize, immobilize, die, die, just die—"
Di Meila's body froze for a few seconds. He Qun's silkworm silk threads formed a net, covering and constricting his body, but regrettably, they couldn't harm Di Meila in the slightest. Within the brief two-second pause, black silk threads shot out from the ground, and with a whistle, severed He Qun's arm.
"Ah—" He Qun cried out in pain. The next moment, he was decomposed by the black silk threads.
Han Shuangyun's eyes widened in fury, "He Qun—"
Lu Zhi seemed to snap back from the sudden tragedy. He threw out his vine, pulling Han Shuangyun back. In the next instant, lava erupted from the ground where Han Shuangyun had been standing. If he had been a moment later, Han Shuangyun would have turned to ash.
"Lu Zhi, we're all going to perish here," Jiang Yue suddenly stepped in front of them. She looked back at Lu Zhi and smiled faintly, "Oh dear, it's such a pity to die without ever having fallen in love. It's a great regret in my life."
These were Jiang Yue's dying words. Knowing she was no match for him, despite her deep fear of death, she chose to charge forward at the last moment.
Thirty-seven people. Luo Shiyu was unconscious, his fate unknown. Jiang Yue had fallen. The other resisting students were ruthlessly killed by Di Meila. In the end, Han Shuangyun couldn't escape death either.
Lu Zhi stared at the corpses littering the ground, at Di Meila walking towards him step by step. On that innocent child-like face, the most real, most evil, and most cruel smile emerged as he said, "Only you are left."
Tears streamed from Lu Zhi's eyes. He murmured dazedly, "Shen Qi… Shen Qi… this isn't real, is it… this isn't real…"
He couldn't believe it. He absolutely refused to believe that Shen Qi would allow these students to be killed.
But the reality was right before him. They were all dead. Every single one of them.
Lu Zhi clenched his teeth tightly, his entire body trembling. Anger and grief consumed his mind. With bloodshot eyes, he stared at the approaching Di Meila and suddenly choked out a desperate cry, "Shen Qi, come out! Come out—"
*Jingle…*
Di Meila's approaching footsteps abruptly halted. As if seeing a natural predator, he recoiled in terror.
Lu Zhi's bloodshot eyes slowly turned towards the black, ornate golden robe beside him. He slowly raised his head to meet Shen Qi's crimson-gold eyes with silver rings. The indifference in Shen Qi's gaze sent a dull ache through Lu Zhi's heart. His throat felt as if something was stuck in it as he asked, with difficulty and panic, "Why… why didn't you act… why didn't you save them… Shen Qi, why…"
Shen Qi slowly leaned down, gently lifting Lu Zhi's chin with his index finger. His voice was as cold and emotionless as when Lu Zhi first met him, exuding an air of detachment that surpassed all gods. "What do you think war is?"
"From the very beginning, you treated this death assessment as a game. I warned you, I warned them all. Life and death were irrelevant."
"You always harbored false hopes of peace with your enemies."
"Mercy towards enemies only brings loss and despair."
"Regret? Is it useful? What is lost is lost forever. This is all your fault."
Lu Zhi's pupils contracted, his lips trembling. "I… I caused it?"
Shen Qi's fingertip traced his neck, stopping at the location of the heart's brand. "If you had taken this death assessment seriously, if you had used your power to kill Di Meila from the start, they wouldn't have fallen before you."
"You possessed the power to save them, yet you clung to a glimmer of hope, repeatedly evading the action of joining the fight to kill the enemy."
"They died because you brought it upon them."
Lu Zhi vehemently denied, "I didn't! I didn't! I didn't cause their deaths!"
Shen Qi looked at him expressionlessly and said softly, "Did you not? You avoided joining the encirclement of Di Meila. Weren't you constantly hesitating, wondering why you should kill a foreign, lower-tier deity?"
Lu Zhi looked at him in panic.
Shen Qi held his chin and gestured towards the corpses. "Before Di Meila became a god, he killed one hundred and sixty-three thousand two hundred people in foreign lands. After becoming a pseudo-god, he entered our territory and killed three hundred and fifty-seven thousand people."
Lu Zhi's breathing suddenly hitched. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Di Meila.
Shen Qi slowly squatted down, gently pulling Lu Zhi into his embrace. He stroked Lu Zhi's head and said tenderly, "A single success often means countless deaths; one god's ascension can topple a nation. So, guess how many people the higher-tier deities in foreign divine realms have killed over the past millennium, hmm?"
Lu Zhi's trembling body finally stilled. He stared blankly at Di Meila's figure, then suddenly let out a desolate laugh, "One god ascends, one nation buries itself…"
Shen Qi's lips lightly brushed against Lu Zhi's temple. He whispered, "So, what is your choice?"
Lu Zhi's expression was blank. His dark eyes met Shen Qi's calmly. "Kill him."
"Shen Qi, lend me your strength, kill him."
Shen Qi's lips slowly curved into a captivating arc. He gently kissed the back of Lu Zhi's hand. "My power is forever at your disposal."