368: Chapter 369 Behind the Light Shield and the "Final Choice"

The moment the three Law Fields lit up again, the entire situation on the battlefield changed.

The Heavenly Soldiers who had already broken into the second line of defense were cut in half by the light shield—half inside the defense line, half outside. Those inside became trapped like turtles in a jar, while those outside temporarily could not enter.

Zhao Iron Pillar seized this opportunity and led three thousand remnant soldiers in a counter-charge.

"Kill—!"

He was the first to charge out of the trench, the heavy sword in his hand swinging with a powerful wind. Behind him, the soldiers covered in wounds followed him out like a pack of wolves driven to a dead end.

Before the Heavenly Soldiers inside the defense line could react, a swath of them was cut down.

"Retreat! Retreat first!" shouted a Heavenly Soldier who looked like a squad leader.

But they could not retreat. The light shield was like an invisible wall, trapping them firmly inside.

The battle lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

When the last Heavenly Soldier inside the defense line fell, Zhao Iron Pillar leaned on his sword, gasping for breath. He had three more wounds on his body, the deepest of which showed bone.

"Captain! You..." Xiao Li ran over, his face pale.

"Can't die," Zhao Iron Pillar grinned, revealing teeth stained red with blood. "I won't die even if you do."

He looked up at the densely packed Heavenly Soldiers outside the light shield. They were regrouping, preparing for the next round of attacks.

"How much longer can we hold out?" he asked.

No one answered.

In the East District node control room, Wen Youyi stared at the data constantly flickering on the monitoring screen.

The energy of the Law Fields was dropping at a rate visible to the naked eye. Although the intensity had been restored after the restart, the energy reserves were bottoming out. The three Law Fields could hold out for an hour at most.

After an hour, the light shield would disappear, and the enemy would swarm in again.

"Senior Brother Zhang, can the Seed Crystal be used yet?"

"Anytime!" Senior Brother Zhang's voice came through the communicator. "But it needs Little Girl to activate it!"

Wen Youyi fell silent for three seconds.

Activating the Seed Crystal required Little Girl's consciousness to connect to that "resonance network" of three hundred and seventy-four people. She had to treat herself as a "relay station," letting the thoughts of those three hundred and seventy-four drops of Blood of the Defectors pass through her consciousness.

What effect would this have on her? No one knew.

"Wen Youyi," Lin Jiang's voice suddenly rang out, "let her choose for herself."

Wen Youyi was stunned.

"She's not a child anymore," Lin Jiang said. "In these past few months, which of the things she's done could an ordinary child do? She knows what she wants. You just need to ask her, and then respect her choice."

Wen Youyi remained silent for a long time.

Then he said, "Little Girl, are you there?"

"I'm here!" Little Girl's crisp voice came through the communicator.

"There's something next that I need your help with. It might be very uncomfortable, and there might... be danger. You can choose not to do it; no one will blame you."

"What is it?"

"Activate the Seed Crystal. Make over three hundred people from the Heavenly Court hesitate at a critical moment. Only then can we win."

The other side of the communicator was quiet for a few seconds.

Then Little Girl asked, "If they hesitate, can we win?"

"Yes."

"Then... will they die?"

Wen Youyi was stunned.

He hadn't expected Little Girl to ask this.

"Yes," he finally chose to tell the truth. "When they hesitate, our people will kill them."

Silence again.

Then came Aila's voice: "Wen Youyi, you didn't have to tell her that..."

"I want to know," Little Girl interrupted her.

Wen Youyi took a deep breath. "Little Girl, if you don't want to do it..."

"I'll do it."

Everyone was stunned.

"Why?" Wen Youyi asked.

Little Girl thought for a moment and said, "Because they are killing our people. Just now, Master Yun was bleeding, Uncle Iron Pillar is also bleeding, and that Grandpa Blood Fiend... is he dead?"

Wen Youyi fell silent.

"I saw him die," Little Girl's voice was calm. "He flew up, then fell down, and didn't move again. And that grandpa with the sword, he's dead too. They are all protecting us. I want to protect them too."

The communicator was silent.

Wen Youyi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were a bit red.

"Alright," he said. "Aila, take Little Girl to the technology center. Silver Thorn, prepare the activation program."

"Received."

In the safe house, Aila crouched down and looked at Little Girl.

"Are you afraid?"

Little Girl thought for a moment and shook her head.

"Why aren't you afraid?"

"Because you are all here."

Aila froze for a moment, then smiled.

She reached out and picked Little Girl up.

"Let's go, we're going to do one last thing."

In the technology center, Senior Brother Zhang had already installed the Seed Crystal into a specialized resonance device.

The device looked like a giant helmet, filled with Silver Thorn's symbiotic tentacles. Putting it on would allow one to connect to the consciousness network of those three hundred and seventy-four people.

Little Girl sat in the chair, looked at the helmet, and asked, "Will it hurt to wear it?"

"No," Silver Thorn's voice rang out. "But it will be tiring. You will hear many, many voices and see many, many people's memories. You just need to remember one thing—you are the 'relay station,' not the 'receiver.' Those memories will pass through you, but they won't stay in your mind."

Little Girl nodded.

Aila gently placed the helmet on her head.

Silver Thorn's symbiotic tentacles slowly extended, connecting to the helmet's interface.

Little Girl closed her eyes.

At that moment, she "saw" three hundred and seventy-four people.

Not as the "middle and high-level" officials serving in the Heavenly Court, but as they once were. Some were children, scavenging in the ruins of some star system; some were youths, seeing the starry sky for the first time, dreaming of flying up to take a look; some were young people, chosen by the Heavenly Court, putting on golden armor, thinking they had become "destined by heaven."

Then she saw the moments they hesitated.

The hesitation of killing for the first time.

The hesitation when seeing a harvest scene for the first time.

The hesitation when realizing they had become accomplices for the first time.

Those hesitations had been preserved by the Cracked Eye founder using three thousand six hundred Seeds, slowly sprouting over three hundred years, turning into the last glimmer of conscience in the depths of their hearts.

Little Girl felt as if she were standing by an endless river, the water flowing with the memories of three hundred and seventy-four people. She reached out her "hand" and gently touched those memories.

"Hello," she said in her heart.

Those memories turned toward her at the same time, looking at her.

Then, with the same voice, three hundred and seventy-four people spoke simultaneously:

"What... do you need us to do?"

Little Girl thought for a moment and said, "In a bit, there will be a signal. When that signal comes, you just 'hesitate' for a moment. Just for a moment."

"And then?"

"And then... you might die."

Silence.

Then, an old voice rang out: "We are already dead."

"Three hundred years."

"From the moment we hesitated."

"We died."

Little Girl was stunned.

"To be able to live once more," the voice continued, "even if only for a moment, is enough."

Little Girl nodded.

"Then it's a promise."

On the battlefield, Zhao Iron Pillar leaned against the trench, gasping for breath.

The light of the light shield grew dimmer and dimmer. There was at most the time it takes for an incense stick to burn left.

"Captain," Xiao Li crawled over and handed him a water skin. "Drink some."

Zhao Iron Pillar took it, swallowed a large gulp, and handed it back.

"How many people are left?"

"Those who can still fight... just over a thousand."

Zhao Iron Pillar was silent for a few seconds.

Three thousand people, and now just over a thousand remained.

"Enough," he stood up. "Enough to kill another round."

In the distance, the light shield suddenly flickered.

The Heavenly Soldiers began to move forward.

Zhao Iron Pillar gripped his heavy sword.

"Prepare—"

The light shield completely disappeared.

The golden tide surged forward again.

"Kill—!"

Zhao Iron Pillar was the first to charge out.

Behind him, the thousand or so remnant soldiers followed him, charging toward the enemy with a roar.

At the same time, in the technology center, Little Girl opened her eyes.

"They are ready," she said.

Silver Thorn's voice rang out: "Seed Crystal activation countdown: Three seconds. Two seconds. One second. Activate."

Three hundred and seventy-four invisible waves emanated from the New Homeland, instantly crossing countless light-years to reach the depths of the consciousness of those three hundred and seventy-four middle and high-level Heavenly Court officials.

The fleet deputy commander, who was directing the attack, suddenly froze.

What did he see?

Was that... home?

When he was seven years old, the wheat fields of his hometown, the golden waves of wheat, his mother standing on the ridge waving to him.

"A-Yuan, come home for dinner—"

His eyes suddenly grew moist.

"Sir? Sir?"

The person beside him called him, but he couldn't hear.

On the battlefield, the sword light rose again.

(End of this chapter)