Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

In the silence, Mayor Nick's words stabbed over like a knife.

Hong San held his sword and his body trembled, but he could not say a word.

He did not do anything.

Even if Mayor Nick was an arm's length away from him, he was absolutely confident that with his skills, if he attacked, he could instantly kill the other party.

Even if he could righteously reprimand the other party's actions, attack his intentions, and even seize the flaw in his words to curse and question him, so much so that he could point out his cold-bloodedness, cruelty, and madness to drive a wedge between them and shake the confidence of the people from all walks of life behind the mayor.

However, that was meaningless.

This was because even if he killed the other party, the consequences would be even more serious. Not only would the remaining militia all die on the city wall, but the old, weak, women, and children remaining in the Heaven and Earth Association would also die. Even Kang De would be implicated and fall into a dangerous situation.

Moreover, once the mayor died, without a powerful figure to unite the entire city, Valentine would only break through faster under the attack of the elves. It was unknown how many more deaths and sorrows there would be in this city.

As for refuting with words… was it useful?

In this chaotic world, what was the use of words? What was useful was the knife.

Why did the mayor dare to say such a thing to him publicly?

It was because outside this place were Hong San and the others, the city defense elite soldiers, and the representatives of the various worlds of society. Those mages, nobles, and soldiers were originally the backbone of the city's defense. They had many upper-class people who were worried about the city, so why would they care about the lives of scum and trash?

In fact, they agreed with the mayor.

They sincerely agreed.

They did not even consider his stand. This was also a very simple choice.

When the enemy attacked the city with ferocious firepower, who would passively endure the first wave of attack suppression to test the strength of the enemy's military strength and consume long-range strength? Would it be a useless motley crew, or would it be the city defense elites who dared to show their swords to the powerful elves and even form a formation to fight the regular elf army?

Even a three-year-old child could make a choice.

Hong San had nothing to say.

Taking ten thousand steps back, there were Cathayans and Goethe people in the Heaven and Earth Association. As the highest-ranking officer of this city and even the surrounding area, Mayor Nick had the right to enlist the people to defend the city. Even if he was cruel and heartless, there was still the legal punishment of Goethe. He, a Cathayan, was in no position to criticize.

As for the Cathayans in the team…

Since he could even use and sacrifice his own people, what were foreigners?

Moreover, Hong San saw Nick's hesitation earlier. He clearly had something he did not say, but he did not say it in the end on account of Kang De.

However, Hong San could guess what the other party wanted to say.

—Cathay has been invaded by foreign races and lost its ground. Its center has shaken. Some people in your country are resisting desperately to continue the country's rule, but you've crossed the sea and fled here. A group of cowards who abandoned their country and fled in a sorry state are trash among trash in our eyes after fighting to the death!

How could the lives of a group of people who had abandoned their country be taken seriously by the other party?

Hong San still had nothing to say about this.

He looked at Mayor Nick, his eyes agitated, his body trembling, and the sword in his hand swayed.

He had clearly gathered his courage and roared for another group of people, but he discovered that he could not suppress the other party, or even convince him… or even calmly stand on the high ground of morality.

Moreover, he was very confused.

Obeying the strong and submitting to them in exchange for peace was what he had been doing all these years. It was the principle he had relied on to survive all these years. His master was born noble, and his servants were born lowly. Some were born high and mighty, and some were as lowly as dust until they died. He was used to these things over the years.

He should be used to it long ago.

He had always felt that he was used to it.

Until today, the war was cruel and earth-shattering. Living beings dissipated like grass, and the lives of lowly commoners were sacrificed. This did not come from the cruelty and ruthlessness of their commander, but from a choice they had to make. Moral accusations were like jokes in the face of a cruel war.

However… did those pitiful people deserve to die?

Hong San felt flustered. He panted heavily. He was at a loss. All these years, his philosophy had told him that it was like this. The higher-ups could play with the lower-class at will. In front of powerful power, lowly commoners could only submit. This world was like a tower. The people above held the power of life and death, and the people below were the most tired and suffering. It had always been like this.

He read history books and listened to his teacher's lectures. When he heard them, they were all filled with this principle. No matter how the dynasty changed, there were always thousands of corpses of the commoners. Nine out of ten rooms were empty, and the ground was covered in bones. It was always the commoners who worked all day and barely lived. If a natural or man-made disaster happened, they would easily die.

They had been taxed, they had been conscripted, they had been humiliated, and they had been stripped. Now, they were defending the city to death. As cannon fodder, they had been slaughtered and broken by powerful enemies. Moreover, it was not only Valentine City in this foreign land. In the Eastern Divine Lands, thousands of dynasties had changed and attacked for thousands of years. How many such things had there been?

The strong ruled everything, and the strong plundered everything. The weak were only pigs and dogs, only cows and sheep. They could be snatched wantonly and bullied at will. This was a fixed law that operated in the world. For thousands of years, no one could change the principle. It was the will of the heavens and fate. They had suffered in their lives. However, they had committed sins in their previous life and done good deeds. They only hoped to reincarnate well in their next life—other than this, what else could they do?!

Hong San thought that he had seen through it and felt that the world was only like this. It was better to live comfortably.

He had once believed in this. Life and death were up to fate. That was all.

However, after experiencing life and death in the city, looking at those familiar faces that were usually destroyed and trampled by war and their lives dissipated like grass, he felt huge sorrow, pain, and helplessness.

He knew those people, the people he was familiar with, those faces, their expectant and trusting eyes, the familiar call… Then they died one by one.

They were also humans. They had family and their own sorrows and joy. They were timid and only wanted to live.

Even if he lived a very lowly life, it did not matter.

However, he could not even satisfy this small wish.

"No…"

He shook his head.

It should not be like this.

Nothing was right.

Things definitely should not be like this.

No matter how lowly a person was, they should not die.

His philosophy and deep-rooted concepts gradually wavered.

There were no new philosophies and concepts to replace them, only doubts. When he saw the familiar people die helplessly one by one, huge confusion and uneasiness arose in his heart.

He only felt that a person's life should not end so rashly. It should not be like this at all. He felt that something must have gone wrong in this world, but he could not say it or explain it.

He only instinctively felt injustice and pain.

For those people who were like grass and died like dust, weak, humble, and involuntary.

With a bang.

The sword in his hand fell to the ground.

Hong San took two steps back and swayed.

He turned around with difficulty and looked at Kang De as if he wanted to say something, but there was only sorrow and confusion on his face. From the moment he entered the city until today, everything had been squeezed together. All the anticipation and pressure had landed on this firm and reliable body. Everything suddenly erupted in these tragic casualties and huge confusion.

He spat out a large mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

Kang De rushed forward and held Hong San. He hurriedly checked his pulse. Fortunately, he had only fainted.

Nick raised his hands high and said immediately, "I didn't do anything."

Kang De said calmly, "I know."

He looked up and looked past Mayor Nick and the others.

It landed on the people of the Heaven and Earth Association on the city wall.

Hong San vomited blood and fainted. The only person who immediately supported him was Kang De.

Chen Honghu, Song Baoyi, Huang Jintong, the two Goethe leaders whose names he could not name, and even the other hundreds of militiamen looked at Hong San vomiting blood and fainting.

They only watched from afar.

They were stunned, they were afraid, and they were all scared out of their wits. Seeing their companions die, the might of the elves had yet to dissipate. In front of the true elf army, they finally realized the difference between them and the true army and understood that Hong San's previous victory was only a small fight.

Therefore, at this moment, their impression of Hong San was very complicated.

This was because the other party clearly could not protect him. He was not omnipotent.

In fact, Hong San quarreled with the mayor, who was more powerful and powerful, and vomited blood and fainted. They watched from afar and thought that a conflict had broken out, so they did not dare to come up.

Actually, these were all understandable.

However, no matter which country it was, no matter which world it was, no matter how strong or weak they were, no matter how brave or timid they were, they had to know right and wrong!

His gaze was like an eagle and a tiger, causing everyone in the Heaven and Earth Association to lower their heads.

Even if he had criticized and been curious about this military advisor previously, now, he did not.

This was because everyone could see clearly that not far away, everyone on the city had been beaten up by the elves until they did not dare to appear. When the elf cavalry had already rushed up the city wall, when the city was about to fall, it was this military advisor who slapped the terrifying elf cavalry back. The lightning was fiery and the damage was heavy. Moreover, he personally opened the prelude to repel the elves.

Kang De was cold.

He said the two words that an Earthling should not have said.

"—Lowly commoners!"

This was actually the second time he had said it.

The first time was on that night in Glory Sand. The entire town swarmed over for Samuel's reward. They instantly turned from simple and even humble commoners to ferocious hungry wolves. The farmer held a feces fork, and the peasant woman held a kitchen knife. They actually dared to come out and hunt him down—for a piece of meat thrown by that capricious bastard, Samuel, who treated commoners as dust, they fought like dogs.

He carried Hong San and carried him down the city wall. "Make way!"

He really did not know what to say to Mayor Nick.

Everyone seemed to have their difficulties. Everyone was forced and everyone was doing the wrong thing, but in their opinion, these things were all right.

Everyone was like a bastard.

This alternate world was simply a feces pit.

The mayor hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he stepped aside and said nothing.

The representatives of the various worlds behind him also made way for the city guards.

Kang De also saw Preston. The other party was Mayor Nick's brother and an officer of high status. He looked at Kang De with an awkward and sad expression.

Clearly, he admired Kang De's bravery and felt that he had turned the tide. However, he could no longer say nice words now. He was silent for a moment before saying bitterly, "Mr. Dong."

Kang De stopped and looked sideways.

Preston said softly, "Actually, my brother is wrong. In this war, there's actually no difference in life. Everyone has a duty and everyone can die. My brother's duty is to let everyone's death obtain the greatest effect and meaning."

Kang De did not speak. He left after hearing this.

The young man said behind him, "Mr. Dong, you'll understand."

Therefore, under everyone's gaze, the greatest contributor to this city battle carried Hong San to the stairs of the city wall.

Chen Honghu and the others looked at each other. They stood up and moved their feet. They hesitated and wanted to follow. Kang De turned around indifferently, "What? The mayor said that you can leave?"

Everyone's expressions changed. Song Baoyi forced a smile and said, "Military Advisor…"

Kang De frowned and said, "What did you call me?"

Song Baoyi was stunned, then said, "Military Advisor, we…"

Kang De said coldly, "Three questions. Firstly, why did you only stare blankly just now? After he vomited blood and fainted, why didn't he look worried at all? Secondly, do you know who Hong San was speaking up for just now? Thirdly, Hong San protected you until today—does he owe you anything?!"

At this point, Kang De's voice was already sharp.

"If he owed anyone anything, I've paid it off for him today!"

"—Tell me!"

The might of facing the elves head-on and being defeated and killed was still there. His killing intent was revealed. How powerful was it? Chen Honghu and the others were speechless for a moment. The others lowered their heads and stopped.

However, was this posture fear or awakening and guilt?

Kang De saw this and sneered.

He left.

The people of the Heaven and Earth Association actually did not dare to chase after him anymore. Everyone knew in their hearts that this was no longer a matter of thick skin because the other party clearly had the intention to kill.

They looked at each other. For a moment, they had mixed feelings, not knowing what they were feeling.

After all, Preston was a young man. He quickly came to the silent Nick and whispered, "Brother… Mr. Mayor, aren't you going to explain to Mr. Dong?"

Nick slowly said, "I've already done it. What's the point of saying it? What's the point of putting on an act? What's the point of saying that I had no choice? What's the point of saying that I feel guilty or ashamed?"

He turned around and ordered the officer under him, "Choose some militia and let them leave the city with a rope. Bring back the corpses of the elves under the city. If they're not dead, cut off the tendons in their hands and feet. Please keep them alive until the start of the next battle."

"Peel off their clothes if they died, cut off their limbs, castrate them, dig out their eyes, cut their noses, pull out their tongues, and hang them on the city wall."

Among the representatives of the various worlds, someone's expression changed slightly, and the crowd stirred slightly.

Nick looked at them as if nothing had happened and said, "Those with objections are traitors. If they want to collude with the elves to bring down the city, we'll execute their families. The women will work for the soldiers and the men will hang on the city wall."

Then, he smiled.

"In short, victory is victory. Gather the brave soldiers. I want to make a speech."

Kang De carried Hong San on his back and walked down the city wall because the aura he emitted at this moment was really a little terrifying. Be it the soldiers or commoners along the way, they did not dare to ask. The city was in chaos. It was all chaos caused by the various spells that had landed in the city during the siege. Some were crying, some were afraid, and more were whispering to each other and quickly communicating with their neighbors on the balcony.

On the cold street, Kang De walked alone.

Suddenly, a carriage drove over. The coachman was the old butler of the Vidal family.

"This way!"

Leona opened the carriage window and stuck her head out. "It's good that you're fine! Eh, is he injured? Our Chamber of Commerce has very good doctors and medicine. In the previous war, this old guy didn't allow me to come out. It wasn't until I won that news returned saying that you'd made contributions. Impressive. Why did you run out?"

The girl's voice was chattering. It was very pleasant and contained worry.

However, Kang De did not want to speak now.

He only forced a smile at her.

How should he put it… Although he had not experienced an intense battle, although the true battle was only those ten seconds or so of decision, he felt very, very tired.

The girl instantly calmed down and said, "Come up. Do you want to go to the Heaven and Earth Association?"

"No, go to your place."

"Okay."

…