Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

It was already late at night.

After a bitter battle, Valentine licked his wounds in the darkness. Kang De returned to the residence of the Vidal Chamber of Commerce. This time, he was no longer relaxed, and he did not smile.

He only washed up slightly and changed into clean clothes. After eating something, he sat in the courtyard and busied himself. He quietly repeated his previous work, enchanting arrows and throwing spears.

Although he was neither happy nor angry and his expression was calm, the low pressure he vaguely emitted made the heartless green-skinned hide far away. In the past, they were extremely noisy and did not even dare to make a sound.

Leona asked Hong San about the situation, but she was also helpless.

She looked at Kang De's back, and worry flashed through her eyes. Anyone with empathy could understand his dissatisfaction and confusion at this moment. Endurance was a good moral, especially for capable people.

The girl suddenly felt a trace of jealousy and sorrow.

She knew Kang De's temper. The first time they met, this wary guy had even directly slashed the axe beside her head. He did not have any gentlemanly demeanor and did as he pleased and was unscrupulous. It was the truest portrayal of this guy—if such a person encountered a heartless commoner who repaid kindness with ingratitude, he would naturally kick him or even slash him with the axe… However, he did not.

After experiencing that kind of thing, he was attacked by the elves with a vicious plan and targeted by the stupid commoners. He still did not flip the table and get angry at all costs. It was simply not his personality.

The reason why he did not do that was only for one person.

Tina.

Her good friend, an innocent flower, was so kind that she was almost stupid.

In Leona's eyes, this good-tempered guy was simply a vase. He had no bad intentions, trusted others, and was unwilling to believe that the world was evil. He smiled innocently and stupidly at everyone…

She felt that with Tina's personality, she was most suitable to marry a prince or a noble and be a mascot. When her husband used cold or despicable methods to govern the country and squeeze the citizens dry, she would use her silly smile and beautiful appearance to numb the people and obtain support. This was her most suitable use.

However, that was not the case.

As if something had gone wrong, she had actually chosen a husband from the East for herself. Her gaze was as puzzling as ever. Her husband was rough, fierce, unromantic, ungentlemanly, and would anger people to death when he spoke. It was really terrible to look at everyone with a guarded gaze that said, "You future criminal." Leona had never seen such a man in her life.

However, he was clearly such a man, but he could always inadvertently say some pleasant human words. He could also be calm and polite to servants, and he did not retreat in the face of a powerful enemy, giving people an extremely reliable feeling. Moreover… he could even suppress his anger and impulse toward the person he loved.

The reason why he remained calm and restrained tonight was only because this was Tina's country.

Did he love her that much?

Leona looked at Kang De's lonely back and felt bitter.

She did not know how to persuade and comfort Kang De, but she still felt inexplicably sad and indignant. She wanted to go forward and hug this back, but she knew that she had no right to do so. The entire Empire's underworld knew that Miss Leona was the most loyal. She could not snatch her best friend's man.

She was even a little resentful and resentful.

—You stupid woman, do you know what Kang De has done for you? With his personality, he can endure this. Do you know how difficult it is?

—If you treat him badly in the future, I… I'll…

When she thought of this, she could not help but feel a trace of disappointment.

What could she do?

Kang De still repeated the job he was doing. He was meticulous and did not stop.

Suddenly, a shout sounded in the night wind.

A strong light suddenly exploded in the sky.

There was naturally a commotion on the city wall, and under the dark sky, the dazzling light was even clearer.

"You don't have much time."

Even if they retreated and retreated, the sinister and evil public opinion battle of the elves still did not end.

Or rather, at the moment when Valentine won a bloody battle and his heart was in turmoil, he would strike while the iron was hot and increase his strength. Clearly, he would obtain better results.

The violent wind sent the elves' uniform shouts. The roars of hundreds and thousands of people were magnified by the wind spell, "Many people died tonight! Perhaps it's your son! Your father! Your brother!"

"However, Kang De instructed City Lord Valentine to hide the truth. He still wants you to continue to fight until the last drop of blood is drained. When this city can't be defended anymore, he'll escape!"

"Valentine, are you willing? Are you angry? How long do you want to endure?!"

A thick voice echoed in Valentine's dark sky.

When the two armies fought, the soldiers were sinister. They should have done whatever they could.

Leona, Hong San, and the others looked at the sky in a daze. Their minds were blank and they did not know what to say.

This was unexpected and reasonable.

Preston, who had spoken to Kang De earlier, was patrolling the city wall. When he heard this, his figure froze. He looked at the distant elf camp and said softly, "They're forcing these people to death."

Kang De only looked up at the distant night sky, his heart calm.

At this point, a thousand curses and ruthless words were meaningless.

…I'll kill you.

—I'll definitely kill you all.

He said softly, "Leona."

The girl suddenly woke up. "…Ah?"

Kang De continued his work and slowly said, "Have you arranged for your people?"

Leona was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

"I'm sorry." Kang De's voice did not waver. "I spoke big words."

Leona suddenly trembled and choked, "No, it's not your fault…"

Then, she covered her mouth, turned around, and left quickly.

She did not want to cry in front of Kang De.

Kang De still did it calmly and quietly, meticulously doing what he was doing. Arrow after arrow was dyed with the patterns of flames rising into the clouds, shining with the light of elements.

Hong San gritted his teeth and quickly stepped forward. He said in a low voice, "Master, I'll go find Mayor Nick."

Kang De shook his head, his gaze calm as water. "Wait a little longer."

The Cathayan subconsciously asked, "Wait for what?"

Kang De looked up at him with a stunned gaze, then laughed bitterly at himself.

"There's no helping it." He sighed softly, "I just won't give up until I see the end."

In the darkness, the malice born from fear was quickly growing.

In Preston's words, these people who had yet to develop wisdom lived in a daze. They were untrustworthy, had no ideals, and their thoughts were changeable. However, even the people at the bottom of society had their own survival philosophy.

The people were both stupid and shrewd.

The stupidity was that they were blindly obedient, had no opinions, did not understand right and wrong, were ungrateful, and criticized heroes. They were very easy to coerce and encourage. Perhaps it was only because of an ingenious lie, or perhaps it was only for the immediate benefits, but they would always do shockingly stupid things.

The shrewdness was that without anyone leading them, they would definitely not do it. If the leader was attacked, they would definitely draw the line. If the momentum was wrong, they would definitely run away.

Now, there were not-so-smart but still stupid people who planned to stand up and encourage and lead them.

…To do the wrong thing.

At some point, a group of people walked out of the silent street.

As soon as the war began, Valentine implemented a strict curfew. If non-military personnel gathered on the streets, they would definitely encounter cruel and decisive suppression. However, after several wars, the city's defense was on the verge of collapse. Valentine continued to be unstable under the dual attacks of the elves, and the tragic casualties caused a vacancy in the patrol force.

Perhaps this was the reason.

For a moment, no one noticed this group of people.

They did not have weapons in their hands and did not look distracted. Most of them were actually women, children, and old people, and they looked even more harmless. The light of the elves' spells flashed in the sky. The shouts of the Dusk Legion still continued. Valentine in the flames of war revealed a terrifying silence.

Therefore, the crowd began to cry.

They were like a group of wanderers begging for pity as they walked through the streets, passed through houses, and even knocked on the doors of the houses along the way to explain their intentions. Some rejected, some hesitated, and some agreed. The size of this team was increasing, and the number of people was continuously expanding. They were all people with sad expressions and despair.

They advanced, advancing. Their footsteps were either firm or hesitant. In the crowd, someone was saying something softly, as if cheering or instilling some thought. This strange team did not even have a leader, but there were many people with very strong goals leading a group of blindly following people.

They walked all the way to their destination.

A few residences around this block had been bought. There was no one on the wide street. It was dark all around, and only the light of torches and the bright lights of the Vidal Chamber of Commerce could be seen.

Immediately after, someone knelt down.

Then, one after another.

The crowd fell in groups, like the most pious believers praying for the gift of the god. However, the object they prayed to was not the god, nor was it a gift, but a sacrifice.

Immediately after, someone cried. Strong emotions continuously infected. Fear was a true emotion, fear of death, and the pain of losing their family. All their emotions were vented here.

They gathered into a sentence.

"Save us."

The cries of women, children, and the old.

"Your Highness Kang De."

People were calling.

The weakest people also had knives and could kill.

As long as their goal was kind and compassionate, as long as their goal was not heartless.

They cried, they called out, and hatred awakened in their weak begging.

As long as he did not respond, as long as he did not help, he was bad and evil. As long as he ignored their request and was unwilling to save them, he was a complete evil person.

The seeds of danger were continuously growing.

Some women whose eyes were red from crying lost their fear and rationality when they received the news that their relatives had died in battle.

Another person who was thinking about the contents of that flyer smelled some weakness and concession from the silence in the courtyard and a signal that he could take another step forward.

Someone began to shout boldly, "Come out! Come out!"

In the courtyard, Kang De slowly put down the last arrow.

He finally saw the end.

Leona was trembling with anger and even forgot to curse. "How… how can they say such a thing? Let Kang De save them—what exactly does it mean?"

"It means that I have to tie myself up and leave the city to be dealt with by the elves to save their lives."

Kang De slowly got up and smiled. "After all, these people are innocent, right? After all, they're loyal to Tedrell and work diligently and pay taxes by the numbers. Goethe failed to protect them. This is Tedrell's negligence, right? After all, it's a city full of lives. It's very worth it to exchange my life for theirs, right?"

Leona was shocked and grabbed Kang De's arm. "You can't do this!"

"…Duh."

Kang De's smile was calm and gentle. He glanced at Hong San, as if teasing him, or perhaps he was serious. He said, "It's all thanks to Hong San's master for telling me what it means to treat everyone equally."

Hong San seemed to have discovered something and was a little uneasy, "Master…"

Kang De only smiled.

"Equal treatment. So that's what it means."

He touched his head in distress. "Preston said that I was too proud and arrogant. That seems to be the case. I'm high and mighty. I looked down on them a little. I'm really sorry for being too proud."

"I consider myself someone from a superior world. I have the mentality of supporting the people of Goethe in order to save them from war. I came here to help them fight, protect them, and save them. I consider myself the savior and the protector, so I got carried away. This is because my understanding is too poor. I should risk my life to protect them and treat them as my masters at the same time. If necessary, I should sacrifice my life to protect them because they have a family. I don't have a family. They need care and tolerance. I don't."

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have the mentality of a superior. I only did a small job, won a few battles, and saved a few people. What's the big deal? I owe them in the first place. I should respectfully and humbly protect these masters and tolerate everything about them."

"…Oh, no, that's not right."

"It shouldn't be like this."

"I should treat everyone equally, very equally."

"Treat them as I treat myself."

"Speaking of which, I'm only a mere human. There's nothing special about me. Just like them, their lives are as precious as mine. Since we're equally precious, there's no difference. They'll be treated equally."

His smile became even gentler. "Therefore, cry if you want. If you die, so be it."

"I don't plan to take responsibility for myself anymore. My life is as precious as theirs. Of course, there's no reason to use my life to save them. Previously, I was too proud and arrogant."

"D*mn… I'm really unburdened now."

He smiled and pulled out the axe from behind him. He carried it on his shoulder and kicked over the chair.

"Get ready. We're leaving. We have to settle you, low-class people, down first."

Kang De strode out of the courtyard and walked out.

"What are you crying for? Did your entire family die here?"

Leona suddenly turned. "What did you say to him?"

Hong San only looked at Kang De's figure in a daze. His eyes flickered, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

…