Tempest of the Battlefield

Chapter 529: Always The Winner

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Although Sanders had given up on the auction, he had made up his mind to cozy up to Guan Dongyang. After all, Jade City was right next to the Maersa district.

It was the first time for many buyers form Jade City to see an auction at such a grand scale. Ever since the war broke out, the wealth of the world had been more concentrated with the rich and powerful than ever before. Everyone wanted to own the life-saving crystal, and the bidding was about to get heated.

Syracuse knew the importance of patience. Why would he risk his life worthy of saving for one golden egg while he could make friends with the golden goose himself? Syracuse knew that Guan Dongyang was not in the habit of hoarding a huge amount of wealth, so this money would be spent on his band. It was evident to Syracuse that it was the fierce competition with other local war-bands that had driven him to form an alliance with him.

"Five Hundred Thousand!"

"They are people from the Blaze City… from House Lie." someone murmured.

"Five hundred and fifty."

"It is the Kaedeians! They have joined the bid as well."

Even the Kaedeians, who were usually reticent during public events, had weighed in.

Syracuse was caught off guard by the actions of Kaedeians, since it was his first time seeing them bidding on anything. He had kept an amicable relationship with these female warriors by offering them bits and pieces of information he had collected along his travel. In exchange for his service, the Kaedeians had sold him one of a few crystal guns that still existed in the world, at a hefty price of course.

When the price rose to seven hundred grand, most buyers gave up, except for the Kaedeians.

"Seven hundred grand, once."

"Seven hundred grand, twice."

"Seven hundred grand, DEAL!"

Duo Lun felt that he was dreaming. Even one blue to him was quite a fortune, much less seven hundred thousand of them.

As a member of the Divine Mastery Sect, money was nothing but a worldly burden to Ye Zi. However, seven hundred grand was too big of a burden for her to overlook.

The auction finally ended on a high note, and the astronomical price for his spells had pushed the fame of the fire lord to a new height.

"It was bought by the Kaedeians? Since when have these she-wolves become so obsessed with humans' craft?" Lie Jian said with a smirk.

"My Lord, could it be that someone important was injured within their ranks?"

"If that was the case, why didn't they ask the Sect for help? They are up to something. I can almost smell it."

"I agree, my lord."

Lie Jian had gained a lot more muscle over the five years, and his dark eyes glinted with a sharp light from time to time. One could have a gauge of his confidence and power just by looking at his imposing and stately appearance.

"Guan Dongyang is getting stronger. When I first heard about his victory over Nihlathak, I almost couldn't believe it. Interesting! What is going on with Lie Xuan? "

"Lie Wushuang has already returned, my lord. But Lie Xuan..."

"Never mind! She will regret it one day. Guan Dongyang is not a man who will spend much time on his woman. Anyhow, I hope when the Zergs are at his door, he will be strong enough to fend them off." A stone cold sneer found Lie Jian's mouth. He knew at first hand that once Guan Dongyang became powerful, it would only be a matter of time before the Zergs would sniff him out. By then, regardless of how powerful Guan Dongyang was, even if he was at the legendary level, it would be impossible for him to survive the attack without a strong team around him.

Meanwhile, inside the Kaedeian Palace…

"My Queen, we have bought that crystal, and it will be shipped to us within a week." An officer reported to the queen, who nodded in response.

"Mother, I have my reservations on purchasing this crystal. We are putting all of our eggs in one basket. That is not reasonable."

"Heidi, we have already talked about this."

"My queen, I can see where princess Heidi is coming from. However, as the prophet, I know what I saw in my dreams. Unlike humans, who have two options to choose, we only have one." The head priestess announced; her soft voice held an unswerving conviction.

"Venerable mother, I did not mean to doubt your vision. I just thought that we should work more closely with the Divine Mastery Sect instead of this... God knows who he is... The Sect is our strongest ally. " Princess Heidi insisted on her position.

"You are right, princess. However, you can't see far enough. The nature of this war has changed… It is no longer about eliminating the Zergs, if you get what I am saying. " The head priestess stood up and spoke in a more assertive tone.

"I don't understand… Please do tell," Heidi replied.

"The twin stars had foretold the forked paths that humanity is facing right now, but it didn't show me the path we should embark." Generations of memories rushed back to the head priestess as she spoke the words. She remembered the time when Zergs drove them out of their home and forced them to live with the Humans. The light in her eyes dimmed as the faces of her friends who died in the war appeared in her mind. The Kaedeian culture had been severely eroded along with the deceased; the race was dying slowly under her watch.

"The twin stars? Who is the star other than the savior?"

"Patroclus." The head priestess announced. The words hit Heidi's mind like a hammer.

"...Patroclus? Isn't he the traitor?"

"Hehe… My princess, he is not a traitor by a long chalk. If there had been a person such as him among Kaedeians, we wouldn't have ended up here, struggling on Mars." The head priestess seemed to admire the culprit of their suffering, the enemy of all humans, Patroclus.

"Why…?"

"I am sorry if I have offended you, princess. But, have you thought that after Patroclus merged with the Zerg and created the Immortals, the Zergs will never be able to eliminate the humans?"

"Yes, because they have all turned into monsters!" Heidi rose to the question. The thought of the vile thing buried deep inside the humans' chest made her stomach churn.

"My princess, if you were a Homo erectus who lived eons ago, covered in fur and walking with bent hind legs, you would think the modern humans looked alien as well. What I am trying to say is that after the merger, the humans didn't lose their humanity. In other words, they are still who they are, if not more."

"But, this is not natural! They were forced. and they will forever be the Zergs' slave."

"Is that so? Patroclus has already annexed powers of two of the most influential Zerg lords, and his power is still growing. He controls both Earth and the Moon, while the real Zerg Lord, Moye, has to watch his influence dwindling while hiding on Mars."

"You mean Patroclus has already hijacked the Zergs from the inside, and he already has the ability to carry out his own agenda?" A Kaedeian general asked.

"Exactly! Although he has become the public enemy for the crime he had committed, he was simply doing the necessary evil in order to reach immortality for the entire human race. What do you think is the difference between the Immortals and Humans other than their names?"

Silence fell into the palace as everyone was deep in their thoughts.

"If you are right, why don't we just surrender to Patroclus?" Heidi asked with an edge in her voice.

The head priestess heaved a sigh and then said, "As I said, I saw two paths for humans, but for us, we have only one choice: support the savior."

The head priestess' words reminded everyone the fact that the Kaedeians could not be assimilated by the Zergs.

There and then, Heidi finally saw the big picture of what was going on. From the perspective of a human sub-race, both Patroclus and Wang Tong could lead the humans to their salvation. However, the Kaedeians only had one option from the get-go.

As for the Zergs, they had already lost the war the moment Moye decided to transform Patroclus into a hybrid. It gave the Ivantian prince an opportunity to dismantle the threat of the Zergs from within.

Wang Tong knew Patroclus' plan from the very beginning, and he immediately knew that the path was not meant for him. In his opinion, the humans would overcome difficulties with a powerful will instead of physical superiority.

Having relied so much on their physical abilities, would the mortals appreciate the meaning of bravery, unity, generosity, and fairness? Although the immortals had gained amazing physical capabilities, their minds had inevitably weakened.

If there were no noble human values remaining inside the immortals, could they still be called humans?

When the test for humanity came, there would be tears, fear, and betrayal. And that was how humans became stronger as a race.

Patroclus had been fixated on the dark side of human nature, and therefore, his approach to humanity's ultimate salvation was to forsake the human qualities altogether. He had helped his followers adopt a new form which, except for the appearance, lacked all human traits.

On the other hand, Wang Tong believed in the good and bright side of the human nature; he had dedicated his life to encourage others to draw strength from their hearts and fight for a noble cause.

Wang Tong and Patroclus had embarked on two drastically different paths, as the Kaedeian prophet had foretold, and only time would tell which path would lead to the ultimate salvation of the human race.