Chapter 115 Chapter 115: How Many Have Ever Returned from Ancient Battles?
Chapter 115: How Many Have Ever Returned from Ancient Battles?
Kevin was not a Xianzhou native, nor was he familiar with Xianzhou's history... He didn't know why the Xianzhou harbored such deep hatred for 'The Abundance,' and he couldn't possibly judge, from an outsider's perspective, whether a Xianzhou with the Ambrosial Arbor was better or a Xianzhou without it was stronger.
But at least from what he could see now, whether it was the followers of the Yaoshi Secret Transmission or the official Xianzhou authorities, they ultimately all belonged to the same civilization. Kevin could judge them as inferior, but he couldn't, as an outsider, recklessly interfere in this internal conflict.
Just like how he previously thought that the Xianzhou's continuous initiation of external wars wasn't a good thing. But he was also well aware that the longevity of the Xianzhou people was an extremely attractive prospect for countless short-lived species. If they weren't sufficiently powerful, there was no guarantee that more outsiders wouldn't wage war against the Xianzhou.
War is such a sorrowful yet helpless thing... You can't exactly go and persuade the powerful Xianzhou to stop asserting its sovereignty. Then, when those Abundance-worshipping peoples think the Xianzhou is weak and actively invade, would you step forward and take responsibility for those who perish as a result?
No, you can't... Even Kevin himself believed that from beginning to end, he couldn't be responsible for the passing of any single life.
When faced with two evils, choose the lesser... Hah, this was Kevin's least favorite saying, yet it was also the reality he had consistently chosen from start to finish, the choice that most directly faced the truth of this world.
Perhaps the Xianzhou's current choice is a plan that minimizes grief to the greatest extent. Perhaps there are other, better choices. But you can't find them, and you can't make anyone take responsibility for them.
As mentioned earlier, everything has two sides; one-sided judgment holds no legitimate meaning...
Therefore, these children who have fallen into tragedy due to the Xianzhou's external wars, and those Xianzhou people who have chosen to join the Yaoshi Secret Transmission because of this or other reasons... As parties who have fallen into sorrow and been sacrificed under such a choice, they have the right to question this world and civilization. Even Kevin has no right to strip them of their power to resist fate.
"We do not belong to this civilization, Pardo."
Seeing his companion's confused look, Kevin very rarely explained softly: "You can change the situation for one or two people. But as long as the Xianzhou remains like this, there will still be countless people whose tragedies are brewed because of it... Can you guarantee that you can save every single one of them?"
"This... I..."
Kevin's words instantly plunged Pardo into a state of confusion. When facing children, she indeed had a kind heart, that was true. But how grand could her aspirations really be?
Even a fool should be able to think that of course there would be countless children living in misery in the world for various reasons. But how could she possibly save every single one of them? There were even many times when she couldn't even take good care of herself.
Pardo indeed hesitated in that moment.
Indeed, judging by the current situation, the flower buds here would mature soon, and those children would successfully eat the fruits and regain their physical health. There was no need for her to stay here any longer; she couldn't possibly take care of everyone well.
"No! You absolutely cannot leave now!!!"
Before Pardo could truly make a decision for herself, that Foxian elder suddenly seemed triggered by some keyword, breaking free from his dazed state and roaring with a very ferocious expression.
"Huh? Grandpa, what's... what's wrong with you?"
Pardo was just about to step forward and ask something when Kevin abruptly pulled her back, shaking his head at her and saying: "Judging from his physical condition, his time was already limited. Now, under the dual erosion of the Fragmentum and the Ambrosial Arbor... he has probably completely fallen into Mara-Struck under the influence of obsession."
Before this, even Kevin himself thought that was a state only Xianzhou natives would fall into... But this Foxian elder before him gave him a firsthand lesson.
Perhaps even when Pardo first saw him, the old man's body and mind were still completely in a normal and amiable state. It's just a pity... by the time Kevin saw him, he was already beyond saving.
The changes of worldly affairs are just this rapid, just this... unpredictable.
"Ah, but how is that possible..."
Pardo still wanted to explain something, but the elder before her could no longer maintain his sanity at all, clutching his head and crying out in pain: "As soon as you go out, you'll definitely tell others about what's here, right? Everyone thinks they are right... Why does everyone think they are right!"
"Those Xianzhou people outside who worship 'The Hunt' and war don't care at all... about the children here. Do you know? War... it's because of war that they lost their parents and support, were abandoned here. Those willing to pay attention to them are few and far between... But do you know what the most tragic thing is?"
When speaking of the children, his frenzied, turbid eyes even softened slightly, only to be completely consumed by hatred in the next second: "Their parents perished in war, but there were still some surviving comrades-in-arms willing to take care of them. They were also the only ones willing to accept them..."
"They opened their hearts to them, just like real family... But as long as war doesn't stop, they have to set foot on the battlefield again and again!"
"Again and again! Year after year! Fewer and fewer people can return! These children... they just gained new families, only to fall back into the grief of losing family again. Why? Why?!!!"
The old man himself was also a survivor of war. He came here naturally because many of these children had parents who were once his comrades-in-arms.
And those other comrades-in-arms who once entrusted their lives to each other naturally wouldn't forget to visit these orphans of the fallen. But as time passed, they went off to participate in war after war... Luck would eventually run out one day. Even if only one person fell in a hundred-strong unit, they wouldn't forever be among the lucky ninety-nine.
Yes, Xianzhou natives have lifespans of a thousand years. So how many years of war must a Cloud Knight experience from stepping onto the battlefield at over two hundred years old until they wait for that moment of honorable retirement?
Do not laugh if we lie drunk on the battlefield; since ancient times in war... how many have ever returned?
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