Volume 10 Bugs Chapter 57: Brushing the ring, moving divine revelation
The battle is over.
Two holy bright lights sprinkled down from the top of the temple, condensing into two faint milky white light balls behind us. As the light gradually gathered, two magic doors with slightly rippling distorted light appeared again behind the two teams. Passing through these two transparent magic doors, we will temporarily leave this sacred place and return to our respective places. There, we will continue to choose our next opponent, and then try to win the favor of the gods with our courage.
We have passed through this space gate many times before, but each time we came back empty-handed and dejected. But now, we are about to walk out of here gloriously with a victory, which makes us feel a little cheerful after a long time.
Just as we were about to step out of the door, suddenly, a call full of expectation and hesitation came from behind:
"Can you please... wait a moment?"
Turning around, we saw the other team's captain walking towards us around the ring. He lowered his head, rubbing his two bony hands together nervously, and the two balls of blue soul flames reflected in his eye sockets flickered slightly, revealing a hint of shame and embarrassment.
"Ah..." Seeing this guy who was fond of raising cockroaches approaching, Fei Yin screamed in fear and subconsciously grabbed Chang Sanjiao's shoulders. She shrank behind him, leaving only one eye peeking out with fear and vigilance.
"What? Do you have anything else to say?" There was no choice. Seeing the president's frightened look, I could only step forward, block him outside, and asked impatiently.
Perhaps sensing my unfriendly attitude, Funeral March's expression became even more hesitant. He gently opened his big mouth, revealing his gums, but lowered his head again, as if he didn't know how to speak.
Just when he was looking embarrassed, the fallen vampire knight I Love Sunbathing also came up from behind him.
"May I ask a question..." The handsome young vampire nodded slightly and greeted us in a gentlemanly manner, "...how many duels have you... lost before?"
"What do you mean?" In such an environment, this question sounded deeply provocative. Chang Sanjiao frowned angrily and couldn't help but ask loudly.
"Ah, don't misunderstand..." I Love Sunbathing probably guessed the reason for our anger, and quickly waved my hands and said, "...I really don't have any hostility. To be honest with you, at our current level, it is too difficult to complete this task. Including this game with you, we have lost consecutive games..."
He hesitated and glanced at Funeral March, who rubbed his forehead and nodded helplessly.
"...We have lost 27 games in a row and haven't won a single game..."
I immediately felt great sympathy for the opponents of the Doomsday Empire in front of me, and at the same time, I also felt a little admiration for them. You know, we were so desperate after only losing seven games that we wanted to give up the mission several times, but they lost 27 games in a row and still had the courage to continue fighting. I have to admit that in today's world, there are really not many people as perseverant and tenacious as them.
...Of course, there are even fewer people as unlucky as them.
"So... what do you want to do?" Although their unfortunate experience is sympathetic, I really don't see how it has anything to do with us.
"I think, can we make a deal and agree that you win a game, I win a game, and we take turns to fight in the ring, which is mutually beneficial? This way, we can both avoid opponents who are too high in level, and the task can be completed faster and safer." Finally, Funeral March looked at us expectantly and told us his plan.
It was indeed the evil invaders of the Doomsday Empire. Only their brains filled with evil thoughts could come up with such a shameless cheating method to pass the test of the gods. This was simply an insult to faith and a blasphemy against the gods. The most outrageous thing was that they actually expressed their despicable thoughts in front of the gods present without any hesitation, and did not even think of covering up or avoiding it. Their depravity was so blatant that they had taken this evil thought for granted.
However, when I could not suppress my anger and silently prayed to God to send down the flames of punishment to burn these evil sinners into ashes, a gentle and cunning voice in the depths of my soul seemed to utter an exclamation full of temptation:
"That's a really good idea..."
No matter how despicable and clumsy this cheating method is, it is undeniable that it does not violate any of the laws set by the gods. The old troll Carlson once told me with contempt that the creations of the gods are not perfect, and there are stupid loopholes everywhere in this world. At that time, I thought it was just an exaggerated self-boasting by the mysterious mutant troll, but now it seems that what he said is not completely unreasonable.
I tried desperately to suppress this tempting voice with my indestructible piety, and deliberately ignored it from my consciousness. Unfortunately, this idea of seeing a ghost was not eliminated, but expanded rapidly, and then quickly occupied most of my thoughts. "This is a good idea... a good idea... a good idea..." The playful and pleasant voice kept echoing in my ears, gradually becoming louder and more convincing. My mind seemed to be possessed, and gradually became confused...
In an instant, it was as if a bright lightning bolt split my head and illuminated my mind. A clear idea flashed in my mind and could never disappear. It was like a needle threading a thread, connecting my chaotic thoughts bit by bit, gradually forming a complete and clear train of thought:
Who says we must deceive? Why must we blaspheme? Can't we think about this issue from another perspective with a sincere heart of great respect for the declaration?
The Most High God once said: If you help those in trouble, they will be helped in time of trouble; if you help those in distress, they will be saved in time of distress. Look at these five ragged unfortunates in front of us. They have suffered 27 inhumane defeats in a row. If we don't help them, they will continue like this. What a huge disaster and what a miserable fate it is? Shouldn't we have a holy and kind heart and show sympathy to our enemies in distress?
Yes, they are our enemies, the murderers who invaded our homeland and killed our people, but so what? Didn't the Supreme God teach us that "love your enemies as brothers and sisters, and you will receive my blessing"? What a broad-minded kindness and what a noble emotional investment this is? How can we so rashly slander it and think that it is just a simple evil deception?
Similarly, we have lost seven games in a row. If we reject their kindness, we may continue to fail. We will fail twenty-seven times, or even more. Isn't this just like the truth revealed by the Supreme God: If you refuse to help others, you will certainly not get help from others?
Yes, it must be like this. How could the great gods be so bored and cruel that they would use the life and death struggles of their creatures for entertainment? They are not cruel nobles, and they don't need to use flesh and blood to stimulate the already numb spirit. They must have deeper thoughts and nobler purposes in doing this . Now I am almost certain that the reason they set such a task is to teach us not only courage, but also understanding, support, courage and perseverance to continue to fight in despair, and...
like!
That love is so broad and profound, transcending the boundaries of race and faction, allowing all races in this world to help each other in times of trouble and move towards the future...
I was deeply moved by my own great thought. Tears moistened my eyes, blurred my vision, and blurred everything in front of me, forming a crystal that shone with wisdom. In my eyes, there were no more undead and humans, no more orcs and trolls, no more elves and vampires... only souls, struggling in difficult situations, trying to support each other to get out of difficult situations - only in this extremely high place isolated from the world can we temporarily stay away from the hatred and conflicts in the world, look at each other with a more sacred gaze, and then we can truly feel: in the eyes of God, we are actually the same, without any difference.
This thought encouraged me. I believed that I was not bewitched by the devil, but rather felt divine revelation in an instant. At this moment, I deeply felt the great kindness and beautiful expectations that the gods had for their children. If this feeling was evil, then I did not believe that there was any so-called "justice" in the world!
Yes, we did not deceive, because we did not need to deceive. We will not only not hide it, but will also make it public with an open mind. We did this with a pious and kind heart, and we have a clear conscience about it - at least I do...
My companions, like me, were infected by the sincerity and frankness of our opponent - of course, for these pagans from another world who did not pay enough attention to the gods, they were probably more infected by the bright prospect of being freed from the endless ravages of powerful opponents: after all, I cannot force everyone to have such a noble state of mind and broad and pious mind like me - no matter what the reason was, we all showed a kind smile on our faces at the same time, and no one seemed to intend to oppose the suggestion made by the Funeral March.
"That being said..." Just when each of us was sure that we could reach this agreement, suddenly, a crisp voice came from behind the Yangtze River Delta, interrupting our beautiful imagination in time, "...but why should we compete with you?"
The one who spoke was of course Feiyin, our beautiful president. She had already flashed out from behind the half-orc shadow thief, but she still consciously kept a considerable distance from the undead warrior, staring at him with her bright eyes, not hiding the anger in her eyes at all, and a cold expression on her face.
"As far as I know, you may be the lowest-level team in this arena - even if you are not, it won't be much different. We will definitely be at a disadvantage if we compete with you in the arena because we can beat you 100%. Even if we have to, we can find a team of the same level as ours. For us, this will definitely not be difficult..." Feiyin said confidently, completely ignoring the reality that we had been beaten badly in seven consecutive games - the actual situation is that it is very difficult to find a team of the same level as us!
"...and it would be too difficult for you to find a team of equals to fight in the ring..." Fei Yin was not ashamed of the fact that she had obviously overlooked, and continued to speak righteously, "...almost anyone who fights in the ring with you will suffer a loss. Why would they want to fight with you when they are opponents that they can definitely beat?"
"...and..." Feiyin paused, as if she had sorted out her thoughts, and then continued, "...If we play the arena with you, who will reach the ninth game first? With your levels, even if you have reached the eighth game, the possibility of finding a kind high-level opponent to help you complete the ninth game is very small, and no one wants to waste time on you. So if we play the arena with you, we can only let you finish nine games first, and then we will try our luck to find a team that is not as good as ours to win a game. But no one knows when such a team will appear. Maybe we will meet it in the second game after you finish the arena, but maybe we will have to lose twenty-seven games in a row before we can meet one..."
"...Okay, let me explain our current situation more clearly. We are at a higher level than you, have more wins than you, and it is easier for us to find opponents for the ring than you. Even if we don't fight in the ring, our chances of winning nine games are much greater than yours. However, we have to help you win nine games first, and then we have to rely on luck to complete this task. So how likely do you think we are to accept such disadvantageous conditions?"
"The other most important thing is..." Feiyin's chest rose and fell rapidly, her face flushed with shame and anger, and she pointed at Funeral March's face and said angrily, "...Why should I help a guy who is trying to scare me with a cockroach?"
Fei Yin's rapid-fire bombardment of words stunned the Undead Warrior, who could not say a word of rebuttal. He was stunned for a long time before he lowered his head and stammered, "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry about the cockroach incident. I was really forced to do this. I'm really sorry. I just suddenly thought of this idea and didn't think about it carefully... It's true that this matter is not very fair to you. But it's getting late now. If we don't complete this task, I'm afraid that the five of us will have worked in vain this day. It's not certain when we can get the right people next time. So... I can only ask you to help me. If you think it's unfair, we can find a way to compensate you..."
When she heard the word "compensation", Feiyin's eyes suddenly lit up, and two golden rays of light flashed in her beautiful pupils. Then, she seemed to realize something, and lowered her eyes again, frowning slightly, as if she was thinking fiercely. Finally, she raised her head again, looked at the funeral march in front of her with a compassionate and generous look, and sighed softly:
"Well, forget it. We are all here to relax and have fun. It's pointless to be so fussy. It's not easy for everyone. It's okay for us to help. After all, it's convenient for others and ourselves. As for compensation... there's no need for that..."
Originally, Funeral March had obviously prepared to accept the rejection, but he did not expect that the beautiful president in front of him was so kind that she was willing to put aside the hatred and shame of being frightened and accept his request. Surprised, he was extremely grateful, his white-bone face showed a weird silly smile, and he kept saying: "How can I be so embarrassed, thank you so much..."
"But..." At this time, Feiyin seemed to have forgotten the huge psychological shadow that the cockroach named "Xiao Qiang" brought to her, and she came to the opponent with a smile on her face. She paused slightly, stared at the undead warrior in front of her with a smile, and asked with great concern: "... From the city all the way to this remote snowy mountain, you must have walked a long way, right? With your level, the monsters on the road must be difficult to deal with. I guess..."
Suddenly, the president waved her hands and took out two thick stacks of potions from her magic backpack with a skillful technique that made us feel very familiar. In an intoxicating voice that was like fine wine and full of infinite affection and intense longing, she asked the skeleton warrior in front of her earnestly:
"…I think your potions need a good replenishment?"
The beautiful female magician blinked her bright eyes, tilted her head and looked expectantly at the skull of the undead warrior, with a sweet smile on her face that made those of us who had a deep understanding of her character and habits shudder...
PS: Red Wolf, Miss Feiyin's ice armor can rebound attacks, but the cockroach is just lying there without attacking, so it can't die.
Also: Miss Feiyin didn’t increase my debt because of my disrespectful behavior of teasing her with cockroaches. I was so touched…
