Chapter 53: The Brew of Hope

Yu Lian froze. Ash froze. Everyone froze. Naturally, even Baka the Bearman was utterly bewildered, even though his face was splattered with the reddish-brown blood and spilled viscera of the Sandman.

It was not until the two smooth halves of Grand Elder Hesen's body hit the ground that everyone remained in a daze.

"Whose... whose kill is this supposed to be?" Ash finally managed to ask after a long moment.

"The lion's share is his, of course." Yu Lian pointed matter-of-factly at Baka the Bearman.

"Th-th-this..."

"Unfair, right? You took the most damage and exerted the most effort, but I can vouch that he dealt the final, most critical damage!" Yu Lian said with a straight face, holding back a laugh.

"Officer, I—I don't need..." Baka stammered, looking ashamed and cowed as he frantically shook his head. Disregarding his massive build, blood-spattered face, and half a length of intestine dangling from his shoulder, he truly looked like an honest, simple-minded farmer. Naturally, he would never dare to vie for the spoils of war with a "superior officer" like Yu Lian and an "Awakened lord" like Ash.

"Shut up, if I say you get it, you get it!" Yu Lian said. He was in an exceptionally good mood. The Grand Elder being hacked to death meant that history had truly been altered; Senior Sister would presumably not have to spend half a year lying in a nutrient vat. As for who delivered the final blow, or whether an extra person had to share the loot, those were utterly trivial matters.

The Bearman sergeant shut his mouth gloomily, shrinking his head back and saying nothing more. He still felt he was undeserving and was filled with apprehension, feeling like a field vole that had accidentally stolen the village squire's watermelon.

Yu Lian glanced at the fellow with a look of exasperation, then looked at the crystals of various colors condensed on the corpse, confirming they were Seven-Shining Stones, and of a rather high grade at that. Still, that was all they were. Although Seven-Shining Crystals were also Zero Elements, they were the most frequently found, had the largest (known) reserves, and were the most widely applied among all Zero Elements.

"The quality and purity aren't low, but they're certainly not as valuable as my bag of mithril," Yu Lian concluded internally, before turning to Ash. "The reason you didn't dodge earlier and took that blow head-on—was it because you were afraid of hurting the other ordinary soldiers?"

Ash was startled, then offered a non-committal smile. He said nothing, but the way the others looked at him changed completely in an instant.

Yu Lian pointed at the Seven-Shining Crystals and said, "You can take those first, appraise them, or consider whether they can be used to forge a magical item suited for you. Discuss it with us after you've thought it through. Baka, does that sound alright to you?"

Naturally, the Bearman dared not raise any objections and nodded frantically. Ash picked up the crystals from the corpse with a constipated expression that seemed to say, "I've been thoroughly ripped off," but the moment the items were in his hands, his face blossomed into a wide grin.

Even the most "common" Zero Element was still a Zero Element, especially when the quality was this exceptional.

Lieutenant Parkin glared at the Bearman with envious eyes, though it looked more like the natural reaction of a colleague whose coworker had just won the lottery rather than any malicious intent. He gritted his teeth and finally spoke, "Sir... uh, Ensign, shouldn't we do something about, well, the enemy leader's body?"

According to standard protocol, Hesen's head should have been severed and put on public display for several days—this was the Governor's Mansion's routine procedure for dealing with rebels, as human rights were naturally never extended to colonial indigenous people. However, the man was a Psion after all, and since they had taken the Seven-Shining Crystals generated from his corpse, things naturally had to be handled according to the Awakened Watch Convention.

Although Yu Lian sneered at the convention's artificial categorization of Psions into a privileged class, he felt that giving an opponent's corpse the proper respect was only right. He looked at the unblinking, dead-fish eyes on the half-corpse of the Grand Elder, sighed, and while apologizing mentally, used the camera on his captain's suit to photograph the Grand Elder's body from various angles, recording the coordinates as well. Only then did he use a Psionic shockwave to blast a pit into the ground.

"Baka, you were the warrior who ended his life; you should preside over the burial. Mm, the Sandmen have a tradition of cremation. Take a few warriors and find some totem poles—yes, their banners! Build a pyre for Mr. Hesen and cremate him. Keep his ashes; we'll scatter them in the inner lake later," Yu Lian instructed the Bearman.

Naturally, the Bearman had no objections. He felt that presiding over the funeral of a powerful Psion—even if it was an enemy—was an immense honor, and his eyes filled with gratitude and yearning.

"Oh, right, if Senior Sister... Commander Bonaparte's troops arrive, report everything that happened here in detail."

***

Baka the Bearman once again displayed an expression of overwhelming, stress-induced bewilderment. Commander Bonaparte, such a towering leader? How... how am I supposed to talk to her?

"As for us..." Ash supported his waist, looking as though standing was a tremendous struggle, with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Keep going! Didn't I say, until we see Kaz Khan's corpse, this mission isn't a success!" Yu Lian said. "Besides, don't put on that heavily wounded act that screams 'I need to rest.' Didn't you have a flashy nickname like 'Nine-Life Bird Ash' back at the Mercenary Training Camp? That meant you had nine heads, nine lungs, and infinite stamina with an endless health bar!"

Ash felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He covered his face and straightened up, losing even the desire to argue.

Naturally, he found it even harder to understand why Yu Lian was taking this so seriously, so he pointed due east. "There are faint psionic fluctuations over that way, but I'm not sure if it's your target."

Yu Lian felt it too, but after careful consideration, recalling the records of Kaz Khan's movements in "future" history, he shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No, we're heading back! Back to the Archie Highlands!"

*Hah, judging by that preoccupied look of yours, this Kaz Khan fellow must be terribly difficult to deal with, right? But I've never even heard of him; he's probably just some obscure tribal chieftain, isn't he? Such deep-seated resentment—could it be that he stole your girl?*

*Wait...*

*To make someone suspected of being a contemporary Templar Pilgrim Alliance Sword-Bearer—or even an imperial bastard—pay this much attention, could he possibly be some peerless grand demon king merely disguised as a petty chieftain?*

*Well, such a situation wasn't entirely impossible. For certain high-ranking, specific Psions, disguising oneself as a Sandman was nothing; swimming through an asteroid belt disguised as an amoeba wasn't beyond them.*

*So, this matter might look like a mere indigenous rebellion against the colonial government, but behind the scenes, it could involve a much larger conspiracy? A grand conspiracy vast enough to drag in the Templar, the Alliance, and the Empire all at once?*

Ash felt he might be overthinking things a bit, but he simply couldn't control his imagination. Regardless, the fellow named "Kaz Khan" was definitely no ordinary person and had to be dealt with properly.

Kaz Khan, who had lost almost everything overnight, naturally had no idea that Ash had mentally cast him in the role of a cosmic-level grand demon king. This future "Father of Sandman Independence" displayed extraordinary psychological resilience at that moment. After standing stunned in place for less than a minute, he licked his lips and swallowed the remains of his wife—which he had been clutching tightly to his chest—whole into his stomach.

He tightened the unharmed amulet around his neck, found an iron spear to steady himself, and pushed himself up.

He surveyed his surroundings, looking like an outsider as he watched the Sandmen scatter in panicked flight. He listened to the direction of the artillery fire, glanced up at the sky, and then limped away, following the flow of the retreating crowd toward the northeast.

As he walked, his movements seemed to grow lighter and his pace accelerated. His injuries seemed to be abating, and his stamina was recovering.

A few minutes later, when he was fully capable of walking upright without relying on the iron spear, Miyun's voice came from behind him.

"Kaz? Kaz! Great, I finally found you."

Kaz Khan turned his head to see Miyun riding toward him on a swift dragon while leading another by the reins. Relief initially crossed her face, but it quickly turned to sorrow. She did not see the Mentor, and with her intelligence, she naturally guessed what had happened. Even so, clinging to a sliver of hope she herself dared not believe, she asked with difficulty, "Where is Mentor Hesen?"

"...He stayed behind to cover our retreat. He told me I had to get you out safely, Kaz. He has pinned all his hopes on you."

"Is... is that so?" Kaz sighed, but it was nothing more than a sigh.

Of course he was grieving, but at this moment, he didn't even have time to mourn. Instead, as someone destined to become a hero, he felt a heavier sense of mission and responsibility.

"Abandon the swift dragons! They're just targets," Kaz Khan told Miyun.

Miyun hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately chose to trust him.

"Enemies are everywhere. In the sky, on the ground, everywhere. We have no way to regroup our forces to cover a retreat, and blindly following the main body of retreating troops will most likely just get us hunted down by the Terran airships... Right now, we can only head north," Kaz Khan continued.

"North? Ah, the Inland Sea?" Miyun suddenly realized.

"Yes, we can slip through the Inland Sea and break away from the battlefield!" Kaz Khan said.

Xinyumen was a water-scarce, arid planet. The Inland Sea bordering the north of Tulong was the second-largest body of water on this world, roughly the size of the Caspian Sea. Although the Sandmen lived in a world of endless wind, sand, and stone, they possessed reptilian-like physiognomy, with a built-in air sac under their jaws that allowed them to swim submerged in shallow water for extended periods.

Both companions were decisive individuals. Having made their decision, they immediately put it into action, abandoning their mounts and mingling with the massive crowd of refugees as they inched their way northward.

Kaz Khan's judgment was correct. Over the next hour of their flight, they truly encountered no pursuers. The greatest danger was a bomb dropped by a drone that exploded more than fifty meters away. During this time, Miyun casually treated the injuries of her companion, future leader, and whatever else he might become to her.

Standing by the shore of the Inland Sea, watching the ripples extending beyond the limit of vision, Miyun said to Kaz, "Your cultivation path grants you the strongest regenerative power and stamina, but there's a limit to it; you must be cautious. Also, if the situation turns critical, please be sure to protect yourself—even if it means completely abandoning and running away without me!"

"Don't be a fool! I've lost too much today; I cannot afford to lose any more! I will definitely fulfill the Grand Elder's dream, but I can't do it alone! Don't you know, we must stay together."

Miyun seemed to want to say something else, but was directly interrupted by him.

"Let's go! For the future of the Sandmen, we must protect ourselves!"

Miyun's face flushed slightly with overthought and shyness, but she quickly snapped out of it, stamped her foot, gritted her teeth, and followed him.

The two Sandman Awakened elites silently slipped into the water, hiding in the shallows near the beach, letting the shadows of the mountains and highlands mask their blurred forms in the water as they carefully pressed forward.

Then, another hour or so passed, and they finally began to leave the noise and bloodshed of the battlefield behind. Through the ripples of the water, Kaz Khan could see the escalating ion energy shields rising over the highlands, bathing the surrounding lake water in a gorgeous, haunting blue—how magnificent, and how brilliant!

"This was originally supposed to be a magnificent spectacle recorded in our epics! It should have been the sound of war drums as we shattered Tulong!" The thought filled Kaz Khan with heartbreaking grief.

He forced himself to dispel these emotions, sped up his swimming, and sought to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Right then, a red beam suddenly swept across the water's surface. Like an osprey spotting its prey, it locked straight onto their position.

The dense sound of "pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft," carrying immense water pressure and a crushing sense of crisis, came down upon them from above.