Dominion's End

End V3C8: The Three-Forked Road, Part Two

Dominion's End Volume 3: Ice-Bound Splendor and Majesty

Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 8: The Three-Forked Road, Part Two—translated by Elkin, Ever, & lucathia 

Yeah, I can just push it all onto Jiang Xiaotian. In any case, there was something off about him, so it would be wrong if he didn't have some awe-inspiring ability.

All the soldiers looked at the little kid, while the kid himself was glowering, with torrents of icy air pouring off his body. If we didn't pursue Thirteen right this moment, the little kid would probably chase after him himself.

"You can help us first, then we'll help you kill that aberrant later." Ah Nuo seemed pretty desperate. It was clear that if he had the choice, he definitely wouldn't beg an eighteen-year-old and a three-year-old kid for help.

I was certain I could just turn and leave, despite the soldiers' unwillingness to let us go. I highly doubted that they would pull anything on us, but I didn't want to treat them that way. They were acting for the good of the refugees; otherwise, they could just pack up their firearms and food and simply leave, instead of fretting over the problem of whether the refugees would die or not.

I said slowly and clearly, "Actually, my family's in the east. My dàgē leads a troop of mercenaries and we've got firepower and supplies. My mèimei is tormenting herself like she's gone mad, because she thinks I'm dead. So honestly? I really want to go eastwards. I really fucking do."

Jiang Xiaotian lifted his little head to gaze at me, clearly biting back the words he wanted to say. But I completely ignored him. It was obvious that he'd just tell me to go home, and he'd run off to face Thirteen himself. He didn't care the slightest about what would happen to him afterwards, and even if it spelled his death, he would just think of it as the opportunity of joining his siblings from the other world.

My heart clenched. Everything fell in place. Don't tell me the reason why Jiang Xiaotian never brought up the possibility of parallel worlds is because...

I looked up sharply to see the soldiers in gloom, making it impossible for me to just immediately turn and go. Dammit, I probably can't ever get over this Mother Teresa complex!

I sucked in a deep breath and continued my explanation, "I'm just eighteen. I'm not as strong as you think me to be. And I'm definitely not an expert fighter or anything. I only know some stuff thanks to Xiaotian. And right now, I know that Thirteen bastard will kill many people in the future. If I let him go now and later hear that he has caused a massacre, I won't be able to live with myself!"

All the soldiers listened in silence. They were really well trained. If people like this were willing to come with me, I'd take as many of them as I could. But if they were the types of soldiers who could just abandon helpless refugees, I wouldn't want them to come after all. Such a dilemma!

"Do you understand me? I'm not running away, and I'm not so cold-blooded as to be uncaring about the lives of thousands of people. But I absolutely must kill Thirteen, the future aberrant elite who would fucking trample over the corpses of countless humans!"

Right after I finished yelling, Ah Nuo suddenly gave a crisp salute, scaring the wits out of me. I didn't know how to react.

Ah Nuo said solemnly, "Please kill that monster. I, Ah Nuo, thank you on behalf of all who are present here."

All the soldiers followed him and saluted when they heard that.

If I hadn't been here, these people would've probably all died? When I had found them, they were about to commit double suicide with Maternibaby, but the future Thirteen still had Maternibaby by his side... Oh yeah, in my previous life, the lieutenant probably hadn't brought anyone with him into the lab, and without them, Ah Nuo and the others probably couldn't have even gotten to the point where they could take down Maternibaby with them.