aircannonsinc Chapter 106 Wanting to live is of course not a crime
Chapter 106 Wanting to live is of course not a crime
Chapter 106 Wanting to live is of course not a crime
Gail was a farmer who had lived in Baihe Town for generations.
Besides his wife, he only has an eight-year-old son at home.
He was quite satisfied with his life. Although White River Town was not as prosperous as Frostbite Territory, it was still a good place to live.
Nominally, this place belongs to the Frost Lord, but it is located on the border and is almost completely isolated from the world, except for the tax collectors who come to collect taxes regularly.
In fact, because it is so remote, tax officials sometimes even overlook this place.
Throughout his life, he never met his nominal lord; the highest-ranking person he ever met was the town mayor.
Compared to that lord, Mayor Burke, who was once an extraordinary being, cared more about the townspeople.
At least he wouldn't be like other officials in the Frost Territory, arbitrarily finding some excuse to confiscate their grain.
The North is harsh and cold, and crop yields are not high, but it is a world where the extraordinary exist, and there is a kind and warm-hearted mage in White River Town.
With the help of this elderly superhuman, Gale's family had a considerable surplus of food, as did everyone else in town.
Gail had thought she would repeat the process of sowing and harvesting like her father, eventually handing the hoe to her son.
But two things happened later that disrupted everything.
First, a dragon appeared out of nowhere, causing chaos in Baihe Town for quite some time.
Fortunately, the dragon was hunted down not long after, by a passing dragon hunter.
He was genuinely grateful to the dragon hunters and even gave them some of his own vegetables when they left.
Then... the second thing happened.
Frostfire Pass fell.
Dragon Prison was transformed into the lair of a red dragon, and Frostlands was seized by the Dragon Worship Cult.
When the news reached Baihe Town, the army of the Dragon Worship Cult was not far away.
Gale saw that when the town's best hunter dragged his battered body back into town, he was almost covered in blood.
Several gruesome wounds on his body were constantly oozing blood, and no one could imagine how he had managed to get back.
Gale swore he had never seen so much blood in his life.
Then he heard the message the hunter had risked his life to relay: the devastating news that the Dragon Cult army had arrived.
In fact, in addition to human believers, this army also included goblins, dark elves, and other creatures.
But regardless of who they are, they are all here to destroy Baihe Town.
And so, Gale's life was ruined.
The army of the Dragon Worship Cult easily caught up with the fleeing townspeople.
The leader, a fair-skinned young man who looked like a nobleman, ordered the soldiers to surround them and began to read out the so-called "crimes" they had committed.
"Those who protect blasphemers, who disrespect the great dragon, who commit blasphemous acts... sinners, deserve to die!"
The soldiers raised their knives, and the townspeople were basically powerless to fight back.
Mayor Burke, who upheld the code of chivalry throughout his life, remained true to it in the end.
When the massacre by the Dragon Cult came, this knight did not retreat even a single step.
Until he fell to the blade, until iron hooves trampled over his body.
Gail held his son's body in his arms, with his wife's body, almost unrecognizable, beside him.
The blood gushing from his son's wound stained his clothes, and for a moment, he genuinely wondered if he had committed some crime.
He, and everyone in the town, just wanted to live, to live without the threat of the evil dragon. Is that a crime?
He didn't know, and he didn't get an answer.
Whether it was lucky or unlucky, he wasn't killed by the Dragon Worship Cult, but was imprisoned in a prison van like the rest of them.
What followed was a continuous torment.
He had assumed he would end up like the others, dragged behind the horse, his clothes and skin scraped raw by the dirt and rocks, eventually bleeding to death.
But this time, he was wrong again.
The two dragon hunters reappeared, not only annihilating the Dragon Worship Cult's army but also rescuing the prisoners.
He didn't know why they had appeared or why they had come to his rescue; he could only barely make out a few words.
"It was just a small thing."
The man carrying the greatsword unlocked the prison cart and released all the prisoners, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.
Just as he said, rescuing them was a piece of cake for him.
When the man asked about their experiences in Baihe Town, for reasons unknown, Gail stepped forward and opened up about her own past.
Finally, this honest farmer, who had lived an honest life, stared into his still unmoving pupils and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Is it wrong for us to want to survive?"
Modi looked at the farmer, saw his cloudy eyes, and answered without hesitation.
"Of course not. Humans seek survival, animals seek survival, and even the dragon worshipped by the Dragon Cult is no exception."
Nobody wants to die, and those who constantly think they don't want to live will most likely regret it when the time comes.
"Then why do they all say we are guilty?"
"You are innocent, none of you are guilty, the so-called guilt is just their side of the story."
If offending a dragon is a sin, then wouldn't I, who personally slayed a dragon, be dead long ago?
Modi pointed his spear at the body on the ground and spun it halfway around.
"Those who worship dragons only have their own gods in their eyes. They always say that dragons are the noblest and greatest creatures in the world, while degrading humans and other races to dust."
Ironically, it was the very dust they despised that brought the soaring dragon down from the sky.
Can dust really bring down a dragon?
Gale looked at his hands, which were covered in calluses. No matter how you looked at them, they seemed more suited to holding hoes and sickles than bows and spears.
Can these hands alone bring down the mighty dragon?
He didn't think the dragon hunter would lie, because he had nothing left to lie about.
"How is Baihe Town now?" Mo Di asked.
Gail said dejectedly, "It's ruined, completely ruined, burned to the ground."
Modi then realized that he hadn't noticed the town when he flew through the air; it was completely destroyed.
In other words, these last townspeople are now homeless and must either move elsewhere or return to the ruins to rebuild their homes.
After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"Do you have anywhere else to go? If not, why don't you come with me to Winter's Throat?"
"Winter's Throat? Isn't there nothing there?"
"Yes, we'll have shelter, food, everything. So, will you come with me?"
The Shuang family needed people to build it up, and Modi was happy to do this easy task.
Gail took the bread he was offered, and he was sure he had never seen bread with such a beautiful color.
The taste was also excellent; he swallowed the bread in just a few bites.
The other townspeople were the same as him.
Modern bread naturally tastes much better than Itniti bread.
Modi has stored quite a few of these breads in the Death Prison demiplane, all of which are preserved using preservation spells developed by the Styx Law.
As for why there was so much bread, you'd have to ask Aken, who went out to buy it.
After the townspeople finished their bread, they looked up at the man who was waiting for their answer.
He remained expressionless, as if he didn't care what their response was.
For some reason, Gale felt an impulse to respond first.
"I'll go with you."
Thus, Modi, who came alone, left with more than fifty followers.
Fortunately, the bighorn sheep used for pulling the carts were still there, and the prison vans could be modified and used as handcarts.
This saved them the trouble of walking.
Frost's Tomb.
As soon as the original residents of Baihe Town stepped into this place, they all hugged each other tightly.
They were, after all, mortals, and could not withstand the Frost Tomb, which was filled with the aura of the dead.
"If they continue to live here, they will likely contract various diseases from the necromantic aura, and may even be afflicted with the curse of death."
Elena leaned close to Mordi's ear and whispered something.
The girl's warm breath brushed against his ear, the contrast of hot and cold creating a white mist.
"I know, so I will suppress the necromantic aura here first, and let them move out to live when they have finished building their houses outside."
Modi rolled his eyes and caught a glimpse of the girl's rosy face out of the corner of his eye.
She then realized that they were standing too close, and quickly shifted her body, trying to appear calm as she said:
"What about food? How are you going to solve the food problem? You can't exactly conjure up bread, can you?"
Elena was curious about the origin of the bread and was waiting for his explanation.
"Indeed, there is a large amount of food stored in my Death Prison demiplane, enough to feed them for a month."
With a casual wave of his hand, a rift opened in the Death Prison demiplane, from which emerged demon soldiers carrying sacks of food on their shoulders.
They neatly piled the grain on the ground, then silently walked into the crack to continue carrying more grain.
Demons can survive without food, relying solely on magic, so this food is not prepared for them.
Modi had a premonition that he would need manpower, so he stockpiled food in advance, which came from Amelikan.
Those grain merchants probably never imagined that their goods would be sold in another world.
"And what are these?" Elena pointed at the demons, then at the demiplane rift.
"My demonic minions, and the entrance to the demiplane."
Elena nodded, seemingly understanding.
She had heard of both "demon" and "demiplane," and they were even mentioned in her textbooks.
"You've only been gone for three months, how come you have a bunch of demons as your subordinates? And a demiplane too? This doesn't seem like something you should have at this stage!"
To her question, Mordy answered in a half-joking tone:
"This time I went to inherit the position of crown prince of a kingdom, and I also got a lot of benefits from my mother, who is an immortal queen."
"Although my first thought was, 'You're kidding,' I can't think of any other possibility."
Elena's expression was strange, but she still chose to believe him. She knew Mortis's character and knew that he sometimes liked to tell the truth in the form of a joke.
Moreover, all indications suggest that he was telling the truth.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to acquire the power to kill four Four-Seal experts and a bronze giant within three months.
"By the way, what are you planning to do with that bronze giant?"
Elena pointed to the corner.
In the corner, a massive mech lay flat on the ground, awaiting activation.