Chapter 285-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
At the edge of the fields, a train hurtled past with a roar.
Wu Shu sat atop the train, scanning the surroundings with vigilance. Her cropped hair whipped wildly in the wind. She was somewhat annoyed at having failed to protect her cap, which had met its untimely end during the fighting.
Attached to the rear of the train was a special open-top car carrying white remains, barreling onward. The train would stop at a designated point, then the cargo would be transferred to its arranged destination.
Wu Shu was exhausted. To keep the plan on track, the moment she'd received word at the upper district's Public Security Bureau, she'd rushed to the West District in the lower district to rendezvous with Archbishop Annabelle, then set out to raid Sierra's base.
She'd assumed that with Sierra gone, the remaining people would be easy to handle. To her surprise, Sierra's defenses were far more cautious and thorough than she'd imagined—as if she'd anticipated this very move.
Those people not only showed no fear of the Dragon Bones but guarded them like a sacred relic. It was only after Annabelle and the Papacy's forces pinned down the frenzied Disciples that Wu Shu got the chance to board the train and escape with the Dragon Bones.
Wu Shu raked a hand through her hair in irritation. Since when had Sierra's IQ leveled up with every setback?
She had no idea how Annabelle and the others were faring, nor what was happening on Ye Zheng's end. She needed the biting headwind to keep her nerves sharp.
"We're here!"
After what felt like ages, Wu Shu spotted familiar scenery, and the fatigue in her eyes vanished in an instant.
The train eased to a stop in the deserted outskirts. Wu Shu leapt down from the roof and opened one of the car doors. Inside, two enormous raptor-like creatures lay curled up, their heads drooping listlessly.
Wu Shu let out a sharp whistle. The two giant birds spread their wings and squeezed their way out of the car. Under her forceful direction, they gripped the Dragon Bones at the train's tail.
These two had been confiscated during her work as a Public Security Bureau captain, clearing out certain gray-market operations—illegally bred creatures, already trained to be obedient and docile.
Wu Shu stepped onto the Dragon Bones and vaulted up onto one of the giant birds' backs. With a long, soaring whistle, the two birds lifted off with the Dragon Bones in tow.
—Their destination was Divine Plaza at the very heart of the East District. That was where Ye Zheng had arranged to meet her.
Everything was proceeding steadily according to plan. Wu Shu gazed down at the cramped buildings and deserted streets below and felt a surge of exhilaration. A hum was just about to escape her lips when she caught sight of the East District train station in the distance.
A dense mass of people packed the station inside and out, churning like boiling water—jarringly conspicuous against the empty cityscape.
Wu Shu's expression shifted. She was too far away to make out the details, but the station's situation clearly fell outside their plan. The foot traffic was well beyond projections—completely gridlocked.
Suddenly, a jolt ran through Wu Shu's heart. An irresistible force tugged her gaze backward, and her eyes flew wide.
In the distance, white domes of light sat overturned on the ground, expanding outward at a pace barely perceptible to the naked eye. More alarming still, as far as the eye could see, several Demonic Domains stood like white hillocks, nearly encircling the entire district!
When had they appeared? One, two, three, four... seven. Seven Demonic Domains had materialized simultaneously!
Beyond their sheer number, she could faintly sense that their danger levels were equally staggering.
Wu Shu didn't know what had happened at the train station earlier to prevent the trains from running on time, but even if order were restored now, the trains could no longer operate—
Not just trains. No one would dare walk toward the Demonic Domains, either. Until they vanished, everyone was trapped inside the district.
Ye Zheng's main force was busy fighting the aristocrats' army and securing the safety of the district's residents. There was simply no way to deal with seven sudden Demonic Domains in the short term—an event unprecedented in imperial history!
...No, actually, there were accounts from when the Demon Dragon walked the earth—it had inflicted multiple Demonic Domains on a single area at once, just like this.
Wu Shu's expression grew conflicted. She was one of the few who knew Ye Zheng intended to resurrect the Demon Dragon. When Ye Zheng had told her, she'd felt bewilderment, confusion, and shock—but out of trust in Ye Zheng, she'd committed to the plan.
Yet not even Ye Zheng could be omniscient. She probably hadn't foreseen that concentrating all the Dragon Bones in the East District would trigger something like this...
The giant bird beneath her let out a shriek. Wu Shu released the feathers she'd nearly plucked bald, wobbled to her feet, and squinted into the distance. The statue of the God of Hope stood not far off, growing ever taller and clearer.
*
At the main train station, panic spread and swelled. Seven Demonic Domains appearing at once—it was the stuff of nightmares!
Even the White-Clad Knights struggled to calm the terrified crowd. People screamed "Run!", "The Demonic Domains are coming!", "Hide!"—and many were swept up in the hysteria, shoving their way out from inside the station, desperate to flee to the district center, as far from the Demonic Domains as possible.
At the same time, a considerable number of people who had chosen other means of transport came rushing back in a panic.
Seeing the Demonic Domains continue to spread, they broke through the security cordon and surged into the city. There, beyond the shelters, stood Divine Plaza—the plaza blessed by the God of Hope, safer than anywhere else.
It was at this moment that Heath appeared on the station's outskirts.
After helping Ye Zheng eliminate the old guard and secure the Dragon Bones, her task on Ye Zheng's side was technically complete. But—
The task the Emperor had given her was not yet done.
"Take your people to the lower district."
"Don't bother about those people's lives. Your objective is to stop Ye Zheng."
"This handful of people is giving you trouble? Heh—sending so few against her was admittedly disrespectful."
The Emperor's expression had been dark and menacing, his gaze piercing as though he could see right through her. Heath had bowed her head deeply, listening to his final order.
"If you discover Ye Zheng acting out of the ordinary—leaving the base with the Dragon Bones, appearing somewhere outside the battlefield—report to me immediately."
"The moment she tries to... I will show no mercy in bringing down a true divine punishment."
Heath stared at the abnormal Demonic Domains in the distance, her face draining of color.
She was almost certain these Demonic Domains were connected to the "divine punishment" the Emperor had spoken of. Yet she hadn't reported a single thing to him!
She had agonized over it. If the Emperor later discovered he hadn't received a timely report, combined with Roy and the others' inexplicable deaths, he would surely suspect her relationship with Ye Zheng. Out of suspicion and rage, he might simply dispose of her...
But in the end she'd chosen to withhold information. The Emperor's contingency could not only derail Ye Zheng's plans and cause her to fail, but might also endanger the innocent civilians of the East District.
By every moral principle and lesson she'd absorbed, as a future ruler she bore the responsibility and duty to protect these people—just as Ye Zheng did. Having resolved to walk the path of a true sovereign, she had to accept the corresponding burden.
A thought struck Heath. Her heart skipped a beat, and her face went paler still.
That man had no moral compass, no sense of responsibility whatsoever. If he had a ruthless means of stopping an enemy, he would never hesitate.
He'd been testing her from the start. He had other informants. Regardless of whether she reported Ye Zheng's anomalies, these Demonic Domains were always going to appear!
The order he'd given her was merely to gauge her loyalty.
...And she had been exposed.
Heath stood rooted to the spot. Fleeing people jostled past her shoulders, but no one paid any attention to this well-dressed girl. Even those who spared her a glance found nothing remarkable about her unfamiliar face.
Her four accompanying knights shielded her from the bumping crowd, until a small child crashed into her leg and burst into tears, snapping Heath back to the present.
This was Heath's first time in the lower district. The chaotic scene was so overwhelming she couldn't even register a single face—faces that belonged to citizens of the Empire.
"Stop them," Heath said abruptly. The knight at her side didn't catch it at first; the noise around them was simply too loud.
"I said, stop them! Use your abilities to stop them!"
At the princess's sharp command, one Royal Knight reflexively activated her power. A gust of wind erupted from flat ground, sending several people crashing down hard. Those behind couldn't stop in time and tripped over them in a pileup. Piercing screams erupted all around.
The commotion and cries from the front gradually cowed those in the rear. They halted, trembling, whispering among themselves.
Heath regarded the fear on the people's faces. They studied her with frightened, bewildered eyes—they didn't know who she was, yet were cowed by the authority she projected.
"Ha..."
This was her first impression on the public. Not the warm, benevolent, dignified image she'd envisioned, but something alien even to herself.
Heath's heart pounded at this unfamiliar feeling.
She looked at the seriously injured person on the ground. She tried desperately to summon some guilt, some pity—but deep down, all she felt was the firm conviction that it had to be done.
She'd already shown her hand to the Emperor. At this point, Ye Zheng had to succeed!
The East District center—Divine Plaza.
When Ye Zheng saw the white flashes of light appearing one after another across the sky, she felt surprisingly little shock.
After rescuing Wu Shu and exposing her efforts to gather Dragon Bones in the middle district, Ye Zheng had known the Emperor must have deduced her purpose.
To stop her—to prevent the Demon Dragon from returning to the world—he would use any means necessary.
Ye Zheng stood beneath the towering statue of the God of Hope, quietly surveying her surroundings. This was the very center of the East District.
Using this statue as the focal point, she would radiate her power across the entire district and bring about an upheaval in the truest sense.
"Ye Zheng."
An untimely figure stepped into her field of vision, his expression dark and smoldering, as though suppressing extreme rage.
"You killed Roy." Percy's jaw trembled as he ground out each word.
"Roy was not killed by me."
Percy's expression only grew more furious. He clearly didn't believe her, but Ye Zheng was indifferent.
Ye Zheng produced the silver badge from inside her robe. It gleamed brilliantly in the refracted sunlight, almost blinding. Her eyes, too, seemed to glitter.
"I merely took the Dragon Bones."
"Your goal is to resurrect the Demon Dragon, isn't it? Why on earth would you do this!"
Disappointment threaded through Percy's fury. "You killed Roy, dragged all these people into it, and now the East District's residents can't leave because of the Demonic Domains. Even so, you're going to press on?"
"You'll get tens of thousands of people killed!"
Such a grave accusation. Ye Zheng merely let out a faint, almost imperceptible laugh.
Surrounding the East District with Demonic Domains was precisely the Emperor's aim. As long as people remained trapped here, duty would compel her to waver and hesitate.
They accused her of being cold-blooded and heartless with their words, yet in their hearts they knew perfectly well: she cared about innocent lives—and they exploited that, consciously or not.
Under Percy's burning stare, Ye Zheng tossed the badge into the air and caught it again, like the pendulum of an indecisive clock, making hearts rise and fall with each anxious glance.
She tossed it once more. Her fingers snapped shut around it mid-flight. A beat of stillness—then she hurled it aside with force!
The badge shattered on impact. White remains materialized on the ground out of thin air, their crushing weight sending a tremor through the earth!
In Percy's suddenly wide eyes, Ye Zheng's smile deepened. Standing before the majestic statue, she unclasped the white bracelet from her wrist.
She tossed it casually over her shoulder.
The bracelet, roiling with chaotic energy, struck the grand statue and burst apart at once. Dragon Bones plummeting from above instantly toppled the statue of the God of Hope!
With an earth-shaking crash, the powerfully sculpted male deity crumbled to nothing in the blink of an eye. The greater portion of the Dragon Bones took its place amid swirling clouds of dust, standing solemn and imposing at the center of the plaza.
Ye Zheng emerged slowly from the curtain of dust, her white robe still pristine, sacred and awe-inspiring as a deity herself.
She tilted her head ever so slightly—brazen provocation and contempt conveyed without a single word.
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