Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 330 - 207 Daughter of Death (4)

Chapter 330: Chapter 207 Daughter of Death (4)

Alcohol is a good thing.

It helps people forget the sadness and fear in their hearts, the pain in their bodies.

Although it is only a temporary numbness, at least during this time, those soldiers are carefree.

The cheap and spicy drink burns as it goes down their throats, quickly heating up their bodies, but there are some things that even alcohol cannot hide.

The death of so many comrades ultimately leaves indelible scars in their hearts.

They wear smiles on their faces celebrating this victory, yet tears flow from their eyes because no one knows when they might end up dead like their comrades.

Banar seemed to have completely adjusted his mindset, completely unaffected by the deaths of so many teammates and the words Qin Chu had earlier spoken, clamoring to have Qin Chu, Princess Carol, Holy Son Oniens, and Rose Vesper from the Imperial City make speeches.

Qin Chu never interested in such matters, was just about to refuse when Holy Son Oniens had already stood up first.

Perhaps accustomed to such events, Oniens carried himself with ease and showed no stage fright.

He cleared his throat, standing amidst everyone, and although they were all comrades just out of a war, Oniens clearly did not regard these soldiers as his comrades.

In his eyes, one could intermittently feel disdain.

He and they were different; even if they appeared in the same war, he was nobler than them.

Oniens cleared his throat again, beginning to speak in the unique tone of a Holy Person,

"This time, our victory was due to the protection of the Holy Light Goddess and the Earth Mother Goddess."

"Without the Goddesses’ protection, we would have neither the strength nor the courage to confront the demons, and we would have perished under the hooves of the demons. This victory will strengthen our faith, leading us along the correct path."

"Those who died are to be pitied, but that is only because their faith was not strong enough."

"The assault of the demons is not a disaster, but a test from the gods. Only the most devout believers will survive such a test."

"Look, in our Earth Mother Goddess Sect, not a single person died from the demons’ attacks, this is the best proof."

Qin Chu’s eyes widened.

Is there really nothing wrong with this guy’s brain?

We just lost so many people and just secured a victory in the war.

And then you say the victory is because of the Goddesses? So, all those soldiers died in vain, is that it?

Sure enough, a dead silence surrounded the area, no one made a single sound. The soldiers, although drunk, had not completely lost their consciousness.

In their eyes flickered barely concealed anger. They had sacrificed so many comrades and resisted for months under poor conditions, and you just come up and steal all the credit?

Yes, no one in the Earth Mother Goddess Sect died.

Isn’t that because apart from you and the Holy Daughter, everyone else hid in corners and never directly confronted the demons?

And you dare to boast about this?

Do you not know what shame is?

Holy Son Onions spread his arms wide, as if wanting to embrace the applause of worship from around him.

Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat awkward, it was Banar who first reacted, clapping vigorously. Guided by Banar, sparse applause finally echoed around.

At this tepid response, Onions scoffed dismissively, noting they were indeed a group who lacked proper manners.

After Onions had left, it was Princess Carol’s turn.

Princess Carol was much smarter than Onions; she didn’t mention the Royal Family’s role in this war at all. Instead, she merely informed these soldiers that the son of Duke Marta, who had fled the battle, and a Marquis who embezzled military pay and trafficked military resources—altogether seventy-two Nobles—had already ascended the guillotine, paying a heavy price for their greed.

This announcement cast a somber mood around, and many soldiers began to weep quietly. If not for these greedy Nobles, their brothers wouldn’t have suffered such severe casualties.

While executing these nobles was a good thing, the brothers who had died could never return.

Rose Vesper originally planned to comfort the soldiers’ spirits and then promote the glory of the Holy Light Goddess and her role as the Holy Daughter, but she perceptively sensed that the mood was off and refrained.

Qin Chu was the last to speak, also serving as the grand finale.

After a brief hesitation, Qin Chu, holding a bowl of wine, stepped into the middle of the crowd surrounded by thousands of soldiers, with the bonfire reflecting in their eyes, the flames dancing within.

Silence.

This oppressive silence lasted for quite some time before Qin Chu finally slowly spoke:

"Is this worth celebrating?"

His voice, deep and suppressed, was filled with a profound sorrow for humanity.

"I want to ask all of you, is this truly a victory?"

Qin Chu’s voice echoed in the ears of many soldiers.

Everyone murmured these two sentences. Is this a victory? Is this worth celebrating?

Ten thousand men reduced to fewer than seven thousand—what kind of victory is this? Are we to celebrate the death of over ninety thousand brothers?

Qin Chu’s voice still floated on the wind.

"We have lost so many companions, who can never return to their homes, to hold their wives and children."

"Their lives are forever left here, their wives and children unattended in the city, subjected to humiliation and even tragic deaths!"

"They should not have died; they did not die at the hands of Demons but at the hands of those seventy-six greedy Nobles."

"Even though those seventy-six Nobles have been executed, I still don’t feel there is something to celebrate, for the dead can never return."

Soft sobbing sounds came from around, and these surviving soldiers all knew that Qin Chu was right—this was never something worthy of celebration.

Those who died today were their comrades, and tomorrow it might be another surviving companion, possibly oneself... One’s own wife and children could also end up with the same fate.

Qin Chu took a breath; he said nothing more, just raised his hand, allowing the wine to pour onto the ground:

"To those fallen warriors!"

Smack!

The wine bowl in his hand shattered into pieces on the ground.

A gloomy oppression enveloped the surroundings, everyone’s heart was filled with sorrow, yet their eyes flickered with light.

Princess Carol’s brow furrowed, she wanted to refute Qin Chu but did not know where to begin.

She knew that what Qin Chu had said hit the greatest defect of the Empire, but she was powerless to change it... The greed of a single noble could lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, this world was not fair.

Just then, Holy Son Oniens stood up, his complexion ugly, "Mr. Brave, what do you mean by saying these words? Are you accusing the Empire’s noble system?"

"Don’t forget your identity; you are merely a hero, summoned only to combat those demons. You have no business meddling in affairs of the Empire."

As a beneficiary, who was also a noble and a Holy Person, Oniens would not allow Qin Chu to sling mud at the Noble Class.

Qin Chu laughed. Calling heroes over, just to use them as tools to fight demons, was the thought of all the upper echelons of the Sky Dome Continent, but Oniens was the first to say it outright.

"Even if those nobles did indeed make some mistakes, they have received their punishment. Moreover, this punishment was unprecedentedly harsh, direct execution, which should be enough to compensate for the lives of 93,000 civilians."

Inas nearby was desperately giving Oniens eye signals, but this foolish man acted as if he saw none of it:

"Now, we are enjoying the pleasure of victory, Mr. Brave, you should not spoil the mood at this time."

Mood?

It seems Oniens hadn’t noticed the mood around at all.

A small mistake? Was it just a small mistake?

The lives of 76 nobles, 93,000 civilians.

In the eyes of such upper-class people as Holy Son, it seemed they were equal... oh no, not equal. From the tone of Holy Son, it was quite clear that the lives of 93,000 civilians were nowhere near as valuable as those of 76 nobles.

Perhaps, this was really what the upper society of Sky Dome Continent actually thought?

As a commoner, it truly was sad.

The people of this world didn’t care at all about their survival.

On the contrary, a hero summoned from a Different World would grieve over the loss of so many lives.

There were rumors that Mr. Brave was a Divine Envoy, an angel descended.

It must be so, perhaps only a real angel could possess such a compassionate heart?

The deathly oppressive atmosphere dragged on unknowingly for how long.

Finally, Commander Banar stood up.

Followed immediately, one after another, all the soldiers stood, even the wounded used their spears as supports for their bodies.

They all raised their wine bowls together:

"To those warriors who have died!"

"To those brothers who have fallen!"

The voices of seven thousand people mixed together, rolling over everyone’s ears like ocean waves, deafening.

Like an earthquake, like thunder...

Oniens’s complexion turned somewhat pale; the light in those people’s eyes scared him.

The Holy Persons and knights also subconsciously shrunk their bodies, their throats dry, constantly wriggling, swallowing non-existent saliva.

They didn’t understand why a group of commoners who had nothing, just shouting a few slogans, could scare them so much.

They were even somewhat afraid to watch such a scene.

Crack...

Following that, the sound of breaking wine bowls lined up in a straight line.

Every upper-class individual who heard this sound involuntarily trembled, their hands and feet chilled, their scalp numbing.

All the warriors’ eyes filled with admiration as they looked at Qin Chu, moved by Mr. Brave’s kindness and goodness.

That kind of gaze made Oniens extremely jealous and angry; he couldn’t understand why his speeches proclaiming the glory of God left them indifferent. Were these lowly commoners utterly unable to comprehend what he meant?

Every time he spoke at the Earth Mother Goddess Sect, it elicited an overwhelming applause from countless followers!

Watching this scene, Princess Carol suddenly sighed; she knew, the Empire was probably going to change!

Just at this moment, a night breeze blew through.

The campfire in front of them, the flames surging up from the vast number of burning corpses in the distance, suddenly quelled.

The whole world seemed to have dimmed a bit.

An indescribable chill was approaching, and Qin Chu’s body suddenly broke out in goosebumps, a thick darkness enveloping everything.

Violet, who was originally sitting on the ground, changed her complexion; her body suddenly stood up, swiftly walking to Qin Chu’s side.

A huge phantom appeared in the sky, her beautifully curved silhouette followed by strands of black mist trailing like her beautiful long hair.

Her face was unclear, but if faintly visible, it seemed to give an illusion that she should be a stunningly beautiful lady.

Her image bore some similarity to the phantom of the Goddess that had once appeared behind Qin Chu, yet the color was entirely opposite.

Her arms gently opened as if enveloping something.

Strands and threads of faint phantom began to drift from the ground, from the flames.

Qin Chu’s pupils slightly contracted; he saw them, those were souls.

They were the souls of dead soldiers, trapped in this land, entering the embrace of the giant phantom.

Deep within Qin Chu’s mind came Shaye’s deep, oppressive voice, Qin Chu had never felt Shaye’s voice so solemn:

"Be careful."

"That is one of the most powerful existences among the existing witches, the Daughter of Death!"

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