Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1485 - 1478: The Purpose of This Trip

Chapter 1485: Chapter 1478: The Purpose of This Trip

"Sir, there is no need for such politeness; this is all part of my duty." The elder waved his hands and said, "I am already aware of your kindness towards the Ghost Race, so it is I who should be thanking you."

"Kindness?" Cheng Ziang asked, puzzled.

"Didn’t you help our Ghost Race escape the attack of the Faceless just a few days ago?" reminded the Ghost Race elder.

"Oh, that was mostly the great shaman’s effort. I’m embarrassed to say, we just did some trivial things," Cheng Ziang said, scratching his head embarrassedly, while he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Unexpectedly, the incident in the village had spread so quickly to Wujing Yv, to the ears of the person who should have the highest authority in all of Wujing Yv. It’s no wonder he’s the elder of the Ghost Race; even without stepping outside, he knows everything under the heavens.

"Sir, risking your own safety to save our people of the Ghost Race, such magnanimity truly impresses me," the Ghost Race elder continued with his praise.

"Uh... Elder, you flatter me..." Cheng Ziang said, a bit awkwardly scratching his head.

He obviously wouldn’t tell the elder that his initiative to save Balan was to extract memories from her mind, not really out of goodwill.

Of course, having been under Luo’er for a long time, Cheng Ziang was no longer the cold-blooded and heartless person he once was. It could only be said that both saving a life and extracting memories accounted for half each.

"Where did sir learn the language of the Ghost Race?" the Ghost Race elder suddenly asked.

"Uh, well, I learn foreign languages very quickly. I had some contact with people of the Ghost Race when I was in West Outer Heaven before, so I learned a bit," Cheng Ziang explained, his eyes darting around.

"The elder does indeed have a prodigious talent. I am deeply impressed, deeply impressed!" praised the Ghost Race elder.

"You overpraise me, you overpraise me," Cheng Ziang said, scratching his head.

He wasn’t fooled by the elder’s repeated praises and still maintained his vigilance, cautiously answering every question.

"Sir’s willingness to extend kindness to other races shows that you are a person of integrity and benevolence. I’ve asked you here to request some matters from sir," the Ghost Race elder continued.

"Elder, you are too polite, but please speak freely," Cheng Ziang nodded and responded.

Hearing his words, the Ghost Race elder suddenly closed his eyes, falling silent for a long while before slowly opening his eyes. He sighed softly and then asked Cheng Ziang, "Mr., how do you view Miss Zisu?"

"Miss Zisu treats people respectfully, carries herself gracefully, is fearless internally and undaunted externally; truly a rare and extraordinary woman," Cheng Ziang, having not grasped his intention, decided to lavish praise first.

"Miss Zisu is indeed an extraordinary woman. In my view, even some men may not compare with her, it’s just..." the Ghost Race elder said, then suddenly sighed.

"Why does the elder hesitate?" Cheng Ziang cautiously asked.

"Should sir face a formidable enemy, would you choose to fight to the death or resort to stealth and poison?" the Ghost Race elder suddenly asked, out of the blue.

"Ah..." Cheng Ziang was initially stunned but quickly responded, "If powerful, I would fight to the death. If not strong enough, then I would use poison and stealth. For me, as long as the goal can be achieved, I never consider the means."

"Does sir also think this way?" the Ghost Race elder murmured.

"If there’s no special reason, who would willingly give up their life," Cheng Ziang replied.

"Yes, that’s also true," the Ghost Race elder nodded in understanding, but then quickly raised another question, "If fighting to the death can also solely defeat the enemy, while using poison and stealth might lead to the killing of the innocent, in such a situation, how would sir answer?"

For such a question, accustomed to thinking from Luo’er’s perspective, Cheng Ziang naturally didn’t need to think before responding, "Whoever commits the crime is guilty, killing them is justified. If retaliated and the innocent are slaughtered, wouldn’t that make me no different from the criminal?"

"The gentleman’s great righteousness is admirable," said the elder of the Ghost Race respectfully.

"You flatter me, elder," Cheng Ziang nodded in acknowledgment.

"Unfortunately, Miss Zisu lacks such magnanimity..." the elder of the Ghost Race remarked with a sigh.

"What do you mean by that?" Cheng Ziang asked.

The elder of the Ghost Race did not immediately answer his question but instead suddenly changed the subject: "I heard from those around me that yesterday you were inquiring about something, may you share it with this old man?"

"Hehe..." Upon hearing this, Cheng Ziang laughed awkwardly, breaking into a cold sweat, and couldn’t help but take another sip from his cup.

"As foreigners, we are very interested in the customs and culture of this Continent, so whenever we arrive in a new place, we collect and record the local customs and culture," Cheng Ziang explained after a cough.

"I’ve heard you are quite interested in that war from years ago, am I right?" the elder of the Ghost Race continued to ask.

"Yes," Cheng Ziang braced himself and nodded, boldly looking at the elder of the Ghost Race, "I want to know why the Kyushu Empire’s army, despite having overwhelming advantages, was defeated and utterly annihilated?"

Hearing his words, the elder of the Ghost Race sighed heavily, his tone clearly changed. After a long silence, he slowly began, "This matter has always been an indelible shadow in our hearts. Although the Ghost Race has survived precariously, the spirits of hundreds of thousands haunt our dreams every night, tormenting us for centuries..."

"Why would you say that?" Cheng Ziang looked at him somewhat dumbfounded.

For some reason, he always felt that the elder of the Ghost Race seemed very remorseful; they had defeated the invading army of Kyushu, but they seemed unhappy about it, feeling as if they had committed severe atrocities.

"Like the old question I posed to you, sir, to kill in battle is to survive alone, but to poison and assassinate is to kill the innocent indiscriminately. Although it was a desperate move given our being outnumbered, it inevitably involved innocents. You might come to terms with it, sir, but we cannot rest easy," the elder of the Ghost Race said, sighing again.

"But if you hadn’t eliminated them, it would have been your doom," Cheng Ziang was taken aback, and responded with a puzzled face.

"He who commits the crime owes the guilt, there is no shame in killing in self-defense. But to slay innocents out of retaliation makes one no different than the perpetrator. This is what you said, sir, and it remains a dilemma for us," the elder of the Ghost Race remarked.

"This statement also depends on the context," Cheng Ziang scratched his head and said, "Showing mercy to the enemy in battle, isn’t that foolish?"

Hearing his words, the elder of the Ghost Race once again fell silent. It took a while before he recuperated and said, "In that war back then, we killed hundreds of thousands of the Kyushu Empire’s army, and among them, innocent people were inevitably implicated. Today, the war in West Outer Heaven continues, and Miss Zisu is repeating the tragedy of the past. I truly cannot bear to see more killing, hence I have been repeatedly evasive."

"Repeating the tragedy of the past, what do you mean by that?" Cheng Ziang caught the critical information, hence squinted and asked tentatively.

"Initially, we used sorcery on the Kyushu army, causing them to succumb to a plague and perish, but we didn’t anticipate the sorcery to be too horrifying, turning tens of thousands of soldiers to dust in the blink of an eye, and how many innocents were involved. What we did back then, was truly out of necessity. Now, West Outer Heaven has well-trained troops and sufficient resources, yet Miss Zisu seeks a quick way to victory, fearing it might cause unwarranted slaughter, hence this old man has been evasive all along," the elder of the Ghost Race sighed and said.

"So you mean to say, Miss Zisu seeks to use the same sorcery that the Ghost Race used against the Kyushu army on the Nine Thousand Battalion of West Outer Heaven?" Cheng Ziang took a sip of his drink, a look of shock crossing his face.

"Exactly," the elder of the Ghost Race nodded.

"So, Miss Zisu wants to acquire a biological weapon from the Ghost Race to use against the Nine Thousand Battalion," Cheng Ziang nodded, muttering to himself.

"Then elder, may I ask what do you intend by telling me this?" Cheng Ziang asked cautiously.

"The old man’s hope is that you sir, as an advisor, do your utmost to prevent Miss Zisu from resorting to such lethal means," the elder of the Ghost Race finally revealed his true intention.

"In that case, why not simply refuse to give such weapons to Miss Zisu?" Cheng Ziang asked, puzzled.

"No, we must make the exchange; it is a matter of gratitude between the Ghost Race and the Demon Clan. The Demon Clan once helped our Ghost Race, and now during their time of need, we cannot stand idly by," the elder of the Ghost Race shook his head.