Miss Luo Yan’s Feet Are Buried With Corpses v3c88

Witch’s Night: Chapter 88 Humanity Endures

Upon the Endless Wasteland, Calamities and disasters coexist, and the capricious, harsh climate strikes fear into the hearts of men.

Aside from the mega-cities protected by the “Ember,” even large settlements possess almost no resistance when facing Calamities.

The immense power left behind by the rampaging Gods is not something mere humans can contend with.

Not even… “Destruction” level ability users.

“Let me check the location… We need to migrate at least three hundred and eighty kilometers west to avoid this Calamity tide.”

The old Sword Saint looked up at the old and young around him, seeing the panic and worry in their eyes, and sighed deeply.

Although he had done his best to find a relatively safe settlement, there was still a risk of encountering Calamities.

Therefore, the old Sword Saint had made preparations before the Calamity arrived, but he hadn’t expected this settlement to last less than three years, his preparations incomplete.

The surrounding camp clearly showed signs of being unfinished. The Calamity arrived faster than anyone had imagined.

They hadn’t even firmly established themselves before they had to migrate again.

A migration of three hundred and eighty kilometers, without any means of transportation, was difficult even for normal people, let alone this group of old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Because this was the Endless Wasteland, the only reliable means of transportation was the Lifeline.

Unfortunately, no Lifeline passed through this area… To cover these three hundred and eighty kilometers, they could only rely on walking.

“With my strength alone… this is the best I can do.”

The old Sword Saint sighed again. He knew that at least half of these people would perish in the Endless Wasteland, never seeing the end of the three hundred and eighty kilometers.

The reason these old, weak, sick, and disabled could survive in the Endless Wasteland was entirely due to the old Sword Saint’s protection.

But even “Destruction” level ability users had their limits. In the current situation… he could only make the decision to abandon half of them.

However, this was a necessary choice.

The old Sword Saint took a deep breath, forced his usual cheerful smile onto his wrinkled face, and said in a deliberately relaxed tone,

“Don’t worry, we’re just moving to a new place. Even an old man like me isn’t afraid, the journey won’t be too difficult.”

Many people in the camp didn’t know the old Sword Saint’s true identity and strength, basically just regarding him as the leader of this settlement, no different from the leaders of other settlements.

Hearing their leader speak like this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and voices rose one after another,

“That’s right, trust the old man!”

“If the old man says it’s okay, then it’s definitely okay!”

“Besides, I’m tired of this place anyway, let’s just treat it as a trip!”

–

A little girl walked up to the old Sword Saint’s side, tugged at his worn-out clothes, and whispered,

“Grandpa… if we move somewhere else, will we not have to starve anymore?”

Due to the shortage of food supplies, basically everyone in the camp was lacking clothes and food.

And although the old Sword Saint could freely enter and exit the mega-cities and buy food, for the more than three thousand people in the settlement to rely solely on him to solve the food problem was simply a fantasy.

More importantly, at least half of the more than three thousand people were completely unable to work. Under these circumstances, even Lannister wouldn’t be willing to accept such refugees.

Although if the old Sword Saint used his influence and forcibly brought them into a mega-city, it seemed like a feasible method.

But… this definitely wouldn’t be the best solution.

Putting aside whether any mega-city had ever accepted more than three thousand refugees at once, what could they do after entering a mega-city?

Could the old Sword Saint just leave them to fend for themselves?

At that point, in what capacity would he manage these people?

As the Sword Saint Sect?

The Sword Saint Sect transcends the mortal world, responsible only for Calamities.

All mega-cities tacitly accepted this stance. If this stance changed, it would definitely attract the attention of the mega-cities, and the old Sword Saint couldn’t guarantee what the consequences would be.

After all, a wandering force possessing “Destruction” level power… every move was enough to affect all other powers.

Therefore, doing this… was also a helpless choice for the old Sword Saint.

It was just…

Looking at the little girl’s eager eyes, the old Sword Saint sighed inwardly, reached out to rub her hair, and said with a smile,

“Of course, there will be lots of delicious food then… so Xiao Ya must hold on!”

“Mm-hmm.”

The little girl nodded like a chick pecking rice, then ran off, seemingly wanting to share the happy news with her friends.

The old Sword Saint watched her cheerful retreating figure, silent for a long time.

“It seems you still have many things you haven’t been able to let go of.”

An aged voice suddenly sounded beside the old Sword Saint, and a similarly stooped figure sat down next to him.

“Humans are always like this, swayed by emotions, a fleeting feeling… creating the current situation.” The old Sword Saint lowered his head slightly and said softly.

“Do you regret it?”

“…I suppose not.” The old Sword Saint turned to look at the newcomer. “And you? The First Saint, Lord Noah.”

“I… have never regretted it.” Noah smiled. “From following the Saint to protect humanity until now, even being confined in the white temple for hundreds of years, I have never felt a trace of regret.”

“But compared to you, I am nothing.” The Sword Saint chuckled self-deprecatingly. “You can save all of humanity, while I… can’t even save all of these three thousand people. What right do I have to talk about regret?”

Noah naturally recognized the old Sword Saint. Although the old Sword Saint was in his prime (his aged appearance was due to personal preference), he had also seen this young man following the previous Sword Saint Sect Master during the War of the Witch of Absolute Death.

That was a heroic battle. In the end, the Sword Saint Sect Master forced back the Witch of Absolute Death with a single strike before falling completely.

The one who inherited the Sword Saint’s sword was the young man before him.

“No matter how many people you save, even if it’s just one person, the meaning is the same.”

Noah refuted the old Sword Saint’s words and said softly,

“Set off, just like the pioneering path at the beginning of the New Era, follow your own path, and keep walking.”

Compared to the naive Qin Wen, the old Sword Saint had clearly forged his own path and held his sword firmly.

The old Sword Saint remained silent. He could feel that the old man before him, his life force had dwindled to the point of being near death.

He had recently experienced Mister Nine’s passing, and now another senior figure, symbolizing an era, was about to embark on his final journey.

He didn’t know what to say.

“Lord Noah…”

After a long time, the old Sword Saint called out the name of the First Saint, who was named after the “First City of Humanity,” his voice trembling slightly.

He knew very well that Lord Noah, having left the white temple, must have made some kind of resolution to reappear in the world.

Before the catastrophe arrived, everyone was doing their best.

To survive.

No matter what, humanity must survive.

A slight smile appeared on Noah’s wrinkled face, and he stood up tremblingly.

The busy people in the camp didn’t seem to see this dying old man, still packing up everything in the camp with a mixture of nervousness and panic, preparing for the great migration.

Children ran cheerfully among the busy crowd, and one accidentally bumped into Noah.

But when he looked up, his face was blank, scratching his head, seemingly wondering what he had bumped into.

Even in the Endless Wasteland, filled with Calamities, there was still vibrant life, like tender sprouts.

The scattered sparks across the land would eventually converge into a prairie fire for humanity.

This was enough.

Noah closed his eyes.

“Old man, old man!”

Just then, a young man ran into the camp breathlessly from outside. He excitedly approached the old Sword Saint and, under everyone’s gaze, said excitedly,

“Old man, the Calamity Messenger reported that the approaching Calamity has been delayed! We have more time to prepare!”

“This…”

The old Sword Saint was momentarily speechless. His calculations couldn’t be wrong; the arrival of the Calamity was imminent.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so worried.

Calamity Messengers were envoys who wandered between settlements, forecasting the arrival of Calamities. Their data support usually came from Noah or Dragon City.

Compared to the old Sword Saint, their accuracy might be slightly lower, but not by much.

In other words, the Calamity Messenger’s notification was very likely true.

But… why?

How could a Calamity be delayed for no reason?

Unless…

The old Sword Saint looked into the distance, but could no longer see Noah’s figure.

Unless the First Saint personally intervened, but this… was still too exaggerated.

Delaying the arrival of a Calamity single-handedly, this was simply unheard of. The old Sword Saint considered his strength to be among the top ten among all humans, but even he was helpless in the face of a Calamity.

He could travel through a Calamity, but he couldn’t delay its outbreak.

“Lord Noah… what realm has he reached?”

Thinking of this, the old Sword Saint gasped. Only now did he deeply realize that there was also a gap between “Destruction” level ability users, and this gap was sometimes even greater than that between “Destruction” and “Peril” levels.

But regardless, with the Calamity delayed, this settlement had more time to prepare for migration, no longer needing to set off in the next few days.

Although casualties were still unavoidable, compared to a hasty departure, these casualties could be considered negligible.

“Good, good, good…”

The old Sword Saint said “good” several times, the forced smile on his face replaced with a hint of relief.

“Everyone continue working. Although our migration plan will still proceed, we can… slow down a bit.”

……

Dawn Headquarters.

The two “Destruction” level leaders watched Noah leave, recalling the words spoken by this ancient legend, second only to Mister Nine, and even they couldn’t help but feel a sense of respect.

Dawn was born from humanity’s fear and persecution of powerful ability users after the disaster. Countless ability users were regarded as sources of disaster and expelled from the mega-cities.

Under the leadership of the nine Misters, Dawn went through countless hardships to reach its current significant position within humanity.

Dawn’s ideology originated from the nine Misters, but it wasn’t entirely their overly idealistic beliefs.

Before saving human civilization, Dawn valued their family more.

Their sacrifices, their everything, were all for the continuation of this big family called Dawn.

But now, the appearance of the First Saint, Noah, gave the two leaders some different thoughts.

Perhaps they wouldn’t follow the Misters’ path, not now, not ever.

But at least… they could reduce the hostility between them and the mega-cities.

The Yan City war was a war without victory, and… such a war would not happen a second time.

“Is this the leader of the Saints…”

Ronner, the current First Leader of Dawn, a “Destruction” level ability user, sighed.

The First Saint showed them the path the Misters once walked.

Yes, the Twelve Saints were the continuation of the nine Misters.

The Saint of that time, the “Mister Zero” of the past, their figures gradually overlapped.

The truth that Mister Nine desperately sought seemed to be right before their eyes.

“Hopefully, the Misters can find some solace in the afterlife…”

The Second Leader, Wu Jianming, whispered.

A brief reconciliation, a lasting peace.

……

Upon the vast land, countless mega-cities were scattered across various regions.

The footprints of humanity in the New Era had covered everything from Noah to the ends of the earth.

The embers of civilization were once extinguished by a sudden disaster, but the remaining ashes struggled to ignite sparks.

Now, these sparks had spread to wherever human footprints reached, and the beacon of civilization was lit once again.

The Twelve Saints, the nine Misters, they were all keepers of these beacons, passing down the torch of civilization from generation to generation.

The First Saint set out from Noah, following the path the Saint once walked, witnessing the resurgence of human civilization.

Yes, even though the situation was still difficult, the civilization inherited from the Old Era finally blossomed in the New Era.

Noah traversed the entire land with his own feet, and the end of his journey was where it all began.

In the final moment, Noah stood on the top floor of the Noah Church Cathedral, overlooking the bustling New Noah.

Even if one Noah was destroyed, another Noah would rise again.

Even if human civilization was once on the brink of extinction, a new civilization would be reborn from these ashes.

Humanity would never be manipulated by the will of the Gods. Everything would reach its end through struggle, even if the end was unknown.

Noah looked up and saw a dazzling and beautiful false starry sky. This was the last trace left by the Gods in the world, like a shadow covering the entire humanity.

But…

“Human civilization will endure forever.”

“Even if… we defy the Gods.”