Chapter 221 : The Bright Ember Kingdom's Dungeon
At that time, Lonis thought long and hard, not knowing how to act.
From society's moral standpoint, she should take the old man back to town... If he could receive treatment, he should be able to live a bit longer in a hospital bed.
But was that the ending the old man hoped for?
No, it wasn't...
Gazing at the old man's face, Lonis discovered that although his eyes were small, they contained a glimmer of light—that was his definition of his own life.
People couldn't decide their birth, couldn't decide their gender, couldn't decide their race, but...
They could decide their own death.
This was the dignity of being human, and Lonis knew the old man had come all this way for that dignity.
However, at the same time.
If she helped the old man, wouldn't that be the same as killing him?
Although she could respect the old man's thoughts, doing so would be assisting suicide.
So the Lonis of that time hesitated.
Because she discovered that the best way to save the old man was to kill him... And in the end, Lonis didn't help the old man fulfill his request either.
She neither sent the old man back nor took him to find monsters, but simply left.
......
......
And thinking about it now, not making a decision back then was a sign of her own immaturity, wasn't it?
......
"Lonis..."
"Ah, ah... it's nothing."
Because she was thinking so intently, it was only after Suling's repeated calls that Lonis came back to her senses.
"Um, was Lonis just thinking about something that happened in the past?"
"Eh... Suling noticed?"
"Mm, although I don't know what Little Lo was thinking about, that contemplative expression was really cool, just like a boy."
"Cough cough!"
It was fine when Suling didn't mention it, but once she did, Lonis nearly choked... What did she mean "like a boy"—she was originally a boy!
However, this was still a compliment, so Lonis wagged her tail and said with feigned coolness: "Let's not talk about that. The past is a shackle—the more you carry, the less you can see the path ahead."
"Eh?"
"I think what that golden-haired girl wanted to tell us... was probably not to underestimate the Bright Ember Temple~"
"Underestimate..."
"Mm, although we've visited three temples relatively smoothly, if we think the journey ahead will naturally be smooth too, that would be a big mistake. Nothing in this world is taken for granted—we must be extremely careful and vigilant about everything."
"I, I see. Lonis is amazing!!!!!"
......
......
Actually, although Lonis sometimes got carried away easily, she fundamentally wasn't an idiot.
As the Hero who saved the world, Lonis's achievements along the way were definitely not accomplished merely through "good luck" and being the "chosen one"... In fact, she had many brilliant qualities back then.
For instance, her intuition was very accurate:
Although she wouldn't think deeply about many things, she could distinguish most things through feeling alone.
Although she encountered quite a few bad people along the way, she never truly suffered losses.
"Hmph, truly worthy of being the Hero that Prince Ruowei Palace mentioned—you really do have some skills."
Watching Suling and Lonis conversing, the golden-haired little loli smiled faintly: "But if you knew the truth hidden beneath the Bright Ember Kingdom, how would you react? Would you still maintain such confidence..."
......
"Then let me witness it here."
After preparations were complete, everyone set off directly.
Although Lonis repeatedly tried to persuade her, Zhou Suling insisted on going... Even when Lonis wanted to seek help from Elucia, hoping this black-hearted girl would help her persuade.
But the final answer was also...
"Mm, I actually quite approve of Suling having this spirit."
"Wah ah, great... Little Lo, see, even Elucia supports us."
"E, Miss Elucia, why support Suling? The Bright Ember Temple seems very dangerous."
"Because without experiencing danger, how can one grow? Life always has many firsts."
"Uh..."
"And this time, our journey is relatively safe. Although it's the underground continent, it's still near the Bright Ember Temple—truly terrifying monsters won't approach at all."
"Wuu..."
Since even Elucia said so, Lonis had no choice.
......
......
The entrance to the teleportation array was located underground in the royal capital, but coincidentally... its location was exactly the Bright Ember Kingdom's dungeon.
"Guests, it might be a bit smelly here—let's walk quickly."
"Mm..."
But unlike ordinary dungeons, the Bright Ember Kingdom's dungeon mainly imprisoned not humans but various monsters.
This really opened Lonis's eyes.
Not only were there familiar goblins and slimes, but even some beastmen and gnolls.
These all belonged to the demon tribe, but were low-level demons—more like animals than humans.
They looked fierce and menacing, not losing their wild nature even when imprisoned... And according to Sethilu, these demons were actually tools used to train their warriors.
"Although it might sound somewhat cruel, many combat techniques can only be learned at life-and-death moments."
"Eh?"
"Every shield guard of our Bright Ember Kingdom must undergo trials against monsters before graduation. And every year during trials, people get injured fighting monsters."
The Bright Ember Kingdom was on the edge of human civilization.
In other words, beyond them lay demon territory. This country was in constant warfare year-round, naturally developing many martial customs.
But Elucia, perhaps remembering something, suddenly asked Sethilu: "Then Princess Sethilu, did you also fight these monsters?"
"Eh? In my case..."
"I can sense that you don't seem like a hothouse flower—were you also trained in this kind of dungeon?"
Elucia blinked.
When they passed the prison earlier, quite a few monsters had rushed to the cage fronts, roaring desperately. But Princess Sethilu was like someone strolling through a garden, not even blinking an eyelash.
......
"I'm actually... quite shameful. I was once captured by demons and even trained by them."
"Eh? Captured and trained?! By beastmen?"
Lonis was shocked. Although she respected Princess Sethilu, her mind involuntarily conjured strange scenes like 'Defeated Princess and Beastmen.avi'—the silver-haired princess surrounded by a group of beastmen, her clothes torn all over, her body covered with strange liquids.
But just as she thought this, her tail was tugged by Elucia.
"Wuu ah?!"
"Lonis, don't make such a strange expression... We're discussing serious matters now."
"Wuu..."
Lonis fearfully clamped her tail tight, but Sethilu seemed completely unbothered and just said:
"Hehe, it's okay. Actually, being trained is also part of our Bright Ember Kingdom's trials. Without this trial, I would never have understood the true essence of Bright Ember power."
"Eh?"
"Only by experiencing corruption can you know... what purity means. This is the duality of Bright Ember."
Princess Sethilu nodded and said very seriously.