With the Blade

The emerging empire, with all its functions yet to be restored, naturally needed a lot of slaves for labor. Everywhere needed workers, and the slaves worked tirelessly day and night.

Of course, this day-and-night work referred to the pace of work. In reality, the merciful Giant King implemented a very reasonable three-shift system, requiring each person to move bricks for only eight hours a day, leaving the rest of the time for rest. But clearly, the slaves of the new empire could not appreciate this mercy. They, inherently resentful of the new empire, only felt that this approach was simply brutal and inhumane.

However, they who equated obedience with virtue did not choose to rebel. Even though the new empire’s people barely restricted them, they, disheartened, only wanted to leave—leave this land that caused them sorrow and go to a place that could bring them peace of mind.

To a place where they were under divine protection.

Of course, this might just be an unrealistic fantasy. After all, their sacred leader had long vanished, leaving only a tyrant masquerading as holy behind, only the cruel Giant. They had tried several times to explain to those people of the new empire that the so-called mercy and kindness of the Giant were mere disguises, but no matter how they illustrated the number of deaths, no one believed them.

"Our merciful King, who even cherishes the trees, would only smile if someone threw stones at him... How could such a merciful and magnanimous giant possibly kill someone?"

The people of Yellow Sand City, or rather the people of the new empire, retorted in this way.

This only made the slaves more desperate.

The land was already veiled with deceitful lies, making it unsuitable for these kind-hearted people to live in.

But where was that place under divine protection?

Could they truly reach such a place?

"Yes."

At that moment, someone stepped forward.

This person wore a hooded cloak, just like how these slaves dressed in the past. The mysterious and authoritative demeanor instantly captured the hearts of the slaves.

More importantly, the slaves felt a certain sanctity emanating from this hooded person.

"Perhaps he can really lead us away!"

At this moment, many slaves began to believe.

But even if they wanted to leave, the new empire would not just watch them go. With the new empire still in its reconstruction phase, labor was needed everywhere. How could they possibly watch these slaves escape? Yet in the face of those pursuing overseers, the hooded person displayed astonishing power, merely pausing their staff to send them sprawling to the ground.

Such behavior was tantamount to rebellion. Hence, after a few tussles, the brutal Giant King personally intervened, intercepting the fleeing slaves at the eastern seaside.

The Giant King, wielding a fiery blade, was terrifying, like a Demon God descending from the heavens. But the hooded person was no amateur either, and the two engaged in a fierce battle, momentarily deadlocked.

Although the Giant King was held off, the soldiers were not. They charged forward, trying to recapture the slaves.

It was at this moment that the hooded person brandished their staff.

"Open!"

The sea parted in front of the slaves, revealing a passageway.

"You will go there! To the land flowing with milk and honey! You are the chosen people of the gods! All of those are gifts from the gods to you!"

The slaves could not take in much more, fleeing hurriedly and escaping the clutches of the pursuers.

And precisely because of this, they did not see what happened next.

"You really are..."

The Giant King, or rather Du Chengfeng, had already put a knife back on his back, even wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"If you can’t part the sea, don’t try to act impressive. Having me do it for you, what kind of skill is that?"

"It’s a necessary process."

In front of Du Chengfeng, the hooded person, too, removed their hood.

The face revealed was none other than an exact match of Du Chengfeng’s.

But on closer inspection, this face still had some differences from Du Chengfeng. Rather than Du Chengfeng himself, it was more like a combination of Du Chengfeng and Wu Zhao—each time Du Chengfeng saw this face, it made him angry, just because Wu Zhao eventually achieved this abstract goal through some extremely unconventional means.

Yes, this was neither Da Lang Wu Zhao, nor Swordsman Wu Zhao, nor Yellow Dog Wu Zhao.

But rather, the Wu Zhao of these slaves’ imaginations.

Due to the misidentification of identities during that previous battle, the legends about Wu Zhao ultimately became distorted in the slaves’ oral traditions. And when this imagined power reflected in reality, what appeared before Du Chengfeng was this creation.

Possessing a physique almost as strong as his, and even bearing a face strikingly similar to his, this was Wu Zhao’s current appearance.

And more importantly, this Wu Zhao was not just a pure product of imagination.

Instead, it was the real Wu Zhao himself.

"So when you charged in, you had already thought this all through, huh?"

Du Chengfeng looked at the figure in front of him, especially at the steel hairpin inserted in the other’s head.

"But I’m rather curious, are the other two of you really that willing to die for you?"

"We three are one, there is no difference."

The new-born Wu Zhao smiled and shook his head.

"But still, I must thank you for your help. If not for you putting the hairpin in, this body might have just been an empty shell with a part of my experiences... Of course, in return, I will show you the way back."

"Show me the way?"

Du Chengfeng furrowed his brows.

"You’re not going back?"

"To be honest, I haven’t thought about going back."

Wu Zhao laughed.

"When you mentioned the concept of ’world’ to me, I no longer thought about going back... More worlds, more environments, more opponents, greater challenges, these are things a warrior dreams of. Why would you think I want to return?"

At this point, Wu Zhao’s voice paused slightly.

"But you, why are you so persistent about going back? Over there, there’s nothing that can be called a battle, not even someone that can be an opponent."

"I am just a man of the day, unlike you."

Du Chengfeng shook his head, declining Wu Zhao’s invitation.

Perhaps just as Wu Zhao said, traversing different worlds and seeking new opponents is indeed an enticing prospect.

But for him, he had already experienced such things.

He had already tasted the feeling of crossing worlds, and now he just wanted to go back and have a good meal.

"Well... that’s fair, it’s one way to live."

Wu Zhao was momentarily stunned, but ultimately chose not to continue persuading.

"Since you’ve said so, all I can leave you with is my blessing."

"May you always be found by dangerous enemies."

"In my view, that is the best blessing for a warrior."