Chapter 44: Defeat! Escape, Escape, Escape
[In the moment your minds falter, a woman’s angry shout awakens you, "Run quickly, I’ll hold him off. Escape as far as you can, and never return."]
[The voice belongs to the girl clad in blood-red armor, but her appearance has dramatically changed. Her exposed body is now fully covered by the blood-glowing armor, and she wields a long red sword with an unknown flame in her right hand.]
[The man initially suppressed by Xia Qingxue’s aura reacts with a mocking rage upon hearing the girl’s shout, "Hongkai’Er, I think you’ve gone mad."]
[The man maneuvers the mecha to sidestep Xia Qingxue, and swings a giant long blade intending to cleave through the girl in red armor. Despite the vast difference in their sizes, her small blood-colored sword stands its ground against the massive blade.]
[With no time to focus on the battle, you pull Xia Qingxue along, fleeing to the distance. In the last flash of your vision, you see the girl in red armor climbing the giant mecha’s body, dodging mechanical arm attacks, aiming to seize the operator in the cockpit.]
[You and Xia Qingxue run for your lives until you reach the secret passage, where you finally breathe a sigh of relief.]
[The escape route is perilous, with mechanical legions swarming the streets. If not for the timely appearance of Black Demon One, diverting most of the enemy’s firepower, reaching this point would have been nearly impossible, as your potions proved ineffective against the mechanical soldiers.]
[Looking at the now unmasked secret passage, Xia Qingxue hesitates. She says she doesn’t want to run anymore, as continuing to flee will mean more people dying because of her—her childhood friends, your pet, the kind noodle shop elder, and others caught in the crossfire.]
[Your life is at a crossroads, be cautious with your decision.]
[Option A: Agree with her decision and return to the battlefield with her. Even knowing death awaits, I will face it with a grin, challenging, "Hurry, take my life, you scum."]
[Option B: Scold her and reveal the cruel truth—that those who stayed behind to cover for you have no chance of survival. Only by escaping can you honor their sacrifice.]
Chen Pingchuan feels a tightness in his chest,