Chapter 11

The autumn wind howled, and the grass and trees turned yellow. The earth seemed to be wrapped in a golden robe.

In front of the fruit tree, Xiaolan stopped, looked up, and reached out to pick the red willow fruit within reach.

The fruit was about the size of a baby's fist, with a green skin that had not yet ripened. Taking a bite, it was somewhat sour and astringent. After a few bites, the sourness gradually disappeared, turning into a clear sweetness.

Because this was a wild red willow fruit tree, the taste of the fruit was far from the sweetness of those cultivated and cared for by humans. However, Xiaolan was content at this moment because he had no better choice.

Lifting his robe, he put the picked fruit inside. He was in a hurry; finding this fruit tree had already taken a lot of time, and he needed to return quickly because someone was waiting for him, along with the fruit in his arms.

The shrubbery was very quiet, and occasionally, the autumn wind blew, bringing the rustling sound of branches and leaves.

Perhaps it was his nerves, or perhaps he was worried about something, or maybe he was anxious about something. Xiaolan just wanted to leave this place and return to the starting point as soon as possible.

After picking about a dozen red willow fruits, he hurried back. In his rush, a few red willow fruits fell from his arms, unnoticed. In the future, they would be pecked by birds and insects, slowly rot, and eventually turn into fertilizer for the soil. Perhaps, the seeds inside the fruit would sprout unexpectedly and gradually grow into another fruit tree.

Often, people are like these fruits, discarded intentionally or unintentionally. But people have thoughts, while fruits do not. People can be angry, sad, and silent like fruits.

Xiaolan suddenly felt a palpitation, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily. His steps became more urgent, and the obstructing branches and leaves made him increasingly frustrated, even feeling that they were deliberately blocking him.

He seemed to hear a sound, like a cry for help, or a laugh. He thought it was an illusion, but when he forcefully pushed aside the last obstructing branches, he lowered the hand holding the fruit in his robe, because it was not an illusion.

Karam's team, sent by Sakh, had discovered Lisanerona while Xiaolan was picking fruit. They were very happy and joyful, galloping up and forming a circle around them, laughing.

They didn't run away because they were too panicked, and the reins of their horses had become tangled. When Lady Lisan used the sword Xiaolan gave her to cut the reins, Karam had already surrounded them.

Rona was crying, shouting for her father, mother, and Xiaolan, but only Lady Lisan was in front of her. She held the long sword tightly, trembling with fear, the tip of the sword swaying and pointing at the surrounding Osasu barbarians.

Karam and his men dismounted. Because of the language barrier, Lady Lisan couldn't understand what they were saying to each other, but it definitely wasn't good, perhaps even dirty.

Lady Lisan's sword was knocked away by an Osasu barbarian who stepped forward. She didn't react in time, and a rough, strong hand grabbed her from behind. She heard the barbarian's rapid breathing and smelled a foul odor. She struggled fiercely.

Rona cried and hit the barbarian holding her mother, even biting the hand that held her mother. The barbarian, feeling the pain, screamed and threw Rona away with a violent swing.

Perhaps she bit too hard, and the thrown Rona's mouth was full of blood because a few of her teeth had been knocked out. Lady Lisan struggled and shouted her daughter's name, but she couldn't break free. An Osasu barbarian stepped forward and tore off Lady Lisan's dress, causing her to scream even more sharply.

Rona tried to stand up, but she couldn't. She was at a loss, slapping the ground with her small hands, crying loudly for her mother because she couldn't save her.

An Osasu barbarian walked up and picked up Rona, holding her like a kitten. Rona's limbs flailed aimlessly, and a large hand slapped her face. Her struggling limbs went limp, and her cheek quickly swelled. Lady Lisan, who was being held down and humiliated, struggled and cried even harder, but she couldn't move. Her weak body was held down by the barbarians, and she could only make sounds.

No one stopped her heart-wrenching cries because her screams only made them more excited.

The barbarian holding Rona threw her onto a horse. She was his war trophy, and he didn't want to kill her, so he knocked her out. But this little thing would make a good slave in the future, perhaps even worth thirty sheep.

Xiaolan watched the scene not far ahead, his mind blank. He didn't understand why everything had changed in the time it took to find food. Why? He began to regret it. If he hadn't looked for food, if he had endured and rested for a moment before leaving, everything would have been different.

But there was no "if," so the tragedy before him seemed unreal.

No one could tell him why all of this was happening.

Xiaolan came to his senses, somewhat losing his mind. He began to run forward, his only thought to kill them all.

The Osasu barbarians who were taking turns with Lady Lisan's body had noticed Xiaolan's sudden appearance, but they were reluctant to stop. When Xiaolan charged forward, a few unwilling Osasu barbarians picked up their weapons, deciding to quickly kill him and continue their pleasure.

A voice in Xiaolan's mind told him he had no weapon, and to kill them, he needed one. He saw the long sword stuck in the ground not far away; it was his sword.

He wanted to get it, but the Osasu barbarians approaching him didn't want to give him the chance. Stone axes, maces, and short spears attacked without order, but their goal was to kill the young man in front of them.

Xiaolan's speed was very fast, perhaps due to the threat of death. His movements were faster and more agile than ever before. He dodged attacks from different directions, and his goal was only the sword.

The distance shortened with speed, and in the blink of an eye, Xiaolan reached the sword. He grabbed it, but he couldn't pull it out because he couldn't.

A short spear protruded from his chest, and he was pierced.

He had left his back to the enemy and didn't notice the danger behind him. The moment he grabbed the hilt, a barbarian he had thrown behind him threw his short spear at the wild rabbit running across the grassland, and he hit it.

After being pierced, Xiaolan's strength seemed to drain from his body instantly. He felt cold, the cold of death.

He knelt on the ground, his hand holding the sword losing its strength, and his body lost balance. He couldn't control it, so he fell.

He heard the laughter behind him, the weakening heartbeat, and Lady Lisan's painful cries. He saw the sky was still so blue, Rona hanging lifelessly on a horse, and a barbarian moving forcefully on Lady Lisan's body.

His vision became increasingly blurry. He was familiar with it because he had experienced it before. He knew his consciousness was slowly fading, and he was about to fall into endless darkness.

He wanted to laugh, to cry.

Even with all his efforts, he couldn't escape the mockery of fate. Was this the world's rejection of him? Perhaps he, who didn't belong to this world, was truly rejected.

He felt tired and wanted to lie down and sleep.

"..."

"Host is near death, system activation...1%...7%...15%..."

Xiaolan seemed to hear a mechanical voice echoing in his mind. He remembered the mechanical voice from the character creation in "Eldran's Sky," perhaps a remnant of his subconscious, or perhaps in his final dream.

"30%...48%...57%...69%..."

Why was the dream so real? The mechanical voice made Xiaolan's remaining consciousness even more confused.

"76%...88%...82%...96%...99%...100%... Host system activated..."

"Host is about to die, do you want to activate the Death Desperation?"

Huh? What is Death Desperation?

The confused mind asked unconsciously.

"Death Desperation: When the host is about to die, activating Death Desperation restores consciousness and body, connects to the world's FerNu law, lasts 30 seconds, and has a cooldown of 360 natural days."

"Note: After activating Death Desperation, if the host cannot control the world's FerNu law, their consciousness and behavior will become chaotic and uncontrollable, with the host's safety as the top priority."

Although he didn't know what it was, it sounded powerful. Was it the influence of his past gaming experience on his subconscious? Anyway, it didn't matter.

Activate it.

After Xiaolan's mental response, he didn't know that the entire world was boiling, and his future was deeply entangled in it.

When the sky suddenly darkened and then returned to normal in the blink of an eye, the ordinary people of Eldran didn't notice anything, but...

The ancient council hidden in this world, the dark颠覆者之獠牙, the radiant sanctuaries spreading among the people, the Pale Song gazing at the stars, and the Arbitration Scales reviewing the earth... From the birth of Eldran to the present, countless people who sought the highest FerNu law felt the chaos and disorder of the FerNu law lines in that moment. They realized that some existence had interfered with and controlled the highest FerNu law and then disappeared without a trace.

But they saw the direction of the appearance, and countless people were guided, ordered, and dispatched... They had a common goal, like a flood converging toward a place in Eldran.

Huroshan, who was resting in Laidan, was suddenly disturbed. He, who was half a step into the FerNu law realm, suddenly felt a disturbance, and the direction of the disturbance was to the south, as if it was a warning.

At his level, he couldn't understand the deeper meaning of this disturbance, but he knew he couldn't go south because there was something that could destroy him there.

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