Chapter 1419: The Last Backbone

Whimpering wind and snow swirled in the ruined radio station.

On this land filled with the stench of blood and deep-sea filth, the girl in the hemp-yellow coat sat quietly atop the ruins, her hand gripping the gun handle so tightly her knuckles were pale.

Teacher Ye was dead. No one knew how much longer the Thought Storm he had left in Xiaotao’s mind could last. Now, every word Xiaotao spoke could be the last sound of her life...

Tension, fear, bitterness, despair.

No one knew what kind of incredible mental fortitude the girl sitting before the radio had used to endure all this. No one had imagined that she, who had been nurtured and raised within the Mother Tree, would now have to become the last backbone of the Fusionist faction.

Yes,

her body was trembling with fear, but her gaze was more resolute than ever before.

She took a deep breath and parted her lips once more...

"We are heretics... and we are sinners."

The moment these words rang out, everyone listening to the radio across all domains paused.

On the streets of the South Sea Domain, already occupied by the Forbidden Sea, the members of the Pu family desperately trying to carve out a path, and Han Meng, who was wandering through the ruins, all looked up toward the direction of the radio at the same time.

The black trench coat of the Law Enforcer fluttered in the wind, and Han Meng’s expression was complex...

"The defense line fell because of us, and the South Sea Domain was destroyed because of us... Perhaps in your eyes, we are heinous, unforgivable... Perhaps you feel disgusted just hearing my voice."

"But there are some things I must say... and now, I am the only one left who can say them."

Xiaotao closed her eyes, and the image of those corpses that had died under Teacher Ye’s gun flashed through her mind, pain appearing on her face.

Teacher Ye was dead, and everyone in the Fusionist faction was dead. If things continued like this, every child of the Fusionist faction would bear eternal infamy, buried under this wind and snow without being able to close their eyes in peace... How would future generations judge them?

Ingrates, dark traitors, vicious heretics skilled in deception, filthy Calamities wearing human skin...

The existence of the Fusionist faction would be defined as pure "evil." They would be trampled under the feet of future generations, their backbones shattered, all the beauty and innocence they had once possessed denied, leaving them to fall forever into curses and accusations like stray dogs on the side of the road.

Xiaotao knew that even if she tried to clear the name of the Fusionist faction, almost no one would believe her...

But whether they believe it or not is their business;

at least the Fusionist faction once tried to show the world the truth, tried to let the world understand this past a little better... Even if only one or two people believed what she said in the end, it would be enough.

"We truly didn't know that our consciousness and bodies no longer belonged to us... We were like a group of marionettes, held firmly in the palm of Si Zai, becoming its tools, becoming the blades pointed at humanity."

"We never wanted to hurt anyone..."

"We just wanted to have a 'home'."

Tears streamed down Xiaotao’s cheeks, dripping onto the ground and freezing into frost in the whimpering cold wind.

Xiaotao’s voice was choked with sobs. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice as much as possible...

"Since I was little, my brother taught me that if you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility..."

"I know an apology is useless, but we are already atoning for our sins... Even if this can never make up for the mistakes we’ve made, we really... really couldn't do more..."

"We are heretics, we are sinners..."

"But we are not cowards!"

The Thought Storm remaining in Xiaotao’s mind gradually dissipated, and chaos and violence once again tried to control her body.

Xiaotao’s already bloodshot eyes became even more crimson. Her entire body was trembling violently, her claws began to grow longer, and her voice began to turn hoarse, as if she were gradually sinking into a beast.

Xiaotao knew her time had come.

Her chest heaved violently, and she curled into a ball before the radio. Her hand, gripping the gun, trembled constantly. It took every ounce of her remaining strength to slowly lift it...

She pressed the cold muzzle against her own chin with her own hands.

In this moment, Xiaotao thought of many things.

Fear? Tension? Anger? Bitterness? She didn't seem to feel any of them anymore...

Memories flooded her heart like a tide. From the moment she stepped into the Fusionist Mother Tree as a child, every class, every break, every laugh, every birthday, every New Year... The warmth of the memories diluted the coldness of the gun barrel. She seemed to see those familiar figures on the other side of the shore, waving at her enthusiastically.

She parted her lips slightly, leaving behind the last words of the South Sea Domain:

"Our birth was a mistake, and our existence was a mistake..."

"But our love was not."

Bang—!!

This was the final echo of the Fusionist faction,

the confession of the penitent, and the elegy of fate.

The moment blood splattered across the ruins, Xiaobai burst through the door from outside. His heart-wrenching wails mingled with the endless wind and snow, deafening.

……

The moment the gunshot rang out,

on the throne of the underground palace, a figure in a bright red theatrical robe suddenly opened his eyes!!

Those were eyes of a hangover, eyes filled with bloodshot veins. He stared fixedly at the radio, the last few words echoing in his mind like thunder, completely dispelling his muddled sleepiness!

"Xiaotao!!"

Chen Ling didn't know exactly what had happened in the South Sea Domain, but from Xiaotao’s fragmented words, an ominous premonition arose.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Chen Ling’s bright red theatrical robe turned black in an instant, his hair drifted upward, and a terrifying aura swept through the entire underground palace!

He activated the Thought Storm, his consciousness sweeping through the various minds within the storm, finally locking onto a certain figure...

……

"Xiaotao—!!"

"Xiaotao—!!!"

Xiaobai held the girl who had fallen in a pool of blood, calling out in agony, but the only response was the sound of the whimpering wind and snow over the ruins.

Just then, the scene before him flickered slightly, and the hem of a pitch-black theatrical robe brushed against his cheek...

Xiaobai was stunned.

He looked up and saw a familiar figure standing beside him, the pitch-black robe dancing in the wind. The person looked down at the two corpses of Teacher Ye and Xiaotao, a hint of confusion appearing in his eyes...

"Great King... Great King Chen Ling!!!"

A glimmer of light finally returned to Xiaobai’s dead-gray eyes. Like a drowning person grabbing the last straw, he wailed and reached out to embrace Chen Ling.

But the next second, his figure passed straight through the pitch-black robe, and he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.