Chapter 104: The Godslayer Army’s Only Trial

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To be honest, the God-Slaying Army had only been established a very short time. These young men and women had become superpowered individuals and joined its ranks less than two weeks ago.

By all rights, such a brief period should not have been enough for them to form any real bonds.

But this was the God-Slaying Army!

Even though they had been together for less than two weeks, they had endured demonic training side by side and fought shoulder to shoulder only moments ago…

That kind of bond was not measured by time.

It was the bond that allowed one to entrust their back to another!

Those three young men and women had been their comrades—the comrades with whom they had trained and fought!

For a time, every member of the God-Slaying Army fell silent, their eyes reddening.

One of the young men was covered in teeth marks and claw wounds. Both his arms had vanished, leaving behind only bloody shoulders.

Yet even so, his teeth remained clamped around a snowman’s throat. He had not loosened his bite even in death! Though his own neck had been torn until the flesh was a mangled ruin, he had still bitten through the snowman’s throat!

And then there was the young woman.

She looked frail, with a quietness etched between her brows.

Yet this seemingly delicate girl had seized an extraordinarily powerful snowman with both hands, clasping it tightly against herself. A grenade pin was looped around one of her fingers.

Her chest, and the snowman’s chest as well, had been blasted completely open.

She had used her own life to perish together with a snowman.

Their faces had been different, but all bore the same fearlessness. Even in their frozen eyes, flames still burned fiercely.

At their age, they should have been laughing with their brothers on a basketball court, or studying for their futures in bright classrooms.

Yet now…

They had died here on the battlefield!

Their laughter had vanished forever, and their futures, once filled with hope, had been cut short.

But there was not the slightest trace of regret in their eyes. They had died without regret!

They had protected Great Xia without regret!

“Xiaoya, get up.” A young woman stared blankly as she tugged at the dead girl’s arm. “Get up. You said you wanted me to teach you how to braid your hair. You said you never did anything at home, that you didn’t know how to do anything… Get up. I’ll teach you how to braid your hair…”

“Was it worth it?” Dao Wanchian sighed from the side.

The Daoist tradition emphasized withdrawing from worldly affairs, but watching these flower-like young men and women vanish just like this, even Dao Wanchian—with decades of mastery over his emotions—could not stop his eyes from turning red.

They should have been the age to lose themselves in variety shows. The new generation of idols singing and dancing on television was around their age.

Yet these young people had fought for Great Xia, bled for Great Xia, and, for Great Xia…

They had sacrificed themselves!

“Was it worth it?” Dao Wanchian looked toward Lin Fan, whose face remained expressionless.

For the first time, he felt that the young man before him was utterly cold-blooded.

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Lin Fan knew what he meant.

Was it worth it?

Lin Fan could clearly have ordered the soldiers outside to bring in all manner of modern firearms. Though these snowmen were powerful, they had not fully awakened. They could easily have been killed with modern weaponry.

With dozens of heavy and light machine guns firing together, it would have been a one-sided slaughter.

In fact, Lin Fan could have requested tens of thousands of troops and simply flattened the entire place.

But he had not done so. Instead, he had sent these young men and women of the God-Slaying Army into the cavern to engage the snowmen hiding within in bloody combat.

Was it worth it?

“There is no question of whether it was worth it or not.” Lin Fan gazed at the three dead members of the God-Slaying Army, at those three young men and women, and spoke softly. “I know you blame me, Dao Wanchian.”

“I could have brought the soldiers outside in.”

“But have you ever considered that in a cavern like this, even special-forces soldiers equipped with modern firearms would be unable to use those weapons to their full effect against these snowmen? At the very least, dozens of them would still have to die.”

“They… are people of Great Xia too.”

“Of course, I could also have requested tens of thousands of troops to come and flatten this snowy mountain.” Lin Fan’s voice was calm. “But if I did that, what use would there be for my God-Slaying Army?”

“We are, by our very nature, the blade held at Great Xia’s front!”

“We are weapons forged to pierce the hearts of gods!”

“Our future enemies will be even stronger and more terrifying than these prematurely awakened snowmen!”

“If we still wish to hide behind ordinary soldiers now, then when the gods descend—when gods whom even modern firepower cannot oppose lead tens of millions of believers into Great Xia—where will we hide then?”

Lin Fan’s voice grew louder and louder, as though he were answering Dao Wanchian, and yet also speaking to every person present.

“We are the fortress of Great Xia, meant to stand before others and let them hide behind us!”

“We are the swords meant to pierce the gods!”

“We are, by our very nature… destined to die!”

With a sudden motion, Lin Fan raised his head and looked toward the sorrowful young men and women.

“You have now seen the result of this path—the worst possible result, and also the one most likely to occur.”

“I am not trying to frighten you. The next person to die may be anyone here. It may be the friend standing beside you, or it may be you.”

“Now, I give you a choice!”

“Those who are afraid, take one step back, turn around, and leave! Let someone else die in your place. From this moment on, you may withdraw from the God-Slaying Army and hide behind others!”

“When danger appears, you will not need to face it. You will not need to bear it. You will only need to hide behind others and watch us die!”

“Those who are not afraid, remain and continue fighting for me! Be prepared to die at any moment! Fight for those who do not wish to die, for those who stand behind us, and for Great Xia!”

The scene fell silent.

Lin Fan looked at each and every one of them and shouted, “I am not joking. This is your final opportunity, and your final test!”

“Those who wish to leave, step back now and turn around. I will not stop you. I will arrange vehicles to take you back to school. From this day forward, someone else will die in your place!”

“But those who wish to remain will, from this moment on, be true members of the God-Slaying Army. You must always be prepared to die. You will die, you will witness the deaths of the friends beside you, and you will see countless others perish!”

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“Perhaps in another six months, if I am still alive, only a handful of you may remain before my eyes!”

“Now.” Lin Fan exhaled slowly. “Choose.”

It seemed that any superpowered individual could join the God-Slaying Army simply by signing up.

But now, the first test had arrived.

It was also the last test.

The only test.

Life and death.

It had nothing to do with strength or abilities. It tested only whether one possessed the courage to face death head-on.

Silence.

Looking at the three fallen comrades, some felt their legs tremble.

Some stifled their sobs.

Some turned their faces away.

They were afraid of death.

No one could feel not the slightest fear before death—unless they were fools or mentally deranged.

Yet no one stepped back.

In the silence, someone suddenly shouted, “I don’t need anyone else to die in my place!”

One stone stirred a thousand waves.

Those who remained alive had eyes burning red. They clenched their fists and, one after another, stepped forward!

“We are the proud sons of Great Xia! How could we hide behind others?”

“For those who do not wish to die, and for those who stand behind us—we fight!”

“Until death, we will protect Great Xia!”

The sorrow from moments earlier vanished without a trace.

Only a soaring battle spirit remained!

They would fight for Great Xia!

In this world, people would inevitably have to die. What, then, was there to do?

Sing at the top of one’s voice, and die standing tall with one’s head held high!

The people of Great Xia had never lacked the courage to face life and death!

Dao Wanchian raised his head. Above Great Xia, he saw the lion of national destiny throw back its head and roar, as though it might swallow the heavens whole!