Book 3 Chapter 6.6 - Long Journey
"She's called Kalena, my daughter. Since you found this place, it should be for me. I am Kahli. Twenty years ago, everyone called me Steel Kahli." The old man stood up. In these few seconds, he looked like he had become much older and weaker.
Even though he was being aimed at by the muzzle, Su still had absolute confidence in dodging out of the way in time.
Kahli arrived in front of the living room counter. He poured himself a full glass of strong alcohol and downed it in one go. When he breathed out again, there was a strong alcoholic smell. He moved the pistol a few times and said to Su, "You, sit on the other side."
Su moved over to the other side of the counter rather obediently. This bar counter was made of a thick piece of real wood, enough to block a large half of his body. Right now, he had even more confidence in avoiding Kahli's bullet, but he wasn't in any rush. From the looks of it, Kahli was going to drink more, so he might as well wait for him to speak after drinking again. From the materials, Kahli had six levels of Combat Domain ability and five levels in weapon proficiency. An individual like this couldn't be underestimated even if he was already 70 years old.
Somewhat unexpectedly, a bottle of alcohol was slid over the counter, resting in front of Su's face.
"Drink, youngster. That way, it's fair." Kahli poured himself a cup.
Su hesitated. His fear towards strong alcohol was much greater than that of bullets. What was strange, however, was that he couldn't feel much hostility or killing intent from Kahli's body. This didn't seem all that right. After all, Su had just killed his daughter.
When he saw Su raise the wine glass and slowly drink from it, Kahli nodded in satisfaction. Only after a large glass of strong alcohol was drained did he say, "Youngster, you are much cleaner than the other Black Dragonriders. This is the reason why I invited you to drink a cup. You are quite like how we were 30 years ago."
"Clean?" Su was somewhat surprised. He had killed quite a few people, maybe even more than most dragonriders.
The old Kahli seemed to have seen through what Su was thinking. He pointed at his brain and said, "I'm not talking about how many people you killed, but instead talking about this! The current Black Dragonriders only have slaughter, power, wealth, and desires in their brains. They don't know restraint at all. Desires without restraint will all ultimately lead to destruction. I did not see any desire from your eyes."
Su didn't answer this question. If he didn't have Persephone or Madeline, if he didn't feel a strange fear hidden deep within his body, Su was quite willing to live out a simple life, just like how Kahli was.
"It was old Morgan that sent you to kill me, right? He is quite good at choosing people. This fact has never changed." A red flush had already appeared on his face. The expression of his eyes was a bit scattered as well.
"I received the mission from a mission distribution officer. I do not know if the one that gave me the mission is General Morgan." Su replied rather honestly.
"Mission distribution officer? The Black Dragonriders really are becoming more and more like a country machine." The old Kahli ridiculed. He filled his own wine glass again before saying, "It was definitely that old Morgan. The two of us has fought over ten years of wars, and sending you over is just his style. Just like how he understands me, I similarly understand him."
Kahli looked at his daughter's corpse. She looked like she was asleep, seeming extremely peaceful. He remained silent for a moment. Then, he slowly said, "Kalena, my daughter, will be 30 years old after a few days. She cannot see, but she has a strange spirit reaction ability. Your stealth abilities are quite impressive, and not even I could detect your traces, but she knew. When you entered, she definitely pointed her gun at you, as if a trap had already been set up, just waiting for you to come."
Su nodded. This was precisely the feeling he had when he saw Kalena, as well as the reason why he attacked with full force. This was an instinctive reaction when facing a powerful opponent.
Kahli sighed and said, "She cannot see, and even when her eyes were good, her marksmanship was still extremely poor. Nine years ago, Morgan's people found us, and back then, I just happened to be away. The people Morgan sent killed her husband and her newly born child, and then those three dragonriders and their subordinates tormented her for an entire night! When I hurried back early morning the next day, they still hadn't finished. I killed all of them, and then brought Kalena with me into hiding. However, since then, whenever evening came, she would always stay in the living room alone while holding a gun to fight the enemy she imagine in order to protect her lover and child. During these nine years, she has always lived in that hell like day, never changing back."
Su remained silent. He never thought that there would be so many secrets involved. He could imagine Kalena's suffering. When Madeline was taken away by the Spider Empress, he had also gone through an entire year of adjusting. A woman like this actually died in his hands. When Su looked at the seemingly sleeping Kalena, his chest began to tighten slightly.
Right at this moment, a frigid coldness suddenly pase over Su's thoughts. Without taking the time to think, his legs forcefully kicked the bar counter, and then his entire body shot out like a bullet, smashing through the wooden wall outside the building.
Bang! The high energy explosive heat's blast waves fiercely collided with Su's curled up body, directly sending him flying 20 meters out!
With a tong sound, Su heavily fell onto the ground. As soon as he made contact with the ground, Su immediately bounced back up. His four limbs pressed against the ground, and like a crab, he shifted sideways with lightning speed.
However, the bullet that Su was waiting for never came. He only heard a heavy sound. The old Kahli was flung onto the ground like a broken sack by the explosive energy.
The wooden house had long been flattened. Even Su, who had preemptively dodged out of the way of the intense explosive force, broke a few bones, so there was even less of a chance that Kahli whose abilities had weakened along with his aging would make it out completely unharmed. Su walked over to Kahli's side and slowly squatted down. This old man had definitely left behind a heavy footprint in the history of the Black Dragonriders.
There weren'tt any wounds that could be seen on Kahli's body, but blood continuously seeped out from his body. Kahli looked at Su and then laughed with difficulty. "I truly never expected you to have the same spirit reaction ability as Kalena. Sometimes… I truly envy Morgan… He always manages to find excellent people."
Kahli fiercely coughed a few times. Blood continuously gushed out from the corners of his mouth. Su brought out a clean towel and wiped away the blood from his mouth. Kahli looked at the special backpack on Su's back, and then he revealed a weak and mocking smile. "I know that they want my brain. Then… I'll give it to them! They would find that there is nothing inside! Inside is only conviction… a conviction towards freedom."
Su looked at Kahli. The vitality remaining in the old man's body was already very weak. However, he could feel that as soon as Kalena fell, the old man's heart had already died.
The old man breathed heavily, but no matter how he breathed out, he couldn't suck any air back into his lungs. He didn't know where the energy came from, but he grabbed Su's hand, and with the last of his life force, he said, "Youngster, if there is a day you also feel lost, then… go north, look for… Holy… Cross… there lies… the answer… you are looking for…"