Chapter 915 - The Crazy Gambler
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
Clan Elder Ta Fei looked at the empty Honorable Martial Palace, and was at a loss. When he focused, his eyes landed on the golden figure at the front of the Palace, and the loss in his eyes disappeared as he became focused once more, but very quickly, it became a look of complications.
He had followed the Great Clan Elder for many years, and following the Great Clan Elder had become his creed. Regardless of how difficult it was, no matter how evil the matter, he had followed the Great Clan Elder by his side, protecting him.
And when the Great Clan Elder used all sorts of inconceivable ways of victories for him to prove his trust, in which Clan Elder Ta Fei never failed to live up to.
~But now….~
Hesitation and complicated thoughts flashed past his mind and heart, and his gaze quickly regained clarity. He had gone through all sorts of complications, and knew that the plan had already begun, and they no longer had any path of retreat.
~Only success will allow everybody's sacrifice to have meaning, and for our decades of hard work to not be a waste.~
Ta Fei had never been a soft-hearted man, and his hand was stained with countless of lives. But in this gamble, it made his heart pain.
As he was in power for many years, half of the Clan Elders of Temple were personally chosen by him. All of these Clan Elders were all powerful with outstanding abilities, which could be seen in their progress when training Holy Flame. Many of these Clan Elders were in truth more like his students, but all of them had to sacrifice themselves for the gamble.
He had personally created everything, since he had imparted the Holy Flame to them decades ago, the plan had quietly developed. He initially thought that with so many years of mental preparation, he would be able to face it head on, but upon witnessing the pillars of flaming lights shooting into the sky, he felt that his heart was being cut by a blade.
It was a real gamble. If they won, Temple would no longer be held back, the entire Honorable Martial Continent would only have one true Master, Temple's will would be spread throughout the entire Honorable Martial Continent. It was the greatest desire of the Great Clan Elder, and although no one had ever achieved it before, he did not give up on the idea.
If they lost, they would lose all the Clan Elders, and Temple's name would remain, but their essence would be gone. And such a cold blooded method would cause Temple to become an existence that the entire Honorable Martial Continent would despise, and no one would ever forgive them.
Thus, they had to win. Only by winning would they be able to write their own history.
Ta Fei's gaze became filled with determination once again.
~The Light will always prevail!~
~For Temple's grand plan, all of this sacrifice is worth it.~
The golden Holy Flames flowed on the floorboards of Honorable Martial Palace, but the Great Clan Elder, who was within the flames, did not look the least bit old, but upright and tall, as though he was a young man. The Great Clan Elder's gaze was fixated on the sculpture on the wall of the Palace, on it were countless of realistic heroes, which wrote the epic saga of Temple. The sculptures depicted every important campaign of Temple, and all the Clan Elders that had made huge contributions.
It was because of the Clan Elders before them that advanced dauntlessly, that there was the Temple where they stood.
Every generation of important figures of Temple were all dauntless and sought for the greater good of Temple, they regarded Temple's expansion more importantly than their lives, and the Great Clan Elder was no different.
~I wonder if I will have a position on it in the future, or whether I will lead Temple to the light or to the dark. No, I am right! Those damn families, they still hold on to their achievements of the past, thinking they can impede Temple, they have to die!~
He required a powerful Honorable Martial Continent, and only an Honorable Martial Continent that had one voice could become strong, and could beat the Southern Alliance, to unify the world, to conquer Heaven's Road.
~There are too many voices in Honorable Martial Continent now!~
"How is it?" He suddenly asked, his entire body that was covered in the golden flames remained still.
Ta Fei bowed, exactly like how he did decades ago: "The plan is going smoothly. The number of Pillars of Punishments activated have already reached three hundred and forty two."
"Three hundred and forty two." The Great Clan Elder muttered, as though he was feeling emotional, as though he was sighing: "Grooming three hundred and forty two Clan Elders was not easy, and all of it is due to you. For the past few years, I did not do much, it has been hard on you."
Ta Fei felt warmth in his heart. He laughed: "You're actually being so polite with me, it feels uncomfortable for me."
A chuckle sounded out from within the flames, the Great Clan Elder sighed again: "I know that you can't bear to, in truth, I too, am not willing for this to happen. You know me, although I am no saint, but I am not a tyrannical murderer."
Ta Fei bowed and reaffirmed respectfully: "You are not."
"They died for me, I have to bear this guilt." The voice from the flames sighed: "But it is our responsibility, the responsibility of this generation. Blood and honor can be sacrificed, and has to be sacrificed. If we do not resolve all of these Families, we will miss this once in a lifetime opportunity, the only opportunity to opening the possibility of unifying the world. We need to sacrifice, and only by doing so can we have a clean Honorable Martial Continent, where we can leave behind our legacy and successors."
"Your successors will engrave your painstaking efforts in their memories." Ta Fei spoke from his heart.
"I do not care." The voice in the flame sounded determined, old, arrogant and aggressive. The wanton flame danced, and Ta Fei thought he saw the young man whom he had wholeheartedly submitted to.
The figure in the flames waved his hands, and countless of sparks ignited: "We need to do what we ought to do, since our hands are already stained with the blood of our own people, then our enemies' blood will be the best wine, if we don't get drunk, how can we return?"
"Your will, is the light." Ta Fei bowed even lower.
The figure in the flames raised his arm, and the hand that was enveloped in flames pressed onto the sun sculpture on the wall.
White Holy Flames surged out from the sun, and instantly spread in all directions, transforming into a white flaming door. The Great Clan Elder took a step forward, and into the flaming door. The flaming door and the Great Clan Elder instantly disappeared.
Ta Fei stood up, feeling his body was filled with power. ~My life is already close to the end, but I am able to unleash my last light and heat, what is there to regret?~
His eyes flashed with longing, ~That's right, to be able to leave behind a clean Honorable Martial Continent for our successors, what a beautiful thing it is.~
*********
The flaming door behind the Great Clan Elder disappeared. In front of him stood the Honorable Martial Banner of Knights.
Sophie stood at the front of the formation silently.
The Great Clan Elder was infuriated at the scene before him, and spoke with anger: "Why hasn't the operation begun?"
Sophie stood out: "I stopped them."
The Great Clan Elder inside the flames stared at Sophie, the anger in his throat subsided, and his voice became soft: "Why?"
Sophie raised her head, her eyes filled with clarity: "They are my soldiers, I can't send them to their deaths."
Silence, a silence that pressurized everyone present.
"Charles is already dead, I do not wish for them to die." Sophie said softly.
All of the anger instantly disappeared, the figure in the flames was stunned, and spoke after a while: "That's right, Charles is already dead, but we need to take revenge for him."
"Even if we take revenge, he won't be revived, but everyone will die." Sophie shook her head: "They can die on the battlefield, but I do not want them to die like this."
"They will not die." The Great Clan Elder said.
"That's right, they give up their lives and become Spirit Generals." Sophie stared at the figure in the flames: "No warmth, time will corrode their memory, they will forget their kin, forget their lovers, and become a cold blooded killing machine. What's the difference from dying?"
"That's right, there is no difference, maybe it is a fate worse than death." The figure in the flames was not angry, but his tone suddenly became stricter: "But aside from being your soldiers, they are the Honorable Martial Banner of Knights, and the reason for them is for Temple, regardless if it is dying or living."
Sophie kept quiet.
"Are they the only ones making this sacrifice? Out of Temple's five hundred and sixty four clan elders, three hundred and forty two of them are already dead, and they do not even have the chance to become a Spirit General. They have burnt their bodies and souls, and left nothing behind. They have given their souls to Temple, and before they died, they had to suffer the agony of being burnt. The remaining clan elders will all be burnt for the Holy Flame by tomorrow morning."
The indifferent voice came out from the flames, causing all the Honorable Martial Banner of Knights to raise their heads, their faces filled with shock.
"This is a gamble, a gamble we cannot afford to lose. Every single person of Temple has become a bargaining chip and are placed on the gambling table." The cold and emotionless voice was like a dagger that pierced into the hearts of the people. The Great Clan Elder then ridiculed: "All that you have, was given by Temple. All of you swore an oath, to do everything for Temple, and that includes everything. But now? When Temple needs you to die, you cower away."
"No, I just do not wish for them to die without meaning." Sophie did not hide from the Great Clan Elder's gaze: "They are soldiers! They should die on the battlefield! And not in some dark corner, just to become spirit generals."
"No one has the power to choose, Sophie." The Great Clan Elder spoke: "This is a battlefield, you will never be able to choose where you get to fight, or how you want to die. What I can do is to not let your deaths not be in vain. Furthermore, it is merely to my greatest extent, I cannot even promise anything, but we have no other choice."
"Commander!" One of the Knight stood up: "Great Clan Elder is right, we cannot choose how or where we die, but I have never forgotten my oath!"
Another Knight stood up: "I pledge my life to protect the light!"
"We should die for Temple, to let the Clan Elders take the lead, it is truly an embarrassment."
All of the Knights stood up, and formed a neat and tight formation in front of Sophie.
Pa, everyone saluted Sophie.
"Commander, in the future, we will all be Spirit Generals, and we will no longer look down on you."
"Commander, wait for us."
"Commander, you cannot die before us!"
"Commander, we must fight together!"
….
All the Knights turned and stepped into the white halo. Upon stepping in, the halo instantly became alive, and produced a white barrier that surged upwards. The white barrier surged above their heads and formed cocoons, wrapping them within.
One after another, the cocoons formed a neat formation, there were no longer any sounds, but faint silhouettes could be seen inside.
The gold Holy Flames spread from beneath, quickly enveloping the cocoons. The Holy Flames permeated into the cocoons and entered the men inside, causing them to struggle in pain.
Sophie cried.