Douluo 2: This Dragon God has too much martial virtue

Chapter 542 Confrontation
"Is there anything I can't hear?" Di Tian looked over all the creatures present, including the undead, and finally his gaze landed on Huo Yun'er, who was standing next to Huo Yuhao.

"Who is this?"

"My mom." Huo Yuhao didn't dare to look up, nor could he lift his head.

"Actually, it's nothing serious. This kid just crippled his half-brother and gouged out Dai Hao's eyes. His mother might not be able to accept it." Mu Xing used a few words to clear Huo Yuhao of suspicion of favoring Huo Yun'er. "I don't think it's that bad. His senior even had her men castrate Dai Hao hundreds of times!" She had done her best; this was all she could do to help Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao expressed his gratitude.

"I think that's pretty excessive. Didn't you notice that Starry Sky Douluo would rather take his subordinates to clean up the battlefield than stay with you guys?" Electrolux bluntly exposed Huo Yuhao's words, partly to help him divert the dragon's attention.

"Just for this?" But clearly, the Beast God wasn't so easily fooled, because Huo Yun'er's resentful gaze was too obvious.

What's wrong with her eyes?

"She thinks I've corrupted her son." Mu Xing decided to give up entirely. Fine, I'm just a mortal, I might as well go up against the Dragon King!

"..."

Even Fu Rui could feel the oppressive atmosphere, like a storm brewing.

"No?!" Seeing Huo Yuhao cowering like a quail, Di Tian waved his hand. "Sigh! Forget it, you decide for yourself! Don't forget who gave you everything you have now!" Since Mu Xing had already defined the matter, he didn't need to hold a grudge against Huo Yuhao. It wasn't because the child was innocent, but because killing him outright would have too high a sunk cost. Besides, there was Rong Nianbing here, who was preparing to run away with the inheritance of the divine position. How could he just stand by and watch him lay a hand on his heir?

But if the result doesn't satisfy him, he will help resolve it.

"Little one, your elders are all quite reasonable!" Rong Nianbing snapped her fingers, releasing Huo Yun'er from the restraints. "In that case, Yuhao, you should have a good talk with your mother!"

Huo Yun'er seemed to have been drained of all her life force. Her eyes, which were always filled with gentleness and timidity, now seemed to be burning with two cold flames as she stared intently at Huo Yuhao.

“Yu…Yuhao…” Her voice trembled violently, each word seeming to be forced out of her throat, filled with an unbelievable sense of brokenness, “What…what did you just do? What did you do to…to your father…and your brother…?!”

Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head, his face expressionless, but something seemed to be churning violently in the depths of his deep eyes, which he forcefully suppressed. He didn't speak, but simply looked at his mother quietly.

Huo Yun'er trembled at his almost indifferent attitude, and an unprecedented and immense anger overwhelmed her usual weakness. She staggered forward a few steps, almost falling in front of Huo Yuhao.

"You gouged out your father's eyes! You even let that female marshal of the Sun Moon Empire humiliate him! You destroyed the Second Young Master's soul power, he was your father's most proud son!" Huo Yun'er's voice suddenly rose, becoming shrill and distorted, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face, a mixture of anger and despair. "That's your father! That's your blood brother! How could you... how could you do such... such a vicious thing! And in front of those White Tiger Guards, that was a humiliation more cruel than killing them!"

Her body swayed violently from excitement and weakness, as if she were about to collapse at any moment, but her eyes, burning with flames, were fixed on Huo Yuhao's face.

"I know... I know they wronged my son and me... I know you harbor hatred..." Huo Yun'er's voice trembled with sobs, filled with heart-wrenching sorrow. "But... but I clearly said I didn't hate him! But why did you do this? Why did you make them... wish they were dead? Your brother was just young and impetuous, he made mistakes, but you ruined his life! Soul power... that's everything a soul master has! What will he do now? Live like a cripple?!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, and the grievances, fears, and forbearance that had been building up for half a lifetime finally erupted after witnessing her son's extremely cruel behavior.

"Yuhao! My son!" Huo Yun'er's voice was filled with heart-wrenching disappointment. She reached out, her hand trembling as she pointed at Huo Yuhao, her fingertips almost piercing his chest. "Tell me! Tell me! Is this the result of the power you pursued? Is this what you wanted? To watch your loved ones suffer in your hands, their dignity utterly destroyed?!"

She grabbed Huo Yuhao's sleeve violently, her knuckles turning white with force, like a drowning person grasping at the last piece of driftwood, or as if trying to shake him awake with all her might: "How did you become so terrible? So... so unfamiliar! I... I'd rather you hate me! Hate me, your incompetent mother! I'd rather you come at me! I'd rather see you become like this! Cold-blooded! Cruel! Vengeful... You've even lost the last shred of humanity!" Huo Yun'er's voice choked with sobs, the immense grief and anger making it almost impossible for her to breathe. Looking at her son's still handsome but icy face, she felt her heart breaking. The little boy who had once been obedient and sensible in her arms, vowing to protect her, the boy with clear and stubborn eyes... now, in her eyes, he was like a strange demon whose soul had been devoured by revenge.

"You...you're taking revenge on me? Taking revenge on your useless mother for not protecting you and making you bear hatred from a young age?" Huo Yun'er's voice lowered, filled with a desperate wail. "If that's the case, you've succeeded...you've succeeded! Seeing you like this is worse than death for me! I...I can't accept you...I can't accept such a son!"

That last sentence, like a poisoned dagger, pierced through Huo Yuhao's carefully constructed facade of coldness. His pupils contracted almost imperceptibly, and his tightly pressed lips trembled slightly. After speaking, Huo Yun'er seemed to have exhausted all her strength; her hand gripping Huo Yuhao's sleeve suddenly released its hold, and she staggered backward, swaying precariously. Her face was filled with endless sorrow and a near-collapsed sense of alienation; only her suppressed, intermittent sobs echoed around her.

Huo Yuhao looked down at his long, slender hands with distinct knuckles. These hands had just gouged out his biological father's eyes and destroyed Dai Huabin's prized soul power foundation. At this moment, traces of undried blood and the cold touch of dissipated soul power still seemed to linger on them. He slowly raised his hands, staring at them with an almost bizarre focus, as if examining some rare treasure, or perhaps confirming whether they truly belonged to him.

Then he spoke. His voice was very soft, even lower than his usual volume, yet it clearly pierced through Huo Yun'er's suppressed sobs.

"Mother."

He no longer used the affectionate term "Mom," and his tone was devoid of any filial affection, leaving only a formulaic and cold detachment.

"You accuse me of being cruel, accuse me of humiliating them." Huo Yuhao's lips twitched upwards very slowly, forming a cold, ugly arc that was even more unsightly than crying; it couldn't even be called a smile.

"You said I would make them wish they were dead." He paused, raised his head, and his gaze returned to Huo Yun'er's tear-streaked face.

“But Mother,” his voice remained calm, yet carried a chilling weariness and… a sense of absurdity, “have you forgotten what you asked me for?” He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on Huo Yun’er, giving her no room to dodge, “What did you ask me for not long ago in the God Realm?”

Huo Yun'er felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze. She had indeed begged him to spare Dai Hao's life, out of consideration for their blood ties.

"You begged me, please don't kill him." Huo Yuhao repeated the heavy promise clearly, word by word, "You said, just spare his life... just let him live..."

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes revealing an almost cruel confusion and despair: "I promised you, Mother."

"I did it." His voice suddenly rose a notch, filled with a twisted, suppressed grievance and anger. "I didn't kill Dai Hao! His heart is still beating, he's still breathing! I spared his life! I kept my promise to you! Isn't that enough?!"

"What...is there that you're still not satisfied with?!"

He practically roared out that last question, his voice hoarse, filled with the despair and madness of being betrayed by his closest loved ones.

"You want me to let them go? To let go of those who trampled and humiliated my child and me in the mud?"

Looking at the twisted hatred in Huo Yuhao's eyes and hearing his roaring questions, Huo Yun'er felt a chill run from her feet to the top of her head, freezing even her tears. She opened her mouth, but found her throat blocked, unable to utter a single word. What could she say? That she begged him to spare Dai Hao's life, not to "spare" him like this?
"Mother, do you think it was easy for me to get to where I am today?" His voice was soft, but it struck Huo Yun'er's heart like a heavy hammer. "Do you think the power I possess, all the resources I have acquired, fell from the sky? Did I get them with my pitiful talent and luck?"

“All of this comes with conditions.” His voice lowered, carrying a chilling undertone. “The condition is that my resolve for revenge will never waver! If I waver… if I become ‘merciful,’ become ‘principled,’ become… no longer hate, as you now hope…”

He paused slightly.

“Then everything I possess, all the power, resources, and protection my teacher bestowed upon me… will be taken back in an instant.” He stared at Huo Yun’er’s suddenly contracted pupils and asked clearly, word by word, “Mother, is this what you wanted to see?”

I made it! I wrote an extra thousand words, I'm amazing!