Ironclad Group Chat: Red and Black Lists Engraved with Heroic Epics

"Calm down, child. Struggling will only increase your suffering." Gofemu's voice was calm, yet tinged with melancholy.

"My strike just now, though dishonorable, was by no means a mistake—you are now certain to die here and now."

"But I..."

AR-214 was on its last legs, its voice coming out intermittently.

"I was clearly... helping this place fight the insect plague..."

She was unwilling to accept it. What had she done wrong? She hadn't hurt anyone, hadn't even hindered anyone; on the contrary, she had always tried her best to help them. And all that deserved was a sneak attack, a betrayal?

"Indeed. The swarms of insects are rampant, and a Grammer Ironclad rider passed through this place, throwing himself into the battle without asking for anything in return. This is truly admirable."

Gopher Wood neither wanted to deny her contributions, but he quickly changed the subject, saying with some regret, "But have you ever considered why the insect plague intensified after that?"

AR-214 suddenly realized: "Could it be...?"

Everyone in the galaxy instantly understood the implied meaning in Gopher's words.

Could it be...?

"The iron cavalry, born to wipe out the swarms of insects, are actually travelers on the path of [breeding]." Gopher's voice was full of emotion.

"The dream never seeped into [breeding]; you brought it here. Only your death can remove it."

[March 7th: How could this be? Doesn't this mean the Grammer Cavalry are inherently... cursed with disaster?]

Because of the fireflies, March 7th consciously refrained from saying anything too outrageous.

Some people online, always eager for drama, are calling the train a jinx, saying that wherever it goes, something bad is bound to happen. But any normal person knows this is just a joke. The truth is, they're the ones who go where the accidents happen.

But who would have thought that such a constitution actually exists in the world!

Does that mean they are destined to be ostracized, destined to be disliked and avoided by ordinary people? But they have already given so much... It's so unfair!

[Star: Grammer...]

Xing really wanted to unleash a torrent of abuse and vent her emotions. But when it came down to it, she realized she didn't have the right to do so.

Grammer is in a terrible situation too. If they don't do this, everyone will be swallowed up by the Zerg swarm. Who can care about this? The Iron Riders are in an even worse situation. Not only were they created with the expectation of being tools, but even after winning the war against the Zerg, the most favorable outcome is that the cunning rabbit dies and the hunting dog is cooked.

Strictly speaking, Gophermu wasn't entirely wrong either. After all, the insect plague was a real threat to the Pinocones, and it was he who died from it, along with the people Mikhail and the others wanted to protect.

Nobody wanted things to turn out this badly, but the result was just that bad!

[Yao Guang: Fate is truly unpredictable.]

[Black Tower: ...We should have expected this. The foes that breed from the same source are different from other destinies; they are inherently inclined to cluster and gravitate towards powerful individuals. Unexpected, but upon closer examination, it's not actually surprising.]

[Walter: If all the Grammer Knights possessed roughly the same personality as the Fireflies, then this flaw is truly cruel. It directly deprives them of the right to be true heroes, shattering their dreams. All their fighting, bloodshed, and sacrifice will be seen by those terrified by the arrival of the Swarm as insignificant self-redemption, unable and impossible to gain the forgiveness of those who have lost loved ones because of the Swarm.]

Walter took off his glasses, looked at his reflection, and sighed with pity.

He was a man with heroic dreams. With a little empathy, he could completely understand that suffocating feeling.

He had put in tremendous effort and achieved tremendous results. But when the truth was revealed, he discovered he wasn't a hero at all, but rather the source of danger. Those who were once grateful to him now looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, "Why don't you just die already?"...

This is torturing a person's soul by a thousand cuts.

[Fireworks: Tsk, this is too hellish, I don't even want to tell hellish jokes anymore.]

[Robin: But, Mr. Gopher, surely there's more than one way?]

Gopher Wood turned and left.

"How...could this be..." AR-214's voice trembled, "But...I can leave, and never...come back here..."

Gopher paused briefly, but ultimately did not stay for her.

Only the lone iron cavalryman struggled helplessly: "I can't die... I don't want to die... I..."

Her voice gradually became as faint as a mosquito's buzz, and the figure of the gentleman who had betrayed her became increasingly blurry in her vision, until... she could no longer see him.

Gopher heard all her pleas for survival, and guilt began to grow in his heart: "That's why I said that blow was not honorable. To explore your secrets was for the sake of a beautiful dream; to shoot you down was out of selfish desire to glimpse eternity."

"11:45█ Paradise will fall into the sorrows of the world, and when the dawn rises, it will be destroyed by the day. What is gold, however, can last forever?"

Whether it's noble character or formidable strength, all beautiful things will eventually fade.

This iron cavalryman is one, and so is he. And in order to create a truly golden age that will never fade, he has resolved to no longer cherish his own reputation, even if it means being stained with blood.

As long as the same mistakes are not repeated, as long as the paradise can exist for people, then it's worthwhile. He used to be very averse to the result-oriented approach that used any means necessary. But Pinocchio's current situation was too desperate, and reality forced him to seek a result.

"You will become my darkest crime, and also the beginning of a great undertaking."

"I will use your broken body (fate) to lay the foundation for Eternal Paradise."

[Star: Yingbao...are you alright?]

AR-214's story is heartbreaking, but that only involved people she didn't have much contact with. But it's different with Liu Ying. If this were made public, wouldn't a whole bunch of clueless people...?

[Firefly: I...]

Silver Wolf: Don't worry, we Star Core Hunters aren't that weak. Even if a swarm of Zerg comes, it'll just be a warm-up for us. As for anyone who dares to cyberbully you, I'll go down the internet cable and teach them a lesson!

[Firefly: Thank you, everyone...]

[Mikhail: Gopher, what happened while I was asleep? What is there that I don't know? Why...why did you have to do this?]

He knew this blockhead best. In his memory, Gopher was practically a perfectionist. He despised using underhanded methods, which even made his family members think he was "a killjoy" and "inflexible." He was certain that something must have happened that caused Gopher's faith to collapse to some extent; otherwise, he would never have been so extreme, so determined to do something so evil.

[Gopher: How could I still receive your understanding and not be questioned immediately? It's all because the filth and corruption within Tonghe didn't stop at Pinocchio; the family's dark and filthy side is even worse.]