Zongman, the journey begins from the wrong place

I always feel that if Noah said, "Oh my, I didn't expect Ai Si to like me so much," she might jump off the city wall directly!

Fortunately, Noah just stared at her quietly and listened to her without making any movements or expressions that would make Aisi shy or embarrassed.

"My looks, cooking skills, and swordsmanship are indeed the three things I'm most confident in. But whether I'm gentle or not is another matter. At the very least, I don't think Valetta thinks I'm a good person."

Although she was sure it was someone she didn't know, Ai Si felt that the name sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere.

"Valetta?"

"She is a member of the Dark Faction. She was the one who fought with me before we met on the day she joined Loki's Familia."

Noah then tells how he easily tricked Valetta and gave her a painful kidney shot.

After hearing this, Ai Si couldn't help but let out a somewhat inarticulate laugh.

"That person is so stupid."

At this time, the sky was getting brighter, and the girl's delicate face, which was reminiscent of a doll, was reflected brilliantly.

"Why do you think she's stupid?"

"Because, I was easily deceived by Noah."

"What if I didn't lie to her? Or rather, I didn't completely lie to her?"

From Ais's perspective, Noah's handsome face was half covered by darkness, with his back to the sky.

The deep blue eyes became so deep that it was impossible to see the soul within them.

"I'm a complicated person, but in essence, I'm closer to the dark faction—we both do what we want, act recklessly, and enjoy hearing others cry and wail in pain, despair, and on the verge of death!"

Ais didn't think Noah would hurt her, but at this moment, listening to his gentle voice that easily penetrated the strong wind, her heart beat faster.

"If I have to explain the difference between me and the Dark Faction, I guess it's that they enjoy killing the weak, while I find killing the weak meaningless—"

It is like beneath the seemingly clear blue waves of the sea, there is actually an infinitely deep dark abyss hidden.

Looking into Noah's eyes, Ai Si also felt as if she was being swallowed by endless darkness and was suffocating.

"—As expected, it's still much more pleasurable to pull down those who are high and mighty, who dominate all living things, and who are self-righteous, and watch them cry and wail in pain under their ravages!"

Although Noah's voice was light, it made Aisi tremble more than the cold wind. She trembled uncontrollably like a naked baby in the winter night.

Feeling Ais's fear, Noah reached out and patted her little head.

Feeling the warmth coming from above her head and the faint fragrance that even the strong wind could not completely blow away, Ai Si felt at peace.

There is no mistake, no matter what kind of person Noah is, the time I was saved by him, attracted to him, and spent with him was absolutely true!

Thinking of her fear just now, Ai Si felt ashamed.

An impulse arose in her heart, and before Aisi's consciousness could react, her body reacted - she rushed directly into Noah's arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face deeply in his stomach.

"Well!"

The sudden hug made Noah's eyes twitch - this girl, she doesn't know how to save her energy. If I had eaten breakfast, I might have come out by this.

However, considering that the little girl was scared by him, Noah did not pursue the matter further.

"Ais, I was once hailed as a brave warrior, a hero, and a savior. I protected the weak, punished evil and promoted good, and fought against evil. But you know what? After I used all my might to kill that enemy called the Demon King, I didn't feel as happy as I imagined. Instead, I felt a little lost—"

Ais raised her head from Noah's arms and looked at him with a pair of big round eyes.

"Why?"—her eyes revealed such an expression.

Patting Ai Si's little head to comfort her, Noah couldn't help but recall the past.

"Yeah, I was wondering why at the time. It wasn't until my former comrades tried to take advantage of the opportunity to kill me that I finally understood. Although there was some sadness and pain, my heart was filled with joy because I could finally fight again!"

Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and the quiet forest in the distance was suddenly filled with the sound of pine waves like waves on the sea.

Birds flew in groups towards the sky, and the roars of wild beasts could be heard.

As the bells rang throughout the city, the morning glow broke through the heavy clouds, dyeing the sky a magnificent blood-red.

"When I was little, I thought heroic stories where the protagonist fights to save a princess, avenge his family, or save the world were incredibly boring—it's like seeing a peak and wanting to climb it and conquer it! Challenging demon kings, slaying dragons, and confronting gods are all ideals that excite boys! Why do we need a reason?"

The wind is blowing.

It was a pale blue icy wind flowing from the eastern sky, making a huge bagpipe sound between the city walls.

In the strong wind, the silver-haired boy stood under the vast sky, his face seemed to be melted by the light of the morning glow, emitting a strange glow.

"So, at the moment of losing and regaining the battle, I finally recalled the feeling when I left the village and headed out into the world, facing the morning glow. Not to save others, not for revenge, not for praise, I was going to challenge the Demon King, to challenge the strongest in the world!"

51 Don't be afraid, I'm not a good person

"Ais, there are two most common mistakes people make in life. The first is misjudging others and having unwarranted expectations. For example, many people called me a hero when I killed the Demon King, and called me a devil when I killed nobles. But in reality, I have never changed. I have always done the same thing. It's just that they had unwarranted expectations of me."

On the city wall, the strong wind blew and the whistling sound was like the beating of a huge drum, making people's hearts beat wildly.

"However, what's even more dangerous is misjudging yourself and working in the wrong direction. It's easy to see others clearly, but it's hard to see yourself clearly. Just like, Aisi, it only took you half a month to vaguely sense my true nature, but you still can't see yourself clearly."

Ai Si felt suffocated and restrained, with a strong throbbing surging in her heart, so hot that her whole body seemed to melt.

Feeling that Noah was about to say something, she wanted to shout to stop him, but she couldn't say anything as her whole body was bound by an invisible cage.

Ais realized that this feeling of suffocation and restraint was the truth that she knew clearly in her heart but had always been unwilling to face.

"Meeting a powerful enemy, drawing my sword, and deciding life and death is natural to me. But you, Aisi, are different from me. Deep down, you don't want to wield your sword for destruction, killing, and hatred! This is the real you!"

At this moment, the shell of the 'swordswoman' that Aisi had built up over the past year was shattered, and she turned back into the real little girl in her heart.

Timid, cowardly, timid, afraid of being hurt, afraid of pain, afraid of death, afraid of loneliness and solitude... This is the real Essie Wallenstein!

I have never really become stronger - realizing this, Ais's eyes became hot and blurry.

Even if Noah beat her to a pulp, Aisi wouldn't want to cry like she does now.

Like a drowning person grabbing at the last piece of driftwood, she clenched her fists, bit her lips until they bled, and tried hard to open her eyes to prevent the tears from falling.

"But! But..."

Faced with the little girl's struggle, Noah delivered a calm but fatal blow.

"Ais, I can see that you want to become stronger in order to seek revenge on a certain existence. But if one day, you need to use the death of me, Livilia, Finn Loki and others to complete your revenge, will you do it?"

The unavoidable, unstoppable, and undefendable blow pierced through the weakest wound in Aisi's heart, tearing it apart so violently that her mind went blank.

If it meant her own destruction, if she could perish together with that dark despair, Ai Si believed that she would never hesitate.

But what if the price is losing Noah, losing Riveria, losing Finn, Loki, Grace and the others?

The waves of grief washed over her inner defenses, and the black flames of hatred burned her entire body, prompting Ais to give an affirmative answer.

but……

No.

A force stronger than that of the 'Puppet Warriors' born for slaughter, a force Ais had never felt before, surged from within her body, preventing her from answering.

The two forces intertwined and clashed with each other, almost tearing Ais in two and causing her so much pain that she couldn't breathe.

Ai Si didn't understand why, but she was speechless and couldn't give an answer.

She couldn't do that, Aisi realized.

She couldn't sacrifice everything for revenge as she imagined.

The belief that had supported her body and allowed her to walk until now despite the pain was shattered. It was as if Ai Si had lost control of her body. Her whole body was paralyzed and she had no strength to use. Her cheeks were stiff and she was unable to speak.

Only tears flowed out, falling down, wetting the golden hair, being blown away by the cold wind, or cracking on the stone slabs.

"Aisi, those who are muddle-headed and muddle-headed don't need to worry about this. But people like you and me will sooner or later face this kind of decision at some point in our lives: should we move forward for our ideals, or stop for the people around us? If we make the wrong choice, we will regret it for the rest of our lives."

Ais raised her head from Noah's arms, her red eyes blurred by tears. She looked at Noah like a newly hatched bird, longing for his guidance.

"Then, then what should I do, I..."

Noah wiped the tears from the girl's face with pity and patted her back gently.

It was as if I was comforting myself who had stood in a sea of corpses and blood all night until the crimson sun rose before I finally figured things out.

Noah understood that what he was going to say next was very important to Ais.

All living beings in this world have desires. The only difference is whether they are for external things such as wealth, power, and beauty, or for internal thoughts such as love, hate, faith, and obsession.

Some people seem to have no desires, but in fact they are just concentrating their desires.

Just like the fanatical believers in the dark faction who are not afraid of death, and some religious believers in the Far East who advocate having no desires and suffering a lot, they are nothing more than transforming the desire for enjoyment and realization in this life into a belief in the transcendence of happiness in the next life.

Among these desires as complex as the vast sea of stars, living for oneself is a relatively mysterious idea.

After all, a certain degree of self-respect, self-love, and self-identity are the basis of a person's personality. Therefore, for most people, living for themselves is a very natural thing, and it cannot be considered cold-blooded and selfish.

But there are some people who cannot live for themselves.

It's just like a child who never grows up and always needs his parents' opinions to determine whether what he does is right or not.

In order to feel one's own existence when interacting with others and to determine one's self-worth when being praised by others, one's need for recognition is far greater than that of ordinary people.

For them, 'finding oneself' is probably a torture more terrible than going to hell - just like Ais now.

Of course, although Ais had some psychological problems before, she was not the kind of person who was naturally lacking in self.

Ais is now in this situation because the will and belief that have supported her for a long time have been shattered by Noah.

For Ai Si, who has been deprived of all reasons to fight and direction to move forward, what she needs most now is not encouragement and protection, but clear guidance and support!

At this moment, Noah's control over the girl's fate was so complete that even her parents and the Lord God had probably never achieved that level.

If it were Livilia and the others, facing such an Ais, they would probably say something calmly like "Everyone's future is to be explored by themselves. I can't give you the answer, but I will always protect you until you find the answer."

Because they are good people, kind people, and they will never easily interfere with the fate of others.

"Aisi, everyone's path can only be discovered, decided, and practiced by themselves. No one else can interfere. If you need me, I will accompany you until you find your own path!"

——If Noah were a good person, he would say the same thing...

But he is not!

52 Freya: I smell the scent of my own kind

Everyone has their own desires, and so does Noah.

And he knew very well what he wanted, which was to fight.

To be precise, it is to surpass and conquer!

However, the more people pursue something, the more they will be bound by it, and no one is an exception.

The same was true for Noah.

What is the most dangerous thing for someone who aspires to be above everything else?

For Noah, it was undoubtedly the time when he reached the pinnacle and had nothing left to fight for or to surpass.

Noah had experienced this after killing the demon king in the previous world, and he didn't want to experience it again.

Although there is a system that has no origin, no purpose, and no one knows who created it, other than allowing him to travel through different worlds, Noah should not need to worry about not finding an opponent.

However, it is also a good idea to take a little precaution - since you are worried about not being able to find an opponent in the future, why not start cultivating one for yourself now?

Only by being self-sufficient can you have enough food and clothing!

Noah hopes to find someone who can walk side by side with him, or even surpass him, and whom he can pursue in the long life ahead.

This opponent is not an enemy, but someone who knows you better than your enemy.

To achieve this level, it is impossible not to work hard with Noah as your goal, or even live for him.

If I behave like this, I'm probably no different from those dark factions, right?

However, I will not design a plan to make people fall into despair and then give them hope. Who asked you to come to me on your own initiative?

With a twisted joy in his heart, Noah held up half of Ais's little face.