Xing Tie: Wait a minute! How come Weng Xing has two saviors?

A smile suddenly appeared on her usually expressionless face.

This subtle change is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

Katniss's next words caught in her throat, and a strong sense of unease gripped her heart!

She knew Aglaia too well; this woman would never normally show such an... relaxed smile! Something had happened that she didn't know about!

Before Katniss could react, Aglaia's clear voice rang out:

A single word silenced the entire council chamber.

"As the Senate wished—Bai'e of Ailimishe is hereby officially incorporated into the Ohma City Defense Force, becoming a member of the defense of the Holy City!"

Katniss's unease was confirmed—she agreed too quickly! This was definitely not Aglaia's style! She must have a backup plan!

“However,” Aglaia’s tone shifted abruptly, her voice rising sharply, like a drawn sword, its edge fully revealed,

"As a member of the army, having rendered outstanding service, you naturally deserve rewards! On the occasion of this great victory in the defense of the Holy City—"

As if to confirm her words, "BOOM—!!!"

A deep yet incredibly clear burst of energy came from the distant city, followed by a wave of cheers like a landslide and a tsunami, which pierced through the thick walls and swept through the entire council hall like a tidal wave!

"Long live Ohmma!!"

"Long live Lord Bai'e!!"

"we won!!"

Those were the heartfelt shouts of ecstatic joy from countless soldiers and civilians who had survived the catastrophe! The sound was so loud that dust fell from the dome of the council chamber!

Aglaia stepped forward and stood at the center of the roaring waves, her figure seemingly growing incredibly tall in an instant.

Meeting Katniss's instantly pale face and the elders' astonished or panicked gazes, she spoke clearly, word by word:

"Bai E, as a newly recruited member of the city defense army, stepped forward in the time of crisis, led his soldiers in a bloody battle, turned the tide, defeated the powerful enemy, and defended the holy city from the brink of collapse! This is an unparalleled achievement!"

"According to the laws of the Holy City and the ownership of the White Calamity as emphasized by the members of the Senate just now, such meritorious heroes should be rewarded and honored, and this should be borne jointly by the Holy City—that is, by all the members of the Senate present here!"

"I propose that, starting immediately, in the name of the Holy City Senate, the three armies be rewarded and a city-wide victory celebration be held!"

May the fame and deeds of 'Savior' Byer resound throughout every street of Ohma, and be imprinted in the hearts of every saved citizen! All necessary expenses and resources will be allocated from the Senate treasury!

Her words struck the hearts of the Senate members like a heavy hammer.

Katniss felt a sudden darkness engulf her! She finally understood Aglaia's scheme! She agreed to hand over the "ownership" of Bai Er just as Bai Er had already performed an extraordinary feat!

This achievement instantly elevated Bai E to a god-like status, but the enormous expenses and glorious reputation for "rewarding the meritorious official" had to be borne by the Senate, which had just "claimed" Bai E!

This is hardly a weakening of Aglaia; it's clearly Aglaia using the Senate's influence, money, and prestige to elevate Bai'er to an even higher position.

Not only did they secure the fruits of victory for themselves, but they also managed to carve out a large chunk of the Senate's prized possession!

Aglaia gave no one a chance to breathe. She slightly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over each elder as if it were a physical object, finally settling on the pale-faced Katniss. Her voice was filled with icy questioning:

"Or……"

"Your Excellencies, do you not wish to bestow upon this hero, who has just rendered unparalleled service to the Holy City and saved countless lives, the due reward? Do you wish to let the entire city's soldiers and civilians know that the Senate is so stingy and harsh towards its meritorious officials?"

Aglaia's questioning, intertwined with the deafening, relentless cheers outside the window, formed an irresistible torrent that utterly engulfed the Senate and Kaines in immense political turmoil.

Katniss opened her mouth, but found her throat so dry that she couldn't make a sound. Only boundless regret and icy fear spread through her heart.

The trap she meticulously designed ultimately became a noose around her own neck.

Aglaia, with just one sentence and one opportune moment, completed the most beautiful counterattack, not only unscathed but also making the Senate pay a heavy price, and firmly grasping the glory of victory in her hands.

Only Bai E remained, after witnessing Bai Mo's methods.

With a bewildered expression, he helped the soldiers defend against the conflicts and entanglements that Bai Mo had overlooked or that were difficult to handle with the Rod of God.

Then, looking completely bewildered, he was tossed high into the air by the soldiers.

Then, looking bewildered, he accepted the cheers from the holy city.

In the end, looking completely bewildered, he became the savior everyone admired, the great hero of the Holy City…

“Bai Mo, it’s not that I don’t want you to join the army and receive commendation, but those guys in the Senate are really…” Aglaia looked at the way Bai Mo was staring at Bai E and assumed that Bai Mo also wanted to be welcomed like that.

“Ms. Aglaia, please don’t misunderstand. Join the army? Receive awards? Stand in the spotlight and bask in cheers?” He shook his head repeatedly, as if he had heard something utterly absurd.

“For me, this is not an honor, but a shackle. I stand here, watching Bai Er being thrown around in a daze, and it feels just right.”

“I have always respected your decisions, Bai Mo.” After the atmosphere eased, Aglaia even felt a sense of relief after her exhaustion.

So, unusually, Aglaia took the initiative to ask, "There's one more thing, Bai Mo, I'm curious. Why have you never worn the clothes I knitted for you? Is it because the blue, black, and white color scheme doesn't look good?"

Bai Mo's mouth twitched. "No, Ms. Aglaia. I like it very much, but... that dress is a little too precious."

(Bai Mo: Why was Aglaia able to weave Kevin's cosplay outfit?)

------

Also, why does my request for more updates feel like a large-scale soul-summoning ritual?

Chapter 56 Bai E: As long as you still love this world, you can never escape it, Bai Mo.

P.S.: Oh my god, those five hundred-plus comments about summoning spirits...

Well, this kind of support should count as support, right?

In short, thank you all for your support and the little gifts! Four more updates today!

“Hey, Savior,” Bai Mo’s voice was tinged with his usual teasing, “You’re almost done washing dishes for a month, right? Today is the last day of your trial card.”

Bai Er didn't turn around immediately. Instead, he placed a gleaming plate, still dripping with water, heavily on the drain rack, making a crisp clatter.

He straightened his slightly aching back, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his damp hand, then turned around, a helpless yet self-deprecating smile on his face:

"Bai Mo, please spare me. Just hearing the words 'savior' makes my back teeth ache."

“In the past… I always thought that it was proof of strength, a medal of honor.”

He picked up the last greasy soup bowl, dipped it into the bubbling water, and his voice lowered, tinged with weariness.

"But only now, with people constantly blocking my way for autographs and scrutinizing my words and actions... do I truly understand that this label is so heavy it could break a person's neck."

“Now when I walk down the street,” he said with an even deeper wry smile, “I wish I could shrink myself into a cloak. If I walk too fast, people will say I’m arrogant; if I walk too slow, people will say I’m putting on airs.”

Whether I laugh or not, what I say, even how I breathe, it feels like someone is measuring me with a ruler… ugh.

"I'm truly impressed by you now." He finally put the clean bowl back in its place, shook the water off his hands, and looked at Bai Mo with an unprecedented level of understanding.

"You little rascal, you've been avoiding the title of 'savior' from the very beginning. You're really prescient. You're so slippery...you've hidden yourself well."

Bai Mo's lips curled up, and his smile was particularly clear in the dim kitchen light:

"Ha, now you know I had foresight? I told you long ago, empty fame is tiring, it's better to sleep until you naturally wake up."

Bai Er untied the ties of his apron and casually tossed the greasy "battle robe" into a nearby trash can.

He walked to the corner of the wall, where he quietly leaned against his one-handed heavy sword, which had been soaked in the blood of his enemies.

The cold, heavy metal hilt instantly dispelled the stifling atmosphere of the kitchen as I held it.

He picked up his sword, walked up to Bai Mo, and without looking into Bai Mo's eyes, raised his hand, still damp and warm from washing the dishes, and patted Bai Mo's shoulder heavily.

That shot was very real, not like a joke between brothers.

“But… Bai Mo…” Bai E’s voice lowered, carrying a sharp edge that pierced through the playful facade, “Don’t play dumb. I don’t know why you’ve always been so resistant to becoming a savior.”

"But... you can avoid the title of 'savior,' you can avoid the cheers and stares..."

He paused, then finally raised his gaze, looking directly into Bai Mo's eyes, which always held a playful air but were now slightly fixed in a daze, and spoke each word clearly:

"But you can't escape what's in your heart."

"You love having breakfast with your family, you love the lively daily life in the treehouse, you love the smoke rising from the chimneys at dusk in Ohmma... You love this vibrant and bustling world more than anyone else."

“As long as this ‘love’ remains,” Bai E’s eyes were sharp as knives, as if trying to rip out the things Bai Mo was unwilling to face from the depths of his soul.

"Those responsibilities you desperately try to escape—the responsibility to protect all of this—will always follow you like a shadow."

"They won't disappear just because you bury your head in the sand. They'll wait patiently until you have nowhere to hide, until something you cherish is about to shatter before your eyes..."

Bai E's voice was even lower, carrying an almost cruel sense of prophecy, "Then, they will surge up like a rising tide of black water, and completely devour you—bone and all."

After saying that, Bai E didn't look at Bai Mo again, as if he had unloaded some kind of burden in his heart, or perhaps he just didn't want to face Bai Mo's possible expression at this moment.

He picked up his usual heavy sword, turned around, and pushed open the inconspicuous wooden door leading to the hotel lobby.

The door hinges made a soft click, shutting out the dampness and noise of the kitchen, and also shutting out the brief, heavy silence between the two brothers.

Bai E's figure disappeared behind the door in the slightly brighter light, leaving Bai Mo alone, still standing stiffly in place.

The warmth of the dishwater still seemed to linger on his shoulder from Bai Er's slap.

The smile on Bai Mo's face, that layer of cynical pretense he usually used to isolate himself from everything, shattered and peeled away silently, like ice being struck by a heavy hammer.

He tugged at the corners of his mouth, seemingly trying to put on that indifferent smile again, but in the end, it only resulted in an extremely lonely, even somewhat bitter, curve.

“Heh… Bai E…” He murmured to himself, staring at the empty door, his voice as soft as a sigh, “He’s only been in Shu Ting’s class for a few days, but he’s already picked up that philosophical tone of a ‘life mentor’ quite well…”

Laughter echoed in the empty kitchen, sounding particularly thin and lonely.

He slowly turned around, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over the remaining foam in the sink, over the rows of clean but cold plates on the drain rack, and finally out the window.

The light of the dawn machine outlined the contours of this world that he deeply loved and cherished.

If this world will eventually come to an end, and destruction will eventually come, then where should I, who am so out of place with Onphalos, go?

at this time--

"Little Bai Mo~ Bai E is out!" A clear, slightly playful female voice, like sunlight piercing through the clouds, came unexpectedly from behind the door connecting to the main hall, breaking the dullness of the kitchen.

The voice carried an undisguised familiarity and a hint of urging.

"They asked you to call Bai E out for dinner, why are you still inside?" The door was pushed open a crack, and a bright smiling face peeked in—it was Xi Lian.

She blinked, deliberately drawing out her words with a hint of coquettishness:

"Time to eat? Your sister Xilian is still starving! If you keep dawdling, I'll pull your ear!"

Xi Lian's voice seemed to possess a magical power, instantly piercing through the gloom in Bai Mo's heart.

He suddenly raised his head, and the momentary confusion and heaviness in his eyes vanished quickly, like mist blown away by a strong wind.

Almost instinctively, the forlorn, bitter smile on his face was replaced by a brighter, more vibrant expression, even though a trace of unconcealed emotion still lingered deep in his eyes.

"Coming, coming!" Bai Mo called out, his voice regaining its usual lightness, even carrying a hint of exaggerated urgency, as if the person who had been immersed in heavy thoughts just moments before was not him at all.

He grabbed a clean rag draped beside the sink, wiped his hands haphazardly, and nimbly stepped over the threshold.

A familiar, slightly sly smile had already appeared on his face. "Since Sister Xilian has spoken, how could I dare to delay? I'd rather let anyone else go hungry than let my Sister Xilian go hungry!"

Chapter 57 Bai Mo: Look, this is what you call reputation in the Senate; even their enemies know they're no good.

"...Lord Bai'e! The isolated army outside the city has made a move!" The messenger's voice was urgent and uneasy.

"Oh? What's that noise?" Bai E asked, feigning composure.

"It seems... that Prince Wan Di of Xuanfeng has personally stepped forward! And just now, your younger brother, Lord Bai Mo... he... he rushed out of the city gate alone!"

Boom——! ! !

Almost as soon as the messenger finished speaking, a deep, thunderous roar, like the earth's fury, suddenly came from outside the city! The sound was like a heavy hammer, striking Bai E's heart hard!

"What?!" Bai E instantly lost his composure.

"No way! What's a fragile mage like him doing outside?! Is he just feeding the enemy kills?!" He practically yelled.

"Quick! Everyone who can move! Follow me out of the city! Quick!!!" Before the words were even finished, the person had already transformed into a golden streak of light, rushing anxiously towards the city gate.

Outside the city, the atmosphere was as heavy as frozen lead.

The lone, suspended army stood like a silent array of black reefs ahead.

At the front, Wan Di—Prince Xuanfeng, with a body as burly as a mountain and muscles as bulging as ancient tree roots, exuded a terrifying sense of oppression, like an ancient ferocious beast awakening, simply by standing there, making the air seem to freeze.

He was as proud as a lion king, his crimson-gold eyes fixed on the unusually thin figure opposite him—Bai Mo.

“You pampered hyena,” Wan Di’s voice was deep and resonant, carrying a contemptuous air as if looking down on an ant, “you are the envoy sent by the Ohma to sue for peace…”

Buzz—Boom!!!!