570 Friend, Please Wait for One... (1/2)
In the Siberian wilderness of the Caucasus, dim fires flickered in the dispirited city in the distance.
The stench lingering in the wasteland had yet to dissipate.
The ignited ruins were still emitting pungent smog, and the extinguished embers gave off a dark red glow, which flickered in the cold wind, like the breaths of a dying person.
The powder-like snow that was drifting profusely fell in the cold wind and covered the earth. It descended upon the world, accompanied by the pervasive cold wind that sprinkled it into the fortress.
The wounded soldiers lying on felt croaked difficultly, trying to breathe. They exhaled white clouds of air as if souls were dissipating as death gradually drew near.
The war with the catastrophe was about to end.
The shadow cast by the Eagle Wing Mother marched across the territories of the Caucasus, passing straight through the Siberian wilderness, and was about to descend upon the country's last line of defense. It had consumed millions of lives greedily, hatching countless eagle-bodied demons from blood and carrion. They surrounded the supreme king of the sky, the great Eagle Wing Mother, and had swallowed most of the kingdom into their bellies.
The country was like a prey struggling hard under the beak of the catastrophe. It was ripped apart bit by bit, its internal organs devoured. As the catastrophe munched on carefreely, the country gave its dying kicks before losing its last bit of life.
In the ditch frozen with muddy water, the stench of torn boots and rotten feet lingered. Dozens of soldiers with unkempt hair lay on the ground in dead slumber, and thunder-like snores rang out non-stop.
In the snow that was drifting profusely, in a corner that was relatively warm and sheltered from the wind, someone tossed and turned. In the end, he resigned himself to his fate and gave up on sleeping. He pulled a scrap of curtain on top of his face away, revealing cracking lips and a face covered in ashes and dirt. He climbed up, held on to the edge of the ditch, and extended his head out into the cold, howling wind. He took large gulps of breath in the life-saving fresh air and panted.
”How awful. Foot odor alone would be a great weapon for this country, no?” Charles leaned over on the edge and retched for a long time, but did not manage to vomit up anything. In the silence where only snores could be heard, he looked blankly at the surrounding wilderness and the city behind him. After a good while, he raised one foot and kicked the dead asleep guy next to him. ”I heard a group of girls singing…”
”Don't be silly.” Wolf Flute rolled over on the floor and mumbled, ”It's the dead of the night, why would there be people singing?”
”I'm not kidding,” Charles shouted in a low voice. ”I can smell wine, the Royal Knights...”
”You're overthinking,” said Wolf Flute.
Charles' pestering prevented Wolf Flute from falling asleep again. Wolf Flute dragged a broken bucket filled with liquid over inattentively and handed it to Charles. ”Come, drink some aged kerosene to satisfy your craving.”
”...” Charles was speechless, and he squatted back down in the ditch. The two men stared at each other, at a loss for words. After a long time, they shivered at the same time.
”It's so cold!” one of them exclaimed.
”It's really f*cking cold!” the other agreed.
Charles wrapped the scrap of blanket tightly around him and wanted to cry, but no tears came out. ”Why is there not even heating? The local gangs really lack courtesy!”
”They can't do anything about that, they're too poor.” Wolf Flute shook his head. He fished out a small bottle and took a sip. ”The gratitude and respect of the Caucasians for your willingness to die have already manifested themselves in the form of the blanket for you to cover. But you are still unsatisfied, and here you are, requesting for heating, girls, and wine. Are you still human?”
”...” Charles was rendered speechless once more. He stared straight at the bottle in Wolf Flute's hand. ”What are you drinking?” Charles had been starving for a night and was so cold that he was almost willing to go to hell to warm himself by the fire. Seeing that Wolf Flute had something edible, Charles couldn't help but want to pounce on him.
”This? You want some?” Wolf Flute raised an eyebrow and shoved the bottle right in front of Charles' nose. Stunned by the pungent smell, Charles almost tripped.
”Would you like a sip? It's a special medicine for treating dysautonomia and schizophrenia. It's really effective. Ever since I started drinking it, I can no longer see my second cousin who doesn't exist,” said Wolf Flute.
”You still haven't recovered?” Charles asked.
”It won't be so easy for me to recover.” Wolf Flute shook his head. Behind him, the phantom of the wolf-headed god flashed across, half of its body missing, and it looked as badly damaged as before.
”That old fellow, Wagner, is really strong. Although our phantom beasts are both divine, the level of completion of Anubis is far lower than the Valkyrie, which had been passed down for generations. They just brushed past each other... and Anubis was hurt so badly. To recover completely, it'll take at least another half a year. ”
Looking at him, Charles couldn't help but shake his head. He couldn't sleep. As he looked at the dark sky, his expression became sad and worried.
”I wonder how Little Yezi and Bai Xi are doing now. One way or another, I'm still worried about them.”
”You can rest assured.” Wolf Flute laughed gloatingly. ”According to what I know, Ye Qingxuan couldn't be better. He is probably gathering his strength to beat you up.”
Charles shrugged. ”Nothing I can do about it then. After all, I was the one who ran away...”
”Don't be sad, the worst case scenario for you is still much better than my situation.” Wolf Flute shrugged as well. ”There's a terrifying old man in the world who is ready to clean house.”
Charles said, ”You mean Ba...”
Before Charles finished his words, Wolf Flute's expression changed suddenly. He reached out, covered Charles' mouth, and raised a finger to his lips, motioning for Charles to keep quiet.
”Shh,” Wolf Flute whispered.
Boom! Sudden bangs sounded in the sky. Frenzied lightning brewed up, burst forth, and stabbed towards the mortal world, bringing blazing light that only lasted for an instant. The light illuminated the phantom wolves around Wolf Flute. Their eyes were green, and they silently gazed at the sky. But the thunder and lightning only lasted for a flash and soon returned to silence, For a long time, nothing could be heard.
Wolf Flute let out a sigh of relief, let go and shook his head at Charles. ”Don't ever mention that name, especially when I am around...”
Charles didn't say anything, just stared straight at him, a weird look in his eyes.
”What's wrong?” Wolf Flute gave a resigned smile. ”Got scared?”
”It must be very warm, no?” Charles suddenly asked, surprising Wolf Flute.
Charles pointed at him indignantly. ”Don't deceive me, I just saw them. With so much fur around you, it must be very warm! And I was wondering how you don't shiver at all!
”You are too mean, you have so many wolves, it's not like you can use all of them on yourself, so at least give me one!”