Heroic Death System Chapter 20-21

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Shang Ke wore a black robe, and he was holding a sword that was still dripping blood. Standing in front of him was a dead body, while a six to seven year old little girl was sitting not even ten meters from him. She was covered in blood, her expression dim, blankly looking at him with a pair of pure eyes.

f.u.c.k! The person he transmigrated as this time wasn't a serial killer, was he? This kind of b.l.o.o.d.y scene, this villainous appearance, it wasn't his style at all!

Following this, he began to receive the world's information from the System, along with the original's memories.

This was a continent named "Turan." Several hundred years ago, in the abyss of the marsh that took up the middle of the continent, a strange tree grew. It was able to give off a devil qi that could erode the soul. It then turned people into its apostles, urging them to slaughter and cause disasters. In this manner, it could absorb their spirits and release darkness.

The people of Turan thus started to call it the "Devil's Tree."

The only thing that could control the devil qi was the power of faith. The power of faith was not restricted to religion or G.o.d, and it also included love, affection, friendship, money, authority, and so on.

The power of faith's main use was amplification, where the firmer one's faith was, the higher the amplification of their power. The way that their faith was exhibited were also different, with different attributes. For example, two people whose faiths were in battle and power would have related faiths, but the directions they each go in were entirely different. The former might become a strong fighter, while the latter might become a politician.

Their shared similarity was that, as long as their faiths were strong enough, they could resist against the devil qi's erosion.

However, people's heart are complicated, and everyone has their own dark side. The moment that darkness has formed in one's heart, it will begin to draw in devil qi. Small amounts of devil qi can be dispelled through willpower and faith, but for those with weak hearts and scheming natures, the devil qi will weaken and corrupt them. After that, they will gradually be reduced to being apostles for the Devil's Tree.

After turning into apostles, the Devil's Tree will become their faith. They will then be able to obtain the Devil's Tree's dark power, and bring disaster to the land.

The person who Shang Ke had taken over was a devil apostle, a very strong devil apostle. His name was "Osari," someone who had entered the number one college, Light Ode College, as the top student and was a publically known genius. Many people had been paying attention to him, both good and bad.

His faith was in "being number one". He had always liked to fight for number one ever since he was young, and was determined to become the number one fighter on the continuent, not losing to anyone. However, two years later, he received his first defeat since coming of age.

He met someone whose genius was evenly matched with his, and moreover, that person was younger than him by two years. The moment that he joined the school, Osari's number one t.i.tle was s.n.a.t.c.hed, and his subsequent battles were few in victories and abundant in losses. The blow that hit him the hardest was their graduation battle, where the other completely dominated and defeated him. It was only then that he realized that the other had always hid his strength, and he lost without any dignity left.

Osari, whose faith was in "being number one," could not accept the reality of defeat, and resentment grew in his heart. Afterwards, he traveled far away, and no news of him was ever heard again.

He did not know that the person who had defeated him was Prince Tylor of the imperial family, and that he had experienced inhuman training ever since he was young. No matter whether it was his training's difficulty or his resources, everything surpa.s.sed Osari's. If it was just talent, Osari would unconditionally win, but it was a pity that his willpower wasn't strong enough, and his defeats had completely destroyed his faith. The so-called "being number one" did not mean being undefeated. Rather, it was so that he could continue striving to climb to the summit, until he could obtain an achievement that was solely his "number one."

Everyone did not know that, after Osari left, he was never able to vent the unwillingness in his heart, and thus was eroded by the devil qi. In the end, he threw himself into the Devil's Tree's embrace and become an apostle.

By the time Shang Ke transmigrated, it was already Osari's fifth year as an apostle. He had been a genius at fighting to begin with, and after his faith turned to the Devil's Tree and he obtained the devil qi's additional power, his strength increased even more. He had rampaged over Turan Continent with no one to stop him, committing slaughter everywhere. Everyone only knew that there was such an apostle, and no one knew that he was the genius Osari that had gone missing five years prior. His cruelty and power caused people to surrender in terror, and he was known as the "Slaughter Devil."

He was really a great villain!

Shang Ke's original instinct was completely correct, and it was currently the great villain's turning point.

He had just killed a group of slave traders. Only that girl, one of their "goods," remained.

If Shang Ke had not appeared, then Osari would have raised his sword and unhesitantly struck the child. At that moment, he would encounter the world's main character, Kaiser, and his companions. The two sides would then start a fierce battle.

Osari would aggressively kill the main character's companions until only Kaiser and that small girl were left alive.

From then on, "Slaughter Devil" Osari and the main character Kaiser would fight forever, and that girl would become one of Kaiser's helping hands.

Shang Ke looked at the girl closely and finally remembered her name-Pupu. This girl's intelligence wasn't that high, but she had a very pure spirit and an exceptionally strong power of faith.

【Main mission: Seal the Devil's Tree.】

Shang Ke was speechless. His current ident.i.ty was the Devil's Tree's apostle. If he were to seal the Devil's Tree, then he would lose his devil qi and become a useless person. Of course, he wouldn't care if he turns into one, but the important part was his "Slaughter Devil" ident.i.ty. Although not many people were capable of recognizing him, as a villain, his entire body was full of devil qi, could he really survive to the point of sealing the Devil's Tree?

In addition, after exchanging souls, he no longer believed in the Devil's Tree, so this meant that he could no longer obtain power from the devil qi. It was quite the opposite, and because of the conflict in faith, he will receive opposition from the devil qi. He will need to rely on his willpower to forcefully suppress the devil qi within his body, and bear the pain from the devil qi.

This world hadn't even started yet, but Shang Ke could already foresee his miserable future.

System, is it really good to throw him, who has no defensive ability whatsoever, into this world? At least wait for him to learn some martial arts or magic!

Shang Ke no longer had time to delay, because Kaiser and his companions were going to appear from behind the corner of the rock mountain at any moment.

Looking at the dead bodies littered around him and the sword in his hand, prepared to kill someone, they likely wouldn't say a would and simply attack him. He had no time to hide, so Shang Ke directly threw away the sword in his hand and rushed up to the little girl Pupu, and held her.

The moment after he did all of that, he saw seven people rush over. They all looked down at the dead bodies on the ground and the two embracing figures before all staring blankly.

"What happened?" A blond haired man in his forties looked vigilantly at Shang Ke.

Shang Ke asked softly in reply, "And who are you people?"

"My name is Gwyn, a teacher at Light Ode College. I am leading some students out for experience." The few people did not rashly approach them, but rather, they carefully sized up the situation.

There were over twenty bodies on the ground, all badly damaged with not a single corpse in one piece. The way they died was terrifying, and it was clear that they had met a powerful attacker. There were only these two alive, one small and one large. The older one was dressed entirely in black and they couldn't see his appearance, but judging by his voice, he should be quite young. The younger one was only six or seven.

The two were both stained with blood, and appeared especially towering among the pile of bodies.

When Shang Ke heard the other say Light Ode College, he thought to himself, Wasn't this Osari's alma mater?

Shang Ke explained to him, "These people were all slave traders. We were captured by them and moved here, but when the group was pa.s.sing through here, we met a frightening man, and the moment he saw people he killed them. In the end, only the two of us were left."

Pupu looked up at Shang Ke from his embrace, her face at a loss. She did not understand him at all. However, his embrace made her feel very much at ease, and it was completely different from the coldness from before.

She lightly leaned against his chest, then tilted her head to look at Gwyn and the others.

Shang Ke did not notice her action, but Gwyn and the others saw it. Perhaps they had some misgivings against Shang Ke, but with the little girl's intimacy, they somewhat lowered their vigilance.

Gwyn brought one student with him to check the dead bodies while the others remained on guard. They quickly found some suspicious things that proved Shang Ke had not lied. Those people were slave trackers, and some of them were even famous wanted criminals.

Taking the chance when they were checking the bodies, Shang Ke also quietly sized them up.

It was a total of five men and two women. The blond man named Gwyn was the oldest, while the others were all only around twenty.

The first one Shang Ke took note of was the main character, Kaiser. His height was roughly 180cm tall and he had a head of silver hair, along with the corners of his lips slightly raised, exceptionally handsome. He stood casually on a pair of long legs, a pair of swords crossed behind his back. His somewhat lazy appearance, combined with that pair of ice-blue eyes, was exceptionally bright, like the depths of an endless sea.

Shang Ke felt that this man must be good with woman. Just look at that red-haired girl beside him, she stole three glances at him in one minute.

The red-haired girl's face was delicate, her temperament charming. Her skintight attire perfectly outlined her impressive body.

Apart from them, there was also a seemingly cold brown-haired girl, a gloomy short and stout boy, a thin boy who was beaming, as well as another robust boy, whose height was over two meters. These people were all supposed to die in Osari's hands, so Shang Ke did not know their names.

"What are your names?" After Gwyn finished checking, he slowly walked to Shang Ke's side.

"Shang Ke, and she's Pupu." Shang Ke patted the girl in his embrace.

The girl raised her head and smiled when she heard him call her name.

Gwyn looked at her slightly b.l.o.o.d.y smiling face and felt that it was a bit strange, but he did not say anything and turned around to introduce Shang Ke to his students.

The red-haired girl was Vadula, and next were Amy, Doru, Youri, Fred, and the "main character" Kaiser.

Gwyn then asked, "Where are you two from? If it's within the country's borders, then we can send you two home."

"There's no need. We no longer have homes," Shang Ke replied in a gloomy voice.

Gwyn paused for a moment, before immediately sighing and saying, "Then you can follow us for now. We are going to Watcher City, and we can decide what to do when we get there."

"Thank you." Shang Ke sincerely gave his thanks.

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Shang Ke knew that, although they let him journey with them, they did not completely trust him. They asked him many questions on the way regarding the attack's specifics. Shang Ke randomly weaved a story together and dismissed it, since they didn't have a way of investigating it anyway.

When night fell, Gwyn and his students made camp near a water source and began to start a fire and cook. Shang Ke and Pupu sat nearby, silently watching.

At this time, Youri walked over and handed Shang Ke a set of clothes, smiling as he told him, "Your body is stained with blood, so you can go wash up by the river and change into these clean clothes." He then looked to Pupu, a bit awkward as he continued, "We don't have any children's clothes, so I'm afraid we can only let her wear some adult's clothes for now."

"Thank you." Shang Ke took the clothes Youri gave him and led Pupu to the river.

He first placed the new clothes on a clean stone, before taking off his black robes. Long black hair was scattered like a waterfall over his shoulders, and hung to his ankles.

Pupu followed his model, and also took off the worn out clothes on her body.

Shang Ke looked down at Pupu, who was only wearing a small undercloth.

Pupu also raised her head to look at Shang Ke and his long, drifting hair.

The two faced each other for a while, and then Shang Ke asked, "Are you afraid of the cold?"

Pupu's little head shook from left to right.

"Then come here." Shang Ke lifted his hair and casually made a braid, laying it loosely over his chest. He then crouched by the riverbank and gestured towards her, soaking his black robes and starting to carefully wipe her face and body.

In the first world, Ravel had also taken care of him like this, so he had naturally became familiar with it after seeing it so much.

Pupu looked up, her half lidded eyes sneaking glances at Shang Ke.

When Shang Ke saw, he suddenly made a face at her.

Pupu stared blankly before starting to giggle, her hair shaking from her laughter. Her tinkling laughter was like the sound of an oriole, causing the quiet forest to become more spirited.

Hearing the laugher, the group of people who were quietly discussing Shang Ke all turned their heads to the river bank.

The small river looked like a golden ribbon under the sunset, with beautiful flickering reflections of light. A long-haired man was half crouching, lightly pulling on a small girl's hand. His hair blocked their view of his face, but his bare neck and upper body were already enough for everyone to have a very high evaluation of his appearance.

At this moment, the little girl reached out and carefully helped Shang Ke raise his falling hair.

Shang Ke raised his head, revealing an exceptionally handsome face. His face held almost no blemishes, as if he had been sculpted by an artist. His pair of pitch black eyes resembled the clear, gleaming little river under the dusky light, glimmering with a soft and gentle light.

A single thought emerged in everyone's mind: It was no wonder he was caught by the slave traders, his appearance was simply drawing attention from criminals!

Shang Ke's attractiveness was greatly improved after experiencing two different worlds. With the addition of the Perfect Expression Package's amplification, his beauty was even further heightened.

After they finished washing up, Shang Ke helped Pupu put on a white robe. The robe was very big, and its hem almost dragged on the ground. He had no choice but to let her hold it in her hand, and he would later ask one of the others for a pair of scissors or a dagger so he could cut a bit off.

After tidying up Pupu, Shang Ke washed himself and put on the clean clothes. His set of long robes was ashy blue, with a silver border. It had a simple style, and on his waist was a handmade rope to tie it together.

Shang Ke's hair wasn't dry yet and it hung damply behind him, soaking the back of his robes.

However, Pupu's hair had been carefully wiped by Shang Ke. It was already half dried and lazily dangled by her face.

After the bloodstains were washed away, they could see that Pupu's small face, although thin, had a pair of bright eyes and delicate features. She had reddish brown hair that slightly curled and fell to her shoulders. Her two hands carried her overly large robe, and with her serious expression the scene was very adorable.

The big and small ones standing together easily drew everyone's stunned gazes.

Shang Ke led Pupu back to the camp and politely thanked Youri once more. The other repeatedly waved his hand, a trace of bashfulness flashing through his expression.

If they were still wary of Shang Ke before, then after seeing his true appearance, no one could muster any more suspicions.

So to speak, this was also a world where you base things off appearances…

Shang Ke smoothly borrowed a dagger and helped cut off more than half of Pupu's robe, leaving it at knee length.

However, seeing how the robe was still very loose, Shang Ke thought a bit before taking off his waist rope, carefully undoing it and dividing it into four strings. He then took two of them and wrapped one around each of their waists.

Following that, he picked up another strand, his finger nimbly winding as he began to weave.

Everyone was originally preparing the meal, but they were all unconsciously attracted to him, or rather, their attention was on his fingers. From within the ashy blue robes, ten slender and fair fingers interweaved and danced, like he was playing an instrument, full of rhythm.

His expression was very focused while his gaze was gentle, and it brought about a tranquil and serene feeling like a relaxed song.

In the blink of an eye, the string within his hand had been turned into a pretty rhombus knot.

Shang Ke placed the rhombus knot on Pupu's waist, making her unpresentable clothing a bit more fun.

Following that, he weaved another one for himself and also placed it on his waist.

Pupu rubbed the knot on her waist, before looking at the one on Shang Ke's waist. She suddenly revealed a big smile and threw herself into his embrace, happily calling out, "Daddy!"

Shang Ke: "……"

You were swindled with just a knot? Child, people's hearts are sinister, you can't be so lacking in vigilance!

"So you guys were father and daughter?" The red-haired girl Vadula ran an amazed gaze across their figures.

Shang Ke faintly smiled and did not say anything. Based on the information from the System, he knew that this little girl no longer had any family. Because she was saved by Kaiser, she was very intimate with him, and later became one of his great helpers.

Did this mean that he stole one of the main character's pieces? Shang Ke glanced over at where Kaiser was sitting not too far from them, and the other just so happened to look toward him as well. Their lines of sight met in the air.

Kaiser smiled at him, boyishly winking his left eye at him.

Shang Ke: "……"

He was originally contemplating whether he, Ravel, and Jian Chenfeng were the same person, but from the looks of it, his personality was completely different!

Kaiser probably wasn't even twenty right now, and youthfully handsome. His brows were slightly raised, like a playful fox.

"Shang Ke, this is for you." Youri gave Shang Ke a roasted bread of some sort.

"Thank you." Shang Ke took the bread, while pondering in his heart if he should give Youri some kind of compensation. After all, he was wearing his clothes and eating his food.

When he was washing himself, he had found a money bag on his body. Inside was a dozen of gold coins, which should be enough.

As a great villain, Osari normally smashed, fought, and killed people, so he had quite a bit of property saved up. However, it was all hidden by him in his old lair, so he temporarily couldn't access it.

Shang Ke pulled apart the block-like bread and blew on it before giving a chunk to Pupu.

Pupu held the bread, following after Shang Ke's example and blowing on it before taking a large bite. Her cheeks immediately puffed up like a steam bun.

Soon after, she saw how Shang Ke was eating leisurely, and immediately felt that the way she was eating wasn't right. She immediately also slowed down and began to eat with small bites.

The two of them sat together, eating a few bites of bread and then having a drink of water. Their actions were identical.

"Pft." Youri and the others couldn't help laughing. This pair of father and daughter were too funny.

Kaiser's fox-like smile also became more amiable and fond.

They all couldn't help but secretly rejoice that the group of slave traffickers did not succeed. Otherwise, this pair of father and daughter would be treated like playthings by those dirty n.o.bles. Who knew how much torment and disrespect would they suffer?

They were like a unique scenery, where just a look would cause people to feel happy.

At night, Gwyn gave them a tent and warned them to rest well. After experiencing unforeseen events during the daytime, they were certainly all quite tired.

Shang Ke lay down on a blanket, and Pupu also lay on his chest, leaning her head against him. Her dark eyes stared unblinkingly at him.

"What are you looking at? Close your eyes and sleep," Shang Ke said as he lightly poked her forehead with a finger.

Pupu immediately closed her eyes, but after a moment, she sneakily opened them again. When she saw that Shang Ke had already closed his eyes, she shifted a bit, finding a more comfortable position in the crook of Shang Ke's arm before falling asleep…

Kaiser lightly replaced the tent corner back down, retracting his peeping gaze. That pair of father and daughter's sleeping appearance was like a beautiful drawing, deeply engraving itself in his mind.

He was an orphan and had always only observed such moments fleetingly during his foster life, so he never enjoyed paternal love.

He felt that if his biological father was still alive, then he should also be a gentle person like Shang Ke.

"Teacher, are we going to send them to Watcher City and leave them to their own devices?" Youri quietly asked.

Gwyn answered, "Watcher City will arrange a temporary residence for them, so you don't need to worry."

"They are so weak, what if they are caught and sold again?"

"Then what do you want to do?" Gwyn glanced at him.

Youri laughed mischievously, and suggested, "Teacher, why don't we bring them back to the imperial capital?"

"You're going to raise them after we bring them back?" Gwyn snapped back.

"I completely can!" Youri's family background was pretty good, a small n.o.ble family of the Holy Empire. Although their position fell quite a distance from being a true great family, they did not have to worry about food and clothing, and raising an additional two people was no problem at all.

Gwyn snorted as he spoke, "It's best to forget it. If you are targeted by one of the other n.o.bles, can your family protect them?"

Youri's face went stiff, his head drooping as he no longer said a word.

"Let them live with me," Kaiser suddenly spoke.

The others all looked at him in surprise.

Although Kaiser usually treated people kindly, he rarely took the initiative to be intimate with others. They didn't expect that he would be willing to let that father and daughter pair live in his home.

Kaiser lived alone in the outskirts of the imperial capital. The environment was quiet and secluded, and it was a rather peaceful place to live.

Gwyn thought about it for a moment before nodding and saying, "We can ask Shang Ke tomorrow, and see if he's willing to."

Kaiser's face smoothed out, and he gracefully walked away to start his night vigil.

Youri indignantly grumbled a bit.

Vadula's eyes carried a bit of displeasure.

As for Doru, Amy, and Fred, they were all people of few words, and so they did not voice any other opinions about the suggestion.

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