Chapter 760 - Goodbye & One week The winds were still cold, and just as Bai Zemin had predicted a week ago, it looked like the Earth would be undergoing major changes soon.
Even though it was not yet winter and even though snow was not a normal occurrence in this part of the country, the previous night had been a great indication that it might soon begin to snow.
Although it was just after 6 a.m. and the sun was in the sky, a thin layer of frost covered the land as far as the eye could see. However, despite the extremely low temperatures, there were several survivors who had gathered near the south gate so the soldiers armed to the teeth had to be extra careful to avoid any kind of inconvenience.
As for the reason why these survivors had gathered there....
"I heard that the new leader will be taking a troop of several hundred soul evolvers to the south."
"I also heard that rumor. It seems that the new leader is aiming to conquer new territories and help our compatriots to get out of misery."
"... The current situation is already so bad, wouldn't it be better if everyone stayed here? The base has been receiving attacks from zombies and mutant beasts on a daily basis for the entire last week..."
"What if because of the new leader taking the most powerful troops this settlement ends up falling? I knew the change of leader wouldn't be a good idea!"
"Shut up! What do you know? The new leader has already conquered the north of Beijing and saved thousands of compatriots there! Do you expect someone powerful to stand by while many brothers and sisters suffer?!"
"I didn't say that!"
"..."
There were many voices so it was difficult to know who said what. However, it was true that the movement this time was no longer a secret to anyone on the base.
Outside the walls, most of the soul evolvers carefully selected to accompany the leader in this conquest operation were spending as much time as they could with their loved ones, because they knew that at the very least, it would be several months before they could see them again, and in the worst case scenario, they might never see them again.
In the part closest to the gate, Bai Zemin was also saying goodbye to some people.
"Zemin... Do you really have to go?" Ye Linger asked, she had to bite her lip several times to stop the tears she was holding back from falling.
Bai Zemin sighed. He forced a smile, and as he caressed his mother's face, he said in a soft voice, "Mother, I have to. I need to start somewhere to get somewhere, wasn't that what you have always taught me?"
"But..." Ye Linger bit her lip hard and the reluctance in her eyes was getting stronger and stronger.
She knew her son had great goals, and considering his strength he had what it took to complete them. However, despite knowing that he would soon be departing far away, only now did Ye Linger realize that she was unwilling to part from him. They had only met a month ago at most but only spent half of that month together, now, not only was Bai Zemin leaving but Meng Qi was leaving with him as well.
Knowing that she would not see either of her two children for who knew how long, Ye Linger felt as if a pair of cruel hands were squeezing her heart tightly trying to break it into pieces.
"Linger, that's enough."
Bai Delan's voice sounded from the side, surprising Meng Qi and Ye Linger a little since he was usually the one reprimanded and very rarely spoke in that angry tone of voice to Ye Linger. Only Bai Zemin understood Bai Delan better, and knew the kind of man his father was, so he was not surprised like them.
Bai Delan looked at his wife and said in a deep voice, "Our kids are talented and strong, they possess the ability to build a truly safe place for all of us, but for that to happen they need to work hard. We don't need to add more burdens to them than they already carry, don't you think?"
Ye Linger was surprised to hear her husband's words, however, she soon understood and realizing what she was doing, lowered her head in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry..."
Meng Qi bit her lip on the verge of tears and quickly moved forward to hug her mother while whispering that there was no need to be sorry for anything and that she loved her very much.
"Old man, if you make mom cry I'll beat you up." Bai Zemin raised an eyebrow at his father as he said those words.
"Brat, if one of these three ladies suffers some kind of injustice along the way you'd better bury yourself underground and don't let me find you." Bai Delan snorted in response.
"Hehe, it's okay grandpa, my father will protect us all." Bai Shilin said with a happy smile.
She was currently being carried by Bai Delan and was wearing a beautiful white dress, white woolen stockings, white shoes, a large white feather coat, white woolen gloves, and a woolen cap with a pompon; also white.
She looked like a little angel. Bai Delan kissed the girl's forehead, and as he handed her to Lilith in her Lili form, he said with a gentle smile, "Shilin, Grandpa will miss you."
"Shilin will miss Grandpa too." She smiled sweetly and her eyes curved into a crescent shape, making the hearts of everyone nearby become warm.
Approximately 5 minutes later, Teng Hua approached the family group and after greeting everyone with a friendly smile he turned to Bai Zemin.
"Leader Bai, we are all ready. We can leave at any moment."
Bai Zemin nodded and looked behind him.
Leaving aside his men's familiars, about 50 meters away were exactly 400 soul evolvers among which there were 9 Second Order existences and the rest were all First Order powerhouses that had formed up orderly and were waiting for his orders to depart along with 10 majestic looking beasts.
These ten beasts were actually 10 of the Roaring Flame Tigers that Bai Zemin's group had encountered in the Sky Destroyer, but unlike their small and adorable sizes of the past, they now looked much more dominant and powerful. Each of them had been carefully nurtured by Second Order existences, and under the constant hunting of powerful enemies, as well as the absorption of extremely pure Soul Power, these ten Roaring Flame Tigers finally became mounts of at least level 27.
Except for one of the mounts, the other 9 were occupied by the 9 Second Order existences that would be forming the nine pillars that would accompany Bai Zemin on this long and dangerous journey he was about to embark on.
Shangguan Bing Xue, Teng Hua and his tamed snake, Zeng Yun with his great mass control skills, Cai Jingyi, Zhong De, Nangong Lingxin, Chen He, Feng Tian Wu, and finally Wu Yijun, who had broken the Second Order three days ago after obtaining an item called Forest Heart that belonged to a level 70 mutant tree which she managed to kill on her own with great difficulty.
Each and every one of these soul evolvers wore armor with at least 500 defense points and possessed weapons with at least 600 physical attack points. In addition, most of them possessed an electromagnetic rifle on their back that would be used to keep their enemies at a distance in case of need.
As for food... That would not be a problem from now on, only the weak would starve. The strong could hunt in any forest.
It was time to leave. Bai Zemin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He did not want to look weak before his family or subordinates, so he could not afford to shed tears in this place.
"Father, mother, remember that if anything happens you must head to Sky Destroyer immediately." Bai Zemin turned to look at his parents and said in a deep voice, "Within a maximum of 6 months we should be able to meet again unless things get a little complicated. Until then, be safe please."
He didn't wait for his parents to say anything, Bai Zemin was afraid he wouldn't be able to leave if he waited too long.
"Little Snow, Meng Qi, Lili, let's go."
Bai Zemin advanced with firm steps, being closely followed by a giant snow-white dog, and two women one of whom was carrying a beautiful little girl whose silver hair was partially contained by the cute woolen cap on her head.
Ye Linger subconsciously took a step forward with the intention of following them, but Bai Delan grabbed her by the arm and shook his head silently. She, seeing the tears running down her husband's stoic face, finally understood that she was not the only one having a hard time, therefore, she silently sank into his embrace and began to sob softly.
Meng Qi jumped on Little Snow's back, who at this point looked more like a white wolf than a dog and soon after Kang Lan joined her. On the other hand, Lilith in her human form and Bai Shilin were helped by Bai Zemin to climb on the back of the last Roaring Flame Tiger.
There were several eyes that focused on Lili and the little girl in their embrace, but no one said anything. Everyone now knew that this woman was actually the leader's woman while the little girl was the daughter the two of them had adopted. Only Chen He and Wu Yijun looked at Bai Shilin with eyes full of complex emotions since unlike the others they knew the truth about her birth.
Bai Zemin ignored the stares of his subordinates and advanced to the front of the lineup of troops. Fully equipped, his cloak flapped lightly even though the winds were frighteningly powerful, and strangely enough, the temperature around him was warm and pleasant causing the frost under his feet to melt with every step he took.
Reaching 20 meters away from everyone, he turned and shouted aloud, "What are our targets?!"
"Conquer!"
"Save our compatriots!"
"Slaughter the zombies!"
"Reclaim our lost lands!"
"Search for our families!"
"..."
Hundreds shouted aloud. The roars of approximately 400 or so soul evolvers whose average level was 35 was no joke at all. The ground shook and the survivors behind the giant walls felt their hearing go numb, finally making them fall silent to the relief of the soldiers.
Bai Zemin nodded and did not say much more. Once the place was quiet again, he slammed his cloak back causing it to flap loudly and turned to face the distant plain that would lead them into the unknown.
"Move!"
Bang! With a mighty stomp, the ground beneath Bai Zemin's left foot cracked and then exploded as his body shot forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!.... With the leader advancing and leading the path personally, the 391 soul evolvers on foot did not lag behind and with powerful stomps turned into flickering shadows that in seconds crossed hundreds of meters.
The Roaring Flame Tigers and Little Snow were naturally more striking, turning into 10 black shadows with glowing fire and a single impurity-free white shadow that quickly overtook the others.
Although the most powerful ones controlled the speed at which they ran so as not to consume too much Stamina and separate themselves from the others, the speed at which they were moving was definitely over 100 kilometers per hour. Therefore, the families who had gone to say goodbye to their loved ones soon found themselves filled with sadness as they watched the small dark dots getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
As the minutes passed some began to leave, and by the time thirty minutes had passed most had returned home.
However, even after an hour, there were three people who were still staring into the distance even though there was nothing there.
Wu Keqian sighed. Looking to his left, he saw Bai Zemin's parents still staring into the distance, just as he had been doing a moment ago.
He approached them, catching Bai Delan's attention but Ye Linger's eyes now red from crying were still focused on the horizon as if waiting for the return of those who had just left.
"Brother Bai, we should return." Wu Keqian sighed again and shook his head, "You shouldn't let your wife stay out so long in this weather."
Bai Delan nodded and whispered something to Ye Linger, slowly bringing her out of the dazed state she had fallen into after her children's departure.
"Lord Wu..." Ye Linger nodded, her voice raspy and weak.
"Forget the word lord. Just call me by my name, in the future we might be family after all." Wu Keqian tried to lighten the mood, but unfortunately he failed. He sighed as he saw the miserable appearance of not only Ye Linger but also Bai Delan, and while patting the latter's shoulder, he said in a complex voice, "At least you two have each other, I was not only left by my daughter but even my wife decided to join this journey of conquest."
"Brother Keqian has his second wife, at least you won't feel lonely." Bai Delan tried to make him feel better.
However, Wu Keqian smiled bitterly and shook his head without saying anything else. He now somewhat understood the reason why Bai Delan was unwilling to casually take just any woman and preferred to focus on just one.
He had taken a beautiful woman as his second wife, however, it was today that Wu Keqian finally realized that feelings are forged over time or with shared experiences; it was not something that was born just like that.
While he was feeling sad looking off into the distance, his second wife returned to the house after only 15 minutes saying it was too cold for her to be outside. Not that this was a bad thing, but Wu Keqian finally began to understand Bai Zemin a little.
What was the use of having thousands if none of those thousands were there when you really needed them?
So far, except for that time when he was almost lost in the infinite space after the collapse of the Cosmic Gate, Wu Yijun had not been able to prove to Bai Zemin that she was really willing to do anything for him. Therefore, Bai Zemin paid no attention to her feelings.
Wu Keqian made a mistake, because instead of focusing more on feelings, he focused more on beauty. That was why his heart now felt as cold as the cold winds that cut his face.
The three of them returned to base, to their respective homes, feeling sad for the same, similar, but at the same time different reasons.
And just like that, a week passed in an instant.
During this week, Bai Zemin's group faced many dangers and with this being the first time such a large operation had been carried out since the second evolution of Earth, this was the first time they realized that they needed to be careful in every step they took if they did not want to be wiped out even before they arrived to their first destination.
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