Chapter 228 - 138: Final Mercy
Benjamin went to the edge of the platform and looked down. It was a long drop, but there were gaps between the bones that he could use to climb down. Hope for survival was right in front of him, and he couldn’t afford to hesitate.
He rolled up his sleeves and gritted his teeth, about to start climbing. Just then, he heard a tremendous ROAR—the sound of a building collapsing.
Benjamin froze. He looked around and saw his own fortress. Where his main building once stood, dust and smoke now billowed into the air. The collapsed structure was none other than the main building of the Jackal Wolfman Fortress.
He was stunned.
’That’s my main building! That was my life’s work!’
Benjamin’s mouth fell slightly open, but no sound came out. Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and a look of agony washed over his face. It felt as if something vital was being ripped from his body. His heart felt like it had been seized by a giant hand and squeezed hard.
"Ugh..."
A low, suppressed groan escaped his throat. Sweat trickled down his forehead. Benjamin clutched his chest and fell to his knees in agony. He was seeing stars, and waves of dizziness washed over him.
’What’s happening? Why is this happening?’
’Is it a heart attack?’
’But I don’t have a heart condition.’ Benjamin couldn’t understand what was wrong, why he was in so much pain. He felt like a fish thrown onto the shore, gasping for breath but unable to draw any air. Instead, the pain in his heart only grew more intense, his expression twisting into a grimace.
Li Ziyu stood at the entrance of the main building, calmly looking in Benjamin’s direction. He spoke unhurriedly, "Xingxing, do you see? This is the consequence of failure. Even if your enemy spares you, you will still suffer. You will still die."
Cold sweat beaded on Liu Xingxing’s forehead. From his vantage point, he could only see a figure kneeling on the ground, writhing in pain, his body curled into a ball.
Li Ziyu had no intention of saving Benjamin. Everyone was an adult and had to take responsibility for their actions. Since the man had dared to provoke him and tried to collect protection fees, he had to be prepared to pay the price with his life.
’This guy clearly didn’t read the instruction manual. Letting you go? Sure, no problem. But a fortress is bound to its City Lord. When the main building is destroyed, the City Lord dies with it.’
’And it looks like a painful death, too.’
Li Ziyu patted Liu Xingxing’s shoulder and said to someone at his side, "Grant him a final mercy."
The order was quickly relayed through the Undead’s Soul Fire network. On a Watchtower near Benjamin, a Skeleton Longbowman drew its bow, took aim at Benjamin, and gently released the string. The Long Arrow whizzed down and pierced through him from behind, right through the heart.
Benjamin’s suffering ended. Before he died, an expression of relief appeared on his face. He remained kneeling, as if in repentance.
Letting him die a quick death—that was Li Ziyu’s final mercy.
The Otherworld was just that cruel. If you failed, you died. And often, you died in agony.
The demolition of the Jackal Wolfman Fortress continued. The main building of the Kobold fortress was also found. With the help of numerous Skeleton Undead, the demolition went smoothly. Percy remained unconscious the entire time. After his main building was dismantled, just as an expression of pain appeared on his face and he began to writhe on the ground, a Skeleton Warrior stepped forward and ended his life with a single strike of its sword.
In that moment, the Jackal Wolfman Fortress and the Kobold fortress were utterly destroyed, with no chance of recovery.
A steady stream of corpses was transported by the Undead to the fortress. The dismantled resources were also delivered one after another and placed into the Warehouse.
Li Ziyu had the system begin decomposing the bodies. He wanted to get it done early to prevent another small mountain of corpses from piling up.
"Oh, right. Has that woman, Liu... Liu Ziyue, left yet?" Li Ziyu, who had been spacing out on his White Bone Throne out of boredom, suddenly remembered the Tea Master and asked Zhang Peng.
"She’s gone. Ran off pretty fast," Zhang Peng replied nonchalantly, his gaze fixed on the bustling Skeleton Undead.
Liu Xingxing seemed to have been shaken by the experience. He had shrunk back against a wall, lost in thought. Li Ziyu, however, felt this was a good thing. Liu Xingxing was a kind and straightforward person, not at all cunning. But that kind of person had a hard time surviving in the Otherworld. He didn’t want his companions to die; rather, he hoped they would grow stronger.