Chapter 369: A Man's Logic

  "Although I knew you would say that, I still have to thank you." Ethan looked at Gru and smiled.

  Perhaps it was the resonance of two people who both possess the fluctuations of the Leaves of the World Tree and the Sunwell, or perhaps it was due to Meditations on Truth, but even though no one else knew, he could clearly feel the changes in Gru's body. He clearly felt that although Gru stood there motionless like a statue, the body that had been originally riddled with holes by The Black Star's erosion was recovering at a high speed, and the immense life force within him was also recovering. He knew he would definitely recover, and this was the reason he could remain so calm.

  "Don't thank me. You saved me twice, how could I let you be captured by these fellows who are full of high-sounding principles and making a deafening noise here to be used as cannon fodder?" Gru didn't smile, just glanced coldly at the few people around them.

  "How is this possible?" Elder Lloyd looked at Gru, who was standing up from the altar, the wrinkles on his face bunching up as if they were about to fall to the ground. "The Sunwell's well water and the Leaves of the World Tree, that is a sacred power that can only be fused by those with the purest elven royal bloodline..."

  The Pope and the two tower masters of the Tower of Fangs all had extremely ugly expressions, while Lancelot's expression could no longer be described as merely ugly. Those who had never seen it could never imagine such an expression appearing on a person as resolute and deep as him. It was the expression of watching someone you know turn into a monster right before your eyes: shock, fear, disbelief.

  "Oh, so this is the current leader of Oufu, General Gru? What an impressive aura, what a magnificent presence." Adelaide looked at Gru, her gaze like water, and her voice the same, as if hundreds of barrels of honey had been poured into a hot spring, capable of dissolving any man into a puddle of mud at any moment. "But... everything is open for discussion, isn't it? You can't just decide everything with a single sentence..."

  "With just my single sentence."

  Gru's voice was as cold and hard as ten-thousand-year-old granite. As soon as he spoke, Adelaide instinctively fell silent, her gaze instantly becoming that of a stagnant pool. This was a gap in presence, an instinctual retreat, just like how even the most flamboyant golden pheasant would not dare to preen and pose before a lion or a tiger. His gaze forcefully crashed through all obstacles, looking straight into the deepest part of Adelaide's eyes. "I'll give you another piece of advice. I don't kill women. However, that is only on the premise that they do not actively seek their own death."

  The Water Tower Master's face instantly turned ashen. One of her hands had long been gripping a scroll behind her back, but she didn't have the courage to draw it out.

  Not only that, but just as she was speaking, Graden, the Pope, and Lancelot could all feel a drop of water tremble slightly on the backs of their necks. A master-level mage using this kind of suggestive little trick should have been absolutely certain of not being detected.

  The other three had also sensed Adelaide's hint, but none of them made a move. Because their other feeling was even stronger: the absolute feeling that they must not make a move.

  Tower Master Graden only had a vague feeling that even if they made a move, it might be useless. This person's aura had already demonstrated sufficient strength. But the Pope could clearly sense that the aura of The Black Star that had once filled his body was now completely gone. Right now, he didn't seem to possess the same overwhelming presence he had back in The Radiant Citadel, when he alone deterred the entire scene and faced the Lich King by himself. It wasn't oppressive, but in a deeper sense, they all understood that he could only be stronger than he was that day. As a top-tier warrior and a former opponent with whom he had once fought to the death, Lancelot's feeling was undoubtedly the clearest, as could be seen from his expression.

  The balance of power had instantly been reversed. The three of them simultaneously turned their gaze to Lord Bolgan. He was the only one who seemed to be able to speak with Gru on equal terms now.

  Without needing their signal, Lord Bolgan had already run up to Gru and said like a machine gun: "Lord Gru, it's truly great that you're alright, but the current situation is not good, and I don't mean the situation here, I mean the situation of the entire continent, so please calm down and..."

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  Gru just glanced at him, and Lord Bolgan's mouth immediately shut. A series of expressions twisted across his large face. He then looked back at the Pope and the others, sighed heavily as if reaching a powerful conclusion, and said: "It seems he is calm enough."

  No one else spoke. After a long while, the Pope finally spoke, asking in a hoarse voice: "Do you truly understand what you are doing?"

  "Of course." Gru replied lightly.

  "Fine, then I have nothing more to say. When the paths are different, any words are useless." The Pope's voice became more and more aged and hoarse. He looked at the two tower masters of the Tower of Fangs. "And you two?"

  "You're right. It seems nothing we say will be of much use. This is not a person who can be reasoned with." Adelaide's face was still ashen as she glared fiercely at Gru.

  Everyone fell silent. This was actually no longer a matter of whether he could understand reason, but that he simply disdained to listen.

  When the fist is big enough, even the most reasonable principle no longer counts as a principle, at least not a principle that can produce any practical effect. Everyone present was very good at reasoning, so they naturally understood this principle even better.

  Ever since his initial shock, Elder Lloyd had remained silent, just standing there trembling like an old, dead tree that could fall over at any moment, his cloudy old eyes constantly sizing up the people present. At this moment, he slowly gestured to the Pope and the others.

  "Alright, once you've discussed it, tell us your plan. Perhaps... we will cooperate with you." The Pope sighed deeply and turned to walk down from the tree. His steps were actually slightly staggering.

  This was the only option in a situation with no options, the only choice in a situation with no choices, but making the decision to choose this option was by no means easy. The two tower masters followed behind him. Elder Lloyd gave Gru a rather strange look, then turned and led Luya and Kaelin away.

  Lancelot was the last to leave. He looked at Gru with an extremely strange expression, shook his head, and said: "I actually had a question for a long time. Are you really human... no, can you really be considered a normal, living, breathing creature of flesh and blood?"

  Before long, only four people remained on the giant War Ancient Tree: Sandro, Lord Bolgan, Ethan, and Gru.

  From the moment Gru started speaking, Sandro's gaze and attention, like everyone else's, were completely captivated by him. He was stunned. Only now could he let out a long, emotional sigh: "It truly is the era of the young now."

  His expression had relaxed a lot, carrying even more exhaustion. Just now, his spirit, body, and magical power had been tensed to the absolute limit. The self-harming Necromancy amplified magic at the cost of life force. What was pulled out was not as simple as a tooth or a finger. If he had continued like that, perhaps the Pope and the others wouldn't have even needed to make a move.

  Lord Bolgan's expression nearby was not good, but it was not like that of the Pope and Lancelot. Emotionally, he was undoubtedly inclined toward Ethan. However, under the powerful logic of his huge head, emotion was absolutely not enough to influence his values and decisions. A friend, no matter what, could not compare to the entirety of Oufu and the other tens of thousands of people. And now, being completely out of his own control, even in a situation that seemed extremely unreasonable and contrary to his aesthetic of efficiency, he was, at least emotionally, much more relaxed.

  Ethan and Gru had no intention of blaming him at all. From a certain perspective, he was an extremely simple person, so simple that even someone ten times more simple-minded than him could predict his stance and reactions. And simple enough to make people let down their guard.

  "Do you have a way to deal with that monster?" Gru looked at Ethan and asked.

  "No. Even the elven race can only choose to join forces with Lancelot and the others. How could I have a better way?" Ethan shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Do you?"

  "Of course not."

  "It seems we're thinking the same thing."

  "Mm."

  "Excuse me..." Lord Bolgan asked in a very careful tone. His already large eyes were now wide open as if they were about to fall out. Even though the person was simple, his thinking ability was absolutely not simple. He had already guessed something from the dialogue between the two. "This so-called arrangement of yours, does it actually mean there is no arrangement? Or to put it another way, is what you have to do actually very similar to what they want to do?"

  Ethan thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly and nodded, "Perhaps you could put it that way."

  "What?" Sandro almost jumped up.

  "I will try every possible means to stop that monster. If there is truly no other way, then, as they hope, I will have to risk my own life."

  "Are you an idiot? In this situation, you could take the chance to escape to the Far East..." Sandro roared.

  "I can't escape. What that fellow said is actually right. Death is acceptable, but the most important thing is not to escape."

  "What's the difference between what you're doing and what Magnus and the others are doing?"

  "Of course there's a difference. They want me to do it; now I am doing it myself."

  "The result is the same, you fool!" Sandro was on the verge of erupting in fury.

  "You can escape now, but can you escape forever? No matter what you do, as a human being, isn't the final result always death? The result is never important; what's important is whether this process is something I am doing according to my own will. So I can only say that I will try my best not to die." Ethan said slowly. His voice was very light, but the weight contained in each word was incredibly heavy—the weight a true man should have. "But when it's time to die, then I will die. After all, there's no way to avoid death anyway."

  "You..."

  "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing, and that's enough." Ethan looked at Sandro and smiled, saying it very casually. "Besides, it's not necessarily a matter of losing my life. That thing is not the real Lich King yet. My plan is naturally a little different from theirs..."

  Sandro's face was flushed red, but he said no more. For a person who truly knows what they are doing, any kind of persuasion is useless.

  "I'll still say the same thing. As long as I don't die, I won't let you die." Gru nodded.

  After a moment of silence, Ethan also nodded heavily: "Thank you."

  This was also a person who knew what he was doing. Besides these two words, any other language was useless.

  "This logic of men, sometimes it really lacks the aesthetic of rationality." Lord Bolgan said with a pained expression, shaking his head and sighing, but then he couldn't help but nod. "But then again... this is truly a man's logic."