Chapitre 35: Battle in City of Desert Part 2
Boom!
A massive stream of fire burst out of her fist and flowed toward those bandits.
Seeing the massive wall of flame coming toward them, those bandits lost all of their wills to fight.
The collision of flame caused a massive explosion, killing all of those bandits in the process.
'She is also extremely strong.'
John couldn't help but show awe in his expression when he saw that devastating attack.
"So, are we going to visit that man or wait here?" Hina turned around and heroically asked.
"Of course, we are going to visit that man. Although I would love to wait here, what if that man escapes from this city?"
"I don't want to miss my precious battle experience."
'And, my precious Prestige Points.'
This was the main reason why he wanted to fight in the first place so that he would be able to get a lot of prestige.
Saving the entire city will not only make his name popular in this city but also in other cities.
Just when they were moving toward the City Hall, they found a lot of people coming out of their homes.
It was nearly the evening so it was hard to see the faces of every person. But, surprisingly, there was one person who was in the middle of this whole group.
Hotel Manager!
Yes, that guy was at the front of that group. As they walked closer to Shin and others, the hotel manager spoke.
"Sir, are you really going to save our city?"
"Isn't that the reason why we are picking a fight against those bandits?" Shin smiled and asked.
"You don't have any relationship with us. Why are you trying to help us? Is it to rule over us just like those bandits?"
Suddenly, another man in the corner shouted at Shin.
"Branch, how can you talk to our savior like that?" Hearing his tone, the hotel manager immediately shouted at that man.
"Who knows if they have the same intention?" Branch shouted once again.
The hotel manager's expression sank. Now, he was even more afraid of Shin and others than those bandit groups.
Hearing his words, Shin didn't get angry instead he smiled and asked.
"Then, are you going to live your life under them?"
"Of course not!" Branch immediately shouted.
"Then, why are you suspecting my motivation?" Shin asked.
"If you do something and fail, what if that man releases his anger on us?" Branch shouted.
Hearing his words, Shin nodded his head.
"That is indeed something to considerate."
"See…." Branch was just going to say something more when Shin interrupted him.
"But, isn't dying while fighting for your family better than living like this?"
When he said that, he changed his gaze to other people.
Some of them were children while most of them were adults. All of them looked different but everyone had one similarity.
They all looked thin and weak. They seemed to be suffering from malnutrition even though it had only been less than a month since this bandit group captured this entire city.
From this alone, Shin knew that they weren't even getting a single meal per day. Dying in the hands of enemies was better than living like this.
Hearing his words, those crowds suddenly turned silent. Even Branch couldn't speak a word.
"Yes, it is better to die at the hands of my enemies than live like this. I have lost everyone. I am not afraid."
A young child that was nearly fourteen or fifteen walked in front of them and shouted.
"Brother, please take me to fight!"
Shin looked at him in surprise. Seeing those lonely eyes, he knew that this was a young man who lost everything in the hands of those bandits.
Those citizens also got inspired upon hearing his words. They finally put down their struggle and walked forward.
"Sir, take us with you!"
Those weak bodies showed determination.
Hearing the determination of these people, Branch looked stunned. He bit his lips and shouted.
"What do you guys think you can do? You have no power, no weapon, nothing at all. Why are you sending yourself to die?"
At this moment, he was still hesitant about fighting those bandits. There seemed to be a trace of fear in his eyes.
"Branch, how long are you going to hesitate?"
A soft voice came from behind. When everyone turned around, they saw a young woman who was holding a small baby in her hands.
"Sherly, why are you out here?" Branch spoke in disbelief as he turned his head.
Sherly didn't answer him instead said.
"Are you still going to believe that we can escape from the clutches of those bandits? You promised me that you won't let our daughter die, so why are you hesitating now?"
"If we do nothing, we will still die ."
"Sherly!"
Branch never expected his wife to say such a thing to him.
Fight those bandits? He never even dared to do that. He wasn't a coward but he was afraid of affecting his family.
"Then, why don't you use this as an opportunity to escape? Right now, those bandits outside the city lord's palace are dead. This is a perfect opportunity to escape."
Shin's voice came from behind.
When Branch heard his voice, his heart shook for a moment.
Those crowds didn't say anything. Only Sherly looked straight into her husband's eyes and understood everything.
"That's right! You are not afraid of those bandits. You are only afraid of inflicting your family problem."
"You don't want to escape. You want to free this city but you choose family over city. That's why you have been trying not to go against those bandits. Am I wrong?"
Hearing his words, Branch clenched his fist and said.
"No, you are not. Yes, I am not afraid of those bandits but what about my wife and daughter? What would they do if I go against those bandits?"
"Those bandits didn't even let old people eat a single piece of bread. Do you think they will show mercy on my wife or my daughter?"
Hearing his words, Sherly's eyes got wet and she started crying. She knew that her husband was extremely brave and caring.
He would always help others and was polite and kind.
But, after those bandits overthrew the City Lord, he changed. And, he didn't change for himself.
He changed for them. He wanted to protect them, keep them away from any kind of malicious intent.
But, she knew that they wouldn't survive for long if they keep going like this. They will soon run out of food and their daughter will die out of hunger.
Soon, they will also accompany their daughter.
But, they had one last straw. They knew that if they could escape from here, they could make a living in a new place.
It's just that leaving this place wasn't that easy.
The crowds also understood his intention. Even the hotel manager didn't say a word.
He simply turned silent while looking at Shin.
"Trust, Hope, and Despair will always accompany each other. Whether it is a world with power or without power, these three things will always make human life harder."
"We seek for hope but when hope doesn't come, we lose our trust. Once we lose our trust, there will be nothing but despair waiting for us."
"It is hard to gain that trust back. It is hard to show hope to those who have fallen into despair. I am just a normal human. I might have some capabilities but I am by no means invincible."
"That's why I can't give you hope."
When Shin said that, everyone in the crowd including Branch who had slowly gotten a little bit of hope was disappointed.
They fell deeper into despair.
But, before all hope was lost, Shin continued.
"But, I will fight. Whether it is just for my selfish intentions or for helping you guys, I will fight with all my strength."
"I might run away when I find that I can't win against my enemy. I might even be crushed by the enemy."
"But, there is also another probability to this battle. I might win. I might change your city for the better."
"So, will you trust me?"
After Shin asked this question, it was a pin-drop silence in the crowd. But, that silence didn't last long.
"I will."
The child who previously raised his courage to fight those bandits was the first one to agree.
He raised his head at Shin and said.
"My mother told me that nobody in this world is selfless. There are no heroes in this world."
"But, there will always be a person that will one day help us. He might come late or maybe come whenever everything has already ended."
"But, he will definitely come. Big brother, I believe that the person my mother was talking about was you."
When Shin heard his words, his heart was shaken. He couldn't believe he was hearing these words from a child who was three or four years younger than him.
He slowly lowered his knees and patted the child's head. There was a smile on his face as he said.
"Yes, your mother is right. I am also a selfish person. And, I am not helping your city."
Slowly, he stood up and continued.
"I am going to fight that bandit boss. That's my intention from the beginning. Whether you think of me as a savior or disaster doesn't matter to me."
"So, if you trust me, follow me! If you don't, then just stay here."
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone