Abyss Summoner-Chapter 280 - 275: The Avenger

The East Bridge won, but it was a tragic victory.

Over several thousand people died in this battle.

This is not a time for celebration; too many corpses are strewn across the corners of East Bridge. The urgent task now is to handle these bodies swiftly, for once they start to decay, they could trigger a massive plague. Given the current state of medical facilities, a plague would spell disaster.

Countless bodies are piled together by survivors, while some weary professionals stand by, ready to use their powers to reduce these seeds of disaster to ashes.

This is no easy task, particularly because among these soon-to-be-burned bodies may lie your comrades and family. Some practitioners, unable to bear such pressure, cry out in anguish, yet they must grit their teeth and persevere, for this is both their mission and responsibility.

Much work remains.

Those lucky enough to survive look at the piles of bodies with dry tears; they had no time to properly say goodbye to their loved ones before the bodies turned into a mound of earth.

......

Watching each report, Feng Zhiyong felt an intense pain overcome him.

"Tell me, is the final death toll calculated yet?" Feng Zhiyong, tirelessly managing affairs, knew he must understand how many perished in this battle.

"Hmm... the estimates have already been compiled by the investigation team, and we've collected the name lists..."

"I just want the number of deaths."

"Death toll?" Han Qiang, exhausted, paused for a moment, then with a complex look, he said:

"1,630 deaths, 309 missing; in the south, some trampling incidents occurred, leading to more than 207 casualties..."

Feng Zhiyong remained silent. This was not a flood or mudslide; clearly, the missing people were pitiful souls devoured by the Demon.

Broken bones made it impossible to identify bodies.

The only solace was that Feng Zhiyong had prepared beforehand; small-scale chaos was swiftly curbed before it could escalate.

Moreover.

Zhou Xian is dead.

This truly pained Feng Zhiyong. Despite Hong Jiuling's menacing presence, Zhou Xian helped him maintain his colonel position.

Zhou Xian was a cornerstone of the main battle faction, not to mention, this elder was not only highly skilled but adept at worldly matters, often advising Feng Zhiyong.

But now, with Zhou Xian's death, Feng Zhiyong truly felt he had lost an arm, deepening his sorrow to the utmost.

This is the apocalypse—danger lurks always, no matter who you once were—a legendary figure cannot evade fate's arrangements...

The whole street, battlefield, and even the bustling downtown, lay in devastation, like a hellish wasteland.

The road surfaces bore remnants of the Devil, broken bones, fine bone dust, putrid meat, blackened viscera, trampled flesh, and wilted Hell Flowers...

The Devil's corpses spread crosswise over the streets like trash, while freshly dead human bodies and bones mixed among them, presenting stark contrast...

Seeing former compatriots, former comrades meet such an end, the already despondent survivors felt even more helpless, either responding with silence, quiet sobs, or hysterical laughter, venting their inner anguish and sorrow in various ways...

...........................

Post-disaster, soothing public sentiment and reconstruction take precedence.

Though deeply grieving, Feng Zhiyong knew he had to stabilize the situation.

Moreover, the upper echelons of the conservative faction were nearly all gone, signalling that the subordinate members had become fragmented; yet, even more, it called for calm handling.

Should any mutiny arise, East Bridge could face total destruction.

From ancient times, rebellion hinted at regime change; East Bridge had painstakingly eradicated the tumor, and Feng Zhiyong wished to avoid another meaningless battle.

A policy of appeasement.

At any rate, first stabilize the conservatives, then make other decisions later.

Despite the Devil's arrival, leaving East Bridge in ruins, taking many familiar faces, undeniably, East Bridge continued to stand firm.

Even more so, ordinary people in such desperate circumstances broke through their limits and successfully awakened, becoming professionals.

It was an unexpected boon, allowing East Bridge to recover some Primordial Energy.

The living became heroes, but the dead deserved remembrance too, thus Feng Zhiyong established a hero shrine on East Bridge street through dialogue with his subordinates, commemorating those warriors who heroically sacrificed for East Bridge!

......

Xu Hongzhuang was crying.

Before her lay a corpse, covered with a white cloth. Receiving such treatment in a chaotic environment meant the individual was far from ordinary.

Zhou Xian's remains.

The strongest who fell from the main battle faction in this fight.

Xu Hongzhuang felt some guilt; though she sensed issues, under Chen Feng's threat, she voiced nothing. Perhaps... had she been braver earlier, the kind old man might have survived.

Guilt outweighed sorrow.

Xu Hongzhuang and Zhou Xian shared little age-wise, not forming an intergenerational friendship, but rather a colleague-warrior bond.

But Xu Hongzhuang still cried.

She was blaming herself for her silence.

Even though she knew Chen Feng had his own plans for Qiaodong, she didn't stop him in time and instead became an accomplice, step by step, pushing Zhou Xian into Hell.

She was still too young.

Between goodness and darkness, this girl with her own beliefs always leaned toward the former.

She might not be afraid of bleeding, nor hard work, not even death; she saw Qiaodong and the surrounding survivors as her direction of effort.

She indulged Chen Feng, letting this kind-hearted old man personally capture Hong Jiuling, but the outcome was his heart being hollowed out, dying miserably at the other's hands.

She felt somewhat lost, not knowing if everything she insisted on was right.

"Because you are too weak.

During Xu Hongzhuang's grieving helplessness, a familiar male voice suddenly sounded beside her.

It was Chen Feng.

He seemed to have been here for some time, but only now did he come out.

Xu Hongzhuang didn't react much; she just lifted her head. Within her bewildered gaze was a trace of anger; it was this man who caused her belief to crack.

"You are the one who got Elder Zhou killed," Xu Hongzhuang whispered.

"It was Hong Jiuling who killed him, it has nothing to do with me."

Xu Hongzhuang pursed her lips, a bit angered at Chen Feng's nonchalant demeanor; she stopped talking, attempting to use silence to protest the other's cold-bloodedness.

Chen Feng chuckled, saying in a tone full of pity: "Ultimately, it's because you're too weak, your so-called justice is utterly fragile in the face of reality."

"You thought you could use power to change everything, but you couldn't even save Zhou Xian from danger."

"What do you have to escape my control? I can verbally grant you freedom, but you yourself live in the shadows of the past; unless your power can completely crush mine, everything you insist on is just a distant hope."

Xu Hongzhuang clenched her fists, her eyes showed some struggle, unsure of what she was thinking.

Chen Feng's eyes flickered with a red light, his voice somewhat hoarse, slowly he said: "It's precisely because of being too weak that you feel confused."

"If you were stronger than Hong Jiuling, as soon as you discovered his secret, you would have had the chance to slay him."

"If you were stronger than me, you could have stopped Zhou Xian from taking risks, thereby saving this elder who is so significant to Qiaodong."

"But you are nothing, no foundation, no strength, just like a puppet, moved at destiny's whim, all struggles are futile."

These words, like blades, pierced Xu Hongzhuang's heart, her face somewhat pale; this time Chen Feng didn't inflict physical torment, instead launched a mental assault, making her realize how insignificant she was now.

Xu Hongzhuang raised her head, her eyes mixed with some blood streaks, she gazed at Chen Feng, and said with a deep voice: "If I had strength, could I say no?"

Chen Feng's expression was rather playful, and said: "Yes."

"Hong Jiuling's power has been eradicated, the main battle faction suffered a fatal blow; this is your best chance to seize power, perhaps relying solely on yourself won't work, but you have me."

"I will help you take control of Qiaodong!"

"I'll tell you a secret, so-called Hong Jiuling is just an appetizer, the world to come will be more dangerous; evil existences are eyeing the home you want to protect."

"Use your strength to say no to this world, if you grasp Qiaodong, you will become the strongest ruler in this land."

"Feng Zhiyong is already old, even if he was once a hero, now he has become somewhat indecisive; it's his step-by-step retreat that nearly dragged Qiaodong into a point of no return. This city needs a new ruler, a strong ruler, one who dares to say no to all injustices and enemies."

"Accept my invitation; only by standing in the same position will our relationship be equal, I look forward to your transformation."

Chen Feng's figure vanished around the corner, leaving behind a bewildered Xu Hongzhuang kneeling in place, after a moment, she slowly stood up, a long knife appeared in her hand, she waved upward, and her long hair was cut into two sections, the green strands slowly fell to the ground, seemingly signifying something.

Xu Hongzhuang cut off her beloved long hair, as if bidding farewell to her past self.

She betrayed.

But seemingly didn't betray.

Xu Hongzhuang would regard Feng Zhiyong as her elder and teacher, but their beliefs diverged, in her bones hides a vengeful Demon.

Under Feng Zhiyong's entanglement with the conservative faction, this vengeful Demon was tightly sealed, but with Chen Feng's arrival, those seals were being gradually unraveled.

Today.

This Demon finally broke free from its seal, taking control of the body once more.

No one can wield the butcher's knife freely in Qiaodong.

No person, no creature, no existence can flaunt their power before her.

Her family died in the monster's mouth, Qiaodong was almost destroyed, countless people lost their lives and kin.

This suffering cannot continue.

It's time for revenge!

Xu Hongzhuang shed a tear, those who pursue the truth are always lonely, she will prove with facts, everything she does is right!