Don't Mess with That Dragon-Chapter 646 - 34 Defeat

Staying in this Dragon Nest Tribe for a full eighteen years, what kind of psychological journey Valen went through, no one knows, but in the end, he chose to stand on the opposite side of his former friend.

Some people experience darkness and then choose to merge into the darkness.

But some choose to hold onto the light.

People like Valen with such beliefs may not be many in this world, but they are not nonexistent. Austin couldn't do what he did, but that didn't stop him from feeling Valen's conviction.

In the era of Austin's previous life when beliefs collapsed, everything in society was aligned with money. At that time, Austin, who had cultivated a relatively proper worldview from a young age, still essentially remained a selfish person. Seeing the difficult lives of some impoverished groups would stir some emotions in his heart, and if he saw a friend sharing a crowdfunding link for strangers in need, he wouldn't hesitate to donate a few bucks. But to go to remote mountains to volunteer, or give away his salary savings to help unknown impoverished individuals, that was impossible.

Not to mention, like Valen, who was willing to risk everything, including his life, to save those thousands struggling on the edge of life and death.

Austin could never become such a person, but that didn't stop him from having respect for such people with noble convictions.

Striving and working hard for a group of strangers.

In the previous life, like those during the turbulent war years who abandoned a privileged life to join the army and resist invaders, and those who, after the founding of a nation, silently worked in the depths of the vast desert for patriotic scientific research, nearly dedicating their entire lives.

Those who gave for the greater good of the country and the people, yet willingly remain in obscurity behind the scenes.

Such people might be rare,

but they have never ceased to exist throughout human history and civilization.

"However, Valen and Edward..."

In the depths of the Dragon's Nest, Austin sat cross-legged in the void.

The space in front of him rippled, forming a mirror, reflecting everything happening at the front of the Dragon's Nest.

Austin seemed to have discovered something, his eyes flickered, pondering about something unknown.

...

Boom!!!

In the sky, two unbelievably swift figures crossed each other; their rapid speed only left a series of afterimages high in the air, colliding in an instant.

The sword light was like a bolt, its sharpness as cold as frost.

The mighty Fighting Qi erupted instantly, like hundreds of thousands of tons of explosives detonating in a confined space, shaking the air into visible shockwaves, sweeping across.

The next moment,

Bang!

One could see a figure in the sky being flung away like a ragdoll, crashing heavily into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

The ground shattered like a spider web; at the pit's center, a miserable figure lay weakly, having lost all power to resist, and it was indeed Edward!

Swish!

Valen's massive figure suddenly turned into an afterimage, flashing and landing in front of Edward, pointing a longsword down at his neck, his forehead beaded with sweat as he took deep breaths.

The air quieted at this moment.

Time seemed frozen in this scene.

Valen did not speak,

Edward also remained silent.

The atmosphere was silent yet oppressive.

The two faced each other,

silent and wordless, with mixed emotions in their hearts.

In the past, the two friends who drank and ate meat together, adventured together, and trusted each other with their backs, were now pitted against each other with swords.

Fate is fickle,

no one knows where the future will lead next.

Perhaps,

even after so many years, they still miss those simple days of drinking and eating meat, standing guard, wary of external dangers, and slaying invading Beastmen.

Back then, though tiring,

some things hadn't become so complex yet.

After a long while,

"Edward, I won."

Valen's hoarse voice was somewhat low.

Lying on the ground, Edward initially still wanted to struggle and stand up, continue the fight, at least not fall before facing the Blue Dragon that brought hardships to his life.

But for unknown reasons,

at this moment, all his persistence suddenly dissipated into thin air.

Inexplicably,

it seemed the things he held onto for many years lost their meaning at this moment.

Tasteless.

"That's right, you won."

Edward seemed to have lost all strength, lying on the ground muttering with a mix of emotions.

For some reason, he suddenly felt envious of this former friend before him.

At least, 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

the other had found meaning in his life, discovered a noble conviction, and fought for it, living each day quite fulfillingly.

And what about himself,

for nearly twenty years, he had been walking down the path of revenge.

Plot after plot, failure after failure, yet he grew increasingly distant from facing his true enemy, without even qualifying to confront them directly.

Such a life is simply a joke.

When did it all begin?

Edward suddenly realized, looking up at the tattered ceiling, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds, his thoughts unknowingly returning to the greatest failure of his life eighteen years ago.

Pasts flashed one by one in his mind.

"Truly... so disgraceful!"

Edward closed his eyes,

everything from the beginning,

was merely because of his unwillingness to accept defeat.

Since leaving home, he had been smooth sailing all the way, encountering dangers during his travels that he cleverly resolved with his wit and strength.

This had nurtured in his youth an arrogant mindset that no difficulty was too hard.

Thus,

following that catastrophic failure, he became furious with humiliation.

Subsequent revenge actions, all the schemes behind, were solely due to the rage of humiliation from that massive defeat.

And then he ended up in this current predicament.

Facing that former friend's burning conviction,

Edward finally saw through his own heart.

"These years I've claimed to act for humanity's future, to nip that dangerous Dragon Nest Beastmen force in the bud, how much was actually out of public interest for humans? It was just for my own insignificant personal vendetta... Valen, thank you..."

Over the years, the belief he clung to finally crumbled.

The organizational form of the Dragon Nest Tribe was dangerous. If allowed to develop, it would pose an unparalleled threat to humanity in the Central Earth World. For humanity's future, it had to be eradicated!

This,

has been Edward's final thought that he persevered through endless defeats.

But at this moment,

Edward came to a realization.

Facing Valen's fiery conviction, he, Edward, could no longer deceive himself with the false sense of great justice.

Falsehood is ultimately false.

What great justice, what noble conviction,

all were merely for his stubborn personal vendetta since the fall from arrogance years ago.

...

ps: The second update will be later, these two chapters are a bit tricky to write.