Is that it...
The execution platform was just a crude platform built around a huge tree stump. Next to the stump, a huge figure wearing pure black armor and a black linen head was standing there, holding a huge axe.
In an instant, the distance between life and death appeared before Perlis' eyes in an extremely real way.
Once there, everything will be over.
"Father! I brought her!"
Venia gestured towards the highest position on the stands. Perlis followed his gaze and saw Mikhail Irenfono, the Iron Lord of Thebit, sitting on the largest wooden chair, looking down at Perlis with his black eyes.
After meeting Perlis's gaze, the Iron Lord did not speak, he just nodded slightly, indicating that everything should continue. Venia let out an uncontrollable strange laugh, then waved his hand, and two soldiers dragged Perlis towards the execution platform.
Is this the end?
Perlis's eyes had lost their luster, and the storm seemed to ease a little, but the cold wind of Thebit still slapped her cheeks mercilessly.
Is it really true... that there is no need to struggle anymore...?
Forget it... let's just end it like this...
This journey alone is too absurd and too lonely.
Perlis thought that she was born to be a lonely person and did not need the company and sympathy of others. But when she was dragged to the execution platform alone, the loneliness turned into a flood, drowning her last bit of pride.
Pearlis was tired, really tired.
They are all liars anyway, and no one cares about me, so why not just... end it like this.
Maybe it would be better if it ended like this...
Anyway, they all...
In an instant, a face suddenly flashed through Perlis's mind. She couldn't even focus completely on that face. She could only vaguely see a hint of worry in those ice-blue eyes.
Ah... Carly...
A feeling of grievance suddenly surged into Perlis's heart. On the way to the guillotine, she missed Carly...
No...I can't just do this...
Wasn’t Carly still waiting for her...why was there no one here?
No...No!!!
Perlis' eyes suddenly opened, a red lightning flashed, and she suddenly broke free from the two soldiers who were dragging her - perhaps because they were careless, or perhaps because they thought the girl being dragged was already half-dead, the soldiers' first reaction was extreme surprise.
Then, time slowly slowed down in front of Perlis. She quickly locked onto the pistol on the soldier's waist, and without hesitation, she snatched the R-72 "Rhino" with her left hand, which was still able to move.
Without hesitation, she aimed her gun at Venia who had just turned around - the stinky young master had an extremely shocked expression on his face, as if he had not expected this scene at all.
Then, under the gaze of all the lords, the white index finger pulled the trigger——
"boom--"
7) Blooming on the Mountaintop (Part 4)
The huge recoil acted on the dying Perlis, causing her to stagger back several steps. When she stood firm and raised her head, she was greeted by a punch -
"Well!!"
Venia punched Perlis hard in the stomach, causing her body to tremble slightly, and her blood-red eyes widened in shock - how could it be possible...
"You missed, little bitch..." Venia said viciously. He grabbed Perlis' throat and punched her in the stomach.
"what...!"
Perlis felt her stomach churning, her legs went limp, and she fell face first onto the snow.
“Uh…ah…”
Ah...did I miss the target...
Perlis's cheek was pressed against the cold snow, mud and ice were blending in front of her eyes, but she could hardly feel the boundary between the cold and the pain.
"General Venia..." The soldier whose gun was taken away ran to Venia in fear and trepidation, "I..."
"Shut up and let me start now."
Venia shook his shoulders, then he viciously grabbed Perlis's long white hair stained with mud and dragged her towards the execution platform.
Ah... there is still no way, as expected.
The pain on her scalp could no longer arouse Perlis's senses. After the brief flame burned out, she was once again conquered by the cold wind of Thebit.
The girl sighed softly and her clenched fists slowly loosened.
That's enough, that's it.
Under the gaze of the lords, Venia roughly dragged Perlis to the execution platform, and then fiercely pressed her head on the stump covered with coagulated blood. He gently put his mouth to Perlis's ear and whispered:
"It's a pity that I can't play with you before you die... But I'm not that particular... I can only trouble you to die first..."
Perlis listened to Venia's dirty words numbly, but she no longer had any emotions. Venia looked at her empty eyes, smiled very complacently, then turned around, waved his hand, and began to imitate the tone of the Iron Lord's speech at the banquet:
"Lords! We gathered here today to witness the death of a [Blade of Babel]!"
All the lords were looking at Perlis and Venia on the execution platform, and the expressions on most of their faces changed from the indifference at the banquet to a little fanaticism.
"The Federation destroyed Charon and thrust their blades into our hearts, trying to stop the heartbeat of the Thebites. Can you stand this!?"
"No!" several voices echoed.
"She broke into our banquet and wanted to water the land of Thebeth with blood. Can you accept that?"
"No!" Hearing the banquet, there were fewer voices responding to him this time.
"Now she is here, completely defeated by me! Venia Irenforno! What do you think..."
“Oh, for the sake of the fucking Wanren Mountain!” A bearded lord stood up and shouted, “Cut off the fucking head of this federal man and stop talking nonsense!”
"Kill her! Kill her!" The lord's followers also stood up and waved their arms.
Venya was a little annoyed when being interrupted. He quickly glanced at his father, but Mikhail had no intention of expressing his opinion. He just kept a stern face as usual and watched everything silently with his cold black eyes.
"Since...since your wish is so strong! Let's do this!"
Venia raised his hands in surrender and turned to Perlis:
"Perlis Hafurgard, I, Venia Irenforno, general of the [Infinite Iron Legion], [Son of the Iron Lord], hereby sentence you to death."
Venia glanced at the figure holding a huge axe beside him and nodded.
"Go ahead, [Iron Guard Executioner]."
[The Executioner] did not say anything. After hearing the order, he slowly walked towards the execution platform. His heavy footsteps made a "creaking" sound on the dilapidated wooden platform.
"Ah...wonderful..."
Venia stared at Perlis with an extremely fanatical look - he had been looking forward to this moment for a long time, looking forward to the famous [Blade of Babel] being killed in front of him.
The Executioner moved to the side of Perlis. Without even looking at Perlis, it raised the axe in its hand without hesitation and chopped down at Perlis' neck.
"Stop."
A deep voice sounded from the stands, and the "Executioner" stopped his actions. Everyone's eyes turned to that place, and saw that the Iron Lord had stood up and looked down at Venia:
"He who pronounces a sentence of death should do it himself (Thebite)."
The Iron Lord's gaze seemed to contain some kind of hellfire. Even in the dead of winter, that gaze was so hot that Venia couldn't look directly at it.
"Father...this..."
Venia was a little hesitant. After all, he had never killed anyone with his own hands. He always let his subordinates deal with the people he wanted to kill, and he was only responsible for watching from the side - this was one of his favorite hobbies.
But even though Venia enjoyed watching all kinds of people die, he never wanted to get his hands stained with blood, maybe because of mysophobia, or maybe because...
....Is he afraid?
However, under the gaze of the Iron Lord, the usually domineering Venia did not dare to resist at all.
"Okay..." Venia lowered his head slightly and murmured, "Okay."
Venia slowly walked to Perlis' side and pulled out a cold steel knife from his waist. The sharp curved knife forged from cold steel slightly reflected the pure white hair of the girl on the guillotine, blending in with the drifting snowflakes.
"Goodbye, [Pure White Fireworks]."
Venia spoke softly, holding up the cold steel knife high. He was a little nervous, fearing that if this knife could not directly cut off Perlis's neck, it would cause the lords to laugh at him.
When she was dying, Perlis just stared at the ground with lifeless eyes.
Well...there's nothing left to fight for.
Her blurred red eyes stared at the mud below the execution platform. As the concept of time disappeared, Perlis only felt that the moment before her death seemed to be infinitely stretched.
My head will fall into the mud... It feels dirty...
The sound of the wind in the background and the noise of the lords gradually faded away, and everything around him gradually became blurred.
In the silence, Perlis sighed imperceptibly.
This journey...it's such a boring story...
A little girl who doesn't know her own limitations will eventually be swallowed up by the cruel world no matter how strong she claims to be or how she struggles alone...
The blood-red eyes gradually lost their luster and became dull.
I'm sorry... Carly... I'm sorry... Dad...
At this moment of despair, the last bit of fire is about to burn out -
Suddenly, in the ice, snow and mud on the ground, a somewhat abrupt pure white shadow was reflected in Perlis's field of vision - she slowly focused her vision and found that it was a small white flower.
The small white flower was in the mud, dirty, and its original color could only be judged from the few petals that were not covered by the mud. At this moment, the cold wind before dawn was blowing on the cliff, and the small flower was swaying in the wind, as if it would be uprooted at any time.
Why...are there flowers in a place like this?
In Perlis's memory, the tone of Wanren Mountain has always been summarized by mud and ice and snow: This is the "Ice Burial Ground", let alone flowers and plants, even the trees are only the cedars that have persisted in the eternal evolution game - they have dug their roots into this frozen soil, and from then on they are indestructible and unshakable. All nutrients belong to them, and only they can survive the blizzard, so when the winter is over, they are the very few who still stand on Wanren Mountain.
As for those who could not survive the wind and snow, they were swallowed by the Wanren Mountain and turned into mud.
Let's take a look at this little flower struggling in the mud: the pure white petals, the fragile and vulnerable stems and leaves, and the thin roots that can't penetrate the frozen soil at all, how ridiculous...
However, it still fights against ice, snow and mud in the wind and snow.
Should I call it stupid? Should I call her stupid?
A glimmer of light appeared in her dark eyes. At this moment when she was infinitely close to death, Perlis seemed to realize something.
Even though mud stains its petals, even though it could be blown away by a merciless cold wind at any time, it is still there.
They say that mountains will swallow up all small existences, but how do you explain this little flower that is still struggling in the mud?
Why are the white flowers in the mud not worthy of competing with the cedar for fragrance?
When the ice and snow melt and merge into the roots of the flowers, and when the cold wind dissipates, even such a small flower will release a refreshing fragrance.
No matter how miserable it had been, no matter whether it had been blown away by the strong wind and could not stand up straight.
At that time, she will bloom on the mountaintop——
In a trance, a strong light lit up Perlis's red eyes. She raised her head suddenly: a rising sun broke through the outline of the Wanren Mountain and penetrated the gradually subsiding snow. It was hanging in the air, sprinkling golden light on the snowy peaks, lighting up the girl's blood-red eyes.
"Not today..."
"Ahhhhh!!"
As if to cheer himself up, Venia roared and clenched the cold steel knife in his hand. The cold steel was made harder by the cold wind, reflecting the first ray of dawn in Thebeth.
Venia didn't notice the girl's strangeness at all. He simply pointed the blade at Perlis's fair neck and chopped it down fiercely.
"rub--"
A second before the blade touched Perlis's neck, a red arc burst out, accompanied by the sound of tearing air, Perlis's body flashed to the side, and rolled down the execution platform. Venia's fierce chop pierced deeply into the wooden block, splashing some wood chips.
"What the hell? How could she..."
Venia stared at Perlis who was struggling to get up. The glimmer in her red eyes made him feel inexplicably frightened. This made him turn to the investigator behind him and shouted an order:
"Shoot the fuck up!"
A group of investigators aimed their guns at Perlis who had just stood up, and the resulting firepower left her with almost no room for escape.
However, before they could fire, a sonic boom sounded from below the cliff—
"boom--"
