Vol 4. Chapter 91: Through Countless Hardships

At this moment,

standing in the middle of the square, Shang Mo, the world's newest Child of Destiny, was absolutely overjoyed.

The reason was very simple. After going through what could only be described as a near-death ordeal, the poor Shang Mo had finally escaped that freezing wasteland where even birds refused to shit and arrived in the warm, flower-filled lands of the Sadik Empire.

‘Wuwuwu, I finally made it...’

Shang Mo kept lamenting inwardly.

He looked as though he was so happy he was about to cry, and his entire body even began trembling uncontrollably, causing the people nearby to cast strange looks at him.

That's right.

In the eyes of the other orphans nearby, the people who had come to seek refuge with the Black Rose Family, and the members of the Autumnfall Legion,

this Chosen One, who supposedly bore the mission of saving the world, was currently dressed entirely like a girl, without even the slightest hint of masculinity.

Although his hair was disheveled and his clothes were torn and filthy, Shang Mo's beautiful long water-blue hair and slender, delicate body still occasionally revealed just how pretty this body actually was.

Everyone appreciated beauty.

But right now, the beauty Shang Mo displayed only made the surrounding people suddenly feel a deep sense of regret.

Staring at this adorable blue-haired ‘girl’ who was inexplicably trembling over there, everyone sighed helplessly.

Such a perfectly good girl. How did her brain end up broken...

Shang Mo could more or less guess what the people around him were thinking, but he still couldn't control his emotions.

After all, he was simply far too excited right now.

During this period,

in order to reach the Black Rose Family's territory, Shang Mo had suffered through countless hardships.

He had even been forced to dress as a woman in order to board a fleet heading toward the southern Sadik Empire. Risking the very real possibility of getting his ass fucked, he successfully seduced the fleet's vice-captain, and only then managed to board this batch of high-speed cargo ships, racing toward the Sadik Empire along the Central Grand Canal.

Of course, although it was called seduction, Shang Mo still relied on his own mechanism and used ** to throw the vice-captain and that muscular first mate into the same room, ultimately avoiding the tragic fate of losing his chastity.

Afterward, terrified that they would retaliate, Shang Mo endured the horrible stench and hid in the cargo ship's garbage hold for several days, finally escaping the vice-captain's ‘revenge’...

Enmm,

strictly speaking, the word ‘revenge’ wasn't exactly accurate.

Because,

when Shang Mo secretly left the cargo ship later, he discovered that the vice-captain he had screwed over hadn't sent anyone to look for him at all.

Instead, the man was happily walking arm in arm with the first mate?!

Watching the bizarre sight of those two muscular men embracing each other, Shang Mo suddenly began to question his entire life.

Still,

no matter what,

Shang Mo had relied on his intelligence and slave labor to travel thousands of li from the northern part of the continent all the way to the southern Sadik Empire.

After that, in order to reach Sabelius, the Black Rose Family's territory hundreds of kilometers away, Shang Mo began a miserable life of working for food and sleeping outdoors as he slowly made his way toward the Black Rose Family.

However,

in just a few short weeks,

Shang Mo experienced six robberies, four attempted sexual assaults, five scams, and even one human-trafficking incident...

While marveling at the Sadik Empire's ‘simple and honest folk customs,’ which were practically comparable to Gotham, Shang Mo was almost ready to cry.

After all, his strength was so pitiful. After being tossed around like this, although he had barely managed to survive, half his life was basically gone, and all the travel money he had worked so hard °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° to earn had completely vanished...

Whenever he thought back to Senior Xue Tianao's starting point, Shang Mo practically wanted to burst into tears.

Goddess, are you fucking with me?! Wuwuwuwuwuwu...

Shang Mo had complained like this inwardly more than once.

Obviously, he and Xue Tianao were both Children of Destiny?!

So why had Senior started off as a glorious imperial prince, while he had started off as some nameless beggar who had already been killed once?!

No strength.

No power.

No money.

A three-nothing start like this was completely unplayable!

Other protagonists, other Chosen Ones, were thinking about how to save the world?!

And what about him?!

He was thinking about how not to starve to death?!

And on top of that, he had to watch out for gay guys nearby with ulterior motives!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! What kind of fucking differential treatment is this?!”

Forget it.

Whoever wants to be the Child of Destiny can fucking have it. I'm done playing, wuwuwuwu...

Still,

complaining was one thing.

No matter how dissatisfied he was, life still had to go on.

Carrying a heart full of grievance, Shang Mo, who had originally thought that becoming the Chosen One would let him properly enjoy life, could only continue westward while crying and gritting his teeth.

During this period, his original goal of quietly developing himself within the Black Rose Family gradually transformed into something much simpler—

going to the Black Rose Family just to beg for a bite to eat.

...

Fortunately,

Heaven did not disappoint those who persevered.

In the end, after going through countless hardships and getting lucky enough to encounter members of the Black Rose Family who were traveling outside, Shang Mo finally, barely managed to reach Black Rose territory.

By this point, the newest Child of Destiny looked utterly miserable. His hair was a mess, his clothes were filthy, and he looked no different from a roadside beggar.

Enmmm,

although technically, that seemed to have been what he was in the first place.

And after devouring a huge meal like someone reincarnated from a starving ghost, Shang Mo was finally brought into the Black Rose Duke's estate by his ‘great benefactor,’ where he joined the other people who had been taken in and arrived at this open plaza to participate in the newcomers' welcoming ceremony.

——

At this moment, in the center of the square, as a crimson magic formation activated, a steel podium abruptly rose from the ground under the protection of high-tier magical brilliance, standing before the crowd under everyone's stunned gazes.

The next moment,

an unknown member of the Black Rose Knights slowly stepped onto the elevated platform under the protection of dozens of attendants and arrived in front of the podium.

After silently sweeping his gaze across the excited yet uneasy crowd, the knight's deep, powerful voice spread into everyone's ears along with the vibrations of battle aura,

causing all these newcomers, who were setting foot inside the Black Rose Duke's estate for the first time, to tremble.

Even though he was merely an ordinary officer of the knight order, he naturally gave off an imposing pressure that made everyone instinctively focus their attention on him.

And as the officer's majestic, resonant speech entered their ears, quite a few people gradually began to feel their blood stirring.

“‘Loyalty to the ruler and love for the nation’ are our fundamental principles. To the royal family, to the Empire, we dedicate all our strength! This! Is the duty of every member of the Black Rose Family!”

“‘Peace and tranquility’ are what we pursue. Our Black Rose Family loves peace and dislikes conflict. As new members, you must remember this well. You must not bully the weak simply because the family is powerful. If you come into conflict with others, learn to convince them with reason.”

“‘Helping others’ is a traditional virtue of our Black Rose Family. As new members, you must continue carrying it forward and never disgrace the family's reputation.”

“‘Honesty and integrity’ are our way of doing things. As a family that upholds the spirit of chivalry, we absolutely will not tolerate any member committing despicable acts that violate the knightly code!”

...

...

“Although there are many responsibilities you must fulfill and the tasks ahead of you will be extremely difficult, you must also understand one thing. Once you become a member of the Black Rose Family, no one will ever look down on you again. The Black Rose Family will be the solid backing you possess. That concludes my speech.”

As the speech came to an end, the black-armored knight on the stage paid no attention whatsoever to the ragged clothing and miserable condition of the people in the square.

Open and upright, with overwhelming presence, he gave everyone in the square a standard knightly salute.

“Finally, welcome to the Black Rose Family.”

The instant those words fell,

thunderous applause erupted throughout the square.

The orphans who had been taken in, along with the suffering people who had nowhere left to go and had sought refuge with the Black Rose Family before being accepted, all began clapping with every ounce of strength they had.

Some people were so excited they could hardly contain themselves and repeatedly let out shouts of joy!

Among the crowd, Shang Mo, as the Child of Destiny, naturally joined the ranks of those applauding like mad.

That... that was incredible!

At this moment, Shang Mo couldn't help clenching both fists.

It seemed

he had made an extremely correct decision!

The Black Rose Family was not only powerful, loyal, and wealthy, but also acted openly and uprightly, possessed noble morals, and was full of compassion.

At first, Shang Mo had still suspected that all the news reports describing the Black Rose Family as kind and friendly were fake. After all, major families like this usually knew how to package themselves.

However, after he himself had been rescued by members of the Black Rose Family and had personally witnessed countless people just like him being brought into the Black Rose Duke's estate, the doubts in Shang Mo's heart gradually disappeared.

And after learning that most members of the Black Rose Knights were actually orphans adopted by the Duke, Shang Mo no longer had any doubts at all.

All that remained was admiration and emotion.

A force like this was practically a model for all mankind, an absolute pillar in humanity's resistance against the Abyss Demons!

More importantly,

judging from his observations over the past few days, the Black Rose Family was tremendously powerful and possessed extremely deep foundations.

Combined with its southern location and the family's peaceful, conflict-averse nature, if he could quietly hide his strength here and develop himself in peace!

Then in the future he would definitely—

not starve to death!

...

Huh?!

No!

Peh! What do you mean, not starve to death?!

In an instant, Shang Mo's entire body suddenly trembled.

He hurriedly shook his head like crazy, violently throwing all those miserable memories of freezing and starving from the past few days out of his mind, before encouraging himself internally,

“No, no, no! What do you mean, not starve to death?! I'm the Child of Destiny... The Goddess chose me to come here and save the world... How could I possibly be satisfied just because my stomach is full?! I have to cultivate properly and fulfill my responsibilities!”

My ultimate goal is still to save the world, so that the people of this world will no longer suffer under the threat of the Abyss Demons.

If even I give up and start slacking off, then how many people will die beneath the claws of Abyss Demons in the future?

Although accomplishing that goal would be more than just a little difficult.

The future looked as though it were hidden behind a thick fog, completely uncertain.

Hehehe... sigh...

The moment Shang Mo thought about that almost impossible mission the Goddess had given him, he couldn't help letting out a bitter laugh, followed by repeated sorrowful sighs...

...

However, before he could sigh more than a few times, Shang Mo seemed to suddenly remember something.

His eyebrows abruptly lifted.

The melancholy on his face instantly disappeared, and the speed at which his expression changed was truly breathtaking.

“Forget it. I'll think about that later. It's almost time to eat... I heard tonight's food will even have meat~ As expected of the Black Rose Family!”

At that thought,

Shang Mo once again transformed into a starving ghost.

Under the strange gazes of the Black Rose Family members around him, he happily sped up and ran toward the dining hall...

For the current

Child of Destiny, who had been thoroughly traumatized by hunger,

nothing was more important than filling his stomach.

And if there was,

then it could wait until after his stomach was full!

And so,

humming a song, Shang Mo skipped merrily into the distance while looking forward to his delicious dinner~

However,

just as Shang Mo was about to skip out of the square, a deep voice filled with unquestionable authority suddenly entered his ears, causing the body of this Child of Destiny foodie to abruptly stiffen.

“Hey, you, the little blue-haired girl over there. Lady Luowei wants to see you. Come with me.”

Shang Mo: Huh??