Chapter 82: Life Must Be Repaid (2)

Jake’s voice was filled with a mixture of shock and anger, because after all, he had been lied to.

After being gravely injured in his fight with the white serpent, Jake was saved by Noah Reed, a mysterious awakener who, from what he had been told, was a human who had awakened nearly decades after the apocalypse from his slumber.

He was an awakener just like Jake, although unlike ordinary awakeners, Noah Reed possessed the ability to control monsters.

Because of this, he had brought an entire colony of Blood Ants under his wings. Those Blood Ants had not only treated Jake after receiving some basic information about the current world but had also guided him all the way to the end of the forest.

In Jake’s mind, he, Jake Mercer, the proud Storm General, had already found himself indebted to Noah Reed.

Although the exchange of information and life was something that had already been decided beforehand, actually sticking to such a promise in today’s world was nothing more than a miracle.

After all, most people would rather betray another person than risk their own life for a promise, especially when the person they had promised something to was a stranger.

Jake understood this better than most. Although he possessed a straightforward and reckless nature, he was also rather shrewd when it came to such calculations. Had it not been for his injuries at the time, perhaps he would’ve pushed Ethan’s conditions even further and given him far less information in exchange for saving his life.

However, Noah Reed had still kept his promise.

Jake took such matters more seriously than his own life.

That was why, now standing before the Envoy, the strongest member of the seven Radiant Stars had arrived for the sake of clearing his debt.

Jake Mercer—The Storm General.

Recalling a not-so-distant memory, Jake remembered seeing the members of the Radiant Stars and the Envoy moving in this direction through the forest near the giant crater.

Knowing the Envoy’s capabilities, Jake knew that he would definitely find the Blood Ant nest if he continued following their trail. Eventually, there was a high possibility that he would threaten the life of his benefactor, though Jake couldn’t allow that.

Thus, after his injuries had finally healed, he collected his spare gear and ran into the forest while following their trail.

And now, standing before Ethan, his lie had finally been exposed. Knowing this, Ethan decided to smile in defeat.

If his identity as a human had been blown away, then there was no reason to believe that Jake would continue trusting the name Noah Reed either.

After all, there was a fundamental difference between being a human awakener who could control monsters and being a strange green zombie capable of commanding an entire colony of Blood Ants.

However, Ethan didn’t have time for any pleasantries; his situation was already difficult enough.

Jake’s eyes shimmered with an amber hue as his fingers slowly traced over his short yellow hair, with several blue streaks running vertically through them.

His fitted dark jacket and trousers were coated in a layer of fine ore, creating a versatile armor that covered his body while still allowing him to move freely.

On his hands, he wore a pair of golden gauntlets. These gauntlets were currently crackling with bright yellow lightning as Jake continuously resisted the Envoy’s palm.

The force between the two of them caused the surrounding air to tremble, while countless tiny sparks of lightning scattered around Jake’s body.

Jake casually rolled his eyes back and stared directly towards the Envoy, who was now standing before him.

The blood smeared across the Envoy’s veil looked pleasing to Jake. However, simply seeing the Envoy still alive before his eyes filled him with hostility.

The man had been one of the people responsible for hunting down the Blood Ants. He had also been the one who had led the Radiant Stars into the nest.

Jake didn’t know what had happened inside, but judging from the corpses and the enormous army of Blood Ants surrounding them, he could already guess that things hadn’t ended well for the Radiant Stars.

"Get lost!"

The Envoy’s voice thundered through the vicinity, amplified by the surrounding wind currents.

His palm pushed harder against Jake’s golden gauntlet, and the wind around his body began twisting violently as his Nox surged.

Immediately, a yellow glow gathered around his body as bright lightning leaked out from his eyes in thin streaks.

His entire body seemed to be surrounded by electricity.

Bam!

Without saying anything, Jake used his left arm and punched directly towards the Envoy’s chest.

Although the punch was nearly blocked by the Envoy, the overwhelming force behind it still succeeded in pushing him several meters backwards.

The Envoy’s robes fluttered violently as he stabilized his body, his eyes becoming colder. "You..."

Jake ignored him, and instead, he turned his head slightly towards Ethan.

"Help me get away safely, and I’ll consider your debt settled," Ethan called out blatantly, not hiding his difficult situation in the slightest.

After all, He had no reason to pretend anymore.

Jake already knew that he was a zombie. He already knew that Noah Reed had never existed, and more importantly, Ethan needed to escape.

For a moment, Jake was completely silent as his eyes moved from Ethan towards the massive army of Blood Ants behind him before finally landing upon the corpses scattered around the cave entrance.

Then he asked, "What became of the Radiant Stars?"

Ethan’s expression remained completely calm as, with a straight face, he replied in a single word. "Dead." His voice was void of any emotion.

Remorse? Regret? Why should he have any?

Ethan wasn’t the one to instigate this situation. The envoy and the members of the radiant stars standing in this place were merely coincidental and bad luck.

Had he not killed them, he would’ve gotten killed instead. In such a situation, could Jake even blame Ethan for killing them?

Hearing it, Jake’s expression seemed to have remained unchanged. However, his eyes became slightly darker, gloomy—one might even say.

Seeing Ethan admit it so casually still made the matter feel different.

The Radiant Stars had once fought beside him. They had been weak, foolish, and sometimes annoying, but they had still been awakeners who had fought against monsters alongside him.

Now...

*Sigh*

Thinking about it, Jake slowly heaved a short sigh.

The moment he had arrived here and seen Ethan standing before the Blood Ants, he had already understood enough.

Jake slowly raised his hand and waved it towards Ethan. "Go away."

"Whatever the case might be, life must be repaid."