Chapter Thirty-Five: The Three Wolf-Rabbits

Although the sun had risen, the fairy tale ending did not come to pass. The monsters not only refused to retreat but surged up the hill with even greater ferocity. Mechanical Unit One and the other combat puppets were quickly overwhelmed beneath the torrent of beasts.

As the group fled down the slope, a thunderous roar erupted behind them. Glancing back while running, Sun Licheng saw a massive head, at least two meters tall, appear at the summit. It was a huge creature with more than a dozen compound eyes, bearing a striking resemblance to an ape. As it hauled itself atop the hill, it beat its chest with both fists and let out a reverberating howl at the sky.

What was even more infuriating was that, after its display, the creature struck a pose, its enormous compound eyes coldly fixed on the fleeing party, exuding utter arrogance.

Just as it finished showing off and prepared to leap down the hillside, a sudden beam of light shot from Sun Licheng’s right, striking one of the monster’s compound eyes with perfect precision. Its head exploded like an apple pierced by a bullet.

The ape-like behemoth staggered at the summit, then toppled backward, crashing down the far side of the hill. A chorus of startled monster cries followed—the fallen giant had evidently taken out several of its allies in its descent.

Everything happened so quickly that Sun Licheng was momentarily stunned. When he came to his senses and looked around, he saw Mr. Dexterity cradling Dogmeat and soaring into the sky. That cannon shot had come from Dogmeat!

“Don’t act tough—lightning strikes those who show off,” someone quipped.

Seeing that the rest of the group had already fled far ahead, Sun Licheng hurriedly activated his mecha and caught up, silently mourning the fallen ape monster.

The death of the ape had once again delayed their pursuers, but it didn’t last long. Soon, the monsters were hot on their heels once more, relentless in their desire to see Sun Licheng and his companions dead.

To buy time, the combat puppets continued to stay behind, fighting to the last. The scene was one of utter carnage.

Fortunately, the field of sinkholes that Sun Licheng had crossed earlier proved a great hindrance to the monsters. With the combat puppets’ resistance as well, the distance between pursuers and pursued grew steadily. Yet now, only two combat puppets remained, and they too soon vanished.

“These great pits were mostly made in the final battle, when the gods unleashed forbidden spells like meteor showers. A few were blasted by the magic crystal cannons of the goblin sky warships. I never imagined that after countless years, these craters would still remain,” Mr. Dexterity explained as he flew alongside Sun Licheng.

Had Sun Licheng not been piloting a mecha, he would have been too exhausted to listen to this history—he would have collapsed long ago.

…

After passing through the field of sinkholes, the monsters dwindled to mere dark specks in the distance.

No matter how powerful, living creatures cannot compete with machines in endurance. After a long pursuit, the monsters finally slowed, lagging behind.

Just as Sun Licheng began to relax, the Lord of Stars transmitted a warning.

“Be careful, everyone. Countless creatures are ahead, closing in on our position.”

They halted at once, forming a hollow defensive circle back-to-back. Mr. Dexterity landed in the center, still holding Dogmeat.

Moments later, the thunder of countless feet shook the earth, and the ground itself trembled. Soon, Sun Licheng’s field of vision was filled with a horde of wolf-rabbits—among them, more than a dozen stood over two meters tall, resembling small elephants.

“These are wolf-rabbits? How can there be so many? And such enormous ones!” Sun Licheng was stunned by the sight.

Now they truly were caught between wolves and tigers, with neither heaven nor earth offering escape.

“Quick, everyone! Activate your friend-or-foe identification devices! Otherwise, you’ll be attacked!” Mr. Dexterity’s voice sounded urgently in Sun Licheng’s ear. He hurriedly checked the cockpit and, sure enough, found a red button labeled “Friend-or-Foe Identification” in goblin script to his right.

He pressed the button, but seeing the wolf-rabbits still racing toward them, cold sweat broke out on his brow.

But as he steadied himself, he saw the wolf-rabbits bounding past on either side, the hollow formation standing firm like a rock in a raging tide.

Realizing they were not being attacked, Sun Licheng watched the wolf-rabbits dash toward the horizon, where a black line appeared against the sky—the pursuing monsters had arrived.

Soon, the monsters and wolf-rabbits, like twin rivers, collided head-on. In an instant, the earth was filled with howls and screams, explosions of magic erupting everywhere—a battle the likes of which Sun Licheng had never imagined.

“This has gotten out of hand!” muttered the Lord of Stars, watching the war unfold in the distance, anxiety in his eyes.

…

In the divine realm, within the temple of the Wind God Addison Diel, a furious curse echoed through the halls.

Addison was enraged. As one of the guardians of the Forbidden Zone and the principal overseer of the goblin sky force base ruins, he had recently discovered a goblin intruder in the forbidden lands. Of course, in the endless ages, many had trespassed here, but they were all devoured by the monsters within. So, at first, he had paid little attention.

But this goblin proved remarkably resilient, escaping death at the monsters’ hands time and again, growing ever stronger. Left with no choice, Addison had interrupted his meditations to deal with this nuisance—much to his frustration.

Initially, seeing the goblin and his mechanical junk driven out by the monsters, Addison was content to let things be. After all, his primary duty was to prevent anyone from making a scene at the ruins; a little stolen scrap was of no consequence.

But, unexpectedly, the monsters’ pent-up rage from millennia of captivity drove them to pursue the intruders far afield. Still, this was of little concern—no matter how many ants scurried on the earth, the mighty gods took no notice.

Yet, for reasons unknown, the monsters that broke through the walls triggered some ancient restriction left by the goblin empire. Soon, a vast remnant of the goblin magical beast legion clashed with the monsters in a titanic battle.

Though the beast legion had long since degenerated over ten thousand years and was scarcely a threat, the incident drew the attention of the other gods. Addison could already foresee their censure.

Just as he was about to expend divine power to send his angels to wipe out these pests, the temple's space shivered and a golden figure appeared before him.

“Brother,” Addison cried out in surprise. It was Elvin Diel, the Rain God—his elder brother.

“What troubles you, my brother?” Elvin asked. In his eyes, Addison, though a deity, was too hot-tempered and lacked composure.

“It’s like this, brother…” Addison recounted all that had happened.

When Addison finished, Elvin’s expression was dismissive.

“Why are you so anxious? Is the divine realm today the same as it was ten thousand years ago?”

Those two questions left Addison deep in thought.

“The goblin empire—sounds impressive, but we destroyed it ten thousand years ago. Even if a goblin reappears now, it can’t stir up much trouble. And even if something truly urgent arises, the powerful gods in the central temple will bear the brunt. As for those monsters and the remnants of the beast legion—they’re but two bands of ants. No matter how fiercely they fight, they can’t put a hole in the sky. What matters for us is to focus on expanding our faith, increasing our divine power, and elevating our ranks. The rest is none of our concern.”

Seeing his brother begin to understand, Elvin continued in a more earnest tone.

…

In the central temple of the divine realm, where gods gathered, only one figure sat in the seat of elders—the God of Light, once the conqueror of the Earth God and now the leader of the divine realm.

He sat upon the throne, brow furrowed in thought. He, too, had noticed the turmoil below and was displeased with the Wind God. But then, sensing the Rain God’s arrival in the Wind God’s temple, his brow gradually relaxed.

“So, everyone has their own agenda now. No one wishes to serve the divine realm any longer,” he muttered. Then, recalling his own past, he smiled wryly. Indeed, he had no right to say such things. In truth, the current divine realm was a place of hidden currents and shifting powers, everyone amassing strength, some even plotting to seize another’s divinity. Over the millennia, gods had fallen suddenly and often; by comparison, whatever chaos the mortals caused mattered not, so long as it did not threaten the realm of the gods or, more importantly, his own ascendancy as the Lord of Light.

“Since the Wind and Rain brothers have their own plans, let them do as they please,” he said at last, a meaningful smile on his lips.

In the Temple of the God of Schemes, a man on a shadowed throne chuckled coldly.

“Interesting, very interesting. It seems my chance has come.” He broke into a peal of laughter.

…

The battle between monsters and wolf-rabbits allowed Sun Licheng and his companions to escape their crisis, but they dared not linger and pressed toward the edge of the meadow.

Suddenly, Sun Licheng spotted a small group of wolf-rabbits, led by an old acquaintance—the big gray rabbit.

There were about thirty wolf-rabbits, clearly the strongest of their warren. The big gray rabbit was in poor shape, its body still bearing scars from its battle with the gray wolves.

“Go back,” Sun Licheng blocked their path and used his Animal Friendship ability on the big gray rabbit. He considered the rabbit a friend and did not wish to see them throw their lives away.

The big gray rabbit gazed uncertainly at the towering mecha, then, receiving Sun Licheng’s message, realized it was the goblin who had once paid him meat for passage.

“Yes, my friend, I know death is likely. But from our ancestors, I have learned that defending this land is our duty. Now that enemies have appeared on our soil, no matter what, we must destroy them. Even if it means death, that is the reason for our existence.”

The rabbit’s reply left Sun Licheng speechless.

“These rabbits were once the goblin empire’s magical beast legion. Their task was always to guard this place. Incredible—ten thousand years have passed, and though they’ve degenerated, they still perform their duty,” Mr. Dexterity explained softly.

Sun Licheng fell silent. The goblin empire had been destroyed for over ten thousand years, yet the spirit of its mechanical and magical beast legions still moved him. He found himself wondering why the goblins had once challenged the gods; surely the reasons were not so simple.

“They know they're going to die, but why do they still go?” Sun Licheng asked the two nearby deities.

“We don’t know. In the eyes of gods, such creatures are but ants—their lives and deaths mean nothing to us,” came the cold reply.

Sun Licheng felt the deities’ indifference to life. After all, as immortals, all other lives were beneath their notice. The only reason they treated Sun Licheng differently was that he was crucial to their resurrection; otherwise, he would be but an ant as well.

“Life itself is the highest meaning! Whether noble or humble, all living things are born equal,” Sun Licheng wanted to shout at the two cold-hearted beings—but he did not.

Equality of all life—this was an idea from Earth, but even there, it was not realized.

“One day, I will make you understand that every life is significant,” he vowed silently.

He piloted his mecha toward the edge of the meadow, the big gray rabbit and its kin forging ahead beside him.

…

When Sun Licheng and his party reached the edge of the meadow—the gray rabbit’s territory—they saw a mottled rabbit, smaller than the gray one, standing guard. Beside it, three large doe rabbits were carrying three kits out of their burrow, hopping toward the grassland’s edge.

“What are you doing?” Sun Licheng asked in surprise, moving to the mottled rabbit’s side and using Animal Friendship again.

“Abandoning them,” the mottled rabbit replied, stunning Sun Licheng.

“Why?”

“We can’t feed them. Too many adults have died; the old chief has led our kin to war, and who knows how many will return. With no one to feed these kits, we must abandon them,” the mottled rabbit replied, sorrow heavy in its voice.

Indeed, faced with scarcity, all beings—even magical beasts—must make painful choices.

“Then, may I take these three kits? Since you are abandoning them anyway,” Sun Licheng asked.

“I’ll go back and see if I can find any food suitable for you. I’ll bring it here as compensation—how about that?”

Wolf-rabbits were fierce, but undeniably adorable. High charisma was a blessing in itself. Moreover, these rabbits’ ancestors were once the magical beast legion of the goblin empire. The large wolf-rabbits from earlier were still formidable. The journey to the goblin sky force base had taught Sun Licheng that, when faced with vast numbers of enemies, individual heroics were worthless—only by rallying allies could he hope to return home. In the end, he needed companions, even beasts, for his loneliness was immense. Though Mr. Dexterity and Dogmeat were clever, their mechanical bodies offered little warmth. He needed living companions for the road ahead.

These three kits, to Sun Licheng, were a gift from above—he was determined to have them.

The mottled rabbit considered and agreed.

“They are future warriors. Even as kits, they may be recruited. As acting chief, I grant your request. In exchange, you must provide food as their recruitment fee. That is the rule and the mark of respect for warriors. Do you accept?”

“I do, absolutely,” Sun Licheng replied eagerly, promising to bring food as soon as he returned.

At that moment, he felt a soft chime in his mind—a new ability had been activated.