National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

In a corner of a bustling metropolis within the Great Xia Empire,

the dim, flickering lights of a boisterous tavern cast shifting shadows on the varied faces of its patrons.

Just then, a burly man with a brutish, fleshy face, his temper seemingly set ablaze by strong liquor,

SLAMMED a hand on the table, making the cups dance and spilling liquor that soaked the wood.

His eyes, wide as bronze bells, looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Veins pulsed on his forehead like writhing snakes as he roared, ”We have a deep-seated blood feud with the White-Red Empire! Every child knows that!

So why in the hell have we lost our minds and decided to go protect them?

Their own backyard is on fire, a total mess of chaos and turmoil, so just let it burn!

Isn’t this a godsend for us? A perfect opportunity to profit from their conflict?

I’ve racked my brain, and I just can’t figure it out.

What kind of idiot came up with this rotten idea? It’s just plain stupid, throwing away a golden opportunity!”

The big man’s roar was like a thunderclap, instantly silencing the tavern’s clamor.

Every eye in the room turned to him.

A moment later, a young man at a neighboring table—bespectacled, mild-mannered, with the look of a scholar—

calmly pushed up his black-framed glasses.

His eyes, glinting shrewdly from behind the lenses, broke the silence. ”According to my exclusive sources, this so-called ’rotten idea,’

if I’m not mistaken, came from our Great Xia Empire’s very own Chu He—the legendary man whose stomp can make the earth tremble.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a stone dropped into a still pond,

sending ripples of shock through the crowd. Murmurs erupted as astonished expressions spread across their faces.

”What? Chu He?”

The burly man looked as if he’d been suddenly choked. His booming voice died in his throat, and his face cycled through shades of red and white like a painter’s palette.

After a few stunned seconds, he snapped out of it and hurriedly put on a smile,

though it was more painful than a grimace. ”Ah, my apologies. I got a little worked up and was a bit too loud. I mean, we’re talking about the great Chu He, right? An idea of his couldn’t possibly be rotten. There must be some deeper meaning to it. A simple man like me, my brain just doesn’t turn fast enough. I spoke out of turn.”

”Hmph. I preferred your rebellious side from a moment ago. Why the sudden change of heart?”

A woman sitting in a corner, dressed in a fashionable, brightly colored skirt with makeup as flawless as a magazine cover model’s,

crossed her arms, lifted her chin slightly, and shot the big man a wry, teasing glance.

”But then again, based on how Chu He usually operates,

he would never protect an outside power for no reason.”

The woman paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd before she continued, ”Since he’s done it, there can only be one explanation... There must be a profound, intricate plan at work behind the scenes.”

”Isn’t that obvious!”

A white-haired old man, who had been drinking silently in a corner of the tavern,

finally looked up and tapped his polished cane.

A shrewd glint flashed in his cloudy eyes as he grumbled, ”Even an old coot like me, with one foot in the grave and knowing nothing, can see there’s something fishy going on here. Chu He is a dragon among men. You think he’d make a move without a scheme in mind?”

At that moment, a small, skinny man with a shifty, weasel-like face,

his eyes darting about like a cunning fox, squeezed his way through the crowd. He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, ”Don’t any of you read the official announcements all the way through?

It’s written right there in black and white. If the White-Red Empire wants the Great Xia Empire to send troops for protection,

they have to pay us a hefty protection fee every year.

Do you think the Great Xia Empire is stupid enough to do something for nothing?

That’s the obvious benefit everyone can see. As for what’s happening behind the scenes,

there are definitely other machinations at play. How could common folk like us know the whole story right away?”

Just as the crowd was deep in heated debate, the tavern door was suddenly thrown open.

A young man, panicked and out of breath, rushed in. His face was ashen,

and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His voice trembled as he spoke, ”But, but... there’s even more explosive, jaw-dropping news breaking on the foreign forums!”

”What? What’s the news? Stop dragging it out, spit it out!”

As if pulled by a single invisible string, the patrons all craned their necks, their eyes wide, and fixed their gazes on the newcomer, desperate to know more.

The young man swallowed hard, steadying himself before he spoke. ”They’re saying,

that the reason the White-Red Empire is suddenly begging the Great Xia Empire for protection, like ants on a hot pan,

the most critical, life-or-death reason is,

that the White-Red Empire’s top-tier experts—the ones who could make a region tremble with a stomp of their feet—

were all targeted as if by a Demon overnight! They were slaughtered by a mysterious, untraceable power in a bloody invasion, wiped out completely! Not a single one was left alive!”