1. You normally wouldn't see so
many fractures in space.Copy !req
2. But lately, they've been opening
and closing on a daily basis.Copy !req
3. You fell down here through one of those.Copy !req
4. It's safe to assume that somewhere,
someone had a better timeCopy !req
5. of trying to find a pathway between
different dimensions than I did.Copy !req
6. And it's upon their coattails
that I intend to hitch a ride.Copy !req
7. I've finally figured out how to
produce enough magical energy...Copy !req
8. Which just leaves finding a way to coax
those openings to appear where we want.Copy !req
9. Close enough that we can reach them!Copy !req
10. And by entering, I can return
to where I came from?Copy !req
11. If my theory is correct,Copy !req
12. you'll appear in the world that
is the source of that phenomena.Copy !req
13. If that chamber of mirrors you mentioned
is what's causing all this...Copy !req
14. Well, you should end up back there.Copy !req
15. I see...Copy !req
16. In any case, whoever created the means to
travel between worlds is in that place!Copy !req
17. Which means I need to learn their secrets!Copy !req
18. And if they're not willing to share,
I may have to pry it out of them.Copy !req
19. Which is where you would come in, my friend.Copy !req
20. That's what this arm is for?Copy !req
21. How's it feel to use?Copy !req
22. I don't know what kind of masterpiece
the sword you lost was,Copy !req
23. but it may as well be a lump of
iron compared to that prosthetic!Copy !req
24. Am I dreaming while awake?Copy !req
25. Or is some sort of spectre tormenting me?Copy !req
26. Yet, that breath... that presence...Copy !req
27. I could never forget.
It's you, isn't it, Làng Wū Yáo?Copy !req
28. What are you doing here?Copy !req
29. No, the reason isn't important.Copy !req
30. You're here with me again,
and that alone is enough.Copy !req
31. Man! Run for it! Don't just
stand around getting fawned on!Copy !req
32. You'd turn away from me yet again?Copy !req
33. Knowing full well what you've
denied me, after all this time?Copy !req
34. In the pursuit of this
long-dreamed of reunion...Copy !req
35. I have sacrificed hundreds of soldiers.Copy !req
36. If you were to vanish
from my sight once again,Copy !req
37. I will simply do so once more.Copy !req
38. I will make an offering of this
entire country, if I must...Copy !req
39. All to pursue you.Copy !req
40. I told you before... you are my songbird.Copy !req
41. Why didn't I simply do
this from the beginning?Copy !req
42. I will be the one to pluck your wings.Copy !req
43. I will be the one to break your neck!Copy !req
44. It has to be me!Copy !req
45. Yes, if I'm able to take
everything away from you...Copy !req
46. What more could I possibly ask for?Copy !req
47. And now, at long last...Copy !req
48. Làng!Copy !req
49. Oh, man! This looks really bad!Copy !req
50. Your Highness! Your Highness,
are you all right?Copy !req
51. Guards, defend the princess!Copy !req
52. Your Highness, are you hurt?Copy !req
53. Get them! Now!Copy !req
54. This way.Copy !req
55. The palace's gates are heavily guarded!Copy !req
56. They can't have gotten far!Copy !req
57. The intruders are somewhere
on these grounds! Find them!Copy !req
58. How the hell'd this happen?Copy !req
59. You're not careless enough to let your
guard down just because she's a woman.Copy !req
60. The things she's done... because of me...Copy !req
61. No, no! That's a bunch of crap!Copy !req
62. I don't buy it! You gotta be kidding me!Copy !req
63. How can you feel guilty
about that psycho princess?Copy !req
64. Blaming yourself is just conceited.Copy !req
65. That girl was a bloodthirsty
beast way before she met you.Copy !req
66. She's always been twisted,
through and through.Copy !req
67. Now what?Copy !req
68. Over by the eastern grounds! Hurry!Copy !req
69. That was the last batch
of fireworks I prepared.Copy !req
70. We're starting to run short
of options. What now?Copy !req
71. The palace is big, but it's
also crawling with guards.Copy !req
72. It's just a matter of time.Copy !req
73. We could try and fight our way out,Copy !req
74. but that's gonna be rough while
protecting someone injured.Copy !req
75. We could relieve ourselves of the burden...Copy !req
76. That was clearly not a joke that
can lighten the mood at this moment.Copy !req
77. Now, then, whatever are we to do?Copy !req
78. Are you there, Shāng Bú Huàn?Copy !req
79. I never would've thought I'd run into
the Paragon of a Hundred BattlesCopy !req
80. in a place like this.Copy !req
81. You can relax. I'm here
to help you all escape.Copy !req
82. Say what?Copy !req
83. There are hidden tunnels that were
prepared to help people of note escape,Copy !req
84. in an emergency.Copy !req
85. I'll show you the way.Copy !req
86. You sure about this? Don't you
have your position to consider?Copy !req
87. My position is why I want to get
this done before anyone catches me.Copy !req
88. Get a move on.Copy !req
89. Looks like you know him,
but can you trust him?Copy !req
90. Yeah.Copy !req
91. And we don't exactly have
a lot of options, anyway.Copy !req
92. This way!Copy !req
93. This is it!Copy !req
94. I've done it! Victory is mine!Copy !req
95. Wha... What are you doing?Copy !req
96. You dared insult my beloved!Copy !req
97. What are you even talking about?Copy !req
98. You will remain here on the edge
of oblivion until you rot.Copy !req
99. No other punishment would suffice.Copy !req
100. Wait! Just wait a moment!Copy !req
101. Don't leave me behind, please!Copy !req
102. You have to... get me... out of here!Copy !req
103. Princess!Copy !req
104. Wherever could you be?Copy !req
105. I had no idea these tunnels were here.Copy !req
106. Even among the imperial guard,
only a handful of individuals know.Copy !req
107. A bit further, and we'll reach an exit that
leads to a forest outside of the palace.Copy !req
108. So who, exactly, is our guide here?Copy !req
109. This is General Wàn Jūn Pò,
the Paragon of a Hundred Battles.Copy !req
110. He was a huge help when I was
traveling the western border.Copy !req
111. I've known you for too long for
this formal talk, Bú Huàn.Copy !req
112. I remember how exciting those adventures were,
like they happened yesterday.Copy !req
113. What are you doing in the
Phoenix Light Palace, anyway?Copy !req
114. I was relieved of my duty as
governor of the western regions,Copy !req
115. and stationed in the palace...Copy !req
116. In direct service to the princess.Copy !req
117. That's nuts! You were the linchpin
of the country's defense!Copy !req
118. What's going on with the
western border, then?Copy !req
119. The worst case scenario.Copy !req
120. They're under constant
assault by foreign powers,Copy !req
121. and are going to fall.
It's just a matter of when.Copy !req
122. Still, whether I like it or not,
I'm a soldier. I can't defy orders.Copy !req
123. Why would Emperor Yōu
do something so stupid?Copy !req
124. It's not just the west, either.Copy !req
125. The officers in charge of
various strategic locationsCopy !req
126. have all been summoned to the
Phoenix Light Palace, and given new orders.Copy !req
127. That's nuts.Copy !req
128. The soldiers left at the border
fortresses got the worst of it.Copy !req
129. They're left to endure an ongoing
assault with no real directions...Copy !req
130. Their number shrinking all the while.Copy !req
131. Right now, their love for their
homeland is sustaining them, but...Copy !req
132. It can't last forever.Copy !req
133. Wait, you said you're serving directly
under the princess now, right?Copy !req
134. Your new mission... don't tell me...Copy !req
135. I'd knocked you over, if you
couldn't have guessed.Copy !req
136. But, yes. "Eliminate the Sword-Plundering
Nemesis, and recover the court virtuoso."Copy !req
137. That's what she has me doing
instead of protecting the country.Copy !req
138. Those are your orders? What a joke!Copy !req
139. Cháo Fēng's treating the
military like her errand boys!Copy !req
140. Is Emperor Yōu really letting
his daughter call the shots now?Copy !req
141. His Majesty hasn't made a
single statement of his own.Copy !req
142. Everything comes through the princess,
as his regent,Copy !req
143. and he remains holed up deep in the palace.Copy !req
144. Nothing's changed at all, huh?Copy !req
145. The Emperor's been cloistered
away since his enthronement,Copy !req
146. because of an oracle that
was received early on.Copy !req
147. So the princess speaking in
his place isn't anything new.Copy !req
148. But with the way he's allowed Cháo Fēng
to run rampant over the country,Copy !req
149. he's doomed to be remembered
as a failed ruler.Copy !req
150. If a guy like you is willing
to say that much...Copy !req
151. At this rate, Xī Yōu is headed for doom.Copy !req
152. All thanks to its incompetent emperor,
and his mad daughter.Copy !req
153. Every time news arrives from the border,Copy !req
154. it's about the deaths of
the men I left behind.Copy !req
155. I can hear them cursing me in my dreams.Copy !req
156. They swore an oath of service because
they cared for their homeland,Copy !req
157. and wanted to protect their countrymen!Copy !req
158. But now...Copy !req
159. They're dying like dogs, thanks to
the whims of an obsessed little girl!Copy !req
160. How can I say anything to
help them rest in peace?Copy !req
161. What could I possibly say?Copy !req
162. Still, are you sure it's a good
idea to help us out like this?Copy !req
163. I mean, you're still...Copy !req
164. If I capture you, and return the
Sorcerous Sword Index to His Majesty, what then?Copy !req
165. Do we end up using the Shén Huì Mó XièCopy !req
166. against other countries,
like we did in the south?Copy !req
167. Do we end up sending our
men into yet another war?Copy !req
168. I've had enough!Copy !req
169. Even an old fool like me
can see the light in time.Copy !req
170. As long as Xī Yōu suffers under the rule
of that fool emperor, it has no future.Copy !req
171. This country's governance needs to be
reformed from its very foundation.Copy !req
172. Hey, we're finally at the exit!Copy !req
173. Well, what do we have here?Copy !req
174. Opium and hawthorn...Copy !req
175. The natural fragrances favored
by heretic sorcerers.Copy !req
176. Sir Wàn Jūn Pò, was it?Copy !req
177. Does that door actually lead to the outside?Copy !req
178. Bú Huàn, I've come to realize...Copy !req
179. Anyone who truly cares about this country
must see this corrupt regime cast out,Copy !req
180. and establish a new ruler.Copy !req
181. And the champion capable of doing it...Copy !req
182. is none other than His Eminence,
Lord Huò Shì Míng Huáng!Copy !req
183. Indeed.Copy !req
184. Well done, Wàn Jūn Pò.Copy !req
185. Wh-What the hell is this place?Copy !req
186. Oh, crap, this couldn't get much worse!Copy !req
187. I recognize that locust symbol!Copy !req
188. Wàn Jūn Pò? Why?Copy !req
189. How could someone like you join
The Order of the Divine Swarm?Copy !req
190. You're willing to serve a heretic wizard?Copy !req
191. Why?Copy !req
192. I've already forsaken the divinely
appointed emperor of this land.Copy !req
193. What else could I do but seek salvation
in the greatest depths of darkness?Copy !req
194. And if that is the only way I can save
my homeland, I will not hesitate!Copy !req
195. Far from it! I will gladly
embrace the darkness!Copy !req
196. Well said, great Paragon
of a Hundred Battles!Copy !req
197. Your days of submitting to
that tyrannical princess,Copy !req
198. stalking the halls of the Phoenix Light Palace
as Lord Míng Huáng's secret agent...Copy !req
199. I could never have guessed it
would bear fruit in this fashion!Copy !req
200. Sword-Plundering Nemesis...Copy !req
201. Shāng Bú Huàn.Copy !req
202. You, the fool who hid away the Mystic Weapons
that would shape this nation's future,Copy !req
203. wandering to the ends of the earth
in an attempt to flee...Copy !req
204. Your madness is at an end.Copy !req
205. That great power, capable of
shaping the future of this nation,Copy !req
206. will now enter the hands
of its destined master.Copy !req
207. Then this is the evildoer who was
able to force even Shāng Bú HuànCopy !req
208. to flee all the way to Dōng Li?Copy !req
209. Shāng Bú Huàn! I'm fully
prepared for disappointment,Copy !req
210. but I feel the need to
at least ask you this:Copy !req
211. Will you surrender the Sorcerous
Sword Index to my master,Copy !req
212. and not impede his path of conquest?Copy !req
213. For the sake of Xī Yōu?Copy !req
214. Not happening!Copy !req
215. So be it. That's just who you are.Copy !req
216. And you've never changed!Copy !req
217. There was a time when I admired
that uncompromising morality!Copy !req
218. But I've changed! Because I had to change!Copy !req
219. And to excise the rot that has
eaten away at this country,Copy !req
220. I will accept all manner of blasphemy!Copy !req
221. Easy, there. I'd rather you not
try any trickery this time.Copy !req
222. I loathe the idea of being toyed
with like Lady Xíng Hài!Copy !req
223. We're in the presence of a fated
duel between former comrades.Copy !req
224. What kind of boor would interfere
with something like that?Copy !req
225. Even I'm willing to show enough restraint
and let it play out, this time.Copy !req
226. I leave the small fry to you,
Crescent-Bladed Mantis!Copy !req
227. Of course.Copy !req
228. And should you be unable to fully devourCopy !req
229. the skills of the Sword-Plundering
Nemesis, Sir Jūn Pò,Copy !req
230. I'll simply help myself to your leftovers.Copy !req
231. Cán Yún...Copy !req
232. Patriot of the Yōu nation, Wàn Jūn Pò.Copy !req
233. Wield your martial prowess
in its full glory.Copy !req
234. Should you prove victorious,Copy !req
235. it will herald the new dawn for
Xī Yōu that you have dreamed of!Copy !req
236. Yes, master!Copy !req
237. For my homeland and my comrades,Copy !req
238. I will accept any dishonor.Copy !req
239. High-minded virtues are not enough...Copy !req
240. To save that which is precious.Copy !req
241. He's lying to you, General Wàn!Copy !req
242. With Huò Shì Míng Huáng in control,
Xī Yōu really will be finished!Copy !req
243. Shut your mouth!Copy !req
244. If you really cared about this country,Copy !req
245. then why didn't you use the
Mystic Weapons to change it?Copy !req
246. Sword-Plundering Nemesis...Copy !req
247. With the power of that Index, you could
have thwarted the tyranny of Emperor Yōu!Copy !req
248. But instead, you chose to run!Copy !req
249. You abandoned those you could have saved,
and ignored irredeemable evil!Copy !req
250. You left Xī Yōu!Copy !req
251. I'm not going to become a fiend!Copy !req
252. What you lacked was the will to seize
the fate of the world and guide it!Copy !req
253. That is what Lord Míng Huáng has!Copy !req
254. Hundredfold Eruption Edge!Copy !req
255. Shāng!Copy !req
256. If you're that serious about this, Wàn Jūn Pò...Copy !req
257. Fair enough.Copy !req
258. I'm through holding back!Copy !req
259. Conflict is a journey through darkness.Copy !req
260. Unable to see forward,
or know east from west...Copy !req
261. The only guidance coming from a melody,
played in the distance.Copy !req