Game World: I Can Share Talents-Chapter 65: Gentle and Kind to the Bone

Facing a Legendary Giant Dragon head-on was unquestionably an act of madness. There wasn’t the slightest chance of victory; it was pure suicide.

Aside from the Yonglan Knights—who were solely focused on challenging powerful Monsters and thus overjoyed, clapping and cheering—the rest of the Trial Takers were not at all pleased.

The Yonglan Knights could afford to ignore the boons of the Radiant Holy Tree and simply enjoy the thrill of a grand spectacle and a powerful foe. But proper Imperial Citizens participated in the Trial for the Divine Ancestor’s rewards. Did they really think that feeding themselves to a Demon Dragon would please the Holy Tree?

But complaints were just complaints. Solren had already placed his complete trust in the like-minded Westheid and his companions, and he was resolutely carrying out the scorched-earth plan. No one could change his mind.

The team of Trial Takers was left with only two paths: either flee in disgrace with the main force or stay behind and face the Legendary True Dragon in a great battle alongside the Resistance Army.

There were no other options. Taking refuge with the main force was an undeniable act of cowardice. Anyone who dared to run would be ridiculed for the rest of their lives.

The only choice left for the Trial Takers was to stay and fight Scorching Wings.

’Fighting bravely and dying on the battlefield against the Demon Dragon... I suppose that counts as fulfilling the conditions to please the Divine Ancestor.’

At the edge of the forest outside the Resistance Army’s fortress, batches of refugees were being escorted away. Since their location had been exposed and the Dragon Race’s legions were almost completely wiped out, the Resistance Army no longer needed to hide. They could just leave openly via the main road.

Burlington was also leading a group of War Knights to help the Resistance Army evacuate the refugees. Sending the hundreds, even thousands, of refugees they had brought with them back out of the forest felt like a pointless endeavor, and it was hard for his men to stomach.

But there was no helping it. Since they had already sworn their loyalty to Solren, they had to see it through to the end.

"None of this was in our plan. Because of Duke Qinghui and his group’s reckless actions, the situation has become a complete mess."

Burlington said with a deep frown as he patrolled alongside the column of refugees:

"Lord Solren only trusts concrete actions. I originally thought that with Andre’s bloodline as proof, we would surely be the ones to earn the Sword Saint’s greatest trust, but..."

Another War Knight continued Burlington’s train of thought with a complaint:

"Who would have thought that Duke Qinghui and that Dragon-blooded Hybrid’s team would dare to do something like that? And they even succeeded!"

Deceiving Scorching Wings, usurping control of the Dragon Group, wreaking havoc on the Dragon Descendants’ towns, and destroying the Dragon Race’s legions... Each of these feats was absolutely Defying the Heavens. If anyone had claimed they could do it before, they would have been dismissed as insane.

But the fact was, the Dragon Race’s forces on the Kepal Plain had been crippled with ease—so severely that they wouldn’t recover for a hundred years.

"They could have just set off the Alchemy Bombs and made a clean getaway. Based on their performance in destroying the Dragon Race’s legions alone, the top honor in this Secret Realm Trial was basically theirs... But instead, they insisted on joining the Resistance Army. I have every reason to suspect they did it just to spite us!"

A War Knight added indignantly, "And the way that Dragon-blooded Hybrid looks at us! It was just a brief glance, but I am absolutely certain it was filled with killing intent. She wants to kill us."

"So she’s willing to drag us down with her? That’s truly disgusting."

Burlington nodded faintly. "But it’s not as if we don’t want to see them dead, is it? Although our plan has been ruined, this also gives us an opportunity to complete the mission His Highness tasked us with."

The War Knight beside him widened his eyes upon hearing this, then nodded and whispered:

"Captain, you want to do it... right under Lord Solren’s nose?"

"Not so directly, of course. We can’t provoke the Sword Saint’s enmity. The best way is to eliminate them on the battlefield, under the cover of chaos. Although that won’t erase their accomplishments, it will at least make up for some of our mistakes."

Burlington’s eyes turned grim as he said softly, "Backstabbing on the battlefield is a disgraceful act, but we never considered them our allies. This can only be considered a patient strike against an enemy."

Just as Burlington was quietly discussing with his subordinates how to carry out this "righteous backstabbing" against Westheid’s group, the column of refugees up ahead suddenly came to a halt. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The disturbance made Burlington frown. "What’s going on?" he asked.

The War Knight at the front returned after checking. "A group of them collapsed. Their bodies are too weak. They can’t handle the long walk."

Burlington said, "This bunch is nothing but trouble. We don’t have time to waste. Same as always, move them to the side and let the ones who can still walk go first."

"Yes, understood."

The other War Knights immediately accepted the order. They began to shout harshly at the resting refugees, herding them together and driving them forward like a flock of sheep.

Their movements were practiced and efficient; this wasn’t the first time. On the way to the Resistance Army’s base, many refugees who couldn’t keep up had already been abandoned.

The War Knights didn’t see this as a cruel and heartless act. In this brutal era, the weak, sick, and disabled refugees were unlikely to survive anyway. Rather than waste resources trying to save those with a low chance of survival, it was better to invest those resources in refugees with a higher chance of making it.

’Peak efficiency.’

"But... but my father..."

"Less talk, move!"

Another refugee looked back reluctantly at the old man left by the roadside, but when a War Knight jabbed him in the back with a scabbard, he immediately snapped his head back, trembling as he lowered his gaze, not daring to utter another word of protest.

"Yes, yes... milord."

The War Knights didn’t even need to resort to bloody violence. Just by drawing their scabbards and shouting orders, the vast majority of the slave-commoners would obediently comply.

This was a major reason why Burlington and his men viewed these slave-commoners as NPCs—the slave mentality of these refugees was simply too deeply ingrained!

As long as violence was applied to them, they would blindly and unconditionally obey, no matter who it was or what the order was.

After a thousand years of being tamed and enslaved by the Dragon Race, even their bones were infused with docility and subservience.

As Imperial Citizens from a later era, every time they saw the refugees’ meek acceptance of suffering, they felt a heartfelt sense of disgust.

’Thankfully, in the real timeline, the Kepal Plain was almost completely wiped out. The ancestors of the Imperial people couldn’t have been these individuals, or it would have been truly pathetic.’

Not long after the War Knights had driven the main group of refugees away, Solren arrived with the next evacuation group.

The Sword Saint immediately saw the refugees who had been abandoned by the roadside, his brow tightening.

"It must have been those guys. It was the same when they herded the crowd here. The old, weak, sick, and disabled who couldn’t keep up were all left behind to fend for themselves."

A leader in the Resistance Army saw the scene and immediately understood what had happened. He snorted coldly and said:

"Leader, I always get the feeling those dandies in their fine clothes and on their proud horses look down on us!"

"...Let’s bring these brothers and sisters with us as well."

Solren didn’t say much, just sighed and gave the order.

Their column immediately slowed down as the Resistance Army Warriors helped up the refugees who had collapsed by the roadside.

The Sword Saint himself walked over to a hunched, withered old man. The man’s appearance was so ancient it was almost a miracle.

Human slaves born and raised in the Dragon Realm rarely lived to such an age.

The old man, who had been gasping and coughing, noticed a tall shadow fall over him and immediately tried to scramble to his feet in a panic.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, mi... milord, we’ll get up right away."

"I am no ’milord’."

Solren stopped him, bent down, and lifted the old man onto his back, saying:

"I am the same as you. I was born a slave, and I have always been a slave."