Famine 43: Battlefield
by Cristae The rebel army caught the Commander’s Guard completely off-guard.
The dying shout of a guard became the opening signal for battle; in an instant, a chaos of screams, shouts, calls for companions, urgent defensive orders, and cries of the wounded rang out everywhere. Captain Yang hastily grabbed his weapon, rushed to the outer ramparts of the command residence, and bellowed: “Form up! Form up!”
Every soldier attacked was bewildered, and Captain Yang himself was on the verge of collapse: Hadn’t Gu Commander dealt with those peasants already? Where did they come from? Did Gu Commander lie about sensing the bone ash detonation?
Whether Gu Commander’s story was true or not, there was no doubting the bullets tearing the air and flesh—the only genuine reality.
In mere seconds, corpses were already left strewn across the ground.
“Protocol Two! Seven o’clock direction! Protocol Two!” Captain Yang shrieked, waving his hand frantically to direct the Guard, his voice hoarse and ragged.
“Keep calm, all of you.”
Gu Haoping, draped in his coat, slowly emerged from upstairs and took his place on the balcony of the command residence.
“What a pleasure to see you here, Master Sha.”
Amidst the turmoil of a failed plot and sudden coup, mayhem swirled about the command residence, and yet Gu Haoping’s steps remained steady, his expression calm and cold, detached and tinged with mocking contempt.
“Where did you blow up with the Wailing of the Bitter Bones? Did you enjoy the taste of such hospitality?”
“I’ll give you some hospitality, you son of a—! Go crawl back to your ancestors’ piss-soaked grave and take my sacred wine as your offering!”
Sha Commander had no time for banter; after a single word of greeting, he raised his rifle without ceremony.
The mercury-enchanted blue gleam of the flintlock flashed—his bullet streaked straight toward Gu Haoping’s brow!
“Heh.” Gu Haoping bowed slightly to rub his brow, speaking with weary, biting sarcasm: “Still the same empty-headed style as ever.”
“If that’s your best, take that mouth to the grave.”
BOOM!
A pillar of crimson blood erupted before Gu Haoping.
Sha Commander’s bullet vanished into the blood sea, not even leaving a ripple.
Suddenly, as if a tsunami had risen, the blood sea on three sides surged up like a waterfall, encircling the command residence.
Mountainous, oceanic, waves of blood soared to the sky!
Behind him, four or five torrents of blood, each as thick as a trio joining hands, shot upward, twisting like giant serpents toward Sha Commander!
The crowd’s screams verged on hysteria, while Sha cursed furiously: “Shit! Is that even possible?!”
According to intelligence, Gu Haoping had only vaguely hinted at his control over the blood sea—Sha had prepared merely for the tides rising and falling…
But this vast and terrifying blood sea acted more like Gu Haoping’s private pond—so obedient! What the hell?
Luckily, they had already aligned with an even stronger backer.
At some point, a pale mist had begun to drift over the battlefield.
The silhouette of the farm’s patron god hovered in the fog above, high overhead, face shrouded.
Amid the sudden quiet, a cool and clear voice resounded—
“Control of curses is forbidden here.”
That was all.
Snap.
A light finger snap.
Instantly, the blood sea fell eerily silent.
Everything froze in place. All combat halted, fighters paused mid-action.
It was hard to say just what kind of scene this was. The waves fell back, the blood pillars collapsed into the pool, and the apocalyptic spectacle of the previous moment vanished as if it had never been.
The surface of the blood was now still as a crimson mirror.
As if by natural law, as if this were the way things should be. The world itself seemed to correct itself—nothing out of place.
“Is this a joke!?” For the first time, a crack appeared in Gu Haoping’s expression.
“Just…”
Sha Commander, half-stunned and spattered with blood, mumbled,
“Is… is it… over? That’s it?”
Gu Haoping’s eyes bulged in disbelief as, again and again, he raised his hand to try.
Again, a third time!
—The blood pool remained impeccably calm.
The farm god stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing placidly ahead, not sparing a glance for Gu Haoping’s efforts below.
Once he had agreed to deal with the blood pool, it was dealt with.
Was there anything else in this world worth a god’s attention?
Such is the vision of a true deity.
In the blink of an eye, the precious killing weapon for which Gu Haoping had sacrificed so much was erased—silently, completely.
“……” Gu Haoping clenched his fists tightly, took a few deep breaths, and quickly accepted the reality.
“Form the ranks!” He discarded the blood-soaked lump he had been holding, and drew a gleaming silver revolver.
The battle cries rang out again.
High above, atop the unseen clouds, Sizhiyan slowly exhaled, the corners of his lips curling in a cold smile.
In his ear, system prompts chimed non-stop:
[Ding! The blood pool has been completely suppressed for 5 seconds, consuming 15 stacks of [Witch’s Blessing]. Remaining stacks: 95.]
[Ding! The blood pool has been completely suppressed for 5 seconds, consuming 15 stacks of [Witch’s Blessing]. Remaining stacks: 80.]
[Ding! The blood pool has been completely suppressed for 5 seconds, [Witch’s Blessing] remaining: 65.]
…
He was burning through Witch’s Blessing stacks at a tremendous speed!
Each use countered Gu Haoping’s blood surges, draining both sides in a direct contest of stamina and resources.
But
Sizhiyan had gambled that his borrowed godlike identity, the clear and simple prohibition, and absolute suppression would be enough to make his point.
And he won.
Before Witch’s Blessings ran out, Gu Haoping abandoned further attempts.
Sizhiyan had noticed it long ago—Gu Haoping harbored a near-superstitious reverence for [powerful beings] and [laws of order]. Body and soul, he believed in order, despising those beneath him.
It wasn’t the first time Gu Haoping had been intimidated by Sizhiyan. Their first meeting on the Ship of Bones, Gu Haoping took him for a mere laborer and sneered. But later, when he sensed Sizhiyan’s depths, he didn’t even dare speak directly when delivering orders.
Gu Haoping wasn’t stupid—he was shrewd. That was the problem—he adapted too well.
To someone so strong, at once righteous and ruthless, Gu Haoping believed them unmovable.
Once a rule was established, it branded itself into his mind like a steel stamp.
The god’s rules or Sizhiyan’s, it was all the same.
To fear the strong and bully the weak is not always a flaw.
In his hidden vantage, Sizhiyan regarded Gu Haoping with a gaze both merciful and cold.
The battlefield changed by the moment.
In the Famine Game, qualified players had gone through countless rounds of divine strengthening, now utterly unlike ordinary humans. Under the black night sky, players flashed their various powers, streaks of deadly color blasting the darkness, bursting in radiant displays.
At times like this, the Commander’s Guard’s advantage became clear.
Even before the apocalypse, Sha Commander had been an active junior officer. As Guard captain, he organized the qualified players into three types according to their abilities, and drilled them relentlessly in formation and emergency protocol.
Under Commander Nie, Sha held nothing back. His aim: that if ever he fell in battle, the Guard would continue to fight for Nie and the Ship of Bones according to his orders.
That same devotion now turned those Guard formations into knives aimed at the rebels.
Sacrificing a few as decoys, regaining composure after the initial confusion, the guards soon regrouped.
They were the elite. The Commander’s Guard—the finest players the Ship of Bones had.
Assault units fought up close, scouts harassed and scouted both wings, and ranged teams sniped from cover at the enemy’s rear.
War is a team affair—mature teamwork always tramples loose bands of stragglers.
From atop the battlements, Captain Yang issued one order after another through his headset, glancing out at the attackers…
There weren’t that many of them, after all.
As expected, Sha Commander gave the signal and all his troops split in all directions.
They’d come ready—everyone had already exchanged for high-speed movement and charge items.
The rebels scattered among the enemy ranks like shooting stars, smashing deep into the formation.
Whang! An arrow pierced flesh.
One Guard member rolled to the ground, barely dodging a mortal wound, clutching his side and cursing the archer behind him: “Blind much? Who the hell are you shooting at!?”
Too close! The archer, sweating, nocked and drew but hesitated, unsure what to do.
Once the melee started, the ranged teams immediately lost their targets.
The scattered rebels could not yet deal a decisive blow to the Guard, nor could the Commander’s Guard quickly wipe out the rebel force.
A stalemate set in.
Gu Haoping was losing his patience.
His bony hand slowly reached for the bone insect on his waist.
—His deadliest weapon, the Ship of Bones’ internal purging mechanism.
Buzz!
Beneath the chaotic melee, the Ship of Bones trembled faintly.
Spines of bone slowly thrust up from the ground…
Click.
All the bone spikes froze in place.
Yells of shock and confusion echoed from afar.
At that same moment, a gentle yet irresistible field seemed to spread over the entire battlefield, smothering Gu Haoping’s control.
That feeling—so familiar.
Gu Haoping’s eyes contracted in alarm.
Ssshhh…
In the midst of the melee, the blade of a scythe scraped over bone, accompanied by a rolling black cloak, striding through both sides of battle.
No one stopped fighting because of him, but no one dared to stand in his way.
Gu Haoping staggered back, step by step.
In that instant, his expression nearly froze, all slyness and elegance crumbling away, leaving only the lost, panicked confusion of a boy.
A pitch-black figure, hem smoking with black mist, stood in the courtyard before the command residence.
Niedu, Commander Nie.
Gu Haoping’s mind went blank, his voice trembling: “Nie… Nie-ge…”
Niedu looked up at Gu Haoping, golden light swirling in his eyes.
After so long, he said nothing—simply gripped his blade in one hand and pulled back his hood with the other.
On the face Gu Haoping had dreamed of night after night, faint green traces of old curses still remained.
In that instant, Gu Haoping nearly stopped breathing.
—Where did you blow up with the Wailing of the Bitter Bones? Did you enjoy such a welcome?