Above The Sky
Chapter 1066: 141: Mortals and the Sage (Part 1 of 2 of the Grand Chapter, Xiawei Territory storyline concluded, thanks to the alliance leader Feixin Sijian!)_2

Chapter 1066: Chapter 141: Mortals and the Sage (Part 1 of 2 of the Grand Chapter, Xiawei Territory storyline concluded, thanks to the alliance leader Feixin Sijian!)_2

The rescue team organized by the squad searched for half a day, but as night fell, they had to retreat… Recently, other herb-picking teams would likely be on heightened alert, and the Guard Squad would intensify their patrols and clearance efforts, but the person definitely couldn’t be found.

Forget one day, even half a day… In the Redwood Forest of the South Ridge, as long as someone disappeared for just one hour, even half an hour… it meant they were gone forever.

The playmate kept crying. He called out his father’s and sister’s names, grief drowning out the voice of the young child. But soon, he could no longer afford to grieve because the men in his household were gone, leaving only him. He had to protect his mother from all outsiders and relatives.

Until today, Scott still remembers that young girl. His age has already surpassed hers by now, yet whenever he recalls the past, Scott can’t help but tremble.

Back then, though he understood the meaning of death, he didn’t fully grasp the cruelty of life moving toward death… But now, because he understands, he knows: whether it’s being clouded by poisonous fog, concealed by jungle roots and branches, and turning into skeletons under the trees; or having the neck twisted by a Magical Beast, having all the organs and Flesh and Blood devoured, even bones chewed to pieces… all these are excruciatingly painful and extremely likely fates that could have befallen that gentle young girl.

Or even… being abducted by the Natives.

Yet, at that time, young Scott still felt no grief, only a sense of bewilderment.

Something was amiss.

Why?

“Why?”

Late at night, young Scott tossed and turned in bed, questioning himself over and over: “Has something like this really become irreversible?”

“Must I just watch such things happen, utterly unable to help the people I want to help?”

“Is there really no way… to prevent everyone from facing unexpected tragedies? No possibility or strength to return the past days to their original state?”

“Is there really no way…”

“…to help those grieving people, to find a way to help them?”

Ah. At the time, the boy curled up in anguish. Within his heart, there was no sorrow, only a suffocating pressure as though a formidable force was clutching his heart tightly. Deep down, he already had an answer, but that answer awaited a cruel moment to declare the truth to this clever—yet not truly gifted—young man.

The playmate’s family moved away. Most of their belongings were left to their relatives, but they moved to Nauman City, where the family had an elderly uncle without children willing to care for the younger brother.

This was already the best possible outcome.

Years later, Scott chose to join the Guard Squad.

That unsettling feeling of something missing constantly lingered in his heart, pushing him to do something, anything, to help others.

The world shouldn’t be like this. Many people shouldn’t have to die needlessly, and many shouldn’t suffer unfortunate endings.

No, not many people.

It should be everyone.

“I have to do something.”

When convincing his father and grandfather, Scott couldn’t come up with strong reasons, so he simply expressed his earnest emotions: “I won’t neglect the Blacksmith craft, and the Guard Squad will help me build physical strength. When I retire, or whenever I no longer want to do it, I can always come back and inherit the family business.”

“But for now, I want to do something. Our port needs the Guard Squad. If I don’t join, and others don’t join, then who will protect our home?”

It wasn’t a solid argument, but Scott’s father ultimately swayed his grandfather.

“Your grandson is smarter than us.” The man, who always respected his own father, said: “Let him try. After all, as this boy himself said, someone has to do it, and the money Viscount offers isn’t bad.”

Ten years after his grandmother’s passing, Scott could finally do something for others.

Of course, none of it went smoothly.

Though the Guard Squad’s age requirement was merely fourteen or older, there was no way they’d send a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old “just-barely-adult” into battle against Native tribes or Magical Beasts.

During that period, all Scott could do was patrol the city, give directions to people, catch thieves, and resolve neighborhood disputes.

Moreover, Scott’s captain and teammates weren’t exactly “decent people” at the time.

As the newest and youngest member of the team, Scott had to clean for the officers and Seniors, wash their clothes and socks, and polish weapons and Armored Clothing.

It was an unwritten rule, so it wasn’t outright malicious, but since it was conforming to tradition, it couldn’t be called good either.

During that time, Scott’s life was undeniably tough—falling asleep the moment he closed his eyes, and being called up to patrol before he could wake naturally.

Yet this pain and hardship granted him a sense of “fulfillment.”

A sense of “I am doing something.”

“Once I become a capable Guard Squad member, maybe I’ll be able to do more.”

With such thoughts, Scott awaited the rainstorm that would change his entire life.

A war in the rain.

The Native invasion of Harrison Port—a phenomenon Scott had never heard of since he was born. Even Scott’s father had no memory of such an event, only Scott’s bedridden grandfather faintly recalled the time decades ago when Native tribes waged the fiercest wars against Harrison Port, and the entire harbor was fortified with turrets and bunkers to ward off wave after wave of storm-like assaults.