Post-War Trauma

“Crimson Hawk, I advise you not to act rashly. I possess a jamming crystal… guwah!”

“What’s going on? Why isn’t this guy affected?”

“They’re live rounds, and imbued with Gold-tier magical power!”

“How is this possible!”

Their astonishment was not without reason.

The amount of magic an item could store was directly related to its size.

For an object the size of a bullet, storing Bronze-tier magic was already the absolute limit.

Unless it was a magic artifact, or an item of even higher caliber.

But to fashion bullets into magic artifacts, and then fire them off as if they were limitless, as Xie Shenhong was doing?

They were more inclined to believe they were dreaming.

However, for Xie Shenhong himself, this was far from a difficult feat.

This was, after all, a technique of the Demon Race.

The Demon Race’s arrows and bullets all employed this composite structure, with a power ceiling reaching the Martial Lord tier.

Regrettably, modifying the Crimson Twin Pistols also required time… Ultimately, Xie Shenhong could only produce live rounds imbued with peak Silver-tier magic.

Nevertheless, if his opponents were Sima’s private soldiers and these arrogant elites, peak Silver-tier was more than sufficient.

Naturally, his supply of bullets was not infinite.

Yet, given that they weren’t imbeciles and generally valued their lives, the only countermeasure they could conceive was this:

“Everyone, listen! The jamming crystal is useless. Do not confront the Crimson Hawk in confined spaces!”

Upon hearing this, Xie Shenhong swiftly switched one of his Crimson Twin Pistols back to magic bullet mode.

He had implemented three modifications to the Crimson Twin Pistols in total: first, the ability to control the speed of magic bullets at will; and second, the capacity for the pistols to switch between live rounds and magic bullets.

The jamming crystal’s effect was to disrupt all nearby magic upon activation.

Among these, externalized magic-type artifacts were most severely affected, while body-enhancement magic suffered the least.

However, even the slightest disruption was still a disruption. Wielding activated jamming crystals, these individuals were forced to endure the bullets with their bare bodies.

Conversely, the live rounds functioned much like ordinary firearms; the internal magic only erupted upon impact, with no spell casting involved in the entire process—a pure display of overwhelming force against finesse.

Exhaust Xie Shenhong’s bullets?

As Sima’s subordinates, the private soldiers might have been willing to brave fire and water, but they lacked the qualifications to wield precious jamming crystals.

As for the qualified elites, ‘clever’ as they were, how could they possibly volunteer to be cannon fodder?

Thus, they were left with no choice but to discard their jamming crystals and confront Xie Shenhong, who was now using magic bullets, in an open area.

“Damn it, Crimson Hawk! If you have the guts, fight me without your magic-infused firearms!”

“Crimson Hawk, you despicable effeminate fiend!”

From the ground, the immobilized figures shouted as he passed.

Indeed, Xie Shenhong still refrained from delivering lethal blows.

These individuals did not deserve death.

Nor did he wish to deprive them of their right to face legal judgment and enjoy the remainder of their ‘happy’ lives in prison.

However, considering that most of these individuals possessed some knowledge of recovery magic, Xie Shenhong this time not only shot their limbs but also struck the core points responsible for their magic recovery and normal bodily functions, preventing them from interfering with him later.

As for the insults… well, the harsher his enemies cursed him, the more it affirmed that he was doing the right thing. Hearing them actually invigorated his perpetually self-deprecating spirit.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

He needed more.

“Here they come.”

Facing the simultaneous assault of over a dozen individuals, Xie Shenhong moved with a fluid combination of running and shooting. He skillfully adjusted his angles to breach multiple defensive spells with a single shot, interspersing live rounds among magic bullets, ricocheting shots among live rounds, or even executing ‘Star Chaser’ maneuvers where magic and live bullets collided…

“They can’t be stopped!”

“Damn it! How can we, with our magic, not defeat a mere magic-less individual!”

“Don’t be afraid! The Crimson Hawk is only one man!”

Finally, they realized that Xie Shenhong was not an opponent they could overcome in a direct confrontation. They decided to send some forward to engage him in close combat while others maintained distance to unleash ranged attacks, and even attempted to flank him from behind.

If things had truly unfolded according to their envisioned plan, Xie Shenhong might indeed have been unable to resist.

The problem, however, was that Xie Shenhong was neither a fool nor a mere training dummy. He wouldn’t idly wait for them to complete their deployment, nor would he fight them in exposed, unshielded positions.

Consequently, after a flurry of activity, their perfect plan failed every single time, with all of them ultimately being shot down by Xie Shenhong.

Those who remained were either utterly cowardly or individuals possessing genuine insight and strategic acumen.

“How could this be? The live rounds were one thing, but how could his magic bullets fire so many times in succession?”

“Take a guess.”

With a pre-emptive ‘Star Chaser’ shot, Xie Shenhong struck the man down.

His third modification allowed the Crimson Twin Pistols to be overcharged.

The drawback was that prolonged overcharging would damage the pistols, while even short bursts of overcharging would extend their cooldown period.

However, Xie Shenhong’s manufactured live rounds were limited, compelling him to conserve their use in this manner.

****

Half an hour later, Xie Shenhong had finally incapacitated all enemies on the deck and in the upper cabins.

Yet, Sima Le was nowhere to be found.

Despite such a prolonged battle, Lyte had not come to investigate—

‘It seems they understand what truly matters,’ he mused.

Stepping into the deserted control room, he systematically destroyed all the equipment within. Observing that the Departing Flame ship showed no signs of stopping, Xie Shenhong quickly deduced that the room was merely a decoy.

With all preparations made, Xie Shenhong proceeded to the ship’s cargo hold.

As expected, two figures were locked in fierce combat within… No.

It would be more accurate to say Lyte was being unilaterally thrashed by Sima Le.

This was hardly surprising. While Lyte, as an elite among peak Gold-tier practitioners, was already peerless within his rank and even capable of putting up a fight against an ordinary early-stage Martial Lord.

Sima Le, however, was a genuine general, forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

In fact, for such a seasoned early-stage Martial Lord to have taken so long to dispatch Lyte already suggested he was holding back.

“Shenhong? This place is dangerous, leave quickly!”

Noticing Xie Shenhong’s arrival, Lyte exclaimed urgently.

He was then sent flying by a punch from Sima Le.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Xie Shenhong fired three shots at Lyte, who was attempting to rise again, destroying his core points and rendering him temporarily unable to move or speak. Then, he turned his gaze to Sima Le.

“Oh, so you’ve decided to join the Empire?”

Though Sima Le was somewhat surprised, a look of delight quickly spread across his face.

‘This doesn’t seem to be a bitter stratagem… Or perhaps he knew I wouldn’t kill, which is why he wasn’t at all concerned for Lyte’s safety? Or could it be that the two of them were never aligned from the start? Yet, Lyte’s relationship with the other princes shouldn’t be very good…’

“I merely have some doubts.”

Xie Shenhong looked at Sima Le with profound grief and indignation. “Why would someone like you betray the Kingdom?”

“What’s impossible about it? Lady Hai Zhu is no longer with us. Is it so strange for me to pledge my allegiance to the Empire?”

“Then why didn’t you betray us ten years ago?”

Xie Shenhong stared intently at Sima Le. “I don’t know where you received news of Lady Hai Zhu’s absence, but surely that information isn’t a hundred percent confirmed, is it? Ten years ago, before Lady Hai Zhu’s time, the power disparity between the Empire and the Kingdom was even greater, yet you didn’t betray us then. To choose betrayal now, I simply cannot believe it…”

“Anything else?”

Sima Le watched him silently.

“Your relationship with your family is exceptionally harmonious. You’ve always been keen on mentoring the Kingdom’s youth, even leading the way in introducing new innovations and technologies to everyone, earning the deep respect of many… I truly cannot fathom why someone of your character would betray the Kingdom. No, it’s not just the betrayal itself; you haven’t brought a single close subordinate or any family members with you. Instead, you’ve left with a group of individuals who could only be described as the Kingdom’s black sheep… Have you truly betrayed us?”

Indeed, by all appearances, Sima Le was a staunch loyalist of the Kingdom, one who loved it profoundly.

Yet—

“No, my betrayal of the Kingdom is beyond doubt.”

Sima Le offered a sorrowful smile, his eyes filled with despair.

“Because she is no longer here.”