Chapter 1235 Stepping On The Pedal: On The Way To Emperor!
A few minutes later, Evangeline's older sister left.
When Bai Zemin asked her where she was going and what she was going to do, she simply said that she would try to give her own version of the events to the person who from her point of view had suffered the most; Evangeline, who was formerly called Ludmila and her younger sister.
As for her idea of taking charge of the situation, Bai Zemin was honestly relieved somewhere in the corner of his heart.
What else could he do? There was no way Bai Zemin would make a move to kill Khristina Ilyinishna after hearing and seeing proof of her own version of the story.
However, he couldn't just leave things as they were either since he had promised Evangeline to help her "take care" of her sister... Under such circ.u.mstances that left him with his hands and feet tied, Bai Zemin could only hope for the best and that the two sisters would settle their family problems with each other.
"We all are the villain in a half-told story." Bai Zemin stood up and walked towards the exit while leaving those words behind.
Shangguan Bing Xue watched his retreat in silence, and after a long time turned to look at the winter scenery outside the large window.
A deep sigh from her emotionally charged heart slipped from her lips as she whispered something to herself.
She knew that, somehow or other, Bai Zemin felt compa.s.sion and pity for Khristina Ilyinishna. In fact, Shangguan Bing Xue was more than clear about one point... and that was that both Bai Zemin and Khristina were and to this day are villains of poorly told stories.
However, there was one big difference between the two of them.
"Evangeline might forgive her sister, which would mean that while Khristina's past is unfortunate her future might not be. But you..."
Bai Zemin's past was not even worth mentioning in the face of the harshness and cruelty the two Ilyinishna sisters experienced during their childhood and teenage years. However, his future would hardly be fixed in some ways.
This was because, in the hearts of many, Bai Zemin still was and probably always would be a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant.
* * *
Two weeks later.
Bai Zemin did not see Khristina again, nor did he see Evangeline.
Although he didn't know if Khristina was still alive, he knew for sure that the younger sister of the two was still alive.
As long as Bai Zemin did not get notification from the Soul Record that his Loyal Follower Evangeline had died, Bai Zemin felt that everything would be okay somehow.
After staying in Russia for another week, Bai Zemin left Nangong Yi and Shangguan Bing Xue behind to take care of and a.s.sist Wu Yijun in the ruler change process.
Due to the invasion of the Transcendent faction to wipe out the Russian faction, Russia was land that needed to be worked; the survivors needed to leave Moscow and return to other bases located in different areas of the country to take advantage of Earth's natural resources, the troops needed to re-install outposts that had been destroyed before during the war, technology comparisons needed to be made and new technology needed to be mobilized by either side, etc.
In the meantime, he stayed in China for seven days.
During the seven days that pa.s.sed, he not only spent some time with his family but also spent a great deal of time helping his faction's scientific and magical development team to speed up the process of building several teleport gates.
Thanks to all the s.p.a.ce-related skills Bai Zemin had, as well as his knowledge gained after briefly connecting with the universal s.p.a.ce law gate, team leader Lie Shun a.s.sured that within 12 months there would be major breakthroughs and that within 2 years at the latest the entire faction would enjoy the privilege of being able to teleport with almost total freedom between each of their bases when the situation called for it.
While 1-2 years was an enormous amount of time, there was little that Bai Zemin could do about it. This was because not only were the resources needed to build the gates scarce on today's Earth, but also because great care had to be taken with this new technology. Were it not for the fact that the Russian faction had found some functional gates in the ancient ruin they would never have been able to use this type of technology so soon.
Then, the day of departure finally arrived.
The survivors of the main base located in Beijing looked up at the sky. Most of them looked at the great floating city with reverence, awe, and also a hint of fear as well as curiosity.
That huge city had appeared in the sky exactly half a month ago, frightening and terrifying not only the normal survivors but even the soldiers panicked. It wasn't until later that a great piece of news that stunned everyone spread like wildfire through each of the faction's bases.
"What?! That big city in the sky is where our King lives?!"
"How can this be possible? A flying city? Isn't that a bit too much?"
"What world do you live in? Are you stuck in the past or something? Have you forgotten that the strongest can make rain and storms with a wave of their hands? Making a city float permanently must be a simple thing for someone as powerful as him!"
All kinds of rumors and theories spread throughout China.
No one knew who was the first, however, to Bai Zemin's ears came the new name Hero City had been baptized with by his people.
"King City?" Sitting on the Throne of Creation inside the Sky Emperor Palace, Bai Zemin smiled bitterly after hearing Lilith's words, "I don't know which of the two names makes me more uncomfortable between Hero City and King City."
Lilith chuckled as she played with his hair sitting on his lap, "The funniest thing of all is that name will probably change again soon."
"Ah?" He looked down and his confused eyes met her playful gaze.
Lilith pointed with sparkling eyes: "It will be soon, won't it?"
The curiosity in Bai Zemin's eyes slowly disappeared. His face gradually became serious as he turned his head slightly to look at the beautiful scenery and blue sky beyond the huge window to the left of the throne room.
"Mhm. Soon."
His voice rang inside the room for a few seconds, and since they were alone no one but they heard it.
"Emperor, uh..." Lilith's eyes shone with longing, sadness, and some joy as her delicate voice rang out in the desolate hall, "It feels like this all started yesterday but look at you, about to become the sole absolute ruler of a world in its Third Stage. A world as anomalous as Earth at that."
"It's been over two and a half years since the apocalypse started, but I understand what you mean." Bai Zemin nodded gently, "I know it makes no logical sense to have accomplished so much in only a little over 18 months, I know since I've been to other worlds and learned a bit of their histories. Taking Eventide World as an example, despite having been evolved for thousands of years, there was still no Emperor and even Oblon World didn't have a real Emperor."
"And now, that skittish little boy who out of pure instinct used a wooden chair to kill a mutant bee is about to become an Emperor recognized and approved by the Soul Record. All in less than 3 years." Lilith smiled as she recalled her first interactions with him, "You know, part of me misses how cute you used to be. Now you're a big shameless p.r.i.c.k who doesn't even blush no matter what I say."
"Tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you who you are." Bai Zemin replied in a voice filled with righteousness.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
Lilith raised her head and looked at him with a cute pout, but just as Bai Zemin planned to reply to her the doors of the hall slowly opened from outside, successfully interrupting the two's moment.
Those who entered were Sun Ling, Wu Yijun's mother, and Bai s.h.i.+lin.
"Well, well, what do we have here..." Sun Ling's eyes slowly wandered between Bai Zemin and Lilith as she said with a beautiful smile, "While the subjects work, the King and Queen rest and flirt... I guess I should say, worthy monarchs."
"Ah!" Bai s.h.i.+lin directly started running towards the throne when she saw the situation.
The little princess' body turned into a blur, appearing in an instant on Lilith's lap as the latter continued to sit on Bai Zemin's lap.
"Lilith Mom, you can't keep the father all to yourself!" Bai s.h.i.+lin glared at Lilith with tears in her eyes as she tried her best to remove Lilith's arms that were around her beloved father's neck, "s.h.i.+lin was working hard but this is what you do?"
"You, little vermin..." Lilith was speechless as her place and position were stolen.
As Bai Zemin burst out laughing, Wu Yijun's mother couldn't help but shake her head with a wry smile on her face, "What an interesting family..."
Once the laughter and not so joking jokes stopped, Bai Zemin slowly turned back into a serious Leader.
"All ready?"
Sun Ling's expression also changed to one of higher seriousness, but there was still a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips as she nodded firmly.
"Chen He has really grown as a soul evolver and as a man. You should say a few good words to him later when this is all over once and for all."
"I'll take care of that." Bai Zemin nodded, and at the same time as his eyes narrowed, he ordered, "Let everyone stay on standby temporarily... Our first destination is the United States of America."
Sun Ling bowed with a chuckle before turning around. Her hips swayed charmingly as she retreated, and before completely closing the door behind her she looked back and winked her eye, "Should we call you Little Emperor for now?"
Bang
When the doors closed with a bang, Bai Zemin closed his eyes slowly and let his neck rest on the back of the throne.
This time, none of them would return home until each and every faction scattered across the Earth, from the largest to the smallest, was subjugated.
'The next time I return home there will be no more threats to me or my family. Earth will be our rightful home, and the apocalypse on this world will finally end.'
Right... The next time Bai Zemin gets home, he will no longer be King but Emperor!
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A/N: Everyone, 1 chapter more later and 1 more before reset so... 3 chapters in less than 24 hours.
Really thank you very much to all those who send gifts to the novel and support with valuable Golden Tickets. I hope we can all keep it up <3