Chapter 6: Destined to be Discarded!
Again.
The heavens remained silent, as if fate itself was watching him suffer, uncaring — again!
Even in his last life, the answer had been silence.
Su Xiaobai had been living a good life, basking in luxury and power. Until the decree came, forcing him into the role of a villain. And he played it damn well, didn't he? He embraced it, did everything the story demanded—crushed the protagonist, broke their spirit, indulged in his darkest impulses.
And yet, they discarded him. Just like that. Tossed him aside like a crumpled page from a script, forgotten and left to rot.
He had a family in that life too. But what happened to them? Were they erased along with him, casualties of a fate that no longer needed them? He didn't know. And that haunted him as much as anything. Had they even mattered?
And now... this time.
It was happening again.
His hands trembled as he knelt in the mud, soaked in rain and blood. Why? He had done nothing this time. No schemes, no villainy, no provocation. Just trying to live a quiet, simple life.
But here he was again—alone in the wreckage of everything he cared about.
The cruel irony was clear to him.
It didn't matter what role he played—hero, villain, or faceless nobody in the background.
The end was always the same.
Silence. Destruction. Loss.
And now, again.
His fists clenched, fingers digging into the wet earth. His body shook with a mixture of rage and despair. 'Was he destined to always be discarded?'
____
Swoosh!
On the far side of the cliff, a woman in crimson armor raised her hand, commanding her soldiers to stand.
The Blood Cavalry, silent and hidden until now, rose at her signal, their eyes locked on the man below.
Xu Lia, captain of the Blood Cavalry, once filled with innocence, now burned with a fire of vengeance that matched the crimson of her armor.
Her gaze bore into Su Xiaobai with a hatred that had long since consumed her.
"Release!" she shouted, her voice cold as steel.
With that single word, thousands of arrows shot into the sky, darkening the heavens like a storm of death.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
The arrows rained down, each one aimed to tear Su Xiaobai apart.
"What—!?" Su Xiaobai barely had time to react, instinctively triggering his 'Invincible Body'.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The first wave of arrows slammed into him, deflecting off his temporary shield of spiritual energy, their force knocking him back.
But he could feel it—his energy reserves were dangerously low.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
With a flicker, his Invincible Body gave out.
"Agh…!" Su Xiaobai gasped, his body shuddering as the arrows pierced through him.
Flesh tore, his profound veins ruptured, and blood poured from his mouth. The pain was unlike anything he'd ever felt, each arrow sinking deeper, shredding his body as he crumbled to the ground, pinned by the merciless storm of arrows.
High above, standing on the cliff's edge, Sun Liang watched, completely unfazed. His eyes flicked to Xu Lia, who stood beside him, her gaze locked on Su Xiaobai's broken form, her lips trembling with the satisfaction of revenge.
"The trap worked perfectly," Sun Liang murmured, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
Xu Lia's eyes filled with a cold, fierce satisfaction. Her voice cracked as she whispered, "Miss Long Lifen, I've avenged you."
No one had expected Su Xiaobai to meet his end like this.
Not even Sun Liang, who had personally come to oversee the attack, just in case something went wrong.
He always preferred to leave nothing to chance, but seeing the pitiful figure of Su Xiaobai lying in the mud, he knew there was no need for concern.
Su Xiaobai had been reduced to a broken, bloodied husk.
But Sun Liang's gaze shifted to Xu Lia, the warrior who had carried out his plan to the letter.
So fierce, so loyal—and so unaware of how little she truly mattered.
With a flicker of amusement in his eyes, he raised his hand.
SWOOSH!
In the blink of an eye, a wave of sword intent exploded from his fingers.
Puchi!
Puchi!
Puchi!
The hundred soldiers of the Blood Cavalry didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies were sliced cleanly in half, their torsos slipping off their horses before the blood began to rain down.
The sound of their bodies hitting the mud was almost drowned out by the rain.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Xu Lia turned to face Sun Liang, shock contorting her features. "Master Sun?!" she gasped, her voice trembling as she looked at the blood-soaked corpses of her men.
This wasn't the deal. This wasn't supposed to happen!
Horror painted her face as the realization set in — She had been nothing more than a pawn in his grand game.
Her loyalty, her sacrifices—everything had been for nothing.
Xu Lia, the most loyal servant of Long Lifen, an orphan raised within the Azure Dragon Clan, had spent her life serving, fighting, and killing for the clan.
She had risen through the ranks, earned her title, but had retired after too much bloodshed, choosing to return to Long Lifen's side as her personal maid.
She was one of the first to find Su Xiaobai and Long Lifen together after that fateful encounter by the river, their bodies entwined from the effects of the aphrodisiac.
Her blood had boiled that day.
She had wanted to kill Su Xiaobai right there and then, but Sun Liang had stopped her.
He convinced her that killing him then would disgrace the Azure Dragon Clan. He promised her revenge, but in a way that would protect the clan's honor.
And now—after leading her personal army into this massacre, after betraying the Azure Dragon Clan for him—he had killed her men.
"Why...?" she stammered, her body trembling with disbelief.
Sun Liang's smile didn't fade. He didn't bother to answer.
Puchi!
With a casual flick of his wrist, her head rolled clean off her shoulders, her lifeless eyes wide with shock as it tumbled into the bloodied earth.
Thud.
Her headless body collapsed moments later, joining the corpses of her cavalry. The same warriors who had followed her through life and death now lay as nothing more than discarded pawns, mere tools in a game far beyond her understanding.
Sun Liang watched as her body twitched in the mud, wiping his hand against his robe with disdain. "Filthy," he muttered, stepping over her fallen corpse without a second glance.
His gaze shifted back to Su Xiaobai, who lay pinned to the ground, barely alive. "Now... only the brat's family is left," he whispered to himself, an evil grin spreading across his face.
Oh, he had such 'delightful' plans for them.
Su Xiaobai's fate was sealed, but it was far from over.
Sun Liang would make sure of that — to extract the most value from his pawn!