Absolute Choice
Absolute Choice - Chapter 454: We need to have a good cha

His heavy eyelids covered his eyes. His hazy mind was still struggling as he tried his best to open his eyes but to no avail. It was as if his body no longer belonged to him. A darkness without any light seemed to have devoured the last of his consciousness.

But he could still sense the temperature that came from the world. It was the best proof that he was still alive.

Heh, alive.

Still alive.

Although taken for granted, the boy was still alive.

After realizing that he was still alive, he did not feel the delight of surviving a calamity because the boy never believed that he would have died just like that. He long believed of the scene of his death—at the instant death came, he would be seated on a sealed throne, smiling as he receives his eternal slumber.

But even though he was still alive, it did not represent the coda of his annihilation. That was because the battle did not appear to have ended. By using all his strength to produce Excalibur, he should have perfectly withstood the girl's Sword Soul strike. Him being still well and alive was the best proof, but the exhaustion he felt from not even being capable to open his eyes made him unable to judge if that strike had obtained the victory that he wanted, or if it even left a mark on the girl's hair.

This battle that had its outcome determined only by death would only end when one side died or abandoned the battle. The girl who was his opponent possessed a firm and ice-cold heart. Compassion and benevolence was insulated from her. If she still possessed strength, she would definitely not show him any mercy. Even if her opponent had fallen unconscious to the point of losing all ability to fight, like a lamb about to be slaughtered, she would still cleave down her butchering blade. That pair of ice-blue eyes which he took notice of seemed to elaborate on this fact.

Therefore, regardless of the outcome, he needed to open his eyes and stand up once again. He needed to lift the sword in his hand!

However, in order to achieve victory, and not only withstand the girl's strike, the boy had compressed every bit of energy in his body. At this very moment in time, his body was completely drained of energy. There was none left. He could not even squeeze the energy needed to open his eyes.

He attempted to use sound to judge the situation he was in but he was horrified to realize that not only did the darkness around him lose its light, it was as if sound had disappeared as well. The din from a thirty-thousand-strong audience, the chatter of his companions, that girl's emotionless voice, or the sounds of the breeze had completely vanished. It was a silent and deathly stillness, as though he was in an empty void.

If not for his exposed skin being able to sense the warmth of the world and the blurry consciousness he had was dwindling like a candle in the wind, he would have believed that he was in the afterworld and that he had died.

Slowly, his consciousness was like a run-away kite as it lifted with the wind and floated towards the azure blue sky. Slowly, the tip of his consciousness touched the soft, white clouds. The sunlight that dyed the clouds with a sheen enveloped his soul. The warm feeling was as though he was immersed in a sauna. The easy and comfortable feeling was like a pleasant lullaby.

Yes...

How tired...

The boy was still struggling. He was still resisting the 'losing of his consciousness', but the body which did not seem to heed his will and the irresistible exhaustion was slowly draining away the little remaining bits of his consciousness.

The barely persisting consciousness felt a deep sense of exhaustion, down to his very soul.

If he fell asleep just like that, it seemed like it would be quite a blissful matter.

The thought he had for an instant seemed to be the first strike to topple the dominoes. Whatever consciousness he had left was finally collapsing.

The boy was about to fall asleep.

"Be careful!"

A loud cry suddenly sounded and stabbed into his sealed ears. The silent world shattered like a glass prison.

Whose...voice did that belong to?

The moment the question appeared in his mind, the stifled consciousness that nearly went 'unconsciousness' suddenly gained a new breath, jolting the boy who was about to fall asleep awake.

At the same time, an intense sense of danger reached his heart, like a needle was pricking his heart.

He sensed Death.

He was about to die!

If he did not do a thing, he would die there and then!

The boy was not afraid of death.

But he did not wish to die just like that.

That was because his story had only just begun.

"How can This King die here!?"

The exhausted soul that was nearly on the verge of numbness suddenly let out a roar.

Shi Xiaobai suddenly opened his eyes!

...

At the instant he opened his eyes, his eyes could not adjust to the sudden brightness. In his blurry vision, he saw a black beam of light that resembled a sword shooting straight towards his right eye!

The tip of the black beam of light was like that of a saber or sword. It shimmered with a cold luster like the fangs of a cobra. It brought with it an air of death.

Even though Shi Xiaobai's physical toughness was extraordinary, his eyes were still a weak and fatal point. If the black beam of light hit his eye, the outcome would be disastrous.

He needed to dodge that black beam of unknown origin, but after carrying out Excalibur with all his willpower, it allowed him to pay a tremendous price to produce strength that could match the Sword Soul's power. It was already fortunate that he was not knocked unconscious, but his strength was completely drained. It was an outcome that resulted in him not being even able to move a finger.

He was unable to move as he could not even squeeze out the strength needed to twist his neck slightly!

This was a helpless and absolute ending he had to face.

"What sort of joke was that!?"

The boy that never succumbed to 'absolutes' roared in his heart. Out of somewhere came a sliver of energy, like it was a drop of water that suddenly appeared on a desolate land that had dried up into a desert.

Shi Xiaobai managed to finally use his willpower at the moment of greatest danger to squeeze out a tiny amount of strength. He twisted his neck slightly and managed to move his head to the side.

"Bam!"

The black beam of light flashed past Shi Xiaobai's temples and left behind a superficial wound. It hit the ground and penetrated through the ground like it was entering a bottomless pit.

He nearly...nearly died there and then.

Even the firm and tenacious Shi Xiaobai could not help but feel a delight from surviving the calamity.

"How can This King die here!?"

The boy did not get slashed to death by the Sword Soul strike, However, if he died due to his complete exhaustion to black beams of light that he could usually dodge easily, it would be the most aggrieved way of dying. Maybe it was because of this that his thirst to live was surprisingly intense.

However, the sudden danger did not seem to give him a time to catch his breath. His sense of danger struck the warning bells once again as Shi Xiaobai saw in his periphery vision four beams of black light falling from the sky. This time, they were heading straight for his eyes, neck, left chest and an important spot between his two legs.

After seeing the penetrative power of the black beams of light, Shi Xiaobai had no doubt that his eye would be penetrated. The muscles around his neck and chest might be able to somewhat withstand it, but in his exhaustion, there was a certain spot that might end up in a tragic state.

However, he did not even have the strength to twist his neck any more, much less move to dodge the four beams of black light.

Even though his willpower was struggling intensely, there was no way to save himself from his present situation. That was because all his strength had been completely used up. Furthermore, the four beams of light were clearly not the end to the danger he was in.

He was really in a dire situation this time.

Suddenly, the corners of the boy's mouth gradually formed an arc. Such a simple act of moving his facial muscles appeared extremely difficult, so the smile appeared even more stiff.

However, he was indeed smiling. At the moment his life was about to come to an end, he did not struggle or grimace but he beamed. It was a scornful smile.

He faced his despair with a smile. That was something he understood after experiencing the despair of 'saving Little Fatso'.

He did not even close his eyes as he looked somberly at the four black beams of light that fell from the sky, which included the black beam that was headed straight for his eyeball.

Time seemed to slow down drastically at that moment. He could clearly see every instant the black beams of light fell. He could discern every change the black beams of light underwent. It was not an illusion, but an unbelievable visual ability at the moment of his greatest danger.

However, this ability's sudden activation did not seem useful. Even if he could clearly see the trajectories of the black beams of light, what use was it if he lacked the strength to dodge them?

At that moment, a strong wind caused the boy's thin sleeves to flutter.

Shi Xiaobai immediately widened his eyes. In that slowly moving world, a figure suddenly rushed beside him. The speed was so fast that he only had a vague impression of his despite his enhanced visual ability.

"Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng!"

All he saw was a resplendent golden light flash past from his vision as the sound of impacts echoed. The four beams of black light disintegrated after shattering in mid-air.

The wanton winds blew into his eyes, but Shi Xiaobai did not close them. That was because a slender figure had entered his eyes. A loose and white long robe concealed her figure, but her resplendent blond hair was more dazzling than sunlight.

Dawn!

The owner of that bright and limpid pair of emotionless, ice-blue eyes!

It was the deadpan Hero King that had instigated a series of actions to announce that she wanted to kill the three kings!

The enemy that he had engaged in a life-and-death battle with!

This girl who had a pretty name was actually standing in front of him. She was the savior who saved him by shattering the black beam of light?

Wasn't she the one that wanted to kill him the most?

While still reeling in shock, there were a few black beams of light that immediately shot towards him. This time, they did not only descend from the sky but came from every direction. Furthermore, these black beams of light seemed to be thicker than before.

But at the instant the black beams of light assaulted him, the girl in front of him would immediately brandish the Lucifer's Sword in her hand. As sword beams swept outward, it stirred winds that shattered the black beams instantly.

Not only had she saved his life, but she also seemed prepared to continue protecting him. On careful recollection, that voice that warned him to 'be careful' sounded like her voice.

What was going on?

Shi Xiaobai was slightly dumbfounded. It was not only because the girl that should have killed him ruthlessly suddenly act in a completely different manner, but because he finally realized that the world he was in did not look like the world in the seventh level of the Nine Revolutions Transcendental Tower. That was because there were two scorching suns in the bright sky!

Where was this?

What happened after the clash between Excalibur and the Sword Soul strike?

Why was she protecting him?

Questions filled his mind as Shi Xiaobai's lips trembled slightly. He used a tiny bit of strength he had recovered during that short bit of time to say in a weak voice.

"Wh...What's the situation?"

The simple three words actually contained a great deal of puzzlement.

The girl standing in front of Shi Xiaobai moved her ears slightly, clearly having noticed the weak voice. She swept her sword once again, shattering the black beam that came attacking once again.

"The situation is very complicated."

The girl turned around and bent down slightly. She lowered her head to look into Shi Xiaobai's eyes. She whispered, "The situation is rather complicated. It can't be explained in a word or two. I think...we need to have a good chat."

Shi Xiaobai was surprised and never expected to receive such a response.

He did not know if he was making a mistake because he seemed to see a faint smile on her lips that lasted a fleeting moment when the girl said those words. IChooseDogLeading (我选择狗带) when read in Chinese sounds like I Choose Go Die. It was a meme that resulted from a former member of famous Korean boygroup, EXO, TAO (Huang Zitao). At a concert, there was a part in a rap that where he said "", but due to a mispronunciation, it sounded like he will not easily choose to be led by dogs. This phrase now means 'I'd rather die/I choose death'.