Absolute Choice
Absolute Choice - Chapter 460: To the Ends of the World Together

The God Slaughtering Formation was a forbidden formation technique used in ancient times to kill gods. As long as the person presiding over the formation core was strong enough, even a real god would not be able to escape it.

There were only two ways to escape the God Slaughtering Formation. One of them was destroy the formation core outside the array world, while the second was to use a strength that even the array world could not withstand.

Of course, it was impossible for the people trapped in the array world to destroy the formation core outside the array world, so without the help from others, the only way to escape the array world was to tear open an exit with a strength the God Slaughtering Formation could not withstand.

Back in the sixth level, four Level Lords had been gathered together. The assessment program had given them the mission of eradicating the 'virus'. However, against the 'intruding virus', Kali, the Level Lords had no hope of victory despite Kali having sealed her strength to the Psionic Mortal Realm. Therefore, they had to activate the forbidden technique from ancient times that could kill gods.

Even a powerful figure like Kali was unable to forcefully break out of the God Slaughtering Formation with her powers sealed. She eventually needed to use the 'power of corruption' to save Shi Xiaobai at the cost of becoming a fallen pixie that she abhorred.

And at this moment in time, Shi Xiaobai and Dawn were being trapped in the God Slaughtering Formation. Although the setup of the formation core was not as lavish as having 'four Level Lords', it was impossible to exceed the array world's capacity with the strength of the two, even if they simultaneously used the power of the Sword Soul and Excalibur. It was no doubt fool's talk if they wanted to crack the God Slaughtering Formation.

If no one helped destroy the formation core exterior to the array world, there was no way for them to escape.

However, the duo did not know that they were trapped in such an uncrackable array world. They were still attempting to find a way to escape that did not even exist.

However, such racking of brains could not last too long because the horde of monsters had already begun attacking the Shell of the Black Turtle from every direction. The translucent turtle shell was beginning to reveal cracks on its surface.

After withstanding the blasts from the black beams of light and then getting attacked by a horde of monsters, even a divine artefact like the Shell of the Black Turtle would not be able to last very long.

"There's no more time."

Dawn made the calmest of judgments as she said to Shi Xiaobai, "The Shell of the Black Turtle cannot last much longer. Now is not the time to consider how we can escape this world, but to think of a way to escape from the encirclement of these monsters."

In short, how to live on was the biggest problem they were facing.

Shi Xiaobai nodded and temporarily put aside the thoughts on 'escaping the world'. He surveyed his surroundings but monsters filled every corner. Furthermore, there were more and more monsters running from afar to encircle them. It was as if they were in the middle of a sea of monsters, and in the sky were hordes of flying monsters. At the instant the Shell of Black Turtle cracked, they would definitely be drowned by the monsters.

How were they to escape and survive such a situation?

Dawn had clearly already considered how they could escape from the monsters while Shi Xiaobai was pondering over how they could escape the world. She directly told him what she thought.

"Later on, I'll use the power of my Sword Soul to forcefully open up a path. We shall use the opportunity to escape to the periphery of the encirclement at the fastest speed possible. Although the outer perimeter has many monsters as well, the periphery is more expansive. The monsters can't cover every inch of it. As long as we find a hole between their cracks, we can escape towards the exterior with flash motion. I believe that the closer we are to the periphery, the more cracks there will be."

Dawn said calmly, "In short, we should leave this place first. We should reach a slightly safer spot before we consider how we can escape this world."

Shi Xiaobai was taken aback slightly as he pondered seriously over Dawn's method.

The interior was filled with monsters, but there was a wide area towards the exterior. There were indeed many empty spots in between the monsters, so if they were able to escape to the periphery, the chances of successfully escaping would be rather large.

However, in order to open up a path, Dawn had to use the power of her Sword Soul once again. Could she withstand the use of such tremendous power for three times in such a short period of time?

Most importantly, with the tiny bit of strength he had barely recovered, how long could he use 'Crab Steps'?

Shi Xiaobai pondered over the situation carefully as he gradually stood up from the ground. At the instant he stood up, his legs could not help but tremble. He immediately focused so as to not appear that weak.

Damn it, was that all the energy he could recover after such a long period of time?

Shi Xiaobai lamented over his situation. The side effects of using Excalibur while disregarding everything had far exceeded his expectations. It was likely that he could not recover in a short period of time.

The situation that he was in right now was truly terrible. All he could do was use the remaining bit of energy to forcefully use Crab Steps. All he could do might be to run to the periphery, and when the time came, he would collapse out of exhaustion. The girl beside him might very well stop in order to save him.

He did not want to die there, but even more so, he did not want to implicate her.

Regardless of anything, at least she had to live on!

With this thought in mind, Shi Xiaobai pretended to stay calm and said, "We shall act as you said, but after escaping their encirclement, we should separate. Two people is too big a target. It will be easier to break through alone. When we run outwards to a safe distance, we can meet up again."

Sorry, This King might not be able to fulfill the promise of 'meeting up'.

But even if you are alone, please live on as best as you can.

Shi Xiaobai sighed as he pretended to give a solemn expression that could not be refuted.

When Dawn heard that, she stood up in silence and walked slowly towards him with a deadpan expression. That pair of ice-blue eyes was colder and more imposing than they ever were.

She slowly raised her hand and suddenly pushed him in the chest.

Shi Xiaobai, who had barely managed to stand up straight, was caught off guard as he fell straight to the ground.

Shi Xiaobai suffused a bitter smile. That girl was truly too smart to easily see through his thoughts.

"In your present state, you won't be able to run to the periphery alone."

Dawn squatted down and gave him a serious and solemn stare.

Shi Xiaobai immediately grinned and said, "Don't worry. This King is the King of kings after all. How can This King die here? As long as a tiny trick is used, these monsters can't do anything to This King. This King will definitely meet up with you in the periphery, so..."

"Lies!"

The girl's calm voice that was filled with rich hidden emotions, cut Shi Xiaobai off from continuing his lies.

She sighed and stretched out her hand. She gently touched Shi Xiaobai's face and said softly, "Do you know that surviving in a world alone is more terrifying than death?"

The words that were filled with feelings seemed to conceal a hidden story. It caused Shi Xiaobai to face it in silence.

"Si..."

Suddenly, he felt pain in his cheeks as Shi Xiaobai jolted awake from the melancholic mood.

He saw Dawn pinching his cheeks forcefully and staring at him with her beautiful ice-blue eyes. Her voice had the tensions of a girl, "So, your suggestion of running separately has been rejected! If you want to run, we run together. If you you want to die, we die together! No more nonsense, or I'll really turn angry!"

Shi Xiaobai felt his heart turn warm as he felt touched. He was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a moment, he sighed and said seriously, "This King never easily gives up, but this time, This King does not know how long he can last as well. You should understand that by running together, This King will only implicate you..."

"Get on!"

Shi Xiaobai's sentence was interrupted midway.

"What?"

Shi Xiaobai looked up in astonishment and saw Dawn genuflecting with her back facing him. She was using a tone that left no room for doubt to say, "Get on, I'll carry you."

The shoulder frame that did not seem very broad and that slender figure accentuated her slim figure. With a firm tone, she said, "Get on, I'll carry you". It was like a pair of warm hands were tightly holding Shi Xiaobai's heart.

Shi Xiaobai fell into a prolonged silence before eventually shaking his head. He said in a resolute manner, "No, using the power of your Sword Soul for a third time would definitely have consumed a great deal of energy. You won't be able to last long carrying another person while running under such a situation. This will not be an implication but This King dragging you to die together. It's impossible for This King to do that."

Dawn gave a gentle smile and said, "Don't worry, my mental energies have fully recovered. Your tiny bit of weight would not affect me at all. Furthermore, if I carry you, the target is equivalent to being only one person. You would not need to worry about your weakness implicating me. Isn't his a method that kills two birds with one stone?"

"Lies."

Shi Xiaobai shook his head resolutely, "To carry a person under such a situation would definitely result in a very restricted situation when it comes to dodging. It will also greatly increase the expenditure of stamina. It will only exhaust you faster. This King definitely can't do that."

Dawn wiped the smile off her face slowly as she looked solemnly at Shi Xiaobai for a few seconds. She suddenly raised her hand and said, "If you don't climb on, I'll knock you unconscious and run with you on my back."

The overbearing tone and serious expression indicated that she was absolutely not joking.

Shi Xiaobai was left dumbfounded, but he knew very well that if Dawn wanted to knock him unconscious, he did not have any strength to resist her. Furthermore, resistance would only waste Dawn's stamina. He obviously would not do so.

However, wasn't it just making trouble for herself to carry an unconscious person while running in the horde of monsters?

No, she was being serious. She would really do that!

That was...really too unreasonable!

Shi Xiaobai felt his head ache. He could not think of a way to convince the adamant girl despite racking his brains.

At that moment, he suddenly felt his body seemingly turn weightless.

"Hey!?"

Shi Xiaobai was appalled. It turned out that the girl had given up on convincing him. She forcefully carried him.

Shi Xiaobai attempted to resist, but he immediately received a warning stare.

"Oh?"

Dawn stared at him with a sideways glance before she lightly waved her right hand.

Shi Xiaobai was left beyond tears and all he could do was quiet down. Dawn had suddenly become dictatorial because she was telling him that a war of words was useless. She was determined to carry him.

Shi Xiaobai finally gave up on resisting because it was better being conscious than being knocked out. If he was unconscious, there was really nothing he could do.

Rip!

At that moment, there was the sound of clothes tearing. Shi Xiaobai looked to his side and saw that the girl had tugged at her sleeve and torn a piece of fabric from it, exposing a tiny bit of her fair arm.

What was she doing?

After half a minute, the answer was revealed. He saw the girl tear out patches after patches of fabric before twisting them into a rope. After that, she looped the rope around her chest and his back, tying them tightly together.

She tightened the rope with a lot of strength. And even though it caused their bodies to stick closely together, she did not react to it. She did so only to ensure that the rope was tightened so that he would not fall off midway.

However, she was apparently worrying over something else. She suddenly said in a nonchalant tone, "If you forcefully escape the rope, I will immediately turn back and tie you back together."

Shi Xiaobai was left at a loss whether to laugh or to cry. The girl could even read his mind of him choosing to sacrificing himself during moments of danger. Such a dictatorial method gave him no opportunities to reject her.

But such a high-handed action made Shi Xiaobai even more touched.

Shi Xiaobai hesitated for a long time before sighing gently. He slowly leaned his body down and wrapped his arms around the girl's white neck. He placed his head on her shoulder and although it was a very intimate posture, it could also save most of her strength.

He was out of options, so he could only choose to believe in her and do his best to recover his strength in the shortest amount of time for her.

However, what was going on was quite a normal cliché. Wasn't it supposed to be the boy domineeringly carrying the girl?

Why was it completely opposite when it came to them?

The script isn't right!

Shi Xiaobai had the rare feeling of being bashful and embarrassed.

However, he did not know that the girl that was carrying him was feeling even more bashful.

From the front, to which he could not see, Dawn had her head lowered. She was gently biting her lower lip as she was already blushing red. Light constantly shimmered in her eyes in a brilliant and attractive manner, with a hint of a young girl's charm in them.

In her bashfulness, there was a hint of sweetness, and the sweetness was intermixed with a hint of agony.

She was having mixed emotions, but she only had one thought.

Protect him!

Even at the cost of my life!

Dawn looked up at the Shell of Black Turtle that was about to shatter at any moment. Outside the shell, there were hordes of monsters that gnashed their teeth and brandished their claws. There were incessant roars that were filled with killing intent.

Even if death were to inundate the entire world, she would definitely open up a path to live on with him!

If this world did not have light, then...

"Hey, Shi Xiaobai, we have to live on. Because we agreed to proceed forward together..."

The girl held onto the boy's feet with one hand, while her other hand held the holy sword named Lucifer's Sword. She said gently, "proceed forward together...to the ends of the world!" 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'.