Firefly Journey

Chapter 318 After the Storm, All Grasses Turn Green (10)

Sandstorms raged, and the setting sun bleeds like blood.

As evening fell, the air was thick with the stench of blood. Amidst the ruins, a little girl sat alone on the scarred ground, sobbing softly.

The sky was overcast, carrying a gloomy atmosphere. The little girl, covered in dust and dirt, lowered her head, her cries filled with fear of the future.

Suddenly, she looked up and saw a large, white hand.

The large hand beckoned.

"never mind."

The voice was magnetic, like the rising sun on a spring morning, making it impossible to refuse.

Just now, monsters ravaged her village. In an instant, villagers died, houses collapsed, crops were destroyed, and even her parents were brutally murdered.

Just as the peaceful and tranquil village was about to be destroyed and reduced to dust in history, a beam of light flashed from afar like lightning.

It's Julius!

He led the resistance army to the rescue and wiped out the monster horde here!

Unfortunately, they arrived too late; the small village had already been destroyed by monsters and reduced to ruins.

"Are there... any other survivors here?" Julius asked without much hope.

The little girl wiped away her tears, gently shook her head, her face filled with unease and helplessness.

Dad died, Mom died, everyone died, no one survived.

Julius crouched down to be at eye level with the little girl. "Poor child, how about coming to live with us?"

The Church of Light was established after Julius's death, by those churches founded by God. At that time, the rebel army he led had another name: the Legion of Light.

Looking at the man's kind face and warm voice, the little girl did not hesitate and gently placed her hand on his.

……

……

A breeze blew in through the window, and I turned the pages of the book on the table.

Julius was working on frontline files, his brow furrowed the entire time, never letting his guard down.

Suddenly, he shifted his gaze to the shadows of the bookshelf.

Sensing the man's gaze, the shadow gradually coalesced into a human form, reverting to its original appearance.

"You caught me again!"

The little girl, barely a meter tall, muttered to herself, a hint of disappointment in her voice. She had thought that after her own study, he wouldn't be able to detect her shadow magic.

Julius was helpless against the little girl's mischievousness. Since bringing her back, she had quickly shown extraordinary magical talent, learning everything quickly and often mastering it at a glance.

Her entire village perished in the monster invasion, and she should have lived with the war orphans, but Julius spared her life.

The reason, of course, is the extraordinary talent she displayed.

Fighting monsters is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Julius knew how important a genius who had the potential to become one of the strongest on the continent was during the long war of resistance.

To avoid wasting her talent, he decided to keep her by his side and teach her personally.

The little girl has a quirky personality and loves to play pranks, bringing him new tricks every day.

Julius was already used to this and even enjoyed it, using it as a teaching method to help her improve by taking advantage of her competitive nature.

"Next time, I definitely won't notice."

Julius tapped her on the head.

"Or, I can pretend I didn't notice."

"You're looking down on me!"

The little girl was furious. She wasn't upset that her little tricks were useless against him, but rather she disliked his nonchalant attitude. She had put so much effort into improving the magic, and he hadn't even offered a word of praise—it was infuriating!

The Goddess of Darkness had never been able to keep secrets, hence her sullenness. Julius, of course, noticed this, but he was used to it. Ayepea's talent was the most astounding he had ever seen; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept her by his side and personally mentored her.

Seeing the somewhat displeased and sulking little girl, Julius said, "If you behave better, I'll take you to the Tag Highlands in a while. The thorn berries there are very famous."

The goddess of darkness shamefully revealed a smile.

"Then you're not allowed to go back on your word!"

……

……

Same room, different time.

Ayepaia stormed out of the door and lashed out at her "parents" who had taken care of her for over ten years.

She stood with her hands on her hips, her face contorted in anger, and said, "You'd better explain what's going on!"

Julius calmly put down the file in his hand and turned to look at the little girl he had raised.

"Marta is very powerful. She is the only extraordinary person of her generation who can be your equal."

"So what?" the Goddess of Darkness sneered, "You agree to marry me to him?"

Julius shook his head. "Your future is your own decision, I won't interfere, but I think that kid is good. If I had to choose one, he would be the best choice."

Of course, it's your freedom to like or dislike whom, and to choose whom to stay with. You're perfectly free to refuse. I'm just considering things from an elder's perspective, understand?

"not understand!"

Julius frowned.

To my recollection, this was the first time the little girl had ever been so hysterical, her temper more fiery than ever before.

Ayepaia used to be willful, but she was easy to coax. What's wrong with her today?

Is this the so-called price of growing up? Yes, people around me with children say that the time when a child just becomes an adult is a watershed moment. I don't have children myself, but now I'm experiencing it firsthand.

“You’re still young, just turned 18. You have plenty of time to think it over. There’s no rush,” Julius said. “If you don’t like Marta, you don’t like her. You’ll meet someone you like eventually. Just let me know when that happens.”

Julius figured the little girl was angry because she felt he was interfering too much. Knowing the reason made things easier; since she didn't like Marta, he'd take it slow. As her elder, he should always go along with her.

"I'm not young anymore, I'm an adult now."

The little girl said this through gritted teeth, with great force, as if she were making a declaration.

"I know, I know your birthday."

Julius spoke softly, he always spoke softly, he always spoke softly to her.

"So, can you see me now?"

Julius, unaware of the situation, thought to himself, "Aside from the time you go out to train and the time I'm at the front, don't I see you every day?"

Ayepaya gritted her teeth, as if she had made some kind of decision.

She clenched her fist, and in an instant, she transformed into a shadow and teleported in front of Julius.

Then, Julius felt a warm sensation on his cheek.

This feeling came and went quickly; the little girl immediately returned to her original position, lowered her head, as if she had done something wrong, but more like she was shy.

Julius instinctively touched the part she had kissed, and then became somewhat angry.

"What do you mean?"

That's the idea.

Julius was not a fool after all.

“I am over a hundred years old, much older than you, and I raised you.”

"So what? I'm not your biological son. Do you expect me to call you 'Dad'?"

"The monsters are still ravaging the continent, I don't have time to do anything else."

"Monster, monster, all you know is monster. There are so many people and so many races in the world, why do you have to shoulder such a heavy burden? Do you owe others something?"

“If you don’t do it and I don’t do it, and nobody does it, then nobody will do it. I can’t argue with you, but I really don’t have time right now, especially…”

"Especially?"

"With you."

Julius let out a long sigh.

As he said, the age difference between the two was too great, and she was someone he had raised himself. Even if there were some feelings between them, they could not be confused with love.

"I understand, I will leave."

"It's good to go and gain experience. The more you see, the more you'll understand that there are many wonderful things and people in the world." He said meaningfully.

Ayepaia just sneered: "It's not a trial, it's a departure. Whether you come back or not depends on your mood."

Their conversation didn't last long, ending with the dark goddess's indifferent back view.

For a long time after that day, Julius did not receive any news from her.

……

……

The monsters had been entrenched on the continent for many years and could not be eradicated in an instant. They fought war after war against the resistance army led by Julius.

Of these wars, three are considered turning points in destiny.

The Battle of the Loran Mountains was arguably Julius's most dangerous encounter.

Faced with a monster army several times larger than himself, Julius decisively chose to confront the four monster leaders alone.

On the steep cliffs and beside the dense forest, the earth had long been ravaged by their attacks, riddled with craters, and a section of the cliff had been blasted off.

Julius was breathing heavily, his body radiating a faint glow, his eyes resolute.

Opposite him, the four demon leaders were not in good condition either, but relatively well compared to him.

"The commander of the Light Legion? I think he's nothing special." One of the demon commanders scoffed blatantly.

Julius didn't care; his eyes remained firm, though there was a hint of weariness in them.

Since he comprehended the power of light, he has never lived for himself again. For the past hundred years, although he has enjoyed it, he has also felt tired on some quiet nights.

When he thought his life was about to end, one image after another appeared in his mind.

Among them were his deceased parents and relatives, like-minded companions, and every ordinary citizen who was grateful to him.

Those figures came and went quickly, finally settling on a little girl.

In that instant, he seemed to understand his own thoughts, and then began to smile calmly.

The opportunity to eliminate the leader of the Light Legion was right in front of them. How could the four demon commanders give up? The two sides only had a brief respite before they were at each other's throats again.

Julius showed no fear, no sorrow, no joy, as he faced the final outcome.

But that wasn't his end.

A crescent-shaped stream of magical energy descended from the sky; a seemingly gentle slash instantly claimed the life of a commander.

Julius looked up and found he saw nothing.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"He's about to die, and he's still so calm?"

"I guessed someone would come to rescue me, but I didn't expect it to be you."

"Why can't it be me?"

"I thought you would never come back after you left, and I haven't heard from you since."

"I'm very angry, but I don't want to see you die."

Why don't I want to see him die?

The answer was found in my study many years ago.

After a fierce battle with Julius, the four commanders were no longer at their peak, and now they had no chance of winning against the goddess of darkness in her prime.

"So it was you who wanted to kill him?"

"Cut the nonsense!"

The remaining three demon leaders tried to struggle in their death throes, but it was futile in the face of the vast difference in strength. A few minutes later, they collapsed completely.

"Your growth has exceeded my expectations."

"I know, I'm going to surprise you."

"you did it."

"I'd like to see your study."

"No problem, our home's layout has never changed."

"You're as lazy as ever. I mean, you never put any energy into anything other than fighting monsters."

"I'm afraid you won't be used to it when you come back and see it."

"I can understand it as..."

"Yes, that's exactly what you think, but we can't talk about our affairs everywhere in the future."

"Why? Am I not presentable enough?"

"No, don't ask why."

"Okay, it's good that nobody knows."

"Not everyone can be kept in the dark; there's an old man with a white beard who knows everything."