High Above

"You're still alive."

A pair of boots stepped on the ground of the insect nest, beside a dying middle-aged nobleman.

"Life is still hard."

When the condescending voice came, the blond man couldn't help but feel a little funny.

In the past, he always looked down on other people and talked. Although he would not trample on others, but with the bowed and fearful appearance of those people, maybe he would trample them on the soles of their feet, so they would feel more at ease.

With such thoughts in mind, Patrick slowly opened his eyes and looked at the calm Ian.

He clicked his tongue, and then said, "Can you reconcile?"

"Of course not." Ian raised his brows, but he became interested in Patrick at the moment—just because of the sense of humor at the last moment, he felt that the other party might really be an interesting person: "You are quite Optimistic and humorous, such words can be spoken."

"What an interesting person. It would be interesting to be friends."

No wonder Viscount Grant has missed him for so many years and still regards him as a friend... Perhaps back then, these two people only showed their true selves to each other.

And after the separation, they don't even have friends who can exchange this "other side".

"If you can't reconcile, kill me quickly."

Patrick raised his hand in a bit of boredom, his eyelids drooped and were about to close, the man's voice was so weak that everyone knew he was dying: "Do you have to let me die slowly by myself? Huh? Are you right? The brood that is so gentle to you and earnestly invites you to be their master can be cut down with a single sword, how can you be so indecisive towards a villain like me."

"It's a good thing to make you suffer longer, at least I'm quite happy."

Ian laughed, and said a villainous line heartily: "Of course, don't worry too much, I just have some questions to ask you—you also have questions to ask me, right? I know there is nothing hidden in you hand, and there is nothing that can be subpoenaed or recorded, so I am willing to exchange some information with you."

"Of course, you are indeed dying, so I understand that you don't want to exchange. I will give you a happy one, for the sake of you never actually committing a murder."

"Did you see it all?" Patrick took a deep breath. His vitality would not disappear just because of a broken waist. What really brought him to the brink of death was actually the forced activation of the etheric arm. Hua's move against Bishop Baiwu.

The man opened his eyes, staring at the white-haired boy in front of him, then shook his head slightly: "Well, I don't bother to lie - in fact, I didn't hold back, I really can't beat you."

"Don't underestimate yourself, young man... Although I don't know what kind of inheritance you are, you have extremely powerful power in your body. This power is even better than the blood of our Ellen family's Light Erosion Dragon Refining. At least It is also a special ability that can only be inherited from the fourth energy level, or even the fifth energy level."

"Don't get caught, not even Ayres. His ambition is not great, but once the ship of ambition is full of sails, he will strive to do his best."

"At that time, I don't know what he will do."

Different from the mechanized ether arm, if the biological ether arm Anhua wants to drive it, the wearer needs to provide high-purity source blood, and the real ether core can only be found on the main body of Anhua.

An Huazi Zhu, in order to exert super-standard combat power, must let the user inject a large amount of light-eroding dragon refining blood, while confirming that the driver is indeed an authorized user, it must also supply energy for the etheric armed forces.

The reason why Anhuazizhu was able to entangle Bishop Baiwu was because Patrick had transfused half of his own blood into it, so Anhuazizhu was able to fight that Huaiguang cleric for so long, but it did weaken Patrick's fighting power was so strong that Ian thought the opponent was holding back.

However, with the defeat of the nobles and the gradual consumption of blood reserves, Anhua Zizhu could not stop Bishop Baiwu anymore.

And Patrick was even more unable to face the young man in front of him, or to heal the fatal injury on his body.

I don't know whether Patrick is a dying man with good words, or he wants to mislead the young man who killed himself. He calmly said to Ian at the last moment of his life: "As for the problem, I do have some questions. one."

The middle-aged nobleman narrowed his eyes. Like Ian, the man who had listened to almost all the information from the Hive Will asked whether he was nervous or looking forward to it: "Ian."

"Why did you reject the brood?"

From the fact that Patrick called the hive will the mother nest instead of the hive will, it can be known that his spirit has actually been eroded by the hive, but it is not known whether the resonance is not enough in the end, or he took the initiative to resist, so he did not succeed. .

If Ian hadn't killed the will of the hive, I'm afraid he wouldn't have died... Instead, he would have been summoned by the hive and become the first second-level "human apostle" of the hive.

No, if Ian didn't kill the will of the hive, it proves that he will choose to become the will of the hive—then Patrick, who is half dead at this moment, will become his 'substitute apostle'.

"It's the will of the hive."

Sighing, Ian couldn't help shaking his head: "This question is actually very simple."

He stared at the eyes of the dying man at his feet, and said calmly, "Because of fear."

"Patrick, I'm afraid I've taken a shortcut like this. A path that's not the best, but looks the easiest."

Yes.

It's true that Ian has rejected the Hive, but that doesn't mean he can't recreate the Swarm Path.

The brain-eating worms are not extinct, and the swarm psionic network has not completely disappeared. As long as Ian thinks, he still has a chance to regret it now, and he can completely rebuild the worm nest from scratch.

But he didn't intend to.

Because it's a shortcut.

It's not that Ian has a spiritual obsession, or that he has a sense of ritual, and he insists on going to the sky with a human body-absolutely not for this reason.

Ian just knows very well that if he chooses to become the master of the swarm, he will do his best to do his best.

Just like the Viscount Grant that Patrick said... At that time, no one knew what they would do for the 'best'.

That being the case, there is no turning back, many choices will never be changed, and many endings will never be possible—choosing the path of the swarm is such a seemingly fast, but actually lonely and lonely path. Difficult and difficult to reach the 'perfect' road.

"Yeah... Heh, the parasite psionic network... Maybe this is the real 'echo' and 'mirror'?"

With a sneer, Patrick thought of these two words, his eyes were full of hatred, but his expression was helpless: "This method is more feasible than using any learning machine... It can even allow people to achieve eternal life. "

"The brood is indeed immortal. Such creatures are so different from us humans. It's no wonder they are so chasing... chasing this possibility."

"yes."

Ian nodded slightly. He turned his head and looked in the direction of the corpse of the Hive Will, and then said, "I know what you really want to ask me, Patrick."

"You want to ask, if I can't go to the high heavens in my 'human' life, will I also long for eternal life and chase the road of echoes and mirrors."

"You want to ask me this question, to know if I will attack the Ellen family...or in other words, attack Isengarde, or attack the blood of your Evil Dragon Refining Line."

"Just like Axel."

The middle-aged man was silent.

He knew that he was not qualified to ask such a question, because he was the killer who was going to kill Isengard. His hypocritical concern now was really shameless.

It can even be said to be shameless.

But then again, he's about to die, so what about shameless?

It was because of death... that Patrick became free and easy instead.

"Yes."

He smiled and looked at Ian: "This is what I really want to ask. I want to know if you will become a bastard like Axel... in the future, possible future, to devour The body of one's own grandson to maintain self-immortality."

The man whispered: "I can't stop you, I just want to know...whether the one who defeated me was a noble hero or an ambitious tyrant."

"Does that need to be said?"

Ian asked frankly, making Patrick silent instead.

He had already guessed Ian's answer, so he smiled wryly: "Yeah, you definitely don't..."

"I can."

But Ian's answer was completely beyond the man's expectations: "I will, Patrick. It's not such insignificant and trivial things as heroes and heroes, because I will, because I need it."

"I will do so without hesitation, without any psychological burden."

Under the stunned gaze of the blond man, Ian closed his eyes.

And when he opened his eyes again and stared at the worm nest crystals in front of him, his eyes were as calm and cold as his voice, and there was even a trace of pure indifference: "If I need time to advance my career, to complete my dream——then I will pursue eternal life without hesitation, by whatever means, and without any confusion or hesitation."

"Even if the price is to be stained with the blood of innocent people and become despicable and disgusting."

"but."

Having said that, the boy clenched the sword in his hand: "If I want to do it, I will do it to the best."

"Even if I die in the pursuit of the best, I will not allow myself to choose an inferior method to achieve my dream."

"And the immortality of the insect swarm is obviously not the best choice...letting innocent people die, let alone. There are many ways to immortality, I don't have to choose this one."

"I have such determination and will, and I have the means, but my character determines that I will not do that. This may also be regarded as a kind of fate."

Lowering his head, Ian once again looked at Patrick who was lost in thought, and he laughed: "For the sake of your dying, I answered your question first to satisfy your curiosity."

"Now, I ask, you answer."

Ian asked: "Who asked you to kill Isengard? Why did you listen to that person's orders?"

"And why are you so unscrupulous, even at the cost of your own life to do all this?"

The boy's question was sharp and direct. Patrick took a deep breath, and then smiled bitterly: "That's a good question. Well, I'm dying anyway, and I've wanted to say it a long time ago."

He raised his head and told Ian the whole story and facts.

The white-haired boy listened carefully, and then opened his eyes wide, showing a 'really so' expression, with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

It wasn't directed at Patrick, but at the sympathy of the blond boy who had ventured together in the underground ruins together.

"Understood."

After Patrick finished speaking, Ian could already see the extremely thick black energy from the other party's body.

This is a soul that is bound to die, or in other words, has died, but because of the sublimator's will, it temporarily survives in the world, waiting for the source quality to dissipate before completely disappearing.

"It's time to die."

Turning his head, Ian no longer looked at Patrick: "Farewell, Mr. Patrick, your life is really sad, but at least your death is not ugly."

He didn't use his sword to end the opponent, he still had things to do, no time and energy to waste.

Of course, the most important reason is not this.

Rather, it might be a kind of relief for him if he took action to end the life of the man in front of him.

That being the case, it is better to let Patrick himself slowly enter the end of life.

Let him remember, let him think, let him...

Pain because of myself.

Just after Ian turned and left, Patrick leaned against the crystal wall of the hive, and the man stared blankly ahead, staring at the direction where the will of the hive had dissipated.

He seemed to want to laugh, but he couldn't. The man said to himself hesitantly and desolately: "Indeed, it's really a sad life."

"Why is it like this...Obviously, I can resonate with this emotion back then...I still remember that summer, watching the stars with Ellie and my brother..."

"Why are you still doing such boring things after decades..."

"Is it because I am old and have forgotten my dreams? Or is it because I will eventually..."

His breathing gradually stopped.

In the hive, Patrick Ellen's life came to an end.

At the same time, Ian stepped into the real vulnerability of the worm nest.