I, with a long knife in my hand, can only do one move

After Rick answered coldly, he put the luggage on the ground.

"Kron, did anything happen during my absence?"

"Call me sister! How many times do I have to say that, you bastard—"

The girl named Crone pouted, correcting Rick's name, and nodded vigorously: "It's okay, at least nothing serious enough to be reported happened. By the way, quickly take off that dirty cloak and raw hide Come down, I'm going to wash it!"

She patted Rick's dusty head unceremoniously and said so to him.

"You too, Yalei, thank you for your hard work!"

Kelong took the cloaks and a lot of equipment from the two of them, and then found that there was a lack of someone who should also be present.

Before she asked, Yalei had already answered her: "...If you want to ask Ivan, he is dead."

Kelong's expression was distorted, and at this moment, another voice came from the side of the square.

"father!"

Rick looked back and saw a young girl stumbling towards her.

Seeing the girl, Yalei opened his mouth, then clenched his teeth.

Panting, she ran up to the three of them, and when she saw Rick, she immediately asked with a smile on her face, "Where's Dad?!"

"..."

Rick didn't answer.

Those bright eyes are very similar to her father - she is Ewan's daughter.

"Nonna..."

"Rick, where's Dad?"

Nonna pulled Rick's clothes and asked again, her cheerful expression faintly revealing a look of uneasiness.

----------

The firewood crackled softly, and occasionally two or three sparks shot out from the bright yellow flame that licked the food.

Cheng Rang and Yi Wang are sitting cross-legged on the ground. Here is

A very hidden cave.

During these two days, Cheng Rang confessed to the man in front of him with such a simple and brutal reason as "you can examine me at will until we can establish a basic trust between us".

"Believe it or not, I'm just a traveler from a world you don't know. My purpose is also very simple, to witness some history that needs to be witnessed, and to ensure the survival of human beings on this planet."

"As you can see, I'm human too."

Under the steel ruins of the goblin airship that fell to the ground, Cheng Rang lifted his hood and showed his appearance to the man in front of him who was wary of him.

—without any other racial traits other than human.

"It's just that my strength is stronger than yours, that's all."

The black-haired man who called himself "Cheng" smiled and patted the long white knife hanging on his waist. Under Ivan's gaze, those black eyes similar to those of the boy named Rick flickered. A kind of light that made Evan inexplicable.

Those are two completely opposite eyes.

If Rick's eyes can be called a gray-black abyss, covered with a mist called reason like the frozen water surface, then the man in front of him who calls himself Cheng has in his eyes something that Evan never had before. What I have seen, only belong to the shining light like the stars in the sky.

It is precisely because of the belief of never giving up that Cheng Rang can get out of the maddening eternal cycle and achieve the strongest achievement.

It is also because he has a more optimistic view of everything in this world than himself, and has the confidence and power to control his own destiny, that makes Ivan slowly let go of his guard.

He is a real strong man, whether it is the power he possesses or the strong heart, he is a strong man who can't help but admire and surprise Ivan.

And until now, after Evan accepted the food handed to him by the process, he spoke his name for the first time.

"Evan."

"Ok?"

"My name, you can call me Ivan."

After Cheng Rang heard it, he seemed to be slightly taken aback, then smiled and nodded slightly: "Okay."

In fact, what made Evan even more concerned was that, apart from his surprise after being saved by him, his initial hostility towards the man in front of him inexplicably decreased as time went by.

It was as if he was trusting what he said unconditionally.

He also suspected that Cheng Rang had tampered with his thoughts or used magic, but he was immediately denied.

If he possessed that kind of ability, in terms of human physique, he would not be noticed by himself. This is the minimum error, and the real strong don't bother with it.

Ewan can only attribute it to the charm that this man exudes... Although it is a bit strange to say so, it can only be explained in this way.

Watching Yiwang, who was sitting in front of the warm campfire and gradually chatting with him, Cheng Rang breathed a sigh of relief.

Glancing at the information on the system screen, Cheng Rang felt that his unremitting pursuit of goodwill was not in vain.

[Faction Favorability: Human 65]

This means that the initial impressions of individuals of all human races towards Cheng Rang will be locked in friendliness, which can unconditionally reduce the hostility of the human camp towards them and increase trust.

This is the camp favorability system started by Cheng Rang for the first time. Starting from the 45 points of favorability at the beginning of the human camp, he eliminated violence and made a good name in HL. After more than a year, he finally got it. Above 60 points, enter the friendly ranks.

In fact, Cheng Rang didn't even think that this thing could come in handy in such a situation.

If the system hadn't dinged him in the background, he would have forgotten about this thing!

The two sat by the campfire and chatted quietly, and Cheng Rang also learned that Yiwang still had a wife and a lovely daughter that made him proud.

"But if you don't go back, you should also be able to imagine how sad Nong Na will be?"

"Yes." Ivan turned the bonfire with the stick in his hand with a wry smile.

He will not be surprised that Rick will tell his daughter his "death" in an almost cruel way.

--------

"Listen to me, Nonna..."

Yalei couldn't bear to speak, but was stopped by Rick with his hand, and Crolon, who also wanted to stand between Rick and Nongna, was also glared at by Rick.

Rick first touched his chest lightly, as if to confirm something, and then he said in the same flat and emotionless tone as before: "Ivan...your father will not come back."

The girl opened her eyes wide, as if she couldn't understand what he said.

But after Rick said this, he didn't say another word, and the girl staggered away from Rick.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and her small lips trembled uncontrollably.

".....why?"

silence.

"Dad said he would definitely come back, and asked me to be a good boy and wait for him to come back! I have a good boy... I clearly kept the promise, why didn't Dad come back?!"

"Because he died."

"fraud!"

Nonna's screams sounded in the cave.

Ewan would feel heartbroken just by imagining it.

.......

Cheng Rang got up to extinguish the slowly burning bonfire, and said to Yiwang: "Since you are still alive, you must abide by the agreement with your daughter. You don't want to be a father who doesn't keep his word?"

"Yeah, after all, they are the meaning of my life."

Yiwang buried the extinguished bonfire completely, and nodded slowly until there was no trace of his previous visit.

"Let's go back."

Chapter 5 Heart Lock

When did it start?

Rick listened to Nonna's cries in front of him, and thought inadvertently—even if he heard such a sad voice, his heart was still indifferent.

"Dad made an appointment with me... He said he would definitely come back!"

"Ivan also wants to keep the agreement, but we encountered a demon species, and he stayed as a bait."

"I don't care! Why didn't Dad come back?!"

Nonna was right, no matter who she was protecting or why she died, that reason had nothing to do with her.

Because the favorite dad has not come back, this fact will not change.

"Father clearly said that humans will win!"

"Of course it will win. Ewan fought for power for this. He protected us just to let everyone win."

When did it start?

I became able to say such insincere words as if nothing had happened.

Nonna's little face was contorted with sobs.

"That's not a victory! If it's that kind of victory... then it's better to be Rick and die!"

**-**

**-**

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"Nonna!"

The skinny young woman, Nonna's mother, and Ivan's wife heard the sound and rushed over. She stumbled over, took her daughter's hand, and looked at Rick.

There was neither resentment nor hatred in those eyes, and Rick unconsciously touched his chest again.

it's ok... no problem....

"Rick."

Marutan called Rick's name in a hoarse voice.

I'm sorry - the sentence was on the verge of blurting out reflexively, but Rick swallowed it back.

"Ivan acted as a bait to let us escape. If we didn't do that, we would have been wiped out. Moreover, he believed that if he successfully brought back this harvest, he would be able to protect you and Nonna."

“…”

"Thank you, Rick." Marutan's body trembled slightly, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

She bowed to Rick very slowly, and then returned to the settlement with her fatherless daughter in her arms.

Before leaving, Nonna looked back at Rick and clearly stated his true colors.

--"fraud."

It was as if his shoulders had been smashed against a mountain peak in an instant, and the feeling of his internal organs falling made Rick want to vomit, but Kelong, who had crashed into his arms, hugged him violently, making him almost lose his balance.

"I'm glad you're all right, welcome back."

"Yeah, I'm back."

Then she pushed and shoved the two of them as if deliberately changing the subject.

"You two are about to stink to death, hurry up and take a shower!"

"Take a shower!"

Yalei cheered, while Rick said in a low voice, "I'll just wipe it off, don't waste fuel."

But unable to hold back Crolon's insistence, Rick finally sighed and walked away.

.......

In the black and gray falling snow, two figures walked silently one after the other, leaving a series of continuous footprints.

The two of them had spent a day crossing the wilderness, and came to the forest where even the wind had never favored it. Ivan, who was leading the way, suddenly staggered.